One of the only activities I planned ahead of time for our European Adventure was a food walk in Ljubljana, Slovenia with Ljubljananjam. Brett and I love to try new foods and get a sense of new places by sampling local cuisines, so I felt that a food walk would be a perfect way to get acquainted with Ljubljana! Ljubljananjam offers a variety of different food walks, from "Ljubljana Essentials" to a craft beer tour to tours focusing on coffee and cakes. To set up the reservation, I got in touch with Iva, the owner of Ljubljananjam. She was very easy to communicate with and very helpful in figuring out our preferences via email. We let her know that we were interested in a "Ljubljana Essentials" tour and would need gluten-free food because Brett was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease. It was great to hear that a gluten free tour would be no problem. We met Iva by the Tourist Information Center in the center of Ljubljana, an easy walk from our Airbnb, though we initially went to the wrong Tourist Information Center. Luckily, she waited for us even though we were a few minutes late. Iva was friendly, knowledgable, and eager to share about Slovenia's food, culture, and history. Iva, Brett, and I spent the next three hours walking through the streets of Ljubljana, trying a wide variety of foods and learning more about this place. We started in Ljubljana's central market, which is set up almost every day and offers stands filled with produce, cheese, plants, and meats. Personally, I love markets, so I had fun perusing the various offerings as we made our way through the market. Iva had some specific stands for us to sample, including a stand that made goat and sheep cheeses and a meat stand where we tried bear sausage! Yes, it is made with real bear meat mixed with pork! From the market, we sat down at a small shop to eat bowls of vegetable soup before heading to a restaurant where we shared sea bream with lemony potato puree and chicken fillet with buckwheat and pumpkin seed oil sauce. Iva warned us ahead of time that we should expect the fish to be served whole, and, sure enough, on the plate was the entire fish, bones and eyes and all. She was nice enough to de-bone most of the fish for us. We learned that pumpkin seed oil is a common ingredient in Slovenian cuisine. Armed with that knowledge, we headed out of the restaurant to sample some pumpkin seed oil. Next, we stopped in a shop that sold a variety of Slovenian products, including pumpkin seed oil and Slovenian liquor. We were able to taste pumpkin seed oil made from raw and roasted pumpkin seeds. I liked the unique flavor of the pumpkin seed oil and ended up choosing it as salad dressing for other meals in Ljubljana. We also sampled some flavors of Slovenian liquor, which came in flavors like honey, sour cherry, and blueberry. Our next stop was at one of the cafes along the river to drink Slovenian wine. Iva picked a Lisjak Sauvignon Blanc for us, which was quite good. Google tells me that Boris Lisjak is a Slovenian winery in western Slovenia, only 16 km from Trieste, Italy. Brett and I typically choose red wines more often than whites, but we both really liked Iva's pick for us. It was highly enjoyable to drink our wine at a table outside, surrounded by the beautiful buildings of Ljubljana's Old Town with the river in the background. We actually went back to this same cafe the following day to relax with another glass of wine in the sunshine. Following the wine stop, we got gelato! After sampling a few different flavors, I ultimately chose a combination of lemon-ricotta gelato and a flavor with pumpkin seed oil, one scoop of each flavor in my cup. The food tour finished with coffee and espresso. Because Brett loves coffee, Iva and the guy in the shop showed him how to make espresso using the machine, which he had never done before. We chatted for awhile with the guy working in the cafe and found out that he is in a band called Koala Voice, just back from a tour around Europe. Throughout the tour, Iva gave us a number of recommendations for food and drink in Ljubljana and marked them on our map. We appreciated hearing where to go from someone familiar with the food and drink scene in Ljubljana, rather than wandering around by ourselves and guessing which shops were good. Our favorite recommendation from Iva was Moderna, a cafe in the Museum of Modern Art. They roast their own coffee beans and were the only shop in Ljubljana that served pour over coffee (or filter coffee, as they generally called it in Europe). Overall, I highly recommend Ljubljananjam Food Walks! Iva really personalizes the tour for each group and provides a wonderful experience. I didn't include the restaurant names in this post because I don't want to give away all of Iva's secret spots! The only name that I included - Moderna Cafe - wasn't actually on the tour, just a recommendation of Iva's. Brett and I felt that the food tour was easily worth the money that we paid, given the variety of foods we tried as well as the personalized service. The food walk doubled as our lunch, since the tour started at 11:00am and lasted until approximately 2:00pm. It was a fantastic introduction to the city of Ljubljana, and it was clear that Iva was happy to show off her city. I recommend doing a food walk early in your visit to Ljubljana, since it will help orient you to the city. You will also benefit from Iva's recommendations for the rest of your stay! If you are headed to Ljubljana, go to the Ljubljananjam website and find the right food walk for you!
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I have to admit - I don't love Dallas. Every time I visit, I am overwhelmed by the sprawling size and the amount of concrete interstates criss-crossing around the city.Yet, my in-laws live just outside the city, so I decided to capitalize on the opportunity to explore a bit. Recently, Brett and I spent a very pleasant day exploring various parts of Dallas. Our exploration took us from one side of the city to the other, starting with the revitalized arts district in Oak Cliff. Bishop Arts District, Oak CliffI had always heard about the dangers of Oak Cliff, but I was unaware that north Oak Cliff is undergoing a revitalization, thanks to the Bishop Arts District. The Bishop Arts District is a neighborhood with trendy boutiques, restaurants, art galleries, and shops. Brett and I sought out this area because, of course, we researched third-wave coffee shops in Dallas. This search led us to Davis Street Espresso, a trendy coffee shop with Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters onsite. Brett and I each got a pour over, and it was a high quality cup of coffee. The interior of Davis Street Espresso was in-your-face cool, with old brick walls, wood furnishings, and a large commercial roaster visible. Oh, and, the mason jar pictured above? That's one of their "to-go" cups. Davis Street Espresso doesn't use paper cups, so, if you want your coffee to-go, either bring your own mug or pay a $2 deposit for a mason jar to-go mug. Bring back the mug, get your $2 back. Somehow, the baristas messed up our order, so they actually gave us the to-go jars for free with a casual "try to reuse them" directed at us on the way out. Hipster to-go jars in hand, we meandered down the block, stopping when a shop grabbed our interest. Boy, did Joy Macarons grab our interest! French macarons are delicious AND gluten-free, meaning they are a dessert that this gluten-challenged, dairy-challenged couple can enjoy together. Joy Macarons had this adorable macaron tree decorating their shop. We sampled some seasonal flavors, including Mexican Hot Chocolate and Peppermint Creme, as well as some mainstays, like Violet and Black Currant. When we stopped in Joy Macarons, the owner, Liz, was serving customers, so we chatted with her for a bit. She truly embodied the name of the store, exuding joy as she discussed her business. Speaking of joy, these macarons were unbelievably good! I mean it. When I think back on this day of exploring Dallas, I smile longingly at the thought of our macaron snack. On the same block as Joy Macarons was Spinster Records, a record shop with shelves of new and used vinyls. Judging by the posters, the shop also hosts music events and in-store performances. We wandered in and around the shelves, stopping to ask the clerk how long the store had been there. She sighed and began with, "Oh..." in the way that makes you think that the shop has been around so long that she could barely recall its age. She continued with, "About a year and a half." Ok, not exactly a long-standing institution, but a fun stop for music lovers nonetheless. Our final stop on the block that contained Davis Street Espresso and Joy Macarons was Glass Optical. We basically went in the shop because there was a eucalyptus garland adorning the windows and it smelled SO good. Oh, and I need some new glasses. When we stepped inside, I was blown away by the interior, with it's metal ceiling, industrial walls, minimalistic furnishings, and vintage feel. Then, I noticed this neon quote on the wall - from The Great Gatsby! If you ever need to win me over, plaster a classic literary quote on the wall. I know that not everyone would want to stop in an eyewear shop, but I think this store is the perfect example of the mix of vintage and revitalization in the neighborhood. State & AllenWe had agreed to meet up with some friends for lunch and ended up choosing State & Allen Kitchen + Bar at the recommendation of another friend. It was a 70 degree December day, so the restaurant was open to the outside. I ordered The Lounge Salad, a dish with greens, tomatoes, egg, avocado, and asparagus, adding chicken to the top. Perot Museum of Nature and ScienceWhen I told my mom that we were going to the Perot Museum, she said, "That sounds....interesting..." because it sounds like a museum about Ross Perot. In fact, the Perot Museum of Nature and Science is full of hands-on science exhibits about our world past, present, and future.I always love museums like this because there is so much to learn about the world! We started at the top floor and worked our way down, beginning with Expanding Universe hall, focused on outer space. We continued through exhibits with fossils, dinosaur skeletons, gigantic gems and minerals, an earthquake simulator, engineering innovations, and cross-sections from the human body. You could spend anywhere from a couple of hours to a whole day at the Perot Museum, if you choose to take your time or expand your admission to include traveling exhibitions and/or a film. *Hint: if you are an educator from Texas or a neighboring state, you can gain free admission to the museum. SMU CampusFinally, we walked about the campus of SMU, Southern Methodist University, which I had associated with the ESPN 30 for 30 film Pony Excess. SMU has a beautiful campus. The grounds are immaculate and all of the buildings are red brick with ornate columns. None of the students were there since it was only a couple days before Christmas, but it was such a beautiful day that we wandered through the grounds and into a few buildings. After winding our way through the city, I admit that I enjoyed myself in Dallas! There were even a few things that I wanted to experience that we did not have time to do, including riding the free trolley between uptown and downtown. I love exploring cities on public transportation, I love trolleys, and I love free things! I also want to visit The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, where the JFK assassination took place. It was such a big moment in American history and something that is completely unique to the city of Dallas. Luckily, I will have more opportunities to explore Dallas when we visit Brett's family, so I can add these to my "Places to Visit" list for next time!
When heading to New York City, I asked around for recommendations from my friends. One comment on Facebook suggested a "Lower East Side Food Tour", which sounded like a lot of fun. I started looking into tour options and stumbled across Free Tours by Foot, a tour company that offers walking tours in various cities...on a pay-what-you-wish basis. Since I was on a tight budget, especially by New York City standards, Free Tours by Foot sounded like the perfect opportunity compared with tours that cost $40-$50 or more. They believe that everyone should be able to enjoy a tour for whatever price they like, even free, and guests can decide what to pay after they experience the tour rather than pay upfront. After perusing the numerous New York City options (Greenwich, Chinatown, Williamsburg...oh my!), my friend, Heidi, and I selected the Greenwich Village Food Tour. I figured that, with no upfront cost, we didn't have anything to lose by trying it out! The Tour: We selected the Greenwich Village Food Tour on Saturday at 11:00am. This was a fantastic decision for multiple reasons. First, a two-hour food tour at 11:00am can be your lunch, and, as you'll see, it ends up being a very cheap NYC lunch. Second, the neighborhood wasn't super crowded on a Saturday at 11:00am, despite it being the weekend of the Pride Parade. We figured a lot of people were still sleeping off their Friday night. Third, the food in Greenwich Village is awesome. Fourth, we got a lot of information about the history of Greenwich Village, even though it was a "food tour". Greenwich Village has a long, fascinating history, from the early farmer's fields and bodies buried under Washington Square Park to the bohemian culture that launched many musicians and writers to being the center of the LGBT movement. I appreciated that the tour guide took us to Washington Square Park and pointed out landmarks like Cafe Wha?, The Gaslight Cafe, and the Stonewall Inn. The Food: Our tour consisted of 6 stops, including many classic NYC foods. Free Tours by Foot has great relationships with these establishments, so they have "tasting options" at each restaurant. For example, you could go in and order your own slice of pizza for $3.50, or you could have 1/4 slice for $1 with the "tasting option". Even though it's only a 1/4 slice, New York slices are huge and, when tasting food at 5 or 6 stops, you will be full by the end. Here were our stops:
Food allergies and Preferences:
The Cost: If you do the math, you'll see that one of each sample item on the tour adds up to $5.50, plus whatever you decide to get for dessert at Sugar & Plumm. Our dessert cost was $5 each because we each indulged in two macarons. It was really hard to stop at just one, but, if you have more restraint, it could be even cheaper. You could choose to spend more if you buy double of something. There is no upfront cost for the tour, but, of course, the tour guides always appreciate tips. They say that you can decide what the tour is worth or pay what you can afford. Our guide was personable, very helpful, and offered free maps for us at the end. She definitely got a tip from each of us at the end of the tour. Heidi sampled everything and had 2 macarons, bringing her cost to $10.50 plus a tip for the guide. I couldn't sample everything (see the Food Allergies section), so my cost was a bit less. I spent $1 on falafel, $3 on corn from a street stand we passed, and $5 on macarons, bringing my total cost to $9 plus tour guide tip. For an awesome activity and lunch, we felt that was pretty affordable. In New York, you can easily spend much more on a meal. Even our cheap lunches in the city cost about the same without the fun tour. Recommendation: Highly recommended for a fun, low cost activity! We got to spend two hours in Greenwich Village, sample a variety of restaurants, meet some other people, and hear the history of the area. Our tour was great, and I appreciated that I could still enjoy a food tour, even on a tight budget. I would not have been able to afford a $50 food tour at this point in my life. They have a variety of tours, some involving food, some involving bikes, and some that just explore certain neighborhoods. Check them out in New York, London, Chicago, Washington DC, Paris, New Orleans, Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston, San Francisco, or Berlin! http://www.freetoursbyfoot.com/
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AuthorMy name is Alyssa Good and I have a passion for travel, adventure, culture, and new experiences! I focus on budget friendly travel, trip planning resources, and seeking out new experiences. Archives
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