At this point in the trip we were longing to experience some nature so when the sun came out on Wednesday we looked at public transit to Minoh (Minoo) Falls. Apparently, there was a delay on one of...
Blog posts from whisky
Japan: Kyoto, Day 3 – Fushimi Inari Taisha, Higashiyama, Yakitori, Hot Springs
Even though our feet were pretty worn out at this point of the trip we couldn't skip the 3.5 km hike through thousands of painted orange gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha. Many people suggest going...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 2 – Daigoji Temple, Konchi-in Temple, Tonkatsu, Bar Cordon Noir
A visitor is spoiled for choice in Kyoto when it comes to temples, so after eliminating a few options that seemed expensive or were partially under construction, we landed on Daigoji. It's located...
Japan: Kyoto, Day 1 – Imperial Palace, Higashiyama Jisho-ji, SferaBar Satonaka
After our short trip from Hamamatsu we arrived at the Kyoto station, where we sought out the two-day travel passes. With those in hand we took the subway up two stops to shave off some walking time...
Japan: long layover in NYC
Our flight up to New York on Jet Blue was smooth and left on time. After landing, we were slightly delayed getting off the plane due to jet bridge issues but thankfully we were in no hurry. Uber and...
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside whisky bars
Besides the Spirit of Speyside festival events we also visited several of the famous whiskey bars in the area. The Quaich, Craigellachie Hotel, Craigellachie Located just up the road from our...
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside independent bottlers
During the Spirit of Speyside festival we attend three events that featured independent bottlers, groups that buy casks through brokers (usually) and then decide when and how to bottle the insides....
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside Craigellachie Bridge tasting
Just like in 2017, Craigellachie hosted a fun tasting on the beach next to the Craigellachie Bridge during the festival. In fact, in 2018 they held an event on both Saturday and Sunday! On both days...
Scotland 2018: Spirit of Speyside distillery tours
Tomintoul Our first distillery tour of this trip. Through the festival, we scored four of the ten tickets available. Unfortunately for us, four extra people were added to our tour group that also...
Scotland 2018: Fort William food & drink
Eric and I did not spend much time exploring Ft William itself, mostly using it as a jumping off point for Glen Coe but we did have some memorable eating and drinking experiences in town. Tuesday...
Scotland 2018: Isle of Skye – Fairy Glen, Mealt + Lealt Falls, Quairaig
Our luck with good weather held out for our full day on Skye, starting with some great light in the morning. We decided to work our way along the Trotternish peninsula clockwise, making our first...
Scotland 2018: Isle of Skye – Eilean Donan Castle, Fairy Pools, Portree
On our way to the Isle of Skye, we stopped off at Invermoriston Falls (a falls we photographed a year ago) to take advantage of some blue skies. Then it was time to head west toward Loch Cluanie and...
Scotland 2017: Spirit of Speyside day 2
For our last day in Scotland we mixed several Spirit of Speyside events along with some drives and hikes through the beautiful countryside. I started off the morning with a photo session of the...
Scotland 2017: Spirit of Speyside day 1
The Spirit of Speyside event registration opened right after our return from Malaysia. A few days before that we went through the events available for Saturday and Sunday and made a prioritized...
Scotland 2017: Loch Ness
Upon landing and waiting for the rental car, the weather changed multiple times... sunny, pouring rain, cloudy, back to sun, etc. So, welcome to Scotland! We were waiting behind a couple who were...
Leandra’s 40th: food & drink
Thursday First day in the city, we checked into the hotel then walked a few blocks to a cider place nearby - Cider Riot!. Eric had a nice collaboration triple with cascade while I had the dry hopped...
Netherlands 2015: Amsterdam food & drink
Saturday After a lovely overnight in Den Bosch, we headed back to Amsterdam, checked into our hotel and met up with friends for a walk through Vondelpark and beers. Craft & Draft - For the first...
UK 2015: Edinburgh
Tuesday We dropped off the car after a long day of driving and walked back toward the airport's tram station. For 5£ each we were in the heart of Edinburgh in about 20 minutes. Thankfully the key...
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)