Journey into Travel

15/02/2026

Chiang Mai 49th Flower Festival.

02/12/2025

Our last couple nights were pure connection and relaxation. Eating, reading, sitting by the fire, naps by the window, staring at birds and stars, listening to music, whiskey by the fire, soaking in the private steamy onsen…. A 48 hour date. ❤️

This place wasn’t cheap but definitely worth it.

30/11/2025

We left city life for 2 nights in a Jozankei onsen ryokan for our anniversary and found snow!

This 22nd anniversary will likely be the only one where we dress up in matching outfits for dinner. Of course we closed down the place with post-dinner whiskey by the fire.

The table next to us had literally just got engaged and it was cute to talk to young love birds at the beginning of their journey. Pretty sure that if our “one night stand” produced a baby, it would be the age of those two.

Clearly the one night stand idea didn’t stand a chance. It’s been 26 years since we had our first hangout. Tailgating, NC State football game, drunk hot tub, Waffle House, and a chilly night cuddling on the 310 Furches couch where David made an impression of a cockroach to entertain me…. And clearly he made quite the impression.

Marriage is choosing togetherness not just every year, but every day and hour. Oh this has been quite the journey…

Happy Anniversary 😘

29/11/2025

Coffee, seafood, ice cream, beer, shopping, walking, repeat. A Le vacation.

We found some great places including an Irish pub with a proper Guinness (open until 6am), a specialty coffee shop, a bottle shop, and of course a Hokkaido ice cream shop. We repeated some places 3x! Ramen has been a bit disappointing but this town is really about seafood which is amazing. There is also amazing dairy here so the cute gyoza shop with cheese dumplings was a hit.

We had to have Sapporo at the Sapporo museum, but compared to the Guinness one in Dublin, it was a snooze. After the obligatory tasting we quickly returned to our other two favorite places for beer.

At the stroke of midnight as we looked out the pub window into the lit up square, we saw some snow flurries (it was 20 degrees F after all), which was a great way to start off our 22nd anniversary.

More on that later…..

27/11/2025

No snow on this 22nd Thanksversary, but at least it’s cold and sunny.

In true Le fashion, we are spending our time eating, drinking, walking and seeking out parks and good coffee here in Sapporo.

We ate a record-breaking 4 meals and 2 snacks today: breakfast seafood rice bowls, coffee, ice cream, curry ramen, ice cream again, beer, beer again, steak teppanyaki, whiskey, ramen.

We have one more full day here and then it’s off to anniversary onsen ryokan.

30/10/2025

While we can’t host at .city.bagels and definitely not at .porch.hoian or .an.pilates, we are always happy to share a bagel and coffee with friends at home.

While our house doesn’t have “a view,” that practical choice has meant that we are in a no flood zone and we’ve kept our power and water.

There are a lot of people still in crisis here in town, and the future is very up in the air, but our focus on creating community really shows its value in times like these.

Thank you to everyone who is donating, distributing, coordinating, rescuing, and those far and wide who are checking in.

28/10/2025

06/09/2025

I had a lovely but short city escape. Thank you, Mimi and Michele for hosting me and reminding me that I am a city girl at heart. ♥️

House dance class, street food, poolside time, quiet coffees, walks around town, shopping, dim sum, brunch, Pilates, delicious dinners, women’s whiskey club, and plenty of sharing.

It had been over a year since I’ve been here which was way too long. Oh yeah and thank you David for making me get out of town. 😂

See you again in November!

10/08/2025

We only get avocados every few years from our yard. It involves climbing the tree…. For the record, David watched from the pool and had to climb 0 trees to get 3 big avocados. 🥑 😂

30/06/2025

A week in Melbourne was great but I really missed this kitty. We call him a 🐨 because he is always stuck to his mommy and burries his face. This hat I found from at the in Fitzroy was amazing.

I miss having access to a vibrant arts scene and strolling through this place on a cold, sunny Saturday morning was just perfect. Cheers to the entrepreneurs and creatives finding your craft and bravely putting it out in the world.

And of course thank you for bringing joy to our Hoi An house with this cute Oz momento.

We will see you again soon Australia.

16/06/2025

There’s a new fancy French place in town and we picked it for this week’s date night. The amuse bouche was the best!

The Pistou soup is light yet hearty and perfect comfort food. Unfortunately/Fortunately we got the big mixed charcuterie cheese plate as an appetizer and it took us an hour to finish it. 😂

We found room for the mains and although we said non merci to the dessert, we found a little pocket for the cute little tarts delivered in a mini drawer. 🥰

For a special night out try .

11/06/2025

June 11, 2025.

7 years 4 monthsish into this adventure.

It is NOT rainy season. Despite that, there’s a tropical depression over Hoi An. So instead of sweating it out on the beach with a fresh coconut, tourists are hunkering down.

Dave got in (another) motorcycle accident about 10 days ago, so has been resting at home. He rented bikes with friends for an overnight to Hue, the imperial city and had a great time. One hour into a three hour return home he rounded a corner and tried to avoid hitting a dog, slid on sand and wrecked. He sprained his ankle and lost a lot of skin on his left side.

Since we’re in the tropics and he’s old, it got infected. He’s been depressed in the house by himself, missing parties and not working out. To some of us, a week at home alone with rain is a dream come true.

Besides that drama, our new cafe Front Porch is well received and we have a manager. Port City Bagels continues to grow, same with Hoi An Pilates,and we are trying to focus on maximizing, with an eye toward future opportunities.

Sai is about to turn 15, after 5 years with us, and continues to be attached like a koala to mom, and give side eye to dad. No other animals and we intend to keep it that way. We are still in the same house trying not to be annoyed by sh*tty hot water heaters. Meg is thinking of getting some new furniture while Dave wants her to stop spending.

We’re both looking forward to an upcoming trip to Melbourne, the New York of Australia. It will be our first time to the country and we’re excited about cool weather, great coffee and food, arts, and a change of scenery. Meg is excited about TJ Maxx TBH.

We’re clearly avoiding the USA for obvious reasons but might have to take a quick trip in the fall. Da Lat for Christmas with friends and family is the plan. It is the 50th anniversary of reunification in Vietnam so definitely something to observe.

We still warmly welcome visitors and can help advise Americans looking to relocate. This is a great place to live that is full of opportunities.
🇻🇳

Love to our family, friends and family.