Our trip to Hawaii started with a flight delay due to the first, of what will be many, snowstorms. We had organized a last minute sunny trip to Hawaii and were glad to leave snowy Boston behind.

Day 1: We got into Oahu, picked up our convertible and drove top-down to our hotel - Outrigger Reef in Waikiki.

The hotel was great and we were even upgraded to a suite! They have free wi-fi, but they ‘forget’ to tell you to log on to their website (www.outrigger.com) to accept their terms (we figured that out on the tail end of the trip)

Every night, they have live Hawaiian music at the front bar. And they have fantastic (though very sweet) mixed drinks.
I got the Lava Flow – a combination of piña colada & strawberry daiquiri – yum!

We walked around Waikiki, taking in the sights and stumbled onto a small alcove off Lewers street with 5 food trucks – we found our first dinner stop!

Loco Moco is an island staple – rice, meat patty, gravy and fried egg with a side of macaroni salad. It was delicious!

After dinner, we walked on the beach. I wore a light jacket since it was only 70 degrees and ended our night with a drink at the hotel bar overlooking the ocean.

Day 2:  Since our flight was delayed by 1 day, we had to cut our time short on Oahu, thus the following day was jam-packed with sights.

First up: Pearl Harbor

The admission is free for the memorial, though you need to get tickets to board the other ships in the area. Also, crime is extremely high in Oahu, so there are signs not to leave any items in the car or trunk. However, Pearl Harbor also doesn’t let you bring in any bags (you can carry a camera), so they have a bag check which is $3.

After an informational video about the attack, you take a ferry to the memorial, which is built directly over the USS Arizona.

It’s amazing! You can still see the ship underwater, rusty but with tropical fish all over it.

 It is still leaking oil, but not at an alarming rate (per the guide)

After the memorial, we drove to the north shore along east coast to check out the beaches known for surfing and a place for lunch.

We found a hole-in-the-wall that served South Pacific food called: Fiji market. We ordered the chicken curry with rice and topped it with their complimentary condiments: mango chutney and pickled carrots (highly recommended). It was great!

Then we walked down the street to a food truck stop and picked up some shrimp from a ‘shrimp truck': Giovanni’s

I ordered a small shrimp scampi – wow was it garlicky and messy, but very tasty! Luckily there are water fountains to wash your hands at after you eat.

Look how happy I am eating my shrimp!

They also had a small fruit stand, which turned out to be VERY expensive, but the mango and pineapple were delicious.

On our way back to the car, we made some friends:

a toad

and a rooster – the official unofficial bird of Hawaii

We continued up along the north shore and stopped at various beaches, including Sunset Beach and Ekihua Beach

The waves were amazing, but apparently not large enough for the surfers

We returned to the hotel and went swimming at the beach adjacent to the hotel. We even saw a rare orange beached whale

Afterwards, we picked up some beers and hula girl tweezers (for me and my sisters) from the ABC store down the street and had some drinks on the balcony of our room.

The tweezers actually look (a little) like us!

ABC stores are amazing – they are upscale 7-11’s + a small CVS. They will become your favorite place for finding random things and snacks while in Hawaii.

We went down to the beach to watch one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen.

After sunset, we returned to the food trucks for dinner

I got a rotisserie chicken dinner (from a truck without a name) – which was very good and the sauces were great.

Kevin got fried dough filled with teriyaki chicken from A-Ge Pizza Domo - he liked it very much.

We continued our night at the Yard house, which is a chain restaurant that has a huge beer selection.

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to grab the other food staple of Hawaii:  Spam , so we headed to the nearest 7-11 for some Spam Musubi.

This is breaded and fried Spam, over rice, wrapped in nori (seaweed). The directions said to warm it in the microwave, so after 45 sec we tried it. Kevin liked the Spam, I liked rice & nori.

Day 3 started with an amazing breakfast at Eggs & things - a little pancake place down the street from the hotel. We got a TON of food (actually too much food):  macadamia nut pancakes, Hawaiian sweet bread french toast with mixed fruit jam, and home fries. They have 3 (!) different types of syrup – coconut, guava, maple. To coconut was soo good, but so sweet that  Kevin said “I can feel myself getting cavities”

We flew to the Big island later in the morning and were able to hop on an earlier flight. We flew Hawaiian air, which small airline that flies between the islands (as well as some international flights).

Since the flight is only 45 min, they just serve drinks, including this Passion-Orange nectar which was delicious!

When we arrived at the Kona airport, the first thing we noticed was the layout – open air! It barely has walls!! It was so refreshing to get off a stuffy airplane and walk into the fresh air.

We picked up our Jeep Wrangler and the woman helping us told us about the green sand beach on the island. Apparently there are only 4 such beaches in the world, but upon further research we found out its a 3 mile walk without shade one way, so we decided that it wasn’t going on the itinerary. 

We drove the 10 min drive to the King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel - which was pretty nice. The room had a side ocean view and overlooked the pool. 

We stopped at Original Thai for lunch. Kevin got the Pad Thai served “thai hot” (and indeed it was SPICY) and I got the Thai Lard Na (gravy noodles) which were just ok. The place was nice and a random customer liked my curly hair and told us that she was a ‘regular’ to Original Thai – she comes every year or so.

After lunch we drove across the island, along the Pepe’ekeo 4-mile Scenic drive, to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens

The gardens are privately owned and were started by a random older couple who bought the land in the 1970s. The couple landscaped the whole garden into a true oasis. 

 (hanging lobster claw)

 (made yet another friend)

 We even saw whales breaching off shore!

The gardens have a huge orchid collection

(this one looks like a hula girl!)

After the gardens, we back-tracked a bit on the scenic drive to do a very short walk – the Onomea Bay hike down to the water (just beware that the hike is downhill for 10 min, which means it’s uphill on the way back).

The hike brings you right to the waters edge, under multiple overhanging trees. It’s secluded, quiet and beautiful.

Afterwards, we stopped in Hilo at Cafe 100 for a snack: loco moco (again because it’s so good)!

That night we drove to the Mauna Kea Visitor Center - to watch the sunset and then do some star gazing

The website informs you to bring warm clothes as the temperature can drop up at 9,000 feet – listen to it! It was FREEZING! It got down to 40 degrees – and we were in shorts and a thin pull over. Despite being cold, the stars were mesmerizing.  There are volunteers at the visitor center that set up multiple telescopes to view the stars and planets. The moon was almost full and one telescope got you so close to the moon, you could see the craters indenting the surface! We were able to see Jupiter and had (unfortunately)  just missed Venus.

We decided that on our next trip back, we need to go during a new moon, when the spotlight of the moon doesn’t obscure the fainter light of the stars.

We returned to Kona and headed straight to Kona Brewing Co - they have great beer, delicious pizza and an amazing brownie sundae!

Day 4: The hotel had a buffet breakfast included with the room which was great – fresh fruit including papaya (!) and fried rice! Who doesn’t need fried rice at 8am??

After breakfast, we went to Mountain Thunder Coffee for a tour and a taste

There are the different phases of the coffee bean: initially covered with a red pulp (berry), then deshelled twice. Each berry contains 2 beans, but sometime there is only 1 coffee bean in the berry which becomes ‘peaberry’ coffee.

(I took this photo because hot dogs just don’t go with anything else listed and it completely confused me!)

(the sorter – it sorts the beans according to size)

This goose looked directly at me as I snapped his picture and I started laughing in the middle of the tour!

 After the tour, we headed to an ABC store to pick up provisions for the Super Bowl, which we watched in our hotel room. It was a great game!

The game was over at 5:30, perfect time to go to Manini’owali Beach for big waves and an AMAZING sunset. I didn’t venture into the water, but Kevin had an great time in the waves

Day 5: After breakfast at the hotel, we walked along the shore in Kona – they have a nice boardwalk with lots of little places to eat, drink and shop.

Then we started our drive across the island to the volcano

We had a pit-stop lunch overlooking the ocean and saw dolphins off shore

Volcano National Park

There are many trails to do at the park, but we opted for the Kilauea Iki Trail – which brings you down into the crater. I recommend going counterclockwise since it is an easier uphill on the way back. Don’t forget to bring lots of water and sunscreen as you literally walk through the middle of a crater (aka no shade)

The pale gray line in the photo below is actually the path through the crater. It was an amazing hike.

Walking on the rocks sounds like walking on broken glass!

We had a nighttime flight to Kauai that night, so we went back to Kona, had dinner at Humpys along the boardwalk and watched the sunset from their deck

Day 6: Kauai
We stayed at the Kauai Beach Resort just outside Lihue. It was ok. The room was ‘ocean view’ but really it was a view of the parking lot, the breakfast buffet was fine, nothing special and the bed was just a bit too soft. Also, they have a TON of roosters on the grounds and one was in a tree outside our room one morning and crowed for HOURS!

There is a beach at the hotel, but there are signs warning of Man of War jellyfish in the water, so swimming isn’t recommended.

We dropped our stuff off and drove to the north side of the island to Hanalei Bay.

The wind was fierce and Kevin lost his hat to it, and had to get in the water to retrieve it. Despite the wind, the water was warm and we had a nice swim playing with the waves

For lunch, we went to Hanalaei Taro & Juice Co  Taro & Poi

Kevin got shredded pork on poi (mashed taro) – weird purple color and strange sticky consistency (I wasn’t a fan).

He also got some pork tacos that were fine.

I opted for the Pork Lau Lau (pork wrapped in taro leaves and steamed) with rice and macaroni-taro salad served with a side of salmon lomi (similar to a salsa with salmon) – I didn’t like anything on this dish, though other customers were very happy with it.

We returned to hotel to shower and change before starting our drive of Waimea Canyon

Once again, we stopped at 7-11 for a Spam snack – this time with jalapeno!

Apparently Spam tastes terrible when you’re sober

Waimea Canyon is called the Grand Canyon of Hawaii. The road up the canyon snakes along the edge and has multiple lookouts. There are some parts that seem to be straight uphill and we even drove through the clouds.

At the second to last overlook, you arrive at the cliffs overlooking the ocean.

We drove down the canyon just in time to catch the sunset off Waimea pier.

Then we headed back to Lihue for some Mexican food and Kevin’s first Mai Tai

After dinner, I got Roasted Macadamia nut ice cream in waffle cone – it was so good. I can’t remember the last time I had ice cream in a waffle cone

The hotel had set up lounge chairs overlooking the ocean and we sat there for a while enjoying the sound of the water and the view of a crazy large, yellow moon (pictures don’t do it justice)

Day 7:  The following day, we went to the south shore to swim at Po’ipu Beach park.

5 minutes after we left the water, a Hawaiin monk seal came ashore to nap. Apparently they are in the water for months, then come to shore to rest for a few hours before heading out again.

 We found a random Thai food truck for lunch called Crazy Thai pad

The summer rolls were great – light, refreshing with a perfectly balanced peanut sauce.

The Pad Thai was just ok.

But the basil fried rice was wonderful.

That afternoon we went on a Safari helicopter tour. We did the Refuge Eco-Tour which is 90 min long including a stop over on Kauai Wildlife Refuge overlooking Olokele Canyon.

I made it 85 min before I puked – at least I had enough time to use the little plastic bags the pilot had warned us about

After landing and getting my bearings for a while, we went to dinner at Kalapaki Beach Hut - basically a burger shack with really good burgers

Day 8 was our last day on Kauai. There were so many things I wanted to do on this island, including zipl-lining and kayaking on the Na Pali Coast (but waters are too rough in the winter for kayaking – yet another reason to return to Hawaii).

However, one major thing we were able to do was hike the beginning of the Kalalau Trail to Hanakapi’ai Falls. 

This is an 8-mile, 4 hour round trip hike. Probably one of the most challenging hikes I’ve ever done.

Here are some tips for the hike: bring LOTS of water (at least 1 bottle/person), bring snacks/lunch, wear your bathing suit to swim at the falls, and grab a hiking stick at the start of the trail that other people leave for future hikers. Wear shoes that you don’t mind getting muddy – because they WILL get muddy.

The first 1/2 mile is straight uphill, then you wind your way along the cliffs of the Na Pali coast until you get to Hanakapi’ai Beach (2 miles in).

The dangerous waves and undertow, along with rocky shoreline make this a picturesque location, but not one for swimming. There is also an outhouse here but no places to fill up water bottles. (Also, you need to cross a large stream to get to the outhouse and to get to the 2nd part of the hike. This is where I slipped and soaked my shoe).

Kevin with his borrowed hiking stick in front of the breathing taking Na Pali Coast

Once you cross over the ‘stream’, you head inland towards Hanakoa Falls (2 miles). You pass a bamboo forest and many little (and some not-so-little) streams

At about the 3/4 mile mark, you have to cross another ‘stream/river’, this time the trail supplies a rope to guide you across, though we both found it much easier to not use it at all.

We continued into the valley, asking other hikers returning if we were close. And then we looked up and saw the falls in the distance.

A 1/2 mile later, we arrived at the falls. They are immense and beautiful. We ate sandwiches that we had picked up from Safeway and had some water.

Then we headed back.

I am dead tired in this picture, but I kept thinking to myself  “the last 1/2 mile is downhill” (I, too, have a borrowed walking stick)

Apparently I climbed 124 floors during that hike, a stat that I will probably never repeat.

As a reward, we stopped at Dolphin Market for an Ahi tuna roll in the car. Dolphin market is a restaurant with a fish market in back. The market sells fresh fish, poke and sushi rolls.

It was soo good! One of the best rolls I’ve ever had!

We started heading back to the hotel and stopped in Princeville at Kauai Best Shave Ice for dessert. It’s ‘shave’ ice not ‘shaved’ ice and comes in a plethora of flavors. We got cotton candy, pineapple, and mango – yum!

Back at the hotel, we relaxed for a while before going to Bobby V’s for dinner. The owners are from Boston and our waitress was from Malden (small world). The food was good, but the best part is that Bobby V’s is BYOB.

Day 9: We flew back to Oahu and took a shared shuttle from the airport (round trip $22/person).

We decided to stay at the Outrigger Reach hotel once again and were pleasantly surprised to get upgraded to an amazing ocean view room

We quickly changed into our bathing suits for one last swim in the warm Pacific waters.

Then a stop at ABC for refreshments and sunset on our balcony.

For our last dinner in Hawaii we started at Doraku for some ahi poke

And lomi lomi roll (again a make-shift salsa with salmon).  The mixture of rice, salsa, salmon and soy sauce was too strange for me.

I’m not too pleased about this being our last night in Hawaii

After the sushi amuse bouche, we went to Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin for Tonkatsu (breaded and fried cutlet) which is very famous in Japan.

This particular restaurant has 1 other location – Tokyo – and people rave about it. 

The menu is short and sweet and also has lots of pictures (very similar to menus in Japan). Also, their sake pours are VERY generous.

We started with fried calamari served with curry powder

I got the chicken tonkatsu – it was delicious – with just the right amount of fat and crisp breading to play well with the juicy dark meat chicken. The dish is served with shredded cabbage with a Japanese dressing that is a perfect acidic compliment to counteract all the fat in the dish.

Kevin opted for the Kurobuta pork loin Katsu, which is a super fatty fried pork loin. Apparently they only make 25 a day and it is high coveted.  We both thought it was too fatty and probably would have ordered the regular pork katsu instead.

However, his katsu was served with sesame seeds and pestle that he ground into a fine powder  to add to his sauce. Something special neither of us had ever seen.

 It was a perfect last dinner in Hawaii.

Day 10: Our last day started back again at Eggs n’ things for take-out breakfast- Macadamia nut pancakes and home fries. Just be aware that they only do take out from 6-7am (or so they told us).

We brought the food back to the hotel room and ate on balcony overlooking water.

We had a 3 hour layover at LAX, where I saw David Chang (!!!) – a famous chef (mostly known for Momofuku in NYC).

This was one of the best trips I’ve ever had. We will DEFINITELY be back!

In August 2014, we embarked on a Pacific Northwest trip, visiting Portland, Seattle and, finally, Vancouver.

Getting from Seattle to Vancouver was super easy. We took the Amtrak train, making sure to sit on the left side of the train.

The train travels up the coast, and you get gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean.

Before I continue with details of the trip, I must make a strong point about avoiding Hastings St between Abbot and Columbia streets. There are a ton of homeless/druggie people in Vancouver. I was surprised at how aggressive they were – they aren’t angry/rude, but will come right up to you and ask for money. At night, they congregate on Hasting St and sell their ‘wares’, so I would recommend to avoid this area. It was very uncomfortable being there, worrying that they will accost you or fall on you, or vomit on you. So just avoid it.

Ok, back to our trip:

Once again, we stayed at an amazing airbnb apartment, right in the middle of Gastown – an ‘up-and-coming’ area of town with lots of bars and cute restaurants.

The building is a newly renovated historic building – Woodward’s Building, an old department store with a distinctive “W” sign.

We got in at noon, dropped our stuff off and walked around Gastown looking for lunch.

Kevin had read about this taco shop – La Taqueria Pinche Taco Shop, so this was our first stop.

The line was out the door and moving slowly, but that’s always a good sign and it gave us time to peruse the menu. We ended up getting 4 tacos to share (clockwise from the top): (1) Tinga de Pollo – chicken with chorizo in a chipotle tomato sauce, topped with mexican cheese + sour, (2) Pescado – zarandeado fish with chipotle mayo, radish and pepitas, (3) De Cachete – braised beef cheeks, (4) Pollo con Mole – free range chicken with chocolate mole sauce.

My favorite was the beef cheeks, but the chicken mole was very tasty too. I probably wouldn’t get the Tinga de Pollo again – it was a bit dry.

They have a salsa bar, along with multiple levels of hot sauce. Delicious!!

We then explored Gastown - named after a man (nickname – Gassy) who opened up a bar in 1867 and the town grew around it.

Gastown has a bunch of cute little bars and places to eat. They also have Happy Hour!! (a treat, since Boston does not have happy hours).

We grabbed a drink at Tuc -a well-reviewed place for cocktails and small dishes. I got the 3 dots and a dash, which was perfectly crafted and delicious.

We moved on to 6 Acres for a couple of beers. I ordered a grapefruit beer and Kevin got an IPA. When the beers arrived, mine was spot on, but the IPA tasted more like a saison than an IPA. We thought something was off and asked to taste 2 more beers from the list, both of which tasted differently than what we had ordered. We thought perhaps that the beer lines and taps were incorrectly marked, especially when we ordered a blonde and got a pilsner.

We asked the bartender to look over the beer lines. She returned with many apologizes and said that, indeed, the lines and taps were mixed up. She was astonished how no one had recognized this in days! I’m not a beer drinker, so I was so proud of myself for being able to tell beer varieties apart, I couldn’t stop smiling for hours!

On their menu, they describe in detail the tastes of a variety of aperitifs and digestifs. I loved this little addition as I have always wondered what the differences were.

We returned to our apartment, rested for a while, then headed out to dinner.

We went to Chinatown to a well-known place: Phnom Penh

There was a HUGE line and we ended up waiting for 45 min, but it was well worth it! They are known for their chicken wings (which we ordered) and 2 other dishes – Beef Lac Lac with egg and Butter Beef. However, we didn’t find out about the latter 2 dishes until after we ordered, so we will just have to go back to try them!

We ended up getting the chicken wings, dumplings and 2 noodle soups – Pork & Prawn soup and Beef soup with 2 types of noodles. It was a wonderful first meal in Vancouver

The following day, we took my friend’s advice and rented bikes to ride around Stanley Park.

There are many places to rent bikes from in Vancouver. We rented bikes from Bikes on Robson since we found a coupon on one of the city street maps. They are located very close to the Seawall and the entrance to Stanley Park. They were great and I highly recommend them.

The Seawall is a bike/foot path around most of the Downtown peninsula which takes you through Stanley Park. Along the path, there are many small seaplanes that take off and land, which is definitely a sight to see.

Stanely Park is a 400-hectacre park at the tip of downtown Vancouver. The Seawall wraps around it in an 8.8-km path and the park is criss-crossed by many bike-accessible trails. I am not great on the bike so I was a bit nervous (to say the least), but the bike path is one-way and is only for bikes, so I didn’t have to worry about weaving through people.

You get amazing views of the bay from the seawall.

The park is sprinkled with things to explore, including a Totem Pole collection, an aquarium (we didn’t visit, though I hear it’s pretty good), and little statues.

The path brings you to a few beaches, including Third Beach – which is one of the best places to watch the sunset and swim in the water. (the water was FREEZING, so I only dipped my toes in it)

From third beach, we headed into the park along Lovers Walk. It was amazing to ride among huge trees and no people! We felt we had the whole forest to ourselves.

always wear a helmet!

Since we did the park first thing in the morning, we were ready for lunch after that fantastic bike ride.

We returned our bikes, and took the bus to Granville Island - a little island with an indoor market for bread, cheeses, meats, produce and other goodies, multiple art galleries and a few breweries.

At the market, we grabbed some lunch from the many food stalls and picked up bread from Terra Breads and cheese and meat from Oyama Meats to have for lunch the following day.

After lunch, we walked around the island.

I have never been to a sake brewery, so I was very excited that there is one on the island – Artisan Sake Maker. We had a good chat with the shop keeper and went over the very complicated, multi-step process of making sake. Then we tasted their offerings – they were amazing! I was sad that we ended our trip in Vancouver since I couldn’t buy any to take with me.

Our favorite was the sparkling sake, though all of them were great!

We walked down to the dock to Dockside Brewery. The beers weren’t great, but we sat on the patio and had a lovely time enjoying the perfect weather.

We then headed back into the main part of the island to Granville Island Brewing and sat at the bar to get a beer flight. We struck up a conversation with a very nice retired man, who ended up buying us a beer! Their beers are much better and Kevin bought a ‘growlette’ (a mini growler) for the apartment.

We rode the bus back to downtown to relax and went up to the roof deck for some spectacular views of Vancouver.

That night, we ventured back into Chinatown for dinner. Vancouver is known for its fantastic Asian food, and we couldn’t get enough of it!

We started at Keefer Bar while we waited for a table at nearby Bao Bei. We sat outside and had a drink. I got the Hei Cha Pimms, which was lovely and refreshing

We then went to Bao Bei for dinner. I cannot express how wonderful the food was here. Everything we ate made us want to lick the plates. It is not your typical Chinese food restaurant; it is more upscale, similar to Boston’s Shojo (if you are familiar with it).

We ordered the (1) Shao Bing – sesame flatbread with cumin lamb sirloin, pickled red onion, green pepper, cilantro, and salted chilies. (2) Kick Ass House Fried Rice with a fried egg – Taiwanese spiced pork, lettuce stem, broccoli, garlic stem, pickled royal fern, smoked scallion soy, and (3) Mantou – steamed buns with pork belly, bean sprouts, preserved turnip, sugared peanuts. To drink I got the Girl with a Gun, which was delicious!

Their bathrooms had creepy doll heads signifying Mens or Womens

The next day we grabbed a shuttle from the convention center to Capliano Suspension Bridge. The shuttle leaves every 15 min and takes about 20 min to get to the bride.

The bridge is one of the highest and longest suspension bridges in the world. It definitely sways back and forth as people cross it. Apparently, it is very strong and a few years ago a huge tree fell on the bridge. The bridge didn’t snap, but the tree had to be removed piece by piece for fear that the bridge would catapult if the tree was removed intact.

Once you cross the bridge, there is a short nature walk that goes around the small park and there was even a visiting owl!

The other thing to do on the this side of bridge is the Treetops Adventure. A walkway 110-feet in the air, among the treetops! You literally get a birds-eye view and look down on these enormous trees.

you get to see just how high the suspension bridge really is from here

Crossing back over the bridge, we headed to the Cliffwalk – a path that is extended over the canyon below.

Afterwards, we took the shuttle back into town and went to Stanley park to eat our goodies from Granville Market in the grass, as well as tomatoes from my sister’s garden. I had brought along a small blanket from the apartment, so we had a proper picnic lunch!

After lunch, we walked by a very nice dog park then along seawall on the south side of downtown Vancouver to Yaletown. This area used to be all warehouses, but they were recently converted to tons of bars, restaurants and shops.

We started with a flight at Yaletown Brewing Company and sat outside, enjoying the sun.

We ventured over to Rodney’s Oyster House. There are 2 locations, one in Gastown and one in Yaletown (we went to both). They have a Low Tide happy hour with raw oysters, small bites and beer specials.

We got a bunch of different oysters (the selection changes as happy hour goes on) and tried their different oysters sauces.

Our favorite sauce was a banana pepper sauce that added the perfect amount of heat and flavor, without overpowering the subtle notes of the oysters

For dinner that night, we bounced around to a few places.

We started at Pidgin with the oyster shot with apple, horseradish. It was just ok. I’m not a huge fan of oyster shots to begin with so I wasn’t expecting much.

But, we had the best single dish we tasted all trip: a very simple mushroom dish with snap peas, egg, and soy yuzu brown butter. It was amazing! (once again, we wanted to lick the plate)

Afterwards, we went to Salt Tasting Room for cheese, meat and sherry

We returned to the apartment to see the sunset from the roof deck.

Our last day in Vancouver started with delicious egg sandwiches from Yolk’s food truck. Kevin got the bacon egg sandwich and I got the portobello egg sandwich.

After breakfast, we went on a Chinatown tour recommended in our tour book (Lonely Planet Vancouver).  It starts at the Chinatown gate and winds through the area, hitting key locations like the Chinese Garden

The walking tour takes you down Main St and recommends that we try a pork bun (we couldn’t resist!)

The tour ends at the Jimi Hendrix shrine. The only way to describe this place is “creepy” – it is basically a shack, with random memorabilia of Jimi Hendrix. They even have a repilica of the garden patio set that Jimi sat in a few days before his death. It’s not the actual set – just a replica! It was so creepy and strange, I didn’t even take photos.

We continued to walk around downtown, finally ending back in Gastown at Alibi.  Vancouver is not a beer city, but this place is the place for beer drinkers. They have an amazing list and they give you the opportunity to make your own tasting flight, or Frat Bat (as they call it). We also had a great dinner here  – chicken wings, veggie burger and a cheesesteak.

We flew home the next morning and got an amazing view of Whistler!

It was a fantastic trip! I can’t wait to go back!!!

In August 2014 we went to the Pacific Northwest for 10 days. We started in Portland to visit my sister and brother-in-law.

Portland

We got in early on a Thursday and decided to go to the Japanese Garden and the Rose Garden until my family was done with work.

The Japanese Garden was beautifully done. It was serene, with little ponds, waterfalls and statues around the gardens.

Right down the path is the International Rose Garden.

We spent most of our time here smelling the roses. I was surprised at how different each species scent was and how intoxicating the scents could be. I wish I had a nose ‘palate’ cleanser (like coffee beans) to clear my nose and get a better appreciation of the different nuances of each flower.

Mister Lincoln Hybrid Tea rose – smelled like an overpowering perfume that old ladies wear

White Licorice rose – this won the people’s choice award for best scent. It was nothing I have ever experienced before – sweet like candy with a bitter undertone. It was amazing.

We built up quite an appetite after the flight and walking around the gardens, so we stopped at TILT for a burger. Luckily we only ordered 1 because the Big Tilt burger is literally larger than my head. It comes with 2 patties, double cut honey smoked bacon, fried egg, American cheese, pickles, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, tilt sauce on a 3-layer bun. It was delicious!

Afterwards we went back to my sister’s house and took a nap!

That night we met up with my family and some of their friends at Pok Pok.

We sat on the porch of their side building. It was like we had a private little room, and strangely felt like we were in Thailand – the table was covered in a plastic tablecloth and the water tasted funny (turns out they ‘flavor’ their water with rice, it wasn’t bad, but not ‘good’ either).

We had a great meal – Vietnamese Fish sauce Wings (YUM!), Papaya Pok Pok (papaya salad), Yam Wun Sen (glass noodle salad with pork and dry shrimp), Phak buung Fai Daeng (Oh Choy with pork – one of the best dishes we had), Cha Ca La Vong (catfish with noodles), Khao Soi (chicken curry) and their daily special – Wing Beans.

We also had their Tamarind Whiskey Soda – it was wonderful!

This place has been on my eating list for quite some time and I’m so glad I was able to go there. I highly recommend it!

The following day, we decided to get a taste of Portland’s breweries.

Getting around Portland is super easy on the buses, and there was a bus stop about 100 feet from my sister’s front door.

We started at Hair of the Dog

They have a great tasting list and were the best brewery we went to. We tried Ruth (american pale ale), Lila (maibock), Fred (golden strong ale), Adam (porter), Rooie Dop (strong ale – my favorite), Doggie Claws 2013 (barelywine) and From the Wood (Adam that is barrel aged – too smoky for me; felt like I was drinking a campfire).

We continued on to Base Camp Brewery

Here we tried: Lost meridian Wit, Northwest Fest, Stephan’s Dark Wit, Ripstop Rye Pilsner, Celestial Meridian CDL, Saison de Chetco, In Tents IPL, Bohemian Rip City IP, S’more Stout, Incredible Baltor

I liked these less than the previous brewery, but I’m not a huge IPA fan. However, their S’mores Stout was wonderful. Here is a close up of the taster – yes, that’s a mini roasted marshmallow!!!

The brewery had 2 food trucks in the parking lot and you can order from the ‘brew-tender’. We got some tasty tacos.

The third (and last) brewery we visited specialized in sour beers only – Cascade Brewing Barrel House. We actually ran into a guy that we met at the first brewery and had some beers with him!

We had  Saison de Garde, Apricot, Blueberry and Sang Noir (beer aged in Bourbon and Pinot Noir barrels). The Apricot is a must try, as is the Honey Ginger (that our ‘new friend’ let us try).

After drinking the afternoon away, we met up with my family at Evoe (which has since closed).  It was a really great little spot, with fantastic food!

We started with some oysters from Netarts Bay, served with lemon, fresh horseradish

We moved on to pickles, bread, and  fennel-artichoke salad, along with a lovely summer rose wine.

We also had an amazing Bob the Butcher sandwich – which had salami, cheese and hot peppers.

It was a perfect afternoon.

That night we went to Ned Ludd – the quintessential Porland/Pacific NW place.

We started with some cocktails that came in mini bottles. I got the Ned Flanders (white, orange shrub, aperol, bitters, bottled and fizzy) and my sister got the Petite Somme (gin, aperol, pampelmousse, cucumber, bitters, bottled and fizzy ). The boys got beers.

For appetizers we had (1) Bay shrimp salad with zucchini, string beans & lemon vinegarette; (2) cucumber and feta salad with wheat berries; (3) chef’s charcuterie & cheese board, accompaniments; (4) Fried green tomatoes with reduced balsamic

Our entrees consisted of: (1) Oregon albacore with corn-tomato salad and grilled cipollini – this was flawlessly cooked, rare, with crispy skin and sweet cipollini onions; (2) Pork with zucchini, squash and okra – I couldn’t get over how perfectly roasted the vegetables were (I wanted to ask for more!)

And for dessert: (1) chocolate chip cookie in cast iron skillet with a side milk (holy crap was this good! We poured the milk over the still warm cookie, which became an ooey gooey dish of amazingness); (2) berry tart with anise cream – the tart berries paired beautifully with the anise cream

The decor of Ned Ludd is of an old cabin in the woods with little knick-knacks everywhere. It is all wooden and feels very warm and welcoming.

It was a great night!

The following day we went for a great hike on Mount Hood – Tilly Jane Hike

There was a forest fire about 10 years ago, so you can see a ton of charred trees, but also some new growth coming in.

It wasn’t easy. The air was thin due to the high elevation and it was uphill for all of it, but it was totally worth it. The views were amazing!

They brought some cheese, salami and bread; I brought some sour patch kids; and we had picked up some peaches from a farmers stand on the road so we had a great lunch with spectacular view!

We were almost at the edge of the glacier!

The way down was much easier. We even found a porcini mushroom!

We ended our day at a BBQ at friends place. It was great to meet my sister and brother-in-law’s friends. Everyone was really interested and very friendly.

The next day was our last in Portland. We went to Dim Sum at HK Cafe for breakfast.

We came back to the house, lounged in the chair hammock and picked tomatoes from their amazing garden!

These yellow cherry tomatoes were Kevin’s favorites.

These were my favorites. They are Risentraube tomatoes – see the little point on the end? They are super fruity and sweet!

They also grew a crazy amount of swiss chard, but we didn’t take any with us.

Then we were on our way to Seattle!

Seattle

We took the Amtrak Train to Seattle. It was super easy and took about 3.5 hours. There was a ‘viewing’ car with park rangers giving commentary on the scenery as we passed it by. Just make sure to sit on the left side – you get the best views!

The viewing car was mostly windows, which was wonderful!

We sat next to a couple who offered to take our picture!! (always a plus when traveling alone)

Once we got into Seattle, we checked into our AMAZING airbnb apartment. If you haven’t heard of airbnb, you should check it out. It’s apartments that people put for for very short-term rent (like a hotel).

This place was ridiculous. It was between the Space Needle and Pikes Place market, on the 19th floor with a spectacular view!

Since we got in late (and brought along snacks on the train) we weren’t really hungry for dinner, so we decided to check out some local bars.

Our first stop was Shorty’s – a true dive bar. I had a great Dark-n-Stormy and we played some Buck Hunter (Kevin was way better than me)

Our next stop was Bathtub Gin – a real speak-easy (it was super difficult to find! Down a urine-scented alley).

But it was worth the hunt! The place was tiny, but meticulously designed, with perfectly concocted cocktails, a beautiful wooden bar, super dim lighting highlighted by a chandelier

I asked for the dealer’s choice with whiskey – he created a not-too-sweet whiskey and peach cocktail that was delicious!

We had fun taking photos of our shadow profiles

After the bar, we walked out to find a hot dog cart on the street corner (and you could see the stand from the apartment). Of course, we had to have one! Apparently, the Seattle-style hot dog is one with cream cheese, but I opted for one with just mustard.

The thought of hot dogs and cream cheese does not appeal to me. (I’ve had it in Portland and it tasted exactly as you imagine – the flavors don’t mix, you just end up with a few bites that taste like hot dog and a few bites that taste like cream cheese)

We woke up early the next day and walked around town. We  came across a “walk through fountain’ or an ‘urban waterfall’ in Westlake Park on 4th and Pine. Kevin walked through with no issues.

However, the following day I walked through and got completely soaking wet!

After the fountain we made our way down to Seattle Center where the Space Needle, EMP museum and Chihuly gardens are located

Our first stop was the EMP museum – a museum dedicated to music, sci-fi  and pop culture. The building is designed to represent a broken guitar.

The museum has a very nice permanent Jimi Hendrix exhibit. One of the exhibitions they had when we were there was a LEGO exhibit – artists had built famous skyscrapers from legos. You may not know this about me, but I LOVE legos, so this was super exciting for me!

They also have sound-proof studios with drums, a guitar and a bass that you can play with

The building reflects the Space Needle, which is across the park.

We decided not to go up since our apartment had similar views.  So we moved on to the Chihuly Gardens.

Dale Chihuly is a glass artist with crazy ideas. The image below was made by dropping molten glass to the floor from various heights.

Chihuly was inspired by Native American blankets

This is his Under the Sea piece

And his garden

He was also inspired by Venice

Outside of the main building is the Chihuly garden where he mixed plants and glass

Just outside the main entrance to Chihuly is a Sonic Blood piece:

Each flower has a little sensor speaker next to it, so I had a great time running from flower to flower to make them sing!

It was lunch time so we walked down to Pikes Place and got some snacks.

We started with Piroshky, Piroshky – an Eastern European bakery that sells hand-held pies. We got the Smoked Salmon Pate pie – it was warm, buttery, creamy and delicious.

Then we walked around, grabbed a beer at a little cafe in the market, and stopped at Beecher’s Handmade Cheese to watch them make their cheese.

On the waterfront is Elliot’s Oyster House, which has an oyster happy hour from 3-6. Oysters start a $1/each and go up by $0.50 each hour. They are served with a slushy mignonette. YUM!

We went back to the apartment to watch the sunset before going to dinner at Shiro’s.

Shiro’s sushi

The following morning, we went back to Pike’s Place Market for roll call and some coffee

Our tour book had a walking tour of downtown Seattle, so we followed it around.

At the top of the Columbia Tower there is a viewing center, the Sky View Observatory, which has amazing views of Seattle.

It’s not terribly crowded (definitely quieter than the Space Needle). However, there was a group of little old ladies who were very loud and one even elbowed me in the ribs for standing in the exact spot she wanted to stand! (even though there was PLENTY of room)

Apparently the top spike on the building is 1 apartment!

It even showed us how far we were from home:

The next place was the Seattle Public Library

We were hungry after all that walking, so we went to Salumi - a sandwich shop owned by Mario Batali’s family. They make their own cured meats and they are only open Tues-Fri 11am-3pm and there is ALWAYS a line! But it’s worth it!

I got the beef tongue with onions and peppers – it was great! Kevin got the hot soppressata.

In the afternoon we went up to the Ballard area of Seattle to see the Ballard Locks – a set of 2 dams between fresh water and salt water. There is the Salmon ladder, built to allow salmon to pass between fresh and salt water, and to navigate the locks. Glass panels below the water line make it possible to watch the fish as they swim through the ladder.

We even saw a seal in the water!

We then went to a few bars in the Ballard area, including Noble Fir and met up with Tamira.

For dinner we went to Chippy’s Fish and Drink – which had some of the best, lightest and freshest fish and chips I have ever had! We also go the crab-avocado dip and the salmon chowder (more of a bisque, a bit smoky but overall pretty good).

That was our last night in Seattle. The following day we went to the train station for our trip to Vancouver!

We spent 2 weeks in April 2012 traveling to London, Normandy and Paris. The weather wasn’t great, mostly overcast and drizzly, but it didn’t stop us from exploring these wonderful areas! (we planned ahead and brought along raincoats).

Our trip started in London. We got in at 9am and couldn’t check into our hotel (Citadines in Covent Garden) until 3pm, so we decided  to visit the British Museum.

The museum is free, but does ask for a donation. It is absolutely stunning when you first walk in and there is a TON to see.

including the Rosetta Stone!!

They also have A History of the World in 100 Objects, which consists of (you guess it) 100 objects laid out throughout the museum that follows human history, from 2,000,000 BC though 2010.

One item is this Head of Augustus, the first Roman emperor

The following day we walked around London visiting a variety of touristy places including

St. Paul’s Cathedral (here photographed from a super reflective piece across the street)

The Monument – a tribute to the Great Fire of London which occurred in 1666 and consumed hundreds of houses. It is 61 meters tall, which is the distance from the start of the fire (a bakery) to the monument and it takes 311 steps to go up.

Walking up the 311 spiral stairs

The views from the top are totally worth the climb!

Our next stop was The Tower of London. This was where the famous wives of Henry VII spent the last few days of their lives. There is a torture room (really creepy), ravens and amazing tour guides called Yeoman (highly recommended to join them on the tour included in the ticket price). There is also the Royal Armories collection, which includes coats of arms from all over the world and from different centuries. Also housed here are the Crown Jewels.

We then walked across the London Bridge

Once over the bridge, we made our way to Borough Market, an open air (sorta) market where you can buy fresh produce, wine/beer and get a delicious lunch!

Since it was our first time in England, we decided to do a day trip to Windsor Castle, Bath and Stonehenge. It was very well organized and took all the thinking out of visiting these sites.

Windsor castle is the official royal home and has beautiful architecture and grounds. We even got  to see the change of the guards!

Next stop was Bath. Bath is about 1.5 hours west of London and is the site of ancient Roman baths built over hot springs. It is very well preserved and has an audio guide that walks you through the multiple rooms of the bath house.

During the excavation, old coins were found, which were amazing to see!

Our final stop was Stonehenge. We were all-touristy-out by this point, so it was a good last stop, since there isn’t much to see. It was interesting to see the huge stones and imagine how people in 2000 BC accomplished this task.

The following day was the London Marathon and we got a view of the city during this event.

Big Ben

Marathon finish line at Buckingham Palace

Countdown to the London Olympics

We had some awesome food and visited great pubs while in London.

The pubs: Harp Pub, Princess Louise Pub, Lamb and Flag Pub

The eats:

Mr. Kong (delicious Chinese food, there is a great Chinatown in London)

Hummus Bros – oh how I wish they come to the US. You get a plate of perfectly smooth hummus with a choice of 1-2 toppings (we got chicken and avocado salad)

You have to get fish and chips with a side of mushy peas while in England. One of the best places to get this is at Rock and Sole. I’m not a huge fan of mushy peas, but the fish was flaky, light and yummy

Down the street from our hotel was Belgo – a Belgium mussels, frites and beer place. It was wonderful! Just look how excited the monk is on their signature glass!

Oh, and since our hotel had a fridge, we were able to sample a plethora of British cheeses!

Next up: France

We flew into Paris and took a train to Rouen, a city in Normandy. We stayed at Hotel Sisley in the Gaugain room.

Our view from the hotel

I had the best dinner in my life at an extremely small restaurant in Rouen: Auberge Saint Maclou. We got a fish tagine with chickpeas and a perfectly cooked salmon with a piece of foie gras that was as large as the salmon! To say it was mouth-watering amazing would be an understatement! (check out my yelp review).

Since Rouen is a university city, there are a ton of fun bars to try. We went to Delirium Cafe, which had a great beer selection.

The main reason we went to Normandy was to visit Le Mont Saint-Michel – a monastery built during the 700s. It is an island during high tide and a peninsula during low tide (so watch the tide schedule if you plan to drive and park your car!)

Inside is a main street that winds up the ‘mount’ that is lined with small touristy shops and restaurants.

The church is filled with beautiful walkways and views of the surrounding area

The other big thing to visit in Normandy is the Normandy American Cemetery, a tribute to the American soldiers that died during D-Day and the months after to help win WWII. It is serene, beautifully maintained and very peaceful. (You need your passport to enter since it is technically US soil).

We took the train back to Paris, checked into our hotel near the Opera House (Hotel Westminster) and enjoyed our complimentary drink at the bar downstairs.

Dinner that first night in Paris was on Passage des Panoramas, a delightful little alley lined with tiny restaurants serving mostly French food.

The following day we took the RER train to Versailles, which is only a 20 min ride! The walk through town is lovely, though it isn’t very well marked, so pay attention to the minimal signs. (On the way back to the train we stopped at a farmers market to pick up some delicious cheese!)

We bought our tickets online, so we didn’t need to wait in line to buy tickets and then again to get into the palace. Also, we went really early to avoid lines (there weren’t any) and the hordes of tourists that flock to the amazing palace every day

The Hall of Mirrors was the main room to dine and entertain hundreds of guests. It is breathtakingly huge and has windows that overlook the perfectly manicured grounds and gardens.

The Gardens:

The Grand Trianon (or the Pink Palace) was Marie Antoinette’s palace. While smaller than the main palace, it was just as decadent with grand halls and pink marble throughout.

The following day, while I took a nap, Kevin explored the Louvre by himself. (I’ve been there too many times to count).

Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Odalisque (Kevin took this photo without even knowing that it is my favorite painting in the Louvre)

Monmatre is the big hill in Paris that overlooks the whole city. Atop the ‘mount’ is Sacre Coure, a white church which is the highest point in Paris. This is the area where the portrait artists sit to paint your picture and the best place to get crepes (in my opinion).

The walk up is the perfect excuse to treat yourself to a Nutella crepe!

You can usually see the whole city from up here, but it was so foggy, you couldn’t see much. My sister (who just happened to be in Germany for the week) met up with us for the weekend!!!

Around Paris:

Bridge of Locks – where people place a lock to symbolize their love (we didn’t have a lock though). Apparently a section of the bridge collapsed in June 2014 form the weight of all the locks!

My favorite museum in the world is Musee D’Orsay. A train-station-turned-impressionist-museum  houses one of the world’s largest selection of impressionist art, including Degas’ original Little Dance of Fourteen Years scuplture (absolutely stunning!)

That night we had some beers and some more local French cheese and charcuterie!

And, of course, we went to the Eiffel Tower. We walked around Paris and just happened across it. Even though I’ve seen it many times, it is just as beautiful as the first time I saw it. There was a crazy line to go up to the top, so we didn’t get a chance to go up, but I highly recommend it!

Around the corner from the Eiffel Tower is Notre Dame, with its crazy architecture and flying buttresses.

It was amazing trip. Paris truly is an amazingly romantic city and London is a ton of fun! Next time we will spend more time exploring Pars.

I have been to 4 continents and have been lucky enough to visit more than 20 countries. The strangest place I have ever encountered was Iceland.

The landscape was like nothing I have ever seen. The soil is mostly volcanic ash, which makes the flora very different from other places. There are no trees and the ‘grass’ is more like miniature shrubs. Also, the whole country runs off of geothermal power, so there are hot springs and pools in every town around the country. (This is the location for filming scenes from Game of Thrones)

Iceland is SUPER easy to get to from Boston. Just a 5 hour flight and you are there! We went in late June, during the summer soltice which was amazing. The sun did not set at all! I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to sleep, but that was not a problem. Even though it was summer, the daily temp was in the 50s.

Here I am at 1:00am!

We started our 1 week trip in the capital, Reykjavik.

They have wonderful architecture throughout the easily-walkable city. The main feature is the Hallgrimskirkia Church

It is basically in the center of town, and if you ever got lost, you just had to look up, find the church and work your way back to your desired location. It is beautiful inside

And it offers great 360 degree views from the top

Down by the water, there is the Sun Voyager, a viking ship sculpture

There is also the Harpa, which is a concert hall that has beautiful hexagonal windows

We stayed at an airbnb (which I highly recommend) and had a very interesting Icelandic dinner that first night. It was a tasting menu of typical (aka touristy) Iceland foods, including:

Puffin – purple, cold, very gamey meat that I don’t recommend, though people told us that puffin wasn’t ‘in season’

Whale (not good) and foal (which I’m sad to say was delicious!!). They also give you Brennivin, an alcohol that translates, literally, into ‘burning wine’. Try it once, then avoid it.

We stayed a few days in the capital and went to the public pool – Laugardalslaug, which was awesome! Since the water comes from a spring, there is no chlorine, so you must shower with soap before entering. They have a lap pool (though I don’t know anyone who would want to swim laps in an 80 degree pool), a regular pool and 2 hot tubs, one hotter than the next. It was fantastic!

We then rented a car and traveled northwest through the fjords to Isafjordur. The roads were….well, some were paved and others were gravel roads with crazy inclines up the glaciers. The views, however, were breathtaking

We drove up and down fjords. It was amazing.

Before getting into Isafjordur, we passed the Troll’s Seat, a natural depression between 2 hills that literally looks like a seat.

We grabbed some food and then asked the waitress where we should go hiking. Basically her response was ‘anywhere’. With no trees or big changes in elevation, you can see your destination without any problems.

So we went hiking and met some goats

Later that day we hiked up Trolls’ Seat. It was hard! Straight up for about 30 min, but the view was great. Since the sun never set below the horizon, we left for this hike at 9pm!

That night we had the most amazing dinner in this little cabin that has been a family business for generations. It’s called Tjoruhusid – it is buffet style with the most delicious fish soup (I wanted to lick the bowl) and the freshest fish dishes, along with salad and bread. It was by-far the best meal we had all trip!

We started the drive back to the south the following day. We stopped along the way and introduced ourselves to the local flora and fauna

We even found candy named NOA!!!

Once we got back to Rekjavik we signed up for a few day tours.

One was a glacier hike through Eskimos Iceland.  It was expensive but they give you lunch and pick you up/dropped you off from your hotel. And when is the next time we would walk on a glacier and do ice-wall climbing?? We went on Solheimajokull Glacier with a large group. We were given pick-axes, crampons and helmets. It was rainy and cold for the first part of the hike, but it cleared up as the day went on.

crampons – you had to jam your feet into the ice with every step!

Crazy blue ice and volcanic ash

The other day tour we did was through Reykjavik Excursions which was the “Golden Circle”. It was an easy day trip from the capital. They take you to Gullfoss (an amazing waterfall), an active geyser and Thingvellier National Park.

Our last day we went to the Blue Lagoon (again using Reykjavik Excursions). It is expensive, but so worth it! The water is a crazy color blue. It is a natural hot spring with a swim up bar!

And you can have a silica face mask!

After the lagoon, we returned to Reykjavik and walked around town again. It was a bit drizzly but it was pleasant.

This is an amazing alien place to visit, super close to Boston and a trip that I will never forget!!

My first real Day Off Adventure was my trip to Croatia during the summer between 1st and 2nd years of medical school. I went with 2 friends from school to explore the ‘other side’ of Europe.

We started our trip in Dubrovnik. At that time most people hadn’t heard of Dubrovnik and were surprised we were going. My friends mother kept asking if there was running water in the apartment we were renting and even offered my friend a new car to stay home (luckily he declined and come along on the trip). This is after she told us she was ‘worldly, but doesn’t cross the big pond.

Dubrovnik is now better known due to Game of Thrones, as it is the inspiration for Kings Landing. The old city was a fortress surrounded by high walls, still standing today. You enter the old city through a bridge/gate which opens up to white marble streets that are cleaned nightly.

From the main street, the alleyways take you up the walls, literally. Our apartment was 100 steps up, so leaving the apartment called for double and triple checking that you had everything.

There is a ton to do in the area, including a kayak trip around the small islands in the bay

We also got the chance to visit Mostar, a city in nearby Bosnia/Herzegovina. The bus ride was relatively short and our tour guide was from Mostar and extremely informative. There was still evidence of the war in the 1990s and you could see bullet ridden buildings and shrapnel throughout the city. One of the major landmarks that was ruined was the Old Bridge, but it was fixed shortly after the war ended. It is about 80 feet above the river below and people jump off it (into very shallow waters)!

Because it is right on the water, we had some of the best sunsets

If you are looking for an ‘off the beaten  path’ sort of place, I highly recommend Dubrovnik.

The only thing that wasn’t great was the food.