by Jim Bellomo | Jun 12, 2024 | Food Experiences, Photography
We have been to a lot of places. At last count, we have visited 52 countries. Norway next week will be our 53rd. Up until this trip, I was utterly convinced that the most beautiful place in the world is New Zealand. We were blown away by the incredible views of nature when we visited on our trip Down Under in 2009.
But after this trip, I have changed my mind. Scotland is the MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE on earth. Seriously—have you seen my photos? Of course, I don’t mean the cities as much as the country overall. I was becoming increasingly convinced as we traveled through the countryside, but when we went through Glencoe the other day, I realized this was it. The most beautiful place on earth…at least for me. I know that many of you would prefer a warmer climate, but for me, give me the constantly changing weather of Scotland.
I say this with the knowledge that we live in the Pacific Northwest, where the natural beauty is also amazing, but it’s what man has done that has tarnished Seattle and the Northwest for me. All of the places we have been I can never remember saying to myself, WOW and WOW and WOW, so often.
So, let’s sum up our trip so far and give you some honest recommendations about hotels and restaurants.
First, this has been an awesome trip so far, marred by only my catching a cold. And I am thrilled to say that other than an early-morning cough and a slightly runny nose, I am cured. We have had the best time. Where we stayed and what we ate had a lot to do with that so here’s a recap and recommendations.
Lodging
Nights 1-3: Leeds, England
- Hotel: Howard Bed and Breakfast—Leeds
- Bed: Excellent
- Room size: Great, but no closet space left for us to use ?.
- Hosts: The best of the trip. They not only took great care of us at the B&B, but they picked us up at the train station and then later toured us all over Yorkshire and took us back to the train station.
- Breakfasts: Excellent and plentiful.
- What they did best: They made us feel like we were part of the family.
- Things they could improve: Less stinky cheese.
- Problems you will have in staying there: You can’t book this place. You have to become friends with owners, and then you stay at their house, they stay at yours, you cruise all over the world with them, and then you get to stay there…again.
- Would we stay there again? Only if the hosts from there come to see us first. It’s their turn.
Nights 4-5 and 11-12: Glasgow, Scotland
- Hotel: Grasshoppers
- Bed: Subpar on the first part of our stay and better on the second. The first bed we had needed to be replaced. When you sat on the edge of it, it felt like you would slide right off. On their website, they call their beds, “kings.” Not by US standards. They are basic queens to us. We sleep in a king at home. This is NOT a king.
- Room size: First stay, a typical small European experience. Second, stay in a bigger room that we liked a lot better. Both bathrooms were the same, adequate size.
- Hosts: The people there were very helpful. We had to have our keys remade about six or eight times, and they never complained. Not sure why I had such problems with my keys but it might be my magnetic personality ?.
- Breakfasts: Excellent and plentiful. Complete choice of everything you could want for breakfast, from baked beans to granola. They did have the BEST whole grain bread for toast. I could eat that by the loaf. The only fall down here was cold plates. It would be best if you never had to put their excellent scrambled eggs on cold plates.
- What they did best: For me, it’s their location. Since they are above Glasgow’s Central Station, we got off the train, walked out of the station, around the corner, went up to the sixth floor, and we were there. When we left to come down to London, we walked out of our room at 10:00 am, and we were on the train at 10:15. Try that in an airport. They also had the absolute BEST water pressure on this trip and great bath towels—big and absorbent. I could still be in the shower if we hadn’t had to catch the train. Did I mention the free, always-available cakes and ice creams?
- Things they could improve: Use hot plates in the breakfast room. And get a new mattress in 603.
- Problems you will have in staying there: Book early. But realize they don’t open booking until six months prior. By that time, I had all the other hotels on this trip booked. Also, please note that the entrance at street level is difficult—a few steps to climb to get into the building before you get to the elevator. Tough with heavy luggage.
- Would we stay there again? If we were going back to Glasgow by train, we would. Doubt that will happen but you never know. We can recommend Grasshoppers very highly.
Nights 6-7: Oban, Scotland
- Hotel: The Manor House
- Bed: Just fine, but a “double bed,” not even a Queen. Keep that in mind. It was cozy.
- Room size: A typical small European experience in a historic inn. The bathrooms were adequate in size, but because of the dormers on the roof, the shower ceiling was very low.
- Hosts: The incredible David took such great care of us. When he learned we would be missing breakfast due to a tour, he made us a sack lunch we could take with us. Both nights, we were regaled with stories over a round of whisky.
- Breakfasts: Due to our early tour on the first morning, we only ate breakfast once. It was just fine, if a little fancy. When I am out on vacation and may miss lunch, I prefer a heartier breakfast. Theirs left much to be desired in terms of quantity. Worst bread of the trip. The toast was like eating warm Wonder Bread.
- What they did best: One word: David. He made our visit.
- Things they could improve: It shocked me at breakfast in the classiest hotel we stayed in to be given the flimsiest paper napkins I have ever seen. Kleenex tissues have more substance. For a place like this not to have linen napkins? No excuse. They could also get better bathroom linens. Of all the places we stayed, these were the worst.
- Problems you will have staying there: If you are tall like me, book a ground floor room. The dormers in the upstairs mean that the showers in the bathroom will have no headroom. Not only did I have to bend over in the shower (no jokes here please) but I kept banging my hands into the ceiling when I was trying to apply shampoo.
- Would we stay there again? Yes, but only if David is still there and we have a downstairs room.
Nights 8-10: Portree, Scotland
- Hotel: Balintoy Bed and Breakfast
- Bed: Excellent.
- Room size: The biggest room we stayed in on this trip. We loved all the extra room. It is well laid out and well furnished.
- Hosts: As good as David was at the Manor House, Gillian positively affected our entire trip. She is the best. We corresponded before the trip, and she gave us some great advice that paid off while we were there. She’s the one who told us to book restaurants at least three months early. I can’t stress enough that you need to do this. She was exactly right. She also would check in with us at breakfast every morning about what we were doing that day and the best way to get there. She became less of a host and more of a friend as the three days passed. She always asked about our touring and dining on the previous day so she could pass the knowledge on to future guests.
- Breakfasts: Excellent. Done as a light buffet. And the BEST COFFEE on the entire trip. Strong and hot. She brought an entire French Press to our table…just for us. We always emptied it.
- What they did best: One word: Gillian. We also loved the location. It was about a mile from downtown, so it was very quiet but still easy to get to.
- Things they could improve: Not much. But one little thing that would be an easy fix—some small shelf in the shower, please. Lining up our shampoo, conditioner and soap on the shower floor was a pain. Just a hanging rack from the shower head would work. See how minor that is? This place was great.
- Problems you will have in staying there: It took a bit of back and forth to make the reservation. I do wish that the Balintoy took credit cards, but they only accept cash or bank transfers. With much help from Gillian, we finally got the bank transfer thing to work. I still prefer having the safety of a creed card.
- Would we stay there again? You bet we would—in a minute.
Dining
Because of Gillian’s recommendations, I booked restaurant tables for dinner every night we were in Scotland other than the one night we did our 15-hour tour in Oban. I couldn’t get any restaurant to book after 8:00 p.m. and we couldn’t be sure we would be off the ferry by then. As it turned out we weren’t off until around 8:30 p.m. and there was nowhere that still had a kitchen open (It’s a small town).
Nights 1-3: Leeds, England
- Night one: Howard Bed and Breakfast—Leeds
- Delicious chicken dish. Lots of other great stuff to go with it.
- Night two: Murgatroyds—Leeds
- Really good Fish and Chips. Kind of a big family restaurant out by the airport. The fish was excellent. I am tired of chips. But I wasn’t when we had these, but could someone make crispy, thinner chips… please?
- Day three: Lunch at the Wensleydale Heifer in Wensleydale
- had eaten dinner at the Heifer when we last visited Paul and Gail, and it was just as good then as it was this time. A HUGE lunch. Absolutely would go again, and you should too if you are ever in the area.
- Day three: Howard Bed and Breakfast—Leeds
- Dinner was just cheese, crackers, olives. No one wanted anything more. But then they brought out the stinky cheese. If you eat there, skip that.
Nights 4-5 and 11-12: Glasgow, Scotland
- Night one: Banca di Roma
- One of the best meals on the trip. How much did we like it? We went back again on Day 11. It was a nice break from local food to have some high-end Italian. Best appetizer of the trip. A four-item dish with some of the best chicken I have ever had. I have to learn how to make it. For entrées, Kathleen had eggplant parm, I had a bolognese sauce made from octopus. Not as good as it sounded but still delicious.
- Night two: The Ivy Cafe-Glasgow
- Fun and quirky. Delicious shepherd’s pie. We would eat there again. We are eating at another Ivy with the same basic menu in London tomorrow night.
- Day ten: Ardnamurchan
- This place identifies itself as a “traditional Scottish restaurant.” That does not mean you have to eat haggis. I had a venison stew which is one of the two best meals I had on this trip. It tasted like candy…it was that good. My lovely wife had a lamb shank and I got to taste it. It was also amazing…but not as good as my stew.
- Day eleven: Banca di Roma
- See my note above. Still, the best appetizer we had. This time we had an entrée for two that was a delicious pasta dish but they gave us way too much.
Nights 6-7: Oban, Scotland
- Night six: Ee-Usk
- Even though it has a really different name, this place was outstanding. Kathleen had the halibut and I had a seafood salad that had more seafood than salad.
- Night seven: No place
- We couldn’t find anywhere to eat after we got off the ferry at 8:30 p.m. so we starved to death. The rest of this trip was finished by our doppelgängers.
Nights 8-10: Portree, Scotland
- Night eight: The Antlers Inn
- Just a good place for a quick meal. We had a big lunch in Mallaig so we just wanted to have a quick bite. This place was perfect. The best thing about dinner was the great service and the talk we had about the awesome music with the servers. It was a fun and memorable night. One of those you love to have when you are traveling.
- Night nine: The Rosedale Inn
- As good as the seafood salad at Ee-Usk was, the seafood linguine at the Rosedale was better. And Kathleen had a gnocchi that rocked. It has sweet potatoes in the sauce and it made it taste just perfect.
- Night ten: The View Restaurant
- This place was tied for the best restaurant with the Banca di Roma. It has a gorgeous view (of course it did) but the food was amazing. The bread service came with an unexpected surprise—pickled walnuts. They are awesome! I immediately thought I needed to make it myself but when I looked up the recipe it turns out it takes A MONTH TO MAKE IT because the walnuts have to ferment. I think I will just buy it by the jar on Amazon. Our entrées were also amazing. Kathleen had the chicken which she really liked and I had “shins of beef and spring garlic risotto.” WOW! To find this kind of food this far north in such a small town was phenomenal.
That about covers the food and lodging. Just a few more kudos to award. Except for some photos of the dishes of renown. Enjoy and feel free to look at these on your phone. That’s what I used to take them.
My dinner at Ardnamurchan. Maybe the best thing I ate. Venison strew.
Kathleen’s at Ardnamurchan. Lamb shank and barley.
The Appetizers at Banca di Roma. The chicken in the upper right is the BEST!.
Bread bowl at Banca di Roma. They give you pieces of pizza crust.
Katheen’s Banca di Roma first visit entrée–eggplant parmesan.
Mine was an octopus sauce on pasta.
Our second dinner (to share) is the specialty of the house.
Kathleen’s halibut at Ee-usk in Oban.
My seafood salad at Ee-usk in Oban
Sharing a Fat Rascal at Bettys in Harrogate.
Tomato basil soup at The Ivy in Glasgow.
The Ivy is a very esoteric place.
The shepherd’s pie at The Ivy.
The four of us having lunch in Wensleydale.
Kathleen’s gnocchi at the Rosedale Inn
My seafood pasta at the Rosedale Inn.
Toasting me at The Antlers.
The incredible dessert at The Antlers.
Some really great croquettes at The Antlers in Portree.
Kathleen’s chicken at The View in Portree
My appetizer (a duck dish that reminded of crab cakes at The View.
The actual view at The View.
Best bread selection ever. That’s the pickled walnuts in the lower left.
Kathleen’s carrot soup at the View.
My shins of beef on risotto at The View. Tied for the best thing I ate on the trip.
Best Scotland surprises:
- How well I adjusted to driving on the “other” side of the road. The first couple of days Kathleen was freaking out because I was driving to close to the left curb. But after some much-needed direction from her I wised up and things improved. Until the last day when I actually bumped a curb with my rear left tire. I think it jumped out at me ?.
- How awesome the food was. Be honest, when you think of British and Scottish food, you don’t think of great cuisine, right? Well, that changed for me on this trip. All our food was amazing…except the chips.
- How incredibly beautiful Scotland is. I knew it was beautiful, but WOW! There, I said it again.
- How small Scotland is. Getting from one place to another took us no time at all. We were able to drive almost two-thirds of the country in six hours or so.. Try that in California and you will still be in California and have a ways to go.
- How many fewer tourists we saw compared to what we expected. Pretty much every day (except returning from Portree to Glasgow) the traffic was just fine. Sometimes the car parks could be a little full but the downtowns of Oban and Portree were not that crowded.
- There were no midges. The pest of Scotland did not show up. We brought midge spray, we planned to wear dark clothes so as not to attract them, we did our research but no midges. Kathleen thinks that’s because the wind was always blowing and the temps stayed low.
- The Scottish weather and how fast it changed. You could literally be in bright sun one minute and two minutes later be in pouring rain. And it kept going back and forth for the entire trip. On most days (as you can see in my photos) I had plenty of great weather to shoot in. In fact, I preferred the big fluffy clouds to a flat blue sky. We are so happy we are doing this trip and not the Med where the temps have soared into the 100s this week.
Biggest bad surprises:
- How many people in Scotland (especially Glasgow) still smoke. It was everywhere. Every doorway, every street corner, and every place we went (thankfully not indoors) there were people smoking. We know that people smoke more in Europe than in our Pacific Northwest but this was much worse than we had seen in Greece, Italy and Spain two years ago.
The one Scottish experience I never want to have again:
- Trying to use the facilities on a 30-foot boat moving 25 knots an hour on a water surface with six-foot swells. I still don’t believe I survived that with my body intact. A close second would be waiting for a city bus for two hours in downtown Tobermory.
The one Scottish experience I really would love to have again:
- This is a toss-up between my experience shooting the puffins on Lunga and just driving through Glencoe. After struggling through Fort William traffic I almost told Kathleen that we should just bag Glencoe and drive back to Glasgow by the shortest route. Thank heavens I didn’t.
For me, this sums up Scotland: beauty everywhere, great weather and wonderful people. I am happy to be married to a woman of Scottish ancestry so we have an excuse to come back someday…I hope. I would truly hate to think I won’t see the beautiful place again.
I am attached to the west coast of Scotland – it’s gorgeous to look at and challenging. You have to contend with the possibility of being blown away or rained on. And in the summer months, you can be eaten alive by midges. —Clive Anderson
by Jim Bellomo | Jun 1, 2024 | Food Experiences
This post will be a personal one as opposed to my usual travel stuff wherein I complain about something ?. We are spending the first four days of our current trip with our good friends Paul and Gail at their home in Leeds, England.
After our ride with Welcome Pickups we arrived at Kings Cross station to take the train north to Leeds. If you are unfamiliar with European trains, I can only say that I LOVE them. They are a wonderful form of transportation that I wish we had more of at home. Clean, safe, on time and more.
We had pre-purchased a three-day (non-consecutive) rail pass before we left home. It allowed us to travel on any train in Great Britain for three days in a 30-day period starting on the day of first use. It took me a few e-mails with the folks we purchased it to understand how it worked, but I finally got it. You have to activate the pass for a particular day in advance. You can also purchase assigned seats for a very small amount ($5.00 each), and I did that for two of our trips, but I couldn’t for this one to Leeds because we were not sure what time we would get to the station from the airport. We know what time we will be leaving on our remaining train rides, so we have reserved seats.
Before we left, I downloaded the schedule and knew there was a train to Leeds every half an hour for most of the day. It was almost noon when we were in the car about a mile from Kings Cross. There was a train to Leeds at 12:03, 12:33 and 1:03. Since it was noon, I figured that by the time we got there and got our luggage out of the car, into the station, found the train platform, we needed to be on, we could get the 1:03. Nope. We walked into the station at 12:20, got quick directions, walked to the platform, used our passes to get through the gates, and talked to a nice lady who directed us to our first-class coach. and we were aboard and sitting in our seats on the 12:33. Can you imagine doing that at an airport?
The ride north was just short of two and a half hours. We only made four stops, and they were quick ones. The midday train was about half empty, so we had no problem finding seats. Our “first class” ticket came with lunch, which turned out to be a drink, a sandwich and crisps (almost typed chips ?). It was not gourmet, but we were hungry after that horrible Virgin Air breakfast, so we were happy to get it.
Once we got to Leeds, we quickly got off the train, and Paul and Gail met us as we left the station platform. We got into their car and drove back to their house. We had visited them pre-pandemic before our cruise from Dublin to Iceland, but they had moved since then, so we got to see their beautiful new home. It is really very nice and just perfect for the two of them and the grandchildren who visit often.
Most of you who read my posts know that I am an early riser, but I have to tell you that yesterday, I don’t think I was up and moving until well after 8:00 a.m. I slept a full nine hours after being up for almost 30 hours, Thursday through Friday. We were both wiped out. Today, I seem to be back on schedule, getting up at my usual 5:30 a.m., which gives me a chance to write this. Win-win!
Our day yesterday was leisurely as Paul and Gail planned to let us recuperate from our flight. We went into nearby Harrogate midday and did a short walk through a beautiful park and around the city center before we stopped for lunch at the amazing Bettys Tea Room (no, there is no apostrophe). We had been to Bettys before as it is a Yorkshire institution. And the lunch was delicious. I had a rarebit that came with my choice of three chutneys (Onion, tomato and apple), but I asked for all three. Yum! But as good as lunch was, what you come to Bettys for is the Fat Rascal. The photo at the top is us holding the Fat Rascal that we split. After having lunch, there is no way to eat an entire Rascal on your own. Think of a Fat Rascal as a kind of giant scone (about that consistency) with raisins and maybe currants inside and almonds and cherries to make a face on the top. They are delicious and a must-eat treat if you come to Yorkshire (the general area where Leeds and Harrogate are located).
After lunch and another quick walk around the town, we were back to Paul and Gail’s, where Kathleen took a nap, and Gail and I went out on a 3+ mile walk around the area (which is beautiful). I did take a few photos while we were walking around Harrogate so those of you who follow me for those had something to look at. Nothing that will make my top ten, but certainly some things I liked. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
When you are in any part of Europe, you realize how young our country is.
So many of the buildings in Europe are older than our entire country.
And if the sky is right, they make great photographs.
And I love street stuff like this trumpet player who was playing on a pedestrian street we walked down.
Gail saw me shooting this old iron fence and wondered what I was taking a photo of. I was just trying to be fancy with my depth of field.
This is a Chilean lantern tree that is in P&G’s front yard. It is so beautifully delicate.
Then it was off to dinner at Murgatroyds, where they boast they have the “best fish and chips in England.” We have to agree, although I think the atmosphere was better at The Magpie, where Paul and Gail had taken us on our last visit. It is in the beautiful village of Whitby, but that was a complete day out, so this was close enough to just run over there for dinner. After dinner, it was back to the house to catch the final half of the Champions League game on TV. It’s funny that when we were here in 2019, I had no idea about football (soccer for the Americans) at all. No clue as to what was going on. But thanks to the amazing Ted Lasso, I can now ALMOST figure out what offsides is. And I can definitely follow the game.
Back at the house, we even got a proper English Trifle that Gail had made for dessert. They have been feeding us very well, and we certainly will give them high marks on Trip Adviser after we leave.
Later today we are off to the Wensleydale Heifer for lunch. If you are a fan of the Wallace and Grommet animated films, they are set in Wensleydale, and they have a world-famous cheese store there. But we are only going as far as the Heifer. On our last visit, we went north through the Lakes District and spent the night at the Heifer (where every room has a theme) and had a wonderful dinner at their excellent restaurant. But this trip we aren’t going to be here in Yorkshire for that long so lunch will have to suffice ?. A full report on our drive north and lunch will follow tomorrow. See you then.
Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends. —H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 21, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography
Yes, we had all those things in our last full day in Budapest; we got up late (after our late-night, worthless tour), and while Kathleen showered and changed and before we had our hotel buffet breakfast (included in our Viking post-cruise extension) I went out for a short pre-dawn photo walk. I hadn’t gotten many of those in on this trip. Really not a single one since we had left Lisbon. It’s not like I hadn’t planned for them. I had maps of the things I wanted to take photos of in that wonderful early morning light. And I had brought clothing to wear along with my boots—I had even planned on the ice and snow we encountered in Prague. What I hadn’t expected was how late the sun would come up. Most of the time, we had someplace we had to be (usually a tour) at 8:30. And when the sun doesn’t come up until 7:30 or later, it’s hard to find time to be there when it does.
This day was different as our only tour didn’t start until 10:00 am, so I was able to go out and take photos of the last two major sites I hadn’t seen yet. First up were some close-ups of the incredible Parliament Building I had been taking so many long-distance photos of, and then, while walking back to the hotel, I could visit the Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial. We had driven by the Shoes memorial a few times, and I had the chance in on two previous afternoons, but I wanted to be there alone, and usually, it was jammed with people. If you have not heard of the Shoes on the Danube Bank before, it is a monument to thousands of Jews who were taken from the Jewish Ghetto in Budapest in 1944-45 and killed. The fascist Hungarian Arrow Cross party took them to the edge of the Danube, made them undress and take off their shoes (which could later be sold) and then shot them so they fell into the river and were swept away. The memorial is a beautiful tribute to those people. You can read about it by clicking here.
In the meantime, here are the photos I took early that morning. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
As i headed out from the hotel I took one shots of Buda on the far side of the river.
This statue stands at the east end of the Parliament Building
And here are some close ups of this beautiful building that looks so magnificent at night with the lights on. i
Close up 1
Close up 2
Close up 3
Close up 4
Close up 5
Close up 6
Close up 7
And then another look back across the river…
Where the sun was just starting to make an appearance.
And then the Shoes on the Danube Memorial.
People had left flowers and candles.
It is such a wonderful and symbolic memorial.
That commemorates the evil men do to others.
It is both somber and sobering.
And incredibly sad.
Once past it I head back to our hotel.
On the way I passed our ship, now with an entirely new set of passengers.
And less than 100 yards away…our hotel.
For the balance of the day, we had a private tour planned with Melinda from Tours by Locals. If you have been reading my posts, you know that this is a company I have grown to love. Between myself and Jamie and Steve on their London/Paris land trip we have used them on at least 15 tours. I chose Melinda’s tour because in the description of her tour she said, “This private tour is perfect for those who have already seen the highlights and want to explore the city further.” This meant that we could do the tours with Viking, and then I could let her know what we still wanted to see, and she would set us up to go there.
Even though this was a private tour in a van (not a “luxury motor coach”), Kathleen was worried that getting in and out of the van and doing what walking we would be doing might make her knee worse. And she was VERY worried (as was I) about the next day when we knew we would make a long tramp through Charles DeGaulle airport, not to mention wading through security and check-in here in Budapest. Plus, she was still wiped out after our worthless tour the night before when we didn’t get back until almost 11:00. So she decided to let the other four of us go (our new friend Carol was joining us as well).
Right on time, Melinda walked into the hotel lobby to collect us. We jumped into a Mercedes van with a driver, and we were off on our four-hour adventure. Our first stop was Heroes Square. On our first-day overview tour with Barbie, we had driven past it, but we wanted to walk around as well as see the castle and seasonal ice skating rink behind it. Heroes Square is packed with amazing statues and monuments to (I think) every person who ever had a hand in creating Hungary and keeping it alive during the years in between. I wish I could tell you who all the statues represented, and I did get a few of them. You can read about them below, in the captions of the photos I took in the square. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Stupidly, I forgot to take a photo of the overall square. This is one corner.
This is the other.
This is the center
A closeup of the seven statues that represent the founders of Hungary.
The statues are about 30 feet high.
But they. are impressive.
And they are everywhere.
It was worth coming back to see them.
The Hungarians truly respect their heroes.
These two sat opposite each other on the left and right corners.
Kind of a face off between war and peace.
I liked this shot because it combines the old with the contrails of the modern.
There were protestors in the Square as well.
Very eye-catching.
As was this helium (not hot air) balloon that suddenly appeared behind the square.
Just across the street from Heroes Square were two other places we wanted to see: the seasonal ice skating rink and the Vajdahunyad Castle that sat right behind it. We had seen both while driving with Barbie, and I got an idea for some artsy photography I wanted to try at the rink. Here are the photos we took (without the artsy black-and-white stuff). Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
A really nice castle…
The balloon makes another appearance.
As we get closer to the castle…
I see a really cool lion.
Other parts of the castle.
This building houses the Hungarian Agricultural Department.
There is also a small chapel.
The chapel had a very unique façade.
Next to the castle is the seasonal (not there all year) outdoor skating rink.
This is the building behind the ice rink.
I kind of liked it.
And then there is Anonymous. Seriously, that’s the statues name.
And the castle from behind.
One other thing during our stop near Heroes Square was another Christmas Market. Not a huge one, but certainly as big as many we had seen. But they had some of the best looking food I had seen and since it was early in the day, there wasn’t a huge crowd waiting to buy it so I could get some great photos…that I hope will make your mouth water. Enjoy.
The food at every Christmas Market we had seen was this good…
And there was this much of it.
Of course these changed by country.
But the quality and the quantity were amazing.
I get hungry just looking at these.
It’s almost lunch time as I am typing this…
Wish I was there.
Just amazing food.
And it all looked so darned good.
After our walk, we were off to our longest drive of the day to Memento Park. Our good friend Marjorie had visited the park when she was in Budapest and had told us about it. As I always do, I thought it sounded interesting but more importantly, a chance for some great photography. This was the only place I had told Melinda we wanted to go before we got to Budapest because I knew it was too far out in the countryside for Viking to take us there. Besides, it was one of those hidden gems you always hear about.
Memento Park is where old statues go to die. Seriously. In the early 1990s, when the Communist dictatorship ended, the people of Hungary were ticked! So they took down all the symbols of Communism from around the city of Budapest and moved samples of it to Mememto Park as a constant reminder to never let that happen again. So you can go and visit these statues and celebrate how incredibly naïve Soviet-era communism was. Check out the photos to get an idea of what I am talking about. Their symbolism is truly wrong, but they are interesting historical artifacts. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Welcome to Memento Park.
These are not in the park. The two boots you see there are Stalin’s they were at that bottom of a statue that was more than 80 feet. All they moved here were the boots.
Outside the park…about to head in we saw…
Marx and Engels, the two founding fathers of Communism.
An original Trabant, Built in East Germany, it is almost made of cardboard.
The inside. Strange thing…we saw one of these on the street that evening.
Once inside there are about 30 statues…
Spread all around the park.
All types of Soviet artwork.
Representing the worst of Communism.
This one is definitely the best.
I just wish I had thought to put people in the photo for scale.
Wanted to get him in the best light.
Strange stuff.
Melinda explains one of the statues to Jamie and Steve.
This one commemorates the Hungarian Communist contribution to the Spanish Civil War.
Not a statue but how the Hungarians build water towers.
I loved the way he is catching a jet in the sky.
More humans for scale. My brother is six foot, eight so you know these statues must be huge.
A very interesting piece showing Stalin urging troops on to war.
Some closeups of the piece.
Really different from everything else.
I liked these guys….
The electrical wires in the background seemed to suit them as opposed to being a distraction.
The ticket sales area actually had music (military music) playing on this very old radio.
On my way out of the park.
After this quick look at the Soviet occupation, we were off to see two more things. One was a viewpoint where Melinda said we could get a wonderful and complete overall view of Budapest, and the other was the Opera House, where we could get photos of the lobby but would need to take a tour to see the inside, and we didn’t have time to do that with her. Here are the photos from those spots. You know the drill.
Melinda was right…
What an incredible view!
We could see everything from up here…
From a completely different angle than from down below.
Even the Parliament Building.
And then a quick drive downtown to the Opera House.
Which, sadly, was having a private function, so this was the only photo I could get.
After that, we went back to the hotel so we could pack for our flight the next morning. Anita (our Viking Extension concierge) had wrangled us some reservations at a great restaurant because we all wanted one more night of Hungarian food. The place was called Rezkakas, and their goulash was about as close to a perfect meal as we had eaten on this trip. If you go to Budapest, eat there! I wish I had taken a photo of it but when it got to the table, it looked so good, I ate it without thinking about it. The whole evening was a great experience…especially since Carol joined us for a farewell dinner, and Steve and Jamie picked up the entire check as a birthday present (the next day) for me.
Dictators fall when they’re overconfident; they stay in power when they’re paranoid. —Masha Gessen
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 6, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography
As the headline says, we are in Prague. There is snow and ice everywhere, but we still had a great day yesterday. Well, half a great day. I really want to tell you about it, but we were out late with my brother Steve and sister-in-law Jamie at dinner until late in the evening, and that meant I had to process photos this morning, so I am not writing until right now. We have to meet them for breakfast in about 45 minutes, so I need to change and shower.
But I didn’t want you to think I had deserted you. I will have more about Prague tomorrow as well as the trip we are taking this afternoon as we spend three hours getting to Nuremberg, Germany, by “luxury motor coach.”
In the meantime, here’s our group eating dinner last night at an amazing restaurant that a friend from our Trilogy Travel Club recommended to us. It was a great meal and a great experience. See you tomorrow.
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 3, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography
Yesterday, I got you through to a great breakfast at the beautiful Hotel Portugal. Our day only got better food-wise as we had planned a food tour with Eating Europe. We had previously done a food tour with them in Amsterdam a few years ago (they have tours in many European cities), and it was wonderful, so we thought we would try them again because the one in Amsterdam was so great. And this one was, as well.
We met our guide, Fred (his actual name is Frederico, but he says Fred is easier) at 10:00 am, and we’re off on a four-hour tour. Three hours were superb food samples around the city with Fred, and one hour was a Tuk-Tuk tour with Miguel (who really loves speed) as well. Tell me the truth. Does Fred not look like Linn-Manuel Miranda? And he has a lot of mannerisms that kept me thinking we were on our tour with Hamilton himself—one of the funniest and most fun guides we have had in all our time touring. We hope to see him again when we return to Lisbon next fall.
Our tour consisted of four stops for food and a one-hour Tuk-Tuk ride. We first stopped for an amazing pork sandwich with a glass of the local white wine, Vino Verde. Both were delicious. As we walked from there to where we would meet Miguel, Fred told us a lot about the history of Lisboa as well as the traditions about food. He was a totally knowledgeable guide who was also a great entertainer and as you will see in my photos, really up for anything.
Once we reached the plaza where the Tuk-Tuks were, we met Miguel, jumped (more like crawled) into his Tuk-Tuk, and off we went for a very crazy and bumpy ride up into the city’s hills. We stopped at a Roman ruin, an amazing overlook of the entire city and found that Miguel was almost as good a guide as Fred—just not as funny.
Our Tuk-Tuk ride took around an hour, and we finished at a restaurant that was high on one of those hills. This was one of the reasons we had decided on this particular tour. The other tours they offered didn’t have the Tuk-Tuk ride and warned of a lot of walking uphill and downhill. With Miguel and his Tuk-Tuk, we only had the downhill. Our second food stop featured two other Portuguese specialties. One was a coated and fried ball with tomato and basil filling; one was veal. Both were delicious and came with a special may0-mustard sauce. We also tried green beans with a tempura-style coating and we learned that the Portuguese had not only invented this type of coating but taken it to the Orient in the 1500s. Who knew?
After this lovely tidbit (nice word, unh?) served with sparkling wine, we started our trek downhill to our next restaurant, which was owned by a former Michelin-starred chef. There, we tried an octopus salad (even better than the one I had the night before) and a codfish dish. Codfish is a staple in Portuguese cuisine. Fred told us that Portuguese chefs brag that there are 365 different codfish recipes that they can make, so you never have to have the same one twice in one year. Kathleen had skipped the octopus so the chef roasted her some veggies and they too were outstanding. She wasn’t really thrilled with the codfish dish (it wasn’t my favorite either) but by then we were getting full so it didn’t really matter.
While at this very cool restaurant, we saw a hilarious collection of art that is very famous in Portugal. It seems that more than a hundred years ago, after Portugal threw out Spanish rule, the king of Portugal sent a gift to the king of Spain. Of course, once you see the gift, you understand its significance. The king of Spain sent him back an even bigger one, and they continued for some time. Fred was happy to show us these “gifts,” and I have other photos showing the other sizes in my gallery below. The “gifts” are hollow and full of the “best wine of that country.” Often, they had a spigot (as this one does) to dispense the wine. This one that Fred is holding is the largest in the collection. And they had a special surprise on the bottom to make everyone happy. You will have to look at the other pics to find out what it was. And by the way, did I mention that Fred was a total ham?
After our entrée and art show, we were off to dessert back in the old city at the bottom of the hill. It was the Portuguese egg tart known as a pastéis. These tarts are everywhere in Lisboa. By the time we got to this one, we had consumed at least six of them in the hotel at breakfast. On our Sunday tour, we would travel all the way to the suburb of Belem to get one of the originals (and yes, it is worth the trip, and the one you get there IS better than any other). Fred told us the place he took us had the “second-best pastéis in Lisboa, and we agree.
Here are the rest of the photos from the food tour with captions to explain their significance. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Our tour begins. It was just us and this nice couple from New Mexico.
Our first stop was the largest cathedral in Lisboa.
During the earthquake that shaped the city, the roof had fallen in.
The restoration job was amazing.
Miguel took us on a tour of the…
…ruins of a Roman theater.
The excavation work is ongoing.
A large mural of the Romans above the theater.
As we were driving I saw this statue and just liked the way it looked against the blue sky.
Miguel took us to “the best view in Lisboa.”
We think he was right.
The city was gorgeous…
the weather was perfect…
as you can see.
A landscape photographer’s dream.
Our second restaurant…
And a close up of the door.
A mural above a booth inside.
My octopus salad—delicious.
Everywhere we have eaten in Lisboa has featured some of the best bread I have ever had.
I stole some of Kathleen’s wonderful roasted veggies to go along with my salad.
The codfish dish that was not my favorite and Kathleen found “fishy.”
The collection.
And keeps grabbing larger examples.
Until he gets the biggest of all.
This is what is on the bottom. Something for the gentlemen.
Everywhere you go in Lisboa there is tile.
Incredibly beautiful and ornate tiles.
You can see where they perfectly replaced broken ones with new. The older ones are more than a hundred years old.
Artwork and graffiti are fairly prevalent.
But there is still squalor.
Fred showed up this building which if fixed…
could house five families but because of bureaucracy, nothing gets fixed.
But it gave Fred someplace to climb.
There are tavernas like this all over the city.
The palace above the square nearest our hotel.
The Santa Justa Elevator.
After the tour (and still suffering from jet lag), we went back to the hotel for a short nap. Kathleen extended her nap into the evening and stayed in to surf the web and keep track of what was happening in the world. I, on the other hand, went out to take photos of the amazing Christmas decorations all over the city. I took a ton of photos, so I will let Lisboa speak for itself. I will just say that this city LOVES Christmas, and when they decorate, they DECORATE! And we didn’t think we would see Christmas Markets until we got to Prague. Were we ever wrong? Here, there seems to be one in every square, and there are big squares everywhere. Here are my photos with very few captions because they’re just the WOW decorations. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Most these photos were taken within 10 blocks of our hotel.
Some streets were empty and others packed.
More lights.
Their trees were very cool.
Interesting crowds
Street peddlers.
More lights.
And peace on the next street over.
More lights.
You can never take too many trolley photos.
More lights.
And just one high above a square…
That looked like this…
Totally lit up.
And across from this corridor…
Was Lisboa’s largest square. The one that faces the river.
All lit up at night.
With restaurants on the sides.
And angels on the street behind it.
Another shot of the Santa Justa elevator, this time at night.
More lights.
Lights of a different kind.
More lights.
More lights.
And of course, Santa.
Who was more about the adults than the kids.
That about does it for Day 1. As you can tell, we were BUSY! Back with Day 2 soon.
Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling. —Edna Ferber
