The Most Magical Place on Earth....

Traveler confession: I love Disney World.  I know, I know.  I'm supposed to be this big worldly explorer who sees the real thing, not a plaster imitation in Florida.  I can't help it, I was raised in a Disney family.  I don't decorate with cartoon characters or wear cheesy T-Shirts, but I do love to go to the parks, ride the rides, eat the food, and live in a fantasy for a few hours.

Last year I went to the EPCOT Food and Wine festival with family and loved it so much that I bought tickets again this year.  Having family in Florida makes such little jaunts extra special!

This year my cousin and I had a grown-up Disney day walking back and forth around the world and trying all of the food.  We tried so many amazing worldly dishes.  My favorites were the pork belly on black bean puree at Brazil and the Apple Pie frozen drink at Poland. 

Loaded Mac and Cheese with Pear Cider

Frozen Apple Pie

Strawberry Daquiri Pop

Irish Cheese Plate and Irish Cream Ale

New Frozen ride in Norway Pavillion

Lunch in Canada

Sometimes we just need a little adventure.... like driving to another country for lunch.  I live only 3 hours and 20 minutes from the Canadian border, but haven't ever gone unless it was part of a BIG TRIP.  Since I do day trips to New York rather frequently, I am amazed that I hadn't thought of this before.

Kudos to Stef for not telling me I was crazy when I first brought it up, and to Julie who is always up for an adventure.  The three of us had a rainy but still beautiful drive to the border, then stopped in Stanistead for lunch just over the border.  We found a delightful little French restaurant with crepes of all sorts (leeks, fondue, and bacon for me!)  and then visited a bakery and grocery store.  One drive through Tim Hortons and it was back to the US.

Some people think  we were nuts, but honestly, we need to find adventures in the world where we can.  For the cost of a couple of tanks of gas we had a delightful journey, good company, and a great story.

On the road in Vermont- photo by Stef

 

Crepes at Tomofobia

Heading back home

Souveniers

Nashville!

I love when Rosh Hashanah lands on a Monday or Friday because I get a long weekend.  Two years ago my sister and I went to the Dominican Republic, and this year we decided to stay domestic and spend the weekend in Nashville.  My cousin was able to fly up from Florida to meet us too!  It was a perfect girls weekend.

Upon arrival we were greeted by a surprise visit by my uncle and his girlfriend, on their way back from a cross-country trip.  We had a great dinner in a cave-table at our hotel, the Gaylord Opryland.  My parents had taken us here when we were vacationing in the area in 1994, and my sister really wanted to go back.  Thanks to some family Marriott connections, we were able to make it happen.  What a gorgeous hotel!

Our initial plan was to have a lazy morning on day 1, but we all woke up early.  Traveling with my sister means research into restaurants because she is gluten-free, so a little research led up to Kitchen Notes for breakfast.  They have a BISCUIT BAR!  It was possible the most southern thing in the south, and a perfect first stop.  They had classic, sweet, savory, and gluten free biscuits, as well as an extensive breakfast buffet.  I was a little bit in love, I have to tell you.  Located in the Omni hotel, it's very convenient and I'd say a must-visit for Nashville.

After breakfast we wandered up to Broadway and then met up with my uncle and his friend to see the Ryman Auditorium.  It was a beautiful building, full of displays about all of the musical history.  The video/show introduction surpassed Disney levels of production!  We were all very impressed.   There might also be a cheezy on-stage photo of the three of us, but that's going to stay hidden. 

We big fond fairwell to family from there and stopped to have a snack and hear some music in one of the honkey tonks.  It's a big college football weekend so there were several games on TV, live musicians singing, and drinks flowing freely.  It was a little crazy for the middle of the afternoon!  We meandered down to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Hatch Show Print Shop to see their production center and posters.  I'm not really a big country music fan, but it can be fun in the right setting.  I learned a lot about this history of it from one of my favorite college classes, History of American Popular Music. It was great to see so many pieces of memoribilia!

By late afternoon we were pretty sick of walking around, especially with the growing crowds of college kids, so we grabbed a quick ice cream at Mike's, then got a Lyft ride back to the hotel.  On the way, the driver convinced us to look for tickets to the Grand Ole Opry, and we discovered that one of the leads from the TV show Nashville (and an old soap opera teen star from when we were in high school) was playing that night, so we bought tickets.  After a dinner of tacos and margaritas at the hotel's Mexican restaurant we walked over to the Opry.  Other than the crazy lady in front of us who kept turning around and glaring, we had a great time!  (Seriously, they were advertising adult diapers at Dollar General. How can you not laugh at that?)

Day two was much more low key.  We headed to East Nashville for breakfast, at a fabulous gluten free restaurant called AMOT.  The apple fritters were delicious and while the cornbread waffle wasn't great, the chicken more than made up for it with its crispy, salty coating.  We walked around East Nashville a bit, but it was early on a Sunday so many places weren't open yet.  We tried some great candies at Walker Creek Confections company and saw some beautiful art at the gallery next door.  That night, we had dinner with swing music at Acme Feed and Seed, which everyone had recommended.  I love the big long tables so you can meet people sitting near you!  The music was fantastic.  

From here we wandered a bit trying to find good music, and eventually setting at The Stage on Broadway, with the fantastic Brandon Holder and his band.  A good rock country blend that you couldn't help but dance to.  I loved the fiddler!  As a string player, watching him was just fascinating.  

Day three was our chill day. We had a lazy breakfast at the hotel, then walked around a little bit exploring.  We hung out at the pool for a while, moving inside and out to avoid children.  

Overall Nashville was a fantastic weekend.  We were able to see everything we wanted and hear some outstanding music just about everywhere we went.  The sites are mostly within a walkable distance from each other and I never felt unsafe, even at night.  We had a beautiful hotel resort to retreat to when the crowds got to be too much as well.  Experience Nashville blog and Nashvillethebeautiful on Instagram were helpful resources for planning if you're looking to go.  Which you should, whether or not you like country music, because it's a part of America you just can't help but loving.

Great Barrier Reef

I don't know why, but the Great Barrier Reef always seemed like one of those things I'd never get to see.  I've always planned on getting to Florence, and the Pyramids, and even Antartica, but the Great Barrier Reef just seemed so... exotic?  Unapproachable?  Sporty? 

But if I was going all the way to Australia, I wasn't going to miss it.  A couple of flights (one a little pricey but worth it!), a rental SUV, and we were settled into Port Douglas, an hour north of Cairns.  Same reef, much more relaxed atmosphere than Cairns' bars and backpackers. 

I was debating diving but for myriad reasons, snorkeling was just a better option for us on this trip,  I'll get that SCUBA certification someday!  Just not this time.  We certainly had our options of dive operators but ended up with Silversonic, a catamaran that went to three dive sites along the Agincourt Reef, part of the Outer Reef. 

The first amazing thing is that when you're above the water you have NO IDEA what is below.  You can see where the water is a lighter color because of the shallow reef, but beyond that, it just looks like ocean until your face is in the water and then it's like the doors opened to a new world.  It's phenomenal. It's not the rainbow blast of Finding Nemo, but is an incredible elaborate formation of subtle color and movement.  The bright green grass that swayed with the currents, the teal fish with shimmery stripes that dart around, the needlefish that look more like reflections than animals- it was better than I'd ever imagined. 

We ended up seeing many of the promised highlights- giant clams with purple interiors that closed when fish approached, slow swimming turtles passing by underneath us, even anemone fish darting between the colorful plumes.  We even saw a blue starfish. 

This wasn't so much a picture taking expedition- it was too much to capture into a frame.  But here's a taste of what we saw on the reef that day:

Uluru

Uluru looks like a movie background, like it's not actually real. We arrived in the outback by plane into the Ayers Rock Airport, seeing Uluru and Kata Tjuta from the plane. Australia does not disappoint in impressing airplane approaches!

We're staying at the Ayers Rock Resort, which had a series of accommodations from camping to high class. We're in the middle.  All of the reports share a common town center with great restaurants and shops. We're loving Ayers Wok, a noodle bar.

Our first adventure here was Mani Mani Theater, an aboriginal production about some of the laws and stories of the local people. Then at night we visited the Fields of Light, an art exhibit of thousands of fiber optic lights looking like a fields of glowing flowers. You could walk through as they changed color. It was pretty impressive.

Today was all about the rock. We rented a car, which was cheaper than three people taking the shuttle bus to the rock (seriously, the racket they have on that here!) and then headed into the park. It's $25 a person, not bad. We were able to do a guided walk along the base this morning with a native guide, explaining the men's and women's sections of the region. I can't really explain how big this rock is. It's a mountain. It's a plateau. It's an island in the outback sea. It's bright orange-red against blue sky and green leaves.  It's taller than the Eiffel Tower.

The aboriginal people ask repeatedly that you not climb, so we didn't. Seemed respectful. The government won't ban it, though, so some people were going up.  Just made me sad after all the signs asking "please don't climb".

After our walk we drove around the Rock stopping to take photos from different angles.  We stopped at one of the big lookouts, which was deserted.  For lunch we'd headed over to Kata Tjuta, the other rock cluster nearby.  We had gotten a pretty strong lecture that this was man's territory at the Mani Mani theater, so we just looked from afar.  We ate our pb&j picnic from the overlook.  It was pretty, more wild seeming than Uluru, and signs explained the desert landscape. This red sand is fascinating. It's really sand, not dirty, and footprints last for a long time in it.

We stopped at the cultural center next to see more art, and at one last view point. Then we visited some camels at the camel farm and returned the car late afternoon.  J and I did a little hiking while R chilled at the hotel, and then we meet up for sunset viewed from a hill in the center of the resort.  Now we're waiting for our astronomy tour to begin. There were so many stars last night but the clouds are looking pretty bad tonight so I don't know how this is going to go.

Great Ocean Rd

Southwest of Melbourne is one of the most beautiful stretches of road in the world. I've done the Road to Hana, the Amalfi Coast, the Pacific Coast Highway- none of them compare th the Great Ocean Road.

We followed the road east to west, from Torquay to Warrnambool, where we stayed in an airBNB for the night. We began at the info center, where two helpful ladies have is great tips. I'm going to try to remember them all here.

Our first stop was Bell's Beach, site of a huge annual surf competition. I could see way, the ocean was so powerful! I ran down the steps to put my feet in, of course getting much wetter than expected. Hey, it was good excuse to wear yoga pants instead of jeans for the rest of the ride. :)  Seriously, the colors of the gritty golden yellow sand against the turquoise sea and blue skies was like a painter's pallet exploded.

Next we rode on, stopping at a few lookouts for more amazing views. One of the visitor center recommendations was looking at the kangaroos at the golf course at Airey's Inlet, where we found them lounging on the driving range. We walked to Split Point lighthouse and studied Eagle Rock. Then it was on the road again.  We had lunch at a fish and chips place in Lorne. It was a huge feast! 

After lunch we were lucky enough to see some whales in the ocean south of Lorne. We even stopped at construction and got to see more of them. The road continued to wind along the coast with the most beautiful views of crashing waves and glistening rocks. 

At the recommendation of the visitor center we stopped in Kennet River to see koalas. There were tons and tons of birds around the Koala Cafe, cockatoos and parrots.  Don't feed them, they rip your arms up! But in the trees behind them were real live wild koalas! It was such a thrill to see them up in the trees. Most were asleep but one guy was moving around eating.  So cuddly!!

We were rapidly losing time, so after that it was off to the Twelve Apostles, giant rock formations off the coast south of Apollo Bay. We timed it just at sunset, which was pretty cool. They were very pretty, and huge.  But it was quickly off to Loch Ard gorge. The waves crashing into the thunder cave as the light faded seemed almost mythical.

In the dark we drove the rest of the way to Warrnambool.  Our morning attempts to see whales failed (Pete the guy said they'd had four good years and not this year.)  It was cold and dreary, but we watched fruitlessly for a little while.  Then it was back to Melbourne, the inland route, leaving the Great Ocean Road behind.

Melbourne

One big purpose of this trip was for my friend to return to Melbourne, where she studied abroad in college. She was dying to get back and share her favorite city in the world. We arrived late after the long drive, which meant no sight seeing until morning.

Up and out early, the clouds were just giving way to sun. We walked straight from our hotel in Chinatown to Federation Square, a huge modern architecture wonder on the Yara River. On the way we saw Hosier Ln full of sanctioned graffiti. It was a pop of outlandish color in a dark alley.  After a cup of coffee and breakfast in the atrium, we walked down to the river bank, admiring statues like the Red Center and more. We crossed to see the Eureka Building and then wandered back via the footbridge. From the train station we caught the circle city trolley to the docklands.

My friend's favorite statue was cow in a tree, so we had to find that. The public art in Melbourne is incredible, especially the creative sculptures. After posing with the cow in the tree, we rode the trolley back downtown to Melbourne Central for lunch. It's a big mall built around an old shot factory. 

After lunch we relived college at Melbourne university, exploring my friend's old haunts. We waited out a rainstorm in the union, then walked over to Lygon St for gelato. Mmmmmm, gelato.  Since it was getting cold, we started back towards the river for dinner at Flora, an Indian restaurant with great butter chicken.  Our night finished with an Australian classic- Tim Tam Slams in the hotel room.

Blue Mountains

We didn't have a lot of time in the Blue Mountains, but had to see this natural wonder. We packed up and left Sydney early for the drive out to Katoomba. It was a big of a cold and dreary day, but the views were still impressive.  I was surprised how these amazing views seemed right on the edge of neighborhoods. We started with Wentworth Falls, a gorgeous scenic overlook. There were some very loud kookaburras in the parking lot which was amusing.

Next stop was Echo Point and the Three Sisters rock formation. Long ago this was the sea floor (remember that later!).  We enjoyed the views but it was cold and the road was calling.

After a gas stop, we headed off to Melbourne. The road through New South Wales was the land of a million sheep. By late afternoon the sun had come out, and by nightfall- oh, the stars!!!

Wined and Dined

One of the must-dos from every guidebook was a visit to the Hunter Valley wine region. It was our first driving adventure in Australia and I'm happy to report that despite a giant SUV crossover that is definitely an unrequested upgrade, we all succeeded in our first time driving on the left! Getting out of Sydney was a big of an adventure. The highways don't really start until you're past the suburbs.

We stopped at the visitor center in Hunter Valley for a map and guidance. Using their helpful recommendations, we started with Pepper Tree Vineyards, a beautiful location with a helpful sommelier guided us through our introduction to Hunter Valley wines.

Next shop was Brokenwood, one everyone recommended. It wasn't as pretty as the first stop but the wines were good. After the two stops, we needed some food so we ate lunch overlooking the beautiful vineyards. I had a glass of the Semillion, the region's specialty. Probably never going to be my favorite, but delicious in that time and place.

After lunch we went to Audrey Wilkinson, which promises 360 degree views off the valley, and did not disappoint. The sun peaked through the clouds as we tasted a few of their wines. 

Our next stop was Cockroder's Ghost, where we had the best tasting of the day. The host was incredibly knowledgeable and personable, showing a clear love of the wines and sharing that with visitors. I'm hoping I can find some of their wines in the States because it was too expensive to ship all I wanted.

The last place we visited was Savannah Estates. The website had  promised wildlife, but it was late in the day and they were closing up.  Still, we got to try a few varieties in their small cellar door.

On the way home, we stopped in Cole's grocery store for provisions for the road trip to Melbourne and grabbed dinner at Oporto, home of the most amazing grilled chicken tenders ever!

Sydney Style!

Sydney makes a great first impression. We flew in over the opera house and harbour bridge in the magnificent winter sunshine. After dropping bags at the hotel we went right down to the circular quay to see the city's most famous sites. The weather was amazing- sunny and warm, in the 60s. That's my kind of winter!! We had lunch along the wharf at an Italian restaurant and then walked through the Rocks, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Sydney. There were fun weekend markets going on with all kinds of souvenirs and hand crafts. We wandered aimlessly, going under the harbour bridge and then back towards the hotel so we could properly check in, shower, and change. It had been a long time since Boston!

Because it's winter, the sun sets early even though it's not too cold. Our hotel is best a pedestrian mall, which we walked up looking for dinner. It was mostly stores, but eventually we found a cafe overlooking city hall.

Day two we awoke early and had breakfast near the hotel. We caught the ferry to the Taronga Zoo, which was am amazing ride. I loved seeing the city from the water. The zoo itself had some terrific views back to the city. There's an easy route through the zoo that features lots of native Australian animals like koalas, kangaroos, and wallabys, as well as some usually zoo finds like giraffes and elephants. We even got to feed a giraffe!

In the afternoon we returned to Sydney and explored the botanical gardens next to the opera house. They were lovely and there were so many people out on the beautiful day. It appeared to be a big gathering place for people playing pokemon go, which is the new thing to do this summer.

For dinner we had to try the iconic Harry's meat pies. I had the tiger pie, with mashed potatoes and peas, and it was delicious! Peppery beef in the pie, steamy warm gravy, flaky crusty-- yum!!

Getting Ready for Down Under

2016's big adventure- Australia!  A friend studied abroad there in college and since I've known her she's wanted to go back.  Those are dangerous words to say to me, because my response is "when are we going??" This was pre-Italy last year, so summer of 2016 was decided for three of us to adventure down under.  I love traveling with other teachers who have long summer vacations like me!

This is our plan:

 Fly to Sydney, spend a few days there exploring the city and a few day trips.  I'm hoping to do a harbor cruise tour, see the zoo, explore the harbor regions, and check out the beaches.  Too bad it will be too cold to swim or surf!  Though the forecast is promising 60s and I just might be tempted...   Maybe.  Side trips are scheduled for the Hunter Valley wine region and the Blue Mountains.

Then it's on to Melbourne!  We'll explore my friend's home-away-from-home city for several days, taking one jaunt down to Phillip Island to see the Penguin Parade and an overnight excursion across the Great Ocean Road.  I am SO SO SO very hoping to see whales.  I love whales.   Have I mentioned on this blog that my childhood dream was to be a marine biologist? It was dashed by a tendency toward sea sickness.  Alas.

From Melbourne, we're airborne to Cairns, then a drive north to Port Douglas, our launch point for tropical adventures.  I'm still torn between scuba or snorkeling on the reef.  Despite the devastating coral bleaching, I'm excited to see this natural wonder.  I'm so excited for all of the tropical fruit that grows in the region, and hoping to get to Daintree Rainforest for some adventures too.

Our last big stop is Uluru, aka Ayers Rock, in the Outback.  We fly out SUPER early in the morning for a few days in the center of the country.  I'm really looking forward to the stars (weather, you'd better cooperate!) and seeing the GIANT ROCK.

Finally, we return to Sydney for the flight home.  We're flying Air New Zealand, and I might be crossing my fingers for an oversold flight so I can volunteer to be bumped for a day in Auckland!

It's going to be a little hard for packing on this one.  It's winter there, but not cold winter like New England!  We're also going north so we'll be in the warmer climates for a few days.  It's require a lot of creative layers- more on that later.

This will be continent number six for me, which seems so crazy.  Antarctica is already in the works for 2020... But first I'll be saying "G'day, Australia!"

Norway Getaway

Norwegian Air started flying out of Boston this year with the most amazing price deals.  I couldn't resist and booked a ticket to Oslo for spring vacation this year.  A friend ended up coming along, the lure of the fjords too great to resist. 

I was skeptical of flying a budget airline but Norwegian was a surprise.  The planes were 787 Dreamliners, and while they weren't as spacious as some other airlines, they were better than a lot of US carriers.  The entertainment was fantastic, the seats fairly comfortable, and the flight without delays.  My only gripe was the food, both the quality (just totally unappealing) and the two-tiered system that dragged out meal service way too long.  It limited sleep time on the red eye overseas flight.

Anyway, landing in Oslo was a breeze, as was the transit from the airport to downtown.  Our first glimpse of Norway was breathtaking, farms and mountains beyond.  Once checked into the hotel in Oslo, the sun came out and we set out exploring the waterfront area.  We were staying near city hall, a few blocks from the harbor.  On our first day we wandered along the water for a ways, enjoying the sunshine.  We then took the tram up to Vigeland Park, full of statues representing the different stages of human life.  It was the perfect day to wander among the art, all bright sunshine and blue skies.  As the sun started to dip, we stopped into our second coffee shop of the day for a brief respite and wifi check-in.  Then it was back down to the harbor where we started a self-guided walking tour, in reverse from the tourbook which was always fun.  It got cloudy again as the day wore on, but cheery bright colors of a Sikh festival on Spikersuppa, or the National Mall of Norway, kept the day lively as we took in the sites of the National Theater and Parliament building.  Dinner on night one was Asian, recommended and close to our hotel.  It was quite the place. 

Day two dawned rainy, but with a big buffet breakfast at the hotel.  We took a boat from the harbor behind city hall to the Viking Ship Museum, which was my most-wanted site of the trip.  It was phenomenal- when you walk in you can see the Ostgard ship immediately, rising up above you just past the ticked checkpoint.  I was in awe of the two complete ships there, as well as the ruins and the hall of treasures pulled out of the ship graves that were excavated.  There were images from the excavations as well, showing how the ships were found and removed from the ground.  I was in history geek heaven while there, I must admit. 

After the museum, we learned that it was a special day in Oslo and city passes were free, so we went back to the City Hall to get one.  We saw where they awarded the Nobel Peace prize inside among the beautiful murals of Norwegian history.  We also went to the National Gallery and saw Edvard Munch's The Scream, Norway's most famous painting.  I enjoyed some of the other works there, especially Harald Sohlberg's Winter Night in the Mountains. 

We had lunch in an Egon restaurant and then, as the sun came out, began a walking tour of the Grünerløkka and Grønland neighborhoods, to see the more multicultural side of the city.  Walking along the river yielded pretty waterfalls and there were more coffeeshops, of course.  We ended the tour at the train station to pick up our tickets for the next day, and the Opera House on the water, where you could walk on the roof.  It was very dramatic, especially with the white-bright sun of the late afternoon.  For dinner we took the bus back up to a market, which was closed, so we ended up with Beer and Burgers.  Ah, America abroad.

Day three was our train day.  We left Oslo around 8:30 AM and rode all day to Bergen, on the west coast.  Going over the mountains we rode through a blizzard- you couldn't even see out the windows at times.  I like snow when you don't have to go out in it!  When we got to Voss we had to change to a bus because of construction on the train line.  Then it started to rain.  It was raining when we arrived in Bergen so we took a taxi to the hotel.  Our hotel was gorgeous- worth the little splurge.  We were greeted with opulence and waffles for afternoon snack.  Then, after a quick run to the fort and then back for umbrellas, we  set out on a walking tour of the Bryggen, the old medieval shipping neighborhood on the harbor.  We saw the maze of shops and old fish market.  We wandered the city a little bit, but with the cold and damp it wasn't very pleasant.  There was, however, a gorgeous rainbow that appeared, just in time to cheer us up before heading back to the hotel for dinner.  Mmmm, potato soup and salad.   We may have also run outside in our pajamas to see if we could find the Northern Lights later that night, but no luck there.  Oh well, I'll have to come back. 

The last day in Norway was our most dramatic.  Using the "Norway in a Nutshell" route, we traveled back to Voss by train.  It was still sort of rainy in the morning but the skies were clearing to bright sunshine by the time we got to Voss.  There we boarded a bus to Gundvagen, a little tourist transit stop at the end of the Nærøyfjord.   We had ice cream for lunch, did some shopping, then boarded the boat for the journey along the fjord.  It was breathtaking.  The sun was behind us so we got some beautiful pictures.  The fresh coat of snow made everything glisten.  I don't know that I can put into words how beautiful the fjords were.  Even pictures don't seem to capture it fully.  You need the crisp cold air on your cheeks, the warmth of a sunbeam breaking through clouds, the rush of water tumbling down from a glacier to fully get it.

The boat ended at Flåm, where we had two hours to grab some food and see the little train museum before riding back up the mountain towards the main train line back to Oslo.  The trip was about an hour and had beautiful views of the valley and a frozen waterfall.  Once back on the main train, we settled in for a five hour ride to Oslo.  There was no blizzard this time so we could see the towns completed buried at the top of the mountain.  Once we got back down below the tree line the snow disappeared into beautiful scenery of rivers, pine and birch forests, and eventual city lights.  We got into Oslo around 11 PM and wandered back to the hotel to check back in and repack for the trip home.

It was a whirlwind sampling but a wonderful taste of Norway in just four days.  I hope to return to see the northern parts of the country someday (oh, those Northern Lights elude me!).  

At the harbor, Oslo

Vigeland Park, Oslo

Viking Ship Museum, my favorite part of the trip, Oslo

City Hall.  I'll be back for my Nobel Prize later on!

Opera House, Oslo

Blizzard in the Mountains, Norway

Bryggen, Bergen

Rainbow over Bergen

Fjord cruise, Norway

Fjord Cruise, Norway

Snowy mountains near Myrdal, Norway