Christmas Traditions in Europe

Rick Steves is our all time favorite travel guru and so of course I listen to his radio show (via podcasts).  Here is a great episode on Christmas traditions in Europe: http://www.ricksteves.com/radio/archive.htm#34b

Rick takes listener calls about travel during the holidays, and phones a few of his friends in Europe to find out how they're celebrating Christmas. We'll also hear about guarding traditions in Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ireland and Portugal, and how some traditions are changing with modern times. And we'll even find out about some of Santa Claus's relatives, back in the "old country."

Enjoy and have a very Merry Christmas! 

Madrid - December 2008

West Virginia, Mountain mama, Take me home, Country roads…

Our latest trip was for another wedding, this time on the east coast.  The ceremony was on a Friday in Washington DC and the 2-day hootenanny (aka 2-day reception) was at a state park in West Virginia.  

I have been to DC a few times for fun – once when I was 13 and again in 2009.  On our last trip we didn’t have a lot of time to see the Smithsonian Museums.  So, after the ceremony Friday morning, we made our way to the American History Museum. I was dying to see Julia Child’s kitchen.  After our trip to France last year, my husband and I really got into cooking French cuisine, especially Julia Child’s recipes, so it was a great treat to actually see her kitchen and all of her gadgets.  She and I even have the same Kitchen Aid Mixer in cobalt blue. 

After the museum we hit the road to West Virginia and yes, John Denver’s song was going through my mind the entire trip, especially when we got lost on those country roads.  NOTE TO SELF: BUY A GPS FOR THE CAR.  Luckily we saw a house with the lights on and the old man who lives there was very helpful.

Yes, that’s right.  We really were in the middle of nowhere.  Cell phone coverage was zip, zero, zilch and it was very odd.  Although aside from getting lost, I really liked not being attached to my phone for a few days.  It was very freeing!

West Virginia is a beautiful state, especially in the fall with all of the changing leaves in their full glory.  We had fun hiking through the park and enjoying the crisp fall weather, which was just a memory in Chicago.  Our stay in West Virginia was brief, but hopefully we’ll make it back one day to drive those country roads.

Wine, Rain and Redwoods

Our friends got married in Sonoma, California last weekend and we flew out to help celebrate their big day.  Sonoma is a cute, small town about an hour outside of San Francisco.  It’s full of great restaurants, shops and places to taste the local wine - all within walking distance of our hotel.  When we arrived Friday afternoon, one of our first stops was Roche Winery’s tasting room just off the square.  About three weeks ago we were on a train in Italy and met Donna who works at Roche Winery.  Talk about a small world!  Of course we had to stop and although we didn’t see Donna, we did end up buying three bottles of wine.  We also went to a few more shops to try the wine, bought some trinkets (like the Gin and Titonic Ice Cube Tray) and a new winter hat from the Baksheesh Fair Trade store.  Sonoma is also about an hour drive from Muir Woods and on Saturday morning we hiked through the redwood forest while the canopy kept us dry.

The actual wedding was at a Cline Cellars Winery and due to rain, the ceremony and reception were held in the barrel rooms.  The location provided such an intimate and unique experience. We had a great time dancing the night away and toasting the happy couple!

On our last day out west we were once again faced with rain and after driving back to San Francisco to drop the rental car off, we had 9 hours to fill before heading to the airport to catch the red eye flight home.   What to do?  Well we managed to:

• Walk around Fisherman’s Warf
• Have crab chowder and fish & garlic chips
• Visit the aquarium
• See a movie to get warm and dry off
• Do some window shopping
• Walk to Chinatown for dinner
• Walk back to Union Square
• Have a few drinks at the hotel bar where our bags were stashed
• Finally go to the airport to find out our flight was delayed two hours

Needless to say, California wore us out, but we still had a great time!

Happy Hour in Italy

Italians really know how to deliver a great happy hour.  Now, they had a lot to live up to in my book after the endless potato chips and olives delivered with our beers in Morocco and how could I forget Spain, where each bar had their own special complimentary treat – olives, jamón and my favorite tortilla Espanola.  Europeans (and Moroccans) know that you need to eat when you drink.  Something bars in the U.S. fail to remember and hence the need for midnight super pretzels.  But I digress…

All over Italy we received various snacks along with our happy hour drinks.  Potato chips were a favorite, as were peanuts and olives, but nothing compared to the bars in Milan.  Our last day in Italy was spent in Milan and after a 3-hour walking tour of the city, which finished with a breathtaking viewing of The Last Supper, we needed a break.  We bee-lined to a bar we saw during our walk and ordered a few drinks.  Well, along with our drinks came mini sandwiches, potato chips and peanuts.  There was also a full snack buffet at the bar.  We were in heaven! 

After one drink we decided to make our way to another bar to compare the happy hour selection and although it wasn’t as grand as the first place, it still provided plenty of snacks to keep us happy and free Wi-Fi, a rarity in Italy.

Tom Enjoying Italian Happy Hour

Chips and Olives!

Yo Heathrow!

My first official post on traveling! My husband and I just spent the last two weeks in Italy (more info to come) and on our return trip home we had a 3+ hour layover at Heathrow. This airport, much to my dismay, is the closest I’ve been to setting foot in the UK. On this visit to Terminal 3 I stopped by the airport Harrods, did some duty free window shopping and bought the new Maeve Binchy book, Minding Frankie.  We also had lunch at one of my husband’s old favorite sushi haunts – Yo Sushi. This was perhaps the BEST airport food I’ve ever had and it was fun! We sat down in front of a conveyor belt that held different dishes on green, blue, purple, orange, pink and gray plates. We just took what we wanted and at the end of our meal they counted the plates (different colors represented different prices), tallied our bill and off we went. BONUS: Endless sparkling or flat water at our disposal from our own personal fountain-type dispenser! Trust me, that was a big deal after two weeks in Italy.

Intro

As my husband and I gear up for our trip to Italy this fall, I began to think about my old blog and how I could reinvent it. Back in 2006 I thought it would be fun to write about the music I was into. Well… two posts in and I was over it. But, since I love to write and I love to reminisce about our travels, I’ve decided to focus on traveling – here, there, everywhere!