A quick post on some exciting food destinations we found and tried off the Strip in Las Vegas. Don't let these strip malls scare you away. Off strip, in strip malls doesn't mean chains and blandness. We found some real great breakfast, lunch, and dinner places.  Ichiza's Partial Menu Here goes... Breakfast - German Bread Bakery Yes, found another one, and while this one is not in as cool a location as our find in Tehachapi ( read more here ). This bakery has the classic rolls (brötchen) and lots of other goodies. If you go for the brötchen, consider stopping by Smith's and get some jam or any other things you like on bread. Makes for a classic German breakfast.  Smith's does have a Starbucks, so if you want to do your picnic breakfast, stop by there. It is in the same complex.  Note, there are two locations, the other location is south of the airport, in Paradise. Breakfast option II - Sambalatte This place is wonderful, it is a very cool coffeeshop. Check out the u...

One of the exciting things of traveling through Europe is that you can visit three countries easily in a few days. You'll see big similarities and subtle differences. Oh and in this case, you'll need two currencies. And, to be safe, bring a passport to at least one of them. Travel like Just Been There Five days in Southwest Germany, with a bit of France and some Switzerland can look like this: Day 1 - Arrive in the Freiburg / Black Forest area Day 2 - France, Colmar day trip  Day 3 - Titi See and Freiburg Day 4 - Switzerland, Schaffhausen - Basel loop Day 5 - Pack up or extend (more later) Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Locks on the Canal (Colmar) All art copyright by: Christine Ong-Dijcks  Where to ...

If you have been to NAIA, you will likely have figured out a lot of the following. If not, have a read, it might save you all some gray hair, frustration, and most importantly, some missed flights... Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store and browse the site for more. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Perched - Christine Ong-Dijcks All art copyright by:  Christine Ong-Dijcks Arriving at NAIA Your arrival will not differ much from any other airport. Depending on where you fly in from, you will see a big difference in the terminal appearance and style. Many of the major Asian airlines - for those coming from or connecting through Japan, Taiwan, Korea, etc seem to end up in Terminal 1. This is the oldest terminal and while the main departure hall looks ...

Amazing places to stop for food, bathroom, or other necessary things. If you find yourself driving around the Western United States, take a look at these places to take a break, have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or just stop to go to the bathroom and stretch your legs. We've been to all of these, and some are now a tradition if we drive by or are somewhat close. Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store and browse the site for more. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Light at the End All art copyright by:  Christine Ong-Dijcks Part II: California, Arizona, New Mexico (CA-58, I-15, I-40, CA-62 and more) Kohnen's Country Bakery This is hands down the best breakfast, bakery, pastry place west of Bakersfield... Anyone driving from California to Arizo...

Amazing places to stop for food, bathroom, or other necessary things. If you find yourself driving around the Western United States, take a look at these places to take a break, have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Or just stop to go to the bathroom and stretch your legs. We've been to all of these, and some are now a tradition if we drive by or are somewhat close. Just Been There Art Look at or buy art inspired by this trip. If you like this trip, but can't go, or you too have just been there, this unique art may rekindle fond memories of your own trip. Click the image for a link to the online store and browse the site for more. Note: you will be leaving this site and connect to the artists site. Carpe Diem All art copyright by:  Christine Ong-Dijcks Part I: Western California (101, I-5, I-80, I-205 and more) La Plaza Bakery Driving south or north on 101, just south of Salinas is the town of Gonzales. Here you'll find La Plaza Bakery (one of a few locations in the Salinas ar...

Ok, we did start by flying from Amsterdam to Lisbon. So technically we did not just do it by train, metro, tram and foot. The flight has a definite impact on our environment (a CO2 amount of 0.677t). Visit  MyClimate  to calculate and understand your travel impact, and choose an offset. Since our trip to Portugal was mainly in two major cities, we learned that you don't want a car. Combined with trying to not pollute even more, train, metro, tram and our feet became our designated modes of transport. This post focuses on how we did travel by public transport, intermingled with sights and other tips. Travel like Just Been There Two weeks in Portugal can look like this: Day 1 - Travel Day, train to Schiphol (AMS), flight to Lisbon, Metro, High-Speed to Porto, Metro Day 2 through 5 - Porto Day 6 - Travel to Lisbon by Intercity train and metro (+ some feet) Day 7 through 8 - Lisbon part I Day 9 through 13 - Train to Estoril, Cintra, and Beaches  Day 13 through 15 - Lisbon ...

Well, it has been a while... and lets face it, while we are pretending normal has returned, we are still not back to actual normal. Although, we are gearing up for a first flight in about 3 years... What a difference a virus makes. Here are some of our travels including tips, sights and other fun things. Lasson National Park - Volcanoes!! This really was one of our first trips after a full year of Covid-19. We decided to visit an old favorite and then some. Our trip to Lassen started in mid June, and to our surprise, some of the trails like Bumpass Hell were just about open. There was still quite a bit of snow on the paths and ground. So check ahead and don't miss out on these.  We stayed at Drakesbad Guest Ranch, which is in the south side of the park. Drakesbad is special to us and many people... check it out . We are just keeping our fingers crossed that it survived the wild fires that hit the area the same year we were there. A drink at Drakesbad If you stay at Drakesbad you ar...