About Us
“One autumn night, five years before, they had been walking down the street when the leaves were falling, and they came to a place where there were no trees and the sidewalk was white with moonlight. They stopped here and turned toward each other. Now it was a cool night with that mysterious excitement in it which comes at the two changes of the year. The quiet lights in the houses were humming out into the darkness and there was a stir and bustle among the stars. ”
Wait SCRATCH that – that isn’t how it happened at all! That’s from The Great Gatsby. Here’s what really happened, and it was a lot less magical…
Highschool…
Let’s rewind back to September, 2004, suburbia USA, a small, dilapidated high school (they built us a new one the following year) – the library. At this point, both immersed in our course work, Vicky in Holocaust studies, Dave in AP Physics our paths crossed (they had to, the library was tiny). But fate (or was it the lack of chairs?) brought us together and from then on we were inseparable (if you exclude the 4 year relationship-hiatus during college).
The travel bug was always there. Born in Russia and partially raised in Australia, Vicky is a travel fanatic. Dave, not born in Russia nor partially raised in Australia…also likes to travel. In 2006 we were off to Italy on our first unchaperoned cross-Atlantic adventure. The trip started off rocky with Dave leaving our credit card at home and ended just as rocky where Dave, again, left his carry on bag (loaded with his glasses, camera, and CD player) on top of the airport bound car – never to be recovered. However, when all was said and done, we had a magnificent trip filled with delicious pizza, eccentric people, and jaw breaking sites (but no gondola rides – Dave wouldn’t splurge for that). Following this trip, two things were discovered:
Dave cannot be trusted with our belongings
We are compatible travel companions
College…
With only a river between us, we stayed close friends in college. Vicky studied business management at Boston University and Dave studied Applied Math at Harvard. Each learned languages and studied abroad (Vicky to Spain and Dave to Russia). After graduating Dave got a job as a Business Analyst in DC and Vicky as an accountant. Yawn. On to the travel.
Our first paid vacation was to Greece. 8 full days and $4k later, we realized this was not a desirable (or efficient) way to travel. We wanted more time and we wanted it to be continuous. Thus, after only two years in the working world we decided to escape from cubicle corporate America. A two year backpacking trip across Asia and Europe seemed like a fair trade. Thus, since the fall of 2011 Vicky has been dissecting travel routes, exploring photography and delving into ethnic cooking. During this time Dave’s been wired to the computer (actually that’s always been the case), learning website design, film editing, and budgeting for the trip. Finally we’re ready to unveil the results of our hard work in the form of this blog.
The Website…
We knew from the beginning that we wanted to document our adventures and experiences with anyone interested in reading. However, if we stopped there we’d be selling us, and you, short. We want to make this more than just a travel blog rather a travel resource. A place where you can go for your travel needs. A place where you can see us get lost, over pay for cabs, and make the mistakes, so you don’t have to. All the while, we’ll be clearly explaining the full logistics around our excursions/accommodations/insert travel topic here. Hopefully by doing so we’ll inspire a few other travelers to hit the road!
Origins: Born in Moscow, Russia moved to Australia at 4 years old and USA at 9 years old.
Languages: English, Russian, Spanish
Favorite Hobby: Live to cook! Check out my recipes at .
Interesting Fact: At a volunteering event in DC met a start up caterer and eventually became partner in the company.
Countries Traveled to: 21
Ireland Jordan Portugal Italy Vatican City USA Canada Czech Rep. Israel Mexico Ukraine Netherlands England Russia Spain France Australia New Zealand Turkey Bahamas Greece
Origins: Born in Ashland, Massachusetts
Languages: English, Russian, (poor) French
Favorite Hobby: Computer gaming
Interesting Fact: Performed stand up comedy at a club in DC.
Countries Traveled to:16
Bahamas Denmark Sweden Italy Netherlands USA Russia Spain Turkey Greece Puerto Rico Canada Aruba Vatican City Mexico Israel
Individual Bucket Lists (37)
Dave’s Bucket List Date Accomplished Vicky’s Bucket List Date Accomplished Participate in a protest that I really believe in Learn one authentic, ethnic recipe from a local in each country we visit Run with the bulls in Pamplona Straddle the Equator Base jumping at Park Inn Hotel in Berlin Learn HDR photography Eat an insect in South East Asia 12/12 -Worm Paddies in Vietnam Have a small farm or fruit/vegetable garden at least Visit all 7 wonders of the ancient world WOOF during our travels Visit all 7 wonders of the modern world Learn to sail Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro Learn to fly a plane Explore the Amazon Spend a week in a desert Perform stand up comedy 09/2011 – Topaz Lounge DC Spend a week in a jungle Visit all seven continents Visit USA’s top National Parks Go to Galapagos and see the turtles hatch See Stonehenge Visit concentration camps – Dachau, Auschwitz Master landscape and portrait photography Stay at a haunted hotel Learn to meditate Appear on television Learn how to make phoRoad trip through America Visit Zhangjiajie Park in China 11/2012 Travel to outer space or at least anti gravity Eat sushi at the Tsujiki Fish Market in Japan 9/2012 Note: We made the decision to eat Sushi at a local restaurant recommended by our CS hosts who said it was just as good and half the price! See an opera in Italy Go to Antarctica Write and publish a book in print Speak at a travel conference Meditate in India Have travel blog be featured in renowned travel magazines and websites Volunteer in Asia 11/2012 – Yangshuo Eng School In China Reach 10,000 RSS subscribers on this travel blog Sing karaoke in Japan 10/2012 – With CS host and friends in Seoul Learn to speak 5 languages (at 3 now) Snorkeling in great barrier reef See the Taj Mahal Learn to tango in Buenos Aires Volunteer at an animal sanctuary See the Northern lights Visit all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Be in a movie Learn how to play the guitar Cage dive with sharks Take cooking classes in every country wevisit Attend a foreign wedding (tribal?) Learn how to kite surf Watch a space shuttle launch in person Visit all the countries in the world Solve a Rubiks cube Water ski Make a Youtube video that gets over 10,000 views Write a cookbook Do a polar bear swim Have a cooking show on TV Run a marathon Give a cooking class Bench 315 pounds 06/2008 Learn how to make sushi Give a Ted Talk Visit Burma Go to the Sahara Find treasure in the ocean Ride the trans Siberian railway Bike across America Visit Easter Island Learn to scuba dive
Mutual Bucket List (23)
Dave’s Bucket List Date Accomplished Vicky’s Bucket List Date Accomplished Skydiving Skydiving 6/4/2009 (New Zealand) Climb Everest Base Camp Climb Everest Base Camp Go on an African safari Go on an African safari Go to a world cup match finals Go to a world cup match finals Go to the Olympics Go to the Olympics Learn to surf Learn to surf Take a vow of silence for at least 5 days Take a vow of silence for at least 5 days Swim with dolphins Swim with dolphins Own my own business Own my own business Ride a hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey Ride a hot air balloon in Cappadocia, Turkey Bungee jumping Bungee jumping 6/3/2009 (New Zealand) Go hang gliding Go hang gliding Snowboard in the alps Ski in Europe