Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

My Five Favorite Restaurants on Guam

Posted in Guam, Travel, Travel: Guam, tagged , , , , on Tuesday, 29 May, 2007| 16 Comments »

UPDATE: It’s been awhile since I’ve been to Guam. Feel free to leave your top 5 Favorite restaurants in Guam in the comments!

Itzy Bitzy tagged me to “Pick 5 of your favorite places to eat in your current location.” There are so many yummy restaurants here on Guam and, unfortunately, our short year here didn’t really allow us to get to all that many but I did find some gems. Here’s my current favorites:

  • Proa Restaurant in Tumon.  Very delicious grilled eggplant salad and the best coconut banana fritters I’ve ever had.
  • Thapanee Thai Restaurant in the Hafa adai Exchange. The BEST ever Grilled Tofu with lemongrass. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Their vegetarian spring-rolls are the best I’ve ever eaten as well.
  • The Mermaid Tavern in Hagåtña. Good salads and pasta. I particularly like the varied selection of beer.
  • Outback in Tumon. Can’t beat their YUMMY bread and the Chocolate Lava cake dessert.  Plus, next to Hard Rock Cafe, Outback is FG’s favorite place to eat.
  • Jamaican Grill  in Tumon.  A little spicy, a little tangy and consistently good.

To be honest, one of my favorite places to eat, is right here at home. I’ve been a lot more adventurous with my recipes and some have turned out pretty darn good 🙂

I tag: Heidi, KBG & Jess Mobb

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Mt. Fuji

Posted in Travels, tagged , , on Wednesday, 11 April, 2007| Leave a Comment »

We got up early, braved the cold and made a trip to Mt. Fuji and the Hakone area. We decided the easiest way to see the countryside would be by tour bus. Not my favorite mode of transportation ~ I prefer to explore on my own but, like I said, this was “easy”.

There are 10 stations on Mt. Fuji with the 10th being the summit. During the summer months, you can drive as far as the 5th station but we were only able to go to the 2nd station. It was very cold and windy so I’m glad I packed our hat and gloves. FM and I are weather wimps but FG LOVED it. Guess we’ll toughen up in upstate NY next winter.

After the Mt. Fuji visit, we went to Hanoke Lake for lunch, took a sky gondola and saw beautiful views of the volcanic Hakone mountains.
The cable car let us off at the FREEZING Owakudani Valley a.k.a. Valley of Hell. There are sulphur springs brewing all over and it’s very desolate looking.

We then drove to Ashi Lake and took a “pirate” ship cruise around the lake.

It was a good diversion to get out of the city and see the countryside. Tomorrow is FG’s day as we are heading to Disneyland. This will be her first visit to any Disneyland.

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Palau Wrap-up

Posted in Micronesia, Palau, Travel, Travels, tagged , , , , on Sunday, 25 February, 2007| 2 Comments »

Sunset at Palau Pacific Resort

None of us wanted to say goodbye to Palau ~ we still had a few things we wanted to do and see. On our last night, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset dinner.At the end of our trips, we like to recap a list of highlights, top five and what surprised us the most. For me, I didn’t expect quite so many eastern European tourists. We also ran into quite a few German visitors but I expected that since the website for Palau had the choice of English, Japanese or German.Another thing that was a little unexpected was that they drive on the left side of the road but most of their cars come from Japan so the steering wheel is on the RIGHT. The roads were pretty narrow,and more than once, I held my breath thinking we were going to hit someone walking/running on the road. It was a little crazy.We decided on our own top THREE favorites:
FG:
3) Milky Way and the white goop
2) Kayaking and snorkeling at Risong Bay
1) Dolphin Encounter

FM:
3) Snorkeling at the Big Drop-Off (seeing the shark)
2) Dolphin Encounter
1) Breakfast on the beach each morning with the family

Me:
3) Giant Clam snorkel
2) Big Drop-Off snorkel (seeing the sea turtle)
1) Dolphin Encounter

We will definitely go back to see the Dolphin when we return. I say “when” and not “if” because this place is so special and I’m already trying to plan a return visit.

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Guam: Underwater Creatures ~ the lazy way

Posted in Guam, Travel, tagged , , , , , on Tuesday, 27 June, 2006| Leave a Comment »

We decided to check out Underwater World after enjoying a delectable lunch at the Jamaican Grill in Tumon. I ordered the grilled vegetable plate with a side of red rice and a side of Jamaican rice & beans. Along with this, I got a house salad ~ a mixture of fresh vegetables,fruits and the house “fruit” dressing. Everything was very colorful, tangy and unique. The jerk seasoning is a little spicy for me so it’s a good thing I ordered the refreshing Reggae Splash (blend of mango, guava & pineapple juices). Next time I’m getting the large drink! Ya Mon!

Underwater World. It’s great for someone who doesn’t want to go on an actual dive. There’s  an acrylic tunnel with 3 inches separating you from the sharks, rays, sea turtles, groupers, wrasse & other sea life. We happened to arrive just as feeding time started. It was very interesting to see the sharks and rays eat ~ reminded me of my always hungry hound dog nudging everyone out of his way for some food. These sharks and rays are so tame that the aquarium divers could turn a shark over and rub his big belly before feeding him. Again, reminding me more of a dog than a killer shark. I had to explain to Logan NOT to try this in the ocean.

After leaving the tunnel, we arrived at the individual displays of jellyfish, spider crabs, octopus, clown fish, anemones, sea horses, lion fish, etc. It was educational and a real thrill for FG. Personally, I prefer the real deal in the sea but would recommend this as a nice diversion, especially for kids!

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Flashback Friday: Germany Volksmarching 2001-2005

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Germany, Travels, tagged , , , , on Friday, 23 June, 2006| 1 Comment »

We started going on Volksmarches soon after arriving in Germany. Every Thursday, the Stars and Stripes lists upcoming Volksmarches in the travel section. Since Logan was only three when we started, we would partake in the 5k walks and the dogs came with us. As years passed, FG could handle the 10k but the dogs were getting too old for such a long walk.

If you are living in Germany, I highly recommend participating in a Volksmarch whenever you can. I have to admit, I was a fair-weathered walker but I went as often as I could. The walks are very well organized. The start/finish area always has good food & beer awaiting you.

From the first walk with our good friends the Drakes in 2001, with the Lows in 2003 to the last one with the Sharp family in 2005, I have very fond memories of walking through the towns and wooded areas of Germany. It was always a good time!

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Germany: Sport on a Volksmarch in Bavaria

Posted in Dogs, Germany, Travels, tagged , , , , on Friday, 23 June, 2006| 2 Comments »

Favorite photo of Sport ~ enjoying a run during our Volksmarch.

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Guam: Boonie Stomp ~ Fadian Cove

Posted in Boonie Stomping, Guam, Hiking, Islands, Travel, tagged , , , , on Saturday, 17 June, 2006| Leave a Comment »

Another gorgeous day in Guam and we went on our third straight Boonie Stomp. This will probably be the last for a few weeks as we plan explore other beach spots on our own. Today’s stomp was rated difficult and difficult it was. I tried to turn back about 100 feet into the hike and the guy behind me wouldn’t let me. Glad he didn’t because it is a beautiful cove in which I got to do a little snorkeling and the way back up wasn’t nearly as scary.

Thanks to John for taking my pack which was making me off-balance. Thank goodness for these army guys ~ they sure are tough, aren’t they?! I did carry my pack on the way back up least you think I’m a complete wimp! Here’s a photo of Logan and I on the way down the trail:

Fadian Cove is located on the Northeast section of the island and the trail is very steep. I’m not joking when I say I was “stuck” in a couple of spots for fear of sliding a long way down. Once again, it was all worth the effort when we got to the cove and were able to swim/snorkel.

 

 

Here I am happy to be back at the top overlooking Fadian Cove ~ isn’t the water glorious looking?

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Flashback Friday: Venice, Italy June 2001

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Italy, Travels, tagged , , on Friday, 16 June, 2006| 3 Comments »

Logan and I moved to Germany in late May 2001. John had already been there a month, the car we shipped had arrived and John was itching to start exploring Europe. First long weekend trip: Venice, Italy. We drove from Germany to Venice on Father’s Day weekend. It took a little longer than expected due to a Friday afternoon stau. Stau is the German word for “I don’t know why but traffic has come to a complete stop on the autobahn.”

It was a whirlwind visit but I’m glad we started traveling soon after I arrived because, even after living in Germany for 5 years, there is still so much left to see and do in Germany, let alone the rest of Europe.

At the time, Italy was still on the lire (it was about $1.00 to 2, 189.84 Lire) and, since I am math-shy in public, John did all the calculations for us. Ah, back when the dollar was doing well and traveling Europe was ‘cheap’.

Nothing I can say here about Venice that hasn’t already been said a million times. Yes, it is lovely, crowded, has an interesting history and a sinking future but I do hope everyone has the chance to see it once in their lifetime as it is a place like no other.

We were too cheap to take the Gondola, or as Logan called them Banana Boats, so we took the water taxi which had a much more local feel to it:

venice-italy-on-a-water-taxi-june-2001.jpg on-rialto-bridge-in-venice-italy-june-2001.jpg

It’s easy to get turned around among the canals and I was so worried Logan would fall into the water. Good thing I could still carry her ~ barely.

I only went to Venice once but John somehow managed to visit two or three times ~ something about it being work-related. Interesting how that worked out.

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Joining the Crowd

Posted in Blogging, tagged , on Saturday, 10 June, 2006| 1 Comment »

I finally joined the crowd and have started my own blog. Going to call it Beachbums because we’re lucky enough to live in Guam with access to many gorgeous beaches. To be honest, the real reason I decided to blog is I got tired of trying to keep everyone updated on our hectic lives via e-mail. Bear with me as I learn the ropes of the blog world. Feel free to give me advice!

Mostly this will be for family and friends but I’m hoping it will be an inspiration for others to travel more. Traveling is such an important part of our lives and I love sharing stories, photos and advice. Most of the updates will be about my adventures with regards to moving to, living in and traveling around Guam. If you know anyone about to move here, they may want to check this blog from time to time.

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