During a road trip a few years ago, Laurence and I decided to make a detour to visit the covered bridges of Madison County Iowa. Madison County is located about 30 miles from Des Moines and is called the “Covered Bridge Capital of Iowa” for having the largest group of covered bridges in one area west of the Mississippi River. The bridges are historically significant and were all added to the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970’s. However, their popularity as a tourist attraction came in the 1990’s after the publication of the bestselling book The Bridges of Madison County by Iowa-born author Robert James Waller. The novel tells the fictional story of an Italian-American housewife Francesca who has a brief but life altering affair in 1965 with a National Geographic travel photographer who comes to take photos of the local covered bridges. The covered bridges reached even greater… Read the rest
Archives for August 2018
3 Days in London: A Tested Day-by-Day Itinerary with Map & Savings
Three days in London is enough to visit the major landmarks, explore two or three distinct neighbourhoods, and still leave time for a pub lunch in a park. We have visited London dozens of times over the past decade, and Laurence used to live there. This 3 day London itinerary reflects what we would actually recommend to a friend visiting for the first time. Over three days, this itinerary covers Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Borough Market, the South Bank, and Windsor Castle, along with several free museums, scenic walks, and one of the best viewpoints in the city. Total cost for paid attractions on this itinerary runs roughly £150 to £200 per person depending on what you choose to visit, though you can cut that significantly with a London Pass (we show the exact savings breakdown at the end of this… Read the rest
Best Compact Cameras 2026: Top Picks for Every Budget
I have been a working travel photographer for 15 years, and Jess and I have built our two blogs around the cameras we actually carry on the road. The compact camera is the one I get asked about more than any other, and the answer has shifted a lot recently. For a few years, I was telling most people to use their smartphone. In 2026, that has changed. Manufacturers are making new models again, younger photographers are choosing dedicated cameras over phones, and for the first time in years there are good options at several price points. This guide is built from the cameras we have personally used or extensively tested across actual trips, not from spec sheets and press releases. If a recommendation here is on the list, it has either been in our bag or has been picked up, handled, and benchmarked against cameras we own. Where we… Read the rest