Chris & Elise – Dispatches from the Confederation

As far as the eye can see

Enchantment Exchange

In lieu of a classical education

Pinin’ for the fjords

Porto & Madeira

Lapland (eventually)

As far as the eye can see

It gets harder to challenge yourself as you get older, but it becomes no less important. Our friends Abe and Emma recently moved to Mongolia and we new we had to visit them and see the vast steppe and Gobi desert.

Enchantment Exchange

Not so long ago, we visited Elise's cousin and were able to enjoy the beauty of New Mexico. This summer we were fortunate enough to welcome them to our home.

In lieu of a classical education

It is hard to believe that we had not yet visited Greece. Chris' old friend, Natalie, has been working on the island of Kea for years and we finally decided to make up for our lack of a classical education.

Pinin’ for the fjords

After years of traveling through Scandinavia, we finally made it to Norway enjoying breathtaking views of fjords, snow-capped mountains, waterfalls, and the dancing northern lights.

Porto & Madeira

We weren't expecting to return to Portugal, but with the right encouragement from some friends, we enjoyed new parts of the country, exploring Porto, the Douro river, and Madeira with Chris' cousins.

Gustavo

It had been a while since we had some time to truly relax so Elise planned a family roadtrip that we could enjoy with Gusti. We spent a week in Lombardy and remembered just how lovely Italy is and how much Italians love dogs.

Ice and Fire

I have wanted to travel to Iceland since I was a student. After so many years of anticipation, perhaps the biggest surprise was just how wonderful, beautiful, and still surprising it turned out to be.

Vella Redux

It has been an historically hot and dry summer across most of Europe. It was time for a break, and Elise planned a weekend getaway to the mountains the escape the heat.

Emerald Coast

Despite the weird times still being with us, I took advantage of break from COVID this summer and planned a trip to Sardinia with a classmate of mine.

Enchantment

After rescheduling our US trip twice due to COVID, whom we wanted to visit and what we wanted to do grew in scope. We needed to do something new and different so Elise planned an epic road trip taking us from Chicago through Indiana to St Louis and ultimately to New Mexico.

Lapland (eventually)

Our friend, Janiza, took us on an amazing trip to Lapland, well above the Arctic Circle where we enjoyed winter sports by day while relaxing around the fireplace and in the sauna in an idyllic villa on a snow-swept hillside by night.

As far as the eye can see

Chris 28 May 2025 9 June 2025 0

It gets harder to challenge yourself as you get older, but it becomes no less important. Our friends Abe and Emma recently moved to Mongolia and we new we had to visit them and see the vast steppe and Gobi desert.

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A Fully-Charmed Life

Chris 6 October 2024 26 February 2025 2

It is a rare and precious thing to fall head-over-heels in love in one‘s life. Looking back on our most recent and rather significant wedding anniversary, I am reminded again how truly fortunate I am.

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Como

Chris 12 September 2024 15 February 2025 0

It was a busy summer, and we were looking forward to some relaxing downtime. We returned to Lake Como and the B&B that had offered us so much respite in the past year. Gusti was very excited.

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1. August

Chris 8 August 2024 12 September 2024 0

We returned to Vella again this year to enjoy the mountains of Grisons and celebrate Switzerland’s national holiday.

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Enchantment Exchange

Chris 14 July 2024 13 September 2024 0

Not so long ago, we visited Elise’s cousin and were able to enjoy the beauty of New Mexico. This summer we were fortunate enough to welcome them to our home.

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Creux du Van

Chris 12 June 2024 13 September 2024 0

Creux du Van is one of Switzerland’s natural wonders. We took a day to finally discover it for ourselves.

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