my jaunts: venice, italy

Posted on February 4, 2014 by jaunt blog

i bought this postcard while i was there – stunning! it is framed in my office. st. mark’s floods each year, and people must either boat across or walk across narrow benches that line the perimeter (see the background)

i’ve been dreading writing this post, because i know it will simply not do venice any justice. but it’s freezing and dreary in dallas today, and all i can think about is sweet, mysterious venice. you see, venice is absolutely, definitely, hands-down my favorite city i have ever visited. ever. a lot of people don’t like venice. i do not understand these people. it is magical. it is like no place you have ever seen before. and if you can stay long enough to explore more than just the tourist sites, you will understand how people can fall in love with a city.

i just adored the houses on the water with their boats docked outside.

the first sight as you exit the train station is a large bridge and bustling canal with enough boats to create a traffic jam (you may also hear a native american band, which has always confused me, but i hear they are still there!). there are no cars, no mopeds, no bikes. the architecture is breathtaking – in fact, a simple square window appears only once along the grand canal. the houses are faded, but each shows signs of former bright colors and detailed exterior frescos. glancing inside the windows, you can still see the grandeur that was once venice – large chandeliers, carved ceilings, rich dark red and green walls, gold trimmings.

the grand canal on a cloudy day

venice is filled with art galleries (the shopping is amazing with beautiful glass jewelry and home decor from the nearby island of murano), museums, and exhibits, and is host every other year to the huge biannual art show. if you love art, plan in advance and do some research to find times to meet artists and attend exhibit openings. the streets are paved with large gray stones, and rainbow pace (peace) flags hang from many windows. the roads wind around and change names every few feet, becoming narrower and narrower until you are finally thrust into a huge, square plaza. even with maps and the best of navigators (i.e. me), you will get lost. multiple times. just go with it.

outside of the biannual art show

though i highly recommend exploring the narrow and dark back roads for hidden restaurants, bars, and cafes, the tourist sites are also worth seeing. along the grand canal sits st. mark’s square, with the famous harry’s bar, where cipriani invented the bellini (yum). the piazza is grand, surrounded by st. mark’s basilica (inside, the floor ripples and dips and slides due to the marshy foundation underneath), doge’s palace, the campanile, and expensive restaurants with dueling orchestras. definitely touristy, but an necessary visit for at least an afternoon/evening (if you’re willing to fork over some cash for the dueling orchestras, try florian’s, and be sure to tour the interior before leaving). and everything truly is on a boat! we saw a construction boat equipped with a crain, a fire boat with a hook and ladder, an ambulance docked outside the waterfront ER, a speed police boat, etc.

the exterior of st. mark’s basilica – i wish my camera at the time had been better to capture the details

across the grand canal is my favorite venetian site: the peggy guggenheim museum. housed in her former palazzo, her surrealist collection that she amassed through supporting surrealist artists is breathtaking (let alone the views of the grand canal from her patio). peggy was a kooky – some may say crazy – personality in venice, and she she ordered in her will that her art was never to leave venice until the day it sinks (which is happening, by the way – go quickly!).

colorful houses and boats in burano, italy, just a quick boat ride away from venice

for a nice day trip, head to the surrounding islands of murano and burano. stop first at murano, known for its colorful glass. you can explore artists’ studios (and watch them in action) and tour the glass museum, which explains the history of venetian glass. spend the afternoon in burano, known for its lace and colorful houses. each window box is filled with flowers and each door has a brightly colored boat nearby in the canal. it remided me of the canal houses in puerto la cruz, venezuela, where i lived for a year in high school. the lido beach to the south is also worth a stop if you’re there in the heat of the summer months.

who should go: artists, romantics, those looking for a window into the past

what to pack: walking shoes! for nights out, you may want a wider, stacked heel or wedge to navigate the cobble-stone streets.

where to stay: to save money (venice can be expensive), try staying in the quieter parts of town with less tourist traffic. we stayed on the south-eastern end of town, and found that we were surrounded by locals, excellent bakeries, and still walking distance to, well, the entire city.

what to read: sognare venezia, photographed by fernando bertuzzi. this is my favorite book on venice, and captures the essence of the city much more completely and beautifully than college eva.

best advice: if you go the route of a gondola ride, bring a bottle of wine (tip from my friend, erin!)

en route to the biannual art festival in venice

ready for my close-up with st. mark’s basilica and the campanile behind me

my jaunts: buenos aires, argentina

Posted on January 23, 2014 by jaunt blog

9 de julio avenue – the largest street in buenos aires

my best friend and i try to travel internationally every other year (money well spent!), and our very first trip was to chile and argentina in 2008. buenos aires was an obvious stop, and it captured my heart. such grandeur – the architecture, the food, the tango…it was not at all what i had been expecting (i lived in venezuela for year and naively thought all of south america – yes, an entire continent – was similar). i returned to buenos aires last year for work, and the city’s hold over me was confirmed: this place is the real deal.

a few of my must-sees (and my hope-to-again-sees):

shop/dine/drink in palermo – kim and i stayed in palermo at the lovely otra orilla bed and breakfast (i do hope it is still around). the area is a bustling, leafy, cobble-stoned district with narrow streets lined with shops, restaurants, bars, etc. bar 6 and olsen were two of my favorite bars, though there are many to choose from. and definitely try a parilla, a brazilian steakhouse. the steak is fantastic (argentines claim the best in the world, but argentines claim a lot of things :)), and is delicious with a bottle of malbec. just don’t go too early – not much is open before 9pm (difficult if you’re there for work!).

vodka and bites from olsen in palermo

trolley ride – i have this crazy thing for trollies (if you’re ever in dallas, you really must take the mckinney avenue trolley through uptown to the arts district), and buenos aires did not disappoint. we took the a-line and i was transported back into a much more glamorous age.

recoleta cemetery – words cannot adequately describe this place, though ‘magical’ may be a start. rows of crypts, mausoleums, crosses, stone paths, giant memorials to those of the past, locked to visitors, but with glass doors that afford a glimpse inside to the stained glass windows, alters, crucifixes, marble stairs leading downward into a subterranean shelter – some hold photographs, some are covered in cobwebs with floors of dirt and leaves, others are new, shiny, marble, carfully polished, well-kept. the area is four blocks and one could get lost in the narrow paths. eva perron is buried here, within the duarte family mausoleum, and followers place flowers within the door in remembrance.

strolling through the recoleta

dirty war protest – the dirty war occurred in the 70s and 80s, and the government is still silent on the killings of many of its people, most of whom were left-wing activists, journalists, students, and geurillas. mothers of people killed in the dirty war still march through the plaza de mayo every thursday demanding information and closure. the madres have had a bit of scandal in the past several years, so march with them at your own risk, but it’s worth a visit to see them march, hear their stories, and learn a part of history that isn’t in all of the textbooks.

the protest march path of the mothers of plaza de mayo

san telmo market – read more from my “favorite markets” post here.

malba – the latin american art museum of buenos aires is incredible. i adore latin american art, especially that of frida kahlo, diego rivera, and fernando botero. i found at the malba new artists i enjoyed like leon ferrari, carlos federico saez, and maria teresa ponce. i sat for awhile at the museum, listening to music from the 1920s, and then walked the streets surrounding the museum that are lined with lush parks and embassies.

the malba museum in buenos aires

who should go: culture junkies, those who wish they were around in the 1920s and 1940s

what to pack: nice clothing – argentines are sophisticated and fashionable. leave the beach gear at home and instead bring some chic walking shoes

what to watch: nine queens (nueve reinas)

the main path at recoleta cemetery in buenos aires

my jaunts: the coast starlight

Posted on November 4, 2013 by jaunt blog

view of mount shasta in northern california from the coast starlight

about a year after i moved to LA, los angeles magazine mentioned huell howser as one of their top 50 favorite things of LA. not one to miss out, i instantly googled huell, and learned he was a popular los angeles tv personality (he has since passed away, RIP HH), with multiple shows on public television that chronicle his travels through california. i instantly fell in love. huell was an extremely charismatic man, who was paid to travel through california, meet people, and talk about their adventures on television. dream job!

after setting up a series recording for all of his shows (he has many), i learned he would be appearing at train day at union station. sounds nerdy, but we went and met huell! we also were able to tour many of the trains at union station and learn of the routes. it is here that i learned of the coast starlight, the amtrak train that travels from los angeles to seattle over a 36 hour period. sold.

meeting huell howser at los angeles’ train day at union station

two years later, we boarded the coast starlight at union station, found our roomette, and off we went! our car attendant brought us champagne as a send-off, which only helped to reinforce the fact that we had made an excellent decision. since we had a sleeper room (“room” is a bit of a stretch, but the space served us well), we had access to the parlour car, which included personal dining (with a delightful and witty waiter, greg) and arm chairs in which to relax and enjoy the views. we also visited the sightseer car, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the dramatic landscapes.

a champagne send-off on the coast starlight in los angeles. all aboard!

the early afternoon of day 1 was spent enjoying the breathtaking ocean views of the southern and central california coast. though we had taken a trip through central california earlier that summer, the train meandered through the rarely seen views from vandergriff air force base, which is off-limits to drivers. a guide who formerly worked on the base peppered us with some interesting tidbits about the area and the base. we enjoyed a wine and cheese tasting in the dining car that afternoon (all included in the price of our ticket), which included wine and cheese from regions we passed on our route.

coastal views in central california, just north of santa barbara

when we woke up on day 2, the scenery was completely different: deserts and coastal cliffs now turned into mountains and pine trees as we travelled through oregon and washington. we met more of our fellow travelers (i had no idea such a large train community exists!), and swapped stories from our respective hometowns.

views of oregon on the second day of our coast starlight train ride

the most memorable part of the trip, though, was the relaxation that ensued. on a train, i was trapped. i couldn’t work (wifi is available, but only works about half the time), i couldn’t run errands, and i couldn’t worry about delays (and there were many delays; definitely do not make plans at your destination for the four-hour period after you are scheduled to arrive). instead, i spent time reading, chatting with my husband, and meeting people from all over the world. i enjoyed the diverse views, and finally had some time to think, without caring about the urgencies of my everday life. how often do our trips afford us that luxury?! next up: the empire builder line from seattle to chicago. montana, here i come.

the dining car in amtrak’s coast starlight

who should go: explorers, those looking for some time to relax

who should not go: the high maintenance

what to read: a murder on the orient express, agatha christie

what to watch: darjeeling limited

what to pack: rooms are small, so pack light. a scarf and cardigan will protect you from the changing temperatures on different cars. a camera is a must.

my jaunts: san diego, california

Posted on October 28, 2013 by jaunt blog

the sunset cliffs in san diego just south of ocean beach

at the request of two jaunt readers, i am including a post on san diego today! san diego embodies southern california to me. it has all of the relaxation of the beach cities with a little bit of urban edge. mix in a strong mexican culture (seen in its abundant mexican food restaurants and over-the-top dia de los muertos festivities), along with a strong armed forces culture (the navy is everywhere in this town from the uss midway aircraft carrier and museum to the naval base at point loma, and the marines have a huge base just north of town) and you have a city rich in personality.

i never know where to start with san diego because there is so much to do and so varied of choices. let me give you just a taste of my favorites:

balboa park in san diego

the culture – balboa park is home of the zoo, 15 museums, and gorgeous grounds, and is an absolute must-see. i really enjoy strolling the pedestrian areas near the lily pond and japanese friendship garden. for a quick (and perfect) break, enjoy happy hour at the gorgeous prado restaurant. a nearby bandstand has an enormous outdoor pipe organ, and provides concerts throughout the year. the old globe theater is also inside by the museum of man. i am not a big fan of zoos, but the san diego zoo is a definite stop. it’s famous, and there is a reason why. the peacocks roam freely throughout the park and the pandas are too cute for words. the orangutans are right there in front of you, hanging out inches from the glass that separates you. my friend, nic, swears the dc zoo is better, but i haven’t been there, so you’ll have to be the judge. the safari park is also supposedly amazing, though i have not visited, and it offers a zipline over the elephants, giraffes, etc.

cuuuute panda at the san diego zoo

the food – little italy is full of restaurants (mostly italian) and always packed with people. everyone argues over the best italian restaurant, but i’ve enjoyed the pizza at isola, one of the newer restaurants in the area. a stop at extraordinary desserts afterward is necessary if for no other reason than to ogle at the beautiful pastries and cakes. nearby, just north of the airport, lucha libre offers the largest and most inventive burritos i’ve had. as seen on diners, drive-ins, and dives, this place is known for its large and delicious burrito concoctions in an atmosphere filled with luchador mexican wrestling memorabilia. the lines are long, so try to go during non-peak times.

the dining room at lucha libre in san diego – crazy big burritos!

the beaches – i stayed at the beach cottages on pacific beach during my last trip to san diego, and the beach culture is something else. walking along the boardwalk, every house had a surfboard over the balcony/veranda, with wetsuits hanging on clothes lines outside. beautiful people bike, skate, and run by carrying surfboards, walking dogs, or just grabbing a beer at one of the many establishments along the beach or mission bay drive. lahaina beach house provides amazing views with a great patio, as does woody’s just a few doors down. the olive cafe on mission bay has a warm atmosphere, as well. also check out the embarcadero, a stretch of land along the san diego bay filled with public art, grassy knolls, and shopping.

brunch and view at lahaina beach house on ocean beach

the nightlife – the gaslamp district near downtown is full of bars, restaurants, clubs, and some of the city’s nicest hotels, and is completely walkable. on one of my trips to san diego, we were able to walk from our hotel to petco park (home of the san diego padres), then to dinner, and later out for dessert and drinks. altitude sky lounge at the top of the marriott was named by travel + leisure as one of america’s best outdoor bars, and there are plenty of late night bars that offer reverse happy hours that run until midnight!

the dia de los muertos festival at old town in san diego

who should go: beach-goers, photogs, the overworked looking for some relaxation

what to listen to: mexican institute of sound

what to pack: a swimsuit, a camera, and a picnic for balboa park or the embarcadero

some of the desserts offered at extraordinary desserts in san diego’s little italy

my jaunts: for love of the game

Posted on October 18, 2013 by jaunt blog

a beautiful night for baseball at chavez ravine in los angeles

all of this post-season baseball has me excited for, well, the best sport in america. i haven’t always been a fan, though. during a wildly fun trip to new york in the summer of 2004, my best friend dragged me to a new york yankees baseball game. i was very skeptical of this outing (why do we need to go to the bronx again?) and frantically looked up safety issues for the surrounding burroughs.

my first ever major league game at yankee stadium with kim!

once in the park, though, i fell in love. the fans, the music, the hot dogs and beer, the players – i loved it all! and it was so decidedly new york. it was big and it was passionate and it was that crazy high of community you get at any great sporting event. and it didn’t hurt that a-rod hit a walk-off home run to win the game (fact: i did not know who a-rod was at said game, but rather fell in love with hideki matsui). riding back on the subway to manhattan (crammed full of fans, by the way – no safety issues there!), a long-time yankees fan struck up a conversation and, after hearing this was my first game, said, ‘after a game like that, you’re a fan for life.’ and so i am.

enjoying the game from the bleachers at the rangers ballpark in arlington

fast forward 9 years, and i’m now married to an avid baseball fan, which means we spend a fair amount of our summers watching baseball. naturally, any trip to a major city involves catching a game or at least a stadium tour. i’m looking for a map to track the stadiums visited (anyone have any ideas? i’m all ears!), but in the meantime, please enjoy some photos and, of course, some lists.

the view of downtown pittsburgh from pnc park – stunning!

favorite stadium overall: old yankees stadium (of course, it’s where the magic happened)
favorite view from the stands: tied between pnc park, where the pittsburgh pirates play, and petco park, where the san diego padres play. one is on the water with the city in the background, and the other is in the middle of downtown san diego. stunning.
favorite hot dog: the world famous dodger dog in dodger stadium in echo park, los angeles
favorite beer: the many microbrews offered at safeco field, where the seattle mariners play
favorite stands: the crammed and awkward stands at fenway park in boston (especially the green monster!)
favorite fans: the bleacher creatures :)

the view of downtown san diego from petco park

what are your favorite sports related sites to visit?

my jaunts: gypsy flamenco caves in grenada, spain

Posted on October 9, 2013 by jaunt blog

a typical grenada balcony, as seen during our night stroll through the sacromonte neighborhood

so, honest truth: spain is my favorite country in the world (outside of the US, obvs). i’ve spent the most time there, i studied abroad there, i (somewhat) speak the language, i’ve learned its history and read its novels. and one of my favorite evenings out in spain was to watch the flamenco dancers in the caves in grenada. touristy? yes. but totally unlike anything i had ever seen before.

at the flamenco show at zambra maria la canastera in the sacromonte neighborhood of grenada, spain

imagine my surprise when – while watching anthony bourdain’s ‘parts unknown’ – i saw those same flamenco dancers on tv talking with tony! and i’m not talking about a similar cave with similar dancers down the street. nope, anthony met and talked with the exact same dancers in the exact same cave over ten years after i met and danced with them.

one of the dancers at maría la canastera in the gypsey caves of grenada

a friend i was studying abroad with found this amazing deal where we were picked up from our hotel, brought to the cave for the flamenco dancing (which included a drink), watched (and participated in!) the flamenco dancing, and then were led on a night tour of grenada, which culminated in a perfect view of the lit alhambra from across the cliff. we thought – and rightly so – that it was one of our best nights in spain. we were poor students studying abroad and our idea of entertainment was the street buskers outside. these guys were a major upgrade.

this guy totally owned it. check out his castanets! think the kids in the back are having a life-changing moment?

click here to see a brief video of bourdain enjoying the flamenco. however, you’ll need to watch the full episode to see videos of the actual dancing and interviews with the dancers. and check out my photos from 2003 with the same dancers, all clearly taken before i invested in a digital camera (those were the old days, kids). enjoy!

walking through the grenada cobble-stone streets at night.

my jaunts: brooklyn, new york

Posted on September 30, 2013 by jaunt blog

kite day in the park in dumbo, with a great view of downtown manhattan in the background

“you know where i make my money?” the cab driver asked me as i sped to jfk, with williamsburg in the rearview mirror: “brooklyn.”

after several friends moved to brooklyn from manhattan a few years ago, i realized something must be up. after all of the years of carrie bradshaw scoffing at the idea of brooklyn, and cabs intent on never crossing that bridge, i figured it was just a place for new families escaping the manhattan crowds and artists in search of cheaper rents. while it does have a healthy dose of both, it also has – as i found on my short weekend trip a few weeks ago – action, vibrancy, and some pretty cool unique spaces.

mast brothers chocolate in williamsburg

the first thing that surprised me about brooklyn is that there are people everywhere. obviously normal in manhattan, but for some reason i didn’t expect this in brooklyn. there are also skyscrapers, fourth floor walk-ups, hole-in-the-wall restaurants and large, commercial bars. also, brooklyn is big. like, really big. like, i can’t walk across it like i can manhattan big. so where to even start? too overwhelming for one short weekend, i decided to narrow my trip to something i knew a lot about my from days in los feliz, los angeles: hipsterville. so, williamsburg it was!

a few resources i used for suggestions:

c’est christine’s “do, eat, drink: williamsburg”
syp say’s unofficial 36 hours in williamsburg
my friend, matt’s, fantastic guide as listed in an email to me
various posts i had tagged in evernote from old issues of kinfolk

my husband and i started the trip by renting an apartment in the heart of northern williamsburg off of airbnb.com. for about half of what an area hotel would cost, we were closer to the action and had an entire apartment to ourselves. it was also really interesting to see how people live in new york. having a three bedroom house in dallas has separate issues (e.g. the need to purchase lawn equipment) than having a fourth-floor walkup in williamsburg (e.g. how to store your clothes when your unit has no closets). after leaving our things and changing clothes, we headed to spuyten duyvil’s backyard for beers and friends. when we started to want some food, we ended up at berry park, where i got a kick out of all of the skateboards parked inside.

beers in the garden at spuyten duyvil in williamsburg

saturday was spent reveling in the fall air (hello, city trench!) and covering a lot of ground. walking shoes were a necessity! after a delicious french-press brunch at egg (cash only, like many places in brooklyn), we took the east river ferry (it’s a boat, people) south to dumbo (district under the manhattan bridge overpass), where we strolled around checking out jane’s carousel, powerHouse books, and the loft dan humphrey grew up in before moving into the van der woodsen penthouse on the upper east side. brooklyn heights – with its brownstones, lush gardens, and great views of manhattan – is just south of dumbo, so we walked down the brooklyn heights promenade, enjoying the views of downtown new york and the crisp fall air.

the humphreys (dan, jenny, rufus – the whole bunch) lived here before moving in with the van der woodsens. if you don’t know what i’m talking about, then you’re not doing it right.

after lunch at superfine, it was back up to williamsburg, where we checked out the sketchbrook project, which was one of my favorite finds of the entire trip (check out my previous post on it here), and mast brothers chocolate (see photo above), which i had read about in kinfolk and lived up to its reputation. i was extremely surprised and excited to find mast brothers chocolate bars being sold at poketo in little tokyo, los angeles, just one week later. a rest was in order to watch some college football (it is that time of year), at which point i saw roger sterling walk by. apparently celebrities aren’t just in la.

the baby soda jazz band playing in the delightfully intimate cafe moto

c’est christine mentioned great live jazz at cafe moto, and if there is one thing to know about me, it is that i like live jazz. so a few of us walked over and planted ourselves at a table next to the baby soda jazz band, where we stayed for about four hours. fantastic jazz, excellent food, wonderful company; the night could not have been better. we purchased two cds, called for encores, and had a generally merry time. would absolutely return.

baby soda jazz at cafe moto

with only one day left, we knew we had to cover a lot of ground. thankfully we had some friends to help. starting out with breakfast donuts at dough in bed-stuy, we savored lemon poppyseed and chocolate caramel sea salt donuts (hello, delicious), and then attempted to walk it off by crossing south into crown heights and then prospect park and park slope. the walk down eastern parkway was spectacular with leafy promenades, the botanical gardens, the brooklyn museum, the magestic brooklyn library, and finally into prospect park. the size of the buildings was completely unexpected as i did not realize just how large brooklyn was. i instantly fell in love. i can totally see why people move here and stay, and find it to have enough city while still being home at the same time. and since now the secret of brooklyn is out, you better get there fast. but you can rest assured that the cabs will be there, too.

donuts at dough in bed-stuy – with flavors that were too difficult to choose between!

who should go: indie music lovers, book worms, readers of kinfolk
what to read: motherless brooklyn by jonathan lethem
what to pack: comfortable flats or kicks for walking, light jackets for fall to take you from cool mornings and evenings into warm days

strolling through brooklyn heights reminded me of watching sesame street

dancing in front of the majestic brooklyn public library

my jaunts: brooklyn, los angeles, oh my!

Posted on September 25, 2013 by jaunt blog

a beautiful day in brooklyn spent walking along the east river

apologies for the delay in posting – there are just too many things going on! i haven’t had a chance to upload anything substantial these past couple of weeks, but there are so many places i’ve gone and things i’ve seen that i want to share. with trips to manhattan, brooklyn, and los angeles in the past several weeks, i have too much to write and not enough time to do it. in the meantime, a few things i came across during my travels that i just adore:

the sketchbook project in brooklyn – this is a library based in williamsburg that also roves across the country and encourages artists, writers, even YOU to sketch in a notebook, tag with themes, send back to the project, and then allow others to check out your work. you are notified each time someone checks out your book, and you can check out others’ books through random selection or by searching with key words for themes people have associated to books. so hipster, so fun.

the sketchbook project library in williamsburg, brooklyn

my new book – one of my favorite things to do in new cities is check out their independent bookstores. my friend, matt, took me to powerHouse books in DUMBO (Distict Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass…seriously), brooklyn, and i purchased a copy of “a week at the airport” by alain de botton. basically, he was given access to an airport for a week, and he writes about what he saw, his adventures, and who he met. there are photos. i cannot wait to read it. problem: i still need to finish infinite jest, and i only recently made it to the halfway mark circa page 600.

powerHouse books in dumbo, brooklyn, where i purchased “a week at the airport” by alain de botton

the magic castle – when i lived in la, i thought this elusive magic castle was dumb. basically, it’s this old castle-like house where a bunch of magicians go each night and perform tricks and illusions for members (and their guests!) who adhere to a strict dress code and pay a lot for dinner. except then i heard that neil patrick harris was the president. so off we went, underdressed in business casual but overamazed at the ridiculous amount of times i kept saying “no really, how did you do that??” no photos were allowed inside, but suffice it to say that the three stories worth of narrow hallways lined with pictures to the ceiling, a piano with a ghost that plays any song you request, and tricks performed up close and even in your hand will leave you amazed…and full from the delicious meal, as well. i shall return.

red carpet at the magic castle (like my work badge?)

i hope you have been just as busy and exploring new places on your own. let me know if you’ve found any i should check out! i’m looking forward to being back in town for a few weeks to have some adventures around dallas.

my jaunts: road trip through new england

Posted on September 9, 2013 by jaunt blog

the lighthouse at cape elizabeth, outside of portland, maine

a few years ago, my soon-to-be husband and i traveled to a part of the country i had been dying to see: the northeast. previously, i had seen new york and boston, but everything north and in the middle was unchartered territory. i had heard stories of the quaint towns and lush landscapes, and couldn’t wait to see it for myself. we booked a rental car, packed some seersucker and khaki (it was june), and flew to boston!

a quick train took us from boston to maine, which was our first stop, to visit friends in portland. so here’s the thing about portland: it’s adorable. unique shops line narrow streets with vintage-looking signs hanging from brick buildings. the sea is right there, and the smell of salt is everywhere. a lobster (lob-stah) roll is a must. as is a tour of lighthouses. i thought they would be on the outskirts of town and few and far between. they were not. they were everywhere! the one in cape elizabeth is a real winner, with a charming gift shop and stunning views. also, the land’s end flagship store is in freeport, and it’s pretty epic. buy some deck shoes and rain boots, and you’ll be good to go for the rest of your trip.

vintage-looking signs in downtown portland, maine

after a couple of days in maine, we decided to head west, first through new hampshire, then vermont, and ending the day in upstate new york. having lived in texas and california, the idea of passing through three states in one day (and having enough time to get out explore them) seemed absurd. but that’s just the crazy part of new england, and the one that makes map tests of that area so difficult (seriously – how does anyone ever remember which is new hampshire and which is vermont?).

the local watering hole in barnard, vermont – just north of woodstock

in new hampshire, we stopped at dartmouth, and toured the campus. we walked the perimeter of campus and also toured the orozco murals, which were named a new national landmark this year. in vermont, we stopped in woodstock, where i instantly fell in love. now, my friend from vermont tells me that local vermonters make fun of woodstock – it’s just a little too pretty and too quaint and too on-the-highway-looking-for-tourists. but it was just right for me. from the adorable stores lining the main street to the woodstock crier chalkboard on the main square (feel free to leave your own note or announcement!), i was hooked. the woodstock inn and resort in the middle of town had me calling my mom and trying to call off my dallas-planned wedding in favor of a destination wedding to woodstock (don’t worry, she talked me off the ledge). all i’m saying is that it’s got charm. we took a detour to barnard, just a few miles north of woodstock, and enjoyed ice cream from a general store while we watched families play in the local watering hole.

the woodstock town crier – definitely fell in love with this

we ended the day in cooperstown, new york, where we stayed at the inn at cooperstown (to this day, one of my favorite b&b’s – check out my post here). if you’re ever in town, you should a) stay at the inn, b) eat at alex & ika, and c) visit the baseball hall of fame. the hall of fame is extremely well done, and you get to meet phanatic (even though i’m a yankees fan, i still have a soft spot in my heart for the phillies mascot).

phanatic and me in cooperstown, ny at the baseball hall of fame

a day after exploring cooperstown, we were ready to head back to boston with a quick jaunt to cape cod. we stopped to check out smith college (where we ate at 40 green street – so delicious) as i had been reading sylvia plath’s journals from college, and basically was falling in love. what a beautiful campus! so crazy to think miss plath walked those same walkways so many years ago.

40 green street across the street from smith college

our final stop was cape cod, where we rented a house in dennis, and stayed for a few days. the weather was perfect, the beaches were cool and expansive, and i found my single-best nature discovery yet: the outdoor shower! a staple of cape cod homes, the outdoor shower is not to be missed. birds chirping and the cool morning breeze – it was perfect. and no road trip would be complete without a trip to a bonafide diner, which is exactly what we did on our last day when we visited grumpy’s in east dennis. great food, good people, and a perfect end to a relaxing week spent exploring new england.

my first experience with an outdoor shower – amazing!

who should go: those looking to escape for awhile, baseball fans
what to read: a moose and a lobster walk into a bar…: tales from maine, by john mcdonald, the unabridged journals of sylvia plath, edited by karen v. kukil
what to pack: layers! it gets cool at night.
when to go: we went in june and enjoyed gorgeous weather, but new england is also famous for its beautiful trees in the fall – book early and see the foliage in late september/early october (as long as a storm doesn’t beat you to it)

my jaunts: santorini, greece

Posted on August 20, 2013 by jaunt blog

view of the santorini caldera from our balcony at astra suites

my husband’s and my second anniversary was a couple of weeks ago (see our anniversary trip to san antonio here), and it got me to thinking about our previous trips together, namely our honeymoon that we took to the shockingly beautiful santorini, greece. i had seen the photos and thought there was no way it would be so astonishing in person. yep, it was. santorini can be expensive, but let me tell you, it is totally worth it.

these guys run the donkey rides from the port to the cliff’s edge in fira. no nonsense here. you get on a donkey and you ride. no regrets.

where to stay
so santorini is an island with multiple cities, not just one city like many people think. fira/thira is the port city, and is quite busy. filled with a lot of tourist stores (this is where the cruise ships dock on a daily basis), it also has some hidden gems. one in particular is the donkey ride you can take from the port down below (the only thing at sea level) up a winding (and completely dangerous by US standards) path to the cliff’s edge where the town resides. i highly recommend this, and i highly recommend doing it at night, so you can’t see just how sharp that cliff is that you’re climbing. oh yeah, if you’re into clubbing, stay in fira.

climbing the stone path from the port to fira…on donkeys…in the dark. terrifying/awesome.

oia is the nicest city in my opinion and lays claim to the most beautiful sunset in the world (i believe it – keep reading). it is also the furthest away from the port, so if you’re staying in oia and want to explore the island, you will definitely need a car or need to explore the bus options. imerovigli is between fira and oia, and is where we stayed at astra suites.

overlooking fira from imerovigli in santorini

it is a 30 minute walk along the cliff’s edge to fira (which was a walk we made often and thoroughly enjoyed), which was just far enough away to get away from the crowds and enjoy a bit more of the true santorini lifestyle. i highly recommend astra (for more information on astra suites, see my triptease review) if for nothing else than you get the owner, george’s, suggestions for your time in santorini. which leads me to our next topic…

what to do
santorini was perfect for me in that it was big enough for me to explore and get to know another culture. but also small enough that you feel like you can sit at your hotel pool for a day and not feel guilty about doing nothing other than soaking in the breathtaking views. a few of my favorites things we did:

overlooking the caldera while hiking the santorini volcano

– boat cruise around the caldera – santorini is an island that was formed after a giant volcano erupted. there’s a chance it will still erupt. it’s the chance santorinians are willing to take when living on the island in exchange for living in utopia. the boat cruise we took sailed around the caldera and docked at the volcano site, which we hiked up while learning about the history of the island. we also visited the hot springs created by the volcano (which unfortunately have a strong sulphur smell) and swam in the sea while our captains made us dinner. we then sailed to oia where we watched the sunset while we were serenaded by saxophone (cheesy? yes. perfect? you betcha.).

swimming the hot springs in santorini – strong sulphur smells, but worth it!

– explore the island – we rented a car one day and drove around the island. we stopped at megalochori, a small, quaint, narrow, white, artsy town with a cute square that held tavernas and wineries and giant fuschia flowers that appeared to be fake they were so pretty. adorable.

town entrance to megalachori on santorini

we then drove to akrotiri, which houses the site of the (then closed) ruins of minoan civilization. we parked and hiked around the cliff to the red beach – stunning. it’s a small beach at the bottom of the red volcanic cliff just filled with people.

the red beach in santorini (see the throngs of people at the bottom of the cliff)

the next stop was perivolos, which houses the black beach on the back of the island – called the black beach due to the small black pebbles that line the water instead of sand – very good at exfoliating, but also so hot! kind of a party vibe if you’re looking for that (think tons of beach bars and thumping music).

pebble “sand” from the black beach on the back of santorini island

we wanted to explore a little more, so we hopped back in the car and headed to pyrgos, a quaint town on a hill in the middle of the island. an old venetian fort stands on top of the hill and inside is franco’s cafe, which provides sweeping views of the caldera and black beaches, all with classical music playing. it was quite nice after the craziness of the black beach. also, order a freddo. last stop: oia. best. stop. yet. the streets are narrow and the pedestrian paths are paved in marble and lined with art galleries, jewelry stores, and nice restaurants (a far cry from the tacky souvenir shops of fira). we parked just outside of town and walked in, which leads me to my final must-do of the island…

oia, santorini – so perfect for food and sunsets and watching beautiful people stroll by.

– eat fresh seafood in oia while watching the sunset. magical. at the edge of oia, we descended 250 OLD stone stairs to the bay of ammoudi. about 10 fresh seafood restaurants are located here and we had made reservations at dimitri’s, recommended by our trusty friend, george. we arrived in time for the sunset and sat at the edge (literally) of the bay. one wrong step and we could have easily fallen in. the owner’s wife is canadian and she waited on us and helped us order our meal – some mezedes (appetizers, and p.s. order as many greek salads as you can – they are divine), some wine, and one whole fish to split between us.

dinner at dimitri’s at the bay of ammoudi in oia, santorini

while the travel costs and accommodations can be pricey (do look into hostels or cities on the back of the island if that’s keeping you from going), santorini is worth every penny. i promise.

the santorini sunset, as seen from the bay of ammoudi in oia

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