Tag Archives: Beer

Food and Drink, Humor, Markets, Munich, Oktoberfest, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Europe

Oktoberfest… What More Can I Say?!

The title says it all.  What commentary can I possibly add to a post who’s pictures tell the entire story?!  Normally, I envision my readers hanging on to my every word and each carefully crafted pun (I said that I “envision” it… I know it doesn’t really happen) – but this time, I think I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.  Of course, I do have to give some sort of framework around the pictures (hey, it is my blog, after all).

Crowds fill the streets during Oktoberfest 2013

You may have just read about Josh and Abby’s visit where we ate too much, indulged too much and just did… too much!  You know, the norm.  We were lucky enough to also have Dave and Jill drop in for part of their trip and join us again in Munich, Germany for Oktoberfest.  We were excited to get to the party – but before we could drink our first liter of beer in Munich, we needed to get there.  There is no better way to travel through Europe than the train – and when you have an overnight-train option, it’s a win.  You get your “hotel room” for the night included in the cost of transportation.  But travelers be forewarned – the Ritz… It.  Is.  Not! Continue reading Oktoberfest… What More Can I Say?! →

Beaches, Cruises, Family Stories, Food and Drink, History, Humor, Julia, Landscape, Photography, Restaurants, Sipping Espresso, Travel - Europe, Travel - Italy

"I Would Sail 2,700 Nautical Miles and-a I Would Sail 2,700 More…"

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Admit it… you sang the title in your head, complete with the voice raising on the “and-a I”…

I love to cruise.  Jen loves to cruise.  And now… Julia absolutely loves to cruise.  We have very few experiences aboard cruise ships, but each time we’ve been on one of these massive floating hotels (or mini-floating city’s… I couldn’t choose between adjectives – you pick your favorite), we feel like royalty.  We know that we will chose this method of vacation many more times in our lives.  Cruising requires little planning and you are always rewarded with the very best customer service, the opportunity to see many more cities than you normally could in a given time period, endless activities aboard the ship, wonderful food, the benefit of unpacking only once and perhaps best of all – a very affordable vacation (you can get very good deals if you hawk the last-minute deal sites).

Our ship – Holland America’s MS Nieuw Amsterdam

The first time that Jen and I took a cruise was on our honeymoon.  We spent three weeks sailing around South America (from Buenos Aires, Argentina all the way around Cape Horn and on to Santiago, Chile).  I chose Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) for our first cruise, primarily because the itinerary was perfect and I found it to be reasonably priced.  I wasn’t nearly the internet-nerd I am today and so I did little research beyond that.  We had a wonderful vacation, ate way too much food, enjoyed some lovely scenery (I have thousands of pictures to prove it) and had an absolute blast.  However, I had no idea how amazing cruising could really be until we recently boarded Holland America’s, MS Nieuw Amsterdam (pronounced, n-e-w); one of the newer ships in their fleet.

Boarding the Nieuw Amsterdam

Continue reading "I Would Sail 2,700 Nautical Miles and-a I Would Sail 2,700 More…" →

Cooking, Food and Drink, Friends, Humor, Sipping Espresso, Wine

Step Aside… It’s Time to Grill!

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When our friends, Nathan and Danielle had come to visit this past spring – Danielle pointed at a unique outdoor-oven-with-a-chimney-thingy in a neighbors yard and asked what it was.  I replied with all the confidence in the world that it was an Italian-style BBQ, but in reality I wasn’t positive.  I had seen the smoke billowing through the chimney and I had seen many of these things in other neighbors yards – but I had never inquired about it.  I asked my “go-to guy for all things Italian”… Jen’s uncle, Franco.  He confirmed that it was in fact a BBQ and a fairly typical one in Italy.  So, my educated guess was right.  Whew!

Classic Italian style outdoor grill

I noticed shortly thereafter that the typical gas Weber grills we’re accustomed to using in the States are non-existent here.  In fact, it’s possible you may see a round charcoal grill – but more often than not, it’s one of these large, permanent fixtures that people use to grill. Continue reading Step Aside… It’s Time to Grill! →

Food and Drink, Holidays, Humor, Ireland, Restaurants, Travel - Europe

Kiss me, I’m Irish in Dublin!

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We had exactly two trips pre-planned before we moved to Italy.  One to Scotland with Jen’s family this coming June and the other; something way to good pass up…  Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin, Ireland!  Jen suggested we participate in one of the largest parties in the world and I happily obliged.  We booked a flight on a local carrier and headed to Dublin for a long weekend.  I’m going to publish three separate posts dedicated to Dublin – too many stories and photos to fit all into one!
On our way to Dublin

We boarded our flight on Ryan Air from a small, regional airport.  As it turns out Ryan Air (an Irish Airline) is simultaneously the coolest and the absolute worst airline on the planet.  They offer low-cost airfare throughout Europe (great), but those flights are tricky to find and they nickel and dime you to death (not great).  When you book your ticket, you have to navigate through 5 pages of extras that they try to trick you into buying (“would you like trip insurance for your goat?”).  By the end, you’re too burned out to read their luggage policy and you might end up in a pickle like we did. Continue reading Kiss me, I’m Irish in Dublin! →