24 Hours in Oslo, Norway

In early November my friend and I ventured out to Oslo, Norway for a short weekend getaway. Oslo is a beautiful city and the gateway to Norway’s fantastic natural wonders. However, winter travels in Oslo makes for limited museum hours and early sunsets, and it is evident Oslo is used by travelers as a start…

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Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 First Class Baku-Frankfurt- Washington DC

I had the great opportunity to fly Lufthansa First Class on my return from my short trip to explore Baku, Azerbaijan over labor day. Note: feel free to skim or skip the text all together and just browse pictures. Again, all menu pictures will be at the end. Summary: 100% would recommend Lufthansa First Class,…

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24 Hours in a City of Contrasts: Baku, Azerbaijan

Introduction and Food for Thought The Lonely Planet guide to Baku put it the best, “Azerbaijan’s capital Baku (or Bakı in Azeri) is the architectural love child of Paris and Dubai…albeit with plenty of Soviet genes floating half-hidden in the background.” The secular Sunni Islamic country has seen Medieval times with the Shirvanshah dynasty (an…

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Review: Capella Shanghai JianYeLi

At the tail end of a recent trip to Shanghai, my family met up with me and we opted to book with The Capella Shanghai Jian Ye Li. Located in the XuHui district in and around the French Concession of Shanghai, The Capella Shanghai has taken basically an entire old Shanghai Shikumen town village and…

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Vinegar, Noodles and Banks: PingYao Ancient City, Shanxi, China

In August I ventured to PingYao Ancient City located in the Shanxi Province of China. PingYao has one of, if not the only, best preserved walled cities from the Ming/Qin Dynasties. It is also where China’s banking system first began. It is also home to the best and most fully preserved Ming Dynasty government centers/…

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Maya Beach Hotel and Scuba Diving in Placencia, Belize

Over Easter weekend this year I ventured down to Placencia, Belize to squeeze in some Scuba Diving. Belize is a small Central American country known for its jungles, Mayan ruins and most famously its marine life. Belize is at the core of the world’s second largest barrier reef, and largest one in the Western hemisphere….

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Review: restaurant Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse, Monte Carlo

In my previous post I wrote about my short but sweet time in Monaco and how one of the highlights was my meal at Le Louis XV – Alain Ducasse. The meal was truly exceptional and quite memorable, certainly top 5 dining experiences and most definitely worth the journey to Monaco. Le Louis XV is…

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24 Hours in Monte Carlo, Monaco

In early April I ventured to the small and beautiful but mighty and certainly wealthy city-State on the French Riviera: Monaco. The setting of two 007 James Bond films, the most famous Formula 1 Race, and home to the Monaco Royal Family, perhaps most famously associated with American Actress Grace Kelly who married into the…

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Review: KLM World Business Class part II, ICN-AMS Boeing 787-9

Part II of my KLM business class multi city journey and continuation from my prior post on my flight from LHRAMSTPE. As I briefly mentioned in my Part I of this KLM journey, all flights met expectations and were very solid. However, the ICNAMS flight was the highlight in terms of service and KLM Crew….

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