Travels With Carole

Good Eats: Cafe Montana, Santa Monica, California

2012-01-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

Cafe Montana 1534 Montana Ave., (310) 829-3990. Sitting here feels like being inside a glass box. Two full walls are all windows, allowing in plenty of light and providing excellent sidewalk viewing. Cloth-covered tables provide an elegant touch. The extensive breakfast menu includes funnel cake, chicken hash, and blynas crepes as well as plenty more. Lunch is a mix of salads, sandwiches, and pastas—don’t miss the B.L.A.T. (bacon, lettuce, avocado, and tomato on whole wheat or the koldunai (Lithuanian-style beef dumplings). Dinner brings on heavier entrees.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

smallest visitor center in the world

2012-01-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

Located in Northeast England, this just might be the smallest visitor center in the world!

Good Eats: Casa de Pico, La Mesa, California

2012-01-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

Casa de Pico 5500 Grossmont Center Dr. #404, 619-463-3267. L-D daily; $$. Happy Hour M-F 3-7. Formerly located in Old Town, this popular Mexican spot features an expansive indoor room and a cozy patio area with fountain. Everyone gets excited when they see someone sipping the famous gigantic margarita—they come in three sizes—and thin, crispy chips arrive with a tasty salsa to nibble on while contemplating the extensive menu. Fish tacos and enchiladas rancheras are popular and delicious, and there are so many other choices that you might have difficulty selecting. Mariachis entertain during dinner Thursday through Sunday.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Misc.: Roberta Roller Rabbit, Brentwood, California

2012-01-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

Roberta Roller Rabbit 225 26th St. #4, in the Brentwood Country Mart, (310) 899-4440. This unusual shop purveys its own line of clothing and accessories made with hand-blocked Indian prints. The kurta (pronounced k-er-ta), a simple traditional Indian tunic, is a prime piece, and the prints and colors are enticing, but blouses, neck scarves, and bedding are available as well.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Good Eats: Wahoo’s Fish Taco, Brentwood, California

2012-01-02T15:37:00.000-08:00

Wahoo’s Fish Taco 11911 Wilshire Blvd./Westgate Ave., (310) 445-5990. At this casual spot, place your order at the back, and then select one of the mix-matched Formica tables or booths. Entertainment from one of the TVs playing overhead is an option while you wait for your Mexican fast food. Menu choices include the namesake fish taco, burritos, and other standard Mexican items, plus a selection of rice bowls. Filling choices include meats, fish, and seafood, as well as tofu, mushrooms, and mixed veggies.

image c2012 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: Philadelphia Mummers Parade, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2011-12-28T17:12:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia Mummers Parade This festive parade has marched down Broad Street every New Year’s Day for more than 100 years. One of the longest running traditions in the country, it began in the 1800's as a way to celebrate the New Year and ibecame an official city event n 1900. Participants wear elaborate costumes made with feathers and sequins galore, and you’ll see plenty of cross-dressing.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Things to Do: Shakespeare & Co. Bookstore, Paris, France

2011-12-21T16:38:00.000-08:00

This just might be enough for you to finally go buy a ticket to Paris.

Misc.: what luggage to buy

2011-12-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Are you in the market for new luggage? Check out the comments about what to buy and why, and also about airlines and theft:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-hobica/why-you-should-buy-a-four_b_1115011.html

Good Eats: Edgefield: The Poor Farm, Troutdale, Oregon

2011-12-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

Edgefield: The Poor Farm 2126 SW Halsey St., (800) 669-8610, (503) 669-8610. No pets. Located next door to now-trendy Gresham—it was once just a simple farm town where my own Grandpa lived his life farming strawberries and raising cattle—this fun-filled complex once actually was a real poor farm that rescued folks who had fallen on hard times. Now it is like a little village, with a Georgian Revival-style manor house B&B as well as many out buildings, and visitors can have a great time just wandering the property—stopping for a beer and some exceptionally tasty oversize peanuts in the Little Red Shed, followed perhaps by pizza and more beer at an outdoor picnic table at the Power Station Pub. The farm also has a fancier restaurant, a movie theater, a winery and distillery, two golf courses (1 12-hole, 1 20-hole), a spa with a saltwater soaking pool, and expansive gardens.

Things to Do: swim with the pigs, Exuma Key, the Bahamas

2011-12-14T15:13:00.000-08:00

You've heard about swimming with the dolphins? Get ready for swimming with the pigs! (Did you know that a group of hogs is called a "drift"?)

catch another view:

Sights to see: National Elk Refuge, Jackson Hole, Wyoming

2011-12-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

National Elk Refuge 800-772-5386, 307-733- 0277. Sleigh rides mid-Dec through first weekend in April; adults $18, 5-12 $12. Lodging suggestions: 307-733-3316. Take a draft horse-drawn sleigh tour of North America’s largest established elk preserve. Featuring the spectacular Grand Teton Mountain Range on one side and the Gros Venture Mountain range on the other, this is not a zoo Some of the thousands of elk migrate here from as far as 100 miles away. Sleighs are a cheery photogenic red with black trim and have padded seats. From them you’ll see wildlife up close and in motion. I heard the 4-year-old daughter of a park ranger exclaim with glee, “Wow, look at all that poop!” After, you can pet the horses and take pictures with them.

Then, warm up across the street within the impressive stone walls of the National Museum of Wildlife, where galleries let you get even closer to a wide array of wild animals.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to see: Radio City Christmas Spectacular, New York City

2011-12-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Radio City Christmas Spectacular Radio City Music Hall, 1260 Avenue of the Americas, 212-247-4777. At least once in a lifetime everyone should see this extraordinary show. Excitement grows as high as the Rockettes kick as Santa flies and fireworks light up the stage. The storyline features the famed synchronized chorus line dancing on the block-wide stage as snow falls and music rings out from the largest Wurlitzer organ ever built (it has more than 4,000 pipes). Runs through January 2, 2012.

Sights to see: International Rose Test Garden, Portland, Oregon

2011-12-05T15:39:00.000-08:00

International Rose Test Garden 400 SW Kingston Ave., in Washington Park, (503) 823-3636. Daily 7:30-9. Free. This test garden began in another location in 1915, when a rose hobbyist got city officials to approve a garden dedicated to saving European roses from World War I bombings. Roses arrived from around the world. The garden moved to its current site in 1917, and now covers 4.5 acres. You can see more than 8,555 rose bushes representing some 722 varieties--including the almost black "Black Magic" rose, which is actually a deep blood red and the sweet smelling magenta "Firefighter Rose” named in honor of firefighters lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. In 1940, the garden became a testing site for the All-America Rose Selection.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Misc.: best time to purchase an air ticket

2011-12-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

Ever wonder when the best time is to buy an air ticket? Well, here you go:

Good Eats: Big Island Candies, Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii

2011-11-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

Big Island Candies 585 Hinano St., a few blocks from the airport, Hilo, (800) 935-5510, (808) 935-8890. Daily 8:30–5. You can watch workers through big windows here as they make yummy chocolates and cookies. The macadamia nut shortbread cookies dipped in milk or white chocolate are simply THE BEST. And don’t miss your chance to taste chocolate-covered cuttlefish, called “ika.” Though it is tempting to pronounce that “ick-ah,” this delicacy actually tastes quite good.

Great Sleeps: Hotel Monasterio, Cuzco, Peru

2011-11-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

Hotel Monasterio Calle Palacio 136, 1 blk. from Plaza de Armas, 800-223-6800, +51 84 60 4000. Converted from a Spanish monastery built in 1592, this magnificent hotel features weathered stone arches sheltering the halls and original religious paintings decorating the walls. At hotel check-in we were offered coca tea, which eased our discomfort from the altitude. In the morning we feasted at the buffet in the cheery golden breakfast room of the El Tupay Restaurant, drinking electric-colored fruit juices and sampling tasty local Kiwicha biscuits and Andean cheese; Inca dinners are held here on Saturday.

Also, see my article about Machu Picchu.

Good Eats: around the world

2011-11-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

Zagat lists some favorite snack foods in the U.S. Let's open that list up to the world. What is one of your favorites?

Great Sleeps: Unusual hotels around the world

2011-11-23T13:51:00.000-08:00

Bored? Book a few nights in one of these unusual lodgings.

See more unusual hotels .

Check out Canada's Ice Hotel.

Good Eats: Hasenecke/Currywurst, Berlin, Germany

2011-11-21T15:41:00.000-08:00

Currywurst is one of Berlin’s most famous and beloved dishes. It is said to have been “invented” in the late 1940s and became popular with construction workers rebuilding the city.

●Hasenecke Savignyplatz, 0173/233 9997. This cheery little currywurst cart is near this S-Bahn station. Here the wurst is cut in pieces, sprinkled with curry powder, and topped with a sauce. Fries are available either with ketchup or mayo. It is the favored fast food of Berliners and makes a great meal to take back to your hotel.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: Jewish Museum Berlin/Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Berlin, Germany

2011-11-19T09:05:00.000-08:00

Jewish Museum Berlin/Jüdisches Museum Berlin Europe's largest Jewish museum is housed in a stunning zinc-plated building nicknamed "the silver lightning bolt." Interior spaces are intended to disorient visitors, and the empty Holocaust Void in the center represents the world’s great loss from that event. Still, the museum can at times feel cozy. Exhibits center on Judaism and Jewish life, the Holocaust, and the post-World War II rebuilding of Jewish life in Germany.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: Mount Everest , Nepal

2011-11-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

This Mount Everest Panorama saves a lot of money and a very long, difficult trek to the top of the world's highest mountain!

Sights to See: MUSEUM ISLAND/Museumsinsel, Berlin, Germany

2011-11-16T17:30:00.000-08:00

MUSEUM ISLAND/Museumsinsel
A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999, this museum enclave is bordered by the River Spree and Kupfergraben. It consists of five state museums with world-class collections ranging from classical antiquities to 20th-century paintings and sculpture.

Bode-Museum Monbijoubrucke 030-266 3666. Long closed for restoration, this grand museum is now open with enlarged exhibits, better lighting, and more viewer-friendly exhibitions. The interior itself is as interesting as the collections, with two spectacular dome rooms, marble floors, high ceilings, colorful walls, and large windows providing lovely views to outside. Sub-collections include the Museum of Byzantine Art (displays of early Christian sarcophagi, Coptic and Byzantine sculpture, icons, and even gravestones dating from the 3rd through the 18th century), the Sculpture Collection (exhibits magnificent pieces from ancient churches and monasteries, including a 1490 sandstone pulpit support by Anton Pilgram carved in the shape of a medieval craftsman. The Numismatic Collection/Coin Collection is exceptional.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Things to Do: Strand Book Store , NYC

2011-11-14T16:28:00.000-08:00

Strand Book Store 828 Broadway/12th St., near Union Square, 212-473-1452. Founded in 1927 by the Bass family, which still owns it, this beloved old-timer is now run by the third generation. This New York legend offers "18 miles of books," including used books for a buck, new best sellers, rare books and collectibles in every price range, and an entire floor of art books. The rare books collection is the largest in town and includes signed editions. You never know what you might find on the shelves. It's as much a scene as it is a bookstore; last time I visited I witnessed a woman of a certain age pushing a baby stroller holding three yappy dogs. The lLogo t-shirts and bags make great souvenirs.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Good Eats: Le Pain Quotidien, Brentwood, California

2011-11-11T14:12:00.000-08:00

Le Pain Quotidien 11702 Barrington Court/off Sunset, 310-476-0969. $$. Breakfast choices here include scrumptious fresh French pastries, an assortment of omelettes, and more. Lunch brings on imaginative Belgian open-faced sandwiches, soups, and salads. Le Pain is known for their delicious desserts and housemade breads as well as their line of condiments (spicy harissa sauce) and jams (I love the dark Montmorency cherry), and all can be packed to carry home. A central communal table is popular with solo diners.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Good Eats: Blue Plate, Santa Monica, California

2011-11-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

Blue Plate 1415 Montana Ave., (310) 260-8877. B-L-D daily; $. At this bright and cheery spot you’ll find big windows, table-and-chair seating, and a simple menu. Breakfast is frittatas, scrambles, pancakes, and smoothies, and at lunch you can choose from healthy sandwiches, burgers, wraps, salads, and soups. And after, there’s great shopping along Montana.

image c2011 Carole Terwilliger Meyers