BAN HOUAYXAY, LAOS

As usually happens when I return from a trip, I find myself itching to go somewhere new, fast. I'd been contemplating a little border run to Laos, so Emily told me to keep her in the loop on it. Before long, I was booking our room at a guesthouse and looking up bus timetables to the border.

We bought tickets the morning of our departure (risky) and left for Chiang Khong, the Thai-side border town, in the early afternoon. We traveled via Greenbus, and arrived at the town bus station at 8pm. We took a songtaew/tuk-tuk hybrid to Baan Fai Guesthouse, the place I'd booked a few days before. Turns out, there wasn't room, but the owner had a room for us at a neighboring hotel. Less than ideal, but we got free breakfast out of the mix up. Part of me wants to travel to Chiang Khong again just to stay at Baan Fai, the buildings and rooms look idyllic, the place doubles as a textiles shop, and the breakfast wasn't bad.

At immigration we had some fun documenting Emily's first out-of-country trip since arriving in Thailand, mounted a bus that drove us across the river-border, and planted our feet down in Laos. The entry process took a little longer than 45 minutes, and soon we were marching up to a songtaew driver to drive us into Houayxay.

We immediately noticed the spread out feel of the land. It seemed much less cramped than Thailand, and the colors seemed more muted and a little dustier. Every now and then we would find a sunshiny yellow wall or a bright blue building, but for the most part, the overcast sky complemented the colors of the town. We paid our songtaew driver in Lao kip, but he would have taken baht too.

It was a sight to be able to look back across the river and know that the other banks were the edge of another country. We loved being by the water, the breeze picked up pretty quickly, though, sending us back up the road to a gaggle of Golden Retrievers, only the best welcoming committee possible.

Lunch by the river at an adorable little unassuming place included selfies with girls who never see westerners, fried rice and mixed veggies. We also ordered the Lao version of khao soi, this time rather than a spicy curry soup we got a soup made with rice noodles, chopped pork, tomatoes and fermented soy beans. It was amazing, but a little more bland than the type we were used to.

I grabbed a cheapo cardigan on our way to Wat Chom Khao Manilat since the weather was so cold and windy. The snake-lined steps up to the temple barred homes on either side from the traffic of wat-goers, but offered easy perches for dogs to sit and watch said wat-goers.

With only a couple hours left until our bus left for Chiang Mai, we hurried back across the border. This time around we hopped on a "chicken bus," or one of the Thai buses with no AC (It was freezing, so all we needed was an open window, anyway) and a lot of rattling. We landed in Chiang Rai that night before finding out the bus home was full. Thankfully some college students had two extra tickets to sell us. Would ya look at that! Here's to traveling like the Thais do.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

We barely had two days in Budapest. I can say with full confidence that though we did have a blast and fall in love with this place, our time here was not nearly enough to fully experience Budapest. Maybe it was the cold that kept us ducking into shops and speedily taking pictures before finding a warm spot, but our lovely time here only makes me want to visit again in the spring.

When we arrived (on a flight headed to Minsk with 17 of our closest friends), we navigated the billion forms of transportation like pros, found a little wi-fi to let folks know we were alive, and walked to a nearby restaurant to try something to warm us up. We got skewers with turkey and roasted veggies, and some traditional Hungarian food: bean soup and garlic soup, both of which blew our minds.

After dragging our suitcases through the snow to our Airbnb, we settled in and eventually headed to the Szechenyi Thermal Baths. I'd never experienced anything like this before. Hundreds of people, locals and tourists alike, running between buildings in the snow in their bathing suits to pool after pool. The most comfortable were inside, ranging between 25 and 40 degrees Celcius. The outdoor pools were the most breathtaking, the steam from the water rising up off the surface and filling the air like something out of a movie.

Exhausted but very relaxed, we finished our first day. The next morning we headed out early, and we ended up conquering more of the city than we expected, starting with the Pest side and making it to the Buda side by lunchtime.

Pattie and I ended up having dessert for breakfast, but in a place like Book Café, who cares? The old department store has a beautiful parlor-ballroom on the top floor that is used as a coffee shop, while the two floors beneath it house thousands of books, mostly in Hungarian. Pattie was in heaven.

Before continuing our marathon of sweets, we stopped to see St. Stephen's Basilica, a Roman Catholic basilica named for the first King of Hungary. The intricacies involved in the construction and decoration of this building is impressive beyond description.

Right outside the basilica is a little shop called Gelarto Rosa. It won't surprise you, then, that they serve their gelato in the shape of a rose. The shop was adorable, well lit and full of cute details and trinkets, the staff all young and extremely charming. It may have been below freezing outside, but when in Budapest, I guess.

After a chai latté at Starbucks (hey, they don't have them in Asia) we passed by Cake Shop, a cute little bakery where we watched the expert bakers prepare sweets while we picked out which macaroons we liked best. I got poppyseed, and it was to die for. The shop also had an array of cute cards and paper goods for sale. Only adding the icing to the... Okay. I'll stop.

We crossed the Danube over the Chain Bridge before lunch, heading up the funicular to Buda and spending a little time shopping in the little souvenir stores before we got hungry. The Buda side of the city is so starkly different from the Pest side. It feels more like a cute village, or a small downtown. Preserved for historical value. On this side you'll find the castle, Matthias Church and the Fisherman's Bastion, all of which add to the perfect beauty of Buda.

For lunch we had looked up Pest-Buda Bistro, a favorite for years in this part of town. It definitely didn't disappoint. It's not too big, but it was full when we arrived, and for good reason. We ordered a few things to share including a special pumpkin soup, chicken paprikash, and these divine parsley potatoes, a food I would never have expected to describe as divine, but it's true.

En route to Ruszwurm Confectionary, an amazing dessert spot, we passed Matthias Church, lit up to show all the great detail in the architecture. I was impressed by the mosaic rooftops, which is something I'd never seen before Eastern Europe.

Pattie and I ordered tea and tiramisu from Ruszwurm, the cozy atmosphere of the bakery-café and the quick drop of the sun making us think it was way later than it actually was. We got back to the Fisherman's Bastion just before it was swarming with adventurous Hungarian students, the snow around the white stone creating a picture I'll never forget. The Parliament building across the river was shrouded in mist and looked eerie from our outlook, but I couldn't enjoy it too much after I slipped on the deceivingly icy floor of the balcony I was looking from.

We bussed our way back to our part of town, grabbing a delicious (and very western) dinner at Selfie, a grill by our little flat. We traveled a couple of bus stops away to get kürtóskalács, a very European snack that looks a little like a giant cuff made from dough and covered with cinnamon sugar. It was huge, and unbelievably delightful. We heard Molnar's was the best in town.

Our sad departure from Budapest came rather early the next morning. By the recommendation of our Airbnb host, we tried Fekete, an adorable coffee restaurant about two blocks from us. The coffee was delicious, the space was cute, and the croissants flakey. Done.

Thanks, Budapest, you were amazing. It's obvious your people love you, why else would every single wi-fi password be "budapest?" Can't wait to visit you again in some warmer weather.

BELGRADE, SERBIA

I didn't really have high expectations for Serbia. I'd never really given Belgrade a thought, much less the whole country. Boy, was I surprised. The capital city is definitely urban, full of neutrals, connected by trams, looked over by the fortress and the Church of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world. It was a joy to be with the beautiful people who showed us the city. We had a few nights to simply be in their home, with incredible meals and laughing til our sides hurt. I'll go back just for that.

The Belgrade fortress and Kalemegdan park are a couple of the main tourist attractions in Belgrade. Even so, they weren't crowded on the icy day we visited. It was fun to wander the fortress grounds, see the views across the river and geek out at the perfect snowflakes that started falling midday. I can't even tell you how long it had been since I'd seen snow.

Mandy told us about a place that she'd been for some great Italian food in the city, so we headed to Guli for lunch. Coming from a place where good Italian is hard to find, this was a huge treat. The pastas were amazing, and the cheese! Also here's a picture of Bitter Lemon because we're keeping up with that trend.

Nycole had mentioned Aviator to us a few times, and we were excited to try it out. It was windy and icy still since the sun was going down, so the warm feel inside the café was extremely welcome. We sat at the communal table and took up our menus, quickly realizing that this wasn't just some coffee joint, but a sort of coffee lab.

We watched the process as Nycole ordered a syphon, Jordan got a chemex, and the rest of us got some boring lattés and tea. Everything was amazing.

The next day we woke up to what felt like three feet of snow. Hence, we spent the day playing, lazing and watching movies. Steven made us gyros for lunch (so delicious!) and we all got our fill of goofing off outside. I only lasted ten minutes, but I would still say that was my fill.

Cheese alert: Belgrade filled my little quality time tank. It reminded me that every city is someone's dear home, you just have to find the right people to open your eyes to the beauty of a place, and Belgrade is beautiful.