Our London post is in a different format than we have utilized in the past. Because there is so much history and culture we were overwhelmed by the thought of providing a narrative of our time in London. Instead we are publishing the London post as a photo essay with dozens of links to what we saw and did while there. Everything that we have included in this post is highly recommended by the team.
For our city tour of San Antonio we selected the historic Gunter Hotel located in the heart of downtown. When the Gunter was constructed in 1909 it was the largest building in the city standing eight stories high.The hotel was quite luxurious by the standards of the day with central heating, four elevators and en suite bathrooms. Four stories were added during the 1920s. As with many other luxury hotels in this part of the United States the hotel was a hub for cattlemen when visiting San Antonio.
Day One: After checking into the hotel we walked along the Riverwalk north to The Pearl District for dinner and a live music performance.
Jazz,TX is a jazz venue located in the basement of one of the buildings at the Pearl (more on the Pearl later in this post). Patricia Vonneis a San Antonio native. She is a musician, songwriter, actor and award winning filmaker who has performed all over the globe. Her music is a unique blend of Tejano and Flamenco sometimes called “ranchera rock ‘n’ roll”. The New York Times described her as the “Renaissance woman of Austin, Texas”.
Patricia put on a great show which included several new songs from an upcoming album. Her 93 year old dad joined her onstage and accompanied her on one of her songs. Very cool.
Day Two: We started our day with a short walk to Vela Coffee. Vela is a relatively new entrant into the San Antonio specialty coffee community. We had an opportunity to chat with the manager who had relocated from Seattle to help open up the shop. A bit of a shock for her from a cultural and weather perspective. Vela is worth a visit if you are in downtown San Antonio.
From Vela we made our way to Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisma Concepcion de Acuna. The mission is one of five missions built along the San Antonio River under the guidance of Spanish Franciscan friars. The mission was founded in 1716 with construction completed in 1731. This mission is noted for a number of surviving frescos painted over 250 years ago.
Mission Concepcion is still an operating Catholic church with Sunday masses held in the chapel pictured below.
After touring the mission we walked north on the Riverwalk to the King William District, where we departed the trail for afternoon fika at Eightball Coffee.
The KIng William Historic District was named for King Wilhelm I of Prussia (later the emperor of Germany). Not surprising since prior to the Civil War more than 30,000 Germans had immigrated to San Antonio and congregated in this area. The wealthiest of the German immigrants built grand homes in the neighborhood – many of which are still standing today.
We returned to the hotel for our customary late afternoon reset (and perhaps a cocktail at the lobby bar). After our reset we made our way around the downtown loop of the Riverwalk. The setting is quite charming although the loop is quite crowded with tourists dining and drinking at the many restaurants and bars located on this part of the Riverwalk.
We departed the loop walking several blocks south on Alamo Street to dine at NONNA Osteria which is located inside the Fairmont Hotel (Photo below courtesy of the Fairmont Hotel).
We had a fantastic dining experience at NONNA Osteria. Our appetizers and entrees were delicious and the service was impeccable. Our server was very knowledgable about the menu and their mostly Italian wine list. We would highly recommend dining here when you visit San Antonio.
Day Three: We took a relaxed walk around the Alamo area. The Alamo is a BIG DEAL in San Antonio and Texas history and lore. The Alamo is actually one of the five missions constructed by the Franciscan order in East Texas.
Mission San Antonio de Valero (later the Alamo) was established in 1718 and after being abandoned in the late 1700s became a military garrison of the Mexican Army. Of course, what followed was the seige of the Alamo (which was by then occupied by Texans) by the Mexican Army. Every one of the Texans defending the fort was killed!
The defeat at The Alamo became the rallying cry for Texans as they fought for and ultimately achieved independence as the Republic of Texas. Texas eventually joined the Union in 1845 because the Republic was financially in tatters and feared an invasion by Mexican forces to take back the land. The process of joining the union took several years as Texas was a slave state and many politicians were against adding another slave state to the Union.
That evening we dined in at the hotel restaurant – Jots and then walked across the lobby to the Bar 414 Speakeasy to take in a couple of jazz sets by the Aaron Prado Trio. We have noted during our recent travels that the Speakeasy theme (dim lighting, cozy, basement locations, back alley entrances) is quite popular at jazz venues – perhaps because jazz was often featured at the original prohibition era speakeasy bars.
Day Four: After an entirely unhealthy but delicious breakfast at Paris Baguette (located in the hotel) we strolled along the Riverwalk to visit the San Fernando Cathedral.
The cathedral is the oldest standing church in Texas. The history around the cathedral is quite fascinating. The non-native population that settled here were Canary Islanders who had been selected by the Spanish government to populate the area that surrounds the cathedral. Construction of the cathedral was completed in 1755.
In 1835 during the Texas Revolution the cathedral was occupied by the Mexican Army. The army placed cannons on the rooftop and flew a red flag (no mercy) for the benefit of Texas Army soldiers at the Alamo.
The church was in poor repair as one might imagine with all of the going ons during this very turbulent time but fortunately has been beautifully restored.
After visiting the cathedral we made our way north of downtown to the Beacon Hill neighborhood for fika at Bright Coffee. Bright was recommended to us by the barista at Vela Coffee. An excellent recommendation indeed. Bright is a first rate coffee shop with friendly staff and is also an art space with paintings by local artists exhibited on a rotating basis. A very pleasant spot for fika.
The Beacon Hill neighborhood dates back to the 1850s. The neighborhood began growing in earnest as a result of the completion of the San Antonio Street Railway Trolley which ran from the city center through the Beacon Hill area out to San Pedro Springs Park. The park is the second oldest park in the United States (Boston Common is the oldest).
Today the neighborhood is home to about 5500 residents and definitely possesses an artsy “urban forward” vibe. There are many boutiques, galleries, small eateries and street murals. We stopped for lunch at the Beacon Hill Market & Deli and then set off for an afternoon of fine art.
We traveled through several exclusive residential neighborhoods in Alamo Heights on our way to the museum. Alamo Heights is actually an independent, incorporated city physically surrounded by the city of San Antonio. This enclave has its own school district and police. It is also home to multiple museums and the San Antonio Zoo. The city of San Antonio attempted to annex the Heights during the 1920s but was thwarted when residents voted to incorporate. Today this tiny city (2.1 square miles) has a population of approximately 7500 people.
The McNay Art Museumis a fantastic example of the wealth that exists in this enclave. The Spanish Colonial style building that houses the museum was once the home to local heiress Marion McNay. The original house was built in 1927 and contained 24 rooms on 23 acres of land.
As you can see from the photos above the mansion is a beautiful setting for the prestigious collection of art under the stewardship of the museum.This museum is a must see for architecture and fine art fans.
Pablo Picasso | Spanish | 1881-1973 | Portraits of Sylvette | 1954 | Oil on canvas
Edward Hopper | American | 1882-1967 | Corn Hill | 1930 | Oil on canvas
Carl Rice Embrey | American | 1938-2022 | And the Rivers Flow | 1979 | Acrylic on panel
Carl Rice Embrey
After a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at the McNay we returned to the Gunter via Uber. We treated ourselves to a cocktail at the lobby bar and some Bossa Nova on vinyl before freshening up and heading to Southtown for dinner at La Frite Belgian Bistro.
After a delicious meal we wandered around Southtown a bit before walking back to the hotel. Southtown has plenty of art, shops, restaurants and nightlife and is worth a visit.
Day Five: We decided on a slower pace at the halfway point of our tour in order to recharge for the second half of the tour. We walked around the downtown area checking out some of the historic sites and architecture. Our bonus for the day was the parade of low riders that were in town for a low rider show. The photos below are cars owned by members of the Dallas Low Riders Club.
After a short rest stop at the hotel and a cocktail in the lobby we made the three minute walk toKaedama Battleshipfor dinner and sake. Quite delicious and convenient.
After dinner we took an evening stroll and eventually made our way to The Alamo to see it at night and without the crowds.
Day Six: We strolled along the Riverwalk for breakfast at Commonwealth Coffee House & Bakery Good coffee products (and French Toast) along with a very soothing and relaxing atmosphere.
One of the reasons we chose Commonwealth was that it positioned us for a short walk to the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) just across the river.
The SAMA is housed in spectacular quarters as is the McNay Museum, although of a completely different nature. The McNay is housed in a former mansion while the SAMA made stunning use of the former Lone Star Brewing Company complex.
Lone Star Brewing Company was founded in 1884 and brewed Alamo Beer (of course!). Weirdly, Lone Star Brewing never produced a beer named Lone Star. Today Lone Star Beer is produced and sold by a completely unrelated company.
The brewery started winding down during the WWI as supplies needed for the war effort made brewing too costly and the approaching implementation of prohibition saw sales declining dramatically. The complex sat vacant until the 1970s when local philanthropists funded the purchase and renovation of the complex to house SAMA.
San Antonio Museum of Art
Below are few photos of paintings that we quite enjoyed.
Jesse Treviño | American, born Mexico | 1946-2023 | Señora Dolores Treviño | 1983 | Acrylic on canvas
Clad in an apron and clutching a laundry basket at her hip, a woman stares boldly at the viewer. She is the artist’s mother, Dolores Treviño, whom he honors through a heroic portrait that monumentalizes everyday experience and dignifies her labor as a mother and wife. Jesse Treviño first gained attention in the 1970s for his photorealistic paintings that depict people in San Antonio’s West Side neighborhood and celebrate Mexican American history, culture, and community. After tragically losing his right arm after an explosion during the Vietnam War, Treviño masterfully re-learned to paint left-handed.
John William Hilton | American | 1904-1983 |Time of Growing Shadows | 1961 | Oil on canvas
Florence McClung | American | 1894-1992 | Lancaster Valley | 1936 | Oil on canvas
Julian Onderdonk | American | 1882-1922 | Blue Bonnets at Late Afternoon | 1915 | Oil on canvas
After completing our tour of the galleries we lunched at Tre Trattoria. The restaurant is located within the museum complex and faces the river. A delightful way to finish our visit at SAMA. We highly recommend visiting this museum and dining at Tre Trattoria when you are in San Antonio. Also, another nice feature is the river shuttle stop at the museum which allowed us to travel back down the river to a downtown stop just five minutes from the hotel.
After our obligatory cocktail in the Gunter lobby and our pre-dinner lie down we were both in the mood for a Texas burger. The Esquire Tavern is a short walk from the Gunter and many local folks advised that if we were in the mood for a burger in downtown it was the place.
Originally named The Esquire Bar, the establishment stretches from Commerce Street to the Riverwalk. The bar was in existence before the Riverwalk – opening in 1933 to celebrate the end of Prohibition. The bar itself is reputed to be the longest bar in Texas (see photo above). Yes – the burgers are delicious!
Day Seven: Our mission on day seven was to visit two of the missions on the Mission Trail by bicycle. Of course, all activities require coffee beforehand so we started the day at Halcyon Coffee. Halcyon is located in the Blue Star Arts Complex in Southtown. The arts complex is great place for poking around with a number of galleries, retail shops and restaurants.
The arts complex is right on the Riverwalk and most conveniently has a bike rental kiosk. From Halcyon we biked south to Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Mission San Juan was established in 1731 by the Franciscan Order as part of the six missions authorized by Spain. The Spanish government wanted to establish a firm presence in East Texas to keep the French at bay while the church was desirous, as always, to convert the indigenous population to Catholicism and learn to live as civilized Spanish citizens.
From Mission San Juan we biked further south along the river to Mission San Jose.
Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo is known as the “Queen of the Missions”. It is by far the largest of the missions and it is in excellent condition as the result of a restoration completed in the 1930s. The restoration work was done by the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Mission San Jose was founded in 1720. The church is the most impressive of the missions churches in our opinion from both a size and an architectural perspective. Construction of the church building began in 1768.
Mission San Jose is also well know for the weekly Mariachi Mass held every Sunday at noon. We did not attend the service but understand it is quite interesting with a mariachi band and church choir performing as part of the mass.
From Mission San Jose we biked back to Halcyon Coffee and made the always delightful transition from caffeine to cocktails (in keeping with Halcyon’s motto).
Day Eight: A beautiful day for coffee, street art hunting and live music. We started with fika at the Merit Coffeeoutpost on Broadway in Alamo Heights. Merit operates about a dozen cafes in Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Each cafe is unique in regard to the interior design and consistent in maintaining quality. So, while they are continuing to add locations this is not a cookie cutter chain in the making.They operate their own roastery in San Antonio.
After fika we secured an electric sit down scooter and set out on our mural hunting expedition. Our first stop was the Hoefgen Street Walls in the near east side of the Lavaca Historic District and from there to the failed Essex Modern City project. These two areas have a large number of murals although many are suffering from neglect. Additionally, the murals at the Essex Modern City project location require some creativity to obtain photos as the project is fenced and locked. Love a challenge!
The area where the murals are concentrated is a mix of warehouses, empty buildings and some single family homes as the planned redevelopment of this area has not gone forward. As street art aficionados this area is the equivalent of finding gold!
The photos on left above and below are the murals in their current state while the photos on the right are our best effort at repairing and restoring the artists’ work and adding backgrounds for our Street Art Tourist volumes.
After wrapping up our mural pic shoot we toured the area by scooter and eventually made our way to Stranded Coffee. The cafe occupies a former Texaco Gas station in the more gentrified area of Lavaca close to the King William neighborhood. Make this your coffee stop when in Lavaca (Southtown area).
After coffee we scootered back to the Gunter for a well deserved Lie Down (even if we say so ourselves). Our evening segment took us to the St Mary’s (The Strip) District for some curry and live music (and street art).
We were not familiar with the curry and barbecue genre and it’s growing popularity prior to dining at Curry Boys BBQ. Curry Boys mix smoked meats with a variety of Vietnamese and Thai curry sauces. Tasty!
We had a fantastic night of listening to authentic Western Swing; we made many new acquaintances with a very friendly crowd of ranchers who are big fans of Sam and his band.
Day Nine: We decided to check out the Pearl District as part of a leisurely last day. We were beginning our walk north along the river but stopped to chat with a river shuttle driver. He was heading to the northern end of the Riverwalk without passengers in order to bring passengers south. So we continued walking north only to have him pull up to us and take us on board.
The driver had spoken with his boss and he had given him permission to give us a lift. So good – we had our own private shuttle ride from downtown to the northern end of the Riverwalk. Our driver was a very nice guy who had just relocated to San Antonio from Atlanta. He was just completing his first month driving on the river.
First stop – you know – coffee. Local Coffee is the original location of what is now Merit Coffee. The owners sold the business but retained the right to keep the Local Coffee name and the Pearl location.
The Pearl complex is another stylishly renovated brewery. The Pearl Brewing Company dates back to 1883 but closed its doors in 2001. Pearl Beer and Lone Star are still sold in Texas with the manufacturing subcontracted to Pabst.
Hotel Emma
The Hotel Emma opened in the former Pearl Brewhouse in 2015 after several years of renovation. The architects preserved a substantial amount of the brewing equipment while creating a luxurious space.
We finished our visit to the hotel with a late luncheon on the patio. Delicious, of course.
San Antonio is the seventh largest city by population in the United States. It feels like a much smaller city to us, perhaps because of its many distinctive neighborhoods. This is a city worth exploring and offers an array of excellent museums, historic sights, live music, specialty coffee, fine dining and street art. Also, our weather in mid March was delightful with 75F to 80F daytime highs and lots of sunshine. Remember the Alamo!
As we grow less inclined to spend the latter years of our aged existence in the damp, cold and snow of New England we were looking for a warm location for our January trip. When we realized it has been over 25 years since our last visit to Miami, we chose it for the January segment of our tour.
The city has grown significantly over the last 20 years. The population in 2006 was approximately 380,000. Today the population is about 500,000. Additionally, much of the population growth has taken place in a revitalizing downtown. Estimates are that the downtown population has grown by 60% in the same time frame.
About 70% of Miami residents identify as Hispanic. The Cuban population constitutes a significant portion of the population as a result of their migration to Florida as they fled the Castro regime,
We chose the citizenM hotel (see previous two posts) due to its location in Mary Brickell Village. Brickell (pronounced Brickle like pickle) is overflowing with restaurants, shopping and nightlife. Brickell is a glitzy area with lots of flash cars, beautiful people and money (nickname “Wall Street of the South”).The attraction for us was our ability to choose from a number of excellent restaurants within walking distance from the hotel. Perhaps as importantly the hotel is a two minute walk to the Metromover station and the Metro Rail station facilitating our longer jaunts across the city.
I am sure you are wondering who the heck is/was Mary Brickell. Mary was born in Yorkshire, England in 1836 (not alive then?). She emigrated to Australia, where she met her husband William. After issuing five girls and three boys, they emigrated in 1871 to the area that is now Miami.
Mary is considered to be one of the founders of the city of Miami. She and her husband purchased significant land on the southern side of the Miami River extending down to the ocean front.This made Mary and William quite wealthy and influential. Mary’s exalted reputation derives from not the family property holdings but from her generosity in helping people in need including African-Americans and Seminoles (think early twentieth century deep south).
DAY ONE – With an arrival into Miami we dropped our bags at the hotel and walked around the corner for fika at Crema Gourmet. After a couple of cortados and tasty breakfast sandwiches we jumped on the Metromover.
The Metromover is an automated and elevated people mover with cars coming every few minutes during the day. There are several different loops allowing riders to access many points in the financial district and downtown in a matter of minutes. We rode the loops and got a good orientation for the area before returning to our hotel. Oh, by the way, the Metromover is free!
After a well earned lie-down we walked across the street for dinner. We had the pleasure of dining al fresco on the roof deck – a real treat for New Englanders during the month of January. Dolores But you Can Call Me Lolita has been in operation since 1923 in a building that was originally a city firehouse. Our meal and service was excellent. The menu is a fusion of Spanish, Italian and American, although the meat maven went straight for the Argentinian Churrasco.
DAY TWO – We woke up to a cloudy day which ordinarily would be disappointing while visiting Miami from Connecticut in January. However, since one of our key objectives on this trip was to photograph street art in the Wynwood and Overton neighborhoods – cloudy was just fine.
As you can see from the photographs above and below the mural scene is quite robust. There are over 200 murals in the 50 block Wynwood neighborhood. This area was one of the largest garment districts in the country during the 1920s but was in decline by the 1950s as companies began offshoring clothing manufacturing.
The three photos below are featured in our latest Street Art Tourist book – Volume Ten: Miami.
The area continued to decline as more businesses closed or left. Additionally, the construction of Interstate I95 further isolated the neighborhood. Over time, artists recognized that the scores of empty buildings were canvases awaiting paint. Today the neighborhood is actually a tourist destination with many visitors coming to see the largest concentration of street art in the United States.
One item to note: you will see a lot of publicity about the Wynwood Walls. The Walls is an enclosed area of murals with paid admission. The murals are excellent and the artists are some of the top mural artists working today. However, this is a commercial operation with an art gallery, gift shop and cafe. You can see hundreds of great murals just by walking west to NW 5th Avenue.
After an exciting time exploring the neighborhood rain moved in so we vectored to Panther Coffee. Panther was one of the early entries into the specialty coffee space in Miami. They have a roastery and a couple of cafes in Miami. Fortunately, for us, one of their cafes is in the Wynwood neighborhood.Boss cortado!
DAY THREE – We had breakfast at citizenM and rode the Metromover to the Perez Art Museum. The museum is conveniently located at the Museum Park stop which was particularly opportune as the heavens had opened up as we were riding the Metromover to the museum.
The museum is named after Jorge M. Perez, a major contributor ($40M) towards the construction of the current museum building and also a significant donor of art works. Contemporary art is the mode with a focus on Latin American, Caribbean and African art and artists.
If you enjoy contemporary art, the museum makes for a good visit. The museum is perched on the waterfront and you can stroll through the adjacent Museum Park back as far as the Miami River.
After our museum visit, we walked to I Think She Is where we took a beverage break before heading back to the citizenM for lie down.
After our much needed lie-down we walked two blocks to The Henry for a late-ish dinner. The Henry serves breakfast (with coffee service), lunch and dinner. The connotation associated with being open all day is often a diner menu but we can assure you that the dinner portion of program is fine dining. The Henry is a small chain operating a dozen restaurants, mostly in the Western United States. Yes, more churrasco!
DAY FOUR – We felt compelled to visit the Vice City Bean (did anyone not watch the Miami Vice television series) location in Brickell. We are not sure what we were expecting but it was not the ultra modern shop in the lobby of an office tower. Having said that, the barista was great and the drinks were excellent.
From Vice we made our way west to spend an afternoon immersed in Cuban culture or at least the version on display in Little Havana. The strip along Calle Ochohas plenty of tourists visiting but is also clearly the home to an authentic Cuban diaspora (and their roosters roaming around the neighborhood).
We poked around the neighborhood which is filled with art and historic monuments commemorating the Cubans that fought as part of the Bay of Pigs Invasion.Two murals from Little Havana are featured in our latest Street Art Tourist volume (see photos below).
Maximo Gomez Park is also known as Domino Park. Playing dominos or chess here requires membership; to be a member an individual must be at least 55 years of age and a city resident. Seating is assigned for players only but visitors are welcome to come and watch the play. We watched for a bit – these are serious players!
After touring the Calle Ocho strip we were thirsty, hungry and in the mood for Salsa music which led us to the Ball & Chain. All three of the aforementioned items are available every day from 1100AM until the wee hours.
After enjoying our Cubano, the music and dancing we made our way back to the citizenM and reset for our evening segment. We dined at North Italia located across the street from the hotel. North Italia is “casual upscale” and makes their own pasta in-house. Very good.
DAY FIVE – With another beautiful day ahead we decided to do a walkabout of the downtown area, then along the Miami Riverwalk and the waterfront.
The first stop on any respectable walkabout is fika at a specialty coffee shop. As we wanted to try a number of independent shops we wound our way through the canyons of downtown to Breezeblock Coffee. Breezeblock is not a roaster, however their coffee offering is from the well regarded Counter Culture. The cafe is in the lobby of the Alea which is an Airbnb-friendly apartment building (which allows owners to rent their apartment for as many as 200 nights a year). Very nice having Breezeblock in the lobby if you are renting an apartment – plus they will deliver coffee to your door! Excellent cortado and a darn good chocolate chip cookie.
We had a delightful walkabout, taking in the water views and gawking at the yachts moored along the river. We also happened upon several fine murals on walls on the under sides of the bridges that span the river.
As we wended our way back towards the hotel we were walking past Tacombi which instantly triggered hunger pangs and a strong desire to relieve the pangs with tacos. Perfecto!
After our fill of tacos and Mexican Coke we finished the walk back to citizenM which led to another well deserved lie-down. We finished the day with a light meal and cocktails at the hotel.
DAY SIX – Back on the museum circuit with a visit to the Rubell Museum. The museum was founded by Mera and Don Rubell who began collecting art in 1965 and amassed a substantial collection. They opened the collection to the public in 1993 and moved to the current location in the Allapattah neighborhood in 2019. The collection is quite diverse and leans heavily toward contemporary art. This is a museum for the adventurous art fan in our view – having said that we found a number of the exhibits interesting.
We had lunch at Jon & Vinny’s (Jon and Vinny are the actual owners) which is located conveniently in the museum. We had excellent Italian fare.The wine list was appropriately skewed to wines from Italy with a nice selection.
Jon and Vinny have six locations in the United States and three in the Middle East. The Middle East restaurants are in partnership with a Saudi hospitality group and came about after a pop-up in Riyadh during 2021 proved to be highly successful.
After our delicious lunch we crossed the street to visit the Superblue | Immersive Art Experience. Superblue exhibits use technology to create some interesting effects but having said that, the Immersive Art Experience seems to be more about Instagram selfie opportunities more than immersion for most of the patrons we saw during our visit. We would not recommend this “experience” unless you want to pop over after visiting the Rubell Museum or you out of rainy day things to do.
After we un-immersed ourselves from Super Blue we decided to walk to The Coffee in Wynwood. Our trek took us through the Allapatah (Seminole Indian word for alligator) neighborhood. The neighborhood is also known as Little Santo Domingo due to its many Dominican and Hispanic residents. This area appears to be at the beginning stages of gentrification spreading outward from Wynwood.
We also walked through a portion of the historically black Overton neighborhood. The neighborhood was called “Colored Town” until the early 1960s. The article in the link details how the construction of Interstate 95 dislocated a large percentage of the residents (80%-40,000/50,000) and further segregated the population of Miami. The highway route devastated the neighborhood economically. Today the population remains at about 10,000 people of which 75% are black.
The photo above is courtesy of Pietro.
We also came across more great murals during our walk through the two neighborhoods. The photos on the left are shots from the location and those on the right are our edited versions for Street Art Tourist.
We have been reading about The Coffee and excited to be making our first visit. The company is trying to combine great coffee (from Brazil) and the minimalist aesthetic of Japan to create a unique coffee experience. The company has 47 stores in 27 countries. The Miami location is the only cafe in the U.S. at the moment.
We are not sure how this concept will work out in the long run as it is a franchise approach opening locations around the globe. We can say that during our two visits (yes we went back) the drinks were delicious and delivered to our table (no barista yelling your name – how nice). While the cortado was not on the menu the barista nodded and made me a perfect cortado when we ordered. Sonkei!
DAY SEVEN – Beach Day – we decided to skip the hub-hub of Miami Beach and Ubered over to Key Biscayne for a relaxing day at Lighthouse Beach. Lighthouse Beach is located within Bill Baggs Cape Florida SP. While the park is located just minutes from downtown Miami we had no cell service – which is great until you try and summon an Uber!
DAY EIGHT – We took advantage of our proximity to the Metro Rail and rode the train to the Coconut Grove (aka the Grove) neighborhood. The train station was about a mile from the neighborhood center which put us in dire need of coffee and tea. Fortunately, Emissary Coffee sits just around the corner from the neighborhood center. It is a very nice shop that is also a wine bar – we are big fans of cafes where you can transition from caffeine to alcohol without leaving your seat.
After fika we poked around The Grove and then walked down to visit The Barnacle Historic State Park. The Barnacle is the oldest house in Dade County still standing in its original location. The Barnacle was occupied by a widower who fled the waters of Staten Island in 1890 for the warmer waters of Florida. The link above provides some interesting background.
After completing our exploration of The Grove we caught the train back to Brickell and regrouped at the hotel, before heading to Midtown for dinner and jazz. We had a delightful evening at Lagniappe House. The Lagniappe is located in a ramshackle house on a side street in Midtown. You can have a full dinner behind the house on a large patio while inside there is a wine bar and live music.They are open seven days a week with live music every evening from 9:00PM until midnight. We had a great meal, tried some different wines and then moved inside to the intimate music space.
On the evening we visited Rodrigo “Digo” Zambrano was playing with his trio. During the course of the evening we were also treated to a trumpeter and saxophonist sitting in with the trio. Capping off the evening was an outstanding vocalist who fronted the band on several songs. Perfecto!!
DAY NINE – The next morning we returned to the Midtown area to check out the Miami Design District. This 18 block area was once a family pineapple farm. By the early 2000s the neighborhood was run down with many vacant buildings. A local property developer purchased many of the buildings and persuaded a number of luxury brands and home designers to locate to the district. The district is now home to 80 high end retail stores and art galleries as well as 70 home design showrooms. This area is not a mixed use development as so many are today – there are only about 1000 residents in the district.
The ultra expensive stores and flash supercars make for quite the show. Of course, we couldn’t walk five feet without stepping into a photo session with an assistant of some sort taking photos of a glam social media influencer. Yikes!
We sought refuge at BIGFACE, a specialty coffee shop founded by NBA player Jimmy Butler. What we did not realize until we were in the shop was that we were having another experience – a “premium coffee lifestyle brand” experience. Who knew? But, hey, the coffee was quite good. We had not however, escaped the influencers as several women, who clearly had consumed too much plastic surgery, were posing for photographs on the stepped seats at the back of the shop.
We found more street art in and around the fringes of the district.Solid.
Our main objective for visiting the Design District was to see the artwork at the Institute of Contemporary Art. The museum is “dedicated to promoting continuous experimentation in contemporary art”. We can vouch for that based on our visit. We enjoyed the museum (entry is free, by the way) finding some of the artists work very appealing.
The works below are from an exhibition by Andreas Schulze. We liked his paintings – we do not know why – so we have included a sample from the exhibit.
Schulze was born in Germany in 1955. He is based in Cologne and still actively painting. Schulze is considered one of the great Individualist (Neo-Expressionism) painters from Germany.
After a reset at the citizenM we ventured back to back to the Grove for dinner at Chop Steakhouse & Bar. The previous morning while having fika at Emissary Coffee we met two nice young women – Kelsey and Macy. They recommended Chop Steakhouse which, as it happens, is where they both work. We are glad we took them up on their recommendation because we had a very fine meal and Macy was our server to boot!
DAY TEN – We had an evening flight so we were able to spend the day exploring. We decided to visit the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. The property was originally the winter home of James Deering who managed the family business – Deering Harvester Company – which later became International Harvester. The 34 room mansion sits on the waterfront and is surrounded by extensive Italian Renaissance style gardens.
Construction of the estate took place between 1914 and 1922. Deering had retired from the business in 1909 and purchased the property in 1910. He then spent time traveling through Europe searching for materials and furnishings for the estate. The mansion and the furnishings are something to behold and for us bring to mind the enormous wealth that could be accumulated at that time in this country. In fact, there is an entire village complex across the road for the service and estate maintenance staff.
We rode the Metro Rail back to Brickell after finishing our tour of the mansion and the gardens. We had lunch at Rosetta Italian Bakery, collected our luggage and traveled to the airport for our flight.
Next up in our 2025-2026 City Series Tour is San Antonio, Texas.
Despite having criss crossed Texas several times OTR had never managed to visit Austin (ATX). The initial reason was due to Covid 19 as we were forced to cancel a scheduled visit with friends in March 2020. So as we planned our City Tour Series for the autumn and spring of 2025/2026 we incorporated ATX as our second tour stop.The City Tour is not a road trip as we are accessing the cities via rail (see previous post) and air.
ATX is a fast growing technology center; the downtown skyline is now dominated by shimmering steel and glass high rise towers. It also appears that the architects and owners of every new building are utilizing spires, curves, cantilevers and lighting in an attempt to create the most unique and brilliant design.
Pictured directly below second from left is The Independent. At the time the building was completed in 2019 it was the tallest residential tower west of the Mississippi River. The building pictured directly below on the left is the Frost Bank Tower which was visible from the rooftop pool at the citizenM – spectacular in the evening when the spires were lit.
We arrived in the late afternoon after a direct flight from Boston. We made our way from the airport via Uber to the citizenM hotel (see previous post for our review of the brand). The hotel is located in the heart of downtown enabling us to walk to many of our destinations.
After freshening up we were quite ready for dinner and decided to start with barbecue – “fancy barbecue” – at Lamberts Downtown Barbecue. Lamberts is located in the 2nd Street District (a short walk from the hotel) in a handsome brick building constructed in 1873. The building was originally a dry goods store (The Schneider Store) which operated in the building until 1935.
We had a delightful meal – the wild boar ribs pictured above were outrageously delicious – flavored with honey and sambal! We spoke to several life long Austinites and all concurred that Lamberts is the best barbecue in town. Check ! We do not know if it is the best, but we highly recommend Lamberts.
We started our first full day in ATX with breakfast and coffee/tea at the CanteenM in the hotel. After breakfast we departed for an ambitious first day of exploration.
Our first stop was at the Mexic- Arte Museum. This museum features a small permanent collection supplemented by changing exhibitions. The Dia de los Muertos is a prominent theme. The two murals below are part of the museum’s rotating mural program. The murals are located on the outside 5th Street wall of the museum.
From the Mexic-Arte we walked north on Congress Avenue to the grounds of the state capitol. During our walk to the capitol building we found this lovely mural. The mural is painted on the south wall of the Old Bakery & Emporium. Information about the mural and the history of the building are contained in the link above.
Mural | Generational Ties | Artist | Ruben Esquivel
The photo of the mural below is the design we created for our upcoming Street Art Tourist book featuring mural photographs from ATX.
Old Bakery & Emporium (photo courtesy of austintexas.gov)
The Texas State Capitol is open to the public, and volunteers lead guided tours several times each day. After clearing security we took the forty minute tour. Our guide was originally from Rhode Island but all in on his adopted state!He was humorous and knowledgable about the history of the capitol, the operation of the state government and the history of Texas. An article containing a brief history of the building (opened May 1888) is included in this link to Authentic Texas Magazine.
Texas State Capitol | Austin, Texas
As we all know everything is bigger in Texas, our guide let us know right up front that the Texas State Capitol is 15 feet taller than the U.S. Capitol. It is also the largest state capitol based on square footage and the tallest. The dome pictured below rises 300 feet from the floor making it about 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. It is actually an impressive structure.
We think the state capitol is a worthwhile visit for the architecture alone. The history included in the tour is also interesting albeit the state’s subjugation of Native Americans and its slave economy were glossed over quickly. Remember, real Texans love Texas!
We decided to spend the afternoon exploring the South Congress (SoCo) area. However, before we headed across the Colorado River to SoCo we were in need of more coffee and tea and possibly a pastry or two. Houndstooth Coffee was perfectly placed on Congress just a short distance north of the bridge crossing the river. Thank you, Houndstooth.
Colorado River | Lady Bird Lake |Austin, Texas
SoCo has been hipster central for the locals in ATX for several years. There are many eclectic shops, restaurants, bars, street vendors and street murals. However, having said that you can see that it is definitely becoming more touristy (guilty as charged) but not giving up on its Keep Austin Weird reputation.
After poking around the neighborhood, browsing in several of the shops and capturing some mural pics, we adjourned for lunch. We did our best to stay with the hipster flow and dined at Joann’s Fine Foodswhich is part of the Austin Motel. Joann’s serves what the owner describes as Tex Mex Diner fare. We had a delicious lunch and enjoyed the retro decor.
We walked off our lunch literally by trekking from SoCo over to E. Cesar Chavez St. to find the mural of Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Selena was known as the Queen of Tejano Music. Tragically, she died at the age of 23.
We also consumed more coffee atFlat Track Coffee. The Selena mural just happens to be painted on the side wall of the building where Flat Track Coffee and Dogspeed Cycles are co-located. Yes – that is awesome!
From Flat Track we walked to our last stop of the day. No-we are not having a brain scan in ATX. Yes, we are being fitted for a hat at Trovador.
On Friday we took an Uber north to the Hyde Park neighborhood for fika at Terrible Love Coffee. The shop has outdoor seating only which was a tad disappointing, but we secured a shady picnic table. More importantly, our beverages were first rate! Also, if you decide to visit the shop it can be hard to find as it is located in the old boiler room of a former school complex. The retrofitted building is, however a step up as the owner originally operated out of an old horse trailer! A nice article about the owner’s journey by TheAustin Chronicle is embedded in the link.
The renownedBlanton Art Museum (University of Texas) was the next target of our curious minds and needed for its air conditioning!
The Blanton has almost 100,000 square feet of gallery space so we picked our spots in regard to which collections and galleries to view. It is a recommended visit for any fine art fan. The photos below are some of the paintings we found most interesting.
Jerry Bywaters |Oil Field Girls | 1940 | Oil on Board
Yasuo Kuniyoshi | Waitresses from the Sparhawk | 1924-25 | Oil on Canvas
After concluding our visit at the museum we found ourselves hankering for another taste of barbecue. As the day was particularly hot we opted to get a ride from the museum to the Original Blacks Barbecue (Since 1932). Adding to the excitement of more barbecue was the arrival of our vehicle – an autonomous Waymo Jaguar!
After our late and tasty lunch we retreated to the hotel for a lie down and a quiet evening at the pool with cocktails from the roof top bar.
After enjoying a relaxing evening by the pool we decided that a day by the pool would be quite nice (after returning from coffee, of course). We summoned an Uber to convey us to the Houndstooth Coffee cafe located in the East Austin neighborhood of Chestnut.
After a restful afternoon by the pool we strolled down to Republic Square for dinner. We were ready for a break from barbecue and Tex-Mex and figured the highly rated Wu Chow would make for a distinctly different experience.We highly recommendWu Chow.
Day five – first stop Houndstooth Coffee at the downtown location followed by a visit to TheContemporAry. The ContemporAry is very much what you might infer from an art museum with this name. It is a smallish museum that has a schedule of changing exhibitions. We recommend checking their website to see what exhibitions are currently on display before visiting. There were two artists on display as part of an exhibition titled The Canvas Can Do Miracles that we particularly enjoyed.
Hayal Pozanti | This Sudden Smiling | 2024 | Oil Stick on Linen
Hayal Pozanti | Veil Between Worlds | 2023 | Oil Stick on Linen
Ragna Bley | Antarctica | 2024 | Acrylic and Oil on Linen
Ragna Bley | Inter-Waver | 2016 | Acrylic on Canvas
Congress Avenue Viewed from the ContemporAry Roof
San Antonio Street
We had not taken in any live music in a city full of live music, so we decided that it was more than past time to catch some live sets. The Elephant Room was just around the corner from the hotel and had a full evening of jazz on tap. The Elephant Room is a classic basement jazz club and since it was Sunday evening the cover was only five dollars and there was no minimum drink requirement. Oh baby, who is better than us!
We took in several sets by the Chris Jones Quartet. Chris Jones is a well known bassist in the ATX area. The quartet played a number of songs composed and arranged by Chris. An excellent start to the musical portion of the ATX City Tour.
We had been crossing back and forth across Lady Bird Lake during our wanderings but not gotten down to the lake. Retro Boats ATX provided us with an easy and enjoyable way to get on the water and get a great view of the waterfront skyline. Kayak rentals are available but it was just too dang hot – if we are honest. Retro Boats rents vintage speedboats for cruising on the lake. We felt compelled to rent the 1973 Glastron GT-150, which is the same model that was used in the Bond flick“Live and Let Die”. We were not able to get airborne with the boat as Bond did in the film but we are after all not Bond – James Bond!
Live and Let Die | 1974
Ward | Steve Ward | Video
After our voyage on the lake we stopped for lunch at Jo’s and then meandered back to the citizenM for pool time and cocktail sipping. Finito!
When we planned our tour of ATX, we were not locked in on visiting the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum. However, some friends that had visited the library last year thought it was worthwhile.
The five years in which LBJ was president were tumultuous times. The Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement were in full swing. The museum provided an historic timeline that brought back many memories from our young adult years.
It was also eye opening to realize how much legislation LBJ was able get passed related to ensuring civil rights, reducing poverty and protecting the environment. It also became apparent how LBJ agonized about our involvement in Vietnam. If you are a history fan, the LJB Presidential Library is recommended by OTR.
After learning a lot about LBJ we were, of course, in need of coffee and tea. We visited Merit Coffee on North Lamar and then went downtown to 6th St (Dirty 6th) for some mural hunting before retiring to the hotel to freshen up for an early dinner at Jeffrey’s.
Jeffrey’s is considered by most everyone (in ATX) as the best place to dine on steak in ATX. The restaurant was opened in 1975 and is still in top form 50 years later. The only reservation we were able to obtain during our entire stay was a 1730 slot on 7 October!
The steaks are dry aged for 32 days and grilled over live oak before going into the 1200 degree broiler. Our sommelier, lead server and support team were all quite professional, knowledgable and friendly (without being overly solicitous). We highly recommend dining at Jeffrey’s when in ATX (book in advance).
The next morning we were definitely in need of burning some calories so we walked to the Seaholm District in southwest ATX. First stop – Merit Coffee’s Seaholm Cafe. The Seaholm District was previously an industrial area that has been repurposed into a mixed use urban neighborhood.
After fika we walked a bit further west to take in the Be Well murals on South Lamar Boulevard and then circled back around to visit the Central Library and view the interesting architecture in the area.
The photos below were edited from the murals above for inclusion in Street Art Tourist, Volume Nine.
The Austin Central Public Library was built in 2018. The building is situated above Lady Bird Lake and provides views of the lake and city skyline.
Austin Central Library (Photo Courtesy of Guide to Austin Architecture)
The open design of the Central Library creates a dramatic space and bathes much of the library in natural light. The library also boasts a rooftop garden and reading stations. Impressive!
Pictured in the photos below is the United States Courthouse. When was the last time you saw a limestone art deco U.S. Courthouse? This structure works beautifully in ATX.
Pictured below is The Independent, a luxury residential tower. The tower is know locally as the jenga tower.
Viewing architecture is inevitably a prelude to lunch. Walton’s Fancy and Staple was close by on Sixth Street so we popped in for a hearty lunch. Walton’s has been operating in ATX since 1969.
After our luncheon break we strolled back to the hotel to relax and recharge for another evening of jazz . We had made reservations at the Parker Jazz Club. The Parker, like the Elephant Room, is also a basement club but a bit more upscale in regard to the club decor and service. Saxophonist Woody Witt was the featured artist on the evening of our visit.
Woody was touring in support of his new CD (Awakening) recorded in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The quartet backing him on the tour were the same Brazilian musicians that recorded the CD with him. The quintet performed two 45 minute sets featuring a number of compositions from the new CD. An excellent night of jazz at the Parker!
Thursday – Day Nine: our last full day in ATX. We opted to spend the morning back in SoCo to hunt for more street art and try the coffee and tea at La La Land Kind Cafe. The cafe is part of a growing chain that is associated with the La La Land Foundation. The Foundation sponsors young people between the ages of 17 and 25 who are in or transitioning from foster care with training and paid internships in their cafes. Quite lovely on all counts.
We made our way back to the CitizenM after a fun and productive day exploring the SoCo and Bouldin Creek neighborhoods. After a brief siesta we set out for dinner and another evening of live jazz.
Taqueria de Diez also known by Austinites as D/10 opened in 2024. This tacqueria has a distinctively Mexican menu as opposed to Tex-Mex. We had a hard time finding the restaurant as the door is in an alley with just a small sign – but don’t give up – it is absolutely worth the effort. Muy delicioso! Thank you to Jeffrey at the citizenM for the tip.
Nica on 4th is a new jazz club and cocktail bar (opened 18 September) with jazz nightly from 1800 until 0100. This was the most elegant of the three jazz clubs we visited and is next door to the Parker Jazz Club. We sampled some of their craft cocktails while enjoying three sets of jazz. The first quartet of the evening consisted of one University of North Texas (UTN) alumna and three current students. UNT has a reputation as one the best collegiate jazz programs in the United States. UNT sponsored a jazz band back in the 1940s which grew into the first college degree program for jazz.
We had a great time in ATX. The city is a lively mix of big city activities and small town friendliness and accessibility. How much time you might want spend here is as always a function of your interests and energy level. The city offers a multitude of opportunities for great dining, live music, fine art, street art, interesting architecture, excellent specialty coffee as well as plenty of recreational options.
That is a wrap on our ATX City Tour. Next up is Miami in January 2026 as part of our City Tour Series.
Below is a copy of our latest street art volume utilizing photographs taken during our most recent adventure of On the Roadwith Maria + Stephen(Version 11.0).
During a visit to Birmingham on a previous OTR we had taken in quite a lot of the history of the civil rights movement. At the time, a guide at the 16th Street Baptist Street Church had recommended that we visit Montgomery in the future to further our knowledge and understanding of the history of slavery and the civil rights movement in the United States. As we planned to head south before heading west to Arizona, we incorporated a stay in Montgomery into our journey.
We chose the Trilogy Hotel as our base. The hotel is located in the heart of the city and within walking distance to the museums we planned to visit (as well as coffee).
Trilogy Hotel, Montgomery, Alabama
The Trilogy Hotel opened in 2023. The hotel reflects the history of the city, consisting of two renovated cotton warehouses joined with an 1851 Greek Revival mansion housing the hotel restaurant (The Kinsmith). The hotel is beautifully decorated with artwork and furnishings which are authentic to the area. The service was friendly and professional.
After checking in we departed for Prevail Union for coffee and tea. We were assured by our barista at Seeds (Birmingham) that Prevail is the only specialty coffee shop worth visiting in Monty.
We also met local artist Bob Adams while at Prevail. Bob worked for many years as a court room artist for the local television station in addition to producing his own work. The work clearly required an eye for detail and the ability to work quickly. Bob is 70 years old but still draws for about 90 minutes every day and has not lost any of his skills as you can see from the drawing below, which he completed while we were enjoying our drinks.
Our first museum visit was to the Rosa Parks Museum. The museum provides a re-creation of the fateful day when Rosa Parks refused to relinguish her seat on the bus in order that a white man could sit.
The re-creation is accomplished using an actual city bus from that time period with a digital representation of the people and characters involved visible through the bus windows. The exhibit is well done and quite moving.
We definitely recommend visiting the Rosa Parks Museum if you visit Montgomery. The link embedded is from the museum and provides an excellent overview of the life of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
We also visited the Legacy Museum during our stay in Montgomery. The museum opened during April 2018 and was built on the site of a former cotton warehouse (there were many in Montgomery). The museum endeavors to tell the story of enslaved Africans starting with their kidnapping in Africa through to the years of Jim Crow and race issues which still persist today. (All photos courtesy of the Legacy Museum)
The museum is state of the art — making full use of technology to deliver an experience from the perspective of enslaved individuals. The exerience for us was quite intense.The physical and emotional suffering of the enslaved individuals is tragic. It is difficult for us to fathom how slave owners could have by any measure justified owning and brutalizng other human beings.
The museum also delves into the slave trade in detail. We commonly think about the hardships inflicted upon the enlaved individuals on the plantation while overlooking the misery and frequency of deaths that occurred on the slave ships. Over two million people died on the journey from Africa — starvation,sickness, beatings and sheer exhaustion.
Of course, slavery did not truely end with emancipation in 1865. As southerners were allowed back into politics and positions of power most African Africans found themselves anything but free. White only laws and other barriers restricted blacks in every aspect of their daily lives.
Another dimension of the immoral treatment of African Americans occurred all too routinely during the 12 year period of Reconstruction (1865-1877). Lynching of blacks by white mobs and the KKK. Over 2000 lynchings have been documented during that 12 year period. Sadly, a additional 2000 lynchings have been documented from Post Construction to the end of World War II.
We could continue on but instead will provide you with a link to the Legacy Museum if you are interested in learning more. We will leave you with one quote that we think captures the essence and depth of racism that existed in the South for over 200 years.
“In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever”. George Wallace, Alabama Governor, 1963 Gubanatorial Inaugural Address
We learned quite a bit more about black history in the United States during our visits to the two museums. The town itself is was nice but seems a bit on the sleepy side. The museums are worth a visit if you are going to be nearby but not a destination in our opinion.
We are heading west from Montgomery on US 80 through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. US 80 was, before the construction of the interstate system, one of a handful of coast to coast two lane highways We will keep you posted on what we find along the 80.
Since this was our first visit to Iceland we decided to stay in Reykjavik and use it as our base for the trip. We selected the Ion City Hotel which would put us in the heart of the city on Laugavegur, which is a bit touristy but has multiple specialty coffee shops and restaurants within a five minute walk. The hotel is small with just 18 rooms and its location provided us a view down to the harbor and the night sky. The lobby is tiny as the majority of the ground floor is occupied by Sumac, a restaurant specializing in Middle Eastern cuisine. We were very happy with our choice based on our stylish room, our view, our private sauna and the very friendly, helpful front desk staff.Lastly, how can you not like a hotel with a painting of David Bowie in the lobby! Takk fyrir.
We crashed at the hotel for a couple of hours after our overnight flight and then went out to do some exploring in the neighborhood.
We made our first stop at Reykjavik Roasters, which is just around the corner from the hotel. We know you would expect nothing less of us. RR was founded in 2008 and has been a staple of the Reykjavik coffee scene ever since.
After finishing our drinks (and pastries) we walked up the hill to visit Hallgrímskirkja (the church of Hallgrimur). The church took 41 years to build. Construction started in 1945. Hallgrimskirkja is the tallest church in Iceland and provides fabulous views of the city, harbor, mountains and volcanoes from the top of the 243 foot tower.
Unlike the United States, Iceland has a state sponsored and protected national church – the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland (hin evangelíska lúterska kirkja). There is religious freedom in Iceland and a number of other religious faiths are practiced in the country.
After visiting the church we did a bit more strolling, grabbed a quick fish and chips dinner and went back to our hotel satisfied with a good first day. As we lay in bed, as if on cue, the Aurora Borealis appeared and we jumped up and out onto our balcony to take in the show and snap some pictures. We upgraded our good first day to an excellent first day!Húrra!
Day two….DAGG tveir
In accordance with Rule One of Travel (all days must begin with tea and coffee) we checked out TE & KAFFI (directly across the way from the hotel). TE & KAFFI was up to snuff and we added the establishment to our inventory of specialty coffee shops for our stay in Reykjavik.
After fika we spent the morning exploring the city on foot and made our first visit to the waterfront. We also happened upon several more excellent street murals. While down at the old harbor we popped into the one of the three Reykjavik Art Museum locations. The exhibitions at this location when we visited were not a good fit for our sensibilities so we did not tarry.
Towards early afternoon we walked back up the hill from the old harbor area to check out one of the other art museums. This museum, Kjarvalsstaðirat, was exhibiting predominately landscape paintings by both professional and amateur Icelandic artists. The museum is named after Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval (1885-1972). Kjarval is Iceland’s most revered painter and many of his paintings are on display.
The art here was much more to our liking (or comprehension) and was a lovely mix of colorful renderings of the Icelandic countryside and cityscapes.
DAY THREE….DAGG PRIR
For our third day we hit the road (after coffee and tea) in pursuit of the Golden Circle (GC). We rented a 4WD SUV in case we found ourselves off the pavement in pursuit of getting up close to some of the natural features along or near the GC route. This worked out nicely as you can see from the photos directly below.
We made our way Þingvellir National Park (PNP) along an alternate route utilizing the excellent skills of our senior navigator. As we approached the park Þingvallavatn Lake came into view. It is the largest natural lake in Iceland. You may notice in the photo above left the large pipeline. In the States you might expect it to be an oil or gas pipeline – not in Iceland – this pipeline carries geothermally heated water. It carries millions of gallons per minute of boiling water and provides heat for most of the residents of Iceland.
The park is historically important to Iceland as it was the location of Iceland’s first parliament, which met there on the open plains from 930 until 1798. The park location is considered to be the birthplace of Iceland.
Prime Minister’s Summer Residence
The other aspect that makes this beautiful park important is that within the park are the rift valleys that separates the continental plates. The rifts run north – south. The plate to the east is Eurasia while the plate to the west is North America. Some of the rifts are dry allowing visitors to walk through while others have filled with water.
Tectonic Rift
Tectonic Rift
After completing our hiking loop at PNP we continued north on the GC. We bypassed the popular Geysir Hot Springs as we have seen many a geyser (including Old Faithful) during our travels in the Western United States.
Gullfoss
Gullfoss (Golden Falls) is impressive for its sheer force and size – and – it is a traverse waterfall. The water falls 105 feet into a crevice and then flows sideways and then down through a canyon that reaches 230 feet in depth. The waterfall is located on the Hvítá (White) River and is fed by the Langjökull Glacier.
It is hard for us to fathom but Gullfoss was privately owned by a local sheep farmer – Tómas Tómasson. A British firm (it’s always the British) attempted to purchase the property to use it to generate electricity. Fortunately, that never came to fruition and the river and falls remain in their spectacular natural state (owned and protected by the government of Iceland).
Gullfoss
From Gullfoss we started our return to Reykjavik. We detoured across Route 31 to see the Skálholt Church. The first Episcopal church in Iceland was built at this location in the year 1000. By 1550 the Reformation was in full swing under the auspices of the King of Denmark. In order that everyone understood his intent he had Jón Arason, the Catholic Bishop Of Iceland (the last Catholic Bishop of Iceland) and his two sons executed at Skálholt. Lofið drottin! In other news, the current church was built between 1956 and 1963.
Hvítá River Viewed From Skálholt Church
DAY FOUR….DAGG fjórir
We booked a food tour with Wake Up Reykjavik on the recommendation of our good friend Brian. The tour was lots of fun and the food was quite good. The tour included five stops to sample different dishes. We have included below the five stops and a description of the food we sampled. Thank you Brian!
Hotel Borg (The oldest hotel in Iceland) Icelandic pancakes with sugar, jam and whipped cream.Ljúffengur!!
Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur (The Town’s Best Hot Dogs) Traditional Icelandic hot dog with Icelandic ketchup, Icelandic mustard, remoulade sauce (remúlaði), deep fried onions and raw onions. Made famous after Bill Clinton visited for a dog. He had mustard only – now known as a Clinton!
Sólon Islandus(The Salvador Dali place) Lamb chop with mustard umami sauce, mashed potatoes and grilled brocollini
The young woman in the photo (above right) is Alfhedur Kristin Hallgrimsdottir aka Alfie. Alfie was our quite entertaining and informative guide. She is holding the traditional and obligatory sample of fermented shark, which is washed down with a shot of a strong liqueur. The lamb was delicious – the shark is what we would describe as an acquired taste.
Sjávarréttagrillið(The seafood grill) Lobster taco on a soft taco shell with garlic sauce, spinach, pickled red onions, deep fried langoustine, date puree, cilantro and parmesan cheese.
As we left Sjávarréttagrillið we happened upon a former Miss Iceland who was about to do a photo shoot. She graciously posed with our food tour group. She did not appear to mind being outdoors in the 40F temperature without much clothing. Icelanders are tough – and very nice!
Hannesarhollt (The poets/prime ministers cafe) Rhubarb crumble pie – Happy marriage cake! (Hjónabandssæla) Perfect timing as this trip was in celebration of our 45th wedding anniversary!
Icelandic Happy Marriage Cake (Photo courtesy of Autumn Carolyn)
After our afternoon food tour we were in no need of dinner so we retraced our tour route to photograph some interesting murals we had observed while on the tour and took a break at the hotel before venturing out for an evening of jazz.
The jazz concert was taking place at the modern and architecturally award winning Harpa Concert Hall and Convention Center. The Harpa was opened in 2011. This stunning facility sits directly on the waterfront and hosts the Icelandic Symphony, Icelandic Opera, Big Band and many other shows within the various venues housed here.
Harpa Concert Hall
We were quite fortunate that the Trio Óskar Guðjónssonar, Jorge Rossy og Thomas Morgan was performing that night. The three members of the trio are all veteran performers who have toured extensively internationally and played with many renowned jazz bands.
The show was great. The trio played a number of their own compositions as well a several jazz standards. We also enjoyed the polite audience – no talking or videoing during the show! What a treat after experiencing so many disrespectful and boorish audiences at music events in the U.S.
After the show we came outside to find the Aurora Borealis again dancing in the sky over the harbor! If seeing the Aurora Borealis four nights in a row doesn’t warrant a night cap we don’t know what does! We made the short walk over to Apotek. The place was hopping but we were able grab two seats at the bar and have our cocktails and a couple of appetizers. We had a great time discussing the upcoming U.S. election with our bartender – who is probably more knowledgable about our upcoming election than most Americans! Sorglegt!
DAY FIVE….DAGG FIMM
On day five we opted for a slower paced day as we were planning on a long day touring the South Coast the next day. We started our day at Mokka Kaffi. Our intel was that they have the best waffles. We do not know if they are the best in Reykjavik but they were dang good! A bit of shopping in the afternoon completed the day time portion of that day’s program.
We finished our day with an excellent meal at the highly recommended (thank you Alfie) Tapas Barinn. We ordered several small plates starting with chorizo, followed by prawns, lamb and Icelandic foal. Ljúffengur!
Icelandic Foal
DAY SIX….DAGG SEX
On day six we were back on the road for a tour along the south coast of Iceland following the Ring Road (Route 1). Our first stop was Seljalandsfoss, a popular tourist stop as it is visible from Route 1 and the walk from the parking area to the falls is relatively short and level. At 197 feet impressive, but not the best of the day in our view.
We continued along Route 1 making frequent stops to admire the views on a gorgeous blue sky day.
Several miles drive further along the Ring Road conveyed us to Skogafoss (foss translates to waterfall). This waterfall is impressive not just for its height of 200 feet but also its width of 82 feet. You can walk along the Skoga River and stand at the base of this thundering wall of water.
This was probably the waterfall that we enjoyed the most due to the ability to both stand at the base (and get wet) and also at the top of the waterfall via a steep 600 stair climb. From the top there is a fantastic view of the valley below that extends to the ocean. From here, the Fimmvörðuháls hiking trail (summertime only) continues up the mountain along the river providing access to additional waterfalls.
Approximately 15% of Iceland is covered by glaciers. We began to get glimpses of the Sólheimajökull Glacier heading east on Route 1. While we were not prepared to hike on the glacier on this trip (guide required) we wanted to get up close and the hike up to the tongue of Sólheimajökull was doable.
What was immediately apparent as we approached the tongue was that this glacier is currently in retreat. The glacier is currently about seven miles in length. It has had periods of retreat (1930-1969) and periods of advancement (1969-1995). The glacier has been retreating since 1995 and the rate of retreat has accelerated since 2000. Between 2000 and 2015 it shrank by slightly over half a mile. When it retreats the glacier also gets thinner. We hiked by posts indicating where the tongue of the glacier had ended over a period of years. The photo below at the bottom provides a feel for the magnitude of the retreat. While the demise of glaciers in Iceland is not imminent, about eleven million tons of glacial ice is melting annually. Slæmt!
Iceland has a rich history relating to Elves. We visited Drangurinn rock in Drangshlíð. This large rock sits alone in the middle of a field with a backdrop of the Eyjafjöll Mountains. There are a number of cow and hay sheds built into the rock.
The legend is that elves live inside the rock and would tend to the animals at night if a cow was close to giving birth so that the farmers would not need stay in the pitch dark sheds.
Our favorite tale is about a local farmer who went missing for several days. Upon returning he told the local folks that he had been with the elves in the rock. He also said that the elves were lovely, decent and as handsome as humans. Furthermore, he was going to marry an elf woman. Soon after the farmer disappeared but no one looked for him because they knew he was living in the rock with his elf wife. Ég elska þig!
While it was a chilly day we were keen to drive south to the shore and visit a black sand beach. Route 254 took us south along the Markarfljot until we reached the shoreline at the ferry terminal for Vestmannaeyar (Westman Islands). The view from the beach of the sun heading down and the islands in silhouette was mesmerizing. While we did walk the beach there were no shoes off with feet in the water. This is the North Atlantic in September!
The Vestmannaeyjar consist of 15 islands and 30 rock stacks. The islands were created by underwater volcanic eruptions. The population is approximately 4300 people, all of whom live on the island of Heimaey. Heimaey has two volcanoes. None of the other tiny islands are inhabited on a full time basis.
The name of the islands – West Men – is named after the Irish slaves who fled the mainland to the islands to escape their servitude. Ireland was thought to be the farthest land west of the continent – hence West Men. The West Men were, of course, subsequently captured and killed. Frelsi!
Our friends Jim and Sally recommended that we stop at the Hotel Ranga for a cocktail if we were going to be touring the South Coast. The Ranga fit perfectly with our return leg to Reykjavik and of course all the fresh air and sunshine definitely engenders a thirst which can only be quenched by expertly made cocktails.
Takk fyrir, Jim and Sally! Excellent cocktails in a beautiful setting. The Hotel Ranga is definitely on our itinerary for our next visit to Iceland.
Polar Bear, Hotel Ranga, Hella, Iceland
DAY SEVEN….DAGG TI’U
On our final day in Iceland the rains finally came (no complaints from us) so we decided to do what many other tourists do when it rains in Reykjavik. We visited the Perlan(The Pearl).
Perlan (Photo courtesy of Perlan)
Perlan sits on the highest hill in Reykjavik providing 360 degree views of the city and surrounding area from the roof top cafe and observation deck. The glass dome sits atop six geothermal functioning geothermal water tanks. Quite cool!
The food at the cafe is excellent and they have a full bar. The exhibits are also quite good and entertaining. The focus is on the forces of nature which dominate Iceland’s geography, weather and culture: volcanoes, glaciers, aurora borealis, wildlife and more.
One thing we did not get to see were puffins. But fortunately, the Perlan has a very realistic bird cliff and we have included a couple of photos below with our only puffin sighting, albeit inside the Perlan.
We wrapped up our final day with an Icelandic tradition. A wonderful soak at the geothermal lagoon at Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik. Before entering the lagoon we went through a multi-step ritual starting with a sauna, followed by a cold rinse, a salt paste application and then into a steam bath (we skipped the cold water plunge) and finally the lagoon. Delightful! Oh, did we mention there is a bar in the lagoon – Prosecco please!(Photos courtesy of Sky Lagoon)
That’s it from Iceland…..we had a terrific time. It is a beautiful country with stunning landscapes which reflect the fire and ice theme which dominates. The Northern Lights…. what can we say…. first trip – four sightings….we almost feel guilty. The country is modern yet maintains deep connections to its ancient Viking heritage (including the Icelandic language which reflects the Old Norse spoken by the Vikings).
Every Icelander we met was friendly, polite and knowledgable. This is a country that is civilized and humane (with a living wage for all). Iceland is a literate society. Reykjavik is chock full of museums, book stores, galleries, music venues, street art and excellent food (and coffee).
After our ramble through the remote north central region of New Brunswick, we traveled west across Route 17 to spend the evening in Edmundston. Edmunston is a predominately francophile city of approximately 16,000 people that sits on the St. John River. The mainstay of the economy here since it’s founding to the present is the paper industry. Logs were driven downstream to the mills by rivermen known as log drivers. Today the logs arrive by truck.
Riverman (photo courtesy of New England Historical Society)
The mill in Edmunston dominates the cityscape as it sits right in the town along the river. The mill in Edmunston produces pulp which is sent via a milelong pipe that winds its way through the city and across the river to a paired paper mill in Madawaska, Maine.
As interesting as pulp and paper may be, we actually stopped over in Edmunston to visit the Jardin Botanique and then travel south along the St. John River before crossing back into the United States at Fort Fairfield.
The botanical gardens are relatively small at 17 acres but includes 12 thematic gardens. The gardens are surrounded by an arboretum which makes the setting very tranquil and peaceful. There also a number of topiaries skillfully configured as animals to complete the setting.
We had the opportunity to meet with one of the artists in residence. Guylaine Dufour is a gardener at the Jardin Botanique and one of the artists in residence during the summer months. She works primarily with glass and staining; many of the pieces she creates during the summer are utilized in the gardens to complement the plantings. Below is a glass piece embedded in a wooden bench and glass pieces embedded in stone used as stepping stones in one of the gardens. We enjoyed meeting Guylaine and learning about her techniques and approach to enhancing le jardin.
We were just in Edmuston for one evening to position our drive south along the St. John River before crossing into Maine. However, that is no excuse for the seasoned traveler to forego fine food or coffee.
Because Edmundston is about 95% francophile (French is the primary language with English as a second language) we were confident fine dining would be at hand. We were quite pleased with ourselves when we were able to obtain a reservation at the Chantal Steakhouse. The restaurant has a bit of continental flair with several amuse bouche dishes selected by the chef and served prior to your appetizer and dinner selections. We had an excellent meal and Chantal stopped by our table to make sure we were happy with our dinner and service. Chantal and her daughter own and operate the restaurant. Lovely!
Ideally, our first and last activities when visiting a city is the consumption of good espresso and tea products. Bruliere du Vieux Poste operates a small cafe and roastery and was a two minute walk from the hotel. This happy circumstance made our brief stay all the more pleasant. The name translated by Google into English is The Burning of the Old Post Office — “pas sur” on this traslation
Okay — that is our report from Edmundston. We will be doubling back to chronicle our two weeks on the fascinating island of Cape Breton in our next post.
As we swung back westward through New Brunswick (NB) inorder to ultimately re-enter the U.S. through Northern Maine, we decided to pay a visit to Fredericton aka the “Freddy”. Freddy appeared to meet our usual city selection criteria — small to medium in size, coffee options, art, live music, bike trails and a city waterfront.
St. John River, Fredericton, New Brunswick
We thought we would need two days but the weather was excellent and so much was happening that we ended up staying four nights; before departing on our wood lands ramble into remote northern New Brunswick (Wood Lands Ramble post coming soon).
Bicycling
A coalition of volunteers (Fredericton Trail Coalition) began to mobilize after the Canadian Northern Railway abandoned a number of lines in New Brunswick in 1989. The first trail was opened in 1993. In 1996, 377 additional kilometers of abandoned railway was donated to the province by the Irving Family allowing Freddy to connect a number of trails and create today’s connected network of over 120 kilometers of trail. A key aspect of the donation was the inclusion of the 906 foot railway bridge that spans the St. John River — connecting the trail systems on both side of the river.
Fredericton Trail Coalition Map
As a result, folks in Fredericton have a plethora of riding and walking trail options. It is not surprising that Fredericton was named Canada’s 6th most-walkable city in 2019, one of 5 “Great Canadian Bike Cities” in 2021 by People for Bikes, and was #9 on Canada’s Best Small Cities as ranked by World’s Best Cities.com in 2022. We took advantage of the trail system and delightful weather to explore a number of the trails during our stay in Freddy.
fika
Combining biking with coffee is a double delight. Mill Town Coffee Roasters is conveniently located on one of the trails and we were able to take a coffee break on our way out and back during each ride. Pretty good, eh!
Street Art
In our humble opinion, public art adds a great deal to a city’s environment. We were glad to find that Freddy has several notable street murals in the downtown area, although we would have loved to find more during our walks through town.
Fine art
Freddy is very fortunate to have, in our opinion, a very impressive art museum, especially in light of the fact that the city population is barely 60,000. Much of the good fortune is owed to the generosity of one Lord Beaverbrook — who in 1959 gifted the museum building and 300 valuable works of art to a museum foundation he created for the benefit of the public. Did we mention that the museum is named the Beaverbrook Art Gallery?
Lord Beaverbrook
The son of a Presbyterian minister in Miramichi, New Brunswick, the future Lord Beaverbrook, Max Aitken, enjoyed early success in Canadian business. In 1910, he left Canada for England, where he was knighted and elected a Member of Parliament, eventually serving as Minister of Aircraft Production in Churchill’s wartime government. No slouch Sir Max!
The museum is noted for it’s collection of renowned Canadian artists but also has works by Dali (not fans but still impressive to see a gallery of Dali paintings in Freddy) and Gainsborough and as well as other internationally acclaimed painters. The Beaverbrook became the official provincial gallery of New Brunswick in 1996.
Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dali (Spanish, 1904-1989) La Turbie: Sir James Dunn, 1949 oil on canvas On Loan from the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation
Medrie MacPhee (Canadian / Canadienne, b./n. 1953) Locke (1987) oil on canvas / huile sur toile
Carol Hoorn Fraser (Canadian / Canadienne, 1930 – 1991) The Guardians, 1976 oil on canvas / huile sur toile
Lucy Jarvis (Canadian / Canadienne, 1896 – 1985) Iris Swamp (1961) oil on board / huile sur panneau
Montreal-based painter Michael Smith (directly above and below) is known for his fluid and impasto surfaces as well as his ability to strike a poetic balance between representation and abstraction. Inspired by art history as well as historic and current events, Smith pulls from various sources to create his energetic landscapes and seascapes. His Sea of Change series includes massive canvases exploding with colour and energy, as well as smaller studies on paper. These were inspired by a serendipitous encounter with a 19th-century painting of the Arctic expedition ship H.M.S. Terror during his time as artist-in-residence at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in 2018. Layering texture and colour, the familiar with the unfamiliar, Smith’s paintings convey (as the artist writes) “a mix of excitement and anxiety of a land [that] although at times bucolic, is riddled with shadows.” Curated by John Leroux
A little bit of history
We often find that the early history of a city is intertwined with the creation of the dominate religion of the ruling class. Fredericton is no exception to that pattern. The city was named for Prince Frederick,son of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Subsequently, Queen Charlotte declared Fredericton a Cathedral City (even though its population was too small) so Christ Church Cathedral could be built. The Anglican Church at that time was utilized as a way to impose British custom and law (and to counter Acadian Catholicism) on the inhabitants be they British, Acadian or First Nations.
Christ Church Cathedral, Fredericton, New Brunswick
The Cathedral sits on its own park like island of green at the edge of downtown. The surrounding neighborhoods consist of stately and beautifully maintained homes. By many accounts the movers and shakers in Fredericton were members of this parish and much business was conducted and deals made between the businessmen and politicians who belonged here.
We always seem compelled to add a little bit of history (and an opinion or two) when we report on our travels — oh well!
Music
We closed out our stay in Freddy with an afternoon and evening of food and music. The River Jam Music Festival was taking place all around us at our hotel with four or five music acts performing in different areas of the facility simultaneously. We took in a couple of acts, had dinner and camped at the bar (surprised?) to take in the performances in the lobby which ran to midnight. We were treated to primarily traditional music from the Maritimes and the local crowd was up singing along and dancing. So good!
That’s it from Freddy! We had a great visit and look forward to sharing more of our travels soon.
