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...
Blog posts from Food & Drink
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...
London 2014: food and drink
Food La Brioche -- After landing and enjoying a refreshing shower on Friday morning, I was on the hunt for a good breakfast spot. I wanted to go to the Natural History Museum so I started my search...
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...
San Diego 2014: bars and restaurants
San Diego has no shortage of great restaurants, so I did a little research before we left and set up an outline of places to have lunch and dinner plus some nearby options for grabbing a drink as...
San Diego 2014: where we stayed
In mid-January I attended a conference in San Diego, and after a busy weekend Leandra flew out for the remainder of the week. Though we've been to SD many times now, we still love returning and it...
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...
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: beer tasting
Heater Allen - Amidst all the wine tasting in McMinnville, we hear about a small brewery just a block away from The Eyrie, so we wandered over for a quick tasting of a few lager beers. The tasting...
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...
Summer Euro 2013: Köln / Cologne pt. I
The massive Kölner Dom fills your view as you leave the Köln central train station. While the exterior could use a vigorous power-wash, it remains absolutely stunning. fancy handle; impressive...
Scotland 2013: food & drink in Callender and Stirling
The Lade Inn -- We were only in this area for one night, so when we found out that this place not only had good food and their own beers on draft (thanks RateBeer!), but live music on Saturday...
Scotland 2013: food & drink in Edinburgh
Bow Bar - Our first pub of the trip, we ordered a Black Isle porter and an Edinburgh #3 from Stewart Brewing. Beers were good but the standout was the delicious blue cheese and steak pie for 2£! At...
Scotland 2013: BrewDog Edinburgh
front entrance on Cowgate We missed an opportunity to visit the Camden location because of a Tube issue in London last November, so we were even more excited to get to try this pub in Edinburgh....
Montreal: food & drink
Restaurant Mai Xiang Yuan - I have always been a fan of dumplings in many forms, steamed, fried, whatever, so I couldn't turn down a chance to try this dumpling shop that had stellar reviews on...
Our Itinerary
2025 Trips
Tampa Bay, FL (Jan)
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Feb)
Villa la Angostura, Argentina (Feb)
Bariloche, Argentina (Feb)
Iguazu Falls, Argentina + Brazil (Feb)
Miami, FL (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Mar)
Boston, MA (Apr)
Kathmandu, Nepal (May)
Bhutan (May)
Doha, Qatar (May)
Bristol + London, UK (Jul)
Long Island, NY (Jul)
Slovenia (Sep)
Treviso, Italy (Sep)
Bologna, Italy (Sep)
Turin, Italy (Oct)
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 + 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)