In 2015 we spent two weeks in a small medieval village in one of our favorite parts of Tuscany. In the middle of that trip we experienced the most extensive, gloriously delicious, and embarrassingly difficult meals we have ever had. Or as Donatella called it, un po' di cena - "a little dinner".

People always ask us how we afford to travel as much as we do. We spend a LOT of time searching for flights, and we’ve figured out a few pretty good tricks. The field is always changing; airlines and booking agencies alter their practices, so we are constantly having to learn new techniques to hunt out those deals. Here are our best tips, as of October 2017. 

Ireland’s landscapes are legendary for a reason: Sweeping green valleys dotted with sheep and cows; blue-green ocean reduced to white spray on jagged coastal cliffs; and evocative ruins of castles, monasteries, round towers, and stone circles.Here we explore a few of these historic sites. Some are free; all are impressive; and each can be paired with an excellent meal at a nearby gastropub.