Travels With Two

Robert’s Grove: Seaside in Belize

Melanie — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:19:00 +0000

The dock at Robert's Grove Beach Resort, Placencia, Belize

With the end of the Mayan calendar on its way at the end of 2012, seems like I can’t crack open a blog post without reading of the splendors of Belize, the birthplace of Mayan civilization.

I have to agree with the sentiment that Belize is a lush, beautiful country full of friendly people and delicious food. I merely ask, why wait ’til the global apocalypse to go there?

I know of a lovely place where you can stay by the sea…End Times or no End Times.

My first morning at Robert’s Grove Beach Resort in southeastern Belize was also my first morning in the country. I strolled out onto the resort’s long dock, the sky steely grey and the wood still damp from a fleeting rain shower. I stopped and peered over the side at million baby fish wriggling in the green Caribbean. Glancing back to shore, I closed my eyes and smiled, listening to papery palm fronds shush in the breeze. I turned, followed the dock to the end, and sat down on a bench in the frond-roof palapa and wondered if it was too late to extend my trip.

This quiet, romantic and (sort of) remote spot is good for what ails you. Reached by a short Tropic Air charter (from the hub of Belize City to the resort town of Placencia) and an also-short van ride, you’ll arrive at a laid-back version of paradise. From the airplane, I’d loved seeing the jungle unfurl like a green shag carpet beside a silvery sea, but here at the resort I felt my own shoulders unfurl. And I don’t have to tell you, my overworked friends, that this is no easy task for any of us.

Along 22 acres of white-sand peace and quiet, there are pools with hand-painted tiles and hot tubs, a cheerful bar with a view of the water, palms strung with hammocks, and *sigh*…that dock. The rooms look and feel like big, airy haciendas with huge bathrooms (and kick-ass water pressure), plenty of places to stretch out, and little front porches upon which to perch.

Soundproofing is, um, excellent, and you get a nice view whether you stay upstairs or down in the Ocean View Villas. Mind you, I don’t want to stop you from booking an Oceanfront Villa, it’s just a little more expensive. You do what you like.

Meals here are served on the seaside deck, and I fell in love with the combination of Caribbean breezes and gorgeously prepared food. I’d never had spiny lobster, conch fritters with jalapeño, curried shrimp or banana gelato before, but thanks to Robert’s Grove I now crave them on an almost unsustainable basis. Each morning at the resort, I was tearfully happy to have rich, dark coffee and a fluffy egg-white-and-veggie omelette served seaside to a soundtrack of Lionel Richie and Hall & Oates.

Two years later, and I’m still shocked that I actually returned home after this trip.

In addition to resort guests, dinners here attract Garifuna musicians (descendants of West African slaves who specialize in intoxicating drum rhythms) and American expats; the relatively nearby central village of Placencia feels more residential than touristy, full of couples and families who long ago came on vacation and never left. In case you have no desire to leave the resort in the evenings but still want to meet locals, simply hang out on the deck at Robert’s Grove long enough you’ll find yourself drawn into conversations that swing from gossip to history to debates about the best fishing spots, beaches and adventures.

If chatting with locals feel too, well, chatty for you two, consider renting one of the resort’s two private islands. Both are at least a half-hour boat ride from a main shore and strike me as ideal places to get away from everything except nature — and yourselves.

But by all means, be sure to visit this place before the end of the world arrives. You’ll kick yourself if you miss it amidst a fiery ball of destruction.

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My stay at Robert’s Grove was sponsored by the Belize Tourism Board,
but all observations and opinions are my own.

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Travels With Two

O Happy Holidays, Full of (De) Lights

Melanie — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:13:41 +0000

O Happy Holidays, Full of (De) Lights

Just the other night we left the menorah a-burnin’ on the mantle and headed out in search of Christmas lights, just like we do every year.

Tooling around San Marino, a fancy suburb near Pasadena, California, we found some pretty spectacular lights on St. Albans Road (see photo above). Adam came across this sparkling annual community effort in a cool article on the best places to see Christmas lights in the Los Angeles area, causing me to reconsider my firm conviction that I already knew all the best places for lights in this great big crazy town.

As we stood out on St. Albans’ weed-free sidewalk, thin-blooded and shivering in our shirtsleeves, oohing and aahing over the splendor of it all, I was reminded anew that a shared adventure need not take you far from home. It just needs to take you out of yourselves for a while.

So wherever you’re headed this holiday season, please enjoy, be patient with traffic and/or the often-humorless TSA, and know that I’m wishing you exploration, happiness, wine, song, a nap or two, and the romantic glow of just about a million colored lights.

XOXO,

Melanie

Travels With Two

Travels With Two on Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio

Melanie — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:31:39 +0000

Travels With Two on Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio

If you’ve ever (for whatever earthly reason) wondered about my and Adam’s worst argument on the road, what I should definitely avoid while on a trip, or my most emotional travel experience, then have I got an interview for you.

Just recently, I was interviewed by travel guru Peter Greenberg about my own experiences traveling as half of a couple. This interview, just a few minutes of tips and fun, will be broadcast on Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio on Saturday, December 3rd.

The show airs on radio stations throughout North America and streams live from Peter’s website every Saturday from 10am-1pm EST/ 7am-10am PST. Taped in a different city each week (in this case, Chicago), PGWR provides travel advice, stories and interviews from that location and beyond.

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After-the-fact note:

Here is a link to the Saturday, December 3, 2011 radio show.
My interview begins at 1:07:56.

Travels With Two

Passports with Purpose 2011

Melanie — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:29:55 +0000

Passports with Purpose 2011

It’s that time again, folks:

The travel bloggers’ annual fundraiser, Passports with Purpose!

In its 4th year, the goal is to raise $80,000 to build two libraries in Zambia.

The raffle will be open Wednesday, November 30th through Friday, December 16th and there are fabulous travel-themed prizes to be won.

My own prize contribution is a great weekend bag from Lug, one of my favorite travel gear companies.

Now…let’s all get to donating, shall we?

After traveling to Africa in 2010, I fell deeply in love with the people I met and the adventures I had in three different countries; I’m thrilled that PwP’s 2011 focus is on helping kids on this fascinating, enormous, beleaguered, maddening, diverse and utterly mind-expanding continent.

This year’s fundraising recipient will be global education non-profit Room to Read, who will use money raised to provide well-stocked libraries for library-less children in two different regions of Zambia, an economically emerging country in southern Africa.

To aid this noble cause, luggage and travel-accessory company Lug
(maker of my own favorite weekend bag)
has donated a big, beautiful bag to the PwP auction!

Shuttle Bus Weekender Bag

Color: Rose Pink

Size: 21″w x 14.5″h x 9.5″d

Features include:

Material specially treated with water-repellent finish
Easy-wipe, clear-coated exterior bottom
6 exterior zip cargo pockets
Ventilated zip pocket compartment in back
Removable and adjustable padded shoulder strap
Strap that slides onto a standard rolling luggage handle

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Lug’s generous contribution is but one of the wonderful prizes being offered by
this year’s global lineup of travel bloggers.
You’ll find a gift for everyone on your holiday list — or simply yourselves.

The PwP raffle is open now,
and each tax-deductible donation of $10 or more
will enter you in a drawing for the prize of your choice!

On Friday, December 16th, the auction will be closed.

On Friday, December 23rd, winners will be notified.

Click here to enter the raffle or
simply donate to Passports with Purpose 2011!

________________________________________

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And a big thank you to this year’s PwP sponsors:

Round the World With Us
HomeAway
Traveller’s Point

Travels With Two

Tryptophan, Thanks and Travel

Melanie — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:36:04 +0000

Tryptophan, Thanks and Travel

Boardwalk at Moonstone Beach, Cambria, Californa

In the last few weeks, I haven’t been doing a whole lot of writing here.

Instead, I’ve been writing a novel.

Y’know, like one does.

But for the Thanksgiving holiday I’ll be traveling again: Adam and I are heading up to Central California to go cove exploring, wine tasting and beachcombing in Morro Bay, Paso Robles and Cambria.

Y’know, like two do.

The novel is a project I first started back in 1998 and have been skillfully avoiding ever since. Novel-writing has been to me what air travel is to the flying-phobic. However, since they don’t make Xanax for novelists, I’ve just had to duck, dodge, weave and finally just choose the right time in my life to get started.

Apparently, the right time is now.

Set in a fictional version of the Age of Exploration, my book-in-process is a Young Adult tale of a witty young princess who feels she’s been born to the wrong family. She’s happiest having adventures with her science-geek best friend, who is unrequitedly in love with her. When our heroine is faced with a potentially disastrous arranged marriage, she and her pal stow away onboard a ship taking a trip ’round a fantasy version of the world; by the time this eye-opening journey is over, she discovers that she wants to be a leader, in her own right.

I figure a trilogy ought to do it, but let’s start with the one book, shall we?

I’m grateful that I can actually string together paragraphs of fiction, after not testing this theory since about, oh, the second Clinton Administration.

In addition to noveling, I’ll soon be sporting a site re-design here at Travels With Two, as well as debuting a new website altogether: Have Snark, Will Travel will feature comedic photos and micro-stories from around the world.

I’m grateful that my chosen domain name wasn’t taken. I’m also grateful to have found a helpful, communicative coder/designer.

But not so grateful that I’m unwilling to take a break from the computer for a few days.

On Thanksgiving morning, we’ll climb in the car and drive four hours north. We’ll stay at The Fogcatcher Inn right on Moonstone Beach and have a hopefully delightful four-course dinner at the Cass House in nearby Cayucos. Then we’ll spend the weekend trolling around the rocky shores of Morro Bay, the wine tasting rooms of Paso Robles, the elephant seal breeding grounds at Piedras Blancas, and the sweet little village of Cambria itself.

Aside from the weekend to come, it”ll be nice to be back in Los Angeles for a good long while. It feels like about half of this year has been spent away from home and/or each other; just lately, I’ve been in Arizona and Maryland for 10 days combined…and that’s just lately.

In the weeks to come, keep an eye out for:

-the kick-off of the 4th annual Passports with Purpose
-a link to my radio interview by travel guru Peter Greenberg
-tales of resorts in sunny Arizona
-a layover plan for Sydney, Australia
-a visit to a seaside inn in central Belize
-the surprising foodie scene in Tijuana, Mexico
-further explorations in Taiwan
-and of course…more

For now, I wish you all a happy holiday of togetherness, tryptophan and travel, wherever it may be!

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Travels With Two

A Long Weekend in London

Melanie — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:06:20 +0000

A Long Weekend in London

London is America’s gateway drug for European travel, an English-speaking opportunity to poke through 2,000 years’ worth of history, glimpse the future, then sit down with a cocktail to watch the world hurry by.

However, since it’s likely that you don’t have the years it would take to properly see all of its 659 square miles, might I recommend a long weekend to simply see a bit of London for yourselves?

A direct flight to London from Los Angeles is about 11 hours, while from New York it’s about 6. Using these flight times as averages, a three-day trip to London from the West Coast would require five days away from home, while an East Coast departure would require four.

My airline of choice to London is Virgin Atlantic, and I’d actually consider committing (petty, white-collar) crime to score their Premium Economy seats. See, VA’s Economy Class seats have a decent width and pitch, but the leg room isn’t great, the entertainment center screens are small, and the food falls squarely between pretty dull and actually unappetizing. On the other hand, VA’s Upper Class is super-sexy, with its own floor of the plane, cloud-like sleeping pods, full bar with disco-neon lighting and access to the swanktacular LHR Clubhouse at Heathrow…but it’s accordingly exorbitant.

VA’s Premium Economy, though, like the Goldilocks of air travel, is juuussst right: wide and cushy seats with plugs for your electronics, plenty of leg room, fair-sized entertainment screens and civilized meal service with real, actual green salads.

Now you can say you've seen the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse at Heathrow (without buying an Upper Class ticket)

And once you’ve touched down, here’s what I’d suggest you do with a long weekend in London:

Visit the Design Museum to see some of the coolest objects, gadgets and art coming out of England

Wander through hundreds of years’ worth of British art at the Tate Britain, including a remarkable mural called The Expedition in Pursuit of Rare Meats featured in the museum’s Rex Whistler Restaurant

Out front of the Tate Britain, hop the Tate Boat to the Tate Modern for a breezy version of the city

At the glassy and cavernous Tate Modern, don’t miss the view of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Thames from the top-floor café

Millennium Bridge, St Paul's Cathedral and the City of London seen from the cafe at the Tate Modern

For more great views, have a cocktail at the Oxo Tower Bar or Champagne by the glass at Vertigo 42

Book afternoon tea at The Savoy as your big splurge — and do it as soon as you plan your trip, as bookings can be tight

The elegant entrance and tea room at the Savoy Hotel in the West End

Check out the architecture hall at the Victoria & Albert Museum to see scale models of great buildings from around the world

Then head across the street and down a block to Orsini Caffe for the best cappuccino in the city, made by Florentines

In nearby Kensington, home to some of my favorite fantasy mansions in the city, go inside Leighton House to indulge in its opulent mosaics and tiles, then linger by the fire (or out on the patio) over a cider at The Scarsdale Tavern

Moorish tiles at Leighton House, the delightful Orsini Caffe and Queen's Gate at Kensington Gardens

Visit Borough Market on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday to see foodstuffs produced around the UK, stop into Monmouth Coffee for a great cuppa joe and free bread and jam, then walk down a couple of blocks to see lovely Southwark Cathedral and a bit of the Thames

Tavern across from the Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral and a South London view 'cross the Thames

Stroll through St James’ Park, across the circle from Buckingham Palace, for little bridges over a lake full of flocks of geese

Walk The Regent’s Park from end to end to see the most romantic gardens in London (which is really saying something)

At left, St James's Park in Fall; at right, The Regent's Park in Spring

Try some gorgeous Turkish food at Sofra in St John’s Wood, followed by poking through the boutiques in this fancy little neighborhood

Sample Bangladeshi street foods over on Brick Lane, tool through Spitalfields Market a couple blocks away, then walk across the street to A. Gold, a tiny store selling food and products found only in Britain

(Clockwise from L) A bit of Pakistan on Brick Lane, Spitalfields Market and A. Gold

Take a deep breath and a nice long walk up in the green country hills of Hampstead Heath, then settle in for a hearty brunch at the Burgh House Buttery

Hampstead Heath in North London, which feels like a day trip to the countryside

• What would you do with a long weekend in London? •

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TWT Travel Binder: England

Travels With Two

Off We Drove to Forest Grove

Melanie — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:57:09 +0000

Off We Drove to Forest Grove

A few weeks back we hit the road to find ourselves some autumn fun in the Pacific Northwest. With the help of our friends, we found it in Forest Grove, Oregon, less than an hour from Portland.

Between huge flocks of birds, a sake tour, wine tasting and a fine mist hanging o’er the hills, I’m sure as heck glad we got off the couch and headed west.

By “west,” I specifically mean west of Portland, where we were visiting our friends Jessica and Chris. Generally speaking, take 26W/NW Sunset Highway out of the city and get off at Exit 59 for Jackson School Road. All told, getting to Forest Grove should take about 35-4o minutes.

Hungry? Well, along the way, we stopped off at the delightfully old-school and clapboard South Store Cafe in nearby Scholls for beautiful cappuccinos, lattes and hearty breakfast sang-wiches. I’d highly recommend the place to get yourselves in a snug, small-town, leap-peeping frame of mind. But right in Forest Grove proper, you could also check out the ornate Ironwork Grill at McMenamin’s Grand Lodge, one of a local chain of über-cool (and undoubtedly quirky) hotel/restaurant/pub/movie theater compounds set in lovingly-restored Portland-area landmark buildings.

We loved our visit to the Fernhill Wetland, which offered a lovely little stroll around a marsh-ful of five gabillion ducks and geese, a couple of herons and a stoic white pelican who looked almost entirely out of place. We saw fiddlehead ferns drying on the stalk, berries dripping dew, and a fleece-clad couple on the prowl with high-tech birding binoculars. We saw a fuzzy brown caterpillar that I refused to hold in my hand for longer than a second, seeing as it was that creepy kind of fuzzy. We also saw more shorebirds than we’ve ever seen in one pond at one time just burst upward in furious formation, only to land a minute later in the center of a wheaty field as though nothing happened. Absolutely amazing.

Post-wetland, we wafted about the might-be-Europe-if-you-squint grounds of Montinore Vineyards, where Fall was on full display. While we’re already fans of Willamette Valley wines, this was our first trip to the Washington County wine country; Montinore’s warm, glowy tasting room is big enough to serve a crowd, though, so clearly this region has been discovered. After tasting our way through a pinot gris and a variety of elegant pinot noirs, we bought the spicy, fruity ’07 Forest Grove Cellars Merlot ($21) and their not-too-sweet Ruby Pinot Noir Port ($25) to share with our friends.

We then switched to sake. SakeOne is one of the few sake breweries in the U.S., and was established in Forest Grove by its Japanese parent company in order to take advantage of the area’s high-quality water. I highly recommend taking a complimentary tour here: between the murals of pants-less men, the smoothness of perfectly hulled rice and its sweet fragrance when fermenting, this is a rare experience full of humor, sanitary booties and shiny contraptions.

After our tour, we bellied up to the bar for a Saké Shock, a gorgeous little food-and-sake pairing which matches different types of the brew with spicy chili garlic peas, smoked tuna, goat cheese and more. You can take your rose-colored glasses — I’d rather see the world through pink and sparkling plum sake. (free tours are given seven days a week at either 1, 2 or 3pm; Saké Shock tastings are $10 per person)

Our entire outing took about 7 hours and was one of the best days we’d all had in a long time. Getting out into a little autumn can do wonders for the cobwebs in your head, so give it some thought:

Where do you two want to go to experience a taste of Fall?

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Travels With Two

Portland, Oregon: A (Real Live) Weekend Away

Melanie — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:43:08 +0000

Portland, Oregon: A (Real Live) Weekend Away

A bit of the bar at Ping in Portland's Chinatown

Recently spent my (early-October) birthday up in Portland, Oregon, which is just about our favorite city in America.

We stayed with friends, went to a book fair and a radio show taping, toodled around the city, drank wine and stuffed our faces. We wore actual sweaters and jackets to ward off the autumn chill.

And you know what? It was darn good for the mind, body and soul.

On this trip, we stayed locally with our friends Jessica and Chris. Since it’s highly unlikely that you two would also stay with them, though, I recommend the Heron Haus B & B in Nob Hill (NW), Portland’s White House B & B in Irvington (NE), McMenamin’s Kennedy School near the Alberta Arts District (NE), or the Hotel Lucia in the heart of downtown (SW).

Artwork at the Wordstock book festival; pre-Live Wire radio show taping at the Aladdin Theater

To see what was going on around town for the weekend, Jess visited the Travel Portland site and discovered that the Wordstock book festival and a special Wordstock-themed taping of Live Wire! Radio were happening on my birthday. Since I’ve lately had novel-writing on the brain, the timing felt perfect.

At the Oregon Convention Center we puttered around Wordstock exhibitors’ tables, discovering new books, publishers and funny stickers. We even nabbed a subscription to McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, America’s best-designed anthology of fiction.

Later that night, the two back-to-back tapings of Live Wire were held at the vintage 1920s Aladdin Theater, and between the clever vignettes, performances by local musicians and fascinating interviews with writers, this experience absolutely rocked. You can attend a Live Wire taping just about every two weeks, and I would give it three thumbs up if only I had a third thumb.

Sign along Broadway in Downtown; artwork for sale in a NW boutique

Earlier that day, we’d headed Downtown to explore, and did our best to keep it weird.

Collectively, all of Portland also did its best.

The over-crowded Voodoo Doughnut in Downtown Portland

The only thing that no longer seems weird there is Voodoo Doughnuts. This home-grown haunt has been written up in so many magazines and blogs, covered to death in so many travel shows, that it’s now officially been discovered by the masses. Since I’m spiritually opposed to standing in line for anything, much less a g-damn doughnut, safe to say we didn’t engage; but if you absolutely must snarf some maple bacon ale fritters during your stay, then for the love of God go visit the other Voodoo Doughnut, on the northeast side of town.

Clockwise from top L: the Downtown Stumptown and its cappuccino; the logo at Flying Cat Coffee Company; afternoon tea at Lady Di's; the lemon tart at La Petite Provence; and seasonal cupcakes at The Little T

Aside from crullers, Portland offers a many other lovely ways to mainline wheat products — and caffeine.

Hit industrial-fabulous The Little T for cupcakes and pastries, then worship at the temple of java at any of the five local Stumptown Coffee Roasters. (I have a love affair going with their Holler Mountain, and with their Hair Bender, too.) For a palate cleanser, score a latte and check out the greatest logo in town at the Flying Cat Coffee Company, who threaten to have t-shirts for sale soon.

If you have a spot of tea (and scones and finger sandwiches) in mind, head to Lake Oswego for the almost ridiculously charming Lady Di’s British Store & Tea Room and ask to be seated off by yourselves in the Tea Cozy Room (afternoon tea, $16 US per person). With any luck, it’ll be raining outside and will really feel like England inside. For a stunning breakfast nearby, visit sunny and delicious La Petite Provence, and order any gorgeous omelette on the menu with a side of potatoes, butternut squash and rosemary. Oh, and if you tell them it’s your birthday, they’ll give you a free pastry; I happily chose the truly lovely lemon tart.

Chop in Portland's HUB Building; the NE outpost of Olympic Provisions

If you like charcuterie, you’ll feel absurdly lucky in Portland. Chop, a butcher counter located inside the HUB Building at the back corner of the splendid Tasty n Sons restaurant, is a great place to cobble together a picnic to eat over in the Rose Test Garden or up at Mt. Hood. Tasty n Sons itself makes a mean meat-and-locally-made-cheese board, as well as a stunning array of creative cocktails.

Olympic Provisions, whose NE location is spread across a sexed-up former warehouse, is absolutely serious about its meat; full of spices and a twisted sort of sausage-love, you’ll definitely want the nola and the saucisson sec, and you’ll want to pair ‘em with creamy cheese from the Northwest. I wasn’t much into the fussy cocktails here, but the full-bodied house red offered a hells-yes hit of cherry.

Pok Pok Noi in NE Portland

If I only had a couple of meals to spend in Portland, though, I’d hit a link in the local Pok Pok chain. Inspired by the sizzle, crackle and heat of Southeast Asian street food, this is the place for chili and spice and a big ol’ stack of napkins. Try a cocktail with Kampong (Thai brandy) or a non-alcoholic and lightly sweet passionfruit drinking vinegar. Skip the too-tart papaya salad (and definitely skip the addition of tiny pieces of non-shelled blue crab), and don’t miss out on Ike’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Wings. Between the sweet and crunchy coating and the pickled carrots on the side, I could easily make this my last meal.

At the compact Pok Pok in SE you order at your table, while at Pok Pok Noi in NE, you order at one section of the restaurant, then hoof your cocktails to another and go sit down. Both offer picnic table seating and a casual vibe, while the SE location is across the street from the D-Street Noshery, a kick-ass collection of food carts where you can make a crawl of it all.

Ping, in Portland's Chinatown

One of my favorite meals of the weekend was Chinese street snacks at Pok Pok’s latest venture, Ping. Preserving its roots as Chinatown’s former stand-by, Hung Far Low (*chuckle*), the decor is a hipster version of 1940s Chinese-America, with old posters, packing crates and antique radios. Ping has the same drinking vinegars and full bar as at Pok Pok, but the light and chewy pork bun, buttery Malaysian roti bread and tea-stained egg are a delicious trip to a very different part of Asia.

Or Portland, as the case may be.

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Travels With Two