Tag: foodie

Salzburg & The Sound of Music

Posted in Europe 2025, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, and SwitzerlandTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

September 9, 2025

We had another early morning of travel. Of course these are all self-inflicted because I want to squeeze as much as I can out of a trip. We had to return our car rental and get shuttled over to the airport and we weren’t sure how long any of that would take, since honestly, every airport is so different.

Thankfully, all of that went without a hitch. A lot of reviews talked about how poorly organized the Florence airport was… we didn’t experience that at all. Maybe during peak travel season (July/August) it’s worse? But we got through luggage drop and security quickly and even had enough time to impulse another leather purse before boarding our plane.

When we had woken up Jon and Yvonne had text us saying they were on their way to Florence from Austria. We had thought it would be fun if we could have seen each other in the airport, but the timing was slightly off. But then our flight got delayed for some unknown reason, and then we were just sitting on our plane. I told Andy, “I bet we are waiting for Jon and Yvonne’s plane to land.”

Sure enough, an Austrian Air plane landed and then our plane was allowed to move. I promptly took a quick video and picture and text them and text them, “Is this you?” And we were up in the air. Sure enough, it was indeed them. So that was a lot of fun that we got to “see” them on this trip.

It was a short flight to Munich. Once we landed we picked up our car rental. Our first car unfortunately had low tire pressure in all four tires, we discovered this after we had loaded all of our luggage. So we had to swap the car for a new one.

We made our way to our hotel to drop our luggage off before starting our road trip to Salzburg, Austria. And as soon as we made it to our hotel, we were quickly met with some of the worst customer service we experienced on the trip. We knew our room wouldn’t be ready, and had no expectation that we would be let into our room. But the girl seemed to think I was asking for that? But I was simply asking for our bags to be stored – and Andy was asking about parking.

The couple before us (Europeans – not Germans though) had asked about it as well. She had given them a form to fill out and explained in great detail some information and sent them on their way. When Andy approached she simply stated, “We’re full.” And offered no other information. Andy had to ask a few other ways about where else we could park, what other options we had, etc. before we found out the neighboring hotel options.

Honestly, it was a really poor experience and the only reason we booked that hotel is because one of their affiliate hotels was incredible last year in Sitges, Spain. Keep in mind, this is where I decided to spend my birthday. And at this point, I had even joined the Meliá loyalty program and had points. None of this was even acknowledged.

ANYWAY… bags were dropped. Parking was sorted and we were on our way to Salzburg! Austria requires that you have a vignette for tolls. So if you get a car rental make sure you either get the sticker or a digital one or you can get fined. Not fun.

But we made our own Sound of Music tour. We did our own version of the Do-Re-Mi steps. We tried to visit the nunnery. And we got to see where they had moved the gazebo to, meticulously groomed gardens, fountains, and ponds.

It was a lot of fun! The city was clean and beautiful. We got there before the rain started (we did bring umbrellas from the hotel – they begrudgingly loaned them to us) and only needed them for dinner.

The famous Pegasus Fountain

I had picked out a restaurant that had opened in 1663, Bärenwirt. When we were originally going to go, we had thought we were going for lunch. But because things had taken so long, we had revamped our plans and were now doing an early dinner. We found ourselves with no reservation and a very popular restaurant. Thankfully because we were a party of two, and it was early enough – the host said as long as we were okay sharing and willing to be done before 7pm we could join them, needless to say, we received a much more welcoming time in Austria than at the hotel.

I had some of the best dumplings I’ve had in my life – and Andy was happy as a clam with a sausage, potatoes, and sauerkraut. It was such a delicious meal! The atmosphere was wonderful as well.

The food was incredible

We made our way back to Munich and turned in for the evening.

Up Next:
-Neuschwanstein Castle
-Schloss Linderhof

Hotel:
– Hotel München City Center Affiliated by Meliá

Cruise ships, trains, and automobiles

Posted in Europe 2025, Spain, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Italy Cruise, WineryTagged , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

September 8, 2025

We woke up really early on Monday (4:45 am) to get ready to disembark from the ship. Normally on cruise lines, you can leave your luggage out the night before and they will carry it off for you, but if you need to leave earlier than 7:00 am – you’re on your own.

We got ready for the day and had breakfast – we were quite surprised how many other early risers there were with us. We made sure that we had everything with us and made our way down to the meeting place. We were quite surprised that they were already ushering people down to the gangway.

We actually think we may have cut the line (oops – it was an accident!) and ended up being the first ones off the ship. As we walked off we knew we needed to get to the train station. On Google maps, it looked like it was a short walk, but it was still dark and figured it would be easier to take a cab. Seeing as neither of us speak Italian, we asked the eager cab drivers to take us.

We were met with blank stares and then no one moved. We figured it was because no one wanted to take us because it was a short drive. Little did we know, it was because they had the whole system figured out. They were waiting until they had a van full of us and they wanted to charge 10 euro a person to bring us over.

Thankfully that took 5 minutes total, because everyone else behind us had the same idea. I had already bought tickets weeks before, but some of these individuals hadn’t yet – and some had mistakenly bought their tickets for the 9 am train (that was 2 hours away). We had to wait a little bit, but before too long we were on our way to Rome!

Our train was pretty full with regional folk and people from the cruise alike, and people were hopping on until the last minute. It was pretty chaotic. (Not as chaotic as our ride from London to Edinburgh, but pretty close!)

We pulled into the station and had roughly 15 minutes to haul from our platform to the next that was leaving for Florence. It wouldn’t have been so bad if we didn’t have all of our luggage, but we had to take that up and down stairs (which wasn’t ideal). But we made it with a few minutes to spare – and we were able to help a few Americans figure out their seats and where to stow their luggage as well even!

We love the high speed trains in Europe – on average our train was going about 154 mph. I really wish we had these in the US – makes travel so simple. When we made it to Florence – Andy and I split up. He took the tram to the airport to get our car rental, and I made my way to our hotel with our big suitcases to drop them and freshen up.

We both had one hell of a journey. He was on a “sweat train” and I was on a battle with cobblestones and some of the dumbest tourists (and yes, I’m aware I was also a tourist!). I also want to note that there are a lot of cities in Europe that are known for pickpockets, and Florence is one of them. And being a single female with two large suitcases, a backpack, and a purse – I wasn’t going to fall prey to anyone. I had my head on a swivel and was trying to memorize my Google maps directions as I was walking.

By the time I made it to the hotel I had sweat through my shirt and my muscles were shaking from being so tense – of course it was so early in the day our room wasn’t ready. Thankfully the hotel had a nice bathroom that I could get cleaned up in. They were able to stow our luggage while we were away.

Andy separately was having a heck of a time getting the car, but he was finally on his way to me with the car and our carry ons. We registered the car with the hotel, which allowed us to drive through some of the “local streets” that would have otherwise resulted in a fine. (Last time we were in Italy it took almost 2 years before the fines showed up in the mail, so we won’t hold our breath – they could still show up!)

And then we were on our way to a winery we went to back in 2019 – NostraVita! We were sad we weren’t able to coordinate with Jon and Yvonne on this trip, funny enough they were going the same week – just a few days later.

We had hoped that we would be able to sneak in another wine tasting on this trip, but due to a few things taking longer than expected we were only able to do NostraVita. But it was worth it. We had a great time doing the tour and seeing all of the new art pieces they had installed and the projects they had worked on since the pandemic.

Art recognizes the fallen grape
Re-enactment of a previous photo
So glad we were here just before harvest!

The last time we were there they had recently lost their daughter/sister – and we were able to see how they were paying tribute to her through the winery now. It was really touching and how beautiful it is to be loved so deeply by a family like them.

We were able to catch up with Annibale with some help from Carlotta translating. He asked a lot about how we kept busy during the pandemic, we could clearly see how he had kept busy. At the end, he made sure we knew that we shouldn’t wait six years next time to come back to visit. It’s just a good reminder how short life is, and it really is beautiful.

All Sangiovese Grapes!

While we were on the tour Andy had noticed a label that had said 2014 Brunello – which is the year that we got married. So when we were deciding on what we were going to buy, we asked Carlotta how much those would be. And she was able to verify that they had about 12 left – so we were even able to get some of those! It even made the trip more special – she also gifted a wooden wine box for us as well, which was so sweet.

Annibale- Master of all! (artist, wine maker, author, craftsman, and beautiful patriarch!)

We made our way back to Florence and had dinner in the Piazza della Repubblica, which was right by our hotel. We had a few items we wanted to do while in town. We wanted to buy some leather products, find a wine window and buy drinks from it, and look at the duomo. We had a very productive evening and we were able to accomplish all of them.

We love Italy so deeply and don’t want to wait so long before coming back. We definitely think we will be back sooner next time!

Accommodations:
Hotel Pendini

Up Next:
– Flight to Munich
– Salzburg
– DIY Sound of Music tour

Our first taste of Greece: Mykonos

Posted in Europe 2025, Spain, Malta, Greece, Turkey, Italy CruiseTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

September 3, 2025

We arrived in Mykonos early today and were awoken by a ton of shaking. Not sure what the shaking was because we weren’t actually docked, (this is a tender port for us – which means they shuttle us back and forth to shore by smaller boats) but it was really windy. I guess Mykonos is notorious for being windy, but without the wind the heat would be unbearable. Honestly, it feels a bit like a hair dryer because it’s hot!

One of my favorite types of cuisines is Mediterranean, so we had booked a walking food tour while we were in Mykonos with Celebrity. It didn’t start until lunchtime so we took it easy in the morning and got ready at a leisurely pace.

We got there a little early, and walked around waiting for our guide to show up. Once Claudio did, we immediately knew that we were in good hands. We could tell that he carried himself with professionalism, was incredibly knowledgeable, and that he was well known with others in the industry.

And honestly, without him we would have gotten lost within the labyrinth that is the Mykonos maze. The maze was set up intentionally to confuse pirates that may have tried to invade to loot the town in the past. Now it just confuses tourists (including us) and makes for a fun adventure when you’re trying to find a shop that you spotted a cute sun dress in the window at earlier!

We had five different stops that included a variety of traditional Greek food and drink. The first stop was a bakery that had a Tiropitakia (cheese pie), which was something that the average Greek would grab when they were “on the go.”

Claudio also wanted to make sure he mixed in cultural stops too – so we stopped to see some windmills and “Little Venice.” It was a really picturesque area!

From there we had kebabs – some people in the group opted for gyros, which were the size of your head. Once we left that restaurant we reentered the maze. As we wove through the streets, we saw the interesting mix of high end stores (Louis Vuitton) with Mykonos branded mugs and keychains shops. And there were so many cats everywhere! Claudio taught us that cats are loved on the island because they help keep both the rodent and viper population under control, plus they’re cute!

The next couple of stops were a little quicker – the next was a sweet. It was called the “Ypovrichio.” The submarine – a rich white chewy sweet that is served on a spoon dipped in a long glass of crystal cold water. So that’s exactly what we did, we all stood outside a candy shop with our glass of water with these!

My 10-year old self would have killed for one of these. But it was a little too sweet for me now, but it was so fun to try!

From there, it was a quick walk over to our next stop where we had a shot of Ouzo and an appetizer plate with traditional Greek items that were all super tasty. The Ouzo was definitely an acquired taste – has a very strong licorice flavor (not my favorite). But, when in “Rome” in this case, Mykonos… bottoms up!

We rounded out the day at The Milky Way, our final stop for Greece’s spin at Turkish Delight and a sample of Mastiha (another one of their liqueurs). The restaurant was hopping so the server actually brought the glasses and the loukoumi out to us on the beach. Both were actually very good, and the liqueur was far tastier than the ouzo we had at the previous place.

After we finished those, we parted ways from Claudio and the rest of the group and made our way into the maze and started shopping. It was fun to drop into different shops, and window shop. But we didn’t leave with too many different things.

We made our way back to the ship with plenty of time because we wanted to make sure we didn’t get lost and left behind in the maze. (Although it might not have been the worst place to get stuck!)

Our tender ride back to the ship

Up Next:
Ephesus, Turkey

Panama – Playa Bonita Adventures

Posted in Panamá, San Blas Islands, San Blas Sailing, SailingTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

April 23-27, 2025

Once we landed back in Panama City, we were transported to our resort by San Blas Sailing’s shuttle. We arrived early, and unfortunately the hotel wasn’t prepared for us. Our group has had experiences with all-inclusive resorts, and it felt like it’s a relatively new concept in Panama. The check-in process was slow, and they gave each couple conflicting messages about when our rooms would be ready. (We were told 1 hour, others heard 2 hours, and the last couple heard to come back at 1PM). Regardless, most resorts would typically give you the wrist band so you could start enjoying the resort, but this one said we couldn’t get them until 3PM.

We decided to make our way back into town for lunch – Mark and I had found a restaurant with fun drinks and a “crunchwrap,” so naturally we ended up there. Getting around Panama was really easy, Ubers were very affordable!

After lunch, we were all excited to get settled into our rooms and freshen up again. (The catamaran was amazing – but the showers were more like what you imagine in a camper). So we made our way back to the resort.

This time, two of our rooms were ready and we were able to get changed up for the pool. One of the downsides of traveling during shoulder season is that sometimes you run into maintenance that needs to be completed during a less busy time. Basically, one of the main pools was being drained and it meant everyone was forced into the same area of the pools. But it ended up being fine – and it was nice to be at the pool.

The resort also had a rotation on their restaurants, so the first night we ate at their Asian restaurant. The food was all really good and we enjoyed it before heading to karaoke. The rest of the group loves karaoke and they are really good at it. It was also fun to watch other groups sing – there was a good mix of performers in Spanish and English.

The next day we went to the historic district again and our driver gave us an excellent recommendation for Panamanian cuisine – El Nacional – it was SO good. I think it was my favorite meal of the trip!

We did a little shopping after lunch before heading to the Panama Canal. We got lucky because we didn’t research the timing of things ahead of our visit, because there could have been a chance that no ships were coming through the lock systems.

The Panama Canal is a man-made waterway that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It saves ships a huge amount of time, roughly about 8,000 miles by letting them avoid sailing all the way around South America. (Hello Drake Passage!) Instead of taking weeks, the trip through the canal takes about 8 to 10 hours. Ships pass through a system of locks that raise and lower them to move across the canal (and passing through Gatun Lake). It’s one of the most important shortcuts in the world!

We were able to watch a few ships and a sailboat pass through the lock at Miraflores Visitor Center. They also had a wonderful video on the history of the canal narrated by none other than Morgan Freeman that helped us understand the impact the canal had on Panama.

The next day we were set to go out on an eco-adventure that would take us on a tram ride through a forest, to monkey island on a boat ride through Gatun Lake (part of the Panama Canal), and to a sloth sanctuary. The tram ride was a cool way to get to see the forest and the canopy, we didn’t get to see a lot of wildlife when we were on it – but I’m sure on other days you might have better luck. From our vantage point, we could see ships making their way down the Panama Canal.

The next stop was the high-speed boat ride, which took us through the canal and to monkey islands. We got to see quite a few monkeys that would pop down to the boat to get a snack from our guide. I believe we got to see at least three different species – and they ranged in different sizes. They were really cute and I think it was a worthwhile stop!

From there we made our way to the sloth sanctuary. It was really cool to see the animals up close (but not too close – they were on platforms and we weren’t able to get up and hold them unfortunately) – they are so weird. I just love sloths. There were also poison dart frogs there and a butterfly section as well. Overall, it was cool to see some of the native Panamanian species.

Our tour also stopped for us at a convenience store, because I think all of us wanted to get some local snacks. We tried a bunch of different candies and chips – which is one of my favorite things to do when we are abroad!

We rounded out the night at a speakeasy that Mark had found in his research. This was another highlight of the trip and the drinks were superb. They were based on different tarot cards, and each card had both a drink/glass associated with it. I’d highly recommend Arcano to anyone who is visiting Panama City!

Our final full day in Panama was a more relaxing one – Andy and I started our day off with a massage before getting lunch and spending the rest of the day in the pool. We had such a fabulous time with our friends and floating in the pool. We didn’t want to leave, but had a great vacation there!

Up Next:
– Europe cruise (August/September)