Open Baladin. We decided to try all the smoked beers! Eric got 'Jenny the Smoker' scotch ale and I had the Open Garden Smoked Ale. We decided to split the stronger Imperial Ghisa, a smoked stout...
Blog posts from wine
Dublin: food + drink
Toner's — Located about a ten minute walk from our hotel, this pub was listed as the best place to try Guinness in Dublin so, of course, we had to check it out. On Friday night it was absolutely jam...
London: food + drink in Berkshire Co.
Bracknell The Yorkshire Rose — We weren't terribly hungry after a substantial Sunday roast lunch, so we were drawn by the options of small plates. Not too busy on a Sunday night with just two other...
London: Imperial War Museum, a Polish Kitchen + the death of my phone
Our flight landed early at Heathrow and because we have done this trip over a dozen times it took us no time at all to get to our hotel in Earl's Court. As it was Saturday morning there were...
Shanghai: M50 & Jing’na Sculpture Park
Today was to be the day for travel to the nearby ancient town Suzhou... but alas, we were thwarted! Though there are a reported 60 train trips available between the two cities, we couldn't get a...
Pacific NW 2017: Willamette Valley, day 1
Our flight into Seattle landed at 10pm, so fortunately our friends Dave and Jake who offered to host us for the night live just a few minutes from the airport. Of course we stayed up talking and...
Paris 2017: food & drink
Thursday Lunch @ Le Petit Marche - Having just landed and dropped off our bags we needed lunch, quickly! Even at 1:30p this restaurant was packed, but they managed to squeeze us into a small table....
Italy 2017: daytrip to Chianti
There are many, many options to explore the Chianti region via daytrips from Florence. We immediately ruled out any that involved being on a bus with 50+ other people, so that left small van tours...
Italy 2017: Bologna
Wednesday After checking into our hotel we headed out to explore the town. But first, we needed some lunch, so we stopped into a small deli, Borgo979. They had a number of tigella, 4" round...
Winter Weekend in London: Sunday
For our last day in London we planned an itinerary that took us to four separate neighborhoods. First, we walked along Bayswater Road for the weekly Sunday Art Exhibition. Unfortunately, not many...
Marlborough: mussels and Cable Bay
After checking out of the hotel at 10am and packing up the car, we walked into town to do a little shopping at the local souvenir shop. On our way out of town we stopped at one last winery before...
Marlborough: wine tasting, day 2
The weather today was quite random - sunny and calm one minute, windy and raining the next. A good day for indoor wine tasting! Lawson's Dry Hills - Our first stop of the day, we just beat a large...
Marlborough: Picton and Queen Charlotte Drive
Awoke to a morning shower, so we were in no hurry and waited out the rain. Eventually, we headed north out of town to Picton and after scaling the viewpoint near Bob's Bay we drove north along the...
Marlborough: wine tasting, day 1
We woke up in a Nelson to a rainy morning but we had scheduled wine tasting for this day so no big deal. First we finished packing, then called all family members to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving....
Nelson: wine tasting on Thanksgiving Day
After sleeping in a bit we headed out on foot to pick up snacks at the grocery store and explore Nelson. Eric went into the city center to check out some gardens and I picked up a tea towel with...
Wellington: day trip to Martinborough
After a great night's sleep and feeling a mild aftershock while laying in bed, Eric got up to work out and I caught up on computer stuff. For breakfast we walked over to Sweet Mother's Kitchen where...
Central Otago wineries
Our first stop in central Otago was Chard Farm, a charming tasting room on a hill above the highway. Just across the road is a old suspension bridge with bungee jumpers over the Kawarau Gorge....
Spain 2014: Granada food and drink
Wednesday After a bit of exploring on our first day, we headed to Bodega La Bella y La Bestia as we read they had good, ample tapas. Eric had a white wine, then a Mahou beer while I ordered a rose...
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)