While Walks of Italy offers a plethora of different tours all over Italy, it’s their food tours that struck a chord in our hearts. These tours truly make you feel like family. It seemed like we had known our guide, Simona, for years. In fact, Simona studied abroad in the very same town that I grew up in. I don’t know who the hell sent her to Silverdale, Washington, but I’m glad we were able to have that local connection.

While the world seemed small, we needed giant appetites to get us through Walks of Italy’s Rome food tour. The website tells you to come with an empty stomach for a reason. We started our day with a sampling of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. That may sound harmless enough, but after eating countless pieces of fresh bread that’s been dripped with a melange of oil and vinegar, I was already feeling satiated. Throw in more bread topped with various truffle oils and I was ready for a nap. That was only twenty minutes into our three hour tour.

We walked the market as Simona pointed out the fresh and local produce. We ended up ducking into a small cove that serves as a butcher shop and were offered platters of cured meat. Some of the samples were spicy, some were sweet, and all were satisfying. As cured meat and cheese pair well together, the following stop had us at a cheese shop within walking distance from the market. This was where all my dreams came true. We feasted on real, fresh mozzarella. Did you know that the mozzarella that we eat in the States is a fraud? Real mozzarella di bufala campana comes from the Italian water buffalo that grazes in certain areas in Campania, Lazio, Apulia, and Molise. I thought that I had tasted real mozzarella before, but I was wrong. So wrong.

I was ready to deliriously waddle back to our apartment for that nap, but I was reminded that the pièce de résistance was still to come. We had our very own pizzas to make. If copious amounts of cheese, meat, bread, and truffle oil wasn’t enough, I was now expected to make and eat my own pizza. Yes, it was a quite a burden. One that I was all too happy to bear.

In true Italian fashion, we ended our tour with what is arguably Rome’s best coffee. I was never the person who could just drink a shot of espresso straight, but after trying Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè, I was a convert. You can’t beat a well-made shot of coffee, in Rome no less.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do and eat. Eat well. We highly recommend Walks of Italy not only for their incredible food tours, but as a great company in general. Be sure to head over to their website and check out their numerous tours in Rome, Vatican City, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Pompeii, Amalfi, Tuscany, Umbria, Milan, and Puglia. Flights to Rome tend to go up during the peak seasons, but deals can be found if your travel days are flexible. If you’re looking for a Rome city break, check our villa rentals in the surrounding countryside. The food is just as spectacular.

Have you been to Italy? What was the best meal you experienced while there? We’d love to hear about your Italian culinary expeditions in the comment section below.

Our gut-busting Rome food tour was courtesy of Walks of Italy. All opinions are our own. Would we pay for this tour in the future? Definitely. We believe that it’s worth every penny.

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I was stuck. It was my very first time rock climbing and after successfully ascending two different faces, I was in limbo on the last climb of the day. Before we even started this endeavor we were briefed on the proper rock climbing lingo. I learned what it meant to belay and how to communicate with the person who literally held my life in their hands. Rob explained that if I got tired, fatigued, or frustrated while climbing, I simply had to call down to my belayer and yell, “take.” That person would then make sure that my rope was locked and secure before they yelled, “gotcha!” It was then safe for me to let go and take a little break.

Rob explained that sometimes climbers get so caught up in getting to the top that they only focus on their hands and they forget to think about their feet. He encouraged me to sit back and relax in my harness, gather my thoughts, and look for a different way to get to the top. It wasn’t long before I found the perfect footing and easily scampered the remainder of the way to the top. Easy peasy.

It didn’t dawn on me how beautiful of an analogy this was until earlier this week. I was stuck on a piece that I was writing. Frustration had set in and I didn’t know where to take it from there. I literally threw my hands in the air, looked at Chris, and calmly whispered, “take.” Confusion briefly flashed across his face before realization hit. He warmly smiled and told me to take a break. We went out and got some coffee while I explained my dilemma. It wasn’t long before I was refreshed and had a slew of ideas on how to finish my piece.

It’s so true. Sometimes we are so focused on getting to the top that we have tunnel vision. We only see our hands in front of us as a means to reach the finish line and we struggle to find the right hand holds. A perfectly good solution might just be under our feet. I have been blessed beyond belief in that I have a number of people in my life that I trust as my belayers. These are the people that I know will yell, “gotcha” when I am fatigued, stressed, and gripping to that ledge for dear life. No matter what problems I may face, I need to keep my belayers close and remember that there’s usually more than one solution to any problem.

What about you? Who are your belayers in life? Have you ever been too focused on your hands that you forgot to look for other solutions? We would love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Special thanks to Yamnuska and Travel Alberta for the incredible and eye opening rock climbing experience.

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Way Out West

Located just off of I-90, this is a magical land of all things amazing. If the fact that there is a UFO perched out front doesn’t say it all then perhaps you’ll be more impressed by the chance to fight a T-Rex. No matter what kind of oddities you’re into you’re sure to find something at Way Out West. It’s a living museum that ebbs and flows daily. I’d say it’s more art than anything. Everything you see as you meander around is for sale too.

Tawny and I just picked up a cow skull there. We added some yarn and feathers and hey presto, “art!”

Yes, it’s also a grill.

If you’re in the mood to check it out you can find this gem of Spokane at 11610 W White Rd, Spokane, WA 99224.

Manito Park – Japanese Gardens

Manito Park is a beautiful city park with a whole bunch of different sections. There is a green house conservatory with desert and tropical flowers, a wild flower garden, cliff view, traditional rose garden, pond, lilac garden, and even a Japanese garden. The only hard part about visiting the Manito area is trying to decide which part is best.

Gaiser Conservatory

Dirty plants…

Find your zen in the Japanese Gardens

Enjoy Spokane, the lilac city

Boo Radley’s

The benchmark of the wonderful and bizarre. Are you looking for zombie lawn gnomes, tongue-in-cheek cards, or ice cubes shaped like the Titanic? Well, boy howdy do I have a shop for you! It’s right downtown and without a shadow of a doubt, one of the coolest places in Spokane. I always buy my Sasquatch bait there.

The end is near

Madeleine’s

My favorite brunch spot in all of Spokane. It isn’t just the pretty baristas, the homemade french pastries, or the artisan coffee. No. It’s the Reuben. Madeleine’s reuben is the best in the state, maybe the country. Winner of countless awards and my heart, it’s more of a work of passion than a mere sandwich. The soft Parisian pastels of this local eatery will lull you into a false sense of calm, the flavors here are powerful enough to turn back the mighty Spokane river.

The Looff Carousel

Built in 1909, this is a carousel that features a whole herd of hand carved horses. Oliver’s Pride is clearly the best. Nonetheless, any of the outside horses offer you a chance to grab a ring as you pass around. Then you get the opportunity to try to throw the ring into a target. It was a blast as a kid, and it’s still fun now. If you catch the elusive brass ring you get a free ride… and also glory and honor the rest of your days.

The River

It’s hard to talk about Spokane and not mention the river. Especially now in the spring when it’s erupting right beneath the bridges. The Spokane river is such a majestic and terrible force that you can feel it vibrate as you stand on the cable bridges that connect the islands in the middle of Riverfront park. If you come to Spokane you simply must allow yourself the opportunity to stand in awe of the mighty Spokane river.

Spokane has so much to offer. These are just a few of the must-do tips for Spring. Did we miss one of your favorite parts? Want to hear our top 10? Let us know in the comments below!

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I’m going to jump right in and say that the first thing that stood out to me about Vienna was the food.

The best of the wurst

This was my first foray into the bold new world of pork knuckle. It’s much more appetizing than the name. That delicious looking tender pork, smooth bodied treat in the lower left is a game changer. You cut off a piece, dip it in mustard, and then dip that into a pot of fresh ground horseradish. Life changed. I also thought that I knew about wiener-schnitzel before this trip. How wrong I was. Wiener-schnitzel, for those of you who were as curious as we were, is a thin slice of pork that is deep-fried and served with a lemon wedge. It’s no doubt the inspiration for half of Mozart’s work.

Another big highlight for me was the tap water. I know it sounds odd but Vienna has some of the best (if not the very best) tap water in the world. Due to a brilliant bit of social engineering, all the water in Vienna is piped directly from springs in the Alps. You quite literally get mountain spring water, unadulterated, when ever you turn on your sink.

An interesting side note is that all coffee in Vienna is served with a small glass of water. This is a tradition of hospitality that dates back to the dawn of coffee in city. It’s also a nice way to brag about their water a little more.

The highlights of Vienna for me were:

The food, obviously.

The Prater. Sure, it’s an old theme park, but that’s just what gives it so much charm. This is one of the last places in the world that you can ride a burlap sack down a wooden slide. If you really want a memorable experience that you can’t get anywhere else, then put on your vintage frame of mind and take your sweetheart to the Prater. Snuggle up as you ride through the haunted house and try to win her a prize at the archery stand. Way too legit to miss.

Photo courtesy of Midnight Sun Photography

The history is still alive. It doesn’t take long to realize that Vienna came out on top in the shuffle of European cities. It managed to modernize while keeping its charm and character. If castles, hot springs, dirndls, and all the decadent food you can dream of is your thing then make Vienna a priority.

Anybody else been to Vienna recently? We’d love to hear about it. We missed out on the royal hot spring spa at the near by castle, but we won’t make that mistake next time.

Psss…

We received a complimentary walking tour with Get Your Guide for an honest review and a shout out. Our opinion, as always, remains our own and unsullied. 

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Having seen pictures of the stocked human remains beforehand, I thought that my Paris catacombs experience was going to be slightly morose and morbid. I was actually surprised at how unaffected I was. If anything, wandering among millions of skulls and bones just made me realize how human I am. How human we all are, and how alike we are after death. Everything that defines us is stripped away and we are left with a pile of bones. You can’t tell one skull from the next. There are no facial features, no differentiation between the rich and the poor, no signs of wit or personalisty that the person possessed before their death. This is how we all end up.

It was a cathartic experience. Not one of sadness or mourning, just introspection. I realized that when we die, we can’t take material things with us. No computers, no designer purses, not even our bodies. It just reinforces the life that Chris and I are trying to live. Instead of collecting things, we’re collecting memories and experiences. Needless to say, our catacombs tour was quite the learning experience.

That’s enough philosophizing for now. Let’s get to some facts about the Paris catacombs.

Our GetYourGuide tour started at the Place Denfert-Rouchereau entrance. Aside from the long line of tourists, the building is quite unassuming. Luckily for us, we were able to skip the line and waltz right in. We entered and proceed down a long, dizzying spiral staircase where a grim sign greeted us, “Arrête! Cest ici l’empire de la mort, Stop! This is the empire of death.” Our advice is to bring a good pair of walking shoes as the one mile tour takes you through uneven pathways. If you’re claustrophobic this tour is probably not for you.

Officially known as l’Ossuaire Municipal, the catacombs came to life at the end of the 18th century. The graveyards at the time had become so overrun with the dead that disease was rapidly spreading throughout the town by the contaminated corpses. To ease the burden off of the cemeteries, remains would often be transported in horse drawn carriages under the cover of darkness to their final resting place.

There’s more than just bones in the catacombs. There’s actually 186 miles of tunnels that currently wind around under the city of Paris. While there is only one legal entry into the labyrinth, it’s been rumored that other openings have been found and sometimes lead to underground parties (pun intended). In fact, those that frequent these lairs are labeled “Cataphiles” and are known to host subterranean movie nights and dance parties. We even heard of modern and intricate art galleries that are hidden away. As enticing as catacombs raves sound, we must strongly advise against it. Unless you’re with someone who knows their way around, it’s incredibly easy to get lost (quite possibly forever) and if caught, you can receive a fine of up to 60 euros.

Want to know what I did find to be creepy? Some tourists like to steal bones from the catacombs. Like, it’s a normal occurrence. Who would do that? Someone who wants a skull for a paperweight, apparently. When we exited the catacombs there was already a pile of bones that had been confiscated from the visitors before us.

What about you? Is a tour among millions of human remains your kind of thing? Have you been on a catacombs tour before? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!

Psssss…

When GetYourGuide heard of our interest in the catacombs they offered to host us on their Skip the Line Paris Catacombs Tour. As with everything on this site, our opinions are our own. So there.

Also, the Captain found a great story about what it’s like to enter the catacombs with cataphiles. You can read it for yourself by clicking here.

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The scale model of Stonehenge at Maryhill

Just outside of Maryhill, WA we made our first stop at a true to life version of Stonehenge. This particular version is not only the same size as the original in England but also built along the same alignment. Bizarre, yes, but it’s nice to not have to fly all the way to England to get a chance to experience the wonder of a stone sculpture aligned to the seasons. The Maryhill Stonehenge was built in 1914 by business man Sam Hill. Funny enough, Hill built the Stonehenge as a memorial to the soldiers of Klickatat county because he had been mistakenly informed that the Stonehenge site in England was built for human sacrifice.

“… Hill was mistakenly informed that the original Stonehenge had been used as a sacrificial site, and thus constructed the replica to remind us that ”humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war.” …”

No matter the reason, this road-side attraction is a great spot to take in the sights of southern WA. It also has a sublime view of the mighty Columbia river.

If you’re still in the mood for roadside attractions you shouldn’t miss the shoe tree on the road to Crater Lake. It’s just past mile marker 53 on Highway 97. Surprisingly, it is just what it sounds like. There is a collection of shoe trees spattered across the Pacific Northwest, each just as strange as the rest. While the reasons for the shoe trees are various, they share some things in commons. Mostly that they are trees… with shoes in them.

We carried on down Highway 97, south, towards Crater Lake and stopped in Bend, OR. It’s a little haven for the outdoor enthusiast. My favorite part of our brief foray into the wild town of Bend was (by far) our stop into The Broken Top Bottle Shop.

The delicious beer flight at the Broken Top Bottle Shop

This hot spot has a legit vegan menu, a list of local brews longer than the book of Numbers, and some dishes that include trout from the nearby river. I’d personally recommend getting the 6 beer flight and take a stroll down delicious lane.

By this point it’s really only a hop, skip, and 90 miles to Crater Lake. We stopped into a small town just outside of the lake for the night. The next morning we approached the lake from the south end. It’s a sweet ride through a loping valley studded with meandering streams. The highlight of the valley is the haunted house. Frankly, I don’t know if it’s haunted, but it has skeletons in the window, which usually means haunted.

Haunted House near Crater Lake

The lake itself if, as they say, off the hook. There is a 31 mile road and/or trail around the lake that you can take in the summer months. As it was, there was 8 feet of snow around the edge of the crater. The was the perfect opportunity to snowshoe around.

Crater Lake is the remnant of a no longer active volcano. 2000 ft. plus cliff frame waters that have been rated as some of the most pure in the nation. Crater Lake has no inlets or outlets and is strictly fed by snowfall and snow melt. The lake keeps it’s crystal clean appearance due largely in part to the fact that no watercraft are allowed. (Not that you’d want to find a way to haul your boat down a 2000 ft. cliff.) It also has a small island in the middle of it called “Wizard Island.” That just happens to be one of my favorite things in the world.

Wizard Island

If you get the chance to visit Crater Lake you should do it. Summer or Winter, it’s the bee’s knees. Here’s a few more shots to peak your interest.

Crater Lake

If you’ve been to Crater Lake let us know if the comments below. If not, tell us what you think the best part of Central Oregon is.

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Our first stop in Italy while on our GowithOh tour was Venice. Italy is known for it’s food for a reason. It’s just that good. I have a disgusting confession. I used to think that Olive Garden was the best Italian food out there. Terrible, right? To be fair, I had no idea what I was missing out on.

Our Walks of Italy food tour quickly obliterated all my praise of the OG. The best part about Walks of Italy is that you don’t feel like you’re on a tour. It’s more like being shown around by a good friend that just happens to be a local. Our local guide, Mosé was the perfect person to satisfy our need for knowledge and mouthwatering food.

There wasn’t only food involved on this tour, my friends. There was plenty of wine and prosecco to go around. Venice is a great place to sample all of the local adult beverages because it’s a walking city. Drinking and driving is not an option. That’s why instead of going for coffee breaks, locals go for prosecco breaks. Just my kind of place.

Our first stop on the tour.

Our first stop was my favorite. It was quite literally a hole in the wall that was stacked with tiny sandwiches. Mosé chose two for us to sample and I almost lost it. I have no words to describe how delicious these were. My favorite was the prosciutto with truffle oil and robiola cheese. Every now and then I’ll wake up in cold sweats, dreaming about that tasty delight. I can say with certainty that it’s the best sandwich I’ve ever had in my life.

I was already feeling good after our first stop and couldn’t wait to see what else was in store. We headed to the nearby Rialto market and strolled through all of the vendors, stopping to talk about how Italians make their food with the freshest ingredients, most of them purchased that same day at the market. My favorite part of the market was all of the placards that told you which region the produce and seafood came from.

Every stop we made was not only accompanied with food, but it as also paired with some form of wine. We had prosecco at our first stop, red wine at the two stops after, and our day ended with coffee… followed by a shot of hard hitting grappa. I left the tour completely full and a little tipsy.

While I could go on about the mind blowing food that we had on our tour, a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a peek at the ridiculous samples we had below. We loved that we were taken to places that the locals frequent, not noisy tourist traps. In fact, in some cases we were the only wide-eyed foreigners in the shop.

Our second sample included various sea food dishes.

Even more delicious than they look.

If you want to experience Italian food like a local be sure to try the Walks of Italy Venice food tour. Our biggest piece of advice is to come with an empty stomach and be prepared to have your taste buds utterly satisfied. Please tell Mosé that we say, “Ciao” and “buon appetito!”

Mosé, our new friend and foodie expert!

Pssssss…

Walks of Italy treated us to this food tour through Venice but all opinions are our own. Would we recommend this tour to our friends? Hells yes! That’s why we wrote about it.

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This is why travel is so crucial. Even when the world seems so sinister and cold, I know that there’s good out there, I’ve seen it. Not just on the TV. I know that beauty, love, and kindness is out there. Everywhere. Whether it’s people running towards a bomb in order to help the injured, or a young man offering up his seat for an elderly woman on a bus, good acts happen on the daily. And you know? That’s not going to stop.

I’ve been witness to these acts at home and abroad, by people of all nationalities and religions. From Seattle to Islamabad, we’re more alike than you think. We all laugh, we all love, we all hurt, we all bleed, we all grieve but I know with the same certainty that the sun will rise in the morning, that good will prevail, even in darkness.

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My second semester was a SeaMester with the Semester at Sea program. Also, Sally sells sea shells by the sea-shore. Here are a few of my thoughts on those two programs and a few tips on cruise ideas, just in case you hear the lonely call of the sea.

The Robert C Seamans – She’s a ship, not a boat

Sea Education Association is a working vessel. My ship was the Robert C. Seamans and we sailed from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Papeete, Tahiti. We spent over two months at sea as working crew members on board the 134-foot steel sailing brigantine. I developed a thesis for my nautical science project and conducted research across the sea. The rest of the time I studied applied sciences, celestial navigation, and practical seamanship while collecting time for my sailing license. In other words, I was a bad-ass. The first month was spent in Woods Hole, MA prepping for the journey and living in a house on campus with a handful of the finest minds I’ve ever had the pleasure to know.

Learning celestial navigation

Taking charge of plotting the ship’s course, using only a sextant.

For those of you looking for an authentic sailing experience and a lot of credit to splash across your resumé then this is a program for you. True, I had to sleep in a 6’5″ x 3′ bunk with all of my gear for 2+ months, but that’s part of what going to sea is all about. Our day was separated into three parts, science projects, deck watch, and free time. We would conduct research and roll through all functions of the ship. In the course of the voyage we all had our chance to work as every roll on the ship, from steward (cook) to captain.

A shot from the rigging

Sea Education Association is accredited through Boston University

For those of you hankering for a bit more of a posh way to cruise the world, consider the Seamester program. Right after I got off the Robert C Seamans, I met up with the MV Explorer in the Bahamas and left for another semester, this time with Semester at Sea. The behemoth was the complete flip side of the Semans. The MV Explorer is a 590 ft, 7 deck, floating palace. I left a crew of 34 and jumped onboard a vessel of over 800 souls. I went from tending rigging to ordering fruit smoothies on the pool deck in between classes and shuffleboard. What the Seamester program lacks in authentic sailing experiences it makes up for in ports of call.

Just another night, anchored off the coast of Hong Kong

We visited Puerto Rico, Brazil, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and came to our final port in California. That’s just one of the many itineraries that the program boasts.  During the days at sea you attend classes on board the vessel. When you arrive at your destinations you have anywhere from two days to over a week to explore.

A Vietnamese taxi

If you’re looking to go to sea you should weigh your options. Both options give you full college credit. Sea Education Association offers a true sailing experience with plenty of great skills to be learned and some beautiful destinations. (We spent a week in a jungle hut in Tahiti once we arrived.)

Of course, Semester at Sea gives you a way to go to sea and see a ton of countries. It’s also the better option for that intrepid soul who values social over salt water. Did I mention that the MV Explorer has a full spa on the 7th deck? It does.

Our view from the hut in Tahiti

The Ambassador’s Ball on deck 5

For those of you who are no longer in college but just want to cast off with a nice cruise this year consider jumping on board with a company like Celebrity Cruises from Cruise Kings. We ran into them at the New York Times Travel Show and they sold us some pretty sweet sounding chances to return to the sea again.

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While we’ve only known Doris for a little over a month, we can say with certainty that she is going to be someone we remember for a lifetime. She’s good people. There’s no better way to say it. Doris contacted us on twitter when she heard about our GowithOh tour through Europe. She invited us to spend a day with her at the Prater in Vienna to teach us about her city.

Saying goodbye to Doris after a fun day at the Prater.

Little did we know that we were going to talk away with more than a new friend. Doris is a budding photographer and graciously offered to take some photos of us around town. She chose the Prater, a huge public amusement park, as the site for our photo shoot. We had fun exploring the Prater and Doris seemed to enjoy reminiscing about one of her favorite childhood spots.

The Prater is home to one of the most unique ferris wheels we’ve ever seen. Named The Riesenrad, or The Giant Ferris Wheel for us foreigners, this ride sits at the entrance to the Prater amusement park. Standing since 1896, this ferris wheel was once the only one of its kind. Most of the ferris wheels we’ve seen have small cars that can only fit a couple of people. This one has giant train-like cars that are big enough for entire families. We found it to be pretty unique and even heard that some businesses will rent out a few cars for office parties. Best idea ever.

Doris also spoiled us rotten by buying us a few gingerbread hearts. These were apparently a big deal back in the day. Young lovers would frequent the Prater and if you came back with a sweet little heart from your suitor it was considered a big gesture of admiration. The heart in the picture above is says it’s for a “sugary mouse” which is a cute term of endearment in German.

We were a little peckish after our day around the park and Doris had just the place to satiate us. The Schweizer Haus serves one hell of a meal. Doris recommended the house special, the fried pork knuckle. While it doesn’t sound appetizing, it might have been the best meal we had in Austria. The knuckle was deliciously crispy on the outside and so tender on the inside. We also tried the house beers. Doris had hers with sprite. We had never heard of a beer/sprite mix before but it was actually very refreshing!

The pork knuckle was served with two types of mustard and shredded horseradish. We had never seen shredded horseradish before. We’ve only had it in paste form. I actually thought it was cheese and ended up rolling my piece of pork knuckle in it. My sinuses haven’t been so clear in my entire life! I’m pretty sure I still have some horseradish coursing through my veins.

While it was a chilly 19 degrees the day we walked around the Prater we still had fun exploring the old (and new) amusement park rides and loved getting our engagement pictures taken by Doris. We’ll be forever grateful for our day at the Prater. Since we’re obsessed with our pictures, we’ve included more of them below. Be sure to check out Doris’ photography site, Midnight Sun Photography and definitely let her know if you’re ever in Vienna!

 What about you? Where’s the most romantic city that you’ve been to? We’d love to hear all about it in the comment section below!

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