2019 Favorites — SEE and EAT

I wanted to go far in 2019 and I think it was a great success!

It started very well, with two big trips this spring, the first a whirlwind week in London in January. After seeing many iconic sites, along with a chilly stroll through Kew gardens and tea at the Savoy, I confirmed, what I’m sure many know already, that London is a great city to spend time in.

And then it got even better in May, with a two-week loop starting in Basel, Switzerland, via Lake Como and on to Provence. Switzerland was as gorgeous as I pictured it could be. Lake Como was more beautiful than I could have imagined. And France was a great ending with interesting sites and really memorable food.

After a family week in August in the Fingerlakes in NY, with a quick stop in NYC for bagels and pizza…

I was pretty much out of PTO for the year.

So after that, there were a few short weekend trips to satisfy me for the rest of the year - camping on the Southern OR coast for Memorial Day and taking the Lady of the Lake ferry to Stehekin, WA in North Cascades National Park for 4th of July.

And to wrap up the year, Labor Day Weekend in the bay area.

And an a sunny October weekend in Seattle for a visit to Amazon Spheres.

And on to food. Looking back over the year, I have to say, with all the traveling, most of my favorite meals were outside of Portland. However, there are couple Portland meals that stick in my mind:

Bullard - San Antonio Chicken

Eem - Massaman curry

Yonder - grits and catfish

Twisted Croissant - all the gorgeous pastries, but in particular, the chocolate croissant

I ate so much great food in Europe… I was absolutely thrilled to be in Provence during strawberry season.

In Avignon, my final meal before returning home, we found a gem of a restaurant, with a beautiful back patio - Aux Jardin de Carmes - and the special risotto of the day - asparagus risotto and strawberry rhubarb dessert.

I don’t think I ate a bad thing in Italy, but the first meal, especially after several days in Switzerland, was probably the most memorable. It was lunch time when we got off the train in Tirano, and after wandering a bit, we finally found Vineria Tirano. The pork and burrata appetizer was the perfect start to Italian eating.

Our last night in Varenna, on Lake Como, we ate at La Vista, the restaurant in our hotel. Most afternoons had been rainy, but somehow the rain cleared early, and we were able to eat on the terrace, it was chilly, but beautiful over the lake.

It was clear to me food is a priority in France, from not being able eat breakfast at our hotel until the bread and croissants were baked in Moustiers-Ste-Marie, lunch with wine in the main square in Castellane, to the french onion soup on a blustery day in Saignon. I was surprised by how beautiful the presentation was for dinner at Hotel Carcarille near Gordes. From the farm egg with asparagus to the strawberry dessert that tasted like strawberry shortcake.

And back to the US, Scarr’s Pizza, on the lower East side in NYC, made me believe that whatever pizza they are taking out of the oven at the moment you walk up to the door would be great.

From the bay area: Backhaus (San Mateo) for all the fabulous pastries and Mister Jiu’s (San Francisco) for the whole meal, but particularly the cocktails and beef fried rice.