Sometimes it’s hard to come up with superlatives on a long trip: best beach, best view, best hotel. But sometimes the best is just SO best that it’s undeniable — and Italy serves up just such a superlative experience for Lindsie and I when we arrive in Volpaia one stormy night.

We’re here on a mission, and Volpaia’s renowned La Bodega restaurant is our chosen battleground.

Ever since we arrived in Italy, we’ve marveled at the number of courses on the menus: antipasti, first course, second course, dessert. Throw in apertif, wine, digestif, and coffee, and you have a truly insane amount of food and drink to consume. Every time we’ve gone out, we’ve exercised restraint and ordered a single course — but tonight is the one night we’re planning to throw caution (and our waistlines) to the winds. (more…)

Lindsie and I got married last July, and after a three-week honeymoon in Costa Rica, we knew that we needed to do this for WAY more than three weeks.

Since then, we’ve been on a yearlong epic trip that has taken us to Thailand, Malaysia, Bali, Cambodia, Australia, Germany, France, England, Scotland, and Italy… and there are five sweet months to go.

Honestly, I can’t imagine anyone else in the world that I could spend every single day with for seven months. But Lindsie, with you, I wish every one of these days could last forever.

Seven months into this incredible trip, I’ve taken a lot of pictures of this incredible woman… so here’s a little retrospective of some moments I’ll always treasure.

Happy birthday, sweetheart.

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“Here are the towels,” she tells me, her voice set on a pleasant sort of autopilot. “Sleeping bags. Cushions. Bucket. Microwave only works if the van’s plugged in. Engine’s under the passenger seat. Turn the propane off when you drive. Always put the radiator cap on tight.”

“Under the passenger seat?” I ask, not sure I’ve heard right. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then,” I reply.

“Here’s your keys. See you in two weeks.”

I test the key in the ignition and the van fires to life. A large yellow arrow mounted over the speedometer reminds me to KEEP LEFT. And moments later, after five sleepy weeks surfing and writing and sipping tea and watching DVDs, I’m westbound on the expressway back into Sydney at the wheel of a turtle-top Toyota Hilux loaded with gas, propane, water, bedding, pots, pans, and a vague smell of evil that I’m pretty sure is emanating from the mini-fridge. (more…)

News flash: Lindsie and I have “champagne tastes.”

That’s according to Kate Scroggins, a reporter from Canadian Press who was kind enough to interview us via Skype while we were staying in Singapore a few days.

The story is out on the CP newswire and has already been picked up on Yahoo News, Canoe, MSN, Canada East, The Chronicle Herald, and a bunch of others. I’m enjoying being famous for a few seconds.

The headline about “champagne tastes” is well timed, too, as we’re in France right now and just finished visiting the famous and amazing caves of Champagne. Total coincidence. Stay tuned for France blog posts.

And just for the record, I gave that quote about us being “less focused on drinking” shortly after a five-day bender in Queensland, Australia — a week like that would leave anyone in a… puritanical state of mind.

I’m happy to report that things are back to normal, though. We tasted fifteen French wines yesterday, including an astonishingly perfect Volnay Les Mitans Premier Cru. I’m changing this blog’s tagline to “Pack light and carry an aspirin.”

We dine on street noodles, get massages, and even brave a tailor’s shop to have a suit and a silk dress tailored, with great results.

This time around, my three favorite spots in Bangkok are:

1. The Hotel Atlanta. Mad art deco hotel with zero tolerance for sex tourists, and it’s right in Sukhumvit. Amazing food too, and a pool, all for $25 a night. (It’s well hidden at the end of an alley; the sign out front says, This is the place you are looking for — if you know it. If you don’t, you’ll never find it.)
2. Little Arabia. After a meal of butter chicken, I smoke a shisha, drink a lassi, and watch men walk past in sheik-style desert robes. Amazing.
3. Mahboonkrong. MBK is the mother of all malls, though a big white guy like me has to shop around a lot to find anything that fits. But there are movies, food, clothes, electronics, books, and killer foot rubs. And air con.
    

And then, before we know it, our four months in Asia are finished and we’re on the red-eye to Sydney. (more…)