We’re going to tell you a story. It’s a story about a creature, some believed to be named “Dutch” because the first story of this creature started in The Netherlands at a place called Sumo. The story of the creature in Holland starts here. This is where “Dutch” showed up one day to the all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant and began devouring all the salmon nigiri in the restaurant. After a few visits by this creature, the restaurant chain decided to change their business model and limit their nigiri for the all-you-can-eat buffet. There are rumors that this creature had been spotted in Austin, Texas at a place called Barchi Suchi where the creature is legendary for ordering 50 pieces of nigiri at a time.

We thought the story of “Dutch” was but a myth passed on from year to year until we visited a place in Rome, Italy named Boa Sorte. Boa Sorte is an all-you-can-eat sushi place and when we got there and sat down, we spotted the legendary “Dutch” creature. We captured the creature devouring all the nigiri in the restaurant. I know you doubt this but let me tell you we captured it on timelapse on our cell phone. Sadly, we ran out of battery as the creature feasted for hours on nigiri but here is what we captured.

Click link for video.

The restaurant was good value for the money. We ate very well and the best item some of us had was the Carbonara Roll (picture below). The item has unique flavor and taste, almost like beef Wellington in a sushi roll.

Another favorite was the tempura dish.

Our journey this morning started to a walk to the Vatican. We had already visited the Vatican in a prior visit so that wasn’t our primary goal. Our primary goal was to visit the Hard Rock Shop to buy a family member back home a souvenir magnet. Unfortunately our the Hard Rock near the Vatican did NOT have the item so we were forced to travel across the city to an alternate Hard Rock that didn’t open until 11:30 so we stopped at a nearby cafe and had some snacks.

I had a salmon on avocado toast (€14) and “Dutch” tried a truffle toast that didn’t taste as good as it sounded.

We visited the second Hard Rock store and they did not have the item in stock either so we bought some other items and left for the Trevi Fountain. We dropped the customary 10 gold coins into the well.

After the Trevi Fountain we headed our way to the Pantheon and took a walk around.

Since we had visited this place in a prior visit, we did not go in but headed to our next stop the Piazza Navona where we went to a nearby shop and loaded up on some more water. We’d burned through at least two liters of water already.

Upon completion of our site visits we decided to head back to our apartment and take some much needed showers. Our clothes were drenched in sweat, we were tired and thirsty.

Tomorrow, we head off to Greece via ship so there may not be a post until a day or two till we get to our first stop.

Categories: Rome, Italy
Comments Off on Rome 2023 – Day 4

With the scorching heat outside and with a family member (A) not feeling well, we decided to sleep in today and await the arrival of someone special, Big J and the doctor for A. While we awaited our special guest, we decided it would be a good time to review some prices of goods and services in Rome, Italy. So let’s take a look at some receipts for things we bought down at the grocery store, Crai, a few blocks from our apartment.

The most prominent item on both receipts here is Acqua Levissima Naturale (bottled water) and a liter of water will cost €0.65 ($0.72 USD). On the right, there is a micro-fiber towel (€1.49) I bought to scrub with in the shower because of the excessive sweat we’ve been enduring with the heat. On the same receipt is a charge of €1.25 for some honey. Overall, the costs of items isn’t high unless it is an imported item.

While the doctor came for a house visit to treat A, Big J arrived and we decided to head out to lunch. We initially wanted to try Japanese restaurant named Taki Giapponese Roma, we discovered the restaurant was closed on Sundays until August. We opted then to try a Chinese restaurant but it was full and had a 20+ minute wait so we finally decided to head to a pizza restaurant named Salvatore Di Matteo Le Gourmet. The restaurant features wood burning pizza ovens and the food that came out was spectacular!

Feeling hungry? Check out the menu.

After lunch we headed back to the apartment and the doctor had finished up with A and gave us a list of prescriptions to retrieve from the local pharmacy.

Most of the medications listed above are actually over-the-counter meds in the U.S. but here require a doctor’s prescription. Fortunately, A, had Italian health insurance so the doctor’s in-house visit was covered however the meds were out-of-pocket, about €60 ($67 USD).

After the walk back from the pharmacy, it was straight to the shower to wash off all the sweat. Did we tell you already that this will be our last summer holiday?

Right now, Big J and A are sleeping, one the jet lag the other the meds so we’ll gonna be chill tonight and maybe sneak out for dinner later.

Categories: Rome, Italy
Comments Off on Rome 2023 – Day 3

Today was a good day. We took a train out of Rome and out of the heat and headed to Frascati via Tor Vergata train stop to visit a winery named Antiche Terre Tuscolane. Our host gave us a grand tour of the vineyard, the winery has been in the family for 9 generations. The area is rich with volcanic rock from a nearby extinct volcano giving the soil an acidic tinge which makes amazing white wines. We walked through the vineyard and learned about the grapes and the delicate balance of humidity, sun, soil and temperature to produce the optimum grapes. This particular vineyard uses a canvas method to help balance the sun and rain for producing the best grapes.

We had the opportunity to visit the caves where the wine is produced and stored before it gets sent out. We sampled a wine in the cave and then sampled a few more outside.

We also sampled some cheese, biscuits (cookies) and pizza bread during our visit.

After our visit to the winery, we headed out to Frascali proper and took a walking tour with our host Daniella. She walked us through the city plaza and showed us the Italian prince’s home pictured below.

She then took us to this church and gave a bit of history. During World War II, the Nazi’s took over Frascali and used it as a base of operations. The United States bombarded the area with 2500 bombs destroying most of the city except for the church pictured below and the water fountain.

We continued our tour with a stop at a cookie shop where the cookies have tits. Not just two tits like a normal cookie but three tits and they represent the three good things in Pascali: wine, milk, honey.

We then made a pit stop at the bakery below, constructed in 1300’s and had a small pizza made from a shop across the street from the bakery. The place was called Ceralli (1920).

We ended up at Hostaria Santa Maria restaurant and sampled some bread and pasta. We had a great conversation with a couple from Ohio but stationed in Germany on the tour. We completed our visit and really liked Frascali. It is located on a high hill area and there was a cool Mediterranean breeze blowing through the city.

I asked our host how much a two bedroom apartment would rent for in the city and she said about 1000 euros per month. I took a photo of some real estate options as well.

Sadly, we had to head back to Rome and the infernal heat…

Categories: Rome, Italy
Comments Off on Rome 2023 – Day 2

We got to Rome yesterday and boy is it a scorcher! The sun, heat and humidity has made us realize that this may be our last summer vacation.

In the future, we will shift from summer vacations to spring or fall vacations. Summers are getting too hot and too many people all want to see the same venues. We read an article on CNN that reported Amsterdam is banning cruise ships in the city due to over tourism. We don’t think it will be long before other cities start limiting tourists in some way in the near future.

Our day today was supposed to start with a cooking class where we were going to make a pizza but the class got cancelled. We left disappointed but saw this church on the way so we went inside to rest. This is now known as the “Pizza Church”

After Pizza Church, we found another church nearby and went in to have a look. They have quite a few churches here by the way ;).

We finished the day with a river cruise down the Tiber River. We didn’t see anything amazing but the cool breeze on the open air vessel was very relaxing.

We did find a spot for EZ. Can picture the photo shoot already with beer in hand and a smile. This one for you EZ.

Tomorrow we are heading out to a small town via train, lets hope there isn’t a rail strike….

Categories: Rome, Italy
Comments Off on Rome 2023 – Day 1

We’ve been offline for some time now but we’re back online with new travel adventures. Expect new and exciting posts starting on Friday or maybe sooner as we head out to explore the Mediterranean this summer. Here’s a hint of where we’re going!

Categories: Uncategorized
Comments Off on The Return To Travel!

I recently came back from a trip to The Netherlands and while I love the country, the food (especially breakfast) doesn’t always suit me.   After spending a few days in The Hague, I was really craving bacon, eggs and toast.  I had been out for a walk when I ran across a place called Palmette.   The dish I ordered came with eggs and bacon stacked on a large slab of sourdough bread garnished with arugula.   The blend of bitter, sour, salty complemented with a sweetened coffee really lifted my spirits for the day.  It had been the best breakfast I had while in The Netherlands.

Later in the day, I stopped by at a restaurant named Zebedeus which is attached to an old church.   The menu features a wide range of dishes but curiosity got the better of me and I ordered a burger.  I did not intend on ordering a burger but was intrigued by palmesteyn beef which I had not tried before.  The hamburger (beef) was amazing and I will definitely return to this restaurant next time I am in The Hague – it is officially my favorite restaurant in The Hague.   Don’t forget to add the award winning “39 Bloedbroeder” beer to your meal!

Categories: The Netherlands
Comments Off on The Best Breakfast and Lunch in The Hague, Netherlands

It’s 3:55 p.m on Friday, I eagerly board UA flight 20 from Houston to Amsterdam for a non-stop flight to reach my family that’s currently waiting for me in Amsterdam.   They’ve made reservations for us at La Perla Pizza (the best pizza in the world) on 7:30 p.m. Saturday and I tell them that I’ll be there Saturday morning.

It’s now 4:15 p.m. and the flight finally starts boarding and as I walk past the flight attendant, I whisper to him, “red wine please” and quietly walk to my seat in 4L.   After settling into my seat, he joyfully brings me my red wine and jokingly says, “I understand there was a red wine emergency over here” and hands me my glass.   I think to myself, “it’s going to be a great flight.”

As the rest of the passengers board I decided to watch a movie and select John Wick 2.   The flight attendant comes back and asks what I want for dinner and breakfast.  I tell him I want to go to sleep right away so I can land refreshed and ready to go as I’m visiting my family in Amsterdam so I advise that I’ll need a couple of more glasses of wine and will pop some Aleve to help me drift away.

It’s 4:45 p.m. and I get an alert on my phone that my flight will now leave at 5:30 p.m. – mechanical issues with auxiliary power unit.

It’s 5:32 p.m. and I get an alert on my phone that my flight will now leave at 6:30 p.m. – still same mechanical issue.

It’s 7:21 p.m. and I get an alert on my phone that my flight will now leave at 7:21 p.m. – still same mechanical issue.

It’s 7:49 p.m. and I get an alert on my phone that my flight will now leave at 8:10 p.m. – still same mechanical issue.  I now have finished watching the whole John Wick 2 movie.

It’s 7:55 p.m. and I get an alert on my phone that my flight will now leave at 9:00 p.m. – still same mechanical issue.

It’s 8:24 p.m. and flight attendant tells everyone to get off the plane, new gate is now E20.

It’s 8:25 p.m. and I get an alert that my flight will now leave at 9:30 p.m.

It’s 8:26 p.m. and the flight now leaves at 10:00 p.m.

It’s 9:00 p.m., after sitting 4 hours in a hot plane, I decide to go to United Club and take a shower to rinse off the sweat and be clean for a good nights sleep after this fiasco.

It’s 9:40 p.m., United sends me an alert that my flight has been cancelled.   Technically, I think they’ve fixed the plane but now the flight crew will exceed the number of hours they can work.

I walk over to the customer service desk to find out what can be done however there are hundreds of people there and only TWO agents and the business class / premier desk is NOT manned.    I am next in line in the premier queue but it never moves because the reps are on the phone for 20+ minutes and nothing is getting done.  I realize based on the conversations I am overhearing that getting to the Netherlands anytime on Saturday is going to be impossible.

I decide to cancel the flight since the weekend is gone at this point.  I head down to baggage and am told that no baggage is getting pulled from planes for at least 3 or 4 hours so I should just go home and come back to the airport tomorrow as  a 40 minute drive for me to and from the airport isn’t an inconvenience.

It’s 11:45 p.m. and I finally get home.  I get an email from United apologizing for the cancellation of the flight and they offer me 15000 miles or $300 voucher.   Knowing that miles get diluted almost every year with United I opt for the travel voucher but it doesn’t ease the pain of missing time with my family at all.

This morning I get online and come across this article that states under EU rules, flight cancellation from EU based airlines that delay you longer than 3 hours entitles the passenger to 600 euros in compensation.  So now I’m left wondering why I should ever fly a U.S. based airline over an EU one if one offers double the compensation of the other in the event of delays or cancellations?

As for my family, they’re still in Amsterdam going to have La Perla Pizza tonight while I’m sitting at home 🙁

Thanks United for ruining peak holiday time for 300+ people this weekend.

Categories: Flights
Comments Off on United Ruined My Family Vacation To Amsterdam – August 2017

This past weekend we visited the Golden Nugget hotel in Lake Charles Louisiana.   It has been almost a decade since we visited Louisiana.   Our last visit was ironically when the L’Auberge du Lac resort opened in 2005.   I recall that when we arrived, we were disappointed that the pool has yet to be finished and was not open at L’Auberge du Lac.

And that seemed to be the parallel case with the Golden Nugget 10 years later although this hotel had opened in November, there was a few issues with some of the hotel amenities.   For starters, the jacuzzi in the men’s spa was not functioning and under repair.   The spa attendants however advised we could use the “couples” spa so we (my wife and I) went over to the couples spa and the jets were not working in the pool.   It was interesting to see repair men hauling tubes and pipes through the side door of the pool while we were there.    The men’s spa had a Keurig coffee maker that lacked water and the nearby milk for coffee smelled rancid.   Both problems remedied by talking to the attendants but I went there to relax not point out problems to be fixed.

Overall we had a good time however we had a bit different expectations than what we received.   For one, the restaurants around the hotel are all chains including Vic & Anthony’s, Grottos, Cadillac Bar, Landry’s,  Saltgrass and the Buffet.    We had hoped for authentic cajun creole food and none was to be found in the entire place!   Not even French flavored cuisine was offered!

We ate dinner one night at Saltgrass and I asked for medium rare Prime Rib and 45 minutes later I got a cold slab of meat.  When I complained, they took the steak back and did heat it up but unfortunately it became a well done dry steak and I couldn’t finish it.   To give credit to Saltgrass management, the did comp me the steak and apologized for the mess up but they clearly have some things to sort to run the place more efficiently.    We did eat at a Sushi place called Lillies (ironic since Japanese don’t have an “L” in their language) and the food there was decent and problem free.

There were several bars and lounges in the complex yet those too didn’t offer any zydeco or cajun music.   The live bands played top 40 from the 80’s and 90’s so while entertaining it was a bit disappointing that all local culture was ignored.    The hotel didn’t leverage any of the local culture for food, music, entertainment or even shopping as most of the shops featured “mall” chain items.   I would have been happy to buy a CD of local music from local bands since that is one of the few items that doesn’t come with a  “made in China” stamp underneath it.

The hotel was nice with fairly large room and very nice bathrooms with separate tub and shower and the pools and spa was very nice but that’s what you’d expect to find at almost any hotel resort these days so nothing unique and as stated before, no local ambiance was leveraged into the theme of the hotel (i.e. jazz, zydeco, cajun, etc).

I did win about $300 at the poker table playing texas holdem against other gamblers and lost $100 at blackjack.   Overall a good weekend but would have preferred more local culture otherwise I may as well just go visit any major city which has basically the same “chain” entertainment.

Will we go back?  Probably not unless local culture is added to the complex.  Our next trip to Louisiana will likely be New Orleans for more authentic food, music, and culture but Golden Nugget is worth a one-time visit if you’re in the area.

Categories: Lake Charles
Comments Off on Golden Nugget, Lake Charles Review

We just got back from Iceland!   Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting about some of our adventures there but for now I wanted to do a summary about Iceland in 2015.

Categories: Iceland
Comments Off on Spring Break in Iceland 2015

Well we finally caught a break to upload thousands of photographs.  They can be found here.

Categories: Uncategorized
Comments Off on Alaska Cruise Photos Uploaded!