In 2022 we had plans to visit our friend's house on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin, but ended up cancelling. Determined to visit, we re-scheduled for August 2023, first flying into Chicago and renting a...
Blog posts from Food & Drink
Summer 2023: overnight in Lancaster PA
On our way back home from New York we stopped for a night with our friends in Lancaster, PA. After unpacking the car, they took us to Lititz to check out some breweries and local shops. Downtown was...
NY Summer 2023: food
Over the weeks we were in NY we tried a lot of different food options, from restaurants with a view to farmstands and spots in between. Below are our notes: July 2 We arrived in time to spend the...
NY Summer 2023: wine and beer tasting
July 1: Long Island Farm Brewery We stopped here after a long day of driving to stretch our legs. Though this brewery is about 30 minutes from my parent's house we had never visited before. I...
Summer 2023: weekend trip to Connecticut
It has been several years since we had seen some of our family members in Connecticut, so the weekend after Independence Day we traveled up for a quick overnight visit. Our 9:30am ferry out of...
Italy 2023: Bologna food & drink
Monday On our first afternoon in Bologna we saw these little cakes in the window of Paolo Atti & Figli - torta di riso, so we had to try it. It is a lightly sweet cake made from rice that had a...
Italy 2023: daytrip to Modena
Modena has intrigued me for a while, after all it is the home of balsamic vinegar, with ham, lambrusco and other tasty items also produced locally. And with it being about 30 minutes from Bologna by...
Italy 2023: lakeside walk to Garda
From Bardolino it is about a 40 minute walk to Garda. In the morning there is lots of shade, and since it was Saturday the path was busy with dog walkers, bicyclists, etc. Besides the amazing views...
Italy 2023: wine tasting in Veneto and Lombardy
During our planning, we became quite interested in the wine regions around Verona, and we were not disappointed in our visits. There are multiple appellations within 30-60 minutes driving, and each...
Italy: Bardolino food & drink
Thursday Dinner at La Piccola Osteria. I tried the macaroni picante (spicy) with Gorgonzola cheese, delicious! Leandra got the beef cappacio with a pile of cheese on top! We split a 500 ml carafe of...
The mountain vacation that wasn’t
Instead of heading out-of-state for Memorial Day we planned a week-long return (2021, 2022) to the NC mountains. As the title of this post indicates, it simply wasn't meant to be... On 11am Friday...
Italy 2023: Venice food & drink
Monday El Sbarlefo - With our first round of wine, a grechetto for me (lighter white with mineral and nice acidity) and a primitivo for Leandra, we also ordered some fried cheese bites. Leandra had...
Italy 2023: Milan
On this trip to Milan we flew into the smaller, but much closer, Linate airport, which let us take the city 73 bus to the Duomo area. After dropping our bags at the hotel we walked around, trying to...
Weekend trip to Richmond: Carytown and Museum District
After exploring the Lewis Ginter Gardens, we needed some shade and a snack, so we stopped by Garden Grove Brewing. Eric tried their tropical Kitsu (a mead with loads of citrus) while Leandra enjoyed...
Weekend trip to Richmond: Scott’s Addition
We spent most of Saturday afternoon exploring the Scott's Addition neighborhood of Richmond, a trendy district known for its density of breweries and restaurants. We tried the following: Three...
Orlando 2023: EPCOT
Sunday was our day at EPCOT. I set an alarm for 6:55am to join the first virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy but didn't get in. We slept a bit longer and while enjoying my fancy cold brew, I...
Orlando 2023: Mills 50
On Saturday we didn't want to stay in the hotel room (or at Disney Springs) the entire day, so we took an Uber to the Mills 50 area to check out the street art. While we did find a few murals to...
Orlando 2023: Disney Springs
Our hotel was an easy 8 minute walk to Disney Springs, so the first night we went exploring. The temps were on the chilly side but most places with outdoor seating had heaters set up. After...
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Bordeaux (Sep)
Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castile and 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)