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
We headed up to Chicago in early October for the wedding of Sean’s cousin Andrew and his fiance Jessalyn. It had been a couple of years since I’d been to the Windy City and this time we stayed with a family friend north of downtown. We had a packed agenda and it was all wonderful! Continue reading
Sean’s dad and stepmom invited us to have dinner with them at Next when we were in Chicago – very generous of them and a great experience to share together. Next is a unique restaurant that completely changes concept 3 times per year – for example it can go from completely vegan to modern Thai to Hollywood-themed in a single year. Very cool! This instance it was dishes from the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, requiring Next to get recipes, tips, special ingredients flown and in one case even the seeds to grow their own from 16+ of the world’s top restaurants. What a project.
In addition to the 16+ courses, we shared 2 of the premium wine pairings. This was first time at a true fine-dining restaurant and it was fabulous. I’ve included a photo, description and the wine pairing for everything we had below. You can be jealous, it’s ok. 😉 Continue reading
Another fun wedding anniversary weekend in Savannah, Georgia is in the books! We have our traditions, but always like to add in new things and this trip was no exception! Continue reading