Czech Please! Eating in the Czech Republic – A GypsyNester Guide

A big part of Veronica’s desire to see “The Motherland” was to find the origins of her childhood dinners.

Generations of her Bohemian ancestors had passed down dishes and now we could experience the originals, almost all of which include dumplings.

Dumplings are the undisputed heavyweight champions of Czech food and we found them answering the bell on almost every plate. Big city or small town, fancy restaurant or local dive, it made no difference, dumplings were our… CONTINUE READING >>

A big part of Veronica’s desire to see “The Motherland” was to find the origins of her childhood dinners.

Generations of her Bohemian ancestors had passed down dishes and now we could experience the originals, almost all of which include dumplings.

Dumplings are the undisputed heavyweight champions of Czech food and we found them answering the bell on almost every plate. Big city or small town, fancy restaurant or local dive, it made no difference, dumplings were our… CONTINUE READING >>

Czech Out Kutná Hora!

Drawn to this part of the Czech Republic – like a prepubescent girl to a Justin Bieber concert – by the legend of a church filled with decorative bones, we were served up an unexpected treat when we stayed in the nearby town of Kutná Hora.

In a bygone era, Kutná Hora rivaled Prague as the main city of Bohemia, the traditional name for the western half of Czech, and several kings… CONTINUE READING >>

Drawn to this part of the Czech Republic – like a prepubescent girl to a Justin Bieber concert – by the legend of a church filled with decorative bones, we were served up an unexpected treat when we stayed in the nearby town of Kutná Hora.

In a bygone era, Kutná Hora rivaled Prague as the main city of Bohemia, the traditional name for the western half of Czech, and several kings… CONTINUE READING >>

Do You Believe in Magic?

As usual, we never know what we will find or how we might stumble upon it. Overhearing her hair stylist planning her weekend, Veronica learned about the big Magic Week Festival in Colon, Michigan.

Seemed strange to us that this little burg of 1,200 people would host a world renowned magic festival, but as we pulled into town a welcoming sign informed us that Colon is “The Magic Capitol of The World.” Oh. Still we couldn’t help but wonder why.

Well, there are reasons.

Back in 1926, the famous magician… CONTINUE READING >>

As usual, we never know what we will find or how we might stumble upon it. Overhearing her hair stylist planning her weekend, Veronica learned about the big Magic Week Festival in Colon, Michigan.

Seemed strange to us that this little burg of 1,200 people would host a world renowned magic festival, but as we pulled into town a welcoming sign informed us that Colon is “The Magic Capitol of The World.” Oh. Still we couldn’t help but wonder why.

Well, there are reasons.

Back in 1926, the famous magician… CONTINUE READING >>

Windy City Whirlwind Tour

Join us on our whirlwind tour of Chicago, home of America’s Tallest Skyline. View the Windy City’s grandest buildings, catch a reflection in Cloud Gate and see the beautiful (and huge!) Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park lit up in red at night! Did you know that Chicago has a building so large it has its own zip code?… CONTINUE READING >>
Join us on our whirlwind tour of Chicago, home of America’s Tallest Skyline. View the Windy City’s grandest buildings, catch a reflection in Cloud Gate and see the beautiful (and huge!) Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park lit up in red at night! Did you know that Chicago has a building so large it has its own zip code?… CONTINUE READING >>

San Antonio Riverwalk Appy Crawl

After an all day tour of the missions of San Antonio that ended with a proper remembrance of The Alamo, we had biked up quite an appetite. Good thing that the famed Riverwalk was only a block or two away.

Restaurants of every variety, along with nightclubs, hotels, bars and shops, line the banks of  … CONTINUE READING >>

After an all day tour of the missions of San Antonio that ended with a proper remembrance of The Alamo, we had biked up quite an appetite. Good thing that the famed Riverwalk was only a block or two away.

Restaurants of every variety, along with nightclubs, hotels, bars and shops, line the banks of  … CONTINUE READING >>

Pleasing the Palate in Puerto Peñasco

A huge part of how we acquire knowledge about new locales is by exploring their culinary fare. On our expedition to Mexico’s Puerto Peñasco we continued in that tradition.

As is often the case, we found that the typical food of an area is not what we Americans expect when we think of “ethnic” food. Italian pizza is not even remotely comparable to the Dominos version and real Mexican food ain’t no Taco Bell. In fact, “real” Mexican food varies drastically depending on the region in which the meal is prepared. In Puerto Peñasco real means …  CONTINUE READING >>

A huge part of how we acquire knowledge about new locales is by exploring their culinary fare. On our expedition to Mexico’s Puerto Peñasco we continued in that tradition.

As is often the case, we found that the typical food of an area is not what we Americans expect when we think of “ethnic” food. Italian pizza is not even remotely comparable to the Dominos version and real Mexican food ain’t no Taco Bell. In fact, “real” Mexican food varies drastically depending on the region in which the meal is prepared. In Puerto Peñasco real means …  CONTINUE READING >>

Making a Rocky Point About Mexico

Everyone in the United States has heard the horror stories about Mexico, especially the border region, but the idea that our southern border is an open, unchecked thoroughfare for illegal activities is patently absurd.

Driving along the US-Mexico border from California to Texas, we never went more than a few minutes without seeing the United States Border Patrol doing what they do best, patrolling…  CONTINUE READING >>

Everyone in the United States has heard the horror stories about Mexico, especially the border region, but the idea that our southern border is an open, unchecked thoroughfare for illegal activities is patently absurd.

Driving along the US-Mexico border from California to Texas, we never went more than a few minutes without seeing the United States Border Patrol doing what they do best, patrolling…  CONTINUE READING >>

Keep Portland Weird

P-Town, Bridgetown, Little Beirut, Stumptown, Rip City, The City of Roses, Beervana or Beertown, what is this all about? Let’s see… it starts with the letter P, has a lot of bridges, protested the visits of the first President Bush so much that his staff compared it to Beirut, grew so fast that the cleared trees left stumps everywhere, had a play-by-play announcer named Bill Schonely who used odd phrases, has a lot of roses and a ton of micro breweries… must be Portland, Oregon.

So with all of these informal handles, how did the official name come about? How about a flip of a… CONTINUE READING >>

P-Town, Bridgetown, Little Beirut, Stumptown, Rip City, The City of Roses, Beervana or Beertown, what is this all about? Let’s see… it starts with the letter P, has a lot of bridges, protested the visits of the first President Bush so much that his staff compared it to Beirut, grew so fast that the cleared trees left stumps everywhere, had a play-by-play announcer named Bill Schonely who used odd phrases, has a lot of roses and a ton of micro breweries… must be Portland, Oregon.

So with all of these informal handles, how did the official name come about? How about a flip of a… CONTINUE READING >>