Entries by Jaime Byrd

How to find a good Airbnb by understanding reviews

How to find a great Airbnb listing by reading reviews Understanding how Reviews really work Finding a good Airbnb that’s right for you can sometimes feel daunting. Airbnb listings can range from luxury homes with great perks to crazy ass nightmares. I know, I’ve rented both. But when it comes to figuring out how to […]

Preparing for Le Puy route of the Camino de Santiago

Walking Le Puy route of the Camino de Santiago I’m finally going to take another long distant walking trip this fall. This time, I’m going to be walking Le Puy route of the Camino de Santiago in southern France. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time, but just haven’t been able […]

Day of the Dead in Patzcuaro Mexico

Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán Mexico Our first day of the dead was a special meaningful event for us. Adam’s father had died earlier that year and we decided that it would help us deal with his loss and offer some healing by taking part in these annual rituals.  […]

6 QUESTIONS (and TIPS) TO FIND OUT IF HOUSESITTING IS RIGHT FOR YOU

By Jaime Byrd Two years ago, we purged most of our belongings, rented our house and started to travel indefinitely. Since then, we’ve lived in dozens of luxurious homes in some of the world’s most desirable places. Two different large villas in Bali, a modern apartment in Vietnam, a beach house in Thailand, and several […]

Tay Ho, Hanoi Vietnam – A Slow Travelers First Impression

There is so much to look at in Hanoi. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve been suffering from jet lag after having traveled across 8 different time zones, but there is no doubt that I’ve had a certain amount of sensory overload that happened in less then 24 hours after arriving to Tay Ho, Hanoi, Vietnam. In a very broad sense, […]

Slow Travel

SLOW TRAVEL Imagine living for a few weeks or even months in an Italian village, buying fresh vegetables from the farmer’s market every week, sipping coffee on your terrace, and taking easy going day trips to neighboring villages and chateaus when you feel like it. That’s what slow travel is all about.  Where the emphasis is […]

Leaving our “Peaceful Mountain Retreat”

It felt like sixteen years of repairs and maintenance done in about 3 months. That’s what we had to do before getting our log home in the mountains of western North Carolina ready to become a vacation rental. It is now in such a wonderful state, that it was difficult to consider leaving for so […]