Welcome.
Thank you for visiting my site — I’m Tricia Mitchell.
Nearly two decades ago, my life came full-circle when I returned to my European birthplace to work as a training manager and director of an educational program. My ensuing travels both nourished and stimulated my sense of curiosity.
When my husband, Shawn, and I met a few years later, we embarked on a sabbatical. During the journey, I became more minimalist in the way I approached possessions. I also developed an appreciation for slow travel. Eventually, Shawn and I started creating content and freelance writing.
I’m fortunate to have traveled to over 65 countries and to have met many incredible people throughout the world. Some of my highlights have included sharing meals with locals in Armenia, Tunisia, and Cambodia; sipping sparkling wine with French cousins in Alsace; milking goats in a sleepy Bulgarian village; and training with a Japanese mine-clearance team in Laos.
My goal in sharing my tales here is to inform and inspire. Whether you’re planning a trip, or looking for an armchair adventure over a cup of coffee, I hope you’ll enjoy my stories.
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Spilimbergo: Italy’s Enchanting “City of Mosaics”
Spilimbergo, a charming medieval town nestled in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy, offers a lovely blend of art, history, and natural beauty. With its well-preserved historic center, world-famous mosaic school, and picturesque surroundings, Spilimbergo makes for a delightful day trip when you’re visiting Venice or the Friuli Venezia Guilia region. What are the…
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Photo du Jour: Cat on a Cool Slate Roof in Amboise, France
A ginger and white-colored cat peeks out the window of a top-floor apartment in the Loire Valley town of Amboise. In the background, the spire of the Saint Hubert Chapel (Chapelle-Saint-Hubert) punctures the sky. The chapel is located on the grounds of the Château Royal d’Amboise. It’s believed that Leonardo da Vinci’s remains are buried…
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Spring Blooms & Strudel: A Day Trip to Innsbruck, Austria
The mountains were snow-capped, yet flowers were emerging when Shawn and I made an early-spring day trip to Innsbruck, Austria. Shawn and I had been cooped up for much of the winter, so once we got to Innsbruck, we opted to stay outside as much as possible to soak up the sunshine. We strolled Innsbruck’s…
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Castle Strolls & Hot-Air Balloon Flyovers in Saumur, France
Earlier this autumn, a trio of hot-air balloons escorted us home. It was the golden hour, and Shawn and I’d first spotted the balloons drifting over France’s Loire River, near the city of Saumur. A few moments later, the balloons (they’re known as “Montgolfières” in French) crossed the so-called “wild” Loire River. Then, they flew…
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France’s Breathtaking Pont du Gard
The autumn sun illuminated the rocky landscape as two kayakers plied the waters of the Gard River in Southern France. Crimson and yellow trees danced on the gentle breeze, alongside a tree bearing one over-ripe pomegranate. The pair of kayakers continued their journey down the calm river and eventually glided underneath an arch of France’s…
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Autumn in the Ammergau Alps Nature Park, Near Oberammergau, Germany
The autumn leaves near Oberammergau, Germany have reached their peak, so the surrounding hillsides are dressed in shades of copper, saffron, and a bit of green. One of my favorite places to ride my bike is to the nearby Ettaler Weidmoos, a tranquil nature preserve that’s part of the Ammergau Alps Nature Park (Naturpark Ammergauer…
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Creating Handmade, Italian Marbled Paper in Florence, Italy
The art of paper marbling is mesmerizing. An artisan applies droplets of paint to a small pool of water. The colors appear to gracefully dance upon the surface of the water, but these individual splotches of paint respect the neighboring colors’ boundaries. As the artisan adds more and more colors, this dance continues. Finally, when…
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Komiža, Vis: Savoring the Off-Season Charms of One of Croatia’s Most Remote Islands
The enchanting Croatian island of Vis has had many identities over the last few thousand years. For a time, it was an ancient Greek colony known as Issa. Then, from the 1950s until the 1980s, Vis was a secret Yugoslavian naval base that was off-limits to foreigners. From there, tourists — and filmmakers — started…
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The Art of Florentine Marquetry: Watching Italian Mosaicists “Painting with Stones”
The arts have long flourished in Florence — the so-called “cradle of the Renaissance.” Hundreds of years ago, there were tens of thousands of artisans in the city, each dedicated to everything from leather goods and hand-decorated paper to jewelry making. Over time, the number of workshops has declined. Nevertheless, Florence still has a sizable…
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Golden Moments in Burgundy, France
It is no wonder why one of the counties in France’s Burgundy region is known as the Côte d’Or. During our July sojourn in France’s ‘Golden Hills,’ the fields were ablaze with vibrant tournesols (sunflowers), freshly-groomed wheat, and vineyards — where still-maturing grapes glistened with dew. In the villages of Burgundy, sand-colored stone homes were accented with shutters painted…
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Lessons From Erna: Remembering a Talented Musician, Teacher, and Friend
In a black and white image, bordered by a simple silver frame on my piano, she is seated behind the wheel of a classic roadster. Coyly sporting a riding cap, cream-colored driving gloves, and her trademark smile is a woman who not only taught me about arpeggios, flats, and sharps, but also about life, its…
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Homeward Bound: A Homeless Ukrainian Kitten’s Incredible Journey
As the golden leaves of autumn danced from the branches above, a man walked past us, a black kitten in his hands. Since there was an open-air pet market selling puppies in vintage playpens and kittens in birdcages just around the corner, we thought the man had just purchased a kitten. I had cheery visions…
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An Apple for an Apple: An International Tale of Citizen Diplomacy
As the midnight train bound for St. Petersburg rumbled through the pitch-black Moldovan countryside, I tried valiantly to remain asleep, but my attempts were futile. The cabin was cozier than expected. We had plenty of room to stretch out and we were given care packages filled with comfortable bedding. However, the atmosphere was sweltering hot and unfamiliar. Romanian-Moldovan and Russian filled the air,…
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Gentle Giant: The Touching Tale of a Dog’s Eternal Devotion
If you were to stroll the atmospheric Chippiannock Cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois, you’d likely happen upon the weathered headstones of siblings Eddie and Josie Dimick, which are guarded by a life-sized statue of a dog. The children died on the same day in 1878, and their family’s descendants left Rock Island long ago. Still, strangers…
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Laos: Legacies of War Amid a Promising Future
Riding through the countryside of Laos’ remote Xieng Khouang province, we spied verdant rolling hills, villagers of all ages escorting livestock on the dusty roadside, and giant craters disfiguring the landscape. For an instant, these cavities in the red earth evoked images of sand traps on golf courses. However, with Laos’ unfortunate distinction of being the world’s most bombed country per capita, not…
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