Adventures with Sarah

04/06/2026

Did you know there are more than 170,000 concrete bunkers in Albania? During Soviet times, the Albanian leader Enver Hoxha sided with China and was politically isolated. Worried about being invaded, he built a massive network of military bunkers that still exist today. Andrew reports from our Albania tour.

02/06/2026

It's Tuesday everybody! Here's some travel news for you.

Look out for these scams and scammers. Take your time when booking things; it can be easier to fall into traps when you're feeling rushed.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/summer-travel-booking-scams-mcafee-data-11979287

Wow this is fascinating!
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/26/travel/europe-rail-base-tunnels-alps

More EES tips
https://www.scrippsnews.com/life/travel/travel-tips-for-making-the-most-of-europes-new-entry-exit-system-this-summer

Dubai is trying to get back to normal.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/01/travel/dubai-tourism-iran-attacks-hotels-deals

It doesn't hurt to ask.
https://www.travelandleisure.com/hotel-perks-guests-should-request-11988509

Security experts are sounding the alarm to stay alert for scams.

01/06/2026

31/05/2026

Hey! You! Stop! You don't need that.

New Substack posted today following up on last week's analysis of how overpacking is really about anxiety.

If you've seen my packing talk live, you know I always go here. Stop browsing those fun travel catalogs. You don't need more stuff.

Stop buying STUFF. It's Travel Anxiety Weighing You Down

28/05/2026

Does a week in Paris, organized to give you a deep dive into food and wine sound fun? Well…I have an idea.

We are currently organizing a new Paris staycation for April 2027, which would be adjacent to our Savoring France tour so you could do both. Here’s what we are thinking:

🥐 A French pastry class to make your own breakfast
🥂 A day trip to the Champagne region to taste some bubbly
🥕 A market tour and cooking dinner with a local chef
🐌 A walking tour of a charming neighborhood that stops for nibbles
🥙A morning in an immigrant community to learn about how colonization and immigration have shaped French cuisine
🗡️ Learning how to open a bottle of wine with a saber
🎶 A dinner accompanied by live opera

This tour would be led by me and have a maximum of 14 guests. We already have a waiting list of interested parties, if you’d like to come along, please email [email protected] to express interest. Once we have critical mass and pricing, we will let the interest list know first.

26/05/2026

Andrew is off on our Albania tour and has a quick report from the sunny city of Berat.
Albania is one of the hidden jewels of Europe, with a rugged and beautiful Mediterranean coastline and traditional culture that has not been on the tourism radar. We love offering tours to places you didn’t know you wanted to go, so add this one to your list ✅

24/05/2026

✨ ICYMI ✨
I have a theory on why it’s so easy to overpack. I do it too, but realizing why I do it helps break the pattern. Is this you too?

A free, hopefully helpful, essay on Substack for your weekend reading.

An Anatomy of Travel Anxiety

24/05/2026

I KNEW IT!
Mystery solved!
If you’ve ever traveled in Rome, you have seen the “Hot Priest” calendars. They are hard to miss. I’ve been asked for years if they were real. I’ve always said I doubt it, especially because the cover hottie has been the same for YEARS. Turns out, it was 23 years to be exact. And no, he’s not a priest. He’s a flight attendant.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1GedRzHzEj/?mibextid=wwXIfr

A calendar featuring close-ups of young, handsome men in priestly attire has been a perennial Rome souvenir for the last two decades – but few, it seems, are actually men of the cloth. https://cnn.it/3PJk9x4

21/05/2026

Well, it’s just not my morning. I worked all day on this article and Substack posted the rough draft. Apologies. The edited one was funnier, but I tried to reconstruct a little of it. Please click through rather than read the one in your email.

Anyhoooooooo…
I have a hypothesis of why people overpack. I’ve seen it for years. Am I talking about you? Find out in my latest post:

https://open.substack.com/pub/adventureswithsarah/p/the-real-reason-you-pack-too-much?r=2hl4hh&utm_medium=ios

19/05/2026

✨Christmas may not be on your radar yet, but our Christmas tour departures are filling up!✨

German Christmas “Trust Me” has just one spot left, but don’t worry, we still have space on our other tours 🌲

Lucca will be heading up our Paris and Strasbourg Christmas Staycation, which I truly think is one of our best tours. It’s been fine tuned to be a beautiful Christmas symphony:

https://adventureswithsarah.net/tours/paris-and-strasbourg-christmas-2026/

Nina, a favorite guide on our staff, shows off her hometown of Copenhagen at Christmas:

https://adventureswithsarah.net/tours/copenhagen-christmas-2026/

Andrew will be guiding Vienna and Salzburg with a guest appearance from me:

https://adventureswithsarah.net/tours/vienna-salzburg-christmas-2026/

And last but not least, Gabor and Andrew lead our new Prague and Budapest tour which will take you to two of the best markets in Europe:

https://adventureswithsarah.net/tours/prague-budapest-christmas-2026/

Join us for Christmas fun and adventure, book your spots now before they gone! 🧑‍🎄