Bonjour! [Updated September, 2019] It had been a long time since I returned to Ephernite. Likely 3-4 years since my last meal here. All I can say is things have only gotten better. The food from Chef Vanessa is ever more refined, creative and sophisticated. Wine list curated by Claude is ever extensive and one of…
Category: travel
Cuba: Traveling Back to 1950 for a New Hope With National Geographic Expeditions
Hola! I recently had the great opportunity to be a part of a National Geographic Expedition for the first time. We booked ourselves on one of the increasing number of “People to People” trips for U.S. Citizens to travel to Cuba in the wake of President Obama’s announcement to lift certain bans, including making it…
Review: Amanpulo, Philippines
Hi All, The following is a guest post by my sister, she and her husband recently visited and stayed at the Amanpulo in Palawan, Philippines. Amanpulo is their second Aman resort experience, after Amankora in Bhutan. The #1 hotel chain on my list of places to stay and check out is any of the Aman…
Review: Phulay Bay, A Ritz Carlton Reserve; How a Great Management Team Can Go A Long Way
Hello! This year for our winter family trip we opted for something closer to home that didn’t have a long minimum night stay. We chose to return to Thailand have not returned there for our vacations for over 7 years now. To switch things up, we decided to try a new spot in Thailand, having…
[Updated Nov. 2017] MUME v. RAW: Taipei’s Newest Trendsetting Restaurants Successfully Bring Haute Cuisine to Taiwan
Hi All, For most updated thoughts scroll to the bottom. [Modified] Original Post: This winter, Taipei saw the opening of two brand new restaurants serving multi-course haute cuisine. One is Mume, the other is Raw. Both have similar concepts in crafting fine dishes from local Taiwanese ingredients. Bringing the concepts of haute cuisine and…
Review: China Airlines (CI) 777-300ER Business Class: Taking Taiwanese Aviation to New Heights
Hello Everyone! As a longtime China Airlines flyer, I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their 777-300ER fleet since the airline announced their order for 10 77W. Starting in April 2014, CI began releasing images of their interiors for the new plane and when I saw what was in store, I was simply amazed….
23 Year Road Trip, Spanning 177 Countries, a True Wanderlust Fairytale
Hi All, I came across this story and video today of a man named Gunther Holtorf, who recently completed a 23 year long road trip across 177 countries on a Mercedes Benz G Wagon he aptly named Oto. He started off with his wife, who sadly passed away a few years ago but she insisted…
Taiwan: Northeast Asia’s Underrated Gem
Thought I’d share a great article written about Taiwan. Indeed a unfairly underrated destination that is too often overlooked. Yet it has so much to offer, chief among which is the food. But like the NY Times, which ranked Taiwan as the #11 place to visit in 2014, said, its urban/rural within 1 hour of…
Rustic Luxury: Review of Six Senses Laamu in the Republic of Maldives
Happy Belated New Years 2014 and Happy Year of the Horse everyone! The Maldives Over winter break we went to the Republic of Maldives in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is a republic that consists of over 200 Atolls (coral islands), and many resorts that each occupy one atoll. It is an ever increasingly popular…
Turkey: Globally, Historically and Uniquely Your’s
After being back in the United States for 2 months I have had plenty of time to reflect and reminisce about my 8 weeks in the nation of Turkey. It took my a few days but I finally came to an understanding of why I love this country so much now and why it is…
Quintessentially Turkish: The 652nd Kırkpınar Olive Oil Wrestling Festival in Edirne
On Sunday July 7th, I ventured out to Edirne on the North Western border of Turkey, just a few miles away from the Bulgarian and Greek borders. Edirne was once the capital of the Ottoman Empire before it was moved to Constantinople (Istanbul). As you walk along the many cobblestoned streets of Edirne you can…
Gallipoli Peninsula: the ANZAC Battlefields
As continued from my pervious post on Canakkale and Troy. Gallipoli Peninsula and the ANZAC Battlefields So after my tour of Troy I crossed the Dardanelles to Eceabat to have lunch and meet my Gallipoli tour at the Crowded House Hotel, where Crowded House Tours is stationed. Now, before that, on the promenade of Eceabat…
TheGastronomicTraveler 