Travel - A Couple Cooks

3 Best Sedona Hikes

Alex Overhiser — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 11:32:40 +0000

Looking for the best hikes in Sedona? Here are three great Sedona hikes that give you amazing views and drool worthy photo opps.

Sedona, Arizona is truly incredible. While the Grand Canyon is awe inspiring, I prefer hiking the majestic red rocks of Sedona. Everywhere you look, you’re surrounded by beautiful red cliffs, that make the most incredible backdrop.

The best part about Sedona Arizona is that there are literally hundreds of hikes to choose from! While awesome, it can be overwhelming. Here are three of the best hikes in Sedona we’ve found: best Sedona hikes meaning best views. Since we’re photographers, we’re all about them views! If you’re looking for hard core intense mountain hiking, this isn’t the list for you. But if you’re looking for drop dead gorgeous views and photo opps, keep reading!

Sedona Hike 1: All About That View (Secret Slickrock)

Our first best Sedona hike is nestled behind Cathedral rock, giving you all of the amazing views of this monument without so many crowds. The “hike” is called Secret Slickrock and it is a VERY easy, very short ½ mile from the trailhead to the wide open views of Cathedral Rock. If you’re lucky, there will be pools of water filled with rain reflecting the rocks and the sky! This is an incredible secret viewing spot and not to be missed! As you can see, these views are otherworldly.

Secret Slickrock is a great to do with kiddos: just keep in mind you’ll have to corral them once you get to the viewpoint because there are no fences! Larson (age 2) loved throwing rocks into the pools of water. But he does tend to run quickly so we kept a VERY close eye on him. Mostly, we kept him in our hiking backpack while we snapped photos.

The Secret Slickrock trailhead has a very small parking lot, so aim to get there early or on less busy days! Follow the signs for Secret Slickrock.

Sedona Hike 2: Simply Beautiful (Teacup Trail)

Our second best Sedona hike is classic Sedona! Starting at the edge of a neighborhood, you slowly climb towards the magnificent red rocks until you are practically hugging them. The trail is nice and wide at most parts and the biggest obstacles are avoiding the cactus! You get truly beautiful views and lots of varied landscape, but the hiking difficulty level is beginner.

For our toddler Larson, we mixed hiking with him in our toddler carrier and letting him run free. Again, throwing rocks was a huge highlight in his book.

The Teacup Trail parking is at the Sugar Loaf Trailhead. There’s a mid-sized parking lot available. We did about 1.5 miles of hiking out-and-back. Many different trails connect from this point, so you could spend a whole day exploring if you wanted to! Just make sure to pay attention to the signs on the trail.

Sedona Hike 3: The Instagram Star (Devil’s Bridge)

And our final Sedona hike: the perfect photo opp! Sedona has become very popular over the past couple of years and you’ll find slow traffic and completely filled parking lots on busy weekends. There’s a good reason for all of this: Sedona is amazing! And Devil’s Bridge is one of the most famous of Sedona hikes.

Maybe you’ve seen in on Instagram? Devil’s Bridge is a beautiful natural arch at the top of a Sedona canyon. The hike itself requires a bit of scrambling and has some elevation gain, so it’s definitely a more moderate hike. When we went there was a crowd at the top taking turns for portraits along the bridge: and lots of nervous people with queasy stomachs. It’s not as scary as it looks! But we also didn’t allow our toddler out on the bridge: he’ll have to wait a few more years for that!

For the Devil’s Bridge hike, many people park at the Devil’s Bridge parking lot. However, we recommend parking at the Mescal Trailhead and following the Chuck Wagon trail to connect to the Devil’s Bridge trail.

Where to stay in Sedona?

When we stayed in Sedona, Arizona most recently, we stayed in this Hilltop Lounge Airbnb. It’s a bit pricey, but the views were absolutely incredible! A favorite memory is drinking wine and eating a picnic dinner on our patio watching the sun set.

How about you: have you been to Sedona? What hikes have you enjoyed?

The Best Gelato in Rome

Alex Overhiser — Tue, 19 Mar 2019 18:48:05 +0000

How do you find the best gelato in Rome? Here’s how to find the tastiest gelato that will have you coming back again and again.

How do you decide on the best gelato in Rome? The romantic says it’s the ice cream in hand. The sentimentalist says it’s from a centuries old shop. The foodie says it’s from the place with the wackiest flavors. We say: you can’t pick just one–and you shouldn’t! I’ve been on five trips to Rome, and have done my best to sample as many flavors and types of gelato just for you! Here we’ve narrowed it down to three of the best gelaterias in Rome: the shop with the most pure flavors, the classic gelateria, and the best modern gelato shop! We recommend you try them all on your next trip to Rome!

The best gelato in Rome: Pure flavors

First up in our Best Gelato in Rome wins for pure, simple and mind-blowing gelato flavors. Think strawberry that tastes more like a strawberry than an actual strawberry itself! That’s all the gelato flavors at Hedera, a little shop that prides itself on using natural and seasonal ingredients. The gelato is pure and smooth, perfectly executed and extremely high quality. Hedera is in the Borgo neighborhood up near the Vatican, so plan on stopping by after a trip around St. Peter’s Square. It’s also an extremely quaint location that’s camera friendly (see me enjoying some of that tasty pure chocolate gelato below).

Related: Try it: our lemon gelato recipe!

The best gelato in Rome: Classic gelateria

Next up in our Best Gelato in Rome: a sentimental favorite of ours, Gelateria del Teatro. It’s just outside the Piazza Navona, making it easily situated for romantic walks home after dinner. Just make sure to plan your timing accordingly: they’re only open until 11:00 pm! The flavors here are traditional but also inventive: think chocolate red wine, stracciatella with mint, rosemary honey and lemon, ricotta fig and almond. Eleven years ago when we came to Rome for our honeymoon, we came here every night (maybe twice). We were happy to see on return trips that Gelateria del Teatro was still alive and well, and they’d even expanded their storefront!

The best gelato in Rome: Modern gelato

The final favorite of our Best Gelato in Rome: Fatamorgana! This gelateria one is the most inventive of all: it has a myriad totally exotic flavors. You’ll find gelato flavors like Kentucky (Chocolate and tobacco), rose petal and violet, and basil and black rice. But along with the inventive flavors there are also the more traditional ones like stracciatella and chocolate hazelnut. The creamy texture is intensely good! Here’s my chocolate tobacco and caramel: the chocolate tobacco had a lightly smoked aftertaste and was so, so good. You’ll find Fatamorgana near the Campo De’ Fiori, and we recommend it as dessert after a perfect lunch at nearby Antico Forno Roscioli. Pro tip: Fatamorgana now has a location in the US in LA too!

These are our recommendations for the best gelato in Rome! We challenge you to walk to all three in a row, it only takes 25 minutes to walk the route and you’ll be glad you did!

Travel Capsule Wardrobe: What to Pack for a Trip to Europe

Sonja Overhiser — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 19:17:51 +0000

Wondering what to pack for vacation? Here’s how to plan a travel capsule wardrobe, with packing tips for Europe and other summer vacation destinations! Affiliate links are included below.

(Blue Wrap Dress; Beach Sun Hat, Naot Pixie Sandal)

Alex and I just got back from a 3 week trip to Europe, where we toted 1 ½ year old Larson around to Italy, Croatia and Spain. We went for the food, the views, and time with friends and family. But what so many of you have been asking after seeing our photos is something we didn’t expect: Tell us how to pack a travel capsule wardrobe! This was a surprise to us, because we’re food bloggers! So this article is outside our typical healthy recipes. But you asked–and we did learn a lot of helpful tips from our packing list for Europe! So what to pack for two or three weeks in Europe? The three of us traveled to Europe for 3 weeks with just 2 suitcases! Here are our secrets to the best travel capsule wardrobe and packing tips for Europe (including the best comfortable and stylish walking shoes)! Links in the Packing List section below.

Bring enough to wear each outfit two to three times.

The top tip we learned from seasoned travelers about a travel capsule wardrobe: only bring enough clothes to wear each outfit two to three times. What, two to three times each? YES. Our goal was to travel light since we’d be visiting several places and much of our luggage space (we used Samsonite hardside luggage) was taken up by kid stuff. So for 3 weeks in Europe, that’s outfits for just 7 days! We stayed mainly in Airbnbs, so we were able to do laundry when necessary. If you stay in hotels, my parents (who are world travelers) wash things by hand in sinks, or sometimes there is an afternoon in a laundromat.

For us, it helped that it was summer so most of our clothes were on the small side, not bulky sweaters like in cooler weather. As a woman, my main clothing pieces were: 5 dresses, 1 maxi skirt, 3 shirts, and 2 pairs of shorts. I mixed and matched these throughout the trip — scroll down to “My packing list” for links to exactly what I packed!

Determine your style & colors.

Before you start building a capsule wardrobe for any destination, determine: what’s your vibe? The vibe of your travel capsule wardrobe depends on both your personal style and the location you’re traveling to. What to wear in Europe in the summer? Honestly, my first thought was the movie Under the Tuscan Sun and Diane Lane’s gorgeous vintage dresses. So, I decided to stick with a sundress theme with dresses and skirts that were vaguely vintage-inspired. My own personal style is pretty feminine, so I feel most comfortable in a sundress. Perhaps you have a more casual personal style: and that’s perfectly ok! The style in Italy and Spain is a bit dressier so what I chose fit right in. However, do make sure that you’re location appropriate. We took a trip to Alaska a few years ago, and you wouldn’t want to be caught dead in a sundress there! It was flannels and boots all the way.

Next, consider a color theme. This is only important because it allows you to mix and match pieces and bring less clothing overall. In my everyday wear I generally stick to neutrals: white, black, grays, and neutral blues. But for a summer vacation to Europe, I added a few splashes of color to my neutrals inspired by the Mediterranean: bright blue, yellow, and orange red. Every piece of clothing I brought fit into this color schema, which made it easy to mix and match! Now, how to find these pieces…?

(Blue Wrap Dress; Madewell Carryall, Naot Pixie Sandal)

(Red one piece swimsuit (similar); Beach Sun Hat)

Buy just a few new pieces.

Confession: Alex buys pretty much everything I wear. Eeek, I said it! Yes, my husband buys all my clothes online. This happened out of convenience, because I’m a terribly slow shopper. I have a hard time finding things and a harder time making up my mind. Alex happens to be amazing and efficient at Google searching and finding anything online. So, we’ve resorted to Alex picking out and buying all my clothes. It just works better that way! Over the years we’re changing to buying higher quality pieces that are a bit more expensive but that I love and can wear for several years. No more Target runs for shirts that fall apart in a few months! While my individual pieces may be a bit more expensive, the size of my wardrobe has been significantly reduced over the last few years.

Important: DO NOT feel like you have to go out and buy an entirely new wardrobe! Quite a few of the pieces that were part of my travel capsule wardrobe were pieces I’ve owned for years.

(Beach Sun Hat, Naot Pixie Sandal, some look alike dresses below)

Some online shopping tips

Now, Alex has been asked by my friends for YEARS what his tricks are for online shopping for clothes! Since I didn’t know myself, I asked Alex for his secrets to online clothes shopping. Here are Alex’s best online shopping tips for a travel capsule wardrobe:

Sign up for email newsletters from online stores; they’ll often email about sales as much as 40 to 60% off.
Don’t buy too much at once, since it can be overwhelming to return things when you have a lot of pieces.
Shop at sites that have easy returns (either free or cheap, like $5).
When you’re browsing for clothes online, use the filter and sort features to narrow to the size and colors you’re looking for.
Only keep things that you absolutely love and want to wear all the time. Just because it looks great, don’t keep a shirt you’ll only wear once or twice.

Some of the online clothes shopping sites we frequent are: Everlane for high quality ethically made basics, Madewell for cute and unique pieces, and Asos for bargains with a European flair.

(Naot Pixie Sandal)

Find stylish walking shoes for travel.

One of the most important things I wanted to find for my travel capsule wardrobe was stylish walking shoes for travel. Since we’d be walking many miles per day, I wanted to find comfortable walking shoes for Europe that also didn’t scream Tourist! Alex scoured the internet in search of the perfect stylish walking shoes for travel, and found a brand called Naot. It’s based out of Israel and they’re all about comfort and style. Alex picked this Naot Pixie stylish wedge sandal for me, and when I put it on, it truly felt like I was walking on air! And they held up: I wore these sandals walking XXX miles through Europe and never did my feet get tired. Some days we did 25,000 and the Naot Pixie still kept up. Aside from flip flops, this was the only pair of shoes I brought. Since it’s a stylish walking shoe, it worked for dinner as well!

Find it: Naot Pixie Wedge Sandal

Another dress option: Sézane polka dot dress

Find your best packable sun hat.

Here is my best tip for ladies for looking good with no effort on vacation: wear a sun hat and sunglasses. I know, it sounds deceptively simple. But honestly, you don’t have to do your hair or have your eyes open in photos! Not only does it block out the sun and keep you cooler, a sun hat is the perfect accessory to any outfit. Win, win, win! The best packable sun hat we could find was this one, and as you can see from these photos, I wore it just about 24/7. This covered up my beach hair and the days I didn’t shower! Most days I preferred to be out adventuring instead of spending time doing my hair.

Find it: Lanzom Women Beach Sun Hat (Fedora style)

(White Eyelet Button-Down Dress (similar); Beach Sun Hat, Madewell Carryall)

Find a durable purse / bag.

Another thing I wore just about every day was my purse / handbag. I’ve never been good at finding a bag I liked, but I think I finally found one in this Madewell carryall. It’s made of leather so it’s super durable, but it’s stylish at the same time. I prefer having a large bag so I can carry lots of things, and found this bag was the right size for me. I use it in everyday life not just vacation, and it truly goes with any outfit style.

Find it: Madewell Zip-Top Transport Carryall

(White Eyelet Button-Down Dress; Beach Sun Hat, Madewell Carryall, Naot Pixie Sandal)

Bring a steamer.

Living out of a suitcase for three weeks is no fun. As you’d expect, things get pretty wrinkly. My parents are expert world travelers and much of what they buy is fabric that doesn’t wrinkle. A few of our clothes were less wrinkly material, but it made my head spin to try to find pieces all in wrinkle-free material. SO, we got a travel steamer! We LOVED it until we fried our steamer due to the European voltage. Alex has since found a travel steamer with worldwide voltage, so we’d recommend this one. For the remainder of our trip, we made do with Airbnb irons, which also did the trick: so this is optional. But we found it to be helpful (also, we’re terrible at ironing)!

Find it: Travel Smart by Conair Pro Portable Garment Steamer

(White and Peach blouse, Madewell Jean Shorts, Beach Sun Hat)

My packing list for a travel capsule wardrobe

With those tips in mind, here is my travel capsule wardrobe for Europe in list form. Again, caveats are that this is for women only (sorry!) and summer specific. (Are you interested in what Alex and Larson packed? Let us know.) What to pack for two or three weeks in Europe will obviously differ from different countries and seasons that you’re travelling in, but hopefully this can help to give you a starting point. For the pieces that I had existing or were not available, we’ve provided some look alikes!

5 Dresses:

White Button-Down Dress (similar, similar)
Blue Polka Dot Antonia Wrap Dress or Sézane polka dot dress
Yellow Mango Tie Back Mini Dress — look alike
Navy Blue Dress
White Wrap Dress

1 Maxi Skirt:

Gray maxi skirt — look alike

3 Shirts

Yellow top
Striped blouse
Black and white striped New Perfect Fit tee shirt — look alike
And 1 long sleeve that I only wore on the plane (it was hot!)

2 Shorts

Madewell Jean Shorts
Yellow Shorts (similar, similar)
And 1 pair of jeans that I only wore on the plane

Accessories

Naot Pixie Sandal
Madewell Zip-Top Transport Carryall
Red one piece swimsuit (similar)
2 other swimsuits (they’re small!)
Lanzom Women Beach Sun Hat (Fedora style)
Underwear and bras: I took enough for 9 days and did laundry a few times

Other

P.S. This was our first big trip with the Samsonite hardside luggage and we loved it! The big one was large enough to fit Larson’s crib and the smaller one held all of our clothes. Plus, there’s something nice about the hardside luggage protecting all of your stuff and not getting beat up. We’d definitely recommend it.

Best Broad Ripple Restaurants

Sonja Overhiser — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 21:55:54 +0000

Looking for Broad Ripple restaurants? Here are the best restaurants in this Indianapolis neighborhood for lunch, breakfast, and everything in between.

Looking for Broad Ripple restaurants? We’re so glad you asked. Hi, I’m Sonja, and my husband Alex and I are cookbook authors and food bloggers who’ve lived in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis for the past 15 years. (We can’t believe it’s been that long!) When we moved here, the Indianapolis food scene was just getting started. Today, it’s exploded into a renaissance of farm to table restaurants, hipster coffee shops, trendy bars, and local breweries. It’s been a thrill to see Indianapolis claim a food culture that’s all its own. Come along with us while we share our neighborhood haunts with you!

What is Broad Ripple?

Broad Ripple is an Indianapolis neighborhood that is north of downtown. The exact definition of Broad Ripple varies, but we’ve included Broad Ripple restaurants that are in the “village” area on Broad Ripple avenue, all the way down to College and 49th Street (considered South Broad Ripple or SoBro).

What’s on this Broad Ripple restaurants list

It’s often that Alex and I are asked, what are the best restaurants in Broad Ripple? Just like determining the best of anything, it’s difficult to say one specific place. Because it depends on the situation: do you want lunch? Breakfast? Bars? Fancy dinner? Coffee? Dinner with kids? Because there are so many different scenarios, we’ve included many different recommendations on this list.

There’s a wide variety of Broad Ripple restaurants: some a little more formal, but most more casual. On the whole, Broad Ripple has a casual vibe. You certainly won’t need to dress to the nines in Broad Ripple! Though really anything goes in terms of wardrobe.

Alex and I have lived in the Broad Ripple neighborhood of Indianapolis for years and years, so we’ve eaten at a lot of Broad Ripple restaurants. HOWEVER: we have not eaten at every single new place that pops up, so this is just a list of the Broad Ripple restaurants that we’ve been to and enjoy. (Of course if you’re a Broad Ripple restaurant owner and want us to stop by: please drop us a line!)

And if you live in the area and there’s a Broad Ripple restaurant missing on this list that you think we should try, give us a shout in the comments!

Buffalo cauliflower wings at Twenty Tap

Broad Ripple restaurants: Dinner

Napolese

Dinner: A signature Broad Ripple restaurant, Napolese has truly great artisan pizza and fresh, inventive seasonal salads. It’s a perfect place for a date night, out with friends, or even to bring the kids. You can eat outside in the summer (our favorite). For a starter, get the baked goat cheese. Split a few of the salads and pizzas among the table: the Margherita pizza with quail egg is a must. It’s one of our favorite inspired Italian restaurants in Indianapolis.

Taste it: Our Baked Goat Cheese with Fire Roasted Tomatoes recipe inspired by Napolese!

Ukiyo

Dinner: Perfect for a date night, Ukiyo is a Japanese fusion restaurant has incredible small plates and sushi served in a trendy atmosphere. The omakase is a special tasting menu prepared by the chef that you have to reserve in advance; it’s available Fridays and Saturdays.

Bar One Fourteen

Dinner / cocktails: Bar One Fourteen feels like you’ve walked into a hip club in Paris, but you’re still in Indianapolis! It’s super dark and serves great cocktails and trendy French-inspired food. Perfect for date night! Their truffle burger is the best burger in town. The popovers are also fabulous. It’s another in the Patachou family of restaurants (which includes Napolese and Public Greens).

Half Liter Beer & BBQ Hall

Lunch or dinner: Great for a cozy and casual lunch or dinner, Half Liter serves up Texas-style barbecue in a large hall. There’s also a lovely patio for the warmer months. Boasting house made beers and a deep whiskey list, Half Liter is family friendly with a 21-plus upstairs lounge. Eat plant based? The have a vegan BBQ option too!

Taste it: Our BBQ Soy Curls inspired by Half Liter!

Studio C

Coffee, lunch or dinner: Studio C is not a traditional restaurant: beware! One of Indy’s top chefs Greg Hardesty uses the Studio C space to host private and pop-up dinners. Studio C offers takeout coffee during the day, lunch on Tuesdays, and pop up dinners — you have to watch their Instagram or Facebook to get tickets! Or you can reserve it for a private dinner for friends cooked by Chef Hardesty himself.

Fat Dan’s

Dinner / drinks: Looking for greasy bar food in a Chicago style deli and pub? Fat Dan’s is where it’s at for a splurge, though we’re more into healthy food, Their fries are our favorite in the city, and come out on a big sheet of parchment paper perfectly salty and crisp. If you’re into wings, their wings are to die for. And don’t worry, they’ve also got a great veggie burger!

Twenty Tap

Dinner / drinks: Twenty Tap is a Broad Ripple institution serving tons of craft brews and delicious casual food with a veggie-centric twist! It’s a place where you can get a huge burger or a Vegan Jackfruit Tostada on the same menu! Another favorite was their Brussels sprouts served with harissa and goat cheese, which inspired us to make our own rendition!

Related: Our Brussels Sprouts with Harissa and Goat Cheese, inspired by Twenty Tap!

Broken yolk margherita pizza at Napolese

Broad Ripple restaurants: Breakfast & lunch

Patachou / Petit Chou

Breakfast / lunch: An old standby for lunch and brunch, Patachou has straightforward, really good real food served in a fresh atmosphere. The vegan Cuban breakfast and tomato artichoke soup are our faves. It has great vegetarian and vegan options. Petit Chou is Patachou’s the French bistro sister and has a lovely French menu. Petit Chou also serves dinner.

Related: Our Tomato Artichoke Soup recipe inspired by Patachou!

Just Pop In

Lunch / snacks & drinks: Located on the main strip in Broad Ripple, Just Pop In is a gourmet popcorn bar featuring small plates, beer, wine, and bubbles. The setting is super trendy and the patio is open in warm weather. When we’re in Broad Ripple, we love stopping by for a snack and a drink. The hummus platter is one of our favorites in town.

Public Greens

Lunch / Casual dinner: Broad Ripple restaurant Public Greens is super casual fresh, delicious food served cafeteria style. What we love about Public Greens is it offers veggie forward, delicious food without a big wait. It’s right next to the Monon Trail, so the patio is perfect in warm weather. The menu is constantly changing and it’s perfect for families. Some of our favorites: fries, the vegan chili, and their many salads. Public Greens dedicates its profits to The Patachou Foundation, which feeds at-risk and food insecure children in the Indianapolis community.

Related: Our Quinoa Black Bean Vegan Chili recipe inspired by Public Greens!

Burger at Petit Chou

Gallery Pastry Shop

Sweet treat / brunch or lunch: Gallery Pastry Shop is one of our favorites, offering supremely high quality pastries in a trendy but relaxed atmosphere. They’re well known for their macaroons (hit them on Wednesdays for $1 macaroon day!). Gallery is a perfect meeting spot for coffee and a croissant, or brunch any time of the week.

The Garden Table

Breakfast / lunch: The Garden Table features fresh juices and healthy, plant based foods along with heartier, meaty ones. Our favorite location is the downtown location because of its trendy vibe; it also serves dinner. See below.

Related: Our Vegan Banh Mi Sandwich recipe inspired by The Garden Table!

Ezra’s

Breakfast / lunch: For the hardcore plant lover, Ezra’s features raw,vegan and gluten free foods in a casual and brightly colored atmosphere. It’s perfect for breakfast and brunch. Our favorite is the Buddha bowl: lots of veggies with delicious savory raw falafel balls. They also have some inventive vegan and gluten free dessert creations.

Related: Our Raw Falafel Buddha Bowl recipe inspired by Ezra’s!

Pots & Pans Pie Shoppe

Broad Ripple Restaurants: Sweet Treats

Nicey Treat

Sweet treat: It’s not a Broad Ripple restaurant per say, but for a sweet treat look no further than Nicey Treat! It’s a seasonal, local gourmet popsicle company. All of their flavors are insanely good: think pina colada, avocado, strawberry mint, and frozen hot chocolate. Our favorite? Almond butter dipped in dark chocolate (a $1 adder and totally worth it).

Cake Bake

Sweet treat / lunch: If you’re looking for a spot for a girl date, Cake Bake Shop is sumptuously decorated with all things pink and sparkly! It’s outfitted like a Parisian fairytale and serves enormous three layer cakes, pies, and pastries, most of them topped with glitter. They also have some savory lunch options like sandwiches. I take our niece here for tea and cake on a little date every year.

Pots & Pans Pie Shoppe

Sweet treat / snack: Pots & Pans is very new and we’ve only visited once, but we added them to our list because it’s a fun little spot to grab a pie. Boasting artisan savory and sweet pies, you can head over for their Vegan Pot Pie or Biscuits and Gravy Pot Pie as a meal, or a fruit pie as a sweet treat. They serve our favorite local coffee roasters, Blue Mind Roasting, and have a quaint vibe.

Upland College Avenue

Broad Ripple Bars

There are actually lots of bars that are, well, your typical bar in Broad Ripple. Here’s a list of places we like get a drink in Broad Ripple:

Sangrita Saloon: for margaritas
Upland College Ave: for beers
Bar One Fourteen (above): for cocktails
Twenty Tap: for beers
Louie’s Wine Dive for wine

Things to do in Broad Ripple

Surprisingly, there are things to do in Broad Ripple other than eat! Here are some of our favorite things to do in Broad Ripple:

Walk the Monon: we love strolling through Broad Ripple and up near the Indianapolis Art Center; there’s a lovely sculpture garden (and cute coffee shop Perk Up).
Broad Ripple Farmer’s Market: If it’s the season (May through November), head to the farmers market for a beautiful morning of produce vendors, live music, and lots of good eats (grilled pizza, fresh squeezed juice, tacos, you name it).

What Broad Ripple restaurants & bars are we missing?

Let us know in the comments below!

Best Restaurants Downtown Indianapolis

Sonja Overhiser — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 15:00:20 +0000

Looking for restaurants in downtown Indianapolis? Here are the best restaurants from two local foodies for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks!

Looking for restaurants in downtown Indianapolis? Take it from us: this city has never had more going on in food! I’m Sonja, and my husband Alex and I are food bloggers and cookbook authors who’ve lived in Indianapolis for the past 15 years. When we moved here, the food scene was just getting started. Today, Indy has exploded into a renaissance of farm-to-table restaurants, hipster coffee shops, trendy bars, and local breweries. It’s been a thrill to see Indianapolis claim a food culture that’s all its own. If you’re looking to navigate the many eateries Indy has to offer, here are all our favorite restaurants in downtown Indianapolis: including bars and best places to grab a drink!

Related: Best Broad Ripple Restaurants

What’s on this restaurants in downtown Indianapolis list?

So, what are the best restaurants in downtown Indianapolis? It’s a tough question. Just like determining the best of anything, it’s difficult to give just one answer. Because everything about the answer depends on the situation: are you looking for brunch? Lunch? Breakfast? A fancy night out? Dinner with kids? Drinks with the gals? Since there are so many different occasions, we’ve broken down this list to our favorites in each.

There’s a wide variety of Indianapolis restaurants: some a little more formal, some more causal. We’ve tried to note the vibe for each restaurant or bar below! On the whole, the vibe for downtown Indianapolis is a little more hip than other neighborhoods in Indy (for example, Broad Ripple is super casual). However, Indiana as a whole is pretty casual: so if you’re traveling here from out of state, you can truly get away with wearing anything for a night out.

Alex and I have lived in Indianapolis for 15 years, so we’ve eaten at a lot of restaurants in downtown Indianapolis. HOWEVER: we have not eaten at every single new place that pops up, so this is just a list of the restaurants that we’ve been to and enjoy. (Of course if own a restaurant in downtown Indianapolis and want us to stop by: please drop us a line!)

And if you live in the area and there’s a downtown Indianapolis restaurant or bar missing on this list that you think we should try, give us a shout in the comments!

Bluebeard

Restaurants in downtown Indianapolis: Dinner

There are so many restaurants in downtown Indianapolis it’s hard to keep track! Here are some of our fast favorites of places to eat in our city. Again, we’ve mentioned restaurants that fit various occasions. Because best Indianapolis restaurants means the best restaurant for the occasion: be it lunch, girls night, date night, or drinks!

Bluebeard

Dinner / drinks: Perfect for date night or a night on the town, Bluebeard is one of our Indy faves, serving up sophisticated Italian inspired small and large plates. In its first year, Bluebeard was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best New Restaurant. Named after a book by Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut, and the dining room showcases a variety of books and typewriters to fit with the literary theme. The cocktails are great (their gin and tonic is my favorite in the city) and the revolving menu of seasonal inspired dishes is always spot on.

Vida

Dinner: Vida is an upscale spot perfect for a night out, with a 4-course tasting menu that changes seasonally. You can also order a la carte. Think courses like Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower with apricot and pumpkin seed dukkah, and Sea Bass with curry emulsion and Thai basil. It’s got a great bar and elegant dining room.

Tinker Street

Dinner: Tinker Street is another great spot for a night out. Enjoy sophisticated, farm to table food in a cozy urban cottage. The dinner menu is always inspired and excellent.

Nada

Brunch / lunch / dinner: Nada is a fun, colorfully designed space to enjoy gourmet Mexican downtown. Their habanero “kreeper” salsa is to die for (if you like a little spice), as is the queso. They’ve got delicious tacos and large plates; a great spot for dinner with family, or a night out.

Shoefly Public House

Dinner: Shoefly Public House has a super casual atmosphere with great food, perfect for a family dinner or a night out. The menu is always changing, but we love their sweet potato fries with various tosses, and their vegan meatloaf with gravy is very tasty. Think comfort food, with lots of veggie options.

Napolese

Dinner or lunch: Napolese has truly great artisan pizza and fresh, inventive seasonal salads. It’s a perfect place for a date night, out with friends, or even to bring the kids. You can eat outside in the summer (our favorite). For a starter, get the baked goat cheese. Split a few of the salads and pizzas among the table: the Margherita pizza with quail egg is a must. It’s one of our favorite inspired Italian restaurants in Indianapolis.

Taste it: Our Baked Goat Cheese with Fire Roasted Tomatoes recipe inspired by Napolese!

Broken yolk margherita pizza at Napolese

Rook

Dinner: Rook offers up street food inspired contemporary Asian fusion, and it’s over the top delicious. It’s perfect for a date night or night on the town. Think fried avocado steamed buns, glass noodle salad, and curry ramen.

Related: Our Easy Vegetarian Ramen inspired by Rook!

King Dough

Dinner: King Dough offers up super high quality pizza in a trendy-casual atmosphere and a whole lot of personality! Think flavors like Destroyer, Pork & Pine (Canadian bacon & pineapple), R&B (ricotta and basil), and Stinky Pete. They’ve also got burgers, starters (the patatas bravas were fun!), and cocktails.

The Garden Table

Restaurants in downtown Indianapolis: Breakfast & lunch

Provider

Coffee / lunch: Provider is our favorite place to grab a drink on the way to downtown Indianapolis. It’s quickly made a name for itself as a coffee shop and bar, but they also have a light menu. We’ve tried a vegan banh mi that was very tasty, and their cocktails are fabulous. The atmosphere is trendy but laid back: the perfect place for working meetings, settling in with a laptop, or meeting a friend for a drink.

Public Greens

Related: Our Quinoa Black Bean Vegan Chili recipe inspired by Public Greens!

The Garden Table

Breakfast / lunch / dinner: The Garden Table’s downtown Indianapolis location is picture perfect for Instagram, and we love the menu selection! It’s full of fresh squeezed juices and healthy vegan and vegetarian options set off by meatier comfort foods. It’s perfect for weekend brunch: and the downtown location also offers dinner. It has the best acai bowl in town.

Related: Our Homemade Acai Bowl recipe!

Milktooth

Brunch / lunch: Milktooth immediately attracted national attention for its inventive brunch menu. This fine diner has become one of the most lauded restaurants in downtown Indianapolis! It’s brunchy comfort food served up in a quaint old gas station. Think massive sourdough waffles and inventive takes like deconstructed Chicago dog risotto.

Milktooth

Goose The Market

Lunch: A lovely lunch spot and gourmet grocery, Goose The Market has locally cured meats and an extensive cheese counter, as well as lots of local Indiana products. Head to the basement and you’ll find an assortment of wines. For lunch, order a prosciutto and mozzarella sandwich and wash it down with a glass of white wine. Oh and there’s gelato!

Where to get a drink (bars & restaurants)

Here’s a list of places we like get a drink in downtown Indianapolis — many of these also have great food, too!

Spoke & Steele is our favorite place to get a drink: the cozy, luxe interior is perfect for a night out. They also have a full menu — which we still haven’t tried!
Union 50 is also a great place for a drink; the dinner menu is great as well. It’s got a trendy atmosphere and live music events (see their website).
Bakersfield is where to go for pitchers of margaritas! And they have great tacos too.
Hotel Tango is a local distillery with a cozy tasting room. (Every time we’ve tried to go it’s been closed, so we’ll report back!)
Libertine is super cool and trendy, with fantastic cocktails.
Bluebeard (featured above) is great for a drink at the bar (our favorite: the gin and tonic).
La Revolucion has a great patio for sipping pina coladas, margaritas, tequila or mezcal: accessorize it with tacos and guac.
Ball & Biscuit, Thunderbird — a few places we haven’t been yet, but need to review!

Things to do in downtown Indianapolis

Of course, there are many things to do in downtown Indianapolis other than eat! Here are some of our favorite things to do in downtown Indy:

Walk the Circle: It’s always festive to stroll around the Soldiers & Sailors monument.
The Canal & White River Park: This is and always has been our FAVORITE part of Indy! Rent a surrey bike (so fun!), gondola, or Segue and explore the beautiful downtown Indianapolis waterways. It’s a gorgeous park and essential Indy. (Seriously, those surrey bikes are the most fun!)
Walk on Mass Ave: Make sure to stop by Silver in the City and Homespun (and look for our cookbook on the shelf, Pretty Simple Cooking!). Maybe grab a juice at Natural Born Juicers.
Walk or bike the Cultural Trail: It connects downtown Indianapolis and is so much fun to stroll on.
Take a walking tour in Lockerbie: Lockerbie is the cutest historic neighborhood; there are some fun walking tours like this or this.
Head to City Market: it’s full of delicious eatery vendors!
Go to the Symphony: Hilbert Square Theater is right on the circle downtown and makes for a fun night out.
Go to the Zoo: It’s great for kids, and has beautiful grounds.
Go to the Children’s Museum: If you’ve got kiddos, this one is one of the best in the nation. If you’re near there, stop by Duos Kitchen for a fantastic breakfast or lunch with lots of veggie-friendly options.

What bars & restaurants in downtown Indianapolis are we missing?

Let us know in the comments below!

Best Indianapolis Restaurants

Sonja Overhiser — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 02:05:50 +0000

Here are all the best Indianapolis restaurants from two local foodies: Broad Ripple, downtown, breweries, sushi, and all the places to eat in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis is poised to become America’s next big destination says Travel + Leisure, and that couldn’t make us happier! My husband Alex and I are food & travel experts and cookbook authors who’ve lived in Indianapolis for the past 14 years. Since we’ve lived here, places to eat in Indianapolis have exploded into a renaissance of farm to table restaurants, farmer’s markets, hipster coffee shops, and local breweries. In short, Indy is where it’s at these days. So we’re excited to share with you all the best Indianapolis restaurants in the city we call home.

How we made this best Indianapolis restaurants list

People often ask us, what are the best restaurants in Indianapolis? Here’s our take: it’s hard to give a specific answer because it depends on what the occasion is (night out on the town? dinner with kids?) and where you are in the city. Because of that, our list of best Indianapolis restaurants is fairly large and organized by neighborhood. We’ve noted why we like them and what occasions they’re best for; we’ve also included Indianapolis breweries and coffee shops.

Alex and I have lived here for 14 years and eaten at a lot of Indianapolis restaurants. However, there are new restaurants in Indianapolis popping up each day! So, this is not an exhaustive list: it’s just the places to eat in Indianapolis we’ve been to multiple times and would recommend. Also disclaimer: our areas of most expertise are Broad Ripple restaurants and restaurants in downtown Indianapolis. There are lots of great restaurants in other areas– for example, the West side has lots of international food options that we’ve only just begun to explore! If you see a best Indianapolis restaurant you think we should try, give us a shout in the comments!

Buffalo cauliflower wings at Twenty Tap (Broad Ripple restaurant)

Broad Ripple Restaurants

Alex and I live in the Broad Ripple neighborhood, so naturally we’ve tried more Broad Ripple restaurants since we love to stay in our ‘hood. Here are the best Broad Ripple restaurants, breweries and coffee shops we enjoy.

Napolese

Related: Our Baked Goat Cheese with Fire Roasted Tomatoes recipe inspired by Napolese!

Ukiyo

Bar One Fourteen

Patachou / Petit Chou

Related: Our Tomato Artichoke Soup recipe inspired by Patachou!

Broken yolk margherita pizza at Napolese (Broad Ripple restaurants)

Just Pop In

Public Greens

Related: Our Quinoa Black Bean Vegan Chili recipe inspired by Public Greens!

Petit Chou (Broad Ripple restaurants)

The Garden Table

Related: Our Vegan Banh Mi Sandwich recipe inspired by The Garden Table!

Ezra’s

Related: Our Raw Falafel Buddha Bowl recipe inspired by Ezra’s!

Nicey Treat

Gallery Pastry Shop

Sweet treat / brunch: Gallery Pastry Shop is one of our favorites, offering supremely high quality pastries in a trendy but relaxed atmosphere. They’re well known for their macaroons (hit them on Wednesdays for $1 macaroon day!). Gallery is a perfect meeting spot for coffee and a croissant, or brunch any time of the week.

Cake Bake

Pots & Pans Pie Shoppe (Broad Ripple restaurants)

Pots & Pans Pie Shoppe

Fat Dan’s

Bluebeard (downtown Indianapolis)

Restaurants in Downtown Indianapolis

There are so many restaurants in downtown Indianapolis it’s hard to keep track! Here are some of our fast favorites of places to eat in Indianapolis. Again, we’ve mentioned restaurants that fit various occasions. Because best Indianapolis restaurants means the best restaurant for the occasion: be it lunch, girls night, date night, or drinks.

Bluebeard (downtown Indianapolis)

Bluebeard

Vida

Tinker Street

Dinner: Tinker Street is another great spot for a night out. Enjoy sophisticated, farm to table food in a cozy urban cottage. The dinner menu is always inspired and excellent.

Goose The Market

Shoefly Public House

Dinner: Shoefly Public House has a casual atmosphere with great food, perfect for a family dinner or a night out. The menu is always changing, but we love their sweet potato fries with various tosses, and their vegan meatloaf with gravy is very tasty. Think comfort food, with lots of veggie options.

Provider

The Garden Table (downtown Indianapolis)

Garden Table Downtown

Related: Our Homemade Acai Bowl recipe!

Nada

Milktooth (downtown Indianapolis)

Milktooth

Rook

Rook offers up street food inspired contemporary Asian fusion, and it’s over the top delicious. It’s perfect for a date night or night on the town. Think fried avocado steamed buns, glass noodle salad, and curry ramen.

Related: Our Easy Vegetarian Ramen inspired by Rook!

Asaka (Indianapolis sushi)

Sushi in Indianapolis

Alex and I are big sushi fans. While Indiana is landlocked, there’s still some great sushi in Indianapolis. Here are some of our favorites for sushi in Indianapolis:

Asaka

A family run business, Asaka serves up super high quality sushi in a cozy atmosphere, made by woman sushi chef Nina Takamure. The party platters are insanely beautiful, and all the fish is insanely fresh. Unexpectedly, the kabocha squash roll is incredible: savory sweet with a crunch of tempura. It’s up in the Castleton area so it’s harder for us to access, but it’s absolutely worth a mention.

Ukiyo

As mentioned above, Ukiyo is a Broad Ripple restaurant that also serves sushi. There are traditional rolls along with inventive takes, like yellowtail and green apple.

Sakura

Sakura is straightforward, classic sushi served up just outside of Broad Ripple. It’s next to nearby Sakura Market, a lovely Japanese grocery that stocks a lot of Asian specialty products.

Other Indianapolis restaurants

Here are a few more Indianapolis restaurants that deserve a mention but didn’t quite fit in the categories:

Duos is a huge favorite for lunch or catering. They have a cafeteria location in the International Medical Group building, right across from the Children’s Museum. All their food is out of this world, especially the vegan and vegetarian options. I’ve had a Spring Roll Noodle Bowl & Crispy Cauliflower Tacos that are simply incredible!
Oakley’s Bistro is a fantastic restaurant in the Castelton area; it’s got very high quality, sophisticated and inventive food.
Cafe Korea in Fishers serves up our favorite dolsot bibimbap in Indianapolis.
Hotel Tango is a local distillery that’s great for drinks: every time we’ve tried to go it’s been closed, so we’ll report back!

Best Indianapolis breweries

So, what are the best Indianapolis breweries? The craft brew scene has blown up so fast that we can hardly keep up with all of the great breweries around town. Our friends over at the Drink Culture podcast helped us to put together this list of their top 5 Indianapolis breweries. You can find them on draft at bars and restaurants around Indianapolis, or check out their breweries for tours and tastings!

Sun King — Downtown
Black Acre — Irvington
Daredevil — Speedway
Big Lug — North Side
Central State — Downtown with a taproom at The Koelschip

Your thoughts?

There are so many other Indianapolis restaurants that are fantastic: some that we haven’t discovered, and others in the suburban areas! Our list includes what we find to be the best restaurants in Indianapolis proper that we’ve been to multiple times and enjoy. We’d love to know your thoughts on other Indianapolis restaurants that you love! Also, we’ll be constantly updating this best Indianapolis restaurants guide. Continue to check back in the future to find all our current restaurant recommendations!

What to Do in Rome Italy

Alex Overhiser — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 19:45:14 +0000

Looking for what to do in Rome Italy? After many visits we know all the best spots: Colosseum and Pantheon, where to eat, and the best area to stay in Rome.

Eleven years ago, Alex and I honeymooned in Italy. And we fell head over heels over the country: its charm, natural beauty, the people, and the food—oh, the food. Back then, we were two wide-eyed 20-somethings with a point-and-shoot and a guide book. Now, after eleven years of marriage, five camera upgrades, and hundreds of recipes cooked together, we returned to our favorite spots in Rome…three times! Here’s what to do in Rome Italy, including the Colosseum and Pantheon in Rome, where to eat and the best area to stay in Rome…and of course, the best gelato! (See our post specifically about the best gelato in Rome.)

Best area to stay in Rome Italy: The Piazza Navona

Of the three times we’ve been to Rome, we’ve found the best area to stay is near the Piazza Navona. We love walking everywhere, and this area provides a perfect starting point for walking to all sorts of sights. It’s within walking distance of the Vatican, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Roman Forum. Even the Colosseum isn’t that far of a walk! On each of our trips, we’ve stayed in Airbnbs that have been fantastic. Our favorite airbnb apartment was this one. We can’t say enough good things about this place: centrally-located, comfortable, immaculate, and beautifully decorated with a mix of ultra-modern and historic open wood beams.

Things to do around the Piazza Navona

Do you love history but hate spending vacation time in crowded museums? Us too! We recommend taking a few hours in Rome to spend time exploring the area around the Piazza Navona. When people ask us what to do in Rome, this is where we like to start.

First of all: where to eat in Rome near the Piazza Navona? The best coffee nearby the Piazza Navona was a 50 cent espresso from Emporio alla Pace. For gelato, head to Gelateria del Teatro, and for a simple lunch get pizza at Da Baffeto (where we first fell in love with Italy!) or a sandwich from Baguetteria del Fico.

The amazing thing about historic central Rome is that every building, every door, and every street corner is jam-packed with history. You don’t have to go into one of the many museums in Rome to find world class art. In the churches around the Piazza Navona you can find (among dozens of other artworks):

A trio of Caravaggio paintings of St. Matthew in San Luigi dei Francesi
Caravaggio’s Madonna di Loreto in Sant’Agostino in Campo Marzio
A Raphael fresco in Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pace

Also make sure to really look at the details of the Piazza Navona itself! The piazza still retains the horseshoe shape of the ancient Roman stadium that it is built atop. Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers is a masterpiece; make sure to check out the details of the sculpture and the obelisk which is a 2000 year old copy of an Egyptian obelisk!

One final thing to do before you leave the Piazza Navona area is to take a few minutes and quietly slip into the Biblioteca Angelica. This public library is one of the oldest in the world, having opened in 1604. You’ll be amazed by the beautiful architecture and massive leather-bound books.

Rome walks: Piazza Navona, Pantheon & Trevi Fountain

What to do in Rome? Walk the streets! The street scenes are what we love the most about Rome. Rather than try to hit all the museums, we spend hours getting intentionally lost in side streets, trying to capture the natural beauty of the city with our camera. Our favorite places to walk are the Piazza Navona and Pantheon areas. And we typically walk everywhere we go when we’re in Rome!

Here’s a perfect Rome walk if you have time one evening:

At sunset, start at Castel Sant’Angelo with views of St. Peter’s Basilica and then cross the river on the Pont Sant’Angelo with the wonderful Bernini angel sculptures.
Wander your way towards the Piazza Navona (stopping by Teatro for gelato!) and linger in the Piazza Navona and people watch.
Slip down alleyways towards the Pantheon and stand underneath the columns of this masterpiece.
Finally, work your way into the throngs around Trevi fountain and throw in a coin! Legend has it that if you throw a coin in the Trevi fountain, you’ll return to Rome. It’s worked for us so far!

Here’s a map of this walk for reference! Though of course we recommend you wander a bit, too.

The Pantheon in Rome

Our favorite building in Rome: the Pantheon. The Pantheon is the most preserved and influential building of ancient Rome; it’s a pagan Roman temple. Alex and I can’t help but take a hundred different photographs of it; we also like to just sit in the piazza and people watch. You can go inside the Pantheon during the day: it’s free and open to the public. We always try to wander past the Pantheon in many different lights to capture its mystery.

Where to eat in Rome

If you’re in Rome, you must go to Roscioli! It is so, so good in so many ways. It’s part bakery, part fancy deli, and they have the best pizza and cacio e pepe in Rome. This pizza reminded us of the style of the most famous pizza maker in Rome, Gabriele Bonci: a fluffy crust, crispy on the bottom and cut into thick squares. The toppings were incredibly flavorful: like burrata and tomato with bright green pesto, or roasted eggplant with tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil, and a spicy tomato sauce. Everything at Roscioli is executed to perfection. The cacio e pepe was also best in its class: the classic cheese and pepper pasta was perfectly savory, cheesy, warm, and comforting. It’s a must visit!

Related: Make it at home: Our cacio e pepe recipe!

Another favorite of where to eat in Rome is a trendy brew pub called L’Osteria di Birra del Borgo. A brew pub in Rome Italy, you say? Hear us out. This brew pub was started by that famous pizza maker, Gabriele Bonci, and it was the most inventive food we had in Rome. There was pizza, yes, but also small bites, pasta, and really trendy drinks. For example, we started with some incredible house made potato chips and a “Veggie garden” with soil made of olives and several dipping sauces. One of the pizzas, the Diavola Pizza, was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had in Rome. And our favorite ended up being a tonnarelli pasta with garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, smoked tomato, and Parmesan. This was a fantastic restaurant we’d highly recommend.

Related: Make it at home: Our spicy vegetarian diavola pizza!

Rounding out our where to eat in Rome is a classic Italian restaurant: La Tavernaccia. This place serves classic Roman dishes in a sophisticated atmosphere. The Pasta amatriciana, rigatoni in a spicy red sauce, was to die for. Though we prefer more creative than straightforward takes on Roman cuisine, this is a nice traditional option. It’s a bit of a hike from the Piazza Navona area, so Uber is a good option.

The Colosseum, Roman Forum, and Capitoline Museum

Of course no visit is complete without the seeing the Colosseum in Rome! We always take a walk to go see it in all its glory. If it’s your first visit, definitely book a guided tour in advance! Check out Tripadvisor for private guided tours of the Colosseum and forum. They’ll take care of the tickets and be able to explain the thousands of years of history you’re taking in.

One Alex and my our favorite places on Earth is the Roman Forum. Layers upon layers of history are packed into this place, making your head spin. On our honeymoon, we spent hours in the evening when all the tourists were gone just gazing into the ruins and pondering what it might have been like in Caesar’s day.

The Capitoline Museum sits at the opposite end of the forum as the Colosseum. It has great galleries full of ancient Roman history. If you have plenty of time in Rome, it’s worth a visit. However, we won’t blame you if you decide to ditch the museums and try the best gelato in Rome instead! The ruins of a statue of Constantine in the Capitoline Museum are a must see if you do go!

The Vatican, The Vatican Museums, and St. Peter’s Basilica

The Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica are absolutely worth a visit. If you have time, we’d also recommend The Vatican Museum which houses a massive collection of art and the famous Sistine Chapel. The most important thing to know is that you can buy your “skip the line” tickets ahead of time online. This will save you a couple hours of waiting in line. There are also lots of guided tour options for the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s. Again, it you can swing it financially, it’s worth every penny to have a real person describe the art and the history to you! At the very least, bring a good guidebook.

(The Gallery of Maps in The Vatican Musuem, on the way to the Sistene Chapel!)

Walking the streets near the The Vatican

While you’re over by the Vatican, walk the streets in the Borgo neighborhood, which is very picturesque. Make sure to stop by Hedera for gelato! The Vatican neighborhood is also perfect for night walks. We love walking across the river at dusk with the lights of St. Peter’s Basilica reflecting in the river.

And that’s it! What to do in Rome Italy

As you can see, we’re pretty into Italy. Are you looking for things to do in Rome? Let us know if this post was helpful in the comments below!

Related: All our Italian recipes!

Spain Travel Guide: Malaga to Barcelona

Sonja Overhiser — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 20:49:33 +0000

Dreaming of Spain travel? Here’s our Spain travel guide, including Málaga and Barcelona Spain, the Alhambra palace, the best beaches in Spain, and paella.

In 2003 I was a young university student in Madrid, Spain, and the experience impressed me deeply. I’ve been talking about it ever since: tapas and paella, the rocky coastal beaches, the kindness and warmth of the Spanish people. My poor husband has had to hear about the glory days one too many times! This year, we decided it was finally time for Alex to experience Spain himself! We brought along our 1 year old toddler son Larson too. Showing this beautiful country to my husband and son is something I’ll never forget.

Our summer trip to Europe started in Italy and Croatia, then ended in Spain—a most fitting finale! Keep reading for all about Spain travel: Málaga, Barcelona, the Alhambra Palace, beaches, paella, and more.

Where did you travel in Spain?

Though I studied abroad in Madrid and loved living there, it’s not my favorite city in Spain. There are so many beautiful regions in this country that it was difficult to decide where to go on this trip! From the balmy South with arched doorways and palm trees, to the green cliffs in Northern Galicia that look like Ireland, Spain is full of contrasts.

How did we choose starting in Málaga? Alex found a cheap flight to Málaga on Wizz Air from Vienna, where we were staying with friends (and taking a road trip to Croatia). We also had friends who offered to let us stay with them in Barcelona at the end of our trip. So with those book ends, Alex, Larson and I set out on an epic road trip from Málaga to Barcelona, with all sorts of adventures in between.

Frigiliana & the white villages of Spain

Our trip started in Málaga in Southern Spain. But the highlight of our time there was our day trips, specifically to the lovely whitewashed village of Frigiliana. Southern Spain is known for its pueblos blancos, or white villages. They look just like the bright white villages on Grecian islands, except they’re high up built into the cliffs of Southern Spain. Alex researched and found the town of Frigiliana was about 1 hour drive from Málaga. I wasn’t sure quite what we were getting into, but we set out on a drive to find out.

Frigiliana was even more lovely than we imagined. The light bouncing off of the whitewashed walls, the bright pink blossoms, and the bright blue doors were something out of a fairytale. We spent most of the day wandering down the charming narrow streets with little Larson. (Both of us remarked that it looked very much like our trip to Santorini, Greece, without the ocean views.)

Our first true meal in Spain was in Frigiliana, where we stopped at the tiny La Taberna del Sacristán for lunch. Bright red gazpacho, that cool tomato cucumber soup, tasted even more refreshing in the hot Spanish sun. We also got a plate of cheeses and meats, including traditional Manchego cheese and jamón serrano (a cured meat similar to prosciutto). The waiter took an immediate interest in Larson. At the end of the meal Larson started to wander off, and one of the waiters came over, helped him wash his hands in a fountain, and then promptly kissed him on the head! It was such a sweet interaction and set the tone for the way Larson was treated in Spain. Waitstaff consistently took such joy in serving kids, which made it the most pleasurable experience for us too.

That gazpacho…

These last two photos are of another pueblo blanco: Mijas Spain! We went to Mijas for another short day trip. While we enjoyed it and it’s super charming, we loved Frigiliana more.

Granada & the Alhambra palace

The other day trip highlight was Granada and the Alhambra Palace. I’d visited Granada back in my university days, and the Alhambra palace was seared in my memory. A mysterious Islamic palace, it has some of the most beautiful architecture I’d ever seen: filled with mosaics and intricate carvings. The Moors inhabited Southern Spain for hundreds of years, and the Alhambra is one of the most famous reminders. Since we were staying in Málaga, we spend just the day in Granada. Granada is such a charming city, with white buildings fading into the cliffside.

We got tickets to the Alhambra Palace ahead of time, which we’d recommend. Since it was summer, there were very long lines in the hot sun. The Alhambra lets groups of people in every half hour. We chose a time as late in the day as possible. Not only was this better for the light, we were hoping there would be less crowds. (There will still lots of people, but we didn’t have anything to compare it to!)

The Alhambra is truly awe inspiring: the hum of the indoor fountains and beautiful mosaics bring a mysterious calm. If you can, I’d recommend finding a guided tour so that you can understand the history and significance of the building. Since we were with a toddler, we opted out of this for this trip–next time! When I was a university student, I went on several guided tours and it gave even more significance to this special spot.

After our Alhambra Palace visit, we walked down the hill into Granada to find a quick dinner of tapas. We stopped into Bodegas Castañeda, which served pretty traditional tapas. Standing at the bar with Larson, it was busy and loud, but it felt like a perfect Spanish dinner. With glasses of crisp white Spanish wine, we ordered tortilla de patatas, one of the most traditional tapas: a potato and egg omelette. Alongside it, a huge salad, a spinach and cheese empanadilla, and ensaladilla rusa, a mayo-based potato and tuna salad that’s very traditional. (I’m not a huge fan of ensaladilla rusa, but it gives me good memories of my prior time in Spain!) The servers behind the bar bustled about under a canopy of ham legs, used for shaving off the jamon serrano. This is Spain, I said to Alex and Larson. We were really here!

View of Granada from the Alhambra palace

Málaga, on the beach

Málaga was our home base in Southern Spain. Our Airbnb was in a high rise that was steps from the beach, and our window view was beach umbrellas and palm trees waving in the breeze. Since we were there in the heat of summer in July, the beach was pretty hazy and very hot. Because it was so flat and hazy, the beach in Málaga was less picturesque than we expected. So if we were to recommend the best beaches in Spain, we prefer the rocky beaches of Cartagena and Valencia — keep reading!

The historic town center of Málaga was fun to wander around and explore. We had a lovely lunch at El Pimpi, where we dined on salmorejo, a thick cold tomato soup (garnished with jamon & hard boiled eggs), ajoblanco, a creamy white almond and garlic cold soup, and salad. The dessert put it over the top: it wasn’t traditional Spanish, but the vanilla peaches with whipped cream cheese and mint was pretty perfect.

The beach in Málaga

The Málaga historic center

Salmorejo, a cold tomato and almond soup

Cartagena Spain: an undiscovered gem

On to Cartagena Spain! The next stop on our road trip was Cartagena, a 4 hour drive from Malaga. Full disclosure: when we planned our stay in Cartagena Spain, we based it on the photos we saw online of Cartagena Colombia! A few weeks before the trip, we realized the brightly colored quaint streets we were looking forward to were actually in Colombia, not Spain! (Ooops.) But Cartagena Spain was absolutely worth the stop.

First of all, where we stayed was on point. Our Airbnb balcony opened right onto a Roman theater built in 5 BC! This apartment was centrally located in town, and had the most killer view of the ruins. Cartagena is full of Roman ruins, and how impressive it was to live next to them for a few days versus simply go on a tour. We spent many hours looking out onto the Roman ruins with a glass of wine in hand, watching the people mill about touring the theater. What a romantic view!

While the town of Cartagena is charming to wander, the best thing we did was another free activity: finding a hidden beach! One of our goals was to find the best beaches in Spain. And since the flat, hazy beach in Malaga didn’t rank for us, we went in search of a beautiful rocky Southern Spain beach near Cartagena. After doing some intense internet research, Alex found an undiscovered hidden beach just a few minutes outside of town in Cartagena.

The beach was outside of town, near a squater town where people had built small houses right on the water. When we saw the handwritten sign for the beach, we knew we were in for an adventure! We threw Larson in our baby carrier and hiked out a few minutes to the rocky beach. And when we got there, we couldn’t believe it: what wild, untamed beauty! There were only a handful of locals in this spot, precariously jumping off of the rocky cliffs. We splashed a bit in the water, and sat uncomfortably on some rocks as we stared at the impossibly blue green water. Though unconventional, to us the hidden Cartagena beaches were some of the best beaches in Spain.

We had some great food in Cartagena, including a lovely meal in the view of the Roman ruins at sunset at Restaurante La Catedral. I’ll always remember sitting at the table under the window of our apartment, doing “cheers” with my wine glass to little Larson as we devoured Manchego cheese and bread. Of all the things we ate in Cartagena though, one of our favorites was a snack we found at a local grocery. Crespillo was a round cracker bread made of masa, salt, pepper, and paprika, which tasted a bit like a high end Goldfish cracker! It was so good that we bought it often to accompany cheese and wine that we munched on while watching the sun set over the Roman ruins out our balcony.

The town center in Cartagena

Calamari, patatas bravas and other tapas

The hidden beach in Cartagena

The Roman theater ruins right out our window! (Our Airbnb was the yellow building)

The restaurant outside the Roman ruins (La Catedral)

Crespillo! We hope to recreate this one…

Valencia: the best paella, hidden beaches, & Spanish tile

Next stop: Valencia! Valencia was a short stop for us on the way to Barcelona, but Alex and I had some lofty goals. First, to find the best paella in Valencia! Valencia is the birthplace of paella: a mix of saffron and paprika spiced rice, vegetables, seafood and meat cooked in a shallow pan. It’s one of the most traditional Spanish dishes and I have incredible nostalgia about eating paella in Spain from my college days. (We’ve since developed an authentic paella recipe: hear me wax on and on about paella in our Open Fire Paella Recipe!)

One of our favorite memories of our Spain trip was our trip to find the “best paella in Valencia.” It was a Sunday afternoon, and we followed our phone navigation to what was supposed to be an “authentic” restaurant just outside of Valencia. The landscape got increasingly more isolated. I remember asking Alex, “Are you SURE this is the way?” Sure enough, the mountain path came upon a small village and an unassuming white stucco building in a sleepy town: Bar Restaurante Parpallo. Opening the door, we were greeted with a surprise: the restaurant was filled to the brim with Spanish families shoveling yellow rice out of massive paella pans! The hostess almost turned us away since we didn’t have a reservation, but we got squeezed in to a small table with “paella for 3”. There was no menu; the dishes just started to arrive: empanadillas and croquetas, a salad, and then a massive pan of rice. The paella was fabulous: the yellow saffron rice was studded with artichokes, snap peas, white beans, chicken, and meatballs, and served with wedges of lemon. To us, this unexpected surprise was the best paella in Valencia.

Another highlight was our search for the best beaches in Spain. Since we’d found such a fantastic hidden beach in Cartagena, why not try for one on our way to Valencia? After a lot of internet research, Alex found a remote hidden beach in a small town on the way to Valencia. As we followed our phone navigation into the small town, the streets got narrower and narrower. Finally we were on a narrow one way street, walled on both sides. After parking, Alex found an unmarked metal door. “This is where the beach is!” he said. What? They were no people around, and it seemed impossible that this random metal door would be unlocked, let alone what a beach behind it. Alex assured me that the Spanish-language video he watched on a travel website showed people going through this very door to access the hidden beach. We crossed our fingers and Alex pushed in the door: sure enough, it opened to a view of rocky cliffs and transparent blue green water! The beach was incredibly rocky, and we joined a handful of Spaniards soaking up the waves and marveling at the razor sharp cliffs. What an adventure.

To round out our time in Valencia, we stayed in the cutest little Airbnb in the El Cabanyal neighborhood. This neighborhood is pretty rough around the edges, and apparently used to be full of drugs and violence. However, it’s on the mend and chock full of the most incredible Spanish tile house architecture, circa the 1900’s. Every single street has the most unique and beautiful homes clad in authentic Spanish tile. It was a complete surprise to us, as we didn’t know much about the neighborhood when booking the Airbnb. We wandered around the neighborhood, snapping photos of the homes and storefronts, sipping horchata, and wishing we had more time in this fascinating neighborhood. We also spend a good bit of time on our terrace sipping wine and listening to the sounds of the city. My new life goal is to photograph a coffee table book of these unique homes! Valencia left us wanting more, and I hope we can return.

The mysterious hidden beach door, which led to…

The secret beach outside of Valencia

And the unassuming paella restaurant…

To Larson, it was the best paella in Valencia!

Our sweet little Airbnb in the El Cabanyal neighborhood

Spanish tile houses in El Cabanyal

Barcelona: Gaudí, tapas, & more

The finale of our Spain travel was Barcelona! This city had captivated my imagination 15 years ago, and I was itching to return. Even better, our friends Ali and Barclay (of Gimme Some Oven) had been living in Barcelona for a year and invited us to stay at their apartment. From the moment we stepped in, weary from travel, Ali greeted us with a cheese board of various Manchego cheese and olives, and glasses of Spanish vermouth. This set the tone for our 3 days there, where Ali and Barclay demonstrated the most epic hospitality. Their passion and delight for the city was evident, as they shared stories of the people and food they’ve grown to love as expats in Barcelona.

People in Barcelona don’t consider themselves part of Spain. They’re from the region of Catalunya, and speak Catalan. We loved hearing stories of Catalan traditions (ever heard of Caga tió?) and food. And the more time we spent in this cosmopolitan city, the more we fell in love with the sights and sounds of this Catalan city.

The crown jewel of Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia, a huge church designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí. Gaudí worked mainly in the 1900’s, and his architecture style was colorful, imaginative, mysteriously fascinating to look at. The Sagrada Familia is his life’s work, and he actually died before it was completed. Get this: it’s still under construction today! Construction is rumored to end in 2026 to align with the 100 year anniversary of Gaudí’s death. Perhaps you’re thinking, another European church? La Sagrada Familia is different and is truly one of the most beautiful, awe inspiring buildings in the world. Even if you’re not a person of faith, being inside the Sagrada Familia is a spiritual experience. Alex and I were moved to tears at the beauty of the building. And how tragic that Gaudí never got to see his masterpiece! He’s buried in the catacombs, and entrusted his work to people who have spent their entire lives devoted to the construction.

There are so many things to do in Barcelona, it’s a little overwhelming. Here’s a list of the things we did and loved:

La Sagrada Familia. It’s a must visit. You can get tickets in advance here. (Perk: there’s a playground right outside of La Sagrada Familia, so Larson got to play in the shadow of it.)
Casa Batlló: Gaudí designed many other houses and outdoor spaces in Barcelona. My favorite is Casa Batlló, mainly because of the iridescent dragon scale roof. We took a tour this time, and it was fun to see the inside. (You can get tickets when you get there! We went in the late afternoon and there were no lines.)
Park Güell: I went to Park Güell on my first visit to Barcelona, but it’s currently under construction! Once construction is over, it’s part of a great visit to Barcelona. Park Güell is a good example of Gaudí’s tile work.
Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic): Wandering through the Gothic neighborhood is a must. Make sure to duck into the cathedral Santa Maria del Mar.
Beach: The beach seems like an entirely different Barcelona. We had paella here (see below).

Of course, most of our memories in Barcelona center around FOOD! Here’s an abbreviated list of where to eat in Barcelona:

Paella: Barraca is a paella restaurant right near the beach and all organic. The paella was delicious: we got seafood and vegetable! Just as good were the ocean breezes, Cava toasts, and munching on olives.
Tapas: Ali and Barclay took us to their favorite places for tapas, and we loved all of them.Bar del Pla was a friendly neighborhood join where we got patatas bravas, pan con tomate (toasted bread spread with fresh tomato and garlic), and something totally unique: a shaved mushroom, Parmesan and strawberry salad. Sounds odd, but it was incredible! At Centric we got a spread of tapas: fried Padron peppers, pan con tomate, and patatas bravas. To be totally Spanish, Ali and Barclay taught us to drink Spanish vermouth, which is sweet and tastes a bit like Coca Cola! Chowing down on tapas while Larson ate octopus and pinned stickers from his sticker book onto David from Green Kitchen Stories is one of our favorite memories from the trip. We also loved the patatas bravas at Bar Mendizábal.
Dinner: Our favorite dinner was at Teresa Carles. It’s a vegetarian restaurant that has a fusion of Spanish food and healthy, vegetarian cuisine. The food was excellent. For example: a green salad with quinoa, cherries, peaches, and savory miso dressing, root vegetable patatas bravas (carrot, beet and sweet potato), with spicy aoili, and stuffed piquillo peppers with smoked eggplant.
Chocolate: After visting Casa Batlló, we stopped at Faborit Casa Amatller. It’s an adorable cafe full of options for either a quick bite or lunch: soup, salad, or a taza de chocolate! I got a cup of thick chocolate with some bread for dipping. It’s similar to churros con chocolate, but I loved dipping the savory bread. It was delightful little spot!
Croissants: Hofmann Pastisseria is a famous bakery in Barcelona, and the croissants are to die for! If you’re a baked good fan, it’s a must visit.

If you’re looking for a more comprehensive guide to Barcelona, check out Ali’s Barcelona Guide. She’s an American expat living in Barcelona, so she has wide expertise on this subject!

Cheese board to greet us at Ali’s

That mushroom Parmesan and strawberry salad tapa…it was stellar!

La Sagrada Familia…

Croissants from Hoffman Bakery

Patatas bravas

A tapas spread at Centric

Wandering the streets with David, Ali and Barclay

Paella at Barraca

The Barcelona beach

The Gothic Quarter

Casa Batlló with its dragon roof

Una taza de chocolate at Casa Amatller

Lingering around the table

By the end of our travel in Spain, we realized: we came for the food, but what we found was more intangible: community, hospitality, and lingering. The way Spaniards (and Catalonians!) linger around the table and enjoy friends and family, treating them as the #1 priority in the world at that moment, is something we’re bringing back to our table in America. The memories we made in Spain are indelible: The value of time spent around the table relishing dear people. Appreciation of the rugged beauty of this world. Treasuring new customs and foods. The exhilaration of going off the beaten path. A fresh look at the world through the curiosity of an adventuring 1 year old.

Spain, you’re etched on our hearts. We can’t wait to return.

Spain inspired recipes

Many of our recipes have been inspired by Spanish cuisine, and we hope to create many more! If you’re like to taste Spain without traveling, here are a few of our recipes inspired by Spain travel — and a few recipes from Gimme Some Oven as well!

Open Fire Seafood Paella, Spanish Paella or Vegetarian Paella
Vegan Patatas Bravas
Pan Con Tomate (Tomato Bread)
Classic Gazpacho
Spanish Tortilla

Sibenik Croatia: A Charming Coastal Town

Sonja Overhiser — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 00:00:45 +0000

Dreaming of a Croatia vacation? Sibenik Croatia is a coastal town with charming streets and waterfall swimming at nearby Krka National Park.

A few months ago Alex, me and our toddler Larson ventured out on a 3 week vacation to Europe. Most of the trip was on the Mediterranean coast, but we made a brief stop to the Adriatic coast in Sibenik Croatia. Why a Croatia vacation? Croatia is blowing up as a vacation destination for its charming Medieval cities and sparkling blue waters. And have you heard of the Croatia waterfalls? The more time we went in Sibenik, the more I grew to love this beautiful region. Should Sibenik, Croatia be on your travel bucket list? Absolutely. Keep reading to learn why.

Where is Sibenik Croatia?

Croatia has become a hot spot for tourists lately. Sibenik is a lesser known Croatia destination, but it’s absolutely worth visiting (it’s pronounced Shib-en-ik). We decided to visit Sibenik partially because of geography: this portion of our trip was a weekend getaway with our friends who live in Vienna. We flew from Rome to their apartment in Vienna, then the five of us (two couples and a toddler!) drove 7 hours to Sibenik. It was a bit of a hike to get there since we were driving, but absolutely worth it.

Sibenik sits in the middle of the country right on the Adriatic Sea. It’s a Medieval town that’s incredibly charming, dating back to 1066. It actually used to be part of Venice for most of history, so it has an Italian vibe. One of Sibenik’s recent claims to fame is that an episode of Game of Thrones was filmed there. If you visit there, you’ll see why — I don’t know anything about the show, but even I could tell the backdrop is perfect for a medieval fantasy storyline. The rough stone buildings and winding streets become more and more magical the more time you spend in Sibenik.

Things to do in Sibenik

Most of what we did in Sibenik wander around the picturesque streets, eat food, and go to the beach. Pretty much the perfect Croatia vacation, if you ask us! Our Airbnb was near the beach, so every morning we would walk to the beach. (Though it was further from the town, we enjoyed staying in the area near the beach; more below on where to stay.) Here is the view of Sibenik from the beach. Pretty ideal, right?

Long strolls in the historic town center are a must. In the center of town is the St. James Cathedral, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Completed in the 1400s, it’s mysteriously beautiful. (And yes, this was where one of the Game of Thrones scenes was filmed.) I’ve seen lots of European Cathedrals, and this one has become one of my favorites. There’s something about it that’s eerily intriguing. We also wandered around and got lost in the maze of tiny narrow streets of Sibenik.

Aside from the town center, you can also walk along the waterfront near the sailboats and yachts, and get ice cream. There’s also a little playground for kiddos in that area (and a trampoline, which Larson would have loved if he were older).

Of course, some of our favorite memories were eating…and swimming in waterfalls! Keep reading.

Croatia waterfalls: Krka National Park

Have you heard of the Croatia waterfalls? There are two major national parks in Croatia with pristine waterfalls: Plitvice and Krka National Parks. The Krka waterfalls are a bit smaller and not as well known as Plitvice, which is partly why we chose Sibenik as our destination. Krka National Park is under a 1 hour drive from Sibenik. We hoped the Krka waterfalls would not be crowded, but there were more people than we expected (we visited in July)! So, we’d recommend if you go to go as early in the day as possible.

In the midst of a rather dry landscape, Krka National Park is an oasis, full of blue green streams and lovely falls. One of our favorite parts was the hike down to the waterfalls. Wooden paths take you right over the impossibly green water with tangled trees overhead that feel like a Cypress grove. But of course the falls were just magical. The water was crystal clear and I carefully waded in with Larson. It felt like the most surreal experience to actually get to be in the water: and of course Larson was completely delighted! I hope that these falls will be treated gently enough that humans will continue to be able to swim in them. It was a total highlight of our trip!

Where to eat in Sibenik Croatia

Another highlight of Sibenik was the food. We didn’t run into the most traditional Croatian food at the restaurants we ended up at, they were delicious nonetheless. One restaurant we enjoyed was Bounty, a small, family owned restaurant right on the water. The food had quite a bit of British influence (think fish and chips), but we had two more traditional dishes: octopus stew over polenta and my risotto with zucchini and broad beans. The Croatian dry white wine was fantastic.

One of our favorite restaurants was called SHE Bio Bistro, which had more of a hippie California vibe crossed with Croatian food. The highlight of this meal was the Dalmatian potato salad (Sibenik is on the Dalmatian Coast). It was so simple, but intensely flavorful with tangy potatoes, olive oil, salt, red onions, capers, and a sprinkle of parsley. One of the other standouts was an orange & almond polenta cake, with the texture of cheesecake but made with polenta, ground almonds, eggs, yogurt, and rum. This one was Italian inspired, and we noticed a lot of Italian influence in the food of this region (like lots of truffle pasta, etc). After all, Sibenik was a part of Venice until almost the 1800’s.

We also stopped at the farmers market and got some delicious pastries, including this spinach and cheese filled filo pastry called burek! It was fantastic and if you go, you must keep an eye out. We did a little research and found that many countries in Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, Balkans and Western Asia serve burek. Traditionally the burek in Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia is round and filled with meat or cheese.

Where to stay in Sibenik Croatia

In Sibenik we stayed in this Airbnb. While it wasn’t quite our decor style, it had a lovely view of the water and was a 5 minute walk from the beach. It was also about a 15 minute walk into the historic center of town. For me, an ideal vacation is steps from the beach and a short walk to town, so this was the perfect locale. (We picked the same type of location in Tellaro, Italy.) Our Airbnb owner was the kindest, most charming couple who had big gardens and even dropped off some produce they had grown so we could cook it for dinner! As nice as it is to stay in hotels, we love renting houses especially when traveling with kids: having access to a kitchen and having the ability to meet locals are two huge perks.

A fun surprise: World Cup finals

When we picked the dates for our trip, we had no idea that one of the days we’d be there would be the World Cup final. As the weeks approached and the Croatian team kept winning, we crossed our fingers they’d be in the final game. Somehow, Croatia was in the World Cup final and the game took place the last day we were in Sibenik! We got Larson a Croatia jersey and staked out a spot in a local bar. The crowd was incredibly tense as they watched the players in the most important game of their lives.

Sadly, Croatia ended up losing the game. However, the amount of celebration after the game was just as much as if they had won! People were all over the streets in their red and white garb, honking horns, crying, singing, hugging, and shooting off fireworks. When we asked our Airbnb host if he was sad, he said “No! It’s a huge honor to be second. As Croatia we are a small country. We are so proud!”

This, of course, endeared us to the country even more. We had an incredible time in Sibenik and would love to go back someday (especially to Krka National Park!). Are you interested in Croatia as a travel destination? Have you been? Let us know in the comments below!

More travel posts:

Tellaro: Italy’s Best Kept Secret

Sonja Overhiser — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 23:00:20 +0000

Looking for Italy beach towns? Tellaro Italy is a hidden gem and one of the best places to visit in Italy. Here are tips for visiting this coastal town.

A few months ago, Alex and I took a dream trip to Italy, Croatia and Spain with our toddler son Larson. The first stop on our trip was magical Tellaro Italy, one of the best coastal towns in Italy. If you’re like me, you’re wondering: where the heck is Tellaro? Since we wanted our first city to be all about sparkling Mediterranean waters, Alex spent hours visiting some of the best beaches in Italy. He came up with Tellaro, a coastal town near Cinque Terre. But unlike Cinque Terre, it’s relatively undiscovered. As a family group of 8 people including 3 adventurous kids (Alex’s mom, brother and sister in law, and our niece and nephew were in tow), we ventured to this stunning little town. And all 8 of us fell head over heels for it. Keep reading for photos and everything there is to know about Tellaro Italy.

Where is Tellaro Italy?

Tellaro is located on the Mediterranean Coast, on the northwestern side of Italy. It’s in the Liguria region of Italy (the Italian Riviera), which is also where the more popular Cinque Terre villages are located. The Cinque Terre (literally “Five Lands”) are five incredibly picturesque coastal villages that hug the Mediterranean cliffs. They’re dramatic and charming, but also incredibly touristy. I visited Cinque Terre back in 2003 when the villages were just starting to be discovered, and a handful of backpackers would hike between the villages. These days, the towns are swarming with tourists. So Tellaro was the perfect spot for us: basically an undiscovered Cinque Terre!

How do you get to Tellaro Italy?

The reason that Tellaro Italy is relatively quiet is because it’s a little harder to access than some of the other Italy beach towns. We flew into Rome and drove to Tellaro by car: it was about a 4 hour drive from the Rome airport. Since we were traveling with 8 people, we actually rented an 8 passenger van! Driving in Italy can be a little challenging, so it’s not for the faint of heart. The roads and signage can be confusing for Americans. We’d recommend driving in Italy only if you have previous driving experience in Europe.

If you’re not up for driving, you can get to Tellaro by taking a train to La Spezia and catching a bus out to Tellaro (at the end of the line!).

Where did you stay in Tellaro?

Somehow Alex found the best Airbnb on the planet for our stay in Tellaro: Villa Tregia! This rosy villa with French doors opening right onto the Mediterranean Sea was like a dream. One of my favorite memories is the squeals of my niece Julia when we first came to the house. We’re staying HERE?! Some of my favorite moments were sitting on the veranda and starring in awe at the sparkling blue Mediterranean waters that changed colors at different times of the day. This place has 4 bedrooms, a huge veranda and a private terrace right on the sea where we had some of our meals. It was also a 5 minute walk in one direction to the beach, and another 5 minute walk to the town center in the other direction. It was truly perfection.

This Airbnb was on the higher end of our budget. But since we had 8 people, splitting the price of this home between a few families made it not that much more expensive than a hotel stay. And to us, having the experience of a house right on the ocean was worth it! Plus, having our own kitchen and separate bedrooms for the kids was a priority for us, so we found Airbnbs in Italy were the way to go.

The only downside to this location, if there was one, was the mosquitos! While some of our travelers were unphased, I got massive bites all over my legs that were pretty uncomfortable. It’s common in this region of Italy to have lots of bugs in this season, and I was happy to take one for the team to experience the incredible beauty of this space. But just a note if you’re considering visiting this region and are sensitive to bug bites!

What is there to do in Tellaro?

Tellaro is a perfect sleepy beach town hideaway for living a quaint Italian life for a few days. To us and what we were looking for, it was one of the best places to visit in Italy. Here are a few of the activities that we enjoyed in Tellaro:

Going to the beach! Obviously. Tellaro is right on the Mediterranean and there’s a lovely small beach. Our Airbnb was in walking distance of the beach, which made it perfect for daily trips. And, it’s FREE!

Walking to town. Imagine the cutest Italy beach town imaginable. Then double that, and that’s what downtown Tellaro is like! It’s right on the Mediterranean and super sleepy. We were there during high tourist season, and there weren’t many people in the downtown area. Alex and I did an incredible golden hour shoot and got some amazing images — even of our toddler Larson! Because Tellaro is so small, you can walk everywhere.

Hiking. One day, Alex and his brother went on a hiking trail and found a secret beach (Spiaggia La Marosa). It was a pretty hardcore hike, but main the view at the end was worth it. This hike would be only for the most hardcore hikers. If you’re looking for the trail, ask a local for tips.

Eating, eating, and eating. Because that’s what you do in Italy, right? Here are some of our favorite food experiences in Tellaro — see below.

Ristorante Gambero Nero This restaurant was right up the hill from our rented house, so it was the perfect fit for our first night when we were all jet lagged. The waiter took our orders for family style plates: huge platters of squid ink ravioli, pesto pasta with the most flavorful chunky pesto, whole baked fish, and spaghetti with clams. Maybe it’s because it was our first dinner together, but I’ll never forget looking around the table and thinking: THIS is it! The big family dinner in Italy. Here I was sipping a dry white feeding my toddler ravioli stuffed with lobster. Was I dreaming? There’s also something about waitstaff in Italy that is magical. Our waiter was not just there to serve food: he was there to help our family to enjoy ourselves. He was funny, charming, and knowledgeable. And instead of just bringing dishes, he helped guide us through the menu and seemed like he was having as good of a time as we were. It’s a memory seared in my mind forever.

Il Forno in Piazzetta This place was ultra casual and had all sorts of pizza and flatbread options — AND gelato. It was the perfect place for lunches with kids! The gelato was decent, not mind blowing, but it was perfect for the casual vibe we needed. (The best gelato we had in Italy was in Rome; post coming soon!) Here’s the selection of pizza and flatbreads in the photo below:

Pizza ligure: a style of filled pizza (crust on the top and bottom) typical to the region
Pesto pizza
Farinata: a flat pancake made with chickpea flour
Spinach & ricotta torta: this was our favorite! A pie of spinach and ricotta with a flaky crust

Cooking at home. One of our favorite things was going to the market and cooking something simple at home in our villa. Here’s a super simple meal we made in our villa kitchen using goods from the market:

Cheese, cured meat, and marinated artichokes
Veggies with fresh buffalo mozzerella, topped with olive oil and salt
Pesto pasta
Grapes

Is Italy good for kids?

Main takeaway: Italy is great for kids! On this trip, we traveled with three kiddos: our son Larson (17 months), nephew Miles (5 years old), and niece Julia (8 years old). The kids absolutely adored being in Italy. There was so much for them to do. I think our niece and nephew would have been happy spending the entire day at the beach each day!

But they also loved the cultural aspects: trying new foods at all the restaurants and the market, walking into town, seeing the boats, and taking our day trips (below). That said, I think we have some pretty adventurous kids on our hands! Julia and Larson scarfed down octopus and mussels like it was no big deal. And gelato, gelato…and more gelato!

Eight-year-old Julia spent months before the trip reading up on Italy and Leonardo da Vinci. She loved learning about the culture! As Aunt Sonja, I gave her a diary as a present when the trip started. Each day we wrote in our diary what we loved about that day. We left space for her to add photos to the book when we returned. As time goes by, I hope this trip will be a formative memory for her.

Alex and I are big proponents of traveling early with kids and exposing them to new cultures. It was exciting to see the way that different personalities and ages experienced them! Larson being only 17 months had a total blast. At that age, he was pretty low maintenance in terms of what was a good time! Eating gelato, watching dogs, and dipping his toes in the Mediterranean were all equally exciting.

Do you need a stroller? We did not bring a stroller and instead carried our toddler Larson in our LILLEbaby carrier! There are lots of stairs in Tellaro, so we preferred the freedom of the carrier. Because everything was pretty close together and we were close to town, Tellaro was easy to navigate.

What’s the best time to visit Italy?

Our trip to Tellaro Italy was right at the height of tourist season in July. Was this the best time to visit Italy? No. But, this was the only time that we could fit all of our schedules to visit. And, there’s just something about summer in Italy that has a lightness to it! Experts will tell you that the best times to visit Italy are April to May or mid September through mid October. However, we’ve gone to Italy in the summer a handful of times and have still loved it.

What day trips can you do from Tellaro Italy?

There are some great day trip options from Tellaro. For our day trips, we went to Pisa and Cinque Terre. Here are some of our tips and photos.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is not too far from Tellaro, basically in the middle of fields. I was surprised when we passed it on our way to Tellaro: it looked like an amusement park on the side of the highway. But sure enough, there was that signature tower: the real one, not the Fun House version of it! Since Pisa is only 1 hour from Tellaro, we decided to take a day trip to check it out. All the rumors are that Pisa is extraordinarily touristy. Did we find this to be true? ABSOLUTELY. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the most touristy places I’ve ever visited! The moment we got into town, we hit a swarm of people from all of over the world taking photos of themselves holding up the tower. However, we found there was a way to do Pisa and not be too overwhelmed. And we ended up having a great time!

Can you go into the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Yes! But you’ll need tickets. To get Leaning Tower of Pisa tickets, we recommend buying them in advance here. We did not buy our tickets in advance, and the next available time for tickets didn’t work with our plan that day. However, there are other things to do in Pisa! You can go to the Cathedral and Baptistry, both free. We were surprised that the Leaning Tower of Pisa just one part of the massive church complex: the Cathedral and Baptistry are beautiful as well. Since it was a hot day, we sat on the grass in the shade of the Cathedral and let the kids roll around in the grass. Though it was simple, that’s one of my favorite memories of Pisa.

Where to Eat in Pisa

The other way to escape the crowds in Pisa is to spend time in the town of Pisa itself! Once we got away from the tower, it quieted down right away. Pisa is a charming little city and we enjoyed exploring the streets. Alex found a lovely little sandwich shop off the beaten path where we had some excellent artisan sandwiches called L’Ostellino. Think flavor combinations like: Cappicolo, pecorino, artichoke, olive tapenade, and Pecorino, pears, honey, walnut, rocket. We loved the simple, elegant combinations and it was an intimate space. This little shop even inspired our recipe for these Grilled Eggplant and Tomato Stacked Sandwiches. We’d recommend checking it out if you’re in Pisa as a casual but delicious lunch. Since we were only in Pisa for a few hours, we didn’t try any more restaurants. If you’ve been to Pisa and have restaurant recommendations, let us know in the comments below!

Cinque Terre

The other day trip we planned from Tellaro was Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre are some of the best coastal towns in Italy: five villages nestled into the cliffs. When I visited Cinque Terre 15 years ago, Cinque Terre hiking was the thing to do. All the backpackers we ran into were hiking the trails between the villages. I remember being awed by the bright blue waters and the quaint villages hugging the coastline. (After getting film photos from my point and shoot developed after my trip, I was so disappointed the photos barely did it justice. How times have changed!) Since my last visit, Cinque Terre has gotten more touristy, hence our decision to stay in Tellaro. However, we wanted to experience Cinque Terre for a day. To get there, we drove to La Spezia (about 1 hour away), and rode the train in to Cinque Terre.

All our guide books advised to be very careful on the trains because there are pickpockets when the tourist season is high. Since we were with 3 kiddos, it wasn’t the safest feeling. However, we all made it in one piece and had no issues! We visited two of the towns, Corniglia and Vernazza. Corniglia required going up a large amount of steps, so there was a lot of complaining from the older kids (!). The town is the quietest of the Cinque Terre, but not the most picturesque. However, we got a killer Basil Gelato at Alberto Gelateria, so that was the highlight! Our next stop was Vernazza.

Vernazza is incredibly picturesque and had just the views we were looking for! It required hiking up out of the city to get these lovely views, which was very sweaty on a hot day. (We left a few of the adults with the kids and just a few of us went up to get these photos.) Vernazza in July was very busy with tourists. It made us all thankful for quiet little Tellaro! Our most memorable experience in Vernazza was eating at Ristorante Belforte. It’s in an old castle and has incredible views of the water. We showed up right when they opened and somehow got a table even though most of them were reserved (we’d recommend reserving a table if you go). They led us out to a balcony surrounded by water on three sides and we all about fainted! Our waiter was hilarious and entertained the kids by wearing different hats every time he came out. The food was decent — good, but not our best food experience of the trip. However, the atmosphere was so fantastic that it remained a highlight to everyone on our trip.

How to Take Better Pictures on Vacation — Our Top 8 Tips

Sonja Overhiser — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 12:00:46 +0000

Want to learn how to capture special memories with your vacation pictures? Here are our photography tips and tricks for how to take better pictures on vacation!

Alex and I recently took a trip to Italy, Croatia and Spain, and man what special memories we made with our 1 year old son Larson! I don’t know if you’re like us, but when we travel we don’t buy a lot of souvenirs: instead our souvenirs are the photos we bring home! When you take a special vacation, it’s even more special to have photos that capture the essence of the trip. And believe me, that’s no easy task! For years we’ve been struggling to figure out how to take better pictures on vacation. If you’re looking to up your game in capturing special memories in your travel photography, we’ve got some photography tips and tricks for you! Below we’ll cover both smartphone photography and how to take awesome pictures using a DSLR or mirrorless camera.

Related: How to Plan a Travel Wardrobe — this post contains links to my dresses, hat, and shoes if you’re interested!

1) Plan your photography gear

Smartphone cameras (including recent iPhones) have become really amazing over the past several years. Alex and I have Google Pixel 2 smartphones. and the camera in it is downright terrific at taking photos! If you’re a casual photographer, these days you might be able to get away with using only a phone for all of your vacation pictures. However, if you want to be able to take really stunning photos with a lot of precision and have more control in the editing process, it’s still worth bringing a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Here’s what Alex and I brought on our 3 week trip to Italy, Spain and Croatia:

Smartphone: Google Pixel 2 XL camera. Alex and I each had our phones, and we use the stock camera app on the Google Pixel 2 camera. See Number 8 below for what we use for editing!
Sony a7R iii mirrorless camera with a 24-70mm lens. This is the camera we use professionally for our food photography. The lens is a fantastic all-around lens for awesome pictures of food, people, and travel.
Atlas backpack. This backpack worked as a dual-purpose diaper and camera bag. It’s durable, stylish, and perfect for day trips.

Since the Sony camera is pretty large and bulky, it can sometimes be difficult logistically in restaurant settings or when you’re at the beach. So we used this approach: on a day-to-day basis during our travels, we carried the Sony mirrorless camera in our backpack and pulled it out when something really caught our eye. For more informal hangouts and in restaurants, we used our phones for fun snapshots of food and memories of our friends and family on the go. The photo below is from our Google Pixel 2 camera; you can see that even though it’s smartphone photography, the quality is excellent! The remainder of the photos in this post are Sony A7R iii pictures.

A shot I captured of Tellaro, Italy with my Google Pixel 2 XL smartphone(while Alex was taking the first photo in this post!). My other secret to this photo is Number 4!

2) Research locations on Google and Instagram nearby places.

Before we landed in each city in our travels, we researched the city on Google Images and Instagram “Places” search to see if any pictures really struck us. Usually, the most obvious places with a crowd of tourists taking pictures do not make the most interesting vacation photos. Take a few hours to research before you travel and you might find some really unique locations.

Me and Larson in Frigiliana, Spain. Alex found this day trip using Google photos

3) Explore and enjoy a new spot before photographing it.

It’s hard to not whip out the camera and starting clicking as soon as you see a spectacular site on your travels! However, we’ve found that if you pause, walk through and enjoy a space, and then thoughtfully spend some time on photos that your photos will really shine. When we discovered the hidden beach in Cartagena, Spain, we wanted to take photos every 10 feet. The water, the cliffs, the sky — everything looked glorious! But Alex forced me to just enjoy the views and keep on walking for a while. Of course like always, he was right! Just around the corner was the most fantastic little cove (below). I’m so glad that we enjoyed the walk and saved our memory card space until we had scoped the full area.

This cove in Cartagena, Spain was worth waiting for. You’ll also notice we’re demonstrating secret Number 5.

4) Shoot in early morning or during golden hour.

Most of the time on vacation, we have this pattern: we wake up a little later than usual, go out during the worst of the mid-day heat, find something to eat in the evening, and then crash in bed exhausted. There are two reasons why this schedule is terrible for travel photos. First, mid-day overhead sun is not ideal for photos. Colors become washed out, shadows overpower your pictures, and everyone looks sweaty and tired. During the early morning or golden hour, the sun lowers and makes for much more vibrant photos. This is especially true in the Mediterranean: taking a photo of the water during the day makes it look desaturated and completely uninteresting. If you wait until 7:00 pm, the true blue and green glimmer of the water really pops.

The second reason why midday is terrible for travel photos is that all the tourists are out during the day! If you take travel photos during the morning or golden hour, you flip schedules with all of the other tourists. On these off times, you’ll find popular plazas nearly empty and beaches all to yourself. So, we recommend getting out of bed and seeing the world as early as you can, returning for a siesta and some food in the afternoon, and then exploring in the early evening. You won’t regret it! It might be our best tip for how to take better photos on vacation.

Alex and I went on a golden hour shoot in Sibenik, Croatia: you can see how the light illuminates the buildings and brings in a rosy, golden color. When is golden hour? It’s about 1 hour to an hour and a half before sunset.

Me at a golden hour shoot with Alex in Tellaro, Italy. The same shot at noon would have been washed out and have lots of shadows.

Sometimes your travel schedule might not allow for perfect timing! This photo of Cinque Terre was shot at midday when the light was completely direct. It turned out okay, but we had to up the saturation in editing to make the colors pop. We would have preferred the soft colors of golden hour (like Tellaro above), but we were there on a day trip and couldn’t arrange it!

5) Put people in the shot and capture candid moments.

Rather than line the family up and demand that everyone say cheese, we like capturing the beauty of the setting with people in a more candid setup. For example, the shot of the white town in Spain above (Frigiliana) is a wide shot that shows mostly the scenery, with me and Larson strolling up the street. Alex captured the essence of the town at the same time as showing us there, without it feeling too “set up”. Of course, taking this kind of shot does require some re-enactment at times. Sometimes, Alex would direct me and Larson to walk down the street often during our trip, or simply stop and look up at the buildings! The way that candid poses help to capture the moment is something we prefer to a cheesy family photo — though we did capture a few of those too (including sillie smartphone selfies)! See the examples below.

Larson and I looking up in awe at the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

At the Alhambra in Granada: instead of a cheesy front-facing photo, we chose to do a more contemplative gaze into the distance

This one was awkward to shoot, but in Sibenik, Croatia Alex made me run towards the camera to get some motion in the shot (it was also at golden hour! see Number 4)

This pose was perfect for capturing my awe at this white village in Spain (Frigiliana)

A completely candid moment at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain (it was crawling with tourists, so patience was necessary!)

6) Be careful not to distort your picture!

This one is especially true for improving your smartphone photography. With the super-wide angle lenses on smartphones, it’s really easy to make buildings look all wonky and distorted. You want to keep the smartphone facing straight and not angled up. This is especially hard in cities where you want to capture entire monuments or buildings. Our recommendation? Back up a little bit, maybe across the street, so that you can keep the phone straight and then crop the image later. We did this in the picture below. We were able to capture the streetlight and yellow building without distorting, and then crop in a bit to focus your eye to these later on. This tip is also true for mirrorless and DSLR cameras, but it’s especially important for smartphone photography.

7) Edit, edit, edit.

Here’s a “secret” for you: we never save or share photos straight off of the camera. We’ve spent years honing our editing skills, both on our phones and on our computers. Many times, the unedited raw images from your phone or camera will not match the colors you saw. That’s what editing is for! Don’t feel shy about bumping the colors of pictures to match what your eye saw (or even to match the color of blue through your sunglasses!). Most digital pictures need some clean up before they are ready to go.

The Sony A7R iii mirrorless camera that we use is able to transfer photos to our phones wirelessly. This was great for our trip, and meant that we could transfer photos for both back-up and editing. For editing photos on our phones, we use the free app Snapseed. Typically we use the Tune feature to adjust the Brightness, Contrast, Highlights, and Saturation to what looks good to our eye (I also use the Curves feature — let us know if you’re interested in more info on that!). On our computer, we use the new Lightroom CC to edit our photos. We occasionally use a preset filter from VSCO or other apps on our photos, but typically we try to achieve a look we want without purchased presets.

The sea in Malaga, Spain looked positively gray before this edit.

8) Practice, practice, practice.

The last in our photography tips and tricks for how to take better pictures on vacation is this: PRACTICE! The best part about digital travel photography is that doesn’t really cost any extra to take more pictures. The more you practice taking travel photos, the more you’ll get comfortable with lighting, angles, and camera settings. Traveling is the perfect place to hone your skills and fall in love with the craft of photography. We use the Google Photos app on our smartphones. It provides free, unlimited storage for all of our photos, so we didn’t have to worry about running out of space (as long as we could find decent Wifi!). We took thousands of travel photos on the road and then chose our absolute favorites when we got home.

One day we took our Sony mirrorless camera to the beach in Tellaro, Italy and Alex got this fantastic motion shot

A door at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain — with door photos it’s imperative to stand as straight on as possible (Number 6)

A hidden beach in Tellaro, Italy

A rare restaurant DSLR picture: we brought out the big guns for the paella in Barcelona! Since it feels awkward whipping out a huge camera at a restaurant, we prefer using smartphone photography for food

What else do you want to know?

Do you have more questions about how to take better pictures on vacation? We’d love to help provide more photography tips and tricks for your travel photography. Let us know in the comments below!

A Dream Italy, Croatia & Spain Vacation

Sonja Overhiser — Thu, 02 Aug 2018 02:32:25 +0000

Wondering where to go in Spain, Italy, and Croatia? Here’s our dream Italy, Croatia and Spain vacation, with all the things to do and see.

Why travel is good for the soul

Are you ready for an adventure? What’s stopping you? After launching our cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking, Alex and I were ready for a change of scenery. And we’ve found that in our line of work, sometimes the most productive thing is to get out of your comfort zone and experience something new. So we decided to take a plunge: a 3 week dream Italy, Croatia and Spain vacation with a toddler in tow. It would be part vacation, part researching new flavors, and part adventuring and soul-searching for the next phase of A Couple Cooks. And what we found is that not only is travel exhilarating and beautiful and stretching—travel is good for the soul.

There are so many excuses for not travelling. Travel is expensive. Staycations are cheaper and more practical. Travel is risky. Travel with kids is hard. We’re not here to convince you to take a vacation outside of your comfort zone or budget. However, travel to another culture can be beautiful thing to help you to appreciate fellow humans in a new way. It can force you to slow down and notice the small things. Travel can help you reassess alternative paths instead of the same old. If you stay with friends, travel can help you appreciate the incredible gift of hospitality. If you meet locals and seek to understand the culture, travel can endear you to a place like no other. And of course, travel can introduce you to new flavors and customs to bring back to your table!

Below are some brief highlights of our Italy, Croatia and Spain vacation to whet your appetite for travel. Our itinerary was very specific based around friends and family. We don’t recommend that you follow our specific path, but perhaps you’ll find some destinations here that pique your interest! And there are many, many more amazing places to visit for a Italy, Croatia and Spain vacation: this is just where we traveled!

A big family Italy vacation: Mediterranean & historic Rome

Tellaro, Italy

Here’s our full blog post about everything we did in Tellaro, Italy!

Why Italy? Italy holds a soft spot for Alex and me. It’s where we honeymooned (Rome and the Amalfi Coast), and then returned to 7 years later because we love it so. The way we view food has been indelibly shaped by the country of Italy. It’s here that we first fell in love with artisan pizza, discovered the delectable simplicity of Cacio e Pepe, and ate our weight in gelato.

Since we’d been to the Amalfi Coast, we decided to try the coast on the opposite side of Rome, near Cinque Terre. I had been to Cinque Terre 15 years ago, but since then it’s become incredibly full of tourists. Tellaro was the perfect unspoiled Italian fishing village for us to visit. Heard of it? We hadn’t either. However, we had heard that it was similar to Cinque Terre without the crowds. We found an incredible villa right on the Mediterranean and decided to try it out. For the Italy portion of our trip we were a party of 8: us and Larson, Alex’s mom, brother, sister-in-law and our 8 and 5 year old niece and nephew. The kids did fabulously. We had lots of beach time, pizza, gelato, and sunset meals on our patio. We also did several day trips from Tellaro, which I shared here. Overall, Tellaro was MAGIC.

Rome, Italy

Next on the European vacation itinerary was Rome. Rome is one of Alex and my favorite cities on the planet. The layers upon layers of history is simply awe inspiring. One moment you’re in a cute street of salmon and sunny yellow narrow buildings, and the next you’re in a mess of Roman ruins dating back 2000 years.

In Rome we stayed an Airbnb built in 1685, ate our weight in gelato (again!), had some incredible authentic and modern Italian meals, saw the Sistene Chapel, and strolled by the Pantheon as many times as possible. This was my fourth time to Rome, and it just keeps getting better. The Italians say if you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain you’ll return to Rome: and I can vouch that it’s been incredibly effective!

Visiting Sibenik: a seaside town on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast

Sibenik, Croatia

Here’s our full blog post about everything we did in Sibenik Croatia!

Two of our dearest friends live in Vienna, and we wanted to do a weekend trip on the Mediterranean with them that we could all drive to. We settled on Sibenik, Croatia, a Medieval fishing village about an hour north of Split. Our roundabout way of getting here was flying from Rome to Vienna (on super cheap Wizz Air), then driving to Sibenik. Fun fact: several Game of Thrones episodes were filmed in Sibenik (Braavos anyone?)! After spending a few days there, we realized why. This town is straight up gorgeous in a mysterious sort of way. The more time we spent there, the more we fell in love.

Krka National Park

There’s a national park nearby, Krka National Park, where we got to swim in a waterfall. The blue green water was crystal clear and just the right temperature. INCREDIBLE. And, somehow we magically ended up being in Croatia for the final game of the World Cup, which Croatia was playing in! What luck. Even though they lost, seeing Croatians celebrate with pride that their tiny country got second place was incredibly special.

Spain: vacation on the Mediterranean coast

Here’s our full post about everything we did on our Spain vacation!

Málaga, Spain

The final leg was our Spain vacation! I studied in Madrid in university and minored in Spanish years ago, so Spain is near and dear to my heart. I’d been talking Alex’s ear off about Spain for 15 years, so the ability to share this beautiful country with him—and Larson—was very meaningful.

How did we end up in Málaga? A cheap flight from Vienna to Málaga on Wizz Air (again!). Alex, Larson and I decided to take 6 days and road trip from Málaga to Barcelona, stopping at various destinations in between. While we enjoyed Málaga and staying steps from the beach, what we loved most were the day trips. Highlights were Granada and the Alhambra, an old Moorish castle that is an incredibly beautiful and mysterious spot, and Frigiliana, a sweet white village (pueblo blanco) in the hills near Málaga. Separate post on Frigiliana coming soon! (Below: Frigiliana, the Alhambra, Granada view)

Read More: Spain Vacation Guide

Cartagena, Spain

Cartagena, Spain was a wildcard destination for us. We needed somewhere to stay on our Spanish road trip and its location fit the bill. I was pleasantly surprised when our Airbnb balcony opened right onto a Roman theater built in 5 BC! Alex’s Airbnb skills win yet again! The city was cute, filled with some tourists but not too many. We found some interesting local foods, like huge round crespillo crackers that tasted like a grown-up version of gold fish! And the highlight was this secret beach that Alex found after extensive Google research: with only a few locals that had discovered it, we had it mainly to ourselves!

Read More: Spain Vacation Guide

Valencia, Spain

We were in Valencia for a hot second as a place to lay our heads between Cartagena and Barcelona. And our experience surprised us! We stayed in the cutest little Airbnb in the El Cabanyal neighborhood, an up and coming neighborhood that was once quite rough. It’s still a little rough around the edges, but it’s filled with beautiful Spanish tile homes from the early 20th century! I got a little obsessed and did a photoshoot throughout the neighborhood. Also on our road trip up to Valencia: the most authentic paella we’ve ever had in restaurant filled with local families, and another hidden beach.

Read More: Spain Vacation Guide

Barcelona, Spain

And Barcelona. It’s my other favorite city in the world, and I hadn’t been back in 15 years. Luckily: Barcelona still has got it going on. We stayed with Ali and Barclay of Gimme Some Oven, who have been living in the city for a year. They were the most INCREDIBLE hosts and generously showed us the best things this city had to offer. They even watched Larson so Alex and I could have a date night! Highlights were La Sagrada Familia, the incredible church by Gaudi that’s been under construction for 100 years, lots of tapas, lots of wine, beachside paella and lots of time spent savoring people around the table. The way the Catalonians enjoy food and relish time lingering around the table left a mark on us. More on Barcleona is in our Spain Vacation Guide below!

Read More: Spain Vacation Guide

And why travel?

By the end of our Italy, Croatia and Spain vacation, we realized: we came for the food, but what we found was more intangible. The value of time spent around the table relishing dear people. Mental space. Appreciation of the rugged beauty of this world. Treasuring new customs and foods. The exhilaration of going off the beaten path. A fresh look at the world through the curiosity of an adventuring 1 year old. You don’t need a European vacation or even to fly across the ocean to do it, but getting out of your comfort zone can be refreshing, fulfilling, and yes: good for the soul.

How about you? Where do you dream of traveling? What have been some of your most impactful trips? Any other questions?

A few past European vacation spots

Here are a couple of our favorite European vacation spots from a trip we took 4 years sago:

Best Spots for Big Sur Sunset

Sonja Overhiser — Sat, 16 Jun 2018 09:00:09 +0000

Looking for things to do in Big Sur, California? Here’s how to find the best Big Sur sunset, beaches, restaurants, and more.

In between our book tour stops in San Francisco and LA, we had a few days of vacation. After two days in Sonoma, Alex, Larson and I decided to head to Big Sur California for 1 day on our way to LA. Honestly, we weren’t quite sure what we were getting into. Most of what we knew about the area was iconic Instagram photos showing insane cliffs and magical Big Sur sunsets. But when we got there, finding the best Big Sur sunset was a bit more difficult than planned. Here’s what to do in Big Sur, focused on capturing the best Big Sur photos imaginable (and if you’re hardcore, our Big Sur photography guide).

What is Big Sur?

If you don’t live in California, you might be asking, what is Big Sur? Big Sur, California is a region of coastline known for its massive cliffs and rugged beauty. It’s not a town, or even a state park. But it’s full of gorgeous natural beauty, so when traveling between San Francisco and LA, many travelers opt for the Pacific Coast Highway route instead of the shorter US 101. Without stopping, the 90-mile stretch of Big Sur takes about 2 ½ hours to drive, which means you can experience it in just one day. For our trip to Big Sur, we had only one day to experience it. Next time, we’d spend more time and stay in the region because it’s just that beautiful.

How to find the best views and Big Sur sunsets?

Here’s the kicker about Big Sur, California. There aren’t signs that say, “This way to the amazing view”. It’s a long highway with what seems to be hundreds of little pull-offs to take in views of various quality. Also, the views absolutely depend on the weather. When we arrived in Big Sur, it was very cloudy, so it was hard to tell what were the “good” views. However, we persevered and because of it, we got a huge treat at the end: an iconic Big Sur sunset: and plenty of photos to prove it!

Overlooks

When you drive into Big Sur California, you’ll see what seems like an endless stretch of beautiful bright blue water. Even with the cloudy weather early in the day, we were still able to get some good views. We decided to do an initial “drive by” where we drove the entire Big Sur stretch and got out at every opportunity that we were inspired. And, we started scouting for a good spot to come back at sunset. That’s when the real magic happens (keep reading).

Fun fact: at the very beginning of Big Sur is the bridge from Big Little Lies, called Bixby Bridge! If you’ve seen the show, you’ll know the opening sequence driving across the bridge set to the song Cold Little Heart by Michael Kiwanuka. Unfortunately we didn’t get any great pics to share here, but it’s another fun Big Sur landmark. Just make sure you download the song before crossing (cell service is iffy)!

McWay Falls

At the far south end of Big Sur California, you can take a short path out to a cove with a waterfall called McWay Falls. Even with clouds, it’s very beautiful, and it’s totally worth the drive and walk out to it. Part of the trail was closed, so we weren’t able to get as close as we were hoping. Even so, McWay Falls was on our short list of places to come back to at sunset. But we had no idea what the sunset view would look like, and whether it would be the classic Big Sur photo that we wanted.

Pfeiffer Beach

A little after mid-day, the sun started to poke through the clouds and we couldn’t be more excited! Larson had gotten in a little car nap, so we headed to Pfeiffer Beach to poke around. It was incredibly beautiful, as you’ll see from the pics below. We’d absolutely recommend spending time on this Big Sur Beach! Larson got to dip his toes in the ocean for the first time. At first he was surprised and scared by the cold water, but after giving it a chance he loved it. If you’re wondering how to get to Pfeiffer Beach, it’s a turnoff just north of the Big Sur Bakery, and it’s a 15-minute narrow bumpy drive before you get to the parking lot outside of the beach. (Here’s a map.)

Rocky Creek Bridge — Big Sur Sunset

The biggest decision of the day was, Where can we view the best Big Sur sunset? We knew golden hour would be the best chance we’d have at those iconic Big Sur photos. Golden hour is that brief time period of the day where the sun is low enough to cast an indirect golden light over everything it touches. It makes for the best photos because instead of harsh overhead light and lots of shadows, the entire scene is bathed in a warm glow. Since we’d only seen all the vistas under a veil of gray clouds earlier that day, it was difficult to choose where to set up for sunset. Alex and I spent at least an hour discussing the merits of McWay Falls and the Rocky Creek Bridge viewpoint we’d seen earlier in the day. I knew it was a little silly, but I felt a lot of pressure riding on this decision. We’re in Big Sur for ONE DAY, so we have to choose wisely. What if we blow our only chance at the iconic Big Sur photo?

Even though Rocky Creek Bridge looked like this earlier in the day (below), we decided to give it a shot. And man, are we glad we did! Here’s the before photo:

BEFORE (Rocky Creek Bridge Photos)

At golden hour, around 7:10 pm in late April, Rocky Creek Bridge was an entirely different story. From the road, I couldn’t see much, but Alex had climbed down into the lookout area. Hey, you HAVE to see this! he shouted to me. And when I climbed down and turned north, my eyes teared up involuntarily because it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my life. It truly looked otherworldly. And it was the most special moment, because what once looked gray and lonely was suddenly golden and breathtakingly beautiful. Here are a few of those classic Big Sur sunset photos we captured at golden hour.

And this, THIS, is why you come to Big Sur California.

AFTER (Rocky Creek Bridge Photos)

What should I do to prepare for a trip to Big Sur?

There’s no town center of Big Sur California, and minimal gas stations to refuel. Also, the cell service is spotty. So our best tips are:

Start out with a full tank of gas and plenty of water and snacks
Download maps to your phone, since you’ll need to access them offline

What if it’s cloudy?

It was cloudy for much of the time we were in Big Sur. When we shared about the clouds on Instagram, we had a lot of people chime in to agree that it’s often cloudy in the morning and early afternoon in Big Sur. If this happens to you, never fear! Stick it out until sunset, and it’s likely the clouds will burn off and you’ll get the Big Sur sunset you’ve been dreaming of.

What about Big Sur restaurants?

Big Sur doesn’t have a town center, making it hard to find good eats. However, a local turned us on to Big Sur Bakery. It’s open all day, in the morning serving great pastries and the evening serving incredibly high-quality, delicious food. We got a fantastic, beautifully constructed salad and this tasty mushroom pizza with fontina. We requested to sit outside, since we had our toddler Larson in tow. He was able to wander a bit and we enjoyed a killer view with killer food. Big Sur Bakery is not to be missed!

So that’s it! All we know about things to do in Big Sur California. Have you been, or are you looking to go? In the comments below, let us know your thoughts and other favorite photo spots!

Things To Do in Sonoma

Sonja Overhiser — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 09:00:33 +0000

Looking for things to do Sonoma wine country? Here’s what to do, including the best wineries in Sonoma, restaurants, and more.

While we were in California on our book tour, Alex and I took a few vacation days between our stops in San Francisco and LA to do something very important: drink wine in Sonoma wine country. Our friends from Indianapolis flew in to join us on this very important quest. And it wasn’t just four adults: we had baby Larson in tow! At the time Larson was 14 months old, so we weren’t sure how visiting Sonoma wine country with a baby would go. However, we were pleasantly surprised that wine country was baby friendly. And really, Sonoma is everyone friendly.

Why Sonoma wine coutnry?

Napa vs. Sonoma wine country: which to pick? Eleven years ago, Alex and I visited Napa Valley. We knew nothing about wine, we just knew that Napa meant “fancy wine country.” So we went to Napa: and loved it. This time around, we decided to stay in Sonoma since we heard that Sonoma wine country is less commercial and touristy than Napa has become. We were there just 2 days, but we had more than enough things to do in Sonoma to keep us busy for weeks! We loved our stay and would heartily recommend Sonoma wine country.

Where should I stay in Sonoma?

Our Airbnb could win the ‘Cutest Airbnb on the Pacific Coast’ award. It’s called the Zen House and on some tree-lined land outside of the main strip in Sonoma. The entire aesthetic of the property was incredibly Zen: the architecture and design reminded me of when I was in Japan. Check out this living room! We saw both wild turkeys and deer outside the window on various occasions; it felt very peaceful and serene. (This specific Airbnb was not baby or toddler optimized, so we watched Larson constantly when he was awake. We’d recommend it for adult parties in a heartbeat, or people with very good toddlers.)

What are the best wineries in Sonoma?

So, of course you want to know: what are the best wineries in Sonoma? Far and away Scribe Winery was the favorite of any wineries we visited in Sonoma wine country. Tip: Though it’s more expensive, go for the culinary tasting with the wines! Instead tasting inside in the tasting room, you get to taste at the hacienda, a beautiful old home with an expansive patio. Imagine lounging at a table, sipping wine in the light breeze paired with incredible food: marinated olives, a crisp salad with blue cheese dressing and dill, whipped feta crostini with brocolli. The hacienda is just lovely and has a view right into the beautiful kitchen.

Make sure to nab a reservation before you go. Though Larson didn’t attend this one, there was a toddler on the patio that was around Larson’s age, so kiddos are allowed. Here are a few shots from Scribe Winery. In our opinion, it’s the best winery in Sonoma!

Some of the other best wineries in Sonoma…

Of the wineries we visited outside of Scribe, our favorite other wineries in Sonoma were:

Benziger Family Winery: It’s a biodynamic winery, which is a hyper sustainable way of farming (like organic, but more rigorous). It has beautiful grounds. We did a tasting, and then grabbed a lovely crisp white and munched on some cheese and crackers that we brought.
Imagery Winery: This one is a sister winery to Benziger, so it was also biodynamic. We had a tasting here and enjoyed a port & chocolate tasting too.
Gundlach Bundschu: Referred to by the locals as GunBun, it has lovely grounds and great wine. Here we nabbed a bottle and sat by the lake, eating wine and cheese.
Gloria Ferrer: This place we came especially for the champagne tasting. It was justok, but the views were stellar! Go here for great views.

Is wine country baby friendly?

Toting around a 14 month old isn’t necessarily the ideal way to hit up wine country. However, yes: wine country with a baby works! And we had a fantastic time with Larson in tow. We carried him in our LILLEBaby carrier, which is very comfortable to wear (and he loves being in it). With the carrier, he was free to nap when he was tired–which at this age he refuses to do in his stroller. It was also easier than a stroller since it’s not as bulky.

Are babies allowed in Sonoma wineries? Yes. Are babies allowed in Sonoma stand-alone tasting rooms? No. We tried taking Larson to a tasting room in the Sonoma city area and got shut down. Having a toddler around did make things a little more complicated due to nap times. Larson had one 2 to 3 hour nap during the day, so we had him go to the Airbnb with one of us. Since we were travelling with another couple, Alex and me would trade off on being at the Airbnb during nap time and the other person would go out with our friends.

So would we recommend visiting Sonoma wine country with a baby? In our experience, it worked great–though we have a pretty well-behaved baby (or really, toddler). If you have kids that are a bit older, it might be hard to occupy them in wine country. However, we’d love to hear from any of you who have experience visiting wine country with a baby or older children! Let us know in the comments below.

What are the best Sonoma restaurants?

Honestly, it was hard to find good restaurants in Sonoma! We had a friend who knew the area help us with recs, and we found less than we expected to write home about. Our favorite turned out being a traditional Mexican restaurant called El Molino Central. We got takeout and ate it on our Airbnb patio and it totally hit the spot.

Another thing we loved was getting picnic ingredients and eating at the wineries! Most of the wineries had outdoor areas where you could eat your own food, accompanied by some of their wine. A few times we brought along a bunch of cheeses, crackers, bread, olives, chocolate, and a few premade salads. Really, that’s the best meal around!

What about you: do you have any Sonoma restaurant recommendations?

Things to Do in Skagway & Glacier Bay Alaska

Sonja Overhiser — Sat, 05 Aug 2017 01:18:46 +0000

Looking for things to do in Skagway and Glacier Bay Alaska? Here’s what to see and do. The beauty of Alaska’s wilderness awaits!

Two rugged, beautiful places stole our hearts this year: Utah and Alaska. Neither were originally on our radar, but we’re now singing the praises of both. Our last post on Juneau showed our time in the Juneau area. We took two day trips from there, one to Glacier Bay National Park and the other to the tiny town of Skagway. Here are the things to do in Skagway and Glacier Bay Alaska!

Glacier Bay National Park | Glacier Bay Alaska

Glacier Bay Alaska was a one-of-a-kind adventure! We took a boat ride through Glacier Bay National Park, which has glacier and wildlife sightings at every turn. It almost feels unreal, like a Disney World ride. But this is absolutely real. Puffins, seals, whales (!), and glaciers are all visible from the boat, and it’s narrated by really informative park guides. It’s pretty expensive to take this boat ride through the national park, but if you’ve come all the way to Alaska, it’s absolutely worth the splurge! Here’s the Glacier Bay National Park day tour that we took.

Within minutes, we saw our first whale flukes! Alex nabbed this picture. It was one of the highlights of the day, for sure. We also saw seals, puffins, orcas (killer whales), mountain goats, grizzly bears, and all sorts of birds, all in their natural habitat. It was a bit surreal!

Snack time was salmon chowder! It was perfect after standing out on the chilly upper deck watching out for wildlife.

And then after the wildlife came the actual glaciers! It was amazing to be up close and in person with the frosty blue towering ice mountains. The glacier in this photo is mile-wide Margerie Glacier. As we sat and stared, chunks of the glacier would break off and fall into the water, making a loud cracking sound (called “calving”). This was as up close and personal as we’d get with the glaciers that gave Glacier Bay Alaska its name.

Skagway Alaska

After an incredible day in Glacier Bay Alaska, we were ready for another adventure! This time we were off to the mining town of Skagway Alaska, with my family and my sister’s fiancé’s family, who are Juneau natives. And how better to get there than a chartered private propeller plane! As a special request, the pilot of our tiny plane flew directly over the glaciers and ice fields to get to Skagway. We looked down on amazing IMAX-style views of the snowy mountain peaks and glaciers that few humans have probably ever seen from that perspective. What a special ride. If you ever have the chance to take a plane ride over the mountains from Juneau to Skagway Alaska: take it!

Skagway Alaska

The amazing view filled plane ride took us to Skagway, a quaint little mining mountain town. Skagway is tiny (population around 1000), but it has an influx of tourists in the summer months. It’s a cruise ship stop, so it’s used to accommodating visitors! During the time of the Gold Rush, Skagway was a thriving Alaska city, but now it’s main industry is tourism.

We spent a relaxing few days in Skagway Alaska: our main goals were to go hiking and spend time with our family! We also took a ride on the old train that carried gold-rushers to the Klondike in the 1890’s.

The hike we went on is called Dewey Lake Trails. It’s easy to access from the main town center. We hiked on moss covered trails, came upon several waterfalls, and a beautiful green lake. It’s a must visit if you’re in Skagway. Here’s how to access Dewey Lake Trails.

And the last in our things to do in Skagway: ride the historic train! This was the train that the Gold Rushers used back in the 1890’s to get to Skagway to look for gold. The train ride we went on was pretty epic. It’s called the White Pass Summit Excursion on the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway.

Finally after all that hiking and train riding, some food was in order! We didn’t eat at many Skagway restaurants, but we did check out The Skagway Fish Company and loved it! The fish and chips was top notch: this halibut was delicately-breaded perfection.

The way home to Juneau was a bit harried, jumbled about by the turbulence of a rainstorm in a tiny 5-seater plane. Luckily we made it back to solid ground and I still had time to catch my fish! Though during that flight I’d already decided my life had been long and fulfilling and I was ready, if need be!

Skagway and Glacier Bay Alaska are truly gems and we couldn’t have asked for more. Make sure to check out our post on Juneau Alaska as well. Let us know if you have any questions about the area! There is so much more of Alaska to explore.

Things to Do in Amalfi Coast, Italy

Sonja Overhiser — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 01:51:10 +0000

Looking for things to do in the Amalfi Coast, Italy? Here’s where to stay, Amalfi Coast beaches, Positano restaurants, Capri, and more!

The Amalfi Coast, Italy has been etched in our memory since Alex and I visited on our honeymoon. The vibrant blue water, dizzying cliffs, and quaint lemon and olive groves make it impossible to forget. Once you’ve been to the Amalfi Coast, it’s in your blood. So as much as we love travelling to new places, Alex and I were absolutely dying to go back. So we said: you know what? Let’s do it! We returned to the Amalfi Coast, Italy seven years later, ready to see whether it was as good as we remembered. Here’s all the things to do there: including where to stay in the Amalfi Coast, Capri Italy, Amalfi Coast beaches, Positano restaurants, and more!

Positano Italy

Was the Amalfi Coast, Italy just as good seven years later as it was on our honeymoon? Absolutely. This gem is Positano. Positano is the most picturesque of the towns on the Amalfi Coast. If you’re wondering where to stay in the Amalfi Coast, Positano is a great option. On this trip, we stayed in a small village right above Positano called Montepertuso. It was a short walk from Positano, so we got to see this view every morning when we walked into town. We wouldn’t necessarily recommend our Airbnb, but Montepertuso is a great spot and much quieter than Positano.

If you’re looking outside of Positano at where to stay in the Amalfi Coast, might we recommend where we stayed for our honeymoon? The bed and breakfast is called Punta Civita and has the most incredible views of the coastline! It’s located between Ravello and a smaller village called Atrani so it’s slightly inconvenient to get to and you have to take the bus to many of the Amalfi Coast towns. However, the views are to die for.

Positano restaurants

One of the best meals we had on the Amalfi Coast Italy was at restaurant Da Vincenzo in Positano. The Linguine alla Napoli was to die for. The pasta cooked to perfect al dente and topped with a perfectly tangy tomato sauce studded with olives and capers. Da Vincenzo’s patio a beautiful view of Positano (above). We went there during the day because it worked out well with our other plans, and it was lovely to see Positano in all its splendor.

Because on this trip we stayed right above Positano in Montepertuso, this time we tried a few restaurants there as well. Since Montepertuso is so closeby, these can be considered Positano restaurants too!

La Terra (Montepertuso) – This restaurant is up in the hills and has spectacular views! It’s totally romantic and worth it just for the ambience. The food was also quite good; classic Italian.
Donna Rosa (Montepertuso) – This one was a little pricey, but family owned with good food!

Amalfi Coast beaches

To be honest, we have not been to all of the Amalfi Coast beaches! However, our opinion of the best beaches on the Amalfi Coast is finding places that are a bit off the beaten path. There are two main beaches in Positano: the one right at the center of town and one just west of town called Fornillo Beach. There’s also a wonderful, more secluded cove at the east end of Fornillo beach, just on the other side of the restaurant. There are way less people in this area, and you can leave your valuables on your towel without worrying about it here. We had remembered this beach from our honeymoon and were able to find it again. Here are a few snaps of our favorite beach in Positano. (For help on the location, notice the small cove at the bottom of the photo below.)

On Amalfi coast beaches…get gelato!

On our honeymoon, I remember eating a delicious peach gelato on the beach in Positano. I remember finding it right off the main beach, at a little counter that was attached to a restaurant. With nothing to go off of than our memories of 7 years earlier, we found the same place! And sure enough, there was that peach gelato. And it was just as I remembered: tangy and refreshing, with little chunks of frozen peaches throughout the fluffy golden gelato. It was such fun to relive one of the memories that inspired my love of food in the first place!

Amalfi Coast hiking

Our favorite part of the Amalfi Coast is the hiking. There are hundreds of trails, most of them the old “roads” before new highways were cut into the hillside. The vistas are amazing, and you can end up in someone’s olive or lemon groves if you aren’t careful. Each time we’ve come, we’ve brought a book that helps navigate the trails (though it’s still easy to get lost!). Here’s the Amalfi Coast Hiking guide book we used. On our honeymoon, we literally got lost in a lemon grove and were scrambling to figure out way out of it before it go too dark!

On this visit to the Amalfi Coast, one of our favorite hikes was up to a huge, round hole in the mountain that towers above Positano. Up at the top, there were no other people in sight. Alex and I sat looking down on Positano, listening to the traffic and boat horns echo up from the beach below.

Capri Italy

Capri Italy is an easy 30-minute boat ride to the island of Capri. This was one of our favorite spots on our honeymoon, so we couldn’t wait to go back. The day was a bit cloudy at first and looked like it was going to pour, but luckily the sun surfaced for the majority of the day. Capri Italy is a pretty swanky location, and the main part of the island is filled with all sorts of swanky shops and restaurants. But don’t worry: it is possible to do Capri on a budget! When we went on our honeymoon, we brought a picnic and literally spent NO money except for the boat ticket to get there! What we’ve loved to do when we go to Capri is to go hiking. Since many people go for the shopping and eating, many times the hiking is not very crowded. The photo below is of the Arco Naturale, a natural arch that’s part of one of the hikes.

Of course when in Capri, get the Capri salad! Ordering Insalata caprese (or, Capri Salad) was something I’d been looking forward to the entire trip. It tasted absolutely divine after a day of hiking. And on this trip to Capri, we made sure to spring for some tangy lemon and orange granitas. They’re essentially flavored Italian ice and so, so refreshing on a hot day.

Our favorite part: the best known sight in Capri Italy is Il Faraglione, a formation of three iconic rocks. This is the view that everyone knows and loves! We were looking forward to photographing this incredible spot, but were worried the cloudy weather wouldn’t cooperate. Luckily, by the end of the day we were able to get a bit of blue sky to snap these shots.

Here we are leaving Capri to head back to Positano. Just at the end of the day, some sprinkles started to fall! The weather had cooperated perfectly for us, giving us sun just when we needed it. In all our time on the Amalfi Coast, this has been our one bout with rain. It’s typically very sunny in the summer!

Ravello Italy

On our final day, we took a day trip to Ravello. Ravello is an Amalfi Coast town that’s high up in the cliffs. It’s famous for its beautiful villas, built for the rich and famous, and utterly killer views. Alex and I came on our honeymoon, and I felt like a visit to the Amalfi Coast wouldn’t be complete without seeing Ravello again.

Our favorite part is Villa Cimbrone, a villa in Ravello built in the 1900’s with gorgeous gardens open to the public. We came back to see one special place: the Terrace of Infinity. It’s one of the more beautiful views in the world, we think. Scroll down to see…

This! The Terrace of Infinity. It’s an extraordinary place, up on this balcony with the blue sea stretching for miles, surrounded by angelic looking statues. It makes you feel both insignificant and special, all at once.

And one more iconic Amalfi Coast shot in Ravello! Here’s the photograph you see on the cover of all Amalfi Coast guidebooks (if you’ve never seen one, you’ll recognize it now). It’s in a different villa called Villa Rufolo, which sits just around the corner from Villa Cimbrone. Since we had come that far, I insisted on going into that villa as well to snap that lovely shot.

More Amalfi Coast hiking

After visiting these villas, we hiked down from Ravello to catch a ferry back. Though we had taken the bus there, we decided to walk back down to get our exercise. Steps like these are everywhere on the Amalfi Coast: they connect all the towns to each other! And they’re much better going down than up. Walking on these steps and paths is one of my favorite memories of the Amalfi Coast. You’ll pass by quaint little doors set into the rock walls, and even baskets of lemons being sold on the honor system. Also, there’s typically not many people on the steps even in high season, so it feels secluded and secret.

The evening of our last day in the Amalfi Coast, we decided to hike all the way from the beach at Positano to our favorite “hole” towering above the town near Montepulciano. After squeezing through tiny paths and steep inclines, we made it to the top and gazed over Positano one last time.

The Amalfi Coast is absolutely stunning, and we are so grateful to have been able to take another trip there. It was so special for us to revisit a culture and place that meant so much to us early in our marriage. We left feeling rested and relaxed, though we’d been on our feet constantly! Thank you so much for letting us share these memories with you.

Have you ever been to the Amalfi Coast, or thinking of taking a trip there? Let us know your thoughts or questions!

Things to Do in Juneau Alaska

Sonja Overhiser — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 03:03:48 +0000

Looking to travel to Juneau Alaska? This capital city surrounded by untouched wilderness is becoming a travel hotspot. Here are things to do in Juneau!

Alaska…stole my heart. Last month, Alex and I took an epic trip to Alaska as part of a family vacation; my sister and her fiancé flew in from Burma and my parents from Minnesota. We met in Juneau, our brother-in-law’s hometown, and spent time with his parents. Having locals as tour guides was fabulous, and is hands down my favorite way to explore a place. The houses we rented were both true gems, and the scenery — well, you’ll just have to take a look. Hiking, fishing, bird-watching, drinking coffee, spotting whales, flying over towering mountain peaks, meandering in quiet rain forests — we couldn’t have asked for more. Hold onto your hats—here are all of our pictures of Juneau, Alaska.

Where to stay in Juneau Alaska

We found Juneau to be absolutely breathtaking. It was a much smaller city than we imagined, and nestled right along the water and the mountains. We recommend avoiding hotels and going to VRBO or AirBNB for places to stay. We stayed in two homes — one with a magnificent view of tide pools and Mendenhall glacier and the other right on the water with wildlife visible right from the deck!

When to visit Juneau Alaska

Although it doesn’t get as cold in Juneau as the rest of Alaska, it’s still pretty miserable in the winter months. We recommend visiting in July or August. The weather is warmer, you may actually see some blue sky, and the days last forever! The sun only set between after 11:00 pm when we were there!

Things to do in Juneau Alaska

There’s only one answer to this one. Get outside! Juneau is in a temperate rainforest, and many of the trees are covered in moss. This lends a certain magical feel to the entire area.

Go hiking, kayaking, and boating as much as you can! We enjoyed Perseverance, Mount Juneau, and Mount Roberts trails.
Ask a local about the best places to rent a kayak or find a beach.
Go fishing! There are plenty of fishing charters that will take you to the best salmon you’ve ever tasted, not to mention much more seafood!
If you can swing it, charter a small plane and visit Skagway or Glacier Bay National Park. Glacier Bay was absolutely stunning. And unlike any other National Park we’ve visited.

View from the porch of our house, on to Mendenhall Glacier

A hike through the rain forest near Mendenhall Glacier…

Juneau Alaska Restaurants

Juneau has some great restaurants of all types! Get away from the dockside cruise ship joints and hit these restaurants instead!

Amalga Distillery for a perfect cocktail hour in a beautifully designed space downtown
Devil’s Club Brewery for good bar snacks and great beer
Barnacle Foods for locally sourced specialties like seasonings, salsa, and kelp!
Jerry’s Meats for smoked black cod or salmon, salmon dip and jerkys
Salt for higher end fare using locally sourced and foraged foods like mushrooms and fiddleheads

We toured Alaskan Brewing Company with a family friend, which was a treat! Their Smoked Porter is pretty brilliant.

We celebrated July 4 on the water…

Back to our little red house with a view…

My favorite part of the mornings: a slow cup of coffee with our Aeropress.

Our last day in Juneau was one of the most beautiful I’d seen. Another gorgeous hike, a short drive outside of Juneau…

And, my last chance at fishing. This time my sister’s fiancé and his dad showed me the ropes.

They each got a salmon. I was starting to feel discouraged…

Until…

It was just a little guy, but it still counts, right? (I’ll have bigger fish to fry on the next trip.)

The view from our deck on the last day was stunning.

I can’t wait to return to this magical part of the country. Thanks to my parents for arranging everything, to my sister for coming home, and for her fiancé’s parents for being the best tour guides we could imagine. Let us know if you have any questions about Juneau! We can provide links to the houses we rented if that is helpful.

Things to Do in Arches National Park Utah

Sonja Overhiser — Sat, 20 May 2017 08:58:18 +0000

Looking for things to do in Arches National Park, Utah? Here are the best hikes and photo opps in Utah Arches and Monument Valley, Utah.

I’ll be the first to admit that Utah was not #1 on my bucket list. But Alex and my recent trip there has us convinced it is one of the more beautiful places on Earth! Monumental red rock sculptures jut out of the landscape like Renaissance sculptures. These landscapes are some of the most epic in the entire country. Here are a few of the highlights of our 24-hour trip through Utah Arches National Park and Monument Valley, including all of our things to in Arches National Park and our Monument Valley pictures.

To get to Utah Arches and Monument Valley, Alex and I drove north from Flagstaff (here’s our post on Things to Do in Flagstaff). Across the border, the desert sand turns red and oddly-shaped formations jut out on the horizon: cathedrals, medieval castles, and massive statues. I forced Alex stop the car several times to take badly photos of the rocks with my smartphone. My sneaking suspicion I was wasting my time on small potatoes was confirmed when we came upon this place: Monument Valley Utah, stunning and otherworldly.

Monument Valley Utah

Monument Valley Utah is one of the most otherworldly places on Earth. Though truly, it feels like you’re on Mars! This view is mysterious and iconic all at once. To get to Monument Valley, you take a long road into the desert that feels like you’re on the road to no where. Don’t worry, keep going! You get to a booth that charges a $20 entry fee, but it is absolutely, absolutely worth it. Keep going and you’ll find an unassuming looking parking lot and building. But when you go to the other side, you see THIS. Here are a few of our Monument Valley pictures.

The beautiful rock formations rise out of the ground like monuments that took hundreds of years to chisel out of the rocks. What an incredible place! We wanted to stay in Monument Valley Utah forever. Next time, we’ll budget for more time here. When my parents visited to Monument Valley, they stayed in The View Hotel where their room had a view right onto the iconic rocks. There are also Navajo led tours of Monument Valley.

Since we only had a short amount of time, we mainly took lots of Monument Valley pictures! While we could have stayed all day, we just made a quick stop. We were ready to get to Arches National Park! The road on the way out of Monument Valley was just as magical. It reminded us of the Wizard of Oz! Here are a few photos of the view from the road out of Monument Valley…

Arches National Park Utah

From Monument Valley, we traveled to Moab, Utah to Arches National Park. Arches is an national park with some of the most unique rock sculptures in the US. We drove directly to the park and hit it around 5:00 pm, the perfect time to see the rocks lit up bright red in the evening sun. What are the things to do in Arches National Park? Basically, hiking to and around the most spectacular rock formations you’ve ever seen. This one is called Park Avenue, a play on the towering skyscraper like structures.

What to eat

Side note: before entering the park, we stopped by a local grocery to grab a picnic dinner. Here’s a travel tip: we’ve found the best way to eat healthy on a budget while traveling is…the grocery store! We hit up the local Moab Utah grocery store (City Market) and headed to the salad bar and the deli counter for fresh, whole food salads. Our picnic above includes superfood salad with kale and blueberries, edamame salad, salad bar with bulgur and cauliflower, fresh bread, and goat cheese. It was so delicious and perfectly hit the spot! We found a hidden little picnic spot to eat it with the view of the super iconic Balanced Rock formation. Just wow!

Balanced Rock

We spent the entire evening in Utah arches hiking and photographing the formations, and the light was magical. Hitting Arches at golden hour is perfect for photography. If you’re not familiar, golden hour is that brief time period of the day where the sun is low enough to cast an indirect golden light over everything it touches. It makes for the best photos because instead of harsh overhead light and lots of shadows, the entire scene is bathed in a warm glow. If you’re in Arches National Park Utah and you’re into photography, make sure to hit your favorite formations at golden hour.

These formations are called the North and South Windows.

And even more fun than golden hour photography in Arches National Park is night photography in Arches! This was one of our most favorite memories from Arches. We watched as the sun set, and then hiked over to Balanced Rock for some stunning night photos.

Here’s Balanced Rock at twilight. Wowza!

Delicate Arch

The next morning, we arose early to see Arches National Park’s most famous site, Delicate Arch. Delicate Arch is truly stunning. We chose to view it at sunrise for logistical reasons; the parking lot is currently under construction so with limited spots, it’s nearly always full! We got one of the first spots at 5:00 am. Next time, we’d try in the evening to see it turn red with the evening light, but any time of day is worth the hike. The climb was pretty strenuous and there are some spots where you’re on a ledge, so make sure you’re up for it! It felt fabulous hitting 15,000 steps by 9:30 am (thank you, FitBit).

Landscape Arch

The final rock formation that we visited was a hike to Landscape Arch. This was an easy hike and Landscape Arch was beautiful. But after seeing Delicate Arch, it was obvious why Delicate Arch is the centerpiece of the park.

Overall, we spent only 24 hours in Arches National Park Utah. Next time we’ll take more time on our visit, but even 24 hours was absolutely spectacular.

And that’s it! What to do in Arches National Park Utah

What questions do you have about visiting Arches National Park, Utah? Let us know in the comments below! Here are a few more notes on our visit:

Where to say? We stayed in the Comfort Suites in Moab and had a great experience.
We recommend entering Arches National Park early in the morning or later in the evening if it’s during peak season (we were visiting during spring break).
We did not get a chance to try any restaurants in Moab Utah. If you have any recommendations, please leave them in the comments below!

Things to Do in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Sonja Overhiser — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 03:09:16 +0000

Looking for things to do in Santa Fe, New Mexico? Here are the best restaurants, Santa Fe hiking, Tent Rocks and Bandelier national monuments, and more.

A few weeks ago we spent an extended weekend in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I must say, it stood up to all the hype. This place is ultra foodie, breathtakingly beautiful, full of culture and art, and uber chill. The trip was an excuse for quality time in a fun location with my parents, and we left rejuvenated and inspired. Here are all the things to do in Santa Fe New Mexico: the best restaurants, places for Santa Fe hiking, and more! Ready for New Mexico travel?

Where to stay

Our house for the weekend in Santa Fe was a VRBO called The Artist’s Retreat, a perfect home base for the week. It was in a neighborhood close to downtown, which we’d recommend for convenience. We’re big fans of online home or apartment rentals like Airbnb and VRBO, since they have so much personality and feel so much more homey than the typical hotel. (Check out the sweet little places we found in Alaska and Rome & Naples.) This was our base for all the following things to do in Santa Fe.

Santa Fe hiking

Bandelier National Monument

When we travel, Alex and I prioritize two things: hiking and food. We had heard great things about Santa Fe hiking, so couldn’t wait to dig in. Of the three separate hikes we did outside Santa Fe, each was more impressive than the next. First was Bandelier National Monument, full of natural beauty, dwellings carved into the soft rock cliffs, and petroglyphs.

The best part was that we got to climb ladders into the cliff dwellings, which made us feel like big kids. The ladders were a little scary to be honest – Alex didn’t even attempt them! I kept remarking that the rocks reminded me of those in Santorini (search the word “Vlychada” in this this post — do you agree?).

It looks easy from back here, but climbing down while suspended in mid-air without a view of your next foothold was a little unsettling.

Tsankawi Prehistoric Site

We did another quick Santa Fe hike after Bandelier (located here). The group of us agreed we enjoyed it even more than the first! Somehow it felt more intimate and much of the hike followed narrow channels worn in the soft rock (it almost felt engineered, like Disney Land). There were also petroglyphs and an incredible view. Don’t miss Tsankawi Prehistoric Site if you’re in the area.

Tent Rocks National Monument

Tent Rocks National Monument was undoubtedly the most impressive hike of them all! It’s truly one of the more stunning landscapes I’ve seen in the US outside of Utah (Arches + Monument Valley). The arch-shaped formations are completely natural. Alex and I felt like we were on the set of Star Wars (we’re pretty sure Luke Skywalker lived in here at some point). If you’ve got time for Santa Fe hiking, you must go to Tent Rocks National Monument. This is at the top of our list of things to do in Santa Fe!

Best restaurants in Santa Fe

Santa Fe is a dining mecca, so it was difficult to decide on just a few restaurants (since time was limited and many of our meals were hiking to go). Here are a few of what we found to be the best restaurants in Santa Fe:

Cafe Pasqual’s

The best dining Santa Fe dining experience hands down was Cafe Pasqual’s. When Alex and I try new restaurants, we look for places with soul — not white table cloth fancy or uber trendy, but places that have a story and a personality. Pasqual’s has the soul we look for: high quality farm-to-table food (a fusion of New Mexican and American cuisine), served up in a homey environment. Think menu items like queso fundido with sauteed shiitake mushrooms or salad of arugula, fennel, sugar snaps, and lemon-shallot vinaigrette on a golden polenta triangle, served up next to enchiladas with traditional rich, dark mole sauce. Our table shared the first two, which were crazy good. Napo’s Pupusa was my main dish, a corn masa cake with zucchini, corn, and green chili served with a roasted tomato-jalapeno salsa. Top that off with salted burnt caramel ice cream with chocolate-toasted pinenut toffee, and we were in heaven. And did I mention their agave wine margaritas? It was only photo I was able to snap; they were a perfect starter.

Kakawa Chocolate House

Another must visit is Kakawa Chocolate House, famous for its drinking chocolate. Drinking chocolate, you say? It’s rich, velvety, and the perfect afternoon activity in our experience. They also sell fancy chocolates, which we also tried a few of: the standout was the citrus chipotle truffle.

The Shed

The Shed offers traditional New Mexican cuisine in a homey atmosphere. I had the Christmas enchiladas (below), and they were solid; just spicy enough. This was a more casual setting and great for lunch.

Related: Watch us make our Christmas enchiladas recipe on the TODAY Show!

Izanami

Eating Japanese cuisine is a little off the beaten path of things to do in Santa Fe New Mexico, but hear us out! Izanami is a Japanese small plates restaurant that’s outside the main part of Santa Fe at the beautiful Ten Thousand Waves spa hotel. Everything about it was soothing, from the smell of incense outside and the hushed atmosphere inside. Compared to my food experiences in Japan a few years ago, the flavors were spot on and I loved the American-French-Japanese fusion. A seemingly endless array of dishes arrived at our table; some highlights were fried Brussels spouts with sweet chile vinegar and bonito flakes, the pickle selection, the wagyu beef burger, and the dark chocolate tart with miso caramel. We went on a whim after reading a few reviews, and at the end of the night we were all believers! We’re still talking about our experience here.

Pueblo dance

Lastly, we had the very great honor to observe a pueblo dance. Some of the pueblos invite the community on special days to observe their dances, religious ceremonies that are passed down from generation to generation. It was a very special experience and we are so grateful to have been able to be a part. (Note: Photographs are not allowed at the dances. This photo was not taken at that time but was captured by my mother at a cultural center where photographs were allowed; we added it here for a visual.)

For the three days we had in Santa Fe, we wouldn’t have changed anything about the way we spent our time. If you’ve been, let us know your favorite things to do in Santa Fe New Mexico! And if you’re planning New Mexico travel, let us know if you have any questions.

Things to Do in Flagstaff Arizona

Sonja Overhiser — Wed, 13 May 2015 19:59:22 +0000

Looking for things to do in Flagstaff Arizona? Here’s what to do including Flagstaff restaurants, hikes, the Grand Canyon, and more.

We love international travel, and take opportunities to do so any chance we get. But after last year’s blow-out vacation to Greece and Italy, we realized we take living in the US for granted. It’s full of breathtaking scenery that rivals our favorite place on earth, so why not take more time to explore it? Alex’s brother lives in Flagstaff, Arizona, so we’ve been able to take a few trips out to Flagstaff and the surrounding area. Looking for things to do in Flagstaff? Here are all the things we recommend, including Flagstaff restaurants, Flagstaff hikes, and hiking near Flagstaff.

Hiking near Flagstaff: Sedona

When we go to Flagstaff to visit family, we typically fly into Phoenix and then try to make at least 1 stop in Sedona. Sedona is always warmer than Flagstaff (!) and has incredible red rocks. One of our favorite hikes in Sedona was a few years ago in Cathedral Rock. The warm, dry sun felt intoxicating after stepping off the plane from rainy Indiana. The hike was gorgeous and a bit scary, involving scrambling up and down rocks. It’s funny how an encounter with nature this grand gives a sense of exhilaration and purpose. Even though there was some scrambling involved, there were kids out on the trail too! So the difficulty level was moderate. Since this first visit, we’ve written a new post just on Sedona hikes — see below!

Related: 3 Best Sedona Hikes

Hiking near Flagstaff: The Grand Canyon

If you’re in Flagstaff, the best hiking near Flagstaff is…The Grand Canyon! The Grand Canyon is only a 1 ½ hour drive from Flagstaff. On this trip, we went to the Grand Canyon with Alex’s brother, sister and brother-in-law. We took the South Kaibab Trail down into the canyon for quite a ways. It’s hard to explain how incredible it is to see the Grand Canyon in person. It’s truly massive.

Of course, the way back up and out of The Grand Canyon is totally intense! The South Kaibab Trail on the way up gave us searing pain in our legs, but a grand sense of accomplishment.

Flagstaff hikes

There are many options for great Flagstaff hikes. Here are a few of the Flagstaff hikes recommended by Alex’s brother who lives in Flagstaff.

Mount Elden Lookout: The photos below are of this hike, which was moderate difficulty. As you can see, it gives incredibly beautiful views.
Kachina Trail
Walnut Canyon National Monument: This one’s a really easy hike and great for families. Inside the canyon are ancient cliff dwellings, which are fascinating to learn about as you stroll.

Flagstaff restaurants

Pizzicletta

A major highlight of every visit to Flagstaff is going to Pizzicletta. If you go to one Flagstaff restaurant, go here! It’s a tiny joint serving up charred, authentic Italian pizza out of a tiled wood-fired oven. It’s hands down the most authentic pizza we’ve had outside of Italy. (Our best pizza experience in Italy was in Naples.) The owner, Caleb, is a former geology student who fell in love with Italy on a bike trip and changed careers to open the place, hence the name. PS We interviewed Pizzicletta’s owner Caleb on our podcast! Episode 8 All About Pizza

The crusts are extra thin and the toppings are simple and Italian, like mozzarella + garlic + pancetta + basil or poached lemon + micro arugula + smoked sea salt. There was a super delicious apple, balsamic and burrata salad. Oh and the gelato: I was whisked back to Rome with one scoop each of smoked almond and dark chocolate sea salt. We couldn’t recommend it more, and I know we’ll be stopping back each visit.

Related: Our homemade Margherita pizza recipe!

Shift

Shift has incredible, beautiful food in a trendy ambience, perfect for a night out. We got a lot of small plates and shared them: smoked olives, pretzel nugs with cheese whiz, pickled french fries and secret sauce (AMAZING), warm Brussels sprouts salad with blue cheese vinaigrette, and toasted five grain risotto. The dessert was some kind of chocolate cake with pomegranate gelato: mind blowing! Overall, we loved Shift and can’t wait to go back.

Root

Root was a place we stopped for a drink, and it was great! We loved the trendy atmosphere, and the drinks were tasty. I also got a lentil soup as an appetizer and it was fabulous. Root has a great summer patio.

Other Night Out restaurants

Alex’s brother Andy is a local to Flagstaff. here are a few more Flagstaff restaurants he recommends for dinner:

Criollo, Latin-inspired fusion food made with locally sourced ingredients
The Cottage, a farmhouse French bistro
Brix, seasonal farm to table fare, which has several good vegetarian options

Breakfast and lunch restaurants

We also asked Alex’s brother for some Flagstaff restaurants for breakfast and lunch. Here are a few that he enjoys:

For breakfast

Macy’s European Coffeehouse and Bakery (all vegetarian or vegan)
Tourist Home All Day Cafe
Martanne’s Burrito Palace

For lunch

Café Daily Fare (good vegetarian options)
Indian Gardens (on way to Sedona)

There are many more things to do in Flagstaff Arizona, but these are our favorites so far! Have you been, or are you looking to go? Let us know in the comments below.

Travel - A Couple Cooks

3 Best Sedona Hikes

Sedona Hike 1: All About That View (Secret Slickrock)

Sedona Hike 2: Simply Beautiful (Teacup Trail)

Sedona Hike 3: The Instagram Star (Devil’s Bridge)

Where to stay in Sedona?

And that’s it: three Sedona hikes we love to recommend!

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The Best Gelato in Rome

The best gelato in Rome: Pure flavors

The best gelato in Rome: Classic gelateria

The best gelato in Rome: Modern gelato

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Travel Capsule Wardrobe: What to Pack for a Trip to Europe

Bring enough to wear each outfit two to three times.

Determine your style & colors.

Buy just a few new pieces.

Some online shopping tips

Find stylish walking shoes for travel.

Find your best packable sun hat.

Find a durable purse / bag.

Bring a steamer.

My packing list for a travel capsule wardrobe

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Best Broad Ripple Restaurants

What is Broad Ripple?

What’s on this Broad Ripple restaurants list

Broad Ripple restaurants: Dinner

Napolese

Ukiyo

Bar One Fourteen

Half Liter Beer & BBQ Hall

Studio C

Fat Dan’s

Twenty Tap

Broad Ripple restaurants: Breakfast & lunch

Patachou / Petit Chou

Just Pop In

Public Greens

Gallery Pastry Shop

The Garden Table

Ezra’s

Broad Ripple Restaurants: Sweet Treats

Nicey Treat

Cake Bake

Pots & Pans Pie Shoppe

Broad Ripple Bars

Things to do in Broad Ripple

What Broad Ripple restaurants & bars are we missing?

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What’s on this restaurants in downtown Indianapolis list?

Restaurants in downtown Indianapolis: Dinner

Bluebeard

Vida

Tinker Street

Nada

Shoefly Public House

Napolese

Rook

King Dough

Restaurants in downtown Indianapolis: Breakfast & lunch

Provider

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The Garden Table

Milktooth

Goose The Market

Where to get a drink (bars & restaurants)

Things to do in downtown Indianapolis

What bars & restaurants in downtown Indianapolis are we missing?

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Best Indianapolis Restaurants

How we made this best Indianapolis restaurants list

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Napolese

Ukiyo

Bar One Fourteen

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