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Pastel de Nata Battle: Pastéis de Belém vs. Manteigaria
You can’t visit Portugal without sampling at least one pastel de nata (and believe me, you’ll quickly learn that one will not be enough). These flaky tarts filled with a creamy egg custard are a staple of Portuguese cuisine. Your mouth will start salivating as soon as you smell the eggy, vanilla custard and see the golden brown tart with the slight char on top. To me, a fresh-out-of-the-oven pastel de nata is the culinary equivalent to a warm hug. Some background on this ubiquitous pastry of Portugal: A group of Catholic monks in Lisbon came up with the pastel de nata more than 300 years ago. Their monastery closed…
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The Most Epic Sound of Music Bike Tour
Are you a fan of The Sound of Music? Do you know every character’s line, every lyric to every song? Is this classic musical one of your favorite things? Then let me introduce you to Fräulein Maria’s Bicycle Tour, perhaps our favorite activity we took part in on our trip to Austria. It’s undeniable that in addition to Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, one of the major stars of The Sound of Music is Salzburg itself. This bike tour was the perfect way for us to get to know this charming city and the movie’s many shooting locations. From Captain von Trapp’s lakeside mansion, to the beautifully manicured Mirabell Gardens where…
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Explore: Day Trip to Modena, Italy
During our trip to the Emilia-Romagna region, we ventured to Modena for a day trip. We were lucky enough to snag a lunch reservation at Osteria Francescana, so we decided to spend all morning and afternoon in this charming city. Perhaps most famously known worldwide as the home of Ferrari and Pavarotti, Modena is also familiar to food enthusiasts; it claims balsamic vinegar, Lambrusco, and one of the world’s top-rated restaurants (the aforementioned Osteria Francescana) as their own. Here’s a Modena day trip guide on what to eat and see. Food Bar Schiavoni If you’re all caught up on Master of None, you’ll already be familiar with Modena, the backdrop…
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Explore: Game of Thrones Tour in Northern Ireland
One Saturday in January, we boarded a Dublin Coach bus to Belfast for a weekend trip. The main reason for our journey? Game of Thrones. If you’re a fan of the TV series, then I don’t need to tell you that multiple scenes have been shot throughout NI. We booked an all-day bus tour with McComb’s for Saturday, and Sunday morning was to be spent in Belfast. (Spoiler alert: If you’re not past the first few seasons of GoT, you probably want to stop reading now.) Now I’ll preface my post with an admission: I hate (most) tours. We booked this one mainly because we didn’t want to bother with renting a car or…
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Explore: Christmas Markets in Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, and Esslingen, Germany
Experiencing a real German Christmas market has been high on my bucket list for years. This past week, we got to visit three in the Baden-Württemburg region: Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, and Esslingen. They all lived up to my lofty expectations. Lebkuchen hearts dangled from stall awnings, the smoky scent of grilled sausages wafted in the air, and red and white glühwein flowed freely. In a word, the markets were “magical” and I would love to somehow make a trip to Germany a Christmas tradition. Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt The first market we experienced was in Stuttgart’s city center. It’s one of the largest in all of Germany and it’s renowned for the elaborate decorations…
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Explore: Kilkenny, Ireland
The other night, I grabbed dinner at Bunsen and happened to sit next to a tourist from Chicago. He had been traveling all over Ireland the past week and was telling me how Kilkenny was one of his favorite spots. Intrigued, I did some research when I got home. Realizing how close it was to Dublin, it seemed like the perfect day trip destination. Kilkenny is a medieval town, set about 130 kilometers south of Dublin. Roughly 25,000 people live there, but with a castle dating back to 1195, Ireland’s oldest brewery, and one of Ireland’s two climbable round towers, Kilkenny has become a bonafide tourist destination. When we arrived in…
