Travel Log: Messina, Sicily

By the time Hubs and I arrived in Messina, Sicily, we were already exhausted and we still had two more destinations to go. We decided to skip a tour excursion and explored the city on our own time. Early on we learned that Sicily is a city where pedestrians don't have the right of way and you literally have to run for your life trying to cross the streets.

As we were exploring the city, I was actually surprised to find mainstream stores like Zara and H&M to department stores that carry major designers. Before we walked back to the cruise ship, we stopped by a small pizzeria and picked up some pizza. Pizza in Italy regardless of region is delicious and made with fresh ingredients. It's also cheap too. I don't think we paid more than 4 Euros for two slices of pizza. I'm totally bias now. It's going to be tough eating pizza in San Diego.

Travel Log: Pompeii, Italy

After our tour of the Amalfi coast, our last destination near Naples was Pompeii. This was an ancient city that was destroyed and entombed by a volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79. The eruption buried the city under 13 to 20 feet with ash and pumice. The city was rediscovered and escavated some 1,700 years later. Pompeii is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy with about 2.5 million visitors every year.

El Bulli: The Movie

If there was ever a must-see movie for food enthusiasts, it would be this: El Bulli, Cooking in Progress. Fortunately for me, it's showing in San Diego of all places. Not Los Angeles or San Francisco but San Diego. I literally waited all day Tuesday to the early hours of today to book tickets for it's first evening showing. I'm all about El Bulli, the Adria brothers, avant-garde cuisine, the whole nine yards. I live for this stuff. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Where to watch it: Landmark Ken Cinema, San Diego, CA
Showing: January 6th to 12th
Info: http://elbullimovie.com/

2012, a New Year

Before I finish up with the few remaining travel entries, I want to recap on 2011 which was a very good year. It started off pretty rocky with 6.5 weeks of radiation therapy followed by a staph infection that put me up in the hospital for five days. Luckily it wasn't MRSA so after three weeks of antibiotics via IV, I was healthy again and I stayed away from the hospital until December. Right before the end of the year, I had reconstructive surgery to repair the damage from the staph infection and had another tissue expander inserted before getting a permanent saline implant.


In July I went back to work full-time and it took about two months to get back to the working grind. By October, I was ready to go on vacation having worked in the office for only three months. Hubs and I took our first international trip together to Europe.

Once we got back to San Diego, we had two weeks to recover from jet lag before Hub's work trip to Singapore. I spent the week exploring the city and what the fine dining scene had to offer. It was at Waku Ghin where I literally broke the bank on the most I've ever spent on a tasting.


When I thought our travel was coming to an end, I had to hop on another plane to Chicago after coming back from Singapore. While I was in Chicago, I had another satisfying meal at Alinea. Hubs ended up going to Ohio once I returned from Chicago. 2011 was epic food-wise as I was able to do more than I had ever done since I started this blog two years ago. Here's a recap:

* Broke the top 3 of the World's Best Restaurants list by dining at El Celler de Can Roca #2.
* Dined at an Adria establishment, Tickets in Barcelona.
* Dined at Alinea for the third time.
* Dined at two Robuchon restaurants in Monaco and Singapore.
* Had authentic Italian cuisine in Italy.
* Had authentic Spanish tapas and paella in Spain.
* Completed Jose Andres trifecta of hidden restaurants within a restaurant, e by Jose Andres in Las Vegas.
* Dined at my first pop-up in San Diego, Relate Restaurant.
* Spent the most on a dinner tasting at Waku Ghin in Singapore, $450 per person w/o wine pairing.
* Cities visited: Honolulu, Hawaii; Las Vegas, Nevada; Pismo Beach, CA; Chicago, IL, Napa, CA; Barcelona, Spain; Girona, Spain; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Florence, Italy; Pisa, Italy; Rome, Italy; Naples, Italy; Amalfi Coast, Italy; Messina, Sicily; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Marseille, France; Singapore, Singapore.

PLANS for 2012: Use all 31 days of vacation
* A week in Las Vegas
* A trip to the east coast, possibly New York; Philadelphia, PA; Atlantic City, NJ
* One international trip to Asia toward the end of the year: Tokyo, Japan
* Dinner at The French Laundry or Per Se.
* Dinner at Eleven Madison Park in New York.
* A long weekend trip to an island: Hawaii, Tahiti or Maldives
* A weekend cruise to Mexico.

Cheers to a new year and new adventures!

Travel Log: Amalfi Coast, Italy

Midway through our Mediterranean cruise, we found our way to Naples, Italy. I didn't find the city as interesting as Rome or Florence so we decided to do a tour of the Amalfi Coast and the ancient ruins at Pompeii. The southern coast of Italy is absolutely beautiful. The waters are calm with a shade of blue and green. It is also famed by its production of limoncello, an Italian liqueor. I never had limoncello in the States but here it's super strong. A shot of tequila pales in comparison.

The town of Amalfi is also known for the Piazza del Duomo and Duomo di Amalfi (dedicated to Saint Andrew the Apostle). There were various cafes in the piazza offering limoncello, gelato, pizza and specialty items. I think the most unique thing we did was drink the fresh spring water from Saint Andrew's Fountain. It was the clearest water we've ever tasted. It was pretty amazing to be at the site where the relics of Saint Andrew the Apostle resided.

Travel Log: Vatican City

Vatican City is the smallest country in the world measuring just 110 acres. It is surrounded by a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. Roughly 33,000 tourists come to visit the city each day. The Vatican Museum is open to the public and it contains an immense collection of sculptures and masterpieces from Renaissance artists. The most famous attraction has to be the Sistine Chapel. It's an amazing work of art particularly by Michelangelo. It was too massive to photograph even though we weren't allowed to photograph anything in the Sistine Chapel. Oops! All was forgiven as we entered St. Peter's Basilica and I drenched my face with holy water. Visiting the city is probably every Catholic's dream destination. Thankfully I was able to do this while I'm still young. Hallelujah!