Villa Melnik Winery—Where Happiness Comes From A Family Working Together & Preserving Bulgarian Heritage

Putting Bulgarian Wine & Melnik On The Map—Literally After I pull off the main road, I wind my way through small villages on a narrow road, passing through Vranya, Spanchevo, and Harsavo. I see a few elderly men sitting on a curb. A dog sprints across the street, and a few cats scurry about. As […]

Welcome To Bulgaria

It took just about twenty minutes to venture through the line at the border between Greece and Bulgaria and another ten minutes to clear customs and immigrations with another stamp in my passport. I last was in Bulgaria in September 2016, so this crossing doesn’t add another country to my growing list. What it represents, […]

Bulgaria Bound Despite the Tug of Athens and Greece—Onward To Thessaloniki

Leaving most anywhere always tugs at my heart and mind; it makes me sad. I know I must move and get on with this adventure, but especially here in Athens, I feel a connection, a sense of belonging. I recognize this, but I must temper my mindset and shrug off the feelings. Last night I […]

Athens Captured: Spirit & Food. Friends & Mood.

  Temperatures are soaring here in Athens. Still, I climb the stairs to my third-floor apartment here in Marina Zeas rather than use the elevator. After just three days in the city, I shower several times a day for relief from the heat and to rinse the sweat. George at Vagianelis BMW tells me my bike […]

The Long Flight & Run To Athens—The 2019 Journey of Adventure & Discovery Begins

My little cottage in Leucadia is finally organized, and clear of all the stuff, I’m taking to Greece for my Summer Eastern European Adventure. Before embarking on an extended trip, I get a tad anxious. One the one hand, I want to be sure I have everything I think I’ll need, especially those items that […]

The Overheating of Doc & The Hillside Select. Finding Corks & Forks in Athens. Goodbye Greece, for now.

I look around my apartment here in Athens. My helmet sits on a chair in the living room, my riding suit stained from over 5,000 miles of riding takes up the sofa, and I strew more laundry and loose items from the kitchen table to the side tables in the bedroom. I’ve made a mess. […]

Podcast #33: Musings In Macedonia With Mhasa Homayounfar

Musings In Macedonia With Digital Nomad & Not Just A Tourist Mahsa Homayounfar Chatting With Motorcycle Travelers Mahsa & Gerald Lakeside in Ohrid Sometimes the stars line up or there’s the perfect storm that brings people together. I’d been chatting with Mahsa via text and Skype for more than two months. Hoping we would connect […]

Goodbyes. Where Journeys Begin And End.
Do All Roads Lead To Athens?

The sun is up early today and basks my room in a glorious glow. So I roll over and cover my head with a pillow. It’s time. Not to get up; instead, it’s time to go home. In less than a week, I’ll be clutching my own pillow and soothing to the purring of a cat—my […]

Perchance to Rendezvous Fellow Riders Lakeside In Ohrid Macedonia

It takes some water, toasted bread, and a few nibbles to recover from the night before and my hangover. There are two routes to Lake Ohrid, each about a three-hour ride. I plug the shortest into my GPS and bid my cat and friends at Royal Winery Queen Maria goodbye. Because of construction and lack […]

Wine-Stained Memories At the Oldest Winery In Macedonia—Kitten Included

The last time I crossed the border and into Macedonia I came through Bulgaria. It was a grey, cold, and threatening rain. As with the Kosovo crossing, the Macedonia officers at that Bulgarian border station wouldn’t let me in without insurance. It was Sunday, and they suggested I wait a day or head south and […]