Best Sunsets Ham Rankings (Note: We didn’t have any ham during our quick stop in Italy; otherwise they’d be on here.) Beer Rankings (Everywhere else basically just has light pilsner, which is fine, but rarely something to write home about.) Wine Rankings, by Value (Decent wine in Europe is so cheap it’s silly. Australian wine… Continue reading Around the World – A List of Lists

No, I didn’t run around the world. But I did go for runs in lots of places as we circumnavigated, and I wanted to write about that a little bit. Bringing my running stuff was a relatively late decision, made a couple of weeks before we left. I’d never brought my gear with me on… Continue reading A Run ‘Round The World

New England in the late summer is a cornucopia of deliciousness! Here’s what we loved: New England, we (and our tummies) love you.

It’s no secret that I love hiking – it’s my favorite vacation activity, beats (for me) meditation, and is usually when Julie and I have our best conversations. We’d done a good number of hikes on this trip – up huge mountains, along bluffs, through rolling hills and country lanes… In Vermont we did one… Continue reading Long-Ago Memories on the Long Trail

Here’s a game. Complete this phrase: “The Pilgrims landed at [insert place here].” Plymouth Rock. Right? And when you think of Plymouth Rock (no Googling, people!), your mental image is probably something like a windswept, craggy shore featuring a historic-looking rock big enough to moor a boat full of Pilgrims to, right? That’s what we… Continue reading The Rock Is…

While our last stops in Europe were emotionally bittersweet (so many feelings about going back to the States!), they were also gustatorily triumphant. We alluded before to Portugal’s sometimes perplexing nature, but on this second trip through we kinda nailed it. And… we nailed the food, too. Most of what we consumed was real, real… Continue reading Lisbon and the Azores – The Best Stuff We Ate

Back in May, we were trying to figure out the most intelligent and efficient way to come home. We knew we were going to be coming from the south of France, we knew we were going to land on the East coast, and we knew knew we still wanted to check out Lisbon. Looking at… Continue reading Awed by the Azores

I didn’t want to like Lisbon. Not because Lisbon had ever done anything to offend me, or that I had ever been beaten up by a gang of roving Lisbonians (Lisbonans? Lisbans? Lisbonaires?). My issue was that everyone loves Lisbon. Whenever we mentioned that we were going to Lisbon, we heard: “Lisbon? Oh, it’s so… Continue reading A Lovely Layover in Lisbon

France, right? Birthplace of haute cuisine. Michelin star central. The inventors of so many classic cooking techniques and recipes, you could spend months there, just eating. Us? Well, we were not particularly aggressive – in two weeks, we had just one bistro meal. It was good, though. Anyway, here’s what stood out: Croissants and donuts… Continue reading France – The Best Stuff We Ate

We grouped together the Stubai, Kaufbeuren, and Switzerland for this post, because they’re all pretty Alp-y. Spaetzle in general, but the one Julie had at Maria Waldrast monastery was particularly good. Tiroler Grostle at Elferhutte. Grostl is basically fried potatoes with eggs and some bacon, with some other stuff. It’s real good. Dry-aged ribeye cooked… Continue reading Austria to Switzerland – The Best Stuff We Ate