Pub fare When we arrived at our Chelsea hotel, it was already after 8 p.m., and we needed a meal. We took a moment to appreciate the spectacular view from our 45th-floor room and then did a quick Google for restaurants within a few blocks that might be open for dinner. We decided on a…
Category: Travel
SE Asia Part Two: Year of the Dragon
I wasn’t thinking about Chinese New Year when we booked our trip to SE Asia, but when we discovered that it was occurring during the first week of our trip, I was both delighted and apprehensive. Would there be big public events to seek out, or avoid? Would it make transportation a hassle? Would there…
Hold the soy sauce: GF in Asia
Traveling in Southeast Asia may sound like a dream for gluten-avoiders. All the rice! And rice noodles! But alas, there is one major stumbling block to GF dining: Soy sauce, made from wheat, in a travesty of inaccurate branding. Sadly, many Asian dishes are cooked with soy sauce, and requesting tamari as a substitute is…
Off the rails: when healthy habits go out the window
We went to Europe in November, for the second time this year. Normally, I don’t take two major trips within twelve months, but we had been stuck in the house for two years, and my husband was anxious to take his six-week sabbatical. So he went off gallivanting around Europe for four weeks, and I…
Pre-flight jitters
I love traveling, but I hate traveling. The whole infrastructure for international travel is laden with bureaucracy, delays, and confusion in the best of times. (Post) Pandemic times are not the best of times. You may have heard about the mayhem at the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam over the summer. Five hour security lines, delayed…
FIRIE: Financial independence, retire in Europe
My husband and I are considering buying a house in Portugal. This still sounds insanely unrealistic when I say/ type it. I’ve never had the financial means to buy a house, much less a second house. Thanks to my husband’s equity from his condo, we were able to buy the townhome we now inhabit. On…
Harm reduction on vacation
As I’ve changed my relationship with alcohol over the past several years, one of my challenges has been how to go on vacation without over-drinking. Ever since I started traveling internationally about 20 years ago, vacation has been a time to drink as much as I want…which is usually too much. How much is too…
Senza Glutine: Gluten-Free in Italy
When I first landed on Italy as the destination for my 50th birthday trip, I had not yet determined that gluten is my dietary nemesis. I’m not sure it would have been my first choice if I was envisioning a gluten-free vacation. The pasta! The pizza! Can you enjoy a trip to Italy without eating…
Sober in Vegas
It was my fourth visit to Las Vegas, but this one was a bit different. This time, I stayed sober. Vegas is not the first place you might think about for a teetotaling weekend. I associate the city with unlimited drinking. No one really cares if you’re walking down the street with a giant cocktail…
Taking the Waters in Calistoga, California
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve never had to go far to find some volcanic activity. I was about ten the first time my grandparents took me to a hot springs resort somewhere in Western Montana, probably not too far from Yellowstone. It was a shabby roadside motor inn with a rustic wood sign…
Plumb Wonderful 