Cooking classes in foreign countries are a great way to not only learn how to cook new things but also to learn about the culture of the place you are visiting. I had such a fabulous time in Chiang Mai that when Eric mentioned he found a few cooking school options in Budapest, I was eager to try it out. I choose Culinary Hungary because it included an optional market tour and the class was a one on one teaching experience in a home kitchen. I met Agnes outside the Central Market and we hit … [Read more...]
Budapest 2013: sights around town II
May 19, 2013
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Churches and Synagogues St. Stephen's Cathedral dominates the surrounding buildings and also features a lovely square with great people watching (plus wine and gelato!) St. Stephen's Cathedral from the Bastion St. Stephen's Cathedral from the square The fees were a bit high to enter the Dohany Street Synagogue so we simply admired the exterior and continued on our way. Dohany Street Synagogue - gorgeous and intricate brickwork Holocaust Memorial at the … [Read more...]
Budapest 2013: sights around town I
May 18, 2013
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Bridges Budapest is separated by the Danube River, so there are a number of bridges that bring the two sides together. The Chain Bridge is probably the most famous, and heavily trafficked, as it connects the center of both cities. The famous Chain Bridge linking Buda to Pest View of Buda from the Chain Bridge Liberty Bridge is downstream of the Chain Bridge, close to the Market, and affords a number of photographic opportunities. Liberty Bridge with Elisabeth Bridge in … [Read more...]
Budapest 2013: overview
May 17, 2013
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Leandra's grandmother was born in Budapest, and that has fueled her interest in visiting Budapest for several years. This past April we made our first trip, spending most of our time exploring districts 1,5,6 and 7. Some of our findings: the Hungarian language was just as hard to comprehend as we thought it would be. Luckily, most everyone spoke at least a little English, and we never too much of an issue. wow traffic! Budapest is a city on the move via all kinds of transport- car, bike, … [Read more...]
Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee
April 24, 2013
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Last weekend we took advantage of our Southwest Airlines companion pass to visit our friend Leah in Nashville. Saturday We arrived Saturday morning and were impressed by Nashville's arrivals area-- they have 10 minute pull-through waiting spaces (with electornic timers) right next to the terminal for picking people up. Very civilized! We hopped in to Leah's car and drove over to Marche in East Nashville for Saturday brunch. The restaurant was very busy so we had to wait about 20 minutes, … [Read more...]
A New York weekend: Long Island
April 23, 2013
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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 glass and shells, Leandra learned how windy it can be on a beach in the spring! Returning home we met back up with my parents and headed to Grana in Jamesport for lunch. All their wines were the same price ($30 bottle) so we ordered a Pugliese Pinot Grigio and three 'personal' pizzas... I … [Read more...]
A New York weekend: NYC
April 22, 2013
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The weekend after Easter we flew up to New York for a quick family visit and we decided stay in the city for the first night so we could make sure to see my niece (since we usually miss her during our Christmas or summer trips). Hotel prices were rather high for our particular weekend so we decided to redeem one of our free Hyatt nights (earned through a credit card signup) at the Hyatt 48 Lex. In a first for us, our flight from RDU arrived at LaGuardia 45 minutes early, so our cab arrived … [Read more...]
Curacao 2013: food & lodging
March 13, 2013
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Hotel Floris Suites - Unlike most of our trips, for this getaway we booked a package deal with airfare and hotel through AA vacations. We considered 6 different hotels, and though the Floris Suites is not on the water, their combination of price and reviews won us over. Upon arrival the lobby is a little confusing, as the large desk you see is unoccupied. Instead, check-in was in an office to the right. Initially we were given a room next to the kitchen (room 1) which would have been noisy … [Read more...]
Curacao 2013: sights
March 12, 2013
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Around Thanksgiving we found several interesting travel deals for 2013, and a return to Curacao for a long weekend was one of them. Since we had explored much of the island in 2007 we didn't feel like we had to explore as much on this trip; consequently, we decided to relax and spent most of our time reading on the beach or by the pool. However, we did break free from our books occasionally to snorkel, enjoy the sights, and laugh at the politics of lizards. Unlike our last trip, island maps … [Read more...]
Asia/Australia 2013: Sonoma wine tasting
March 7, 2013
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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 it there about 4:30p. We had an enjoyable tasting but nothing really striking. Since we knew there was no corkage fee at Fig Cafe we bought a bottle of the sauvignon blanc to have with dinner that night. Also note that this was the only place we visited that didn't refund the tasting fee with … [Read more...]