A few weekends ago, as the world around us became fraught with the frenzy and panic of the coronavirus pandemic, Nick and I decided to test our outdoors enthusiasm and capabilities in the Catskills. We arrived in Norwalk around 8:30 on Friday, where Maria and Barry had hot pizza and cold beer waiting for us. … More Bushwacking Barbers
Once again, we found ourselves at the Foot of the Mountain Motel back in room 10. We spent the next hour or so airing out the tents and repacking our bags to make for a seamless experience on our final day in Colorado. The skies threatened rain, so we lounged in the room reliving the … More Colorado Summer – Part 3: Farewell
As if on schedule, we woke up early Monday morning ready to face the mountains. After utilizing the free motel breakfast and facilities one last time, we loaded up the Nissan Rogue, made a quick pit-stop for Dramamine (for the windy mountain roads), and headed northwest to Estes Park. Just seeing those faraway mountains come … More Colorado Summer – Part 2: Raw in the Rockies
Each year, Nick and I try to have one “big” vacation; something longer than a long weekend. Last year, we had our wedding, followed by a golf and wine-filled retreat at Crystal Springs Resort; the year before, an overseas adventure to Italy for a friend’s wedding; and the year before that a craft-beer-filled adventure in … More Colorado Summer – Part 1: From Brooklyn to Boulder
A word from the author: As August approaches, so does the one year anniversary of our trip to Italy. It’s hard to believe that a year has gone by since we were jumping in Lake Como, traversing back in time in Florence, and stargazing in Tuscany. A lot has transpired this past year, and as … More Exploring Italy One Wine at a Time: Part 5 – Ancona, the Finale
This is where things got a little more interesting: we traded traveling by train to traveling by car, and were going into unchartered territory (i.e. a place no one else we knew had been). The drive into Chianti was a quick 45 minutes out of Florence; however, the roads became narrower and windier the further … More Exploring Italy One Wine at a Time – Part 4: Radda in Chianti
One of the reasons I wanted Florence in our itinerary was because I had been there before. It gave me comfort to know that I had somewhat of a semblance of the city’s layout & hot spots. Where the train to Lake Como was more like the Metro North, the train to Florence from Milan … More Exploring Italy One Wine at a Time – Part 3: Florence
After arriving in Milan, Nick and I navigated to the Milan Centrale Railroad Station where we boarded a train (essentially an Italian Metro North) to Varenna-Esino, Lake Como. The scenery began very much like that from the Metro North: suburban cities outside Milan. But then it opened up to towering mountains on one side with … More Exploring Italy One Wine at a Time – Part 2: Lake Como
“They met on a train while traveling through Italy.” It sounds like the opening scene from a romantic comedy destined for twists and turns in trying to make the serendipitous situation last. In reality, this is actually how my good friend, Ping, met his now-wife, Alessia. While he was traveling abroad, specifically by train through … More Exploring Italy One Wine at a Time (Part 1: Getting There)
Swapping Space for Sanity … More The Big Switch
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