Potential Vacation Thoughts

 

I was very much looking forward to possibly having some very romantic vacations with my wife if I was able to finally make more money.

I am now making more money. Not enough to become wealthy this amount could have gotten some nice vacations. Unfortunately my wife lost her battle with cancer and died several months ago so while I may be able to actually take a vacation I will of course be lonely and of course a romantic vacation is obviously not needed now.

I will at some point take an actual vacation. If I have enough money I will likely invite my youngest daughter along with her child who is my fabulous grand daughter. At one point I was very much hoping to be able to take her to Disney World and I might although their pricing has become hideously obnoxious.

There are of course many areas in the country that I have been in a few times when working and on a few vacations with my wife many years ago. Most of those locations I am sure my grand daughter would love and they are less expensive than Disney World.

New Orleans is one possibility because it is a great place with wonderful food and they have a fantastic zoo there that I am sure all children love.

Las Vegas is also very nice and there is a Circus casino with an area inside that children love with the circus activities.

I am sure at some point I will determine other possible vacation locations but I am just waiting a bit to have saved a little money since I still have nothing saved after making very little while having to pay the out of pocket expenses while my wife had her cancer treatments and medications.

 

Technorati Tags: Vacation,child vacation,friendly vacation locations

If You Love Travel You’ll Love Singapore!

 

I have seen many TV shows about Singapore and it looked fabulous on all of them so I did some research on the city and the area and if I ever have the money for this trip I would love to do it.

I live in Harrisburg PA and I generally fly out of Baltimore or Washington DC since I find much better flight and price options at those airports even though Harrisburg does have an International Airport but it is rather small and does not really have many flights compared to the others.

I found some pretty nicely priced flights from Washington. Turkish Airways has a flight that is only 964 dollars a person round trip and the flight is a total of around 30 hours. There are also some more expensive flights that are very long. One of then is slightly over 50 hours.

Once arriving in Singapore there are some very nice hotels that are not hideously expensive in a number of areas within a few miles of the center of the city.

From everything I have seen from researching online and what I have seen on TV shows, Singapore has what looks like the most fabulous food there is. It is a mix of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian and a few dishes that looked very much like some of the ingredients were based on Thai food. There are regular restaurants but there are number of buildings around the city that are called Hawker Centers. They are kind of like the food areas you can find in some malls in the United States. They are set up these food stalls in the buildings because the government of Singapore has mandated that there can be no food carts on the street any longer. One of the dishes I would love to be able to eat is called Chicken Rice. I watched one of Anthony Bourdain’s  shows and this dish looks absolutely delicious. The food stall boils entire chickens for hours with a few herbs and spices in the water. After the chicken is done that water is used to cook the rice. It is then served with chopped up chicken along with a number of different sauces that are available to dip it in or to spread over the rice and chicken.

There a number of ethnic areas that are surely fantastic since I love cultural areas. There are also a number of historic areas that I am also sure are great. I love exploring culture and learning of the history of any new area I go to.

I wish I had the funding to there now since this is the year that Singapore turns 50 and there are all kinds of festivals going on.

Technorati Tags: Singapore,Hawker Centers,Chicken Rice,ethnic areas,Chinese,Malaysian,Indian,Thai,Food

New Orleans

 

New Orleans is my favorite city in this country. The Southern Hospitality is taken to limits that are absolutely unheard of.

The food is also absolutely awesome.

There have been some news stories about high crime rates but I was there a little while ago and as long as you are paying attention the everything around you then you will likely be quite safe.

I am looking to go again at some point in January, February or March. Mardi Gras would be a great time but I want to go when it is hideously could here in the Northeast.

When I was there the last time it was in June and it is still a great city but it tends to get very warm from the spring over the summer.

It is an easy trip if you fly down or a bit more difficult when driving. If you fly out of Baltimore like I did the flight is just a few minutes over 2 hours. If you drive from here then it is about a 20-22 hour drive.

Here is a link a short video of a flight taking off from Baltimore at the end of January which is within the time frame I am interested in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGHDJEi6J6I

Following this is a link to a short video of a flight Landing in New Orleans from Baltimore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeNFNsQc8rI

I am truly looking forward to taking a vacation to a spot where my wife and I are unlikely to be freezing cold. I realize that New Orleans had some pretty cold weather during the polar vortexes over the last 2 years but even during them they were not anywhere near as cold as around here nor did they get the hideous snow storms that we had.

I am not sure exactly when this will happen but I am really looking forward to this. I wish I had the money to bring along my grand daughter. There is an incredibly fabulous zoo in New Orleans that she would absolutely be completely fascinated with.

 

Technorati Tags: Vacation,New Orleans,Great Food,Awesome City

Our Anniversary Trip to New Orleans

If any of you have not been to New Orleans then you really need to visit. There are still some areas that are no fully recovered from Hurricane Katrina but the people of New Orleans are a tough group and have been able to cope.

It is very hot and humid in the summer but I had such a wonderful time and the people are so incredibly kind that if I had the money to retire I would probably not have come home.

We stayed at a home not far from the French Quarter that is similar to a B&B except the they just supply the room and bed. Breakfast is something you find on your own.

That being said, the food in New Orleans if incredible. You can find restaurants all over that claim Cajun and creole food but while the ones near where I live have good food it is not even close to what you get down there.

The way to start your day is to go to the French Quarter and stop at Cafe du Monde. They have been in the same location for 151 years and they serve Beignets and coffee. The standard is an order of Cafe au lait  and Beignets. The Cafe au lait there is half very strong coffee with chicory and half hot milk. They are open 24/7/365 and that is all they serve. 151 years of practice makes it the most extraordinary meal you will have. Very simple but worth quality awards from around the world. They do a pretty good business. I spoke to the current owner at one point while I was ordering and he told me that they have 18 gallons of milk heated and ready at all times for the Cafe au lait orders. That is one hell of a lot of coffee being made and served.

The food in New Orleans is extremely good pretty much wherever you go. We got into town right around lunch time on our first day and our drive to our room took us within a few blocks of Willie Mae’s Scotch House. We have seen it on so many food shows that we had to try it. The chicken is very tasty and they make the best deep fried okra I have ever had. That being said there is far better chicken to be had. In the French Quarter at 630 Bourbon St. is a little hole in the wall place called Willie’s Chicken Shack. I have had fried chicken all over this country as well as the Bahamas, Canada, Japan and the Philippines and I can tell you that this chicken is the best ever. If this recipe is given out and they ever decide to branch out into other locations I can tell you that KFC and Popeye’s are doomed. That is how good it is.

For those that drink New Orleans is heaven. I have not researched the laws but according to a few of the tour guides we say the bars are required to close only 1 hour a year. Something like between 1 and 2 AM Ash Wednesday. I suspect to perhaps give the bar owners a chance to catch their breath after Mardi Gras.

The architecture and history in this town is amazing. When you go by all means take as many tours as you can. I did notice an interesting thing outside the city. We took a plantation tour north of the city along the Mississippi in the bayous. There are probably very few places where you drive along and come across road kill that turns out to be a 6 or 7 foot alligator. Possibly near the everglades but there are many, many roads that run through the bayous so lots of chances to come across something unexpected while driving.

In conclusion, make the trip to New Orleans. A wonderful friendly place that is unmatched by all but a very few places I have been.

Technorati Tags: Food,Cajun,Creole,vacation