Alluring Sibenik
Most international tourists coming to Croatia skip Sibenik, the country’s tenth largest city. Which is a shame, because – as I discovered during the summer of 2021 – Sibenik and the surrounding Sibenik Riviera are among the most scenic parts of the Dalmatian coast. Sibenik boasts a rich historical and cultural heritage, has amazing architecture…
Trogir, an open-air museum
One of the best-preserved medieval places in Europe, Trogir is known for its fortified walls and impressive Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque architecture. A small islet just off the coast of mainland Croatia, this attractive port town is a 30 minute car ride north of Split, the country’s second largest city. In 1997, Trogir won the…
Exclusive Vis
A two-hour ferry ride from Split, Vis is the furthest island in the Dalmatian archipelago from the Croatian mainland. It is quite small – only 34 square miles – but what it lacks in size, it more than compensates for in beauty, unspoiled nature and history. It is also sparsely populated – only 4,000 people…
Beautiful Brac
Even after spending three months in Croatia during the summer of 2021, doing research for a book, I still hesitate when I am asked which Croatian island is my favorite. That is not an easy choice. But the Island of Brac, off the coast of Split, earned its place in the top tier of my…
Split, Croatia, a Roman emperor’s choice
Coming from the island of Hvar by ferry, Split looked massive in comparison. The second largest city in Croatia, it sits on a wide bay on the Adriatic Sea, set against a high mountain backdrop. Spreading over a central peninsula in both directions, the swarming of ships and boats of all sizes in its harbor…
Hvar, the jet setter’s paradise of Croatia
I had heard of Hvar (pronounced ‘Huar’ in Croatian) long before I ever set foot in Croatia. This famous Croatian island off the Dalmatian coast is known for having it all: lush nature, rich history, beautiful architecture, scenic beaches and exciting nightlife, plus stylish restaurants, bars and hotels. Of course that doesn’t go unnoticed: each…
Korcula, Croatia – nature, traditions and wines
By the time I got to the island of Korcula, in southern Croatia, I was already used to the extraordinary beauty of the country. I had been to Dubrovnik – called the ‘Pearl of the Adriatic’ – and also to Kotor and Perast, in neighboring Montenegro. The fullness of their history and the lushness of…
Perast, a fairytale on water in Montenegro
After soaking in the wonders of Kotor, Montenegro’s most popular destination, our group stopped at a scenic seaport called Perast, on the Bay of Kotor. I consider myself relatively well traveled, but I had never heard of Perast until that hot day, in June of 2021. The first view our group had of it was…
Kotor, Montenegro – a beautiful town of beautiful people
It is less than three hours from Dubrovnik, in Croatia, to Kotor, in the neighboring country of Montenegro. I left Dubrovnik early in the morning on a group day tour organized by Amico Tours, guided by a friendly driver called Gabriel, who picked us up at the gates of the Old Town. While driving us…
Dubrovnik, the Pearl of the Adriatic
My plan was to get to Dubrovnik before the end of May, to avoid the droves of tourists that flood it every summer, and time lost waiting in lines. It would be my first time there, but Dubrovnik had been on my bucket list for many years. After two days in Zagreb – to recover…
Croatia, the beautiful
The first time I saw the Croatian coast on the Adriatic Sea was from the window of a bus going from the capital Zagreb to Dubrovnik. My immediate reaction upon witnessing that stunning view was, “How come I have never been here before?” But I actually knew why. From the end of World War II…
Under the Algarve Sun
Confined at home during Covid, I decided to take the time to write a book about a trip I took in 2019 to the Algarve, Portugal’s sunniest coastline and one of the world’s most coveted destinations. Under the Algarve Sun is the tale of the two weeks I spent there with my uncle Ivar, crossing…
Bayreuth and Wagner
I love opera! The music, the stories, the drama! Opera is life on steroids, and I’m always in awe when I watch it live on a stage or listen to it at home or in the car. I was in Berlin when I learned that my ‘reliable’ contact to get me tickets for the Bayreuth…
MEISSEN – the royal porcelain
When my Grandma talked about people she deemed ‘important’, in her tightly-knit German community of Southern Brazil, she would refer to them as “people who eat off Meissen plates.” As a child, I thought that the handmade plates from Germany were a privilege of very special people. Grandma passed away many years ago (at 96!)…
Leipzig, Germany – hidden no more
In ‘Faust’, Goethe’s masterpiece, one of the characters calls Leipzig ‘little Paris,’ for its beauty and love of arts. Long hidden behind the Iron Curtain, in communist East Germany, Leipzig’s beauty can now be seen again by the whole world. Art is everywhere in the city, even my hotel doubled as an art gallery for…
Dresden, Germany – from ashes to glory
Viewed from the Elbe River, Dresden has a striking silhouette: delicate spirals, soaring towers and imposing palace domes. Some buildings are still covered by layers of dark dust, a reminder of the Allied bombings the city endured at the end of World War II. Locked away behind the Iron Curtain since the end of WWII,…
Scared in Dresden, Germany
I love to travel by train in Germany; it’s the best way to see the beautiful countryside. I once took a train in Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof Station to go to Dresden, a city long on my bucket list, but when I arrived there everything went wrong. My hotel faced the train tracks. My room had no…
Berlin and the Wall
Arriving in Berlin for the first time felt like going back home. That’s because my grandparents were German immigrants, and the language I heard growing up was German. Maybe because of that, and of the stories I heard about World War II as a child, Berlin touched me deeply. The German capital is a city…
I LOVE NEW YORK!
I lived in New York for 31 years. I’m no longer there, but New York felt like home from day one, when from the window of my plane I saw the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center shining under the morning sun. Born and raised in Brazil, I was in my 20’s when I…
Top 10 places to visit in Brittany after COVID-19
As of September, 2020, Americans are still not allowed to travel to Europe, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while travel restrictions might be lifted at any time, it is a good idea to play safe and avoid traveling to crowded places, even after things go back to normal. That’s why I’m thinking of…
The Parish Closes (Les Enclos Paroissiaux) of Brittany
On a visit to Bretagne (Brittanny), in France, my daughter Clara and I saw two of the best-known Parish Closes of Lower Bretagne: Saint-Thégonnec and Sizun. They were stunning monuments to the religious fervor of the 16th and 17th centuries, and a reminder of the enormous wealth brought to the region by the linen trade.…
LÉHON, Brittany – a pretty surprise in France
Have you ever been to a place so beautiful, so peaceful and relaxed that you felt like never leaving it? I have, and that place for me was Léhon, a small French medieval village near Dinan, in Bretagne (Brittany), France. I arrived there after a 30-minute walk, following a trail from Dinan. It was a…
DINAN, France – a true Breton town
With only two days left in Bretagne (Brittany), I had heard enough about Dinan to be curious. So I looked on the map, made a hurried hotel reservation, and drove 110 miles inland from Roscoff to the Côte d’Armor region, where Dinan is located. When I arrived in Dinan it was market day, and I…
North Finistere, Brittany – sea and sky
Driving west along the coast of Bretagne (Brittany) in France, from Roscoff to the end of the province, I noticed a drastic change in the landscape: the region called North Finistère is far less populated than its eastern part, where St-Malo is located. The North has open spaces, deserted beaches, lighthouses guarding jagged reefs and…
Morlaix, France – an architectural jewel
While vacationing in Bretagne (Brittany) with my daughter Clara, in February of 2017, we stayed in a rental in Roscoff, on the English Channel coast. But we often drove to Morlaix, a historic Breton town 15 minutes away, a place we felt attracted to from the first time we saw it. Morlaix had a very lively…
Roscoff, France – a town of the sea
Of all the off-the-beaten-path places most Americans miss, few have so much to offer as Roscoff, a quaint port on the English Channel, in Bretagne (Brittany), northwest of France. Some US travel guides don’t even mention it, which is a shame: Roscoff has gorgeous views, great cuisine, rich history and a central location that invites…
The Pink Granite Coast
One of the most scenic coastlines in France is in Bretagne (Brittany), between Saint-Brieuc, west of Saint-Malo, and Perros-Guirec. That’s the Pink Granite Coast, or, as the French call it, ‘la Cote de Granit Rose.’ This remarkably beautiful coastline is quite different from the rest of Bretagne: the rocks have an incredible pink hue, right…
Jacques Cartier, discoverer of Canada
Visiting Saint Vincent Cathedral, in Saint-Malo – a historic walled town on the coast of Brittany, France – I was intrigued by a marble sign on the floor. It was placed on the exact spot where, on April 20th, 1534, a seaman called Jacques Cartier knelt down to receive blessings from the local bishop, before…
Saint-Malo, France – tragedy and survival
Our small and unassuming two-star Hotel San Pedro, in Saint-Malo, was a real gem and a great experience. That was because of Mireille, its owner and manager, who more than made up for the simple lodgings (although the location was great) by going out of her way to help her guests. She would start early,…
Saint-Malo, France – pirates and seafood
I am a big fan of the south of France. But the first time I saw windy Brittany (Bretagne in French; Breizh in Breton), I felt my heart slowly switching allegiances, and I became a Bretagne lover. Bretagne is the name of the rugged northwestern peninsula of France, a land so completely different from the…
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About Me
Hi, I’m Bea.
I am a writer, a former journalist and a boutique travel specialist. I have lived and worked in different countries on three continents, and I use that knowledge to help you have the trip of your dreams.
And I love to tell stories. Hope you enjoy them.
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