Category: Travel

Posted in Travel

Miami Day Five: Train-ing Back

Posted on by Neal Saye

After another yummy breakfast on our little balcony …

… and saying goodbye to our Miami Fortune House Airbnb …

… we headed to the Miami Amtrak and started homeward bounding. (Why do vacations have to end? Who came up with that idea?)

Cool Mural in the Amtrak Station 

Soon after we boarded the train, the rain started to come down! (Bad weather had not been a problem at all during our lovely stay.)

But actually, lying back in our reclining chairs, the rain was rather nice.

Of course, a little later, our Travel Buddies begged to go with us to the Dining Car for lunch …

Butter Cake for dessert. Oh my goodness. This is train food?!

Oh look, here’s our delightful new-bestie and train car attendant Jasmine …

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this train trip has been the really good quality of the food.

Dinner tonight was Flatiron Steak.

Robert says “Hello.”

Well, our little roomette has been magically transformed into cozy berths. The travel buddies are vacation-exhausted. We’ve brushed our teeth and said our prayers, so it’s time to say “Goodnight.”

Safe Travels to You!

Posted in Travel

Miami Day Four: South Beach-ing

Posted on by Neal Saye

Breakfast on our little balcony.

Our Travel Buddies playing second fiddle to the coffee.

With pastries from the Bakery at Versailles (from yesterday).

Left to right: Millefeuille au Caramel, Pistachio Cannoli and Tarta Santiago.

Oops, I smudged the Tarta Santiago. Here’s what it looked like before:

“Tarta de Santiago, or St. James Cake, is an almond cake from Galicia with its origins in the Middle Ages. The cake is a simple base of almonds, sugar and eggs, usually flavored with cinnamon and lemon zest.

It’s easy to identify it as it’s almost always adorned with powdered sugar with an imprint of the Cross of St. James, also known as the Cruz de Santiago.” sundaybaker.com

Now you know.

Stuffed, we made our way over to Miami Beach, South Beach to be specific, for a little morning “swim.”

Showing my age with an umbrella.

Our Travel Buddies went with us! It was so difficult getting sunscreen on them.

Sun-tired, we trekked across Ocean Boulevard to one of my favorite restaurants from yesteryear, News Cafe.

HR smashing a smash burger.

Goodbye News Cafe. We had a great time.

Before heading back to downtown Miami, we Ubered over to the Lincoln Road Pedestrian Mall. Why? Because in my memory (from academic conference trips to the University of Miami a couple of decades ago) Lincoln Road was filled with all these quirky shops, bars and restaurants. No more. Big name stores everywhere.

But we did see this:

Where did they get all those rubber ducks?!

A terrific day at the beach.

Posted in Travel

Miami Day Three: Coffee-ing and Museum-ing

Posted on by Neal Saye

We started off the day with coffee in Little Havana‘s iconic La Colada Gourmet “The House of Cuban Coffee”

Tres Leche Cubano coffee and flan for breakfast.

Interestingly, enough, there are feral chickens running around the area.

Here’s what Google told me about that …

“The presence of numerous chickens in Little Havana, Miami, is largely due to the area’s cultural ties to Cuba and the historical practice of keeping chickens in backyards. Many Cuban immigrants brought chickens with them, and over time, some were released or escaped, establishing feral populations. The rooster, in particular, holds symbolic significance in Cuban culture, representing strength, virility, and heritage.”

Next, we ventured a short distance down the coast to Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.

On to my fav Cuban restaurant, Versailles.

Mojito and Fresh Guava Juice

For me: VACA FRITA DE POLLO: Grilled Shredded Chicken with Onions Served with White Rice and Sweet Plantains

For HR: THE CLASSIC CUBAN SAMPLER: White Rice, Black Beans, “Picadillo” Ground Beef, Roast Pork, Sweet Plantains, Ham Croquette, Cuban Tamale, and Cassava with Cuban Mojo

A photography mistake that still looks a bit cool. 

And back to the Airbnb for some needed relax time.

Our place has a little balcony that … sorta looks out over Biscayne Bay (if you dangerously stretch your neck).

May your weekend be filled with an array of Beautiful Views. Or at least one Beautiful View.

Goodnight!

Posted in Travel

Miami Day Two: Water-ing

Posted on by Neal Saye

We began Miami Full Day One with petfecto pastries at Rosetta’s Bakery near our AirBnB here in the Brickell district of downtown Miami.

Next, we walked (oh my gosh, did we walk!) to the Bayside Marketplace on Biscayne Bay for our 9:30 Miami and Miami Beach boat tour.

An afternoon swim at the pool.

Today was Robert’s bday, and we celebrated at the beautifully delicious Truluck’s restaurant.

Which had a lighted menu!

Sharing a shrimp cocktail appetizer.

Fruity water (which somehow seemed pretty appropriate) …

The Stone Crab Claw Platter for HR. Sweet and Spicy Grouper for me.

And a surprise Baked Alaska dessert, courtesy of the restaurant.

We ended our special day with a dazzling nighttime view of Miami aboard the touristry fun Skyviews Observation Wheel.

A beautiful birthday celebration around the water.

Posted in Travel

Miami Day One: Train-ing

Posted on by Neal Saye

This morn, before the rooster began to crow …

… Robert and I headed to the Savannah Amtrak Station to board a train (a 12-hour train!) to Miami to celebrate HR’s bday. He has been wanting to take a longer train trip for a while now.

What a fun day!

Our little private “roomette.”

Surprisingly, delicious breakfast in the dining car:

A long day, but wonderful service and very comfortable accommodations.

More about our Miami trip tomorrow. We are here till Sunday,

Posted in Challenges, T-shirt Tuesday, Travel

T-Shirt Tuesday: “Farm Passport”

Posted on by Neal Saye

So last year, Robert and I joined Georgia’s uber-cool Farm Passport Program.

“The Farm Passport is your guide to discover Georgia, support local farms and experience fresh food. Grab your passport and let it guide you across the state to see the diversity of agriculture Georgia offers. 

The Farm Passport features over 90 farms included in Georgia Farm Bureau’s Certified Farm Markets program, which was created to help people discover where their food comes from, meet the farm families who grew the food, and create lasting memories with loved ones as they travel the state.” Farm Bureau, GA

We had a blast and visited 22 Georgia Farms.

Last weekend we made a little trip to Macon to pick up our prizes and to explore old town Macon a bit.

Here I am with one of the leaders of the Passport Program.

And look! Here I am with HR and our nifty new Farm Traveler T-shirts. (After all, remember, it’s T-shirt Tuesday.)

And here are a few images from our time in Macon, which by the way is (was?) my birthplace.

The cool ceiling of our Airbnb …

Posted in Travel

2023 Escape from St. Patrick’s Day #6

Posted on by Neal Saye

My daily snapshot of Robert’s and my 2023 trip to get away from Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and celebrations.

Today’s the final day of our escape. It was 32 degrees (with a real feel of 21) here in Atlanta this morning, so we hibernated inside for a while.

UPDATE on whether we were “transported” by last night’s encounter with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. YES! The opening piece, the Overture to Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber, really was fabulous. With its huge orchestra swells, the overture made me realize what I love about classical music. (TIB: I sometimes go into a bit of a daze when the orchestra gets really quiet and slow. I have had to pinch myself savagely more than once to keep from putting my head on the HR’s shoulder.)

But back to TODAY—after our very lazy morn, HR and I pirouetted over to the spectacular Cobb Energy Center …

… to see men in tights—I MEAN TO SEE THE ATLANTA BALLET’S PRODUCTION OF DON QUIXOTE!

Oh my gosh. It was terrific. I just might become a ballet dancer! Granted, I have a few balance issues from time to time, but still, how hard could it be?

What a joyfully fun time we have had on our 2023 Escape from Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Craziness. We head back to the SAV in the morn. And truth be told, I always look forward to home after being away for a week or so.

I hope you have found in your St. Patrick’s Day weekend a place of rest and peace.

Posted in Travel

2023 Escape from St. Patrick’s Day #5

Posted on by Neal Saye

My daily snapshot of Robert’s and my 2023 trip to get away from Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and celebrations.

This Post-St. Patrick’s Day morn, after Robert and I finished our coffee in our little Airbnb, we embarked on a short day trip up to Toccoa, Georgia to take a gander at Traveler’s Rest State Historic Site. We have now visited all 48 of Georgia’s state parks, and all but three of the state historic sites.

“This stagecoach inn and plantation home was built around 1815 by James R. Wyly. He strategically located it along the newly constructed Unicoi Turnpike, a busy highway over the Appalachian Mountains. Wyly operated the inn until 1833 when he sold it to his neighbor Devereaux Jarrett, the “richest man in the Tugaloo Valley.” Jarrett continued to operate the inn, but doubled its size to make it the home place of his 14,400 acre plantation along the Tugaloo River. Three generations of Jarretts inhabited the site until the state of Georgia purchased the remaining few acres of the once-vast plantation for $8,000 in 1955.”georgiastateparks.org

Dynamic docent Billy showed us around and even gave us a suggestion for a local lunch, which we took him up on.

Tonight we’re getting all cultured as we melodically make our way to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Here’s a little something I put together about it:

We’re going to … let the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra transport us into Nature’s realm with the rugged Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius alongside the Overture to Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber. In between, catch the U.S. premiere of a new saxophone concerto, For Wadada Leo Smith (2022), by jazz and classical multi-instrumentalist Tyshawn Sorey.

Okay, I lied. I copied all that from the program. And understood very little. But I do plan to be “transported” by it. I’ll tell you if I was in tomorrow’s post. That will give you something to look forward to.