Wanderlust @wanderlust-travisandcassie - Tumblr Blog

So much fun

#stmartin #lasamanna #carribean #springvacay

Things

Things I will bring home from my vacation:

1. 117 photos, 2 of which are suitable for framing. 2. A deep love of gazpacho. The tomato farmer will love me this summer. 3. Pineapple rum - a gift from the hotel. 4. A black hat. Because I forgot to pack both of the white hats.

Things I will not bring home from my vacation:

1. Expensive jewelry or silly t-shirts that are aggressively sold to the cruise-ship vacationers. 2. The gazpacho recipe from the hotel, which is the only souvenir I really want and the one I'm sure they'll deny me. 3. A terrace as large as my living room that calls me outside for the simplest of tasks. "I think I'll dry my hair on the terrace." 4. The most perfect, flaky, chewy, chocolate croissants. 5. The ocean waves, which woke me up every morning, invited me into the water every afternoon, and lulled me to sleep every evening.

#st. martin

The tragedy of digital photography

At some point you realize that you've taken a hundred photos and you could take a hundred more that still wouldn't convey the feel of this place. You can capture the blue water and sky, the green leaves, and all of the little red flowers surrounding your terrace, but you will never be able to photograph the sounds of the waves that pulled you out of bed this morning. The feel of the tropical sun on your skin when you step outside. Lime-scented soap in the shower. The relaxation you can only find when the worries of home are an ocean away and you are blissfully, purposefully stranded a thousand miles from them.

So you put down the camera. You turn off the wifi. You vow that as soon as your feet touch American soil again, you will start planning your trip back. And you'll make a note to yourself - find lime-scented soap.

#st. martin #putdownthecamera

Summer Road Trips - Dallas Edition

Eating

1. Si Tapas - www.sitapasdallas.com

The wine list featured lots of spanish wines, which we know nothing about. The knowledgeable waitress helped us choose a great wine that fit our budget and our palettes.

The menu was full of traditional spanish flavors and some not-so-traditional flavors. We had a little of a lot: Sirloin steak in a dijon mustard sauce, Salted chicken in beer sauce, potatoes with chorizo and peppers, spicy garlic shrimp, roasted asparagus and green beens in dijon sauce. I wish I could eat here every day.

2. Roti Grill - www.freshindianfood.com

Roti grill is fresh, solid-good Indian food. My perfect Roti meal consists of vegetable pakoda, curry chicken and too much naan to cop to. All meals should end with Gulab Jaman.

3. Zaguan Latin Cafe & Bakery - www.zaguanbakery.com

No trip to Dallas is complete until I've had a cheese and mushroom cachapa. A venezuelan sweet corn turnover grilled and served with plantain chips accompanied by mexican hot chocolate provides a good start to the day, whether you're getting ready for marathon shopping or recovering from the night before.

Shopping

1. Scardello Cheese - www.scardellocheese.com

Passionate cheese mongers who offer samples and help you select tasty treats for purchase by the pound. In addition to cheeses, they've got cured meats (Hello, Salami!), olives, bread, and wine. Best way to find new cheeses: Ask the guy behind the counter what cheeses he's excited about.

2. The Bottle Shop - World Beer Company - www.wbcbottleshop.com

Technically, it's a bar. But it's also where you can buy mix-and-match six-packs full of craft beer deliciousness. As someone who's well-versed in craft beer, I'm still impressed by the selection. It's also across the street from Trader Joes.

3. Lights Fantastic - www.lightsfantastic.com

One trip to Dallas was made solely to find a light fixture for our dining room. We visited a few chain stores, but couldn't find anything that was the "statement piece" we were looking for. Lights Fantastic had everything those other stores didn't. Not only was their selection large, it was original. The staff was polite and helpful, but stood back and let us wander on our own. We found just the chandelier we were looking for — which says a lot when you don't actually know what you're looking for.

Sleeping

aloft Hotel in Downtown Dallas - www.aloftdallasdowntown.com

It's a little more expensive than an aloft in the burbs, but half the price of the W. The front desk isn't going to bring me creme brûlée at 2:00 a.m., but they will offer me restaurant and shopping suggestions while making my pancakes to order. Internet is free, decor is clean and modern, and the views from rooms on the higher floor are pretty for around $120 a night.

One last note in favor of the aloft. During one stay, I accidentally left my necklace on the bedside table. 2 hours later, on the drive home, I remembered and immediately called the hotel. Not only did they find it, they shipped it home to me. I'm forever grateful, and will always stay here when I'm in DFW.

#Summerroadtrips

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Hannover 96 - Filip Daems Penalty - 2013-08-17 - 3:0

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Hannover 96 - 2013-08-17 - 3:0

FC Köln sing along at Gaffel am Dom

Friday night at Gaffel am Dom

Hotel snack

#Köln #Excelsior Hotel

Canneloni deliciousness

#Köln #lunch

Gaffel singalong

#Köln #Gaffel

Köln Day 5

Today we rode the bus around the city to see if we could find a little of less-touristy Köln. We ended up at a great italian restaurant where the waiter didn’t require many words from us (always appreciated, since we only have a few) and the pasta was made fresh. I had spinach-mushroom-ricotta Canneloni and Travis had a chicken mango salad. They were both fantastic. We of course drank Kölsch, from the Dom brewery. We finished lunch with chocolate mousse, strawberries, and bourbon vanilla ice cream. Alana Newton, we need to get on this. Bourbon vanilla ice cream (or jut Eis), is amaaaazing.

We found a grocery store and bought a few food items to bring back. Mostly mustard in tubes, but also lemon wafer cookies and a couple of spice mixes.

When we came back to the hotel, we found that they had cleaned our room and left trail mix and an apple as a snack. I can’t say enough nice things about the Excelsior hotel. While the hotel itself is beautiful, the service has been what stands out the most. Not only is this the second snack they’ve left in our room, we’ve also also had turn-down service that included slippers, and the concierge is helping us ship a few things home. Every request we’ve had, they’ve answered in a timely, pleasant manner.

This evening, we went down the street to the Gaffel am Dom brewery where we had a few drinks, dinner, and experienced an all-out German singalong. At 10:30, the waiters passed out booklets with lyrics, and a singer on the stage led the entire bar in song. At one point, Travis went in search of die Toilette, just as everyone joined arms to sway back and forth to sing. There was a chair between myself and the next person, but the person playfully started coaxing me to dance along. I hopped over into the empty chair, linked arms with my new neighbor and swayed along while everyone laughed and sang. Travis came back just as we finished clapping, sad that he had missed the moment. He did get fantastic video of the song they sang about FC Köln, the local soccer team.

Our waiter was fun and seemed to be genuinely enjoying his job. I’m sure this is not an easy feat in a packed bier hall full of thirsty patrons. He was personable, helpful, and even cracked a few jokes and helped us interact with the people around us.

Pros and Cons from Day 5:

Pros = Great waiters, Bier hall singalongs, and amazing hotel service.

Cons = There are none! Today was great.

Tomorrow: Dusseldorf, and soccer in Mönchengladbach

#Köln #Gaffel

Köln Day 4

Another early morning, though not quite early enough. We might have missed our train that would take us to the Rhein River cruise we were planning on taking. Then we might have compounded the problem by getting on the wrong train and going to the wrong city on the wrong side of the river. After some info from the Wiesbaden station info center, we decided to take a train to Koblentz and then on to Köln. I think it worked out better this way, as the train followed the river pretty closely and we spent the day watching fortresses and mediaeval castles go by, with the occasional vineyard on our other side or tunnel to go through. After passing by some of the boats, we agreed that it all worked out well. Three hours on a slow boat looked a little boring.

When we got to Cologne, we were knocked over by the size of the Cathedral (Dom). We were also surprised at how close our hotel was to the Dom (steps away) and how fancy our hotel was. Free minibar? Apparently, that’s a thing! Our room has a hallway, and a doorbell. While we realize we are NOT that fancy, it’s fun to pretend a bit.

We spent the evening drinking Kölsche at Früh, a local brewery, watching Indiana Jones in dubbed German, and planning the next day.

Pros and Cons for Day 3:

Pros = Pretty train rides and castles, more vineyards on hillsides, finding out Rick Steve didn’t oversell the Cathedral, and delicious Kölsch!

Cons = Getting on the wrong train…. But that worked out!

Plan for Day 5: Explore Köln and clean out the minibar (again)

#Köln #kölsch #Fancy hotel #Dom