Viewing by month: January 2009
Where to get the world's best pesto.
Years ago, we went to Portofino. When we told people that Portofino was on our itinerary, they all said the same thing: "You have to go to Splendido for a drink." Apparently, staying there - or even lunching there - was too extravagant to even contemplate. But having drinks there was de rigueur. If you hadn't been to Splendido, you hadn't been to Portofino.
As it turns out, there's more to Portofino than Splendido, although you can see the town in half an hour. Most of the surrounding area is a protected marine reserve. And there are several great hikes through the Ligurian countryside.
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America's best small museums -- Part 3.
For some reason, we've never really been impressed with the Seattle Art Museum. The permanent collection, which is strong in African, Oceanic, and Coastal Native art, doesn't do much for us. "Hammering Man," the colossal statue out front, looks like it was designed by a sixth grader. And the visiting exhibitions are rarely compelling.
We just think there are better ways to spend a couple of hours in Seattle. One of them is less than a mile away on Pill Hill.
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Planning a great trip to Kauai.
We're planning a trip to Kauai next month and despite all the resources available - or maybe because of them - it's taken us forever to figure it all out. Granted, we are pretty choosey. We want a kitchen, so we can make our own breakfast and pupus if we don't feel like going out; a couple of nice restaurants and bars within walking distance for when we don't feel like staying in or driving; a clear view of the ocean from the room; a beach where you can swim, snorkel, and surf; and of course, we don't want to spend a fortune.
I won't tell you where we ended up. But we're happy to share the sites that turned out to be the most helpful.
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