Ever stumbled upon the perfect café, sequestered deep in the quietest corner of a buzzing city, and just had to share the secret? Ever wanted to be part of that secret? Travelistas Lynn Lau and Abby Bender combine their journalism and travel experiences to bring readers Notes From A Café: Travel stories from the deep end, a refreshing cure to the usual stodgy travel resources. Notes From A Café revolves around the love of travel, with articles covering countries from Belgium to Norway to Malaysia, along with tips and resources to fellow travelers interested in the non-touristy side of exploring the world.
Celebrating the joie de vivre of traipsing the globe, Lynn and Abby feature their stories and secrets under headings such as "Voyage Vignettes" (focusing on the thick and thin of personal travel accounts), "Foreign Foibles" (cultural gaffes and taboos), "Travel Tips" (a grab-bag of information and suggestions for travelers), and "Roaming Reviews" (frank guides on true must-see's and definite stay-away-from's).
A random selection of our articles:
I’m a carry-on girl. They say experience makes one wiser, and when it comes to getting on and off a plane in a flash, I’ve wisened up more than I care to remember. No more wrestling with huge, ungainly suitcases to and from the airport, thank you very much. I did that for at least two overseas ventures, and I’ve learned my lesson! Nowadays, no matter what distance or length of vacation time, all I bring is what I can carry with me onto the plane.
Yes, that’s right—just a wheelie and a tote bag. I jump in and I jump off, not needing to check in extra luggage, and bypassing fellow passengers who’re still waiting at the baggage carousel. No more anxiety over delayed or lost luggage! It means being able to get out of the airport faster. It means savoring my trip from the start.
It also means—if I’m returning to the States from time abroad—not having to wait in the stuffy, crowded carousel section after already having put up with the teeming throng at Immigration. Believe me, the latter is enough of an endurance trial. It doesn’t need assistance.
» Read the rest of All Aboard! The Goodness of Carry-on ...
In keeping with the theme of airlines and flying, I thought I’d tackle one of the biggest complaints any traveler deals with: flight delays that cause you to miss a connecting flight.
This is bad enough when you’re dealing with domestic flights, where a delayed connection can cause you to spend hours in unfamiliar airports. It’s maddening when it happens to a domestic flight that is supposed to then connect to your international flight — you know, to the destination that airline only flies to once every day. (Which happened to me.)
So, what is the best thing to do when this happens? Well, there’s really not much you can do, except get your flight rescheduled. And complain.
Yet, as it turns out, complaining (hold on for this shocking revelation) does not really do any good.
» Read the rest of Flight Delays: Stay Cheery! (Seriously) ...
One Sunday, as we were rumbling down the road in the red Peugeot on our way back home from the Amboise open-air market, Jennifer turned around and asked: “Hey … do you guys want to stop and see the Chanteloup Pagoda?”
I knew most of the hundreds of châteaux of the Loire Valley, but I had never heard of a French pagoda. Visions suddenly filled my head of dragon-emblazoned silk banners streaming from Gothic turrets, and manicured topiaries flanked by delicate, blooming cherry trees, and I knew I had to go see it.
As it turns out, the “Pagode de Chanteloup,” or the Chanteloup Pagoda, was built upon the remains of the château de Chanteloup, which belonged to the Duc de Choiseul, minster to Louis XV. Said Duke eventually offended the king in some way, shape, or form, as was wont to happen in those days, and Dukey found himself exiled to Chanteloup from 1770 to 1774. But his friends remained loyal to him, and in 1775, he directed his architect, Le Camus, to build the pagoda in honor of them.
(I’m assuming that the king had died, which made it possible for the Duke to build the pagoda and not get his head chopped off, but my guidebook falls short at this point.)
We pulled up to the deserted parking lot, parked the Peugeot, and tumbled out of the car, ready to take a quick trip to the Far East. But, horror of horrors, we discovered that the gate surrounding the park was chained shut … and the pagoda was closed for the season.
» Read the rest of Breaking and Entering ...
Click to see the whole set!
| The Green Papaya 600 E Pine St Seattle WA 98122 (206) 323-1923 |
Seattle may be known for its rainy climate, but when my old high school pal and I chose that destination for our weekend reunion, we lucked out—it was gratuitious sunshine, the one time that April wasn’t scattered in showers. A good thing, too, considering the numerous times we got lost and ended up heading in the wrong direction, but sometimes a little wandering and backtracking leads to unexpected delights.
Lunch at Green Papaya Photo by Seow Yin |
Such was the case with The Green Papaya.
Seow Yin and I had opted to start going through our “must see” checklist the minute we landed, so after chucking our bags at our bed & breakfast, we were off. It wasn’t until a bus-ride, a dozen camera-clicks, and a long bout of walking later that we realized it was close to 3pm. More than past time for lunch, and boy, were we hungry!
We ducked into The Green Papaya, the first place we spotted that vaguely appeared to be open. We couldn’t really tell if the Vietnamese restaurant was still serving, to tell the truth. Its empty tables and dark interior—shaded from the bright sun by tinted windows and elegant screen dividers—seemed to indicate that it was break-time, that little space in which the staff could take a breather between the rush of lunch and dinner. I half-expected to be told that they were closed, or to face a server who’d keep glancing at her watch to see how long we’d stay.
Instead, we got terrific service, and amazing food. I had the vegetarian spring rice noodles with eggrolls, while Seow Yin ordered the ginger tofu. The generous servings arrived on bright blue plates, each morsel in its rightful place. While presentation doesn’t make poor food any better, it certainly adds to an already excellent meal. I’ve always had a penchant for rice noodles, but not everybody can pull off a crunchy, flavorful eggroll, and The Green Papaya certainly did.
Our energy restored by the filling meal and our bodies refreshed by the chilled fruit juices, we were soon off on our way. It was the merest of chances that we happened to stumble upon The Green Papaya, let alone deciding to go ahead and try it, but I’m certainly glad we did. If you’re looking for tasty Asian cuisine, this Vietnamese restaurant should definitely make your own “must see” checklist.