Hello Reader,

🧭 Where in the World?

We rejoined the world of travel last week, and we weren’t alone. Airports are busy and rental cars are scarce, so plan ahead and allow extra time door to door. The reward was a wonderful time in Western Washington visiting family, digging up clams, walking in the woods, and jumping into the refreshing cold swimming hole in the Whatcom Falls Park in Bellingham. Glad to see so many others out enjoying nature, our country’s best medicine.

🛫 Get Going: Travel With Us!

Expand your travels to France. We’re joining Elective Study Abroad to study Art & Art de Vivre in Montpellier, France, September 28 – October 5, 2025. This is a perfect way to focus on a lesser-known destination and learn about the French concept of art de vivre—a philosophy of daily life that prizes beauty, intentionality, and pleasure in all its forms, from design and food to conversation and ritual.

The chateau and the nearby Musee Fabre, as well as the village of Montpellier will be our classroom. Enjoy self-directed time, expert faculty, and field seminars to create a memorable travel experience.

On your own, you might jump from this immersive experience to travel in Provence or Paris…with more understanding of French history and culture.

Is this up your alley? Look for more information and reserve your spot TODAY. SAVE $300 per person when you book by July 31 and use promotion code TP50!

Our tour to Sligo, Ireland October 17-24 still has a single spot open. (Here's the direct booking link.) This is a unique tour in that we'll be based in one spot, a classical manor house, and will take day trips all around the historically and culturally significant county Sligo without having to worry about packing and moving every couple of days. We've spent a good deal of time in Sligo, and it's our favorite part of Ireland, not the least part because it's steeped in the poetry of Ireland – particularly that of William Butler Yeats. (We'll have one evening with noted Yeats scholar Damien Brennan as part of the program.) This is a unique sort of tour. Don't miss your chance. And get $300 off by using the code TP50 at checkout!

🧳 Our Latest Posts

It’s summertime, and we’ve just been asked about our favorite summer drinks. Not surprising, they come from Spain. For casual events, we love to serve Tinto de Verano (Red wine of Summer.) We make it simply with ice, red table wine, a tart lemon soda like San Pellegrino Limonata topped with a splash of soda water. Here, the New York Times offers their somewhat more elaborate recipe for Tinto de Verano..

And from Jerez, Spain, come a variety of crisp cold sherry wines. Read about the city of Jerez and sherry wines here.

🗞️ Travel News From Around the Web

• We're always looking for the "road less traveled" and so we gravitate to articles like this one on Alternatives to Over Touristed Destinations. Of the five they mention, we've been to Quebec City and Paros, Greece. Loved them both.
• Speaking of the roads less traveled – at least recently – have you thought about the Silk Road highlights of Bukara and Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Tom has visited both, and Uzbekistan is upping its promotion of tourism, so it might be time to go.
• Delta Airlines is beginning to use AI to set airfares. In other words, they'll soon be able to predict the maximum you're willing to pay, and charge you that. The wonders of technology, huh?

💸 This Week's Best Deals in Travel

• The device charger that we actually use at home is on sale for 34 percent off at Amazon. This 100 watt charger is so much faster than the one that comes with your phone or laptop, and when you're in a rush, you can't beat it. Be sure to get the matching 100W cables or you won't get the full benefit of the speed. (They're also on sale.)
• And, if you're an Apple fan and your sound profile needs and upgrade, the Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds are on sale for 20 percent off.

📖 What We're Reading

Tom has been thoroughly enjoying Horse, by Geraldine Brooks, a surprisingly engaging tale encompassing generations of American history, told through the eyes of an enslaved horse trainer, and the art historian who discovers a painting of his prize race horse 170 years later.

Kris is reading, and loving, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk. The mysterious story takes place in a remote Polish village.

For our previous book recommendations, check out this list.

❝Travel Quote of the Week❞

I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them. – Mark Twain

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Happy travels,

Kris and Tom

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​ Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning ​Travel Past 50​ ​ Connect with us: Facebook, Threads, Instagram, ​ Join our Facebook community.

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