Posted: May 17th, 2023 | Filed under: Out Of Town
April 8, 2023
We landed first thing in the morning flying in from NYC so the thing to do was stay up.
Novelty Automation in Holborn helped keep us engaged:
Then headed around the block to The Fryer’s Delight, wasting no time getting our fish and chips box ticked:
From there wandered down toward Westminster via the Strand:
And finally to Trafalgar Square:
And everyone stayed awake!
April 9, 2023
This being Sunday we had to visit Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park:
Walked around Kensington:
And then hit up The World’s End in Finsbury Park for Sunday Roast while watching Arsenal tie Liverpool:
April 10, 2023
A tour of Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea FC:
Nearby, the Harrods food hall:
And why stop with one Premier League stadium? Fron there we checked in with Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium:
April 11, 2023
Morning run along Regent’s Canal in Islington near where we stayed in Canonbury:
Later, passing by St Paul’s Cathedral on our way across the River Thames:
…on our way to the Tate Modern:
The Queen’s Walk:
…toward Borough Market:
April 12, 2023
We and seeming every other tourist in London attended the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace:
…followed by a Full English Breakfast at Regency Cafe:
The checkerboard pattern of the Edwin Lutyens-designed Grosvenor Estate Social Housing on Page Street is really striking:
Camden Market:
That evening, we saw The Tempest at Shakespeare’s Globe:
April 13, 2023
Piccadilly Circus for some shopping:
Fortnum & Mason:
Nearby Chinatown:
Tea and Tattle in Bloomsbury before a visit to the British Museum:
April 14, 2023
Kew Gardens:
And Ted Lasso lives just down the road in Richmond:
…and his local:
Had to get back across town to see the strange and wonderful Viktor Wynd Museum:
April 15, 2023
A trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to catch a Premier League match:
A Hackney rainbow:
April 16, 2023
The Monument:
Sunday Roast at Blacklock City:
Brick Lane:
Posted: November 17th, 2022 | Filed under: Out Of Town
Basically got a good last-minute package deal to Guanacaste, Costa Rica between Christmas and New Year’s. Easy flight down direct to the airport in Liberia and fun mix of warm beach/relaxation and cool stuff to see. The country’s motto is “pura vida,” “pure life,” a sort of an optimistic affirmation (that apparently comes from a 1950s Mexican film featuring an unflappable happy-go-lucky protagonist) and the warm, dry desert-y vibe of Guanacaste certainly feels that way:
December 27, 2021
Beachside pool (access via the residence club we spent the week at) at Coco Beach in Playas del Coco, a lovely spot:
December 28, 2021
Hacienda El Viejo combination cultural tasting (sugar cane products and tortillas, etc.) and boat tour along the Tempisque River, where you see monkeys, birds and crocodiles:
December 29, 2021
The charming Llanos del Cortés Waterfall:
Looking at their official Facebook page, it seems that you can’t always swim there if there’s too much rain but we were there on a nice day.
December 30, 2021
Just over the border Alajuela Province in the rain forest region near the Volcán Tenorio is Spring Paradise Bijagua, a private reserve where you can see sloths up in the trees:
Costa Rica is known for its birding and there are lots of birds to see around the country, including at Spring Paradise Bijagua:
This overpass in Liberia is part of the Pan-American Highway, which we drove back and forth on:
We didn’t eat out a lot in Costa Rica but did have a nice seafood meal at Restaurante Mar Azul in Coco:
Posted: November 1st, 2022 | Filed under: Out Of Town
Our three weeks in Colombia were amazing: stunning natural beauty, great food and so much deep and profound history to learn about — both recent and past.
Bogotá, July 2-4, 2022
July 2, 2022
Landed late so took it easy on our first day and went for a delicious late breakfast at La Puerta Falsa — our introduction to ajiaco soup and Colombian-style tamales, not to mention the oddly satisfying “Chocolate Completo,” which comes with a hunk of cheese you can dip in your beverage (!):
We then journeyed from Plaza de Bolívar to Estación de la Sabana to buy tickets for the Turistren to Zipaquirá, after which we visited to the Plaza de Mercado Paloquemao market where you can purchase exotic (at least to us!) Colombian fruit:
Dinner: Salvo Patria.
July 3, 2022
Took the Turistren to Zipaquirá where the main attraction is the wonderful and inspired Catedral de Sal, or Salt Cathedral:
July 4, 2022
Visited the Cementerio Central de Bogotá:
. . . after which we happened upon the Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación and neighboring Parque El Renacimiento. Centro de Memoria was closed for the holiday, unfortunately, but we did get to see the outdoor columbarios, structures meant to hold funerary urns, in this case memorializing all the dead during the years of civil unrest and drug wars:
Cartagena, July 5-9, 2022
July 5, 2022
In Cartagena, we experienced 90-degree heat and 78-degree dew points and quickly learned why people seem to stay inside during the day! On our first day, we walked around Old Town, then had lunch at La Cevichería:
It was so insanely hot we retreated back our hotel in adorable Getsemaní to spend the rest of the afternoon in the pool:
That evening after the heat broke we enjoyed the La Fantástica Pirate Ship Sunset Tour (with all-you-can-drink pirate punch):
Coming back to Getsemaní we saw how lively the neighborhood gets at night, especially around Plaza de la Trinidad:
July 6, 2022
All-day catamaran excursion to the Rosario Islands:
July 7, 2022
Braved the heat to see the view from the Castillo San Felipe de Barajas:
After that we got back in the pool, then did a wonderful cooking class through Foodies where we learned how to make arepas de huevos and a couple of other dishes typical of the region . . .
July 8, 2022
A stroll through Parque del Centenario, where, no kidding, there are monkeys and sloths:
Dinner: Restaurante Coroncoro.
July 9, 2022
Final day, where we stayed cool at a movie theater in Bocagrande and went back into Old Town to take in the (surprisingly!) interesting/engaging Museo Naval del Caribe:
Medellín, July 10-13, 2022
July 10, 2022
The beautiful Jardín Botánico followed by a fun soccer match between hometown club Atlético Nacional and their Primera A rival Cortuluá at Estadio Atanasio Girardot:
July 11, 2022
Plaza Botero and a ride on Metrocable Línea P:
Dinner: Mondongo’s El Poblado.
July 12, 2022
The very informative/highly recommended Comuna 13 tour guides you through the formerly troubled and violent epicenter of Colombia’s civil and drug wars. It focuses on the neighborhood’s renaissance and rich graffiti culture:
Dinner: La Matriarca.
July 13, 2022
Placita de Flórez market and Museo Casa de la Memoria:
Then some of us went to a science museum and others took the Metrocable Línea K and Metrocable Línea L to Parque Arví in the mountains above the city:
Salento, July 14-17, 2022
July 14, 2022
After flying into Pereira and taking a car service to Salento, we walked around the hilltop town’s cute streets and lovely town square with its church that has actual bells that someone has to ring:
Also, learned how tejo works at Cancha De Tejo Los Amigos.
Dinner: Donde Laurita where we tried “trucha,” the local trout fish dish and Quindú Restaurante.
July 15, 2022
Enjoyed the incredibly informative, very thorough and highly recommended Finca Don Eduardo Tour, where the English proprietor generously shares his time, knowledge and expertise he has gleaned from his experience nursing a 100-plus-year-old coffee farm back into production. Again, highly recommended and perhaps even worth visiting Salento for (details here):
After, we took in the views from the town’s two miradors — Mirador Alto de la Cruz and Mirador de Salento that look over the town and out toward the Cocoro Valley:
July 16, 2022
Spent most of the day at the Seussically Instagrammable Valle de Cocora/Cocora Valley, which is accessible from Salento via jeeps that are called “Willies”:
And more trucha for dinner at Restaurante Bar Shalem:
Pereira, July 17-18, 2022
July 17, 2022
We had one last coffee in Salento at Café Jesús Martín before our drive to Pereira, where we walked around a bit in the neighborhood near Plaza de Bolívar and the hotel before enjoying the Circo Vegas Fantasy at Coliseo Mayor Rafael Cuartas Gaviria:
Bogotá, July 18-21, 2022
July 18, 2022
Back to Bogotá . . .
July 19, 2022
The Museo del Oro tells the story of gold in Colombia and is as fascinating as it is visually appealing:
July 20, 2022
The view from Monserrate, high above the city:
And the wild and wonderful Andrés Carne de Res:
July 21, 2022
Our final day in Colombia, another fun cooking class and dinner at Mini-Mal before getting on the plane to return home:
