Bimini 2016: Day 1 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Just a quick update from the road. I’m headed out to Bimini (one of the Bahama Islands) to swim with dolphins, and the first leg of the trip is complete.

Wildquest sets the group up with reservations at the Bahia Mar Doubletree in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the Sunday night before the charter flight out. We won’t spend much time here, but the facilities appear to be decent. Check was delayed by having two rooms requested next to each other however. Once we got to the room, however, the view was pretty nice

The view from the Bahia Mar hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Warren Schultz)

The view from the Bahia Mar hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Warren Schultz)

 

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Europe 2015: Day 3.2 – Trondheim – Nidaros Cathedral – Gigapixel Panorama

After moving on from the Nidelva, there was a brief stop at a cafe that was recommended by our hosts in Oslo, on the way to Nidaros Cathedral.

Dark hot chocolate, at Dromedar Kaffebar. (http://dromedar.no/) (Warren Schultz)

Dark hot chocolate, at Dromedar Kaffebar. (Warren Schultz)

I can vouch for this dark-chocolate-based hot chocolate at Dromedar Kaffebar.

After the chocolate infusion, it was time to hit the main objective for the day, photographing the Nidaros Cathedral.

 (Warren Schultz)

(Warren Schultz)

This was the view from the side as I approached. Impressive, but not nearly as much as the western face.

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Europe 2015: Day 2.1 – Oslo (briefly)

Jet lag, my old nemesis, you’ve returned. Fortunately, flying west-to-east isn’t as bad if you stay up to your normal bedtime the previous night, unfortunately, I got just enough sleep on the flight to be completely out of sync, and slept fitfully at best. But there’s things to do, so off we go into Oslo.

If breakfast at this hotel is anything to go by, I’m not going to have any trouble staying nourished.

The breakfast at Scandic Victoria (Rosenkrantz Gate) in Oslo left nothing to be desired. At least half a dozen types of meats and cheeses, two types of smoked salmon was a good way to start the day. (Warren Schultz)

The breakfast at Scandic Victoria (Rosenkrantz Gate) in Oslo left nothing to be desired. At least half a dozen types of meats and cheeses, two types of smoked salmon was a good way to start the day. (Warren Schultz)

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Dining in Europe: Dietary accommodations

Traveling with food allergies can be rough. Trying to get dietary accommodations everywhere you go can be frustrating and potentially embarrassing, when you have to ask about what’s in every item on the menu that looks good to you.

Conversely, in Europe, one of the things I found to be fascinating is how thoroughly food is labeled in the countries I visited. Are you allergic to gluten, lactose, and soy? Many restaurants and shops you visit have you covered. As  you can see in the image below, there is a reference key for allergens at the bottom of most menus.

The bottom of the menu at Cafe Bacchus (Warren Schultz)

The bottom of the menu at Cafe Bacchus (Warren Schultz)

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Europe 2015: Day 1.1 – Dinner in Oslo – Bacchus

We met up with our local hosts for the evening, friends of my travel partner’s family for years, and headed off to dinner.

This is what’s great about visiting locals on this sort of trip. Odds are, I never would have selected this restaurant out of all the choices in Oslo. It wasn’t near the hotel, it didn’t seem to have anything that stood out in particular in reviews… but I would have been missing out.

Cafe Bacchus has some phenomenal food in a comfortable atmosphere. This was the menu the night we went:

The menu of Bacchus Cafe the week I was in Oslo. Notice the allergen warning key listed at the bottom. I'll come back to that. (Warren Schultz)

The menu of Bacchus Cafe the week I was in Oslo. Notice the allergen warning key listed at the bottom. I’ll come back to that. (Warren Schultz)

Normally, I don’t go for fish at restaurants. I can appreciate good fish, but my past experience has taught me that cooking fish perfectly involves a bit of art. Bacchus clearly has been practicing their art.

2013-03-14 The Road Home

Warren writes:

The problem with every great trip is that it eventually comes to an end.

I woke early on Thursday morning, around 5:15am, about 45 minutes before our alarm was scheduled to go off. My mind instantly started racing with the events of the week, the video recording we’d done the previous night for the Indiegogo campaign, and everything that we had to do to take the week’s work and turn it into a final product that would make people as enthusiastic about this project as we are about it.

More on that later…

With my thoughts moving a mile a minute, it was inevitable that I couldn’t stay put. Unfortunately, my inflatable mattress is really good at insulation, but crinkles pretty loudly when I’m doing anything more than lying still. This is not a good recipe for sleep for anyone within a 15-foot radius. Cynthia got up a bit later, with a minimum of growling and threats of bodily harm.

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