The Carolinas: a Short and Sweet Trip

A week ago Monday, Ed and I set off on one of our car trips; this time heading east to the Appalachian towns of Greenville, SC and Asheville, NC. As with each of our trips, we take our time, often choosing back roads or going out of the way to find a good cup of coffee/scone or BBQ sandwich. This trip was short and sweet — only five days — but jam packed with all the things we love to do.

We chose Greenville because we stopped there one night on our way home from a trip down south and were smitten by its vibrant downtown. We wanted to see if our first impression would hold up. It did! 

We stayed at the downtown Westin Poinsett Hotel, a beautiful old hotel located next to the best bookstore ever and just down the street from the Yee-Haw Brewing Company. Dinner the first night was at Sassafras Southern Bistro.

We spent the next day exploring downtown Greenville, starting with a latte and pear galette at Coffee Coffee, a coffee shop by day, a dim-sum restaurant by night. Afterwards, we took in the Upcountry History Museum, a small museum that examines the long history of South Carolina's upstate counties.

Then we headed to West Greenville to check out the Six & Twenty Distillery where Ed purchased two bottles of their specialty whiskeys. We lunched on the patio of Persimmon on Main, a Persian spot; for dinner, we chose Restaurante Bergamo, which features northern Italian food and drink. Both good choices. 

The next morning it was on to Asheville, via the old road, looking to buy some boiled peanuts along the way. That night, we had a reservation at Cúrate, a spanish tapas bar and one where we had dined six years ago on another trip to Asheville. The menu was extensive and every item sounded delicious. As much as I love studying menus to come up with a hopefully brilliant dinner, it was just too hard. So we asked our server to bring us his recommendations. He did, and from the first course of pan de tomate with anchovies, to the last of basque cheesecake with a glass Pacharian liquor, our dinner was exquisite. 

On Thursday, we spent the entire day exploring the North Carolina Arboretum and the Asheville Botanical Gardens. We happily wandered though the gardens, trails and forests. I have an app on my phone called “Picture This” which does an incredible job of identifying plants based on a snapped photo. It got a great workout on our explorations. 

When we told our kids of our travel plans, Mary sent me a link to a restaurant she had on her radar in Asheville: Neng Jr’s. As described in a Bon Appetit article, “Chef-owner Silver Iocovozzi has created a restaurant where Filipinx flavors meet North Carolina traditions.”  The very week that Mary told me about the restaurant, it was named as one of the top 2023 restaurants by the New York Times. 

Of course, reservations at the 20-seat spot were impossible to come by, but the reservation page noted that one could call for a last-minute walk-in spot should someone cancel. It was a long shot, but I called that morning and left a message asking if any spots were available. Sure enough, that afternoon I got a call saying they had had a cancellation and a table for two was ours at 7 p.m. It was our great fortune as the night was one of the most joyous and memorable meals we have ever had. 

We took an Uber to the restaurant and were dropped off at the restaurant’s Haywood Street address. We had been told to walk down a nearby alley, past a large mural and enter the restaurant via a back door, and then up a dark staircase.

We were warmly greeted by Cherry, husband to Silver, and shown to our tiny table in a tiny room. It was one of the strangest and most intimate restaurants I’ve been in, with only with four tables and a dozen seats at the bar which overlooked the open kitchen. Even from our table, we could observe Silver smiling, dancing and cooking up dishes, assisted by the bartender, one server and one dishwasher. 

The menu was limited but our server did a wonderful job of explaining each item. We ordered. I wish I had taken a photo of the menu because I can’t recall the names of the dishes we ordered. The names might be forgotten, but the tastes were not! One course was a pickled shrimp dish served with steamed rice served in a bamboo segment, another a grilled eggplant and our main course was a beef cheeks stew.

For dessert, we shared a scoop of cheddar cheese ice-cream. Yes, you read me right: Cheddar Cheese. All strange. All delicious. I would go back in a heart-beat and would encourage any who are adventurous diners to plan ahead and make a reservation.

With memories of that glorious meal, we headed home the next morning, pulling into our drive 850 miles later. What fun it was. 

The Maine Thing

The main thing about our Maine thing was the chance to be together for a whole week. 

On July 1, we gathered at the ferry in Rockland: Jack and Kasia coming from Berlin by way of Boston; Mary, Brian, Saltie and Rita driving from Brooklyn, by way of picking up Jack and Kasia in Boston; Maggie, Nate, Hazel and Norbert, Ed and me flying from Louisville to Portland and then driving north to the ferry. Our final destination: Vinalhaven, a quiet island off the coast of Maine. No one has ever accused us of planning easy-to-reach vacation destinations! 

But, we all made it — and what a joyous week it was. One big, rustic farmhouse;  a barn with bunk beds, a swing hung from the rafters and a ping-pong table; acres and acres of fields and woods and a tranquil cove. It was our kind of place. 

For all but two meals, we cooked at home, gathering around a long farm table or outside on a picnic table. Seamlessly, the kids volunteered to grill brats and burgers, flip pancakes, make a run into town for live lobsters, cook up skillets of Polish schnitzel, and pasta carbonara. We all agreed that we ate better that week than anyone else on the island. 

Our time was filled with solving a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, collecting shoreline shells and other treasures, picking wild blueberries, celebrating my birthday, reading aloud from “Charlotte’s Web”, watching birds, improving our foraging skills, cheering for 4th-of-July-parade floats, riding bikes, and swimming in the cool, clear waters of abandoned quarries. 

As a mom, nothing pleases me more than to see my grown children and their significant others enjoy each others’ company and to watch Hazel and Norbert relish the attention they receive from their aunts and uncles. 

Not entirely sure how much the rest of the gang enjoyed the trip, but plans were overheard for a reprisal next year. Hope so. 

I leave you with some (okay, lots of) photos….

Saved the best picture for last. Hazel and Norbert appeared in “Big Cousin” shirts to announce the news that a little cousin would be joining the family in January. Mary and Brian are expecting a baby girl — and we all are beyond excited. The more the merrier -- that's the main thing! 

Norway: A Happy Place, Ja

Year after year, the five Nordic nations never fail to make up half of the “Top Ten Happiest Countries.” And, if our recent sojourn to Norway is any indication, it is easy to see why. The landscapes are spectacular; the food is delicious; the people are kind and accommodating. The only thing that could possible make it better would be the opportunity to travel with one of our grown children. Ed and I hit the jackpot! Jack joined us for the week. 

We started our trip in Oslo, Norway’s capital city known for its Viking heritage, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, and traditional hand-knitted sweaters. We arrived just as the lilacs, tulips and horse chestnuts were in full bloom on every street corner. 

Our hotel graciously provided an early check-in (much needed after a transatlantic all-night flight) along with a series of amazing breakfasts and late-night aquavits. We spent our days exploring world-class museums and our nights strolling the Aker Brygge harbour and dining in seafood-centric restaurants. For the three days we were there, the sun shone, nearly 20 hours a day. 

From Oslo, we traveled by two trains over the Dovre mountains to the charming port city of Ålesund.

A cold rain didn’t keep us from finding a warm wine bar. The next morning, we boarded a ferry for a three-hour cruise (each way) to Geiranger Village. The sun poked in and out all day, accompanied by a nippy wind. 

We simply bundled up and wore our sunscreen and sunglasses. As we made our way through the fjords, views of snow-capped mountains and sparkling waterfall were breathtaking. Upon landing in Geiranger, we bussed to the visitors' center and then hiked our way down the mountain, following a waterfall. 

Back in port, our challenge that night was finding a way to stay up to catch a late-night ship to Bergen, Norway’s second largest city. 

Thanks to a beautiful sushi supper, we managed to stay up until we boarded the ship a little after midnight (still light in the sky). We slept soundly in our port-side cabins, sailing all night to “the capital of the fjords”.

Cold rain kept us from exploring much of Bergen’s colorful harbor and 900-year-old wharf. Fortunately, we were welcomed into a lovely restaurant in the fish market where we had a late lunch of mussels and fish soup, one of my favorite meals of the entire trip.

An early-morning train the next morning took us to Gudvangen, were we boarded a small electrical powered ship to Flåm. We cruised through Nærøyfjord, the narrowest fjord in all of Europe. Flåm, a small village of 400 inhabitants, was not short on hospitality. Once a big cruise ship departed, we had the town to ourselves and had a memorable meal at the Ægir Bryggeri, the local craft brewery serving up amazing food. 

From there, it was two more spectacular train rides to bring us back over the mountains to Oslo, for one final night, punctuated by an Eritrean dinner and one last Norwegian breakfast. Then it was time to head home to Farm Dover and for Jack to return to Berlin. 

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A couple of observations/facts:

All told, we rode four planes, seven trains, three buses, five boats, one tram, and three cabs. We walked more than 112,500 steps.

Norway’s public transportation was clean, fast, reliable and comfortable. It was easy to navigate and most seats included an electrical outlet for charging your phone. Oh, how I wish there was a train from Shelby County to Hazel and Norbert in New Albany!

We booked our independent travel trip through Nordic Visitors, who reserved all our hotels and transportation, making the logistics easy. 

Perfect English is spoken everywhere, but it was nice to hear Norwegians speak their native language; it sounds so relaxed, clear and melodic. 

Ed withdrew $500 in kroner from an ATM in Oslo before finding out that most places only take digital forms of payment. I got really good at tapping for payments! 

The other breath-taking Norwegian experience is the cost of things. Plan on paying at least $12 a beer. I’m not complaining, just come with a high limit on your credit card (see item above). 

Oslo Highlights

Hotel Bristol

Historical Museum

National Museum

Norsk Folkemuseum

Maritime Museum

Arts Restaurant

Lorry Restaurant

Lofoten Restaurant

Mesob restaurant

Ålesund highlights

Quality Hotel Waterfront

Apotekergata No. 5 Restaurant

Cinque Minuti Pizza

Zuuma Sushi and Grill

Bergen highlights

Clarion Hotel 

Fjellskål Seafood Restaurant

Bryggeloftet & Stuene Restaurant

Flåm highlights

Fretheim Hotel 

Ægir Microbrewery