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In Colorado, a state filled with gorgeous mountain ranges, you might not expect to also find the tallest sand dunes in North America. Nestled against the Rocky Mountains, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a wonderful national park that includes not only the dunes themselves but also forest and mountain trails.
While stopping by H Mart, an Asian food market in Mesa, we saw a very long line of people outside a shop in the nearby strip mall. After further investigation we saw everyone was at a Korean corn dog restaurant called Two Hands. With such a long line well after lunch we figured it had to be good, and we picked some up the following weekend. We were definitely not disappointed.
Pagosa Springs has many great places to eat, but our favorite is easily MEE Hmong Cuisine. MEE Hmong Cuisine is an Asian restaurant that melds flavors and dishes from across southeast Asia where the Hmong people are from. Here they put their own delicious spin on popular dishes from Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand, among others.
On our recent trip to Jerome, Arizona, we stayed at The Surgeon’s House, which is a beautiful bed-and-breakfast in a historic 100+ year old building. The location is excellent, the property is gorgeous both inside and out, the food is great, and the hospitality is warm and welcoming!
Out on the western end of Sedona, alongside many other trails, is the Boynton Canyon Trail. This trail travels 3 miles into the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness to the northwest of central Sedona. Finishing the trail to the end is essential since the best view is at the trail’s end.
Bearizona is a place we’ve passed by many times on our way to the Grand Canyon. We’ve been interested in going, but it never worked with our time tables for our trips. Since we were staying so close to the park for a few days, we decided to finally set some time aside and actually visit it.
Just two streets over from Prescott’s historic downtown Courthouse Plaza is the quirky El Gato Azul. Here they serve their take on tapas, which are a type of Spanish food consisting of various small appetizer plates. It’s also similar to a much less formal version of Japanese kaiseki, but in this we get to actually pick our food. The great thing about tapas is that you can try out so many different things in one meal.
Dellepiane is an Argentine bar known for its delicious burgers and empanadas. Its first location is in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the second is in Sedona, Arizona!
Every time we visit Jerome we always make sure to swing by the La Victoria Studio to watch a glass blowing demonstration. It’s easily the best part of visiting the town for us, besides eating at the Haunted Hamburger. At this studio we get to watch a master at work.
We don’t make our way to Jerome very often, but when we do we always make sure to eat at the Haunted Hamburger. The restaurant is nestled high up the hill and offers patrons some nice views to go along with the tasty food. The Haunted Hamburger’s name is fitting since Jerome is the most famous ghost town in Arizona. There are plenty of other restaurants in the small town, but it’s hard to pass up going to one of our favorite spots to get a great burger.
On the western end of Nikko lies the massive complex that is collectively known as the Shrines and Temples of Nikko. The complex is comprised of the Futarasan Shrine, Tosho-gu Shrine, Rinno-ji Temple, and Taiyu-in Temple. This very culturally significant site is further enhanced by the gorgeous forest surrounding it.
Our time at the Kai Nikko was fantastic, and one of the best parts of it, besides the amazing view from our room of Lake Chuzenji, was the food. As with other ryokans, Kai Nikko serves kaiseki meals for dinner. These meals usually offer seasonal and regional ingredients, and the regional specialty for Nikko is yuba.
The main reason we came to Koyasan, besides staying at a shukubo, was to visit Okunoin. Okunoin (pronounced: Oku-no-in) is the largest graveyard in Japan, with over 200,000 tombstones, and is the holiest place in all of Koya. It is here that the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism, rests. It is believed that he, instead of dying, is awaiting the return of the future Buddha: Maitreya.
During our time in Kinosaki Onsen we stayed at the exquisite Nishimuraya Honkan. This ryokan has numerous awards and recently was added to the Relais & Châteaux group of hotels and restaurants. The wood structure of this ryokan dates back over 150 years and the latest addition was added in 1960 by the prominent architect Masaya Hirata. From its walled exterior the ryokan doesn’t look like anything special, but once we entered into it, we realized this was an experience we would never forget.
Kinkaku-ji Temple, otherwise known as the Golden Pavilion, is the most famous temple in Japan. Kinkaku-ji Temple is located in northwestern Kyoto and is easily reached by bus or taxi. It is a short 5 minute bus ride or 20 minute walk from Ryoan-Ji Temple to the west. We arrived at the temple on a rainy day just before lunch time. Even the inclement weather did not stop crowds of tourists from visiting one of the most popular temples in the country.
During our stay in Kyoto our hotel managed to get us reservations at Kikunoi for lunch. Kikunoi is widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world for kaiseki cuisine, and holds a 3-star Michelin rating. Located in eastern Kyoto, Kikunoi is nestled in a quiet charming neighborhood just south of Yasaka Shrine.
Antelope Canyon is located on the outskirts of the town of Page in northern Arizona, which is also home to Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend. Visitors can tour either Lower or Upper Antelope Canyon - but only by guided tour! The tours can book up months in advance, so it’s recommended to book early if you can. We booked our tour with Ken’s Tours. It is recommended to make reservations, but walk ups can work to fill in spots.
In the middle of Page, Arizona we found a restaurant that specializes in fried chicken. It’s an odd location, but it’s a place that easily rivals the popular chicken chains.
We’ve been wanting to visit Monument Valley for a long time and were thrilled to find the View Hotel for accomodations. While the rooms at the View Hotel all offer fantastic views of Monument Valley, we opted for a different option; the premium cabins.
On our first trip to Tokyo we got reservations at Sushi Tokami, a Michelin star restaurant in Ginza, where we were introduced to high end sushi. With the last day of our trip, we wanted to cap our time in Japan with a truly great meal. We managed to get reservations at Sushi Tokami after a recommendation and some help from the concierge at the Park Hotel.
As much as we love going to gardens, temples, and shrines throughout Japan, we wanted to see something different. Fortunately, we found out about an innovative interactive art exhibit called teamLab: Borderless, which is set up in Odaiba. All throughout the world teamLab has set up exhibits and shows. The permanent ones are in Asia, but other limited shows are popping up around the world from time to time.
The Hamarikyu Gardens sits in the heart of Tokyo; nestled between Tsukiji, Ginza, Tokyo Tower, and Tokyo Bay. Though this peaceful park is located in the middle of the city, it’s large enough to be immersive. You don’t feel like you’re in the middle of a city - until you look up and notice the skyscrapers.
While in Tokyo, we wanted to have kushikatsu again, and when trying to find a restaurant we managed to come across Shinjuku Tatsukichi. Our first experience with kushikatsu was an inexpensive restaurant with a menu of about 20 different options. The food there was still amazing, but we wanted to try out what a higher end kushikatsu restaurant would be like. Shinjuku Tatsukichi is a moderately priced kushikatsu restaurant and the meal we had was one of the best we had our entire time in Tokyo.
Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake where the batter is mixed with whatever veggies or meat you like! It’s highly customizable, and great comfort food. We went to Sometaro, an okonomiyaki restaurant near Senso-Ji Temple in Asakusa. The restaurant is in a very old wood building sandwiched in between newer buildings.
After having watched an episode of Ugly Delicious on Netflix about pizza, we decided we should check out Seirinkan while in Tokyo. During our time exploring southern Tokyo we planned to make sure we ate here. Pizza wasn't something we had thought of even eating in Japan, but we're definitely glad we did.
We took the subway out to a suburban area of Tokyo, walked down a town street lined with convenience stores and other storefronts, and turned off the street toward a forested area where a red metal bridge arched over a ravine. This is the Todoroki Valley, which feels like it must be hours away from the busy center of Tokyo instead of a quick subway ride.
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On our first evening visiting Ouray, Colorado, we needed to find somewhere to eat. After a recommendation from our family, we stopped for a delicious dinner at Brickhouse 737.
Bacon makes everything better. Before leaving Denver our family took us to the Bacon Social House for a nice brunch. The Bacon Social House is proof that you can never have too much bacon.
While visiting some family in Denver we wanted to go someplace special for a nice meal. We ended up going to Mercantile Dining and Provisions in downtown Denver. This restaurant has its own farm that supplies many of the produce and cheeses used. We were in for a treat, but not quite what we were initially expecting.
While visiting Denver, we stopped at The Budlong Hot Chicken, a Nashville Hot Chicken Joint for some tasty, spicy chicken sandwiches. Whether you get the sandwich, tenders, salad, hot chicken plate, or hot wings, the chicken is the star of the dish and the classic sides are made from scratch daily!
While in Denver our family highly recommended we stop by Voodoo Doughnut to try out some of their loaded, over-the-top doughnuts. So we made it a point to drop in, and we were definitely impressed with their selection.
After hiking up a bunch of sand dunes we needed to find something for lunch. So we headed up to Salida and stopped at Sweetie’s Sandwich Shop. Little did we know this would end up being one of the best sandwiches we’ve ever had.
In Colorado, a state filled with gorgeous mountain ranges, you might not expect to also find the tallest sand dunes in North America. Nestled against the Rocky Mountains, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a wonderful national park that includes not only the dunes themselves but also forest and mountain trails.
On our most recent trip to Pagosa Springs we wanted to stay just out of town where it was a bit quieter. We ended up picking the Elkwood Manor B&B, and this peaceful spot comes with one awesome view.
While stopping by H Mart, an Asian food market in Mesa, we saw a very long line of people outside a shop in the nearby strip mall. After further investigation we saw everyone was at a Korean corn dog restaurant called Two Hands. With such a long line well after lunch we figured it had to be good, and we picked some up the following weekend. We were definitely not disappointed.
One of the major parts of any trip to Pagosa Springs is to take a dip in their famous sulfur hot springs. There is no better place to do this in town than to visit the Springs Resort Bath House.
After hiking up a bunch of sand dunes we needed to find something for lunch. So we headed up to Salida and stopped at Sweetie’s Sandwich Shop. Little did we know this would end up being one of the best sandwiches we’ve ever had.