Saturday morning we took an hour and a half train trip through developed countryside to Parma. This was our first time in a compartment-style train cabin, and we were both in a middle seat facing...
Blog posts from wine
Sonoma County: Russian River Valley wine tasting
Porter Creek Vineyards -- On our second visit to this charming tasting room we had an equally lovely visit. Jonathan was a friendly host full of suggestions and stories. Given the small tasting room...
Sonoma County: Dry Creek and Alexander Valley wine tasting
Though we have been to Sonoma County a few times now, we really hadn't explored the Dry Creek and Alexander Valleys, so on this trip we set out to remedy that issue. Zinfandel is king here and you...
Toulouse, February 2014
In mid-February I returned to Toulouse, France, on another work trip. Much of that trip I was quite busy, and given the early winter sunsets, I didn't manage much sightseeing. However, several...
Thanksgiving in Europe 2013: Prague food and drink
Although much of the literature we read before our trip touted how much cheaper Prague was than Vienna we really didn't find the difference significant. While the lodging was much cheaper (partially...
Thanksgiving in Europe 2013: Vienna food and drink
Food For our first night in Vienna, we stayed close to the hotel with a recommendation from the front desk. Gasthaus am Spittelberg serves classic Vienna-style food with pasta options as well. We...
Thanksgiving in Europe 2013: heurigers in Nussdorf
Four years ago we took a tram up to Stammersdorf to try out some local wine during our weekend in Vienna. This time we wanted to make the trip mid-week and discovered that both places we visited...
Texas! exploring Hill Country wineries
Wanting to get a bit of a different perspective, we left Austin on Sunday to head out to the Hill Country for some wine tasting. We researched a few places in advance and decided to visit three...
Portland: Willamette Valley wine tasting
Arborbrook - One of our favorite Oregon wineries, we made this our first wine-tasting stop on this trip. Even though the tasting room has expanded since our last trip, the friendly wine maker was...
Portland: overview
Several months back we wanted to close a credit card that still had points available for free travel. After a few searches Leandra managed to find tickets to Portland in mid-September, so we used up...
Summer Euro 2013: Lanzarote wine tasting
One of the more unexpected things on a dry, volcanic island like Lanzarote are the vineyards. The hills in the La Geria region are dotted with semi-circle stone walls, each housing a struggling vine...
Budapest 2013: drink
We couldn't make a weekend in Tokaj work, so instead, we visited a handful of Budapest wine bars to get a sampling of what Hungary had to offer. A lot of the places we went only featured Hungarian...
A New York weekend: Long Island
Sunday morning we woke to sun, so after breakfast we headed over to Breakwater Beach in Mattituck. Looks inviting, but in April it is still chilly - After about 20 minutes beach combing for sea...
Asia/Australia 2013: Sonoma wine tasting
As you might expect, we visited a few wineries during our two day trip to Sonoma. Kunde Family Vineyards - this was on our lone wine stop on Thursday (i.e. the longest day of our lives) and we made...
Asia/Australia 2013: Yarra Valley wine tasting
Our first winery stop was Innocent Bystander in Healesville, a bustling restaurant and shop with a wine tasting area near the front door. They offered a free tasting that was ok but not really...
Christmas 2012: food & drink finds on Long Island
With a week in NY and some planning on our part we had the opportunity to try several new-to-us restaurants and some interesting new beer and wine establishments. Bellport Beer & Soda, Bellport...
Helsinki 2012: Tallinn food & drink
Clayhills Gastro Baar - After walking around in the rain for a few hours, we decided it was time to dry out and stopped in to Clayhills to try some tapas and Estonian beer. There were only a few...
British Columbia 2012: Vancouver Island food & drink
Blackfin Pub - At the recommendation of our B&B owners and TripAdvisor, we hit this place up for a late dinner on our first night and for a more reasonably timed dinner on our third night (see...
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)