Aqua Luna, Hong Kong

Cruising Victoria Harbour in a hand-crafted junk, surrounded by Hong Kong's spectacular skyline

Mini Cruise to Oslo

Go to sleep in Copenhagen, wake up in Oslo!

Sunset cruise, Los Cabos

El Arco (the Arch) is one of Mexico's most famous natural landmarks.

Best of 2012

2013 is almost here so I'd like to share with you mi top ten favorite posts from 2012:
(in case you missed them, the link to the post is under the photo)

1) Caribbean Cruise:
We had a blast cruising the Caribbean for the second time on NCL's Epic; we visited Saint Thomas, Saint Martin and Nassau, had lots of food and enjoyed great shows.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/02/epic-cruise-part-1.html

2. How to piss off a Mexican
I wrote this post as a humorous example of some annoying stereotypes about Mexicans

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/03/how-to-piss-off-mexican.html

3. Dubai:
I loved Dubai, it was a great trip, best part of it was being able to dine inside the wonderful Burj Al Arab.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/03/dubai-day-3.html

4. Eataly, Turin:
For the foodie in me, any trip to Eataly is like going to Disneyland so I enjoyed going back to Eataly Turin and having their delicious tuna.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/04/eataly-paradise.html

5. Tuna recipe
As I just wrote, I love tuna, and I enjoy cooking it at home as well, this has to be one of my favorite recipes.

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/06/saturday-lunch.html

6. Eataly, Rome
Our weekend in Rome was even more special after we discovered Eataly Rome had just opened, and we had a delicious Roman tripe to make it even better

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/06/eataly-rome.html

7. Piazza Navona, Rome
Rome is one of my favorite cities in the world and Piazza Navona is one of my favorite spots in the Eternal City

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/07/piazza-navona-rome.html

8. Club Med Ixtapa, Mexico
we had a relaxing (and weight-gaining) holiday in Club Med Ixtapa, best service and food ever!

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/09/club-med-ixtapa-part-1.html

9. Statue-hunting in Düsseldorf:
It was a great challenge to find the 9 Poeggeler statues while visiting Düsseldorf

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/10/statue-hunting-in-dusseldorf.html

10. Hangar Bicocca:
Although I live in the area, I had never been to Hangar Bicocca, a very nice exposition space in North Milan

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/10/sunday-in-hangar-bicocca.html

Bonus -  Sunflower fields forever
Beautiful landscapes, great weather, fantastic food, I just love Le Marche!

http://www.tfoodie.com/2012/08/sunflower-fields-forever.html

My first 30's!

Here's a little collage I made to symbolize my first 30 years in this world...

... and if the next 30 are as great as these were, can't wait!!!

Epic Cruise - Part 5

Day 6 - at sea
Woke up and moved the clock back to Miami time. Gym and breakfast as usual. Oh, by the way, this is what my daily breakfast plate looked like:

yummy breakfast

Pool and slides in the morning, it was hard to find a free lounger, stupid people occupate them the whole day with their towels and never show up, and the staff doesn't actually care, that's one thing that really bothered me. We bought what they call Cruise Rewards, a $250 deposit for the next cruise; it's really convenient since you get $100 off your on-board account for the current cruise and then you have 4 years to use your 250$ deposit booking directly through NCL or though almost any travel agent, we tried it last year and worked perfectly, and since we are waiting for the new ship to come, the Breakaway (decorated by Peter Max), we might be using it next year.
They held the White Hot Party this evening, that's when you dress in white and party in the open areas (like Spice H2O).

Spice H2O

Day 7 - Nassau
Arrival to Nassau was scheduled at noon so we woke up and went to the gym and for breakfast.

Arriving to Nassau

Junkanoo Beach

 Got off ship and walked to the main street (Bay st.) through a covered market with nothing interesting. On Bay St. we visited the cosmetics store marked in our maps and got a great deal on Bobbi Brown products. Shops were the same as in other ports (Diamonds International, Sr. Frogs, etc.). Bay Street is busy and noisy, lots of trucks and traffic. No nice monuments or sights. We walked past the Hilton to a free access beach, not nice. Then we took a taxi for $15 to the Sheraton. Walked in through the front desk to the pool and beach.

Sheraton Beach

The beach was nice but the water was too cold and it was windy. (the Wyndham, where NCL takes guests for the resort break excursion is next door). We took a taxi back to the port (again 15$) and got the rest in Bahamian Dollars (be sure to pay with those before leaving Nassau). We didn't like Nassau, the streets were noisy, perhaps with a better weather we would have used the beaches more. Back in the ship we had a coffee in the balcony and started packing.
We chose the Easy Walk Off debarcation option (you take your bags and get off the ship when you want), so since we were taking our suitcases with us we didn't have to leave them outside the cabin. We had dinner at the Manhattan Room (salmon tartare -my fave- seafood cioppino -a kind of fish soup- with the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand).I must say that after having been on the Epic twice, the food has not lost any of the great quality we found the first time. They really put a lot of effort in giving you excellent food and good service, not only in the specialty retaurants but also in the buffet and other venues.

Last day - Debarcation, Miami
We woke up to the vibrations of the ship docking in Miami. We had breakfast at the buffet and then back to the cabin to get ready. Debarcation took long. Easy walk off was not that easy, we had to make a looong line to get off and there was a bit of a mess but by 9.15 (30 minutes after leaving the cabin) we were off the ship. Since our flight was in the evening, we took a cab to the Dolphin Mall (around $40) and shopped until it was time to go. They let us store our bags at the Mall Security office. Flight back was OK but after leaving Miami with 25°C, arriving to a freezing and snowy city was depressing.

Epic Cruise - Part 4

Day 5 - St. Thomas 
The ship vibrates a bit while docking so on the 5th day of our cruise we woke up early to the view of St. Thomas beaches.

St. Thomas

 Again, some facts first: St Thomas a Caribbean island part of the U.S. Virgin Islands (together with St. John, St. Croix and Water Island). Its largest city is Charlotte Amalie
It was conquered by the Danes in 1666 and it remained under Danish control until 1917, when it was purchased by the US (because of its strategic position to keep control of the Panama Canal) for 25 million dollars in gold. It is a bit particular since the street names are in Danish, the language is English, the government is American and they drive on the left! Oh, and it's also tax free!

the end of the rainbow is in St. Thomas!

  Since we were here 2 years ago we noticed they built a larger dock for our ship and now there's a Señor Frogs (with a not very inviting green-water pool) outside the dock. We docked at Havensight and walked to Havensight Shopping Mall (there was also a free shuttle but we felt brave - we totally used it on the way back!), there are some Diamonds International and other jewelry and souvenirs shops there. There was a rain storm for like 10 minutes and then the rainbow came!




 We walked towards the town and stopped at the shops in the Yacht Club (they have Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, etc. - but prices are not that low). The walk to the town (Charlotte Amalie) takes 10-15 min. In town visited the Little Switzerland shop where we had bought a watch a couple of years ago (we prefer it compared to Diamonds International). At AH Riise we bought some Clinique products (good deals) and then walked around through the shops and waterfront. We went back to the ship early, it was so hot and the sun was really strong so we spent some time at the pool after lunch at the buffet.

pool and waterslides on the Epic

Back in the ship we tried the purple and green waterslides, fun; didn't get to try the orange/yellow one since there's always a line for that.

Le Bistro

We had dinner at the french Le Bistro (escargot and lamb chops, tarte tatin, everything delicious - wine pairing: rioja, ok). I love this restaurant, it's worth every penny of the $20 charge. The service is great, much more accurate than the rest of the ship, and you dine among works of art like Picassos, Miros, etc.
 

Epic Cruise - Part 3

Day 4 - St. Maarten 

We woke up when we were arriving to St. Maarten. Beautiful views of the island, and the water has a very special blue color.

Arriving to St. Maarten

Clear blue water

 Some facts first: Sint Maarten (in Dutch)/Saint Martin (in French) is an island in the Caribbean Sea which is divided in two parts, the Dutch and the French side since the 1600 after the establishment of settlements of French and Dutch families. They have coexisted peacefully after the signing of the Treaty of Concordia in 1648, the oldest international treaty still enforced. The most spoken language is English, even though the official languages are Dutch and French (a Caribbean variation of these languages, that is). The currency accepted in Sint Maarten is the US Dollar, in Saint Martin the Euro, there is a 1$=1€ exchange rate which might not be very convenient if you pay in Euro (at the current 1.3$=1€ rate).
Its duty free status, its beautiful beaches, its food and the cosmopolitan/European atmosphere of its villages make it a popular destination in the Caribbean.

Philipsburg beaches

Streets in Philipsburg

Our ship docked in Philipsburg, the main city of the Dutch side. We got off after breakfast by 9.00 and walked to the center of Philipsburg (10 min walk). Its boardwalk or Front Street is full of sourvenir shops and beach bars, while the main street has lots of boutiques. I got a Ralph Lauren visor for 10% less than the US plus no tax, which made my day.

me in Main Street

 We visited some watches shops and decided to get a cab to Marigot to see the watches of Jewels by Love, a shop I had read about before leaving (nice place, nice owners). The cab to Marigot costed $8 per person one way and took about 30 min. Marigot is more European, better food (they say, we didn't eat there), more lively (lots of yachts). The water and beaches are beautiful all over the island seemed beautiful from the road.

Guavaberry stand

the bay of Philipsburg

 We were back in the ship terminal by 15.30. We were advised on tasting the famous guavaberry liquor before getting back to the ship. It tasted of strawberry rhum and it was delicious on a frozen cocktail as a piña colada.
My veredict: I could live here, the towns are nice, people are friendly, guavaberry colada is good, there's no tax, the beaches are beautiful and the weather is nice all year round... sounds like paradise, doesn't it?

Epic cruise - Part 2

Day 2 - at sea 
After spending the early morning in the gym (it has like 20 threadmills, weights, lots of machines for each muscle, lessons, etc - there's water available and cold mint towels to freshen up) we had breakfast &lunch at buffet. Then we attended the auction with champagne. The art gallery on the Epic has 1500 works on board, making it the largest collection at sea (it's a Park West Gallery). They have works from Picasso, Rembrandt, Romero Britto, Peter Max, Thomas Kincade,  etc.

a Peter Max

We were interested in Peter Max's works but at around $15000 for a small oil on canvas piece, they were so out of our budget...

Moderno Churrascaria - from www.ncl.com

The Epic has  many dinner options, if you want to grab a quick bite, nothing formal, you can try the Garden Cafe buffet which has lots of choices. If you prefer something more like a pub menu there's O'Sheenan's, an english pub open 24 hours! Then if you want to have a nice dinner seated you can choose between the contemporary Taste and the classic Manhattan Room (where there's a band playing). These options are all included in the cruise fare.
Otherwise, for a little extra charge, you can choose among other specialty restaurants: the Steakhouse Cagney's ($25/person), the Brazilian Churrascaria Moderno ($20), the Italian Le Cucina ($10), the French Le Bistro ($20) and the Teppanyaki showcooking grill ($25). There's also a circus tent where you can dine and see a show for $35 (not for us) and sushi and chinese restaurants with interesting menus (extra charge), pizza delivery to your cabin, room service, etc.
For our second day at sea we chose dinner at Moderno Churrascaria; they serve you different cuts of meat from swords, and they keep it coming until you say stop. There's also a great salad bar, my advise is not to  eat lots of salad, starters and sides, because the most delicious meats come by the end (lamb chops, sirloin and the juicy costela), we didn't make it to the dessert. Great choice!

Day 3 - at sea 
Still a bit jetlagged, we woke up and went to the gym (after dinner at Moderno, we needed to burn lots of calories!). The day was cloudy so we did not go to the pool area and stayed in the cabin. Personally I prefer balcony cabins for days like these, you can chill out in your balcony with coffee just watching the horizon.

O'Sheenan's pub - from: www.norwegiancruiselineepic.com

We had lunch at O'Sheenans pub (tuna melt and mozzarella sticks, good), it's a nice place to hang out since there are 2 bowling lanes there, draught beer and you can get a nice view of the atrium big screen and the movies they often show. Dinner at Manhattan Room which was delicious, perhaps the nice atmosphere with the band playing helped. We had to wait like 20 minutes to get a table but it was worth it.

Manhattan Room - from: www.ncl.com

After dinner we had a quick round in the casino. Those damn slot machines are so addicting!