Our apartment was located in the heart of the old town, so over our five days we saw most of the sights multiple times. The Mercat Central / Central Market was a definite highlight - located just 2 blocks from us we went multiple times. The exterior is beautiful both day and night. Inside, the market feels like a cathedral to food and drink, complete with an ornate ceiling and a beautiful dome. The range and selection of food items was outstanding, with stalls selling fresh ... continue reading...
Spain 2022: introduction
Two years. In February 2022 it was two years since we'd left the US, and we were ready to go somewhere for a spring trip. We weren't keen on having to test to get into a country, but as luck would have it, we found an excellent deal to Spain which did not require testing if you are vaccinated. But where to go? We've been to several regions in Spain, so it was familiar, but never around the Valencia region. We decided that would be a good re-introduction to international travel. While ... continue reading...
Hilton Head Island, May 2022
For my birthday weekend we happily accepted an invitation to stay at our friend's house in Hilton Head Island, SC. Somehow we'd never been here before, and the amount of trees and hidden development was a pleasant surprise. After arriving on Friday afternoon we decided to try out Side Hustle Beer Company. They have a very small interior, but a good amount of outdoor tables with a mix of sun and shade. I tried the "…and there’s your mother" (a fruited sour) while Leandra tried the 9% "enough ... continue reading...
Quick trip to Washington, D.C.
Nine days before we were set to leave for Spain, Leandra grabbed our passports out of the safe to book our train tickets from Madrid to Valencia, causing her to discover that my passport had expired in 2021! Hers had been renewed in 2019 and because we hadn't booked any international flights over the intervening two years we had completely forgotten about it. Thankfully, I was able to call the passport services office and get an emergency appointment (allowed within five days of our trip), so I ... continue reading...
NC mountains, April 2022: stops on the way there and back
On the way to Waynesville we stopped at the Ciener Botanical Garden in Kernersville. A fairly small garden, it is free to visit and has a nice selection of specimens, especially Japanese maples. They also featured several lovely beds of spring bulbs in April. Next, we stopped in Newton to check out Novel Taproom. Eric tried the Ciderboys Raspberry Smash, while Leandra tried a NoDa Peanut Butter Porter. Novel had a nice open space with lots of seating, including an outdoor section. ... continue reading...
NC mountains, April 2022: food & drink
Over the course of the week we tried a number of breweries and restaurants in the NC mountains. April 10 Oskar Blues, Brevard - we'd been here previously so we knew they had lots of parking and a food truck. I was quite happy with my margarita gose (a collaboration with Cigar City), while Leandra tried a special collaboration brown, Women in Power. We also split chicken nuggets and fries for lunch - and Pasha had a taste too! Burning Blush Brewery, Mills River - Our first time here, they ... continue reading...
NC mountains, April 2022: Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum
With the weather forecast looking quite damp we decided to stay inside for the afternoon and checked out the Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum in Maggie Valley. The museum was great, with an extensive and overwhelming collection with lots of old and historic motorcycles. They also have some cars... And other motorized vehicles, including our favorite, an engine-drive wheelchair! Staff were very friendly and could seemingly tell you more details on ... continue reading...
NC mountains, April 2022: Smoky Mountains National Park
We went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park twice on our spring trip, once to the relatively close Cataloochee Valley in the early evening, and then an all day trip to the Tennessee side of the park around Gatlinburg. The Cataloochee Valley was about a 45 min drive, so we decided to do go in the early evening. The road takes you up and over a mountain pass via a dirt road -- on the way in we saw woodchucks, turkeys, and a displaying ruffled grouse. Once in the valley we quickly ... continue reading...
NC mountains, April 2022: waterfalls
During our week in the mountains we made sure to seek out several waterfalls that we hadn't yet visited. On a beautiful Sunday we focused our effort along Forest Rd 475, hitting the following: Cove Creek cascades Cove Creek Falls Toms Spring Falls; Cedar Rock Falls Cedar Rock Creek cascades Later in the week we had a few hours of daylight after work, so we went up the Blue Ridge Parkway for long-range views of Woodfin Falls, then further along a view of Upper Woodfin ... continue reading...
Art in Bloom 2022
Art in Bloom is a fundraiser for the North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) where florists create artwork-inspired floral displays. It is a great annual event that we try to attend each year. These are some of our favorites from 2022: ... continue reading...
Week in Florida: Eat + Drink
Other Breweries Good Liquid Brewing - We originally planned to go to the South Manatee location, but at the last minute we noticed their newish location in Sarasota that was a little easier to get to given traffic in Bradenton. I knew this location had food, but I didn't expect it to be so busy at 2pm! Thankfully we were able to get a table in the bar area and tried their fries and several of their beers. I had a flight of (mostly) sours and Leandra and her Dad tried both the dark beers on ... continue reading...
Week in Florida: Oyster shucking
After returning from our afternoon in St. Pete - my Dad informed me they had purchased 2 dozen oysters from Detwiler's! I had him pour me a glass of champagne and got started shucking. We ate them in two stages as it still takes me a minute or two per oyster but the New Hampshire oysters were lovely, nice brine and not too minerally. At a $1/each they were a great deal. ... continue reading...