Craft Beer Festival & Burger Bash

I started my Saturday at the amazing Craft Beer Festival & Burger Bash at the PGA National Resort, in West Palm Beach.

The event is very well organized with over 60 beers to try and about 20 burgers. 

The breweries each featured at least 2 of their beers for us to try.  They even had local craft beers on tap like Holy Mackerel, The Native, TBC and more.

My favorites of the day were:

Rooney’s Old Irish Ale
Widmer Brothers Brewing Alchemy Ale
Coronado Brewing Company Idiot IPA (I tried this one for the name)  :p
Breckenridge Brewery SummerBright
Know Breing Wilua Ale

Now, as I said, this was also a Burger event so of course we tried those too.  They give away 3 prizes, which we get to vote, and my winners were:

In my opinion, Chuck Burger Joint  definitely deserved the “Best Burger” title.  That burger was perfection.  Classic, juicy, flavorful, comforting…  Not surprised at all they got the  ”King of all Burgers” title last year.
My “Best Alternative” went to Cha Cha’s with their slider Kale & quinoa burger with humus on whole wheat.
My last award, the “Most Innovative Burger” went to Vic & Angelo’s Saltimbocca Burger.  This was a sage infused burger with black garlic aioli, sun-dried tomato marmalade, prosciutto di parma, gorgonzola dolce and baby spinach.  All I can say is I want more!!  Absolutely amazing that burger…
Other two worth mentioning were the ones from III Forks and Four Seasons.  

This was their Second year doing this event and, by what I experienced, I’d say (and hope) they have many more years to come.  Making a note to lookout for next year’s dates, you should too.

Italy… In a nutshell

I really had the intention of writing here every week, and finish telling you all about my Italy trip.

Unfortunately we sometimes get busy and/ or distracted with life and my blog got left behind but, I am here again, with the same first intentions…  hopefully I do better this time and add words to this Blog as that is its purpose.

 Italy was two years ago…  can’t believe that much time has passed.  My last post was from Venice.  From there we went wine tasting to Florence, which was my favorite part of the trip.  Not only did we taste amazing, local wine, but we met the wonderful people who make it.  We got to try cheese and even had the owner of one of the restaurants make lunch especially for us. 

The one thing I wanted to do most was see sunflowers.  Unfortunately they weren’t in season yet but our tour guide drove around until we found one.  The most beautiful one I’ve ever seen, and that just made my day.

 Last part of our trip was Rome.  There is so much history in this city.  The Pantheon is impressive, and the colosseum must have been my favorite one here.  So much to see and do, I would definitely love to go back.  It’s a trip I would recommend to everyone.

 So there it is, two years late but, finally done, in a nutshell, my trip to Italy. 

 Wish me luck so I keep up with it this time and share my “travels” in life.

Hotel Biasutti (Venice)

Part of the Best Western (didn’t know that when we booked it) it’s a very cute and friendly hotel. They have a patio with tables where you can sit, have a drink and/ or snacks, or you can chose to sit inside at the bar.

In the mornings they have breakfast, available to all guests but charged to the room.

Our room was spacious, equipped with mini bar (charged to the room if consumed), jaccuzi/ whirlpool. Bed was big and decoration goes perfect with the city. They have Wi-Fi, 24 hour front desk, and answer quickly if you have any problems or questions.

It’s just 5 minutes, or so, walking, from the vaporato terminal, and just around the corner there’s a plaza with a bunch of restaurants and cafes. Great location.

One thing we learned at the end of our stay is that this hotel is located in Lido, an island apart from Venezia, and the last stop of the water taxis. For this reason, it’s a more calm place than Venezia and great when looking for a relaxing stay.

Venezia

From the airport in Prague we took a bus, walked, then the vaporato (water taxi), then walked some more, and finally got to our hotel.

My first impression of Venezia, to be honest, smelly!!! It was raining and, apparently, all the bad smell from the water (which everyone warns you about) came up. That, and how rude the vaporato guy was. Ugh!

Finally at the hotel, we rested a bit and went to see Venezia. Rain had stopped, hotel staff showed us how to get to the water taxis faster, all was good again. Water didn’t smell anymore, we get to our stop and we are right in front of Piazza San Marcos. Here you are greeted by lots of vendors, but shopping can wait, go straight to the piazza (square), the principal square in Venice. Here you will enjoy beautiful Renaissance architecture, history, people watching, and all to the beautiful sound to the cathedral bells and mini orchestras playing at some of the cafes surrounding the square.

From there, go, get lost in the streets of Venezia. Don’t be afraid, even when you think you won’t find your way back, you’ll see a sign, or the water, to guide you. If not, just follow groups of people, especially tourists, one of you is sure to find the way.

Water taxis run until late so take your time, and enjoy the sights, the food, shops, eat gellatto, even ride in a gondola and, of course, take lots of pictures. On your way back on the vaporato, look back and take in, one more time, the amazing, romantic view Venezia offers.

Italy!

Ciao, from Italy!

This is where my travels took me next. First Venezia, then Firenze, Toscana, and Roma.

Every city in Italy is different, the buildings, the people, the pace… But all very beautiful in it’s own way. For example, in my experience, Venice was more laid back, calm. A place were you go relax, and enjoy the water views and good wine and food. In Florence, the people are friendlier and alive. There’s everything art in this city. Tuscany, it’s just fantastic, amazing views, great wine, sunflowers, nice people, and Rome is more fast paced and with a lot of history.

For us who speak Spanish, it’s easier to communicate with the Italians but, they do speak English too, especially at tourist attractions, restaurants, and hotels. Plus they’re very good with directions and helping you find your way.

For those of you thinking of visiting Italy, here are some pointers (some you might have read in my Prague post but not bad reminders):

Make copies of your passport, driver license, and credit cards. Keep these in a separate place from the originals.

As in any country, when in crowded places, keep your purse, and belongings, secure. Tourists are the main target for pickpocketing.

Bring a European adaptor and/ or convertor. The difference you ask:
1. Adaptor works for appliances and plugs that stand the 220V outlets.
2. Convertor will be needed if your appliances and plugs are for less volts than that. Avoid ruining your camera, phone, etc, or, even more, burning the hotel like in “Just Married” (with Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy). :p

Check the weather.
During the summer it can get very hot but if it rains, temperature drops a bit so bring a light jacket just in case.

Bring comfortable shoes, you will walk a lot and, most likely, stand in long lines like for the Dome, the Ufizzi Museum, and the Academia Museum.

Remember to setup your phone for international traveling.
Get an international plan for the time you’ll be abroad. If you have an iPhone, make sure your ‘enable 3D’ feature is turned off, as well as the ‘cellular data’ feature, and the roaming, so you don’t get a surprise phone bill when you get back home. If you have a blackberry then you’re in luck with your trusty BBM – always free, no matter where you are.

Once you get to the airport, since the exchange rate is not the best there, just exchange a small amount of money for the taxi and immediate things you might need. Then, in the city, shop around for a good rate.

Restrooms are marked “toilets or “WC”. Have coins ready, in some you will have to pay, with exact change (1 or 2 Euros). There are usually machines that give you change right outside.

A lot of restaurants have a ‘cover/ seating’ charge. Or the charge for the utensils. For us it was around 2 – 3 Euros in most cases.

Especially in Rome, since it’s a bigger city and there’s long lines in some ‘attractions’, take advantage of tours, or have an itinerary to organize your day. This, plus carrying a map, will help you see everything you want without getting lost. Also recommended, a wine tour in Tuscany, wine is exquisite, people are extremely knowledgeable about wine, and views are made for movies. So, don’t forget your camera!

Keep checking in to see, in more details, what I got to experience in Italy…

On our way to Italy on Wizz Air

It’s been a while since I’ve written here… About time I share the rest of last summer’s trip, don’t you think?

As you can read on my previous entries, we were in Prague for our sister’s wedding.

Prague to Venezia is less than 2 hours by plane. Of course, we decided to extend our trip and see some of Italy…

Wizz Air is one of the cheapest, and recommended airlines by the locals.

Our flight’s attendants were not too friendly, they’re there to do their job, and that’s it. They were very strict! Do not lower the tray table before departing, do not recline your chair, and do not forget to turn off your phones… If you forget one of these things, you will be told, and if you don’t understand or don’t obey, they might almost bark. But if your good, follow instructions and smile, you will be ok.

Airplane is clean, flight was on time, flight was more than $50 cheaper than other airlines… That’s all I need, especially for such a short flight.

I’m in Italy!!!
Hope you enjoy this trip as much as we did.

Review Of The Day!

Since I can’t travel all year long, the other thing I love to do is go out with friends and find good places to eat, drink, dance, etc.

A few years ago, I was introduced to www.yelp.com. Here, as thousands of other people, I keep track, through reviews, of the places I’ve been. Reading someone of the reviews of Cafeina (in Miami, FL) I decided to give it a try. Loved it and on top of that got ROTD (review of the day)!!!

Here’s the link: Cafeina

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and check out other reviews, I assure you Yelp comes very handy when debating on where to go or wanting to try something new.