In December 2023 we visited the Angus Barn in Raleigh for the first time. They are well known for their over-the-top holiday decor, and we enjoyed our night, so we decided to return this year....
Blog posts from Food & Drink
Euro Fall 2024: a day in Frankfurt
Visiting Frankfurt itself was a bit of an afterthought on this trip, and once we started researching options it didn't endear us much. One such issue was figuring out the best transportation options...
Euro Fall 2024: wine tasting in Rheinhessen and Mosel Valley
Ahead of this trip, I had reached out to several wineries to inquire about tastings. While many were available to book online through the Wine Tourism site, we also had good luck booking directly...
Euro Fall 2024: Bernkastel-Kues
The Mosel valley is a popular destination in Germany and there are lots of places to stay both in towns and in the countryside, so making a decision on where to stay rather challenging....
Euro Fall 2024: Mainz
For our flight from Italy back to the US we had the option for a multi-day stopover in Germany. Not too far from Frankfurt is the bulk of Germany's wine region along the Rhine and Mosel rivers, so...
Euro Fall 2024: two nights in Rome
On Monday we took the train from Bari to Rome. The train trip itself was strange in that there was no space for larger bags, so we were forced to reshuffle our packing in order to jam our bags in...
Euro Fall 2024: a weekend in Matera
After a week in Valle d'Itria we checked out of our apartment and headed north to the very edge of Puglia and Basilicata, with Matera as our destination for two final nights in southern Italy....
Euro Fall 2024: Puglia coastal towns
Pulia is also known for its coastline, and on this trip we visited several of the sea-side towns. southern Italy map with coastal towns inset location Puglia coast towns we visited Towns we visited...
Euro Fall 2024: food in Locorotondo and wine “experiences”
Tuesday, Oct 1 Our first dinner in Locorotondo was also our best. Pavì wine restaurant is located just outside of the narrow old town, with a terrace overlooking the landscape. It was chilly though...
Euro Fall 2024: Lecce food & drink
Saturday, Sept 28 Dinner at Crianza - you definitely needed reservations here! Lots of people turned away. We sat outside and enjoyed watching the streams of people, and a considerable number of...
Euro Fall 2024: Bari food & drink
Monday, Sept 23 Our first dinner was at Ruffiano, where we had made reservations - they were busy on a Monday night, and we were seated at an outdoor table. Little did Leandra know that the...
Euro Fall 2024: taralli cooking class
I was so excited when I first spotted this airbnb experience as most of the other cooking classes I found in Puglia were on the pricey side and almost always included pasta making, which I already...
Long Island Summer 2024: wineries + breweries
Lenz Winery We've been members for years, and we love visiting in the summer in the shaded courtyard. Service was great as always across our four visits! On our first visit with our friend Leah, we...
Long Island Summer 2024: food + restaurants
As usual, we tried out some new-to-us spots while returning to old favorites for things like pizza and bagels. Watershed Kitchen + Bar We ate outside on the back patio as it was a pleasant...
Long Island Summer 2024: overnight in Lancaster, PA
As we've done in previous years, we split our drive to NY with a night in Pennsylvania. The drive up was fine, with typical traffic near DC. Left at 8:45am and pulled into our friend’s driveway just...
Europe Spring 2024: Valencia wine bars (+ one brew pub)
La Patrona We had an hour to kill before our apartment was available and this was one of the only Russafa wine bars open in the later afternoon. It was warm in the sun so we grabbed a table outside...
Europe Spring 2024: Valencian paella
We visited 3 paella-specific restaurants while in Valencia. It's traditionally a leisurely lunch meal with family and friends on weekends but we did have it for dinner once. Important to note that...
Europe Spring 2024: Valencia restaurants
As one can imagine, we visited a lot of restaurants in the month+ we stayed in Valencia, even if we did eat at home most nights. There were many options right outside our door in Rusafa, and we did...
Our Itinerary
2024 Trips
San Diego, CA (Jan)
Sarasota, FL (Feb)
Madrid, Spain (Mar)
Valencia, Spain (Mar+Apr)
Palma, Mallorca (Apr)
Croatia (May)
Long Island, NY (July)
Faroe Islands (Aug)
London, UK (Sept)
Puglia, Italy (Sept)
Matera, Italy (Oct)
Rome, Italy (Oct)
Mosel Valley, Germany (Oct)
Frankfurt, Germany (Oct)
London, UK (Dec)
Manchester, UK (Dec)
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Oak Island, NC (Sept)
Brooklyn, NY (Sept)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)