While in Osaka, Sean planned a day trip for us to Himeji Castle and the town of Kobe (where Kobe beef comes from). Himeji Castle is an enormous complex and one of the few original castles the Japanese did not destroy after their WWII defeat to show their break from the past. Continue reading
My mom went to watch the condo, dog and cat of her best friend in Chicago while he went to India and Sri Lanka for a month in January. He has a great place north of Uptown in this awesome, ethnic neighborhood. I took the long MLK, Jr. Day weekend to go up and visit for a fun mother-daughter weekend in the Windy City. Continue reading
We arrived in Kyoto on Monday evening after taking the Shinkansen high-speed train from Tokyo. Kyoto was incredible and I described all the beautiful sights and activities in my post on its temples, etc. This post is all about the FOOD. Kyoto is known as a “foodie” city and its reputation did not disappoint.
Our first night we discovered that the hotel included in our package deal was very far from the center of town – about 30 minutes by car! The room was also minuscule, with the bed again against the wall and almost no room at the end to walk around it. We made the most of our first night be first researching and booking a new hotel in the city center for the next 2 nights, and then finding somewhere nearby for dinner. Continue reading
I told Sean that one of the things I wanted to do in Japan was walk around the cities and wander into temples and gardens. I had this lovely vision of relaxing strolls, tranquil shrines and meditative scenery.
The reality was a little different. Namely, that the cities are HUGE and the temples can be far apart or even off-the-beaten path. Simply wandering around wasn’t going to get us where we wanted to go. So, we came up with a new plan! Continue reading
Headed south to sunny Melbourne, Florida to spend Christmas with John and Kathy. It was a wonderful visit. Enjoy the photos! Continue reading
2017 was an incredible year filled with travel, family, friends, a new job, and lots of delicious food and drink! From the Far East to the Caribbean and across the US of A, tasty and memorable bites filled many days. I was going to list out some honorable mentions but it felt like a cop-out – it’s tough to narrow it down! Here are my top 14 dishes of 2017. Continue reading
Japanese food is delicious. I didn’t realize how delicious until this trip. So much more than sushi and ramen – the food is varied with traditional dishes like miso soup, outside influences like gyoza (originally from China), curry (India) and tonkatsu (US), and wonderful ingredients like fresh wasabi, miso paste, burdock root, etc.
Tokyo was our first taste of Japan and what a splendid one it was. Three days of new and interesting flavors and textures in restaurants, markets and tiny food stalls. Continue reading
After a 14-hour nonstop flight on Delta from Atlanta, we landed in Tokyo in the late afternoon on Friday, December 16th. The city was far more than I’d expected – the food, cleanliness, transportation system, helpful people were all fantastic. The architecture, gardens and temples were things I knew I’d love but found I loved even more than anticipated. Of our three days and three nights in the largest city in the world, here are some highlights I experienced. Continue reading