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
Our last days in Havana were filled with cultural tours. Several of the things we did has rules against photography so although the days were very active, I don’t have many photos. Cigars, arts, food, dancing…I hadn’t even left yet and I already couldn’t wait to come back. This is my final post from my FIRST trip to Cuba. Continue reading
While I loved each day of our trip to Cuba, if I were forced to pick my favorite day this would probably be it. Visits to Regla, an organic farm, the town of Cojimar, Hemingway’s house in Cuba, Fusterlandia, a Hemingway bar, and dinner in Old Havana made for a truly fantastic day of learning, culture, beauty and fun. Continue reading
Tuesday was our first breakfast at the casa and it was, according to our guides, very traditional: lots of fresh fruit, breads, eggs, slices of jamon and chorizo, coffee and fresh juices. I was in heaven. I love toast and fruits for breakfast! We then headed into Old Havana, passing many sites along the way including the capitol building, the Spanish Embassy, Havana Opera House, etc. before arriving at a local hotel where we were ushered into a conference room for a presentation on Cuba and Havana. It was conducted by one of the managers of the Cuban tour company we were with and it was interesting and informative. Continue reading
I had wanted to visit Cuba since the summer of 2005 when my friend Natalie and I were drinking mojitos at a Latin bar along the Mediterranean in Glyfada, Athens, Greece and she was telling me what a fabulous place it was. Americans have always gone to Cuba – just in roundabout and secret ways. I was willing to do that, too – but was excited to be able to join a week-long tour of Havana with Friendly Planet. Sean and I both felt that the time to go was now (or maybe even a year or so ago) before the cruise ships started really pouring in and flooding Havana’s limited infrastructure and restaurants with tourists. While we want to see more of the country, we felt that Havana was changing the fastest and wanted to get a glimpse of history in the making with our first (but not last) trip to this mysterious island.
The flight from Miami was only 40 minutes. As my mother-in-law says of such short flights – “here drink this! We’re landing!” 🙂 Me, being the sap I am and in awe of this tiny country’s resilience, history and completely different economy and government, cried during landing. But hey – American Airlines leaving a U.S. airport and landing in Cuba is definitely a piece of history and one I found made me emotional.
Our trip to Havana, Cuba was flanked on either side by time in Miami. I’d never been before but was very excited to explore a new city – especially with the Kimpton EPIC Hotel downtown as our base. While it was rainy and gray for our days there we still had a blast and got to do a lot. What a fun and vibrant city – we can’t wait to go back for a weekend trip soon.
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