Dec 25: Zurich, Switzerland
Dear Meg,
Merry Christmas!
2019 was pretty damn crazy. This is a brief catalogue of our year of adventure. I hope you like it.
I love you always,
L.
Dec 6-9: Milan, Italy
We travelled with our moms down to Milan. It’s a quick train ride, which we passed drinking wine and playing cards. We stayed in a lovely apartment and kicked off our trip with delicious pizza and cocktails at Dry.
The next day, we headed out for a 3 hour walking tour of the city. It included 15 minutes with The Last Supper, which was really pretty cool. They have preserved it in a beautiful way and I, as it turns out, knew very little about it. It was cold outside, but we lasted through the whole tour - making our way to the Castle, the Duomo, and La Scala. We went for lunch at a very nice little cafe after our tour and then walked through the markets that surrounded the castle. That part was kind of a shitshow.
On Sunday we went to see the Duomo. The inside is gorgeous, but the roofs were really the standout for all of us. For dinner we went to Eataly and bought fresh pasta to cook up for dinner. It was delicious and we drank too much wine, but I have no regrets.
Nov 27 - Dec 1: London, England
A while ago I bought us tickets to see My Favorite Murder live in London. It was a spur of the moment idea, but felt like the perfect was to spend our first non-American Thanksgiving. We decided to turn it in to a mini-vacation.
We flew in on Wednesday evening and caught dinner at an excellent Italian place in Shoreditch (which you’ll have to give me the name of…) Thursday you had to work, so I did some errand running and generally wandered around the city. That night was the MFM show - it was amazing and we had VIP tickets so got to meet Karen and Georgia afterwards. You even made Karen laugh. All in all, a total dream come true.
Friday we had a delicious lunch of sliders near our hotel and then wandered in the direction of the Tate Modern. We saw a few galleries there before we started to make our way to dinner with Mike. Unfortunately, there had been an incident on the London bridge earlier and the city was in a bit of chaos. It took us about 2 hours to cross London, but we made it and had a delightful, if bizarre dinner. Most impressively, the waitress brought us each our own huge plate of bread. It was odd. And then we found a pub.
Because we’re huge nerds, we had also bought tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child while we were there. It’s 2 full shows back to back so we spent the vast majority of our day in the theater. The show was really impressive and I’m very glad we saw it. In between the shows, we went to NOPI for dinner, which was delicious. The roasted eggplant was a particular standout. After the second show, we headed out to meet up with Laura, Mike, Jamie, and Kathy - but the time we got their the pub was closing soon so a friend of the group found a Lebanese restaurant that was open until 4am and we all went there. Laura, wisely, ordered us 3 bottles of wine as the bar was closing and we spent the rest of the night catching up and laughing. It was the best.
Nove 8-11: Tel Aviv, Israel
You were invited to teach a class in Tel Aviv and neither of us had ever been, so we decided to make a weekend out of it!
My main takeaway from Israel is that it might have my favorite food. Like for real. We got in on Friday night and wandered over to North Abraxas to see if they could get us in - they could, but not until 9:45 so we went and got a drink and a snack at a bar down the road. When we arrived back at the restaurant, there was still no spot for us, but they brought us wine outside while we waited. Finally a spot opened up at the bar and we were in! The food was worth the wait - whole roasted cauliflower with sea salt and tahini for dipping, lamb shawarma, chocolate pudding that they literally squished on the paper in front of us. It was all amazing. Plus, it turns out Israel makes some nice wine. Who knew?!
Saturday we headed out for the beach (we were staying downtown). We stopped into a cute coffee shop and had a bit of breakfast on our way. And then in to a bar for a glass of bubbly. It was hot, we needed refreshment. Then on to the beach where we rented an umbrella and chairs and relaxed. The water was colder than expected, but wading in was refreshing. That night we had yet another amazing meal. This time at Shila - all seafood and some of the best tasting fish I’ve ever had. And more Israeli wine, of course. Then on to Imperial cocktail bar, which was kind of a hilarious hole in the wall, but one with really interesting drinks.
Sunday we decided that, since we’re here, we should see Jerusalem. We hopped on the bus and headed that way! We walked to the old city from the bus station and stopped in the Mahane Yehuda Market for some lunch at Azura (which was delicious!). Once we made it to the old city, we went up on the ramparts to walk around. We were up above the Muslim Quarter during a call to prayer and it was really beautiful. The stone that so much of that city is built out of glows in the sunshine. For some reason part of the ramparts walk was closed, so we had to exit earlier than we had planned, but we walked over towards the Western Wall which, as various soldiers told us, was closed. It turns out it wasn’t though - just the area behind it was due to some construction. It was very impressive to see, but also very crowded so we soon hiked out of the crowds and headed back up towards the bus station. We returned to the market where we had earlier spotted a beer bar. We stopped in for a tasting and then headed back to Tel Aviv.
Nov 1-4: Dublin, Ireland
This trip was a bit off the cuff, but a delightful way to spend the weekend!
It was meant to rain all weekend, so we planned to stay in Dublin and made it a food and whiskey-focused weekend. It was a good call.
We arrived Friday the 1st and got checked in to our adorable hotel, Stauntons on the Green. We went out for a late dinner at Ely Wine Bar - it was excellent and packed at 9pm. Saturday we checked out the castle so you could see a display of china and then headed out to see St. Patrick’s Cathedral only to discover that it was closed for the day for a graduation. So, we found some coffee and hung out in the rain ahead of our big plans for the day: Whiskey Tasting. We went to the Liberties Distillery which is a pretty new spot in the city. The tour was just us and an enthusiastic Irish family - we had a great time. To top it off, the whiskey was really very good and we stuck around the bar for an extra cocktail at the end chatting with the bartender about the Swiss Air Force. That night we headed to dinner with Eimear at L Mulligan Grocer. The food was excellent.
Sunday we had reservations to tour the Kilmainham Goal. On our way there we stopped off at Christ’s Church Cathedral which was stunning on the inside. They also had a display in the crypt featuring a taxidermied cat and rat that were found in their organ. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever seen. The tour guide at the prison was a bit on the hammy side, but it was super interesting - it turns out neither one of us know all that much about 19th & 20th century Irish history and we certainly knew more by the end of the tour!
That evening we had one of my favorite meals from this year - we did the tasting menu at Forest & Marcy. The atmosphere was lovely - very relaxed, bar seating. And the food was excellent from start to finish. I think you have the menu somewhere. We should put it up here.
On Monday, you had to go in to the office, so I went to Trinity to check out the Book of Kells only to discover that, as of that day, it was out for restorations. So, I checked out the library and the exhibit and then went on my merry way.
Oct 6-12: Wroclaw Poland
I think this was one of the most surprising trips we had this year. I don’t think any of us had an idea of what to expect from Poland and boy, were we pleasantly surprised! Wroclaw has an interesting history - it has been passed between many different countries and republics throughout history and that really comes through in the architecture and culture.
To explain how we wound up here: we were at the Cutting Ball gala with Rob and Joan and the co-founder of CBT, Paige, had put up a week in their flat in Wroclaw as one of the silent auction items. You got pretty excited about that and, after a few glasses of champagne, decided to make a bid. And here we are.
Fortunately, Rob and Joan were able to join us on this adventure! There was really just too much to list this trip day by day so here are the highlights:
On our very first day we discovered a donut shop near the apartment that was serving fresh, hot donuts and I’ve never tasted anything so good in my life.
Thanks to Joan’s reading of some random blog, we found Brower Stu Mostow, an excellent brewery with a fun vibe and delicious sours.
We walked up some crazy dark stairway to reach the walkway outside of St. Mary Magdalene Church which afforded some really beautiful views.
The panorama museum. It’s too weird not to experience for yourself.
On Ewa’s recommendation, we had dinner at Mloda Polska on our last night. The food was great, but the real highlight was the vodka tasting we finished up with. I had no idea Seaberry even existed.
So many gnomes.
Sept 1 - 16: Bali
When we got married 10 years ago (what?!) we originally planned to go to Bali for our Honeymoon. For a variety of reasons, we ended up in Kenya instead. I wouldn't trade that trip for anything, but we’ve always wanted to make it to Bali. It turns out it’s really no farther from Zurich than it is from SF, so we decided this was the year! We also decided we were going all out for this trip. You came home one day and informed me that you had purchased business class plane tickets, and we only stayed in hotels with private pools. It was rough.
Ubud
We began the trip in Ubud to adjust to the time zone and get settled.
Highlights:
The Komeneka Monkey Forest lodge and the private villa we had with our own plunge pool. Slightly less charming: the disco across the rice paddy that went until 3AM.
The Sacred Monkey Forest. Baby monkeys are the cutest, and watching monkeys steal shit from tourists was hilarious.
Nusantara for dinner - just delicious all around. The fish wrapped in a banana leaf was divine, and we both could have sworn the barbecue tofu was actual meat. Also, we learned what a snake fruit is!
Room4Dessert was one of the most unique dining experiences I’ve ever had. Also, I matched my cocktail for one course.
We went on what was meant to be a short hike. Got lost, met a young German man who was also lost, and led him on an 8 mile journey that was definitively not the hike we meant to do.
The beers we had after that way too long hike.
Lembongan
Lembongan is a small island off the south coast of Bali. We mainly went there for the diving; it’s known for Manta Ray and Mola Mola sightings.
Highlights:
Getting our Advanced Open Water certifications!
<——- Those sunsets
Some of the hardest, but most rewarding dives we’ve ever done - the water was about 17 Celsius and the currents were super strong, but we saw mantas, dolphins, and sharks.
The lunches on the dive boats were some of the best food we ate in Bali. Truly. Talk to me about fried banana cake.
Lembongan is the ultimate beach town - gorgeous sunsets and plenty of places happy to sell you a cocktail while you watch them. It’s the only place we’ve been served amuse-bouche vodka shots.
Our hotel, Batu Karang, was one of the prettiest places I have ever been - it was on a hell of a hill, but worth it for the views.
Tulamben
We went to Tulamben because we wanted to dive the wreck of the USS Liberty. It was super worth it.
Highlights:
Our hotel was a bit of an adventure - it was very remote and much more rustic than advertised. We opted to call it “glamping”. There was a small rodent that went in and out of our room. We decided it was a vole and left it at that.
We dove 3 times in one day (all fairly shallow shore dives). We were only meant to do two, but the dive master recommended a macro dive and you couldn’t say no.
Seeing a baby frog fish and a baby moray eel on said macro dive.
Our hotel room, while a bit odd, had a gigantic private pool that overlooked the water, so it could have been a lot worse.
We tried to go to a restaurant at the hotel next door which turned out to be owned by a Swiss couple. They were almost full, so couldn't feed us dinner. It felt like being at home.
Menjangan
We headed to Menjangen for a bit more diving, but also for the nature out there. It’s a beautiful spot with natural hot springs nestled in the mangrove forests overlooking the ocean. Highly recommend.
Highlights:
Our hotel, Mimpi Resort Menjangan, was amazing. The furniture looks like it fell out of a 1980s summer camp, but everything else about it is perfect.
The first night we were there, we were having a cocktail in one of the hot springs when a troop of monkeys showed up to play in the brackish stream below us. The young ones and babies played and wrestled and, when the tide had come in enough, began to swing from mangroves and cannonball in to the water. I’m not kidding. I have video.
You had your first emergency while diving - your regulators stopped working about 60ft under water. Fortunately you caught my eye and I was able to get you my backup quickly. Our dive master was able to get your backup working, so we soldiered on.
Every night we had dinner on the beach with a bottle of surprisingly-not-terrible Balinese wine.
There was a large water monitor that would wander around every evening in the brackish spring. We sipped cocktails and watched him hunt. He was beautiful and scary.
We celebrated our actual 10-year wedding anniversary here and it was lovely.
Jimbaren
Our last stop before we headed home. Chosen mainly due to it’s proximity to the airport, but the hotel ended up being a real standout.
Highlights:
I can’t say enough about the hotel - it’s gorgeous - we had a bedroom villa, an open air living room, a separate “relaxation room”, a private pool, and a lounging bed to ourselves all surrounded by an 8ft tall wall. I did not realize this before booking, but privacy is really their thing there.
Every day around 3, they would bring us afternoon tea, which included not only tea or coffee, but also a tower of snacks and sweets.
The sunset on the Jimbaren beach was pretty stunning. The view of the airport from the same beach is a bit less so.
The food there was outstanding.
Jun 28 - Jul 8: France
Soldes and Pride! Eamon was totally right – it was a great idea to come shopping in Paris during this time.
You and Archana bought so many clothes and I found quite a few shirts. I loved the bookshop / wine bar that we found together when we went off one night. We watched the USWNT beat France at a bar where Archana talked our way in to the private area upstairs. It was too hot, but still the most fun. We ate chicken fingers and fries and drank beer and celebrated with half of the bar when the US won.
We had both been to Paris a handful of times before and it was delightful to spend some time there not focused on sight seeing. I feel like we got to just kind of relax in to that city, which is a pretty nice thing to do. Plus, the Pride parade was epic.
From Paris we headed to Lyon. It’s not a super beautiful city when you first arrive, but it really grew on us. Our apartment was in the university area and we found a small bar up the road that would sell us rose and a cheeseboard and let us sit around and play cards. We went there every day. We saw the USWNT beat England and Sweden fall to The Netherlands. It was glorious and, again, too hot.
The first night in Lyon, we had dinner at La Mère Brazier. It was a wild experience. First off, I’ve never dined in my own private room before. The food was unbelievable: from the chicken and foie gras pie to the multi course whole roasted chicken with surprise lobster and shockingly affordable dessert wine. You took a leap of faith and ordered the fish mousse. It turned out to be the best thing on the table. It was a truly special evening and one I don’t think any of us will ever forget.
In the days between the semi-finals and the finals, we went to Avignon. We stayed at an Airbnb just inside the city walls that had air conditioning, which was basically the best thing any of us had ever felt The first night we bought cheese and bread and meat (and wine, obvi) and just ate in the apartment while we played Pandemic.
The next day we went to the Palace of the Popes, which is a crazy place. The theater festival was on, so the city was packed and extremely vibrant - there were people wandering around in costume and we even happened upon a parade one day. On top of that, the food was amazing in Avignon!
We then went back to Lyon – sadly, without our friends this time – for the WWC finals. We prepared – made a reservation at the restaurant outside the stadium so we could have drinks before the game. The most brilliant idea you’ve ever had. The finals were fantastic - less of a nail biter than it had been against England, but pretty remarkable to get to see those awesome women win the cup. We went out that night in Lyon with friends - it was a raucous night to be remembered for sure.
June 14-16: Venice Lido, Italy
You had a work trip to Venice, so we decided to spend the weekend together there before that started. Paige, very kindly, offered their place in Venice Lido for the weekend. It was AMAZING.
I had been to Venice a very long time ago, but didn’t remember much. We travelled there by train which was long, but comfortable and easy. We arrived at the train station and it was super hot - we caught the local ferry out to Venice Lido, which took another hour. We were pretty beat by the time we arrived, but both the town and the apartment were so lovely that we perked right up.
We took a walk around the island and decided to stick around for dinner. On our way out, we discovered a small bar close the ferry dock that happily served us Campari spritzes and a basket of potato chips. It was perfect. We headed to La Favorita for dinner - it was fancier than we expected, but they were very nice and had a table available for us. The food was delicious - we started with crab and baby shrimp appetizers which I recall outstripping the mains. The best part was that they had a live band that was playing hilarious 90s music covers. All in all, it was just the best.
On Saturday, we headed in to the city to explore - we wandered from the Biennale Gardens up through Piazza San Marco. It was all beautiful, but also super crowded and hot. At some point we ducked in to a small bar, which was an excellent find. They made a delicious Campari spritz and had some nice light lunch options. We continued on up over the Ponte Di Rialto. Burned out from the crowds and heat, we headed back over to Lido to relax for a while. We had dinner reservations in Venice that night, so headed back that way. Dinner was at a nice wine bar and then we went to Il Mercante for a cocktail. It was a beautiful evening out and the crowd from the bar had spilled out in to the street, so we managed to snag a table. The cocktails were bizarre, but tasty.
We decided to have a relaxing day on Sunday, so we slept in and then headed to the local beach to rent an umbrella and chairs. We weren’t entirely sure how it worked, but we showed up at a local spot, fumbled our way through in non-Italian, and were shown to our chairs and umbrella. Success! The beach was beautiful and felt very non-touristy. We drank some beers in the sun and walked up to the little clubhouse for lunch. Overall, a delightful way to spend a day. In the evening, we went back to our favorite spot for Campari spritz and then to Ristorante Andri (per Paige’s recommendation!) for a stellar seafood dinner. It ended with homemade fruit liquors of all kinds of varieties. Made for a rough morning, but 100% worth it.
June 7-10: Prague, Czech Republic
Ian and Justine were at the Prague Quadrennial this year and we wanted to see them and their kiddos, so we made the bold move to rent a car and drive to Prague with the dog in tow. Fortunately, Penny is a good car dog and you can drive very, very fast in Germany.
We made it to Prague and checked in to a beautiful apartment in Prague 7, which was close to the Garrett clan. It was a bit out of downtown, but actually a super cute area with some good restaurants, etc. Ian and Justine invited us over for dinner the first night, so we grabbed some snacks at the grocery store and headed our way. The next day was Miles’ birthday, so we amused ourselves (after the kids had gone to bed) by drinking beer and blowing up dozens of balloons. What we learned soon after was that the walls had a texture on them that was deadly for balloons. As was the cactus in the corner.
We spent Saturday at the zoo with the Garretts and some of their other friends celebrating Miles’ birthday. It was super fun hanging out with the kids and we do always love a new zoo.
That evening we went in to old town to check it out - it was not really what I was expecting. It was extremely crowded and mainly full of bachelor parties. It reminded me of the French Quarter in New Orleans. It probably did not help that there was some sort of music festival happening in the middle of the square. It was very pretty though and we grabbed some dinner and drinks and then walked over the bridge with a beautiful view of the castle.
On Sunday we decided to go explore the Jewish Quarter in the morning. We walked all the way in from our place along the river - there was a beautiful path along the water that abruptly ended in a pile of trash. So, we rerouted. We made it, eventually, only to discover that both the Spanish Synagogue and the Old Jewish Cemetery were closed for renovations. So, that was kind of a bummer. But, we met up with the Garretts (sans Ian) and some friends for lunch which was at a very traditional Czech place in Old Town. It was a very tasty meal and only slightly spoiled by the German couple seated next to us who seemed quite upset that we had both children and a dog in a restaurant. But fuck them.
Monday we headed to the PQ to check out some of the exhibitions - there were a lot of really interesting ones from all over the world and the space that it’s held in is super cool. We then met up one more time with the crew to have a picnic lunch in the park before we had to drive home. All in all, an excellent time had with friends!
April 18-22: Mezzegra, Italy
This was our first real long weekend of the year and we decided we wanted to spend it in Italy! Lake Como is a close spot - just over the border - and an easy drive from Zurich, so we made the call. I found us an Airbnb in a tiny town and we headed that way.
The place we had to stay was perfect. It had a view of the lake and a garden that Penny could play around in all she wanted and they had, kindly, made her a bed out of couch cushions. Unfortunately, Penny was a bit car sick and vomited as soon as we arrived. Not a great first impression.
Fortunately, it was all up from there. The location was gorgeous and the man who managed the property was kind enough to make us reservations at some local restaurants, all of which were great. The first night we went to the wine bar at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo - it was very fancy. But we had a lovely meal and a delicious bottle of wine.
The next day we explored the gardens at Villa Carlota in Tremezzino - they were really quite impressive - and had lunch at a delicious wine bar back a bit from the main street - Cantina Follie. Lunch was just a giant meat and cheese plate and a wine tasting. Basically, my ideal meal.
On Saturday we took the ferry over to Bellagio. We learned that we were supposed to have a muzzle on Penny, but you managed to talk her on to the boat both ways without one. The last guy was really mad about it and made us stand in a corner. Bellagio was very pretty, but also quite crowded - definitely very different from the small town we were staying in.
Mezzegra was on the Greenway - a series of paths and roads up above the main road that you can use to walk from town to town. We traversed it in both directions with Penny tagging along for some exercise. It afforded beautiful views.
When it was finally time to head home there was a backup in the Gothard Pass that was going to cause us a 2 hour delay. We decided to just take the long route back through Chur. It did not disappoint - the views of the mountains on that ride were really spectacular. And we all made it back home tired, but very happy.
April 6-8: Galway, Ireland
You had a work trip to Dublin, so I decided to meet you there and spent the weekend together in Ireland. We landed on Galway because I remembered loving it the first time I went there 15 years ago. It was not what I remembered, but I loved it none-the-less.
You did an amazing job driving across the country on the left side of the road. We stopped in Athlone for lunch and saw the castle there. It was a hilarious exhibition and couldn’t have been a better stop. We continued on to Galways and checked in to the cutest B&B ever – The Stop.
Our first stop was a cliché Irish pub for Guinness. Worth it in every way. Then on to dinner at Ard Bia which was absolutely delicious from start to finish. They were fully booked, but fit us in at the bar and I’m so glad they did.
We spent the next day at the Cliffs of Moher. I tried to drive, but I hated it more than you did, so you kindly stayed at the wheel. We saw a random castle on the way down. The Cliffs were very pretty and we were both equally convinced that someone was going to go carreeing off of them at any moment (since we had all hopped a fence to walk along the edge).
On Sunday, we drove north and caught a ferry over to Inishear. We rented bikes and circled the whole island in search of sheep. Weirdly, we found none, but we met many horses and cows along the way. We set off for lunch only to discover that the one open pub had no food (except a bag of crisps). We drank a Guinness and set back off. On our way up to the castle ruins, we spotted a B&B that was serving lunch. There a woman served us fresh crab legs at a picnic table in her yard surrounded by chickens. It was hilarious and delicious. From there we headed out on the far side of the island where there is a ship that was wrecked on shore. It’s just sitting there, so you can walk all around and in it. The sky way so blue and the rust on the ship was so red – it was absolutely stunning. And also cold.
For dinner that night, we had pizza at The Dough Bros. It was a delightful change of pace from Zurich pizza which, while delicious, really misses the mark on the dough side (in my personal opinion). Plus, after biking all day in the freezing cold, it felt very earned.
March 24: Luzern, Switzerland
This was just a little day trip we took to give Penny a shot at dealing with the train. She was awesome – she was a bit nervous at first, but soon recovered and chilled out beside us. We had a lovely lunch and walked up behind the city wall. It was a beautiful, clear day.
March 9-11: London & Oxford, England
I have, personally, never felt more relieved in my entire life than I did when I got off the plane here and could read all of the signs (not to mention understand everyone around me). We spent Friday in London – I went to to Whole Foods while you worked and bought everything that I recognized. We saw Follies at the National Theater. It was amazing! At least I thought so. I think you thought it was pretty decent for a musical. The next morning, we took the bus out to Oxford and Laura and Mike picked us up. It was so great to see friends and to talk to them about what it is like living away from your home country.
We had delicious pizza in downtown Oxford, curry at their house for dinner while we played games, Sunday roast and a lovely walk at the Trout Inn and, finally, pub quiz.
Feb 17: Mt Rigi, Switzerland
We went to Mt. Rigi! It was our first trip in Switzerland and could not have been prettier. It was a cold, but sunny day and we rented snow shoes at Rigi Kulm and followed the “trail” down through snow covered fields. Then we realized there was no way back except straight up the mountain. It was hard, but we made it. And thoughroughly earned the wine we drank at that hotel.
