Odense

Today I leave the Jutland peninsula, the continental portion of Denmark and head to the island of Funen, or in Danish, Fyn. There was potential that Rachel would meet me in Aarhus, but ultimately decided we’d rendezvous in the middle. Our live locations this morning and a visual of the plan:



After transferring trains in Fredericia, we crossed the Old Little Belt Bridge - here’s a photo including the New Little Belt Bridge in the distance which only handles cars:



We decided on Odense as the family has never been, but also was curious on the town. It’s the hometown of Hans Christian Andersen, most famous for his fairy tales such as “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “The Little Match Girl”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “Thumbelina”, and of course, “The Little Mermaid”.

After finding parking in the underground city garage, we explored the Hans Christian Anderson House where I learned about his life and read more about his stories. Here’s Rachel turning into a beautiful swan - the displays and exhibits were lovely:



He also had a hobby of making cutouts and here’s one on display:



Here’s the memorial hall where we left messages on the tree:



The museum is attached to his birth home which we perused and admission includes his nearby childhood home which we decided to skip.

We decided on sushi for lunch and enjoyed the lunch price fixe at Koi Sushi which had tempura, dumplings, tuna tataki, and of course, sushi.

Our plan was to visit nearby Egeskov Castle, considered the most preserved Renaissance water castle in Europe. However as our lunch was leisurely, and we were tired from sitting in the sun, we decided to head home.

The new home, just north of Copenhagen, is totally adorable and I got to see the dogs and meet the new bird pets. We enjoyed wine from a bag and played a card game that I brought the family.

We played with the idea of heading into the city, but decided to relax and eat tofu curry and rice and catch up. My health app alerted me my behavior had changed with the reduction of steps, but I enjoyed the day reconnecting with the family and looked forward to the rest of the weekend!

Sicily

On our last day in Malta, we enjoyed the hotel’s breakfast one last time. The Courtyard Marriott was definitely nicer than expected - we didn’t take advantage of the multiple pools or spa, as many seemed to walk around in their spa robes. But it was a pleasant stay and if I ever come back to Malta, I would maybe explore another part of the island but not because I didn’t enjoy the Sliema hotel.

The island had such an interesting and varying landscape and history. I learned as I was leaving there’s even a Popeye’s Village where the real movie set with Robin Williams was turned into a tourist attraction. I found it funny since my company owns the rights to Popeye.

As we headed to the airport, we passed and saw more churches - the country is 98% Catholic and it was nice to experience the history with my mom. At the airport, I tracked Justin’s flight to Rome and as we waited for our flight to Catania which is on the eastern coast of Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island. Our flight from Malta to Sicily was completed within Justin’s 1.5 hour layover! 

We were able to successfully rendezvous in Catania despite a slight difficulty in finding the Avis rental car office. My mom and I were able to find it and sent Justin photos, so he could meet us there quickly. We had a really nice attendant and we were assigned a Ford Kluga crossover SUV hybrid. I drove initially as Justin was beat from his two flights. Driving generally was okay, but there were definitely some speeders who felt very comfortable tailgating me. On our drive, we passed by Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe (it’s 2.5 times bigger than Mount Vesuvius), but it was pretty cloudy:



The drive to Taormina was about an hour and at one point, there were hairpin turns and very narrow streets. My mom doesn’t love this and it reminded her of when we were in the Pyrenees but she said, “it was empty on those roads and with no Italian drivers and motorbikes!” Justin was helpful in looking out, but sometimes he would get distracted as we were catching up and his response to me was, “just keep going, there’s nowhere else to go!” Oh brothers….A map of part of the route:



We arrived safely at Hotel Metropole Taormina. Taormina is perched on a cliff and accessible via roads or aerial trams and has been a popular vacation destination for decades. It has gotten more popular with cruises and the second season of the White Lotus. Our hotel room is two stories and has a king on the first floor and twin on the second with balcony views of the Ionian Sea:

Justin wanted to nap, but after settling in, my mom and I headed out. The weather tomorrow is all day rain, so we wanted to see what we can. We stopped in Piazza IX Aprile, Taormina's main square:



I had my mom point out our hotel:



And to the left is the Four Seasons, known for White Lotus:



As we walked down the main street, there was plenty of luxury shopping, but you could also admire the cute steps and alleys:







We walked about 10 minutes to the Greek Theater which is the second largest of its kind and notable, because its walls are very well preserved especially behind the seats. They hold concerts there still and was in the White Lotus. When we visited, they were apparently setting up for a private event, so there were lots of Italian construction workers:













There were also awesome views:









After the theater, I treated us to a granita or Italian slushy mixed with orange, lemon, and tangerine:



Then walked to one end of the old town signified by the arch:



We returned to the hotel and before heading out to dinner and while Justin got ready, my mom and I went down to the terrace for drinks which included snacks - we ordered a Bellini and Taormina Mule. You could also see the road below us where we drove in and left our car for the valet and the Ionian sea:







Justin finally joined us and if we had known he was coming down this quickly, we would have saved him some snacks!







For dinner, our hotel made reservations for us at Raya which we’re pretty sure is under the same ownership - but it was delicious and only 200 meters away. We had pasta alla Norma (which reminds us of our favorite Sicilian restaurant in NY called Norma’s), risotto with oysters and citrus, linguini with octopus, and cannolis:



To walk off dinner, we headed to the opposite arch that marks the beginning of old town…





Walked by the cathedral and square:





And took in more cute alleys and steps:





I declared it a successful Sicilian day as we had accomplished our rendezvous and in preparation for the rainy day tomorrow, tried to enjoy what we could of Taormina!

Return to Mexico

Last year I went to Mexico for the first time when I visited Mexico City over President’s Day weekend. And this year in honor of Martin Luther King Jr day and weekend, Mama Kim and I came to Cancun for the first time! It’s a bit surprising that I’ve never been, but there’s always a first time for everything!

So with the benefit of a 2-for-1 companion ticket from Delta, I decided I needed a resort vacation at least once a year. So my mom and I rendezvous-ed at LaGuardia airport and transferred in Atlanta. I also managed to run into old colleagues in the lounge and on the plane - I guess it’s a busy travel day!

My college roommate, Anne arrived from San Francisco after us and we had another rendezvous at the hotel! Anne and I had traveled to Mexico City together last year, so we visit the country again together!

Upon arriving in Cancun, there were hundreds waiting to go through immigration and as a US citizen, we went through e-gates. We snaked through a line that took about 40 minutes, while Anne breezed through.

We met our separate Suntransfer drivers as we arrived about 2 hours apart, and arrived at the Waldorf Astoria where we are spending two nights before heading to Tulum. The view from the hotel balcony:



Our welcome drink…



In the lobby….



We made it to our room which has an ocean view with a soaking tub:







For dinner, we headed downstairs to Chaya with the lovely Victor who was an attentive server. He also obliged my mom in using her Google translate app - my mom recently learned how to use and was practicing Korean to Spanish. Our dinner included pappardelle with shrimp, crab risotto, and mango ceviche:



We headed back to our rooms and as the purpose of the trip is for some rest and relaxation, my mom and I ended with face masks before bedtime while listening to the waves!

Fourth Continent of the Year

Today was a hectic day working from home. Due to my mind being elsewhere and with AirPods in, I managed to not realize the E train was running on the F line. I had to hop out in Jamaica and get an Uber for 10 minutes to JFK.

But I made it into the Delta Lounge and my first row Comfort Plus seat, so oodles of legroom for my flight to Prague!

Last year, Mikey and William told me they were going on a grand adventure for several months in Europe. They shared their Wanderlog itinerary and said, “what parts do you want to join for?”

With 2 two week vacations within the first 4 months of the year, I could not swing a big trip. But I saw they planned to be in Prague for Memorial Day weekend, and my jet-setting “fear of missing out” self decided to make it a long weekend. I really wanted to join for the Poland leg, but I would need more time.

So I’m on to my fourth continent of the year as I was in Africa (South Africa) in January, Mexico in February (which kind of counts), Asia (Japan & Korea) in April, and now Europe (Czech Republic) in May!

But after this I’m done for awhile and look forward to relaxing back in the states and during the summer.

This rendezvous in Prague will bring back the awesome foursome as Rachel joins on Friday from Denmark. Some throwback photos from Copenhagen in 2022:





And then from Mikey and William’s epic wedding in DC in 2011! (Papa Kim even thought the wedding photos were the most beautiful he’s ever seen!)



So I can’t wait to see this crew and relax with more giggles, sarcasm, and celebrate decades of friendship…