Roving Wanderer

On our previous planned trip to Pembroke Springs, we were going to stay their Friday, Saturday then leave on Sunday. I had forgotten the reason why we had planned that, until we remembered…Home-cooked dinner. Unfortunately, they only serve dinner on Fridays, though they did have a specialty chef cooking on that Sunday. Sadly, there was something called work to go to the next day so we couldn’t stay for the food.

Although we didn’t get to eat the home-cooked meal at Pembroke Springs, Lisa recommended a cute little place called Cristina’s Cafe in Strasburg, VA. Now, Strasburg is a very small town. So small they only have two traffic lights. Literally. But just because it’s a small town doesn’t mean that the food isn’t good. We arrived at kind of a weird time, 4pm. So it was a little too early for the dinner menu and too late for the breakfast menu. While the lunch menu was quite short, all of the options sounded tasty AND they were all flavor of the days. So we ordered the quiche, empanadas and soup of the day which turned out to be cream of potato and poblano soup, flan and creme brulee.

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For some reason, it seems like the fates were conspiring against my sister, my mother and me every  time we tried to take a trip out to the Pembroke Springs Retreat. We were originally supposed to go in May however work and weather got in the way. When we finally were able to get together and take the drive down, we were hit with a tornado warning 30 minutes before reaching our destination. At that point, we had come too far to go back home. Luckily, we only had to deal with the bad weather for ten minutes until we arrived at our destination. The road there wasn’t easy though. We drove through the winding path through a pretty wooded area. Thank goodness there were no cars coming in the opposite direction as the way was almost too narrow for two cars to fit. When we reached the clearing at the top, though, my anxiety immediately disappeared as I took in the gorgeous view.

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There are plenty of places to pop in for a drink, but not all bars are equal. While Bourbon street is probably synonymous with drinking, there are plenty of awesome bars that evehttp://rovingwanderer.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=166&action=edit&message=1ryone should experience simply for the history. Of course you can most likely wander in anywhere and grab a drink, but here is my top 6 list.

Pat O’Brien’s

There are actually 2 different Pat O’Brien’s but they all connect to each other through a beautiful backyard. It’s a huge place so you’ll more than likely run into some fun people. Pat O’Brien’s is allegedly the birthplace of the Hurricane, so you’ll have to get it when you’re there. I’m not really a huge fan of sweet drinks, so I didn’t really like the drink but I finished it. I just like the atmosphere and the fire fountain.

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No travel experience is complete without taking a ton of photos. There’s definitely a lot that didn’t make the cut namely because of the blurry pictures but we definitely saw and went to a bunch of cool places. I believe that these pictures really capture the essence of New Orleans and its uniqueness. It really is like no other place in the US.

There’s never a bad day to listen to music in New Orleans and they’ve got something for jazz or blues lovers. The most well-known music scene though is Frenchmen Street. Every venue you go to will have their lineup posted on the window so you can find band that suits your taste. Don’t like what’s playing at one place? Then there are plenty of other places to go to. Don’t like any of the places that night, try the next day. There’s literally live music every day of the week and, if you start feeling cramped, take a step outside and listen to the brass band performing on the corner.

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One of the awesome things about New Orleans is that everyone is super friendly and no one cares if you ask weird, potentially inappropriate questions.

After listening to some awesome music at Frenchmen Street, Jill and I along with two other people, were debating where we wanted to go to next. We had already hit up a cool prohibition-era themed bar that had tap dancing and, of course, live music. Where to next? I had already experienced all I wanted of Bourbon Street the night before, so I was looking for something a little different The night was still young, so our tour guides took us to Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone.

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When people think New Orleans, they think Mardi Gras and those 90s “Girls Gone Wild” movies. I was told that my first trip to New Orleans should NOT be during this time, and I’m glad that I went when I did. I can’t imagine what the streets must look like during Mardi Gras. It was already plenty packed during a normal weekend.

Yes, they got beads after

Back in the day, the whole girls flashing for beads was just a Mardi Gras thing, but somehow it happens year round now. I definitely saw some women flashing (top and bottom) for some beads. Doesn’t really make too much sense to me since you can just pick them up off the street. So, that’s what Jill and I did. We picked up beads off the street and then started heckling some guys to “show us their tits”. Most of the guys were pretty confused and probably felt like we were taking advantage of them…which we were. I found it hilarious. Hey, why not switch the roles?

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The Ol’ Mississippi

I don’t know why I seem like a good travel companion. Maybe it’s because of my laid-back attitude. Maybe it’s because I tend to do things spur of the moment. Either way, I’ve gotten asked twice to go down to New Orleans. Once was for the Jazz Festival. I really wanted to go. We were planning on renting out a bungalow in the French Quarters and I’d heard a lot of awesome stuff about New Orleans. It didn’t pan out though…too many people backed out last minute and the flight as well as the cost of rental was too much. Luckily I got another chance.

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Japan was an amazing experience for me and I would love to go back there and visit for longer to really experience/eat more. For those that haven’t read the About Us section, I am in fact half-Japanese. I moved to the US when I was just a year old and 2010 was the first time I had been back since I moved. While I don’t necessarily feel like I was “coming home” it was an amazing experience. There is so much that the Japan has to offer from the deep cultural traditions and religions that are ingrained into the Japanese society to the crazy new technology. It’s really an almost perfect combination of old and new and a little weird. I didn’t take as many pictures as I wanted, namely because my camera batteries were running out and I forgot to bring my charger. Still, below are some of the best pictures of Japan.

If you are ever in Japan, it might be a little overwhelming deciding what to do. I was lucky enough to have some one guide me through the areas and also fortunate enough to stay with family. While some of my favorite memories of Japan are of the food that I ate, there’s a lot more to the country than just eating…I think.

6. Visit a Shrine

Ise Shrine

You don’t have to visit all the shrines in the area, but there are definitely some amazing ones out there. If you’re in Kyoto during the fall, the Kiyomizu-dera temple is a sight to behold. It’s a bit of a climb, but the view is definitely worth it. One of my other favorites was the Ise shrine in Honshu. Like most of the shrines, the Ise shrine is surrounded by nature, but there’s just something incredibly mystical about the area. Maybe it’s because the shrine was built to worship Amaterasu, the sun goddess, or maybe it’s the fact that we saw a very rare ceremony occurring that day. Either way, it was definitely worth the bus ride and wait.

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