Better late then never. I should have posted this before the holidays were over but I just didn’t have time. The good news is you can go anytime and it’s still awesome. Mother’s Day is another favorite of mine.
But every year we go to the Grand Floridian Hotel at Walt Disney World to have Afternoon Tea for Christmas. It’s really nice all year long but it’s especially nice at Christmas time. They have a 5 story beautiful Christmas tree
and a life size gingerbread house that they sell gingerbread from.
If you do want to go at Christmas time book your reservations 180 days ahead. That’s the earliest Disney will let you book. So I have it in my calendar in July to make the reservation. And make it for more people then you think. The max is 6. You can always reduce it later but getting a bigger table later is almost impossible.
ok with that said… the rest of the year the Garden View Tea Room at the Grand Floridian is still a lovely place to have Afternoon Tea.
The waitresses are dressed in Victorian English outfits, everything is served on English china with all the extras – honey, lemon, cream, clotted cream and home made jams for the scones, and tea cozies.
They have dozens of different types of teas. Something new they’ve started is offering seasonal teas. For example during the holidays one of the 3 seasonal teas was a gingerbread spiced tea.
They have several different options for food. The one we always get is the Buckingham. It has tea sandwiches and a sweet onion tart, seasonal scones with seasonal fruit butter, jam, and clotted cream, strawberry tart, and a choice of strawberries and cream, a trifle, or fancy pastries.
starting with the tart in the front and going clockwise – Sweet onion tart (my favorite), egg salad, roasted golden beet, cucumber and watercress, roasted tomato, and in the middle curried chicken salad
It doesn’t look like that much but by the time you eat the sandwiches, the scone, the strawberry tart, and drink a whole pot of tea you’re almost too full for dessert. I almost always take mine home.
The other menu items include a Gentlemen’s tea which has pates and cheeses and a children’s Mrs. Potts Tea which has chocolate milk instead of tea and pb&j and ham and cheese for the sandwiches. There are usually a couple of tables with kids there so bring them! Even the boys. Both my sons love having tea.
They also have a cheese plate that used to be on the menu but isn’t on there anymore but you can still order it.
Just in case you don’t think you’ll be full.
When we go during the holidays we usually get dressed up (no hats – unless you’re a red hat lady). But there will be everything from people who are taking a break from the theme parks so they are dressed in shorts and t-shirts to a bunch of grown women wearing tiaras to people dressed up. Just dress the way you want to dress.
Canoe camping trip on the Suwannee River – the river was about 20-30 ft below the shore line that’s the way down part. We could see the roots of the cypress trees and there were beaches that would normally be the sandy bottom of the river. But what a beautiful river so old Florida.
I have an app on my phone The Official Florida State Parks & Beaches Pocket Ranger. It was a great way to find places to camp. I started with the idea that I wanted us to canoe for the day then stop and camp. So I needed a river that has lots of river camps or that you can just camp along the river as long as there’s not a no trespassing sign. I also didn’t want a busy river with lots of motor boats.
Step 1 Pick your river
Step 2 Get a map of the river with boat ramps, state parks, and river camps noted
Step 3 Figure out the distance between each possible camp site so you can figure out where you will be starting, camping each night, and ending.
Step 4 We don’t have a canoe and I didn’t want to deal with taking 2 cars for put in and pickup so I found an outfitter near the put in location. American Canoe Adventures $25 per day to rent a canoe overnight and a fee to drop us off and pick us up.
Each of the river camps were very rustic and you couldn’t drive to them they were just accessible by the river. They had a place to dock your canoe, a fire ring with a grill on it, a grill for charcoal, a picnic table, bathrooms with showers that were very clean and nice with outlets so we could charge our phones, and a raised platform that was covered and screened in that was free to use if you didn’t have a tent. You would definitely want to reserve it though because it wasn’t very big. The link above for the map has a page with info about reserving the platforms.
The boat ramps had a fire ring, picnic tables and some had port-o-potties.
The state parks had everything the river camps had but of course you could drive to them and they had state park type facilities and you could rent canoes from them. There were lots of people at the state parks vs. no one at the river camp or boat ramps.
This is the fire ring at Woods Ferry River Camp. It was 31 degrees that night – too stinking cold for Floridians in tents! It was so cold I seriously forgot I was in Florida – Rusty.
Pack as light as you can you have to carry everything with you each day. We packed our stuff that couldn’t get wet like the sleeping bags and our clothes in dry bags – I like the Sea to Summit Big River Dry Bags. You’ll need the 35 liter or bigger to pack your stuff in. You want everything in that bag so if you tip it all stays dry.
Another very nifty item was the solar phone chargers I bought. I know you’re thinking but you were camping why did you need your phone. I used it for weather, the gps, and our plans changed the second day and we needed to contact the outfitters to locate a new pick up site.
The chargers can be charged using a usb cable and an outlet but they also charge with a solar panel. They are water-resistant was well so you just clip them onto your pack and they charge all day. It took about 30 minutes to completely recharge my phone and about 2 hours to recharge the charger with the solar panel. They worked perfectly.
You could use them at a theme park or day hike or anywhere you will be gone all day and won’t have access to an outlet to charge your phone.
For food you want to bring mostly stuff that doesn’t need to be chilled. If it’s cold outside you can bring a small cooler (remember you want to pack light so a soft smaller cooler) with ice in Ziploc bags so everything doesn’t get wet – but I would limit the chilled stuff.
Blake brought hobo packs – turkey meatballs, corn, and potatoes with onion, butter, and seasoning wrapped in foil then cooked over the fire they were great and didn’t take long to make.
He also brought Progresso Chili in a pouch, it comes in a regular beef and pork red chili and a chicken white bean chili both delicious. Lighter and easier to pack then a can. He pre-chopped green onion, tomatoes, and shredded cheese that we stored in the cooler. Heat the chili in a pan on your camp stove and add the topping and you’re good to go.
Use the fire or your camp stove for breakfast and dinner and pack a lunch in the mornings to have during the day while you’re canoeing. For snacks in the canoe be sure to make them easily accessible you don’t want to be messing around when you’re on the water.
Bring enough firewood for a fire in the morning and at night for at least 6 hours.
That wall is usually only about a foot out of the water. That’s an old turn of the century spring that people used to come soak in. The supports for the bridge had branches from when the water was high caught in them 10 feet below the bridge.
It was established in 1938, they take you on an hour long tour of 3 of the chain of lakes in Winter Park. Along the way the very knowledgeable captain points out homes of historical figures from Winter Park. You glide along in a pontoon boat along the shores of the lakes and through the many canals that link them. Click on the link above to see when they are open and additional info.
It’s $12 per person for anyone over 11 and under 2 are free. You can reserve the whole boat too.
We reserved it for 12 of us (the max is about 16) and brought wine from The Wine Room , zucchini bread sandwiches from The Briar Patch restaurant, and salami, crackers, pepitas, and spiced pecans from the amazing people at The Ancient Olive (thanks Nick!). All on Park Ave. in Winter Park.
Here are some of the beautiful homes….
This one has a Venetian design and originally didn’t have land in front of it. They designed it so the water came right up to the building just like in Venice.
And some of the cool trees in the middle of the lake…
Before the boat tour we ate at one of my favorite places for brunch
Cask and Larder – Bakeshop board, croque madam C&L style, and short rib hash. Stupid good.
We wrapped up the weekend with a return visit to The Ancient Olive. The Fabulous Beekman Boys were there signing copies of their cookbooks. Super cool guys – they were so glad Blake loved their spiced nuts. Yep nuts.
Check out their website, beautiful handcrafted jams, sauces, soaps, mixes, tons of things with a vintage farm feel. Check out their television show The Fabulous Beekman Boys on The Cooking Channel.
Top 5 things to would recommend when traveling to France or areas in Europe around France –
1. Bring a damn umbrella it drizzled on and off the whole time.
2. Bring a warm coat/trench coat (for the rain) – it’s really really cold! France is across the ocean from Nova Scotia to give you an idea of how far north it is. Dress like you’re going to Vermont.
3. Wear sneakers – I don’t wear sneakers anywhere except working in the yard and then that’s only when I have to use a shovel otherwise I’m barefoot or I wear them when I’m at the gym. Otherwise I have a butt load of cute sandals and flats. They are all comfortable, I wear them walking around Disney all day. But they are not good enough for walking in cold damp weather on cobbled stone streets. You walk all day long and when you do get to your location it’s usually a museum etc where you stand on your feet. So wear something with cushion for the cobbled stones and the standing and something that doesn’t rub in the wrong places like ballet flats. By the time we got to Loches the first thing I did was go to a shoe store and by sneakers and I loved how much better my feet felt in socks and sneakers! Wear sneakers trust me! They don’t have to be ugly gym shoes they can be cute sneakers there are lots of them out there. Take your time and find a pair that look good with your outfits and feel good.
4. The trains are a headache. Take a train as far as you can then rent a car for the rest of the way. We changed trains twice and then took a bus – the station signs are all in French of course and so are the announcements so you never really know what’s going on. The bus stops at every stop so it’s not very quick and our ticket didn’t allow enough time to get to the train station so we missed our train and had to take a taxi to the next stop. A lot of stress. Next time I’ll take whatever train goes the closest to my destination then rent a car at the train station. So much easier.
5. Get a travel book from Rick Steves. He had really great time saving tips on everything we went to and you can download his tours for everything from Versailles to the Louvre to driving day trips in Provence.
Ok so that’s done. Here’s how I planned this trip. First I have to say – travel agents definitely earn their money because this took a lot of time. I like to have a plan. It should be very flexible but there should still be a plan. From my experience when you just wing it you end up not really doing anything and missing a lot.
Step 1 Once you know where you want to go buy or download a travel book for that country I really like Rick Steves or the DK Eyewitness Travel books. Read about the country, it’s history, all it’s different regions. Make a list of stuff that looks interesting in each region or city you want to visit. If there’s enough stuff in the region to warrant visiting there then keep it on your list. Eventually you’ll have a list of a few areas you want to go to. Then buy or download the specific travel book for that area. For instance first I bought the France travel book. Then when I figured out we would be going to Paris, Loire Valle, and Provence I bought travel books for those regions. Then read about each region and write down what you want to do. Organize the list by days. Like if you see there are 3 towns a few miles from each other with chateaus you want to see obviously you can do those 3 in one day. This way you can figure out how many days you need for each region. Once you have figured out how many days in each region you’ll know how long your trip will be.
Step 2 Now that you know the length of time you’ll be there look in the travel books and online for any festivals for special events that will be happening around the time you’d like to visit. It would suck to go all the way to France and miss your favorite artist’s temporary exhibit by one day. Once you have your dates nailed down. Book your flight. A lot of airlines do a Economy Plus type deal where you pay $60 or so and get a seat with extra leg room. I highly recommend this. Riding for 8 hours on a plane squished into those little seats suck. If you can fly first class – do it! they have their own little cubby and their seats fold down into real beds. But our flight would have been $2,000 more per person for first class and I could think of a lot of other stuff I could spend that $2,000 on.
Step 3 Housing – once I started looking into hotels in Paris I quickly realized I was either going to stay in a dump or pay a crazy amount $750 – $1,000 a night for a decent hotel. So I looked at AirBNB and found amazing apartments for about $74 per person per night. Other sites are HouseTrip and VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner). A couple of tips – you have to sign up and get approved before you can request to stay at any of the places. They want to make sure you aren’t a crazy person. When you type in the location you can zoom in on the map or select specific areas of town so the options are narrowed down. You can also choose a price range, number of bedrooms etc. Skip how the outside or living room looks and go right to the bedrooms. This is where you will spend most of your time while you’re in the apartment anyways. Make sure the bedroom and bathroom are nice. The rest is just gravy. Usually there’s a street view too. Look to make sure the neighborhood is ok. You don’t want to be staying over a XXX theater – or maybe you do? Look for a place that’s centrally located to the areas or cities you want to visit as well. Location is really important. You don’t want to waste time driving for 2 hours every day. Or having to walk halfway across the city because you picked an apartment in the wrong place. Here’s the apartments we rented. We had the whole apartment but you can choose to rent just a room from someone.
Apartment in Loches (Loire Valley) was tiny but homey and the lady who rented it to us lived upstairs. This was the beautiful garden. The tower was had a staircase that took you down to the lower street. The last picture is the view from the garden of the lower street.
Our apartment in Apt was more like a villa. It had it’s own walled garden. It was a full sized house. Just amazing.
Our second apartment in Paris was small but they all are. It had plenty of room for us. 2 bedrooms and a nice bathroom. More then a hotel room would have. But keep in mind with these amazing old buildings – there’s no elevator.
Each place was different with how we “checked in” they text and email you reminders and you can contact the owners directly. They all spoke English and were very prompt answering any of my questions. The 2 Paris apartments had key boxes. The owners emailed or texted me the door code and the key box code. The Loches apartment she actually picked us up from the bus station and was there to say good-bye when we left. The Apt apartment the owner met us there to give us the key and show us the place and then she was there when we left so we could give her the keys back.
Step 4 Booking special tours etc. If you’re going to go to museum’s and various tourist places you probably should look into a museum pass for the town. Not only is it cheaper but we were able to go through a special door and avoid the longs lines because we had a pass. Usually the city’s website will have a link for a pass like this. Order it ahead of time so it’s one less thing to do when you get there. If you want to see a show or ride a hot air balloon that kind of stuff you should book in advance. The travel books will give you ideas and so will the city’s website.
The hot air balloon was really cool. I’m a huge wuss (just realized I have no idea how to spell that and spell check doesn’t either) I don’t like roller coasters or sky diving and white water rafting. But this was so calm and not scary at all. It just feels like you are floating. It’s really quiet and there’s no wind I guess because we’re moving with the wind you don’t feel it. The basket is high so you don’t feel like you’re going to fall out. I would love to do it again on a clearer day.
Step 5 Other transportation like rental cars and trains. Book those ahead of time again so you don’t have to deal with it when you get there. Most of the travel books will have guidelines for this stuff.
Once you have all this done then keep reading about your areas to learn more about what to see and to better understand where you are going. It’s a lot more fun if you understand what you are looking at. Rick Steves was really good at letting you know which museum’s or attractions were worth it and he gave us great tips to avoid long lines. Most travel books though will just list the most visited places and those aren’t always the best places. Sometimes they are just really touristy. Look online at places and people’s reviews. After reading several things you’ll get a better idea if the touristy place is worth it. Like the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre – very touristy but of course you have to see them. And they were totally worth it. Standing next to the Eiffel Tower is kind of surreal.
As far as rudeness goes – because people always say how rude the French are. We didn’t really see that. We would say bonjour and then immediately say Parles-tu Anglais and just about everyone was happy to speak English. Occasionally there was a rude person – but there are rude people in America too. We had 2 taxi drivers that sucked. One acted like he had no idea what I was saying when I asked him to take us to the Eiffel Tower and one drove us out of the way on purpose. And a guy at the train station said he didn’t speak English then looked over my shoulder at the French people behind me and made fun of me in French. But those assholes aside everyone else was really great!
Restaurants
As far as restaurants go most of the places in Paris wanted you to have reservations. But that’s really hard to do because no matter how planned out your day is it won’t go according to plan. Things always take a lot longer then expected. So we figured out that the first seating about 8pm needed reservations but then the second seating about 9:30-10pm you could just come and give them your name and wait for a table. Even in the small places that worked. Don’t go to the obvious restaurants where the tourist go. They will suck. They know you are a tourist so the service will be poor the food mediocre and expensive. Look at Open Table to see what restaurants are on there those are usually good restaurants and you can see the menus and pictures. Ask your Airbnb host where their favorite places are. I don’t really ask the concierges at hotels anymore because they just direct me to the obvious tourist places. For Paris I found a book about the best restaurants in Paris – Food Lover’s Guide to Paris and there’s a Cooking Channel show called Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo that I love. She has a website and a page on her website lists her favorite restaurants in different cities. Both the book and Rachel’s website were so helpful to find really good local places. Watch travel shows or look up the show online and look for restaurant suggestions. Bon Appetite is also a good place to look.
Paris Restaurants We Loved
Le Pain Quotidien
Little chain near our apartment on Rue Marie Stuart, but so cute Le Pain Quotidien – rustic tables, fresh bread and jams, and rich hot chocolate.
Spring
We found this place in the Food Lover’s guide. Spring serves just one 5+ course meal. No menu they just make you dinner. The service and ambience was amazing. The food was ridiculous. This was our first night in Paris and we really needed a great meal by the end of the day. We arrived at 6:30am (12:30am our time) so we had been up for over 24 hours. We had to check our bags in a city locker because it was too early to check into our apartment. It was raining, cold, and really windy. Then we dragged our luggage 4 blocks in the wrong direction because I was reading google maps wrong. So by the end of the day a really good glass of wine and a great meal was really welcomed.
Verjus Wine Bar
The Wine Bars are small local restaurants that serve wine (a little beer and maybe 3 kinds of liquor) which is hilarious what the French think Americans drink. Every menu had Rum Punch and Mojitos on it. The Wine Bars we went to were like our Dally in the Alley – chef owned, unique and innovative food made with local ingredients fresh every day. Verjus Wine Bar was a Rachel Khoo suggestion. We had a great fried chicken and banh mi type slaw sandwich and the best chocolate chip cookie and brownie I’ve ever eaten. And wine of course.
Frenchie
Another Wine Bar and another Rachel Khoo suggestion – Frenchie was a tiny little place that was worth the 30 min wait for a table. As with everywhere the people and service were great. Burrata with fava bean pesto, pate, pulled pork sliders, pot-de-crème, and custard with a graham cracker crumble.
Buvette
This place was in Bon Appetite – Buvette was a sweet little out of the way place we would have never run across if we weren’t looking for it. And they were open all day which was really unique – most restaurants if they were open for lunch were open 12-1:30pm and that’s it. You ate lunch during lunch time or you were SOL. They had desserts on the counter with stacks of white plates. The bathroom was the cutest cleanest bathroom ever. Fresh Ricotta with pea pesto and lemon olive oil on toast, salami and olive oil, croquet monsieur, chocolate mousse, upside down apple cake, and waffles with berries.
Au Passage
Yet another Wine Bar – Au Passage was also Rachel Khoo’s suggestion. Little out of the way place the chefs brought the food to your table and loved describing the ingredients and process. Very cool place. fresh burratta cheese with barley, smoked octopus, asparagus egg and cream, rhubarb crumble, and pistachio cake
Angelina
Rachel Khoo again – she said it’s really touristy but really worth it. She wasn’t kidding. Its a fancy tea room across from the Louvre. Angelina’s has the best hot chocolate in the city. It’s really just melted rich dark chocolate that they serve with whipped cream. Their madeleine’s were really good too. They had a ton of fancy pastries. We stopped there on our way to the Louvre and walked through the Tuileries garden with our hot chocolate and treats. Then we ate at their satellite location in Versailles.
Amorino
Gelato shop on Isle St Louis – they make the gelato look like flower petals on the cone.
Schmucks
We stopped here just to take a picture because the name was funny and accidentally found a great little place. That served liquor!! Schmucks is this really cool eclectic bar/restaurant in St Germain.
Semilla
This was one of the places in Food Lovers Guide. Semilla had great food and great people. Lots of activity. The kitchen was open so it was cool to watch the chefs working.
Loire Valley Restaurants
Cak’t
In Loches’ very quaint ancient village. We arrived late in the day on Sunday and not many places were open for dinner. We stopped into Cak’t they had just one meal for the day. Served by a sweet old man who looked as though he prepared it served it and cleaned up after. Fresh veggies, a meat sauce and puff pastry and of course bread and wine.
L’Etape Gourmade
In Villandry a little farm with a quiet little restaurant. Fire place was burning and after another very chilly day it was so welcomed. Friendly family staff. Rick Steves recommended this place. L’Etape Gourmade
Creperie at Loches Chateau
This little place was part of the Loches Chateau. They had the original Roman keep which was partially in ruins, the royal palace built in the 1200s, a church and in the garden of the church was this little creperie run by two little old men. The view was beautiful and the crepes were delicious. Savory – potato, bacon, and cheese and prosciutto with egg and sweet – banana, hazelnut, and chocolate.
Provence
L’Isle Sur-la-Sorgue Restaurant
I didn’t write down the name of this place, we just happened upon it. Lovely friendly lady. An antipasti plate of all kinds of things, toast with cheese and a salad, fish casserole and veggies, grilled fish and veggies, and escargot
The same town had really cute shops. Olive oils, soaps, and candied fruit – it’s a big deal there. We bought an assortment, not really my thing really sticky and sweet. But they are really pretty.
Apt local boulangerie, boucherie, and farmers market
Had a picnic in our garden
Thym te Voila
In Apt our host suggested this place. Once again really nice people the chef came out to talk to us. Delicious fresh food. Thym te Voila
La Prevote
Another little restaurant on L’Isle Sur-la-Sorgue. La Prevote is a hotel and restaurant. The whole city is an island that has tons of little canals running through it so the buildings are built over the canals. Inside they put glass up so you can see the river running through the building. Delicious lunch.
The Chateaus of the Loire Valley
There are so many to see. Pick a couple each day but really after 5 they start to all blend together. Rick Steves has a list of the top ones you should try to see. Here’s the ones we went to.
This one had furnished rooms and an amazing garden. Still only took us about 2 hours to do the whole house and the gardens. The village was cute but not a lot there.
This one had an audio tour so it took a little longer while you listened to information about each room. The ones with audio tours provide a lot more information.
This was literally at our front door. we parked at the base of the wall to enter our rental house. There was a small village within the chateau’s walls. An ancient roman keep, a 12th century chateau, a church, a creperie, and homes to walk by. One of my favorite. It took several hours to see everything. I don’t think there was an audio tour but on one of the floors of the keep they had a movie that explained a lot about it.
Amazing. They had a village as well but had a lot of restaurants and shops. This chateau is privately owned and you could really tell. Fresh floral arrangements in each room. All the rooms were furnished. They had restaurants, gift shops, a farm, gardens. It was all very tasteful too not too touristy or cheap. Great audio tour.
The Villages We Saw in Provence
The amazing villages some built pre-Roman era up the side of a small mountain with a castle at the top. Most of the castles were in ruin but the villages are still there and most survive now on tourism. Some of the little villages have 35 people living there.
Gordes
This beautiful village started on the hillside – moved down to the valley below during the Roman period when it was safer. Then moved back up to the hillside during the dark ages for protection. They utilized the fields below and thrived agriculturally until World War II then all but about 100 people were left in the village and those were very poor. As tourism flourished did the town and now they have about 300 people living there. It’s amazing how well kept these ancient places are and we can’t even keep a 100 year old home from being torn down for a parking lot.
La Baux en Provence
The town next to Carrieres de Lumieres. Beautiful little streets with a few shops and restaurants with amazing views.
Seguret
This town was on the list of towns to visit on at winery road trip. Unfortunately we tried to do the road trip on a Sunday – pointless, everything is closed. Plan travel days on Sundays because everything is closed anyways and that way you won’t miss anything. But really pretty little town.
You buy your ticket online then you make a reservation. Then you call them the day before to confirm your reservation. It’s a little tricky but really worth it.
Winery in the Loire Valley
Chevalerie Winery, this winery was built in an 11th century limestone quarry. The family that runs it started the winery in 1640 and the lady who gave us the tour is the 14th generation to run it. We also got the name of this winery from Rick Steves.
Carrieres de Lumieres in Les Baux Provence
This is a limestone quarry that they turned into an art museum the art is projected onto the 5 story walls and it moves and changes and is set to music. Carrieres de Lumieres was near the village of Les Baux in Provence. You can buy tickets at the door.
Locks on the Notre Dame bridge
There are several bridges you can do this on. You attach a lock (you can write someone’s name on if you want) then throw the key into the river for unbroken love. There are people selling locks there at the bridge. I brought my own so I don’t know how much they were. There are several bridges you can do this on. The one that recently started to collapse just had the most on it.
I love Disney – my mom and dad took us to Walt Disney World the month it opened. I went many times every year with my grandmother who took her entire kindergarten class and then as a mom I took my kids. I’ve been there easily more than 100 times. I can tell you where to get the best stuff to eat and the best ways to get around. Now my husband and I love to go to EPCOT and spend the day walking, enjoying the food and drinks and the beautiful landscaping.
Tip #1 – get there at 11 instead of 9am when it opens. Go straight to the World Showcase side. Everyone does all the Future World stuff first in the morning then mid afternoon they head over to the World Showcase side. So if you do the opposite you’ll miss some of the crowds. If you do get there early they have a pretty good breakfast inside The Land at the Sunshine Seasons food court and Starbucks just opened at the Fountainview Cafe. First is was an awesome bakery/coffee shop then they messed it up and turned it into an ice cream parlor and now its a coffee shop again – but it’s to the right of the big fountain as you walk into the park just past the big ball – Spaceship Earth.
Tip #2 – if you want to ride Test Track – it’s fun most of it is silly but the end is great. It goes 65 mph around the track. I know that doesn’t sound that fast when you’re use to driving that in your car. But this is in a little go cart with no roof! Trust me, it’s fast. if you do want to ride it either stop on your way to the World Showcase and get a fast pass or ride single rider later in the day. Single riders get on much faster.
Tip #2a – if you have long hair, tie it back when you ride Test Track. Imagine sticking your head out of the window of a car when it’s going 65 mph – yeah it’s a mess after the ride and most people don’t carry brushes with them at theme parks – at least I don’t.
Tip #3 – if you did stop at Test Track to get a fast pass then walk through the fast pass kiosks and take a left at the Coke station and walk over the bridge towards the very outdated non-descript Odessey Building (I don’t know why they don’t do something with that – it’s so ugly) . You’re going to go around that. You’ll end up at the entrance to
Mexico
Tip #4 – don’t waste your time on the margaritas at the outside stand they are slur-pees with a little bit of booze. Go inside to the awesome Tequila Bar (stop #1 on the drinking around the world tour!) La Cava del Tequila The inside of Mexico looks like you’re in a village market at night – Plaza de los Amigos. When it’s really hot outside (and it’s Florida so it’s hot a lot) This is a great place to go to cool off. They have some pretty cool stuff to buy as well. Silver jewelry, tequila, Kahlua, and Day of the Dead items. Inside the Aztec temple – as soon as you come down the ramp to the right you’ll see a Tequila Bar. Usually you can find a table sometimes there’s a line to get in. But it’s worth it. They have Jalapeno, Blood Orange, Cucumber, and Avocado Margaritas just to name a few. The guacamole and chips are great too. It’s usually busier late in the afternoon. And sometimes you’ll see a line but that’s just to walk in and order a drink. So be sure to check to see if there are any tables even if you see a line.
Here’s some pictures of the inside of the Mexican Pavilion
Tip #5 – the quick service counter outside at Mexico La Cantina de San Angel is good too. It’s better than Taco Bell for sure. The guacamole there is good too and the empanadas.
Tip #6 – the restaurant inside the Aztec temple at the Mexican pavilion, San Angel Inn is nice, it’s dark and quiet. But the one outside just past the quick service place is a good place to watch the fireworks, La Hacienda de San Angel. If you have the My Disney Experience app you can reserve a table, you can also reserve a table by clicking on the links and by calling. Try to get a table at 8:30 pm so you are just finishing as the fireworks start. Inside the restaurant the whole wall along the water is windows so you have a really good view. The other great place is at the Rose and Crown restaurant in England. More on that later.
Tip #7 – the boat ride Gran Fiesta Tour inside of the Aztec temple never has a line and it’s a nice relaxing ride. Part Jungle Cruise and part It’s a Small World. Nothing super exciting but again if you’re hot and tired its a great place to have a little rest. And if you’re with kids they will be entertained.
Norway
Tip #8 – Norway is the next country, there’s a really cool old church, Stave Church Gallery, that has some interesting info about early Viking explorers. I don’t think people realize they can go in the church because no one is ever in there. But now that Frozen has opened they have a Frozen exhibit in there and it’s busier. The gift shop was slammed with kids wanting to meet the 2 princesses in the movie.
Tip #9 – The boat ride at Norway – Maelstrom is about the same as the ride at Mexico. Nothing spectacular but there is a little bit of excitement at the end. Its definitely not worth waiting any longer than 15 minutes for though. Just keep checking back. If you go straight to Norway when you first get there, there probably won’t be a line. It gets longer as more people start to come over to the World Showcase side in the afternoon. The movie is nice and informative but if you’ve already seen it just walk straight through after you get off the ride.
Tip #10 – as you exit the ride and the gift shop they force you to walk through on the right you’ll see the bakery, Kringla Bakeri Og Kafe. It’s pretty good. They have sandwiches and pastries. And the eating area through the bakery is nice. It’s covered and cool. They also have beer and Aquavit (which is disgusting) which makes the Norway bakery #2 on the drinking around the world tour. The main restaurant in Norway is a buffet and has character dining (princesses) I ate there once years ago. I’m just not a buffet fan but here’s the link – Akershus Royal Banquet Hall it would be great for kids who want to eat with princesses.
China
Tip #11 – China is next they have a movie and a reproduction of the Emperor’s Clay Army. The gift shop is kind of obnoxious. The employees are rude and follow you around. If you are looking for a cool Chinese tea pot or dishes they have a lot of that but most of the rest is stupid nick knacky stuff like little jade trees or tiny little statues of stuff. They do have a nice area around the back of the pond that’s pretty and shaded.
Tip #12 – they have a quick serve place with beer (stop #3 on the drink around the world tour)Lotus Blossom Café, or you can eat inside the restaurant Nine Dragons Restaurant . It’s not much more than a typical Chinese restaurant but they really rush you. it’s not very relaxing. I think the little kiosk Joy of Tea on the main path also have beer . They have tea and some Chinese snacks like pork dumplings too. I think the food options at the Lotus Blossom Café look better then the main restaurant and you can carry it over to the quiet spot near the water to enjoy it instead of paying more in the main restaurant to be rushed.
African Outpost
Tip #13 – Over the bridge to the African Outpost. The only thing here really is ice cream. Which is a little hard to find at Epcot. It’s here and at the French Pavilion and I think they have it between the path to the Imagination Pyramid and Canada. The rest are just ice cream carts.
Germany
Tip #14 – the German Pavilion has beer of course (stop #4 on the drink around the world tour) but they also have this amazing apple liqueur and of course lots of wine. You sample wine in Weinkeller and the Sommerfest café has high end brats and beer. Currywurst with paprika chips and Grapefruit beer or German meatloaf, sauerkraut, swiss on rye.
Tip# 15 – They also make caramel popcorn in the Karamell-Kuche . The food inside the Biergarten Restaurant, not so much. Lots of meat and starches and not all that authentic. Which is a shame because the singing and entertainment in the hall is great but you can’t just go in you have to pay the $35 pp for the buffet and I’ve already noted my opinion of buffets.
Tip #16 – the shops are pretty cool at Germany. They have great Christmas ornaments, Coo coo Clocks, lots of soccer items, dolls and bears. Don’t miss the little miniature train as you leave Germany it’s pretty cool and they change it up for different events. For the food and wine festival they have tiny little food booths.
Italy
Tip #17 – the Italian pavilion has several places to eat. A fancier restaurant Tutto Italia Ristorante , which I think is over priced and just ok. A family style place with pizza Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria which is really busy and loud – it’s at the very back of the pavilion. The place I like is the wine cellar next to the fancy restaurant. Walk into the pavilion past the round raised area in the middle, go up the stairs and you’ll see Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar. Really cool place. Its dark and quiet. Ask for one of the couches and go after 4:30pm. After 4:30pm you can order off the menu from the fancy restaurant. They have a really great antipasti platter with a little of everything. But the snacks at the bar are really good and authentic too. Tutto Gusto Wine Cellar is stop #5 on the drink around the world tour. Great wine selection too.
Tip #18 – the gift shop is ok. The one next to the restaurant just has smelly perfume, purses, and scarves – Il Bel Cristallo. The one opposite has wine, pastas, and kitchen type stuff they have some cute things there – La Bottega Italiana . There is no movie or ride in Italy but they have constant street performers. There’s also a Gelati cart. Get the Affogato it’s gelato with coffee poured over it.
America
Tip #19 – the American pavilion movie – The American Adventure is great I definitely recommend it. The food, not so much. It’s everything that’s wrong with American food. The Liberty Inn is quick service burgers, fries, and chicken tenders. Outside is actually funnel cakes! gross! They do have a Sam Adams kiosk (stop #6 drinking around the world) which is great with turkey legs (not so much). I really wish they would have the BBQ they served during the flower festival. It’s amazing, pulled pork with collard greens and corn bread. Why don’t they serve that in the restaurant! That’s real American food. Southern BBQ and greens, Northeastern lobster rolls, Southwestern Tex-Mex, and Cali salads.
Tip #20 – inside the building with the movie they sometimes have exhibits like at Christmas time they have gingerbread house. The gift shop to the right of the building Heritage Manor Gifts his really nice items, last time I was there they had Beekman 1802 products and in the past they’ve carried our local Magnolia Company products.
Japan
Tip #21 – on to Japan, the Koi ponds are really nice. The shops have mostly junk in them but they do have some really crazy Japanese snack food. There’s a cool Anime museum to the left as you walk through the opening to the castle in the back of the pavilion – Bijutsu-kan Gallery. And they have sushi in the little tea house at the top of the Koi pond gardens – Katsura Grill. It’s a really pretty and quiet courtyard with lanterns.
Tip #22 – The sushi bar, Tokyo Dining inside is also a good place to watch the fireworks – and the Sushi Bar is stop #7 on the drink around the world tour – Saki. I like the sushi bar better than the regular restaurant – Teppan-edo. It’s one of those places there they cook the food right in front of you. Then you smell like that the rest of the day. Not a fan.
Morocco
Tip #23 – the quick service restaurant at Morocco – Tangierine Café is really good. They have really authentic and unique plates like the slider trio that has lamb chicken and falafel. They have a salad plate with hummus, pita, tabbouleh, lentil salad, and olive salad that I love. You order at the counter but there are nice places just outside to sit and eat. They also have a coffee bar and serve beer which is #8 on the drink around the world tour. The main restaurant is at the very back of the pavilion you have to meander through the alleys to find it – its kind of cool like if you were there in Morocco. The main restaurant – Restaurant Marrakesh has a belly dancer and the food there is also unique. Its good for kids too the belly dancer will get the kids out on the dance floor.
They are currently working on something pretty big in the Moroccan pavilion I think it might be a restaurant that will be on the water – which would be another place to make reservations for dinner to watch the fireworks. It looked like it was almost done in December 2013.
Tip #24 – you can find rugs and baskets in the gift shops there are several – one right in the front, one just past the quick service place on the right and one on the left they each have slightly different things. Again you kind of meander through the streets. The only entertainment is the band and belly dancer they occasionally play on the stage on the main path.
France
Tip #25 – The bakery has recently been expanded and has great food – Les Halles Boulangerie & Patisserie. Its quick service and during normal meal times it can get pretty busy. But they have different kinds of sandwiches and salad and of course pastries. The tables inside are crowded and busy and the ones just outside are the same. Instead take your meal through the Arcade hallway into the garden on the other side. It’s always quiet.
Tip #26 – there’s a wine kiosk on the main path in France that’s #9 on the drink around the world tour. They also have a crepe and ice cream kiosk that’s good too. The main restaurant is ok – Chefs de France . I think the food is better at some of the other restaurants. It’s really crowded and you feel rushed but several of the dishes are good.
Tip #27 – the movie is nice this is also a great place to relax, it’s cool and you’re are sitting down for about 30 min. They have several shops – perfume, kitchens items, and now a new ice cream parlor – L’Artisan des Glaces where the bakery used to be.
United Kingdom
Tip #28 – the gardens behind the Twinnings Tea house are really nice and change often. Behind that is where they have free concerts.
Tip #29 – The Rose and Crown Pub is great even though it’s next in line for the drink around the world tour I would save it for last. Go to Canada and have a Moosehead beer from the beer cart then come back to the pub. So the Rose and Crown Pub is actually #11 on the drink around the world tour. The food is really good in the restaurant. Shepherd’s and Fisherman’s pie, cheese and chutney board, potato leek soup. It’s right on the water so ask for a seat outside in the back if the weather is nice. This is a great place to watch the fireworks too. But book it early it’s always booked late in the evening. If you hang out in the pub for a little bit sooner or later a table will open up and you can spend the rest of your drinking tour here.
Tip #30 – There’s a really nice little area with tables next to the pub. We’ll go and get a Moosehead beer from Canada then come back and drink it here. The view of the water is nice. You can people watch. And it’s in the shade. The gift shops are cute soccer, Beatles, Winnie-the-Pooh etc. Plus perfume, tea, and china. They don’t have a movie or ride but they either concerts in the garden or street performers.
Canada
Tip #31 – Moosehead beer – my husband’s favorite. The Canadian Pavillion is kind of small. There’s a gift shop with some cute things and the gardens are really pretty but you see most of it as you walk by on the main path. The movie is similar to China – you stand and watch. But it’s cool. Our favorite spot is under the willow tree in the garden below the beer cart. The Canadian beer cart is #10 on the drink around the world tour.
And now onto Future World
Imagination Pavilion
Tip #32 – Since you’ll be coming from Canada take a left at the little path just after the walk up quick service place and bathrooms. This will take you to the Imagination Pavilion. The ride Journey Into Imagination is cute, again it’s a place to sit down inside for a while when it’s hot outside. Lots of animated characters singing. After the ride the ImageWorks Labs is an interactive play area.
The Land
Tip #33 – For some reason there is always a 90+ minute wait for Soarin‘ – it’s a simulated hang gliding ride. I wasn’t that impressed. But if you do want to ride it on your way into the park get a fast pass because they will be used up by the afternoon if you wait until then to ride it. And it’s not worth a 90 min wait that’s for sure. There’s a pretty cool gift shop next to where you check in for Soarin’ is has garden gifts.
Tip #34 – Living with the Land ride is pretty cool. You take a boat ride through different ecosystems then through their green houses where they grow all kinds of plants. There isn’t usually a long line here. If there’s one when you go by try back another time. It’s usually only 5-10 minutes long. You can also take a tour of the greenhouses – Behind the Seeds click here to find out more about making a reservation and the price. It was very interesting. The Circle of Life movie is depressing. It’s about how we are destroying the Earth.
Tip #35 – The food court in The Land – Sunshine Seasons is good. They have everything from breakfast paninis and Muesli and yogurt to pumpkin squash soup, oak-grilled rotisserie chicken with black beans and rice, roasted pork chop with cheddar mashed potatoes, and spicy cashew chicken with vegetable stir-fry noodles. They also have quick grab items like hummus and veggies, fruit, and cheese and cracker, or desserts and espresso. It’s very noisy and chaotic in the dining area though. We can usually find a little corner somewhere with less people. You might be able to carry the food outside and find a spot to picnic I haven’t ever tried though.
Tip #36 – The sit down restaurant in The Land is The Garden Grill nice place – it rotates as you eat and you have a view of the Living with the Land ride. It’s served family style to your table and is all you can eat. Good home cooking – roast beef, turkey, mashed potatoes, veggies etc. Chip “n” Dale visit as well.
The Living Seas
Tip #37 – You can either enter to the side or through The Seas with Nemo & Friends there isn’t usually a wait for this ride so we usually go in this way. Once you’re inside its a huge aquarium with sharks, turtles, dolphins, manatees, and tons of fish. They do several demonstrations as well. Turtle Talk with Crush is kind of amazing. I have no idea how the cartoon interacts with the audience like that.
Tip #38 – The Coral Reef Restaurant – not a great seafood restaurant but the view is great. You eat in front of the aquarium.
The Breezeway from the West Side of Future World to the Center
Tip #39 – Meet Disney Pals on the right and Innovations West is on the left as you go through the breezeway. Innovations has lots of cool interactive activities that you can participate in or if you just want to sit down and the kids are still ready to go there are places for parents to sit while the kids play.
The Center of Future World
Tip #40 – The Fountain View Café / Starbucks and Club Cool are here. I’ve already talked about Starbucks and really what is there to say – it’s Starbucks. But Club Cool is sponsored by Coca-Cola. They have Coke merchandise but they also have soft drink dispensers so you can sample – for free – different kinds of sodas from different countries. There’s one that is awful and it’s kind of fun to wait and watch the next person taste it and get the same look on their face that you just got. I can’t remember which one it is and even if I did I would tell!
Tip #41 – Spaceship Earth is here. By now the line should have dwindled to nothing. If it’s a really busy time like during the holidays there may still be a 15 min wait. If you’ve waited until the mid afternoon and there’s still a line just suck it up and go. It’s not going to get any shorter if it hasn’t already. It’s a great ride and at the end there’s an interactive program so you can see your face in a funny cartoon. So when they take your picture at the beginning of the ride make a funny face it makes the cartoon funnier. There’s also interactive games to play when you get off the ride as well.
The Breezeway from the Center of Future World to the East Side
Tip #42 – Another Meet the Disney Pals location, a huge gift shop with all kinds of character merchandise, and The Electric Umbrella restaurant is here on the right. Basically your typical fast food restaurant but with some good choices like veggie flat bread. Innovations East is on the left.
Ellen’s Energy Adventure
Tip #43 – Ellen’s Energy Adventure is a really long ride. I think a total of 30 minutes. You wait in a dark room on the floor watching a little movie with Ellen and Bill Nye the Science Guy then get in a moving vehicle and ride through animatronic dinosaurs. Its a great ride but long. Really little kids might be frightened or might get antsy since it’s so long. The elementary school age will love it and the teenagers will fall asleep.
Mission: SPACE
Tip #44 – Mission: Space is amazing but not for a weak stomach. It’s a simulated ride but they get the simulation by spinning around like one of those fair rides that pin you to the wall. It really feels like you are blasting off in a rocket. But about halfway through when you are floating in space if you get motion sickness you will start to feel sick. Fortunately the ride is almost over at that point. It’s worth dealing with the slight nausea to do it once because it’s so amazing.
Test Track
Tip #45 – Test Track – you should have already gotten a fast past for this or you’ll need to ride single rider. Which is really no big deal. You won’t be talking to who ever you’re with while your on the ride and you’ll get through the line in just a few minutes. Like I said earlier – the end is great!
And here you are back where you started this morning.
During the holidays each of the countries has a special stage set up and they have some kind of holiday character telling a story – some you’ll recognize Kris Kringle and St Nicholas and some you won’t The Monkey King. They also have special treats like holiday cookies or gingerbread lattes.
The Candlelight Processional is in the Theater at the American Pavilion. They have the Christmas Story narrated by a Celebrity (big ones) accompanied by a 50 piece orchestra and mass choir. I’m not a church person but I have to say the performance is moving. The line to get a seat starts hours before and goes on forever. But you can watch just from the main path. It’s free. They have a deal where you can do a dinner package and get VIP seating but the line for the VIP seating was just as long as the other line and they got to eat where ever they wanted. I don’t think it’s worth it.
A Gospel group sings next to the fountain several times in Future World. They are great! Really puts you in the holiday spirit.
General Info
So that takes you all the way around the world. To see the menus for all the restaurants and to make reservations go to https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/ you can filter the options to refine your search to just Epcot and then click on the restaurant to see a menu and pictures and make a reservation.
When you are buying tickets really look at all the options. It’s always cheaper to buy for more than one day. If you tack on the Park Hopper option you can go from park to park in the same day. Very handy if you’re done at Epcot and want to take the boat over to see the Osborne Family Lights at Hollywood Studios. They have snow, hot chocolate, and an amazing light show. But don’t get there right when they turn the lights on a huge crowd of people all herd there way onto the street. Once the initial crowd is in it loosens up and you can move around. So just wait about 20 minutes then head over there.
Just got back from our first trip to this lovely city. This is my take on what to expect as a tourist in Boston. Friendly people. Beautiful historic buildings. Amazing food. Lots of great things to do but what ever you do don’t try to drive around! You can walk or take the subway anywhere. Its super friendly and easy to get around (with the gps on your phone of course – because the streets are all a web of confusion) but it’s much easier to navigate a web on foot then at 30 mph with cab drivers honking at you. So if you must drive out of the city rent a car for that day but don’t bother having one for the whole time. It’s crazy expensive to valet it at your hotel – $45 a night! and there are no places to park on the street. So just take a cab from the airport.
First Things First – Getting Around
The North End – the oldest area of the city. There are very old (1700’s) buildings and landmarks like Paul Revere’s house (which was even built in the 1600’s) and the Old North Church scattered in among newer buildings. It’s really hard to see the Boston Paul Revere and Sam Adams lived in here. The streets are tighter and smaller. It’s more of a Little Italy now. Lots of touristy things and the historic pubs are either just the name of an original pub like The Green Dragon Tavern which was completely razed in the 90’s and the place now called The Green Dragon Tavern is just a pub with the same name. It is in an historic building though and right across the street from the “Oldest Tavern” I can’t remember it’s name we didn’t bother to go inside it was just a dirty very plain bar.This area was worth walking around for the afternoon but I wouldn’t pay for a tour. Just start at Faneuil Hall and follow the red line – it’s the Freedom Trail and it will take you past all the historic sights which all have plaques so you can read about each of them. Faneuil Hall is pretty much an information station. Behind it they’ve closed off the street and all the old buildings were converted into a shopping mall. This was the most touristy place in the city. Didn’t really see much of it.
Government Center is exactly that just a bunch of modern government buildings – you have to walk right through this area to get from Back Bay to the North end. Otherwise it’s not worth mentioning.
Boston Common and the Public Gardens – center of everything. Both are beautiful parks filled with active people strolling, playing with their dogs, having a snack on the benches. No matter what time we walked through the park it was full. If you go Memorial Day – Labor Day ride the swan boats in the pond at the Public Gardens. Just like the rest of the city – it felt safe and was clean. But don’t be stupid, it’s still a big city don’t walk through by yourself at 3am waving your wallet around.
Beacon Hill – this area was built by the wealthy in the 1800’s on top of the hill overlooking the Common and the Gardens. The brownstones here are amazing. This area is great to just walk around to see the homes. Beautiful tree lined streets. Quite neighborhood.
Back Bay – this is the only part of the city where it’s easy to navigate. The streets are in a grid and the streets running north and south are in alphabetical order. Commonwealth has a park running down the middle of the street and brownstone homes on either side. Newbury Street has the same beautiful brownstones but the basement and first floors have retail shops everything from Gucci to H&M. Lots of great cafes and coffee shops too.
Kenmore Square is where Fenway Park is – great tour of the park! This area and really every area we went to was clean and friendly.
The rest of the areas we really didn’t venture into. Theater District, Chinatown, South End.
On the other side of the Charles River is Cambridge – MIT and Harvard are there but otherwise not much to see. Same thing for Charlestown the only parts that would be interesting to tourist are too touristy. Take the trolley tour to see Harvard, MIT, and Charlestown but I wouldn’t bother renting a car to go see it.
This is the Bean Town Trolley map. We used them because they were included in the Go Boston card that we purchased. But our concierge recommended Old Town Trolley. Since we didn’t also use Old Town I can’t really say which is better. I’m posting this map so you can see the areas. And the distance is deceiving we were able to easily walk from our hotel which was in Back Bay next to the Public Library to the North End. We never tried the subway because it was just easy to walk and we wanted to see everything.
Where to Stay
We stayed at The Lenox in Back Bay. It was a charming historic boutique hotel. There are a lot to choose from though. Some of the others high on my list when I was searching were The Fairmont Copely Plaza, The Eliot Hotel, and Fifteen Beacon, they were all in the Back Bay area. I would say that was the perfect area to stay. It was near shopping, sites seeing, restaurants, parks, subways, everything. The hotel was very accommodating and friendly. The restaurant was fine – a usual high end hotel restaurant. We had breakfast there one morning but there are so many amazing restaurants in Boston I wouldn’t waste a meal there.
What to Eat
Everything! Really great dining. We ate at everything from a Chocolate Bar to pubs to high end fine dining.
Breakfast
We had coffee at a very nice coffee shop on Newbury – L’ Aroma Cafe. Busy with locals in the late morning. Looked like mom’s that had just dropped of their kids at school or people on their way to open the retail stores on the Newbury. Outside seating, muffins, pastries, quiche nice place. We also ate at Trident Booksellers for breakfast. Crowded local place on Newbury half bookstore half cafe. There are several cramped diner like tables and a counter to sit at. We opted for the counter. The wait staff were friendly artsy type young people. The type you’d except to see in a book store. The food was just as creative. I had the Mega tots that are stuffed with cheddar cheese and the size of chicken eggs Tommy had the homemade granola with very fresh fruit.
Lunch
Eastern Standard is just a few blocks from Fenway. All around Fenway were bars and burger places. Most were closed I’m guessing they are only open for dinner and on game days. Eastern Standard is a refine, turn of the century bar, restaurant and raw bar. Most of the people eating there were locals. Click on the link to see the great lunch menu and pictures of the place. Great service, food, and atmosphere.
The raw bar at Eastern Standard
The bar at Eastern Stanard
Avocado BLT on fresh country white with butternut squash soup – delicious
Parish Cafe was on Boylston Street which is the street The Lenox Hotel is on and 1 block south of Newbury. It also has shopping but it’s not nearly has cute as Newbury. Parish Cafe was a local pub featured on the Cooking Channel’s show Unique Eats. There sandwiches were all created by local chefs. I got the Pudding Portobello by Debra Hughes. Sliced portobello mushrooms on foccacia bread with casio de roma cheese, an onion marmalade, and a walnut parsley pesto. Unfortunately Tommy’s sandwich which included veal was a special and I didn’t write down the whole thing. But here’s the pictures. They were both full of layers of flavor, the bread was perfectly crispy on the outside soft on the inside. The waiter was very helpful – so many great items to pick from. The place was quite (but we were there at 2pm) I imagine it’s slammed during lunch and dinner.
Portobello sandwich
Veal sandwich
Max Brenner Chocolate – we stopped at this place on Boylston in Back Bay for a snack. Amazing hot chocolate with little crunchy balls in it and White corn croquettes with manchego cheese.
White corn and Manchego cheese croquettes
One of the days we drove to Salem (on a scale of 1 – 10 I’d give it a 6) if you have plenty of extra time its ok. I was a long 1 hour drive through congested areas to get to it. The town is not completely ruined by tourism. The museum has a very informative free movie you can watch to learn about the city. There are mostly old buildings in the historic downtown but most of them have tourist shops in them. Crap you don’t want to buy. But take the trolley tour around the city to see it all. The homes are lovey the town is too. Its just all tourism. You really want a mix of reality and tourism. It can’t be all reality because then there’s nothing for the tourist to do. But if it’s all touristy then you can’t really see what the town was like. I would say Salem was 65% touristy / 35% real. tipping a little too much to the touristy side for me. I would have liked to have found one shop selling items that weren’t neon orange or bedazzled with rhinestones that said witchy woman on it. Some cute shop selling tasteful items that reflect the pilgrim era of this town. We were able to find a restaurant that sold more then hamburgers. 43 Church. It was in an old boarding house. Restored true to the era of the building but with some modern touches. We originally planned on having dinner there. The menu looks great, truffled wild mushroom rangoons with roasted garlic aioli and grilled swordfish with lobster butter, arugula salad & tarragon pesto polenta fries. But since the town wasn’t as interesting as I hoped it would be we didn’t stay late enough for dinner so we had lunch instead. The lunch menu looked equally good. Autumn bisque, frisee & poached pear salad with boratta cheese, fresh berries & port wine vinaigrette. I had the house charcuterie with preserved lemon cheddar, brie au poivre, and poached pears.
Charcuterie platter at 43 Church in Salem
Dinner
Bistro du Midi was on Boylston just across from Boston Common. Its on the second floor and the dinning room felt like we were in a swanky uptown apartment. Tommy had the grilled pork chop with lardons, sweet corn, fresh garbanzo, haricots verts, and smoked pork jus. We shared the goat cheese, pine nuts & honey barbajuans. I had the sweet corn soup with chanterelles, ricotta, cream frache, sage, and preserved lemon and we shared the Hazelnut milk chocolate cake with salted caramel ice cream. Amazing every bit of it.
View from the window of Bistro du Midi
Bourbon, lemon, bitters, and pear liqueur
Goat cheese, pine nut, and honey barbajuans
Grilled pork chop with lardons, sweet corn, fresh garbanzo, haricots verts, and smoked pork jus
Hazelnut milk chocolate cake with salted caramel ice cream
Sel de la Terre was a little place next to the hotel. We just ducked in there one night. They were booked upstairs in the restaurant so we ate in the bar. Which had the same menu and great service. They have fresh baked bread and toppings to order for it. We chose the balsamic shallot and roasted garlic and the eggplant and goat cheese spread. I had the mixed green salad with poached egg and Tommy had the Lobster ravioli.
Balsamic shallot and garlic and eggplant and goat cheese spreads for the fresh bread
Mixed green, lardons, and poached egg
Lobster ravioli
One night we drove to Cambridge to see a burlesque show, the Wrathskellar. We ate dinner at Hungry Mother which was also featured on the Cooking Channel’s show Unique Eats. Cute little place tucked in a mostly residential area. Definitely make reservations. We were there early at 6pm because we were seeing a show after but by the time we left at 7pm people were waiting for seats. I had the biscuits, pepper jelly, pimento cheese with house made pickles & pickled beets.
Hungry Mother’s pimento cheese, pepper jelly with biscuits, deviled eggs with house picked beets and cucumbers
Afternoon Tea
The concierge at The Lenox suggested L ‘Espalier for tea its a block away from the hotel. I’ve had tea at the Ritz in Philadelphia, The Plaza in New York, and many many other places this was probably the most elegant tea I’ve ever had. First course of the Little Red Riding Hood was Scottish smoked salmon with creme fraiche and caviar, English cucumber with fines herbs cream cheese and candied lemon, Casco bay lobster profiterole, and Maine crab salad with sauce gribiche on a croissant. Second course – panna cotta with Matcha, earl grey trifle with grapefruit, chai tea cake with passion fruit, pate a choux swan with espresso Chantilly cream, chocolate decadence cake with moro orange, lemon chamomile and cherry crimsonberry scones.
Pastries and scones
Afternoon blend of Darjeeling and Sri Lankan estate teas and Chinese green tea with bergamot and grapefruit peel
Places we didn’t get a chance to eat but wanted to
Citizen Public House – in the Fenway area and Oak Long Bar & Kitchen which is in the Fairmont Copley Hotel. We walked through to see if there were any seats at the bar. Almost waited until 10 pm to get a table but decided to try somewhere else. This place looked great. We did go back the next day for breakfast and it was very good. I had the Vermont goat cheese, egg white, spinach, pepper flat bread on whole wheat crust and Tommy had the Irish whiskey french toast with summer berry relish.
Oak Long Bar & Kitchen at breakfast
What to do while you are there
I recommend the Go Boston card – it was $140 pp for 5 days but when I added up all the places, historic houses, museums, trolley rides, Fenway everything we wanted to see was on it and it cost about 1/2 what it would have if we paid for each thing separately. I’ve already mentioned the trolley. When we go to historic cities I always like to take the trolley or a carriage tour first. It helps you understand the lay of the city, where the important sites are to go back to, and it’s transportation around the city.
Samuel Adams Brewery Tour – it’s free and you get free beer at the end. If that isn’t enough, its a very informative tour given by people who love their jobs and our guide was very entertaining. Its first come first serve. If you can go on a week day. If not get there when they open on Saturday. They only do so many tours a day. At the end of the tour they take you into the tasting room. there are several long tables and bar stools long the walls. Sit at the bar stools in the back of the room away from the bar. They fill up pitchers and pass them out to the tables. As the pitchers are passed along the tables everyone just takes about half a glass (8 oz tasting glass). So the pitcher is still about half full by the time it gets back to you. You know have half a pitcher to drink. You can refill your glass several time. You get 3 different tastings so by the end you can easily have had 4-5 beers instead of 3 tastings. After the tour a party trolley pulls up to take you to Doyles Tavern. One of the oldest taverns in Boston. If you take your tour ticket and order a Sam Adams at Doyles you get to keep the specially designed Sam Adams glass. The guy who drives the trolley is awesome. Thick Boston accent. The trolley is playing KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s the Way – I like it” as we pull away with the disco ball and lights going. Doyles was an old tavern. The lobster roll at the top of this blog is from there. Tommy said it was great.
Waiting for the tour to begin
me at Doyles after the tour
Fenway Park – I’ll just post the pictures. You get to see the visitor’s locker room and dugout and sit on the Green Monsta.
in the pressbox
The Green Monster
Old Sturbridge Village – this was about 1 1/2 hours west of Boston. It was an easy drive along a highway that was lined with autumn colored trees. The village is away from everything so while you are there you don’t see any other buildings. They have gathered historic buildings from all over Massachusetts and recreated a town. They have a town square with a tavern, bank, church and faux cemetery grist mill, sawmill, cider mill, school, pottery, working farm and farm house. it was very very well done. All the interpreters are dressed in period clothing and are actively working. They were very knowledgeable about the town and their jobs. After the hectic city it was a really relaxing place.
Other things to do in Boston that we didn’t get around to
This was my first post. Hopefully they get better the more I post. I take a lot of time to research the places I go and I wanted a place to share that research.
DAGNY | the g is silent but I am not 