An overnight trip to the wild west town of Wickenburg, Arizona: Antique shops, gorgeous desert landscapes, saguaros, a ghost town, and a little western style nightlife

Once upon a time, when Rachel and I were 19 year old college kids at home for the summer in an island in the Pacific Northwest, we became friends. We had an epic summer together. She taught me how to change my spark plugs (I don’t remember how), we watched sunsets and went to parties, inspired each other’s art, obsessed over the art novels of Erika Lopez, and made up cowgirl alter-egos for ourselves. I was Chili Pepper Jones and she was Lola “One-Shot” Marie.

We’ve been in and out of touch over the last couple decades, as we never ended up living in the same city again. We recently reconnected when a mutual friend that we spent that epic summer with passed away, and decided that we needed to reconnect and have an adventure together.

Rachel and her husband are now snowbirds, and spend their winters in Arizona. We decided to meet up in Phoenix and have a wild west adventure in the town of Wickenburg, Arizona before visiting my Mom in Lake Havasu.

Day 1: Exploring Wickenburg town and adventures in the saguaros

Wickenburg is only about an hour and 15 minutes north west of Phoenix, making it an easy day trip or overnight if you are in the area. After spending the early afternoon getting coffee and vintage shopping in the Melrose neighborhood of Phoenix, we put on our cowgirl hats and lipstick and drove off into the desert.

On the way there, we were hungry so stopped for lunch off highway 74 at Wild Horse West, mostly because it was conveniently on the way, and because the name of the place felt on brand with our adventure.

Wild Horse West is the type of place with a taxidermy buffalo head over the bar, a “NO GUNS” sign on the front door, and red and white checkered tablecloths on the picnic table style tables. It appeared that their signature dish was burgers, only beef burgers, all beef, all the time.

I don’t eat beef and Rachel wasn’t in the mood for a burger, so we each had a dinner salad. I also had a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and Rachel had the potato soup with cheese on top. The food was served on styrofoam plates and bowls, my sandwich was grilled ham and American cheese on a hot dog bun, and Rachel’s soup had about as much cheese as soup. The ice tea was refreshing, and the salads were decent. It was sustenance. I suppose they must make good burgers. Note: Wild Horse West is cash only.

What we enjoyed most were the gorgeous saguaros next to the parking lot that made for our first little cowgirl photo op.

On to Wickenburg.

Wickenburg is very small, and very cute. We checked into the Best Western Rancho Grande, which was everything you expect a Best Western to be. The room was pretty pricey at $340 a night, I’m not sure if that’s a year round price or because of the time of year. There may have been an event going on nearby. It did have a pool and a hot breakfast included. The biggest perk, however, was that it was right in town and in walking distance to just about everything.

There are some cheaper hotels outside of town a little ways, but you would need to drive from most of them into town.

It was March, and unseasonably hot at 105 degrees. We were thankful for our cowgirl hats as we walked around town. We managed to get cat-called by a couple of guys in cowboy hats in a truck. Either that or they were making fun of us. We chose to believe the former.

The Sigler Western Museum was closed for the day, unfortunately. Even more unfortunately, their annual Cowgirl Up! art festival started the following weekend. We would have loved to see it!

The shops closed kind of early between 4:00 and 5:00, so we didn’t get to see all of them but we managed to explore a few. We liked Cowgirl Bling Bling and The Rusty Rooster. Ben’s Saddlery & Shoe Repair had an impressive selection of legit cowboy boots, if you are in the market.

Rachel found an awesome cowgirl shirt at an antique shop, so after browsing we went back to the hotel to put on our best cowgirl attire to go take photos in the desert.

There is a ghost town called Vulture City about 15 minutes out of town on Vulture Mine Road. It was closed for the day, but the road itself is a great place to see saguaros. I believe there may be some hiking trails out there too (for days when it is not 105 degrees).

I LOVE saguaro cactuses. (Cacti? I like the word cactuses better). I’ve been to Saguaro National Park near Tucson and can never get enough of these enormous, magical succulents. Did you know that it takes 100 years before they even start growing arms? If you see a tall one with a lot of arms, that cactus is ANCIENT.

It was golden hour, that time before sunset when the light is MAGICAL. Rachel had 4 wheel drive and was able to pull off onto a little dirt road up a hill. If you don’t have four wheel drive, don’t fret. There were some pull off areas along the high way that you could pull over at and (carefully) step into the landscape. Watch out for rattlesnakes and scorpions, and try not to step on or disturb any baby cactuses or shrubs.

We busted out the tripod and got a few cowgirl shots, Rachel wearing her magnificent antique shop cowgirl shirt that she had purchased about 40 minutes prior.

We took some pretty fun photos. Eventually, I accidentally learned the hard way that if you accidentally kick a barrel cactus, the spine will go through your cowboy boot and stab you in the toe (especially if your cowboy boots are from Torrid, and not legit cowboy boots). I simultaneously discovered with a dizzy spell that I had not been drinking enough water that afternoon and that was the end of our saguaro adventure. We drove back to town admiring the scenery in the air conditioning while chugging electrolyte water.

Moral of the story: Watch where you step in the desert, and drink a lot of water, especially when it’s 105 degrees.

Anyhoo….Golden hour and sunset are a great time to drive the Vulture Mine Road for fantastic saguaro scenery. Photographers, this is your moment.

There are a few restaurant options in Wickenburg that serve dinner, and most of them close at 8:00 PM, so plan your evening time accordingly. We decided on Rancho Bar 7, right around the corner from the Best Western.

Rancho Bar 7 had (you guessed it) a western theme, complete with real rodeo on TV. The salad bar was tempting, but we opted for a nachos and a chicken salad sandwich. The chicken salad was pretty good–a mayo/mustard sauce with craisins, red pepper, and candied pecans. Most of the menu was burgers, salads, and pub grub. The beer was cold, the food was decent, and we didn’t have to walk very far to get there.

I went back to go to the restroom and heard a lively country band playing. Peeking out down the hall I saw a live band and people dancing. We paid the bill at the restaurant and hopped back to the bar to watch the band.

People were sitting around in cowboy hats and western attire, looking a lot like locals having a date night. An adorable octogenarian couple in their best square dancing attire danced to every song together. It was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen.

Feeling tired from a long day in and out of the hot sun, we decided to move on to the La Cabana Saloon across the street. We felt like we couldn’t end our night without a drink at the saloon.

The saloon didn’t have a lot going on. I ordered a margarita, Rachel had prickly pear vodka and soda. The prickly pear vodka was a bit sweet and artificial tasting, so the bartender gave her some lemon wedges to even it out. My margarita was about what you would expect it to be at a saloon in the middle of the desert. Not much in the way of fresh lime juice, but it was okay.

The bartender asked for my ID but not Rachel’s, even though we are the exact same age and perimenopausal. She didn’t just not ask Rachel, she told Rachel she DIDN’T need to see her ID (!!) I said maybe it was the pigtails. The bartender said no. We gave her every opportunity to be graceful but she wasn’t going to take it.

The service was a little salty, but they did have a great old bar and a magnificent cash register.

Our energy hit the wall so we went back to the room to starfish out in our beds in PJs in the air conditioning, like ya do.

Day 2: Vulture City Ghost Town

Sunday morning, we had breakfast at the Best Western (biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, sausages, and all the standard hotel continental fare. Vulture City Ghost Town opened at 10:00 AM, and we arrived about 11:00 AM, right before a tour was starting.

It cooled down to about 99 degrees according to our weather apps on our phones, but it felt just like 105 degrees did yesterday. We opted not to join the tour and do our own tour so that we weren’t roped into a specific time program. Vulture City Ghost Town costs $18 per adult to visit, cards accepted.

Vulture City was founded in the1860s by gold prospector Henry Wickenburg. Legend has it that Henry found gold while following a flight of vultures through the desert, and the mining town was born. It became a town of approximately 5000 residents by the late 1800s until it was forced to shut down in 1942.

Investors bought the property in 2012 and restored the mine. It was sold to another investor in 2017, who restored the town. It is now a tourist destination and a wedding site. It looked like there may have been a wedding there the day prior–possibly why the Best Western room was so expensive?

Restored remnants of a pump house, an auto shop, a combination brothel and doctor’s office, a school house, a blacksmith shop, a general store, and mining operations are all available to explore.

I’m sure the tour would have provided us with lots of sordid tales of the town history, but there was only so much walking around in the blazing sun we could handle, so I’m glad we did the abbreviated exploration on our own. At one point we walked into the mortuary/church building which is now a bridal suite for bridal parties getting ready. It had its own real bathroom and the AC on full blast, so we took a pause there before making our way back to the parking lot.

If it’s not 100 degrees, you should probably try to do the tour. I’m sure it has some interesting stories.

Before we left town, we needed to eat some lunch. We stopped into the Spurs Cafe but it was packed with a wait list. We crossed the street to Bedoian’s Bakery & Bistro and it had open tables and a very cute and homey atmosphere. They have baked goods and sandwiches and soups, as well as Armenian kabobs and baklava. We shared a raspberry chipotle turkey wrap with a side of fruit and a side of tabbouleh salad and it was perfect. The older couple who owned it were charming and even had their wedding picture up on the wall (aw). I would definitely recommend this spot for breakfast and lunch, it was wonderful.

Bedoian's Bakery & Bistro, Wickenburg — Bedoian’s Bakery & Bistro, Wickenburg

On the way out, we got an iced coffee and a frozen lemonade to go. The frozen lemonade tasted homemade and I had an icy cold drink for the entire drive to Lake Havasu.

We had a fun 22 hours in Wickenburg, and I would definitely go there again. Vulture City Ghost Town was fun to see once, but if I came back I would be more interested in exploring some of the off roads and trails along the Vulture Mine Road. It would be great to spend some more time appreciating the majestic saguaros and desert nature.

Yeehaw cowgirls!

ADVENTURES IN THE UNITED STATES, Main menu

Long Beach, Washington in November

March 10, 2026 whitney Leave a comment

Thanksgiving weekend in Long Beach, Washington: The World’s Longest Beach, antiques and curiosities, oysters, a distillery, and a cranberry museum

Paddy and I wanted to get out of town for Thanksgiving, and Long Beach was one of the coastal towns in Washington we had not yet been to. A little livelier than Westport and Grayland, and less “family-fun” touristy than Ocean Shores, Long Beach was a fun choice for a winter getaway.

We love going to the Washington and Oregon coasts in the winter. The water is too cold and the currents are too strong to do any swimming regardless of the time of year, and the prices and crowds are very low in the winter season. It’s a nice time to find a cozy room with a fireplace, eat some fresh seafood, do some antiquing, and relax.

Day 1: Thanksgiving Day

Long Beach is about a 3.5 hour drive from Seattle. It’s a nice rural drive once you get off of I-5 near Olympia and start heading towards the coast.

We were traveling on Thanksgiving Day, so not a lot was open for lunch. We stopped at Haggen in Olympia to get some snacks from the deli on the way down, and made one additional stop in South Bend to see the “World’s Largest Oyster.”

World's Largest Oyster, South Bend, WA — World’s Largest Oyster, South Bend, WA

The “World’s Largest Oyster” is just an oyster sculpture, so don’t get too excited. But it was a fun little photo op. Had it not been Thanksgiving, we probably would have gotten an earlier start and had lunch at the Chester Tavern in South Bend for some oysters and a little local color.

We arrived at our little cottage in the Boardwalk Cottages around 3:00 PM. The Boardwalk Cottages are managed by the Adrift Hotel down the road. Both the hotel and cottages have a recently remodeled, hip and modern vibe. We reserved a Luxe King Suite, which had a king sized bed, fireplace, and jetted tub. There was also a little bar cart with dishes and utensils, wine glasses, coffee, tea, a wine opener, microwave, and a mini fridge. It was a good price at $200/ night, and the rates can be even lower when it’s not a holiday weekend or during mid week. The king bed was very comfortable, and we would definitely stay here again.

We loved the fireplace, however having it on too long made it kind of hot in the cottage, so we could only have it on for a little while.

There were a few restaurants in Long Beach offering a Thanksgiving dinner (or open for dinner on Thanksgiving). The two that I found were the Pickled Fish at the Adrift Hotel, and The Shelburne Pub at the Shelburne Hotel.

We opted for the Pickled Fish Thanksgiving dinner as it was just down the road. If you are coming to the coast for Thanksgiving, be sure to make your dinner reservation well in advance as options are limited.

The Pickled Fish gave an option of a soup or salad to start, a traditional turkey dinner or vegetarian dinner, and a choice of marionberry or pumpkin pie for dessert. They also had some seasonal fall cocktails on their menu which were very nice.

Pickled Fish Thanksgiving Dinner Menu, Long Beach

We both opted for the Butternut Squash Bisque, which was warm and comforting and flavorful. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner was also really well done, and the sourdough stuffing was amazing. Neither of us had celebrated Thanksgiving for a few years, so it was kind of fun to have the traditional meal again without all the cooking and cleaning.

For dessert we had one piece of each pie and shared. The pumpkin tasted like classic pumpkin (there’s not much to do with that recipe to make it anything other than what it is), and the marionberry was nice but a little sweet. I think if they halved the sugar in the berry filling it would have been perfect.

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Pickled Fish, Long Beach WA

The Pickled Fish has an ocean view, but since it was winter, all we saw was dark. I bet it is nice in the spring and summer when the sun goes down later and you can dine with a view.

After dinner we went back to our cozy cottage to enjoy a movie with wine by the fire. It was a really nice, romantic Thanksgiving.

Day 2: Exploring Long Beach and Oysterville

The day after Thanksgiving, we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day. All the shops and restaurants were back open, and we were ready to explore.

We started our day with a quick breakfast at Seaview Biscuit Company. We both had the Chicken Came First sandwich, which had scrambled egg, jack cheese, and fried chicken in one of their homemade biscuits. It was delicious, but a little heavier than we probably needed. I think if I were to go back I would get one of their smaller breakfast sandwiches without the fried chicken or biscuits and gravy. If you’re really hungry–the Chicken Came First is a tasty one though!

Next, we went to Pirate’s Keep, a mostly nautical themed antique store with a lot of fun sculptures in front of the shop. We didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without, but had fun looking through all the stuff.

Pirate's Keep, Long Beach, WA — Pirate’s Keep, Long Beach, WA

We also went to the North Coast Antique Mall, which we don’t recommend. It is huge, but has nook after cranny of stuff that you would clean out of Grandma’s house after she moved to the care home…nothing exciting. In addition, the building has multiple holes in the roof which they seem to have no interest in repairing, they just put buckets under the numerous leaks to collect the water. There was a strong black mold smell that I’m sure wasn’t healthy to breathe. Skip this spot.

When we posted on social media that we were in Long Beach, multiple friends chimed in to say that we had to check out Marsh’s Free Museum, and visit Jake The Alligator Man.

Marsh’s Free Museum is essentially a large gift shop with a lot of weird stuff to look at around the perimeter. We found “Jake the Alligator Man.” Jake is an alligator version of a Fiji Mermaid, if you are familiar with that taxidermical nonsense. Jake is one of Long Beach’s claims to fame, so you must come visit him.

Jake the Alligator Man, Marsh's Free Museum, Long Beach — Jake the Alligator Man, Marsh’s Free Museum, Long Beach

Marsh's Free Museum, Long Beach, WA — Marsh’s Free Museum, Long Beach, WA

Long Beach’s number one claim to fame, however is that it is the world’s longest beach. We went for a walk on the beach, seeing a gray whale sculpture and real skull and vertebrae along the way.

The beach really does go on for miles, 28 miles in fact. We weren’t interested in walking it, but did stroll around and take in the crashing waves and the seagulls and the sunshine. It was nice to be at the real ocean.

After a walk on the beach, we were ready to drive up north to Oysterville in search of some seafood for lunch. A 25 minute drive north up the long beach peninsula brought us to Oysterville Sea Farms, an active shellfish farm on Willapa Bay

Oysterville Sea Farms has a little cafe where you can buy some fresh seafood, as well as beer, wine, and soft drinks, and sit out on their deck by the bay.

We were still a little full from our breakfast biscuits, so we decided just to share the half seafood tower for $50, which included 6 oysters, 6 prawns, crawfish salad, smoked salmon spread, and smoked oyster spread with a box of crackers. It was chilly, but still a gorgeous day so we sat out on the deck with some beers.

One thing that we loved about the restaurant was that the deck was divided into a beer garden section (21+ only), and a general section. We could therefore sit a ways away from the families with kids and enjoy a peaceful al fresco dining experience.

The oysters were the star of the show, but we also really liked the smoked salmon spread and the crawfish salad. The smoked oyster spread was our least favorite, but it was still okay. Oysterville Sea Farms also does sandwiches made to order, chowders, and soups as well as other dishes.

After lunch we felt like relaxing a bit, so we went back to the cottage.

For dinner, we decided on a casual meal at Lost Roo. I had the Oregon bay shrimp Louie salad, and Paddy had a burger. The food wasn’t exciting enough to take photos of, but we enjoyed this spot and the service was good. They had a lot of seafood on the menu if you are in the mood for a casual seafood lunch or dinner.

We had some time left after dinner before the Adrift Distillery at the Adrift Hotel closed at 7:00 PM, so we dashed over there in hopes of getting a last tasting of their products. We found out when we arrived that a tasting was included in our room at Boardwalk Cottages–bonus!

Adrift Distillers does quite a variety of products, including whiskey, gin, vodka, aquavit, amaro, coffee liqueur, and cranberry liqueur.

We got a sample of 6 of their products per person, and the one we went home with was their spiced cranberry liqueur, which tastes like Christmas in a glass. They also serve cocktails as well, which we didn’t try. If you like cocktails, spirits, and liqueurs, definitely check this place out. Especially if you stay at the Adrift Hotel or Boardwalk Cottages, as it’s free for guests to do a tasting.

We finished our second evening by watching movies again by the fireplace in our cottage.

Day 3: The Cranberry Museum and a cannery

On our last day, we checked out of our cozy cottage and had breakfast at Benson’s By the Beach, where we had biscuits and gravy and a breakfast burrito. The crab benedict looked great but the market price of crab was through the roof so I couldn’t justify the price.

After breakfast, we drove to the Cranberry Museum which is located right in town.

The Cranberry Museum in Long Beach is free, and located on a working cranberry bog. Inside you will find a tiny museum that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about cranberry harvesting and the history of cranberry harvesting, as well as a gift shop that sells cranberry themed everything.

If you like cranberries, it’s a cute little stop. The cranberry harvest was done for the season (the harvest usually happens in the early fall), but we were still able to take a short stroll by the bog. We went to a cranberry bog in Grayland, WA in the fall years ago, and Paddy had to try a cranberry straight out of the bog. It’s not recommended. So tart. SOOO dry. Your mouth will be devoid of all moisture.

We made two more stops before we said goodbye to Long beach: A stop at Scoopers Market in town for some fudge (the peanut butter fudge was my favorite), and Sportsmen’s Cannery for some canned smoked tuna and oysters.

As far as Northwest beaches go, Washington’s beaches pale in comparison to Oregon’s. Cannon Beach is still our favorite beach and beach town, but it can be pretty expensive. Long beach is a good beach getaway without spending a fortune. There are quite a few restaurant options and little shops in town to explore, and it’s a fun budget getaway in the winter season. We would definitely come back to the Adrift Hotel and Boardwalk Cottages. We may need to come back when we run out of that spiced cranberry liqueur!

ADVENTURES IN THE UNITED STATES, Main menu

Solvang, California

February 27, 2026 whitney Leave a comment

24 hours in Solvang, California: The Danish capitol of America in the heart of SoCal wine country. Danish food and pastries, and….a Tiki bar?

Once upon a time, back in the glorious 90s, Eric and I traveled across the Atlantic to become high school exchange students in Denmark. We met on the way there and instantly connected. We lived in Denmark with host families for a year, learned to speak Danish, ate boiled potatoes every night for dinner, and drank a LOT of beer.

28 years later, we are still good friends. We live in different parts of the US, and decided that we needed to meet up and have a fun weekend together in SoCal, which was easy for us both to get to. As fate would have it, one of our favorite 90s bands was playing a 30 year anniversary tour of their second album in LA the weekend we were already planning to meet up.

We wanted to spend 3 nights in SoCal, but both of us have spent time in LA and we wanted to do something a little different. During my research for our Epic SoCal Weekend I came across Solvang, aka the Danish capitol of America.

Solvang was founded by Danish Immigrants in the early 20th century, and has since become a sort of “Danish Disneyland” in the heart of SoCal’s wine country. We weren’t sure what to expect, but we were IN. At minimum, we hoped to have some Danish food reminiscent of our exchange student days and have a good time.

We reserved a room at the New Haven Inn, a boutique hotel on the edge of town, but an easy walk to the town center.

Our room had two comfortable full sized beds, free parking, and even a little outdoor patio with a gas firepit.

When researching accommodations in Solvang, I came across a lot of expensive prices. The New Haven Inn was about $250 a night which was expensive, but a better price than some of the other options I saw. The room was very comfortable, and I would recommend this hotel.

The hotel prices, along with the wine country location, and reading that Kim Kardashian orders a $3,000.00 gingerbread house from one of the local bakeries every Christmas clued me in to this being a bit of a bougie destination.

Whatever. We were mostly here for the food.

The buildings in Solvang subscribe to the old Danish style, giving Solvang a quaint appearance. One of the focal points of the town is a large windmill building. Windmills were part of historic Denmark, but neither of us remembered seeing any while living there. I think they are mostly associated with Holland and the Netherlands.

Dutch and Bavarian kitsch kind of bleed into the “Danish” aesthetic here…we saw wooden Dutch style shoes in the gift shops. I couldn’t tell you how many times people have asked me if people in Denmark speak Dutch…so I suppose that modern Solvang might be the American interpretation of Danish culture.

Eric and I can confirm that no one in this town speaks Danish. We heard tale from the locals of one elderly bakery owner who might… but that was it. We didn’t find him. But we also didn’t try.

Wandering about town, we found a replica of the Little Mermaid statue from Copenhagen (aka the proverbial Eiffel Tower of Denmark). It was very small, but then again, so is the real one (just not this small). Hun er bare så lille!

Little Mermaid statue, Solvang, California

We also found a Hans Christian Andersen statue

Hans Christian Andersen statue, Solvang, California

And a sausage garden.

There are also numerous gift shops selling all kinds of kitschy souvenirs, a record store, a tattoo shop, and a lot of bakery options. We found a small liquor store and were hoping to find salt licorice vodka, but they just had aquavit and Gammel Dansk. We did, however, find salt licorice at The Swedish Candy Factory.

For dinner, I had compared menus for several Danish restaurants and settled on Bit O Denmark.

We started dinner with a Carlsberg and a shot of aquavit, like you do.

For an appetizer we ordered the Danish Herring platter, which came with pickled herring, curried herring, and Madiera wine herring, with Danish pumpernickel bread (rugbrød–another Danish staple we ate A LOT of during our year abroad). It was really good, I especially enjoyed the curried herring.

Danish Herring Platter, Bit O Denmark, Solvang

For entrees Eric went with the Flæskesteg, their house specialty. This is a Danish roast pork dish stuffed with prunes, served with brown sauce and applesauce.

I had the bay shrimp open faced sandwich, also served on rugbrød.

Flæskesteg entree, Bit O Denmark, Solvang

Canadian Bay Shrimp open faced sandwich, Bit O Denmark, Solvang

Everything was very well done and satisfied our desire to resurrect Danish culinary memories. I would recommend Bit O Denmark as a great dinner option in Solvang, especially if you want to see what Danish food is all about.

After dinner, we went to the High Roller Tiki Lounge. I found it odd that there was a Tiki bar in Solvang, let alone a casino/gambling themed one? However, if you follow my blog or know me at all, you will know that I never miss a chance to visit a Tiki bar.

Despite the name, you won’t find any gambling here. You will find traditional Tiki bar decor and vintage exotica music, which we enjoyed.

Unfortunately, as we soon discovered, you won’t find any actual liquor or rum here, either.

While perusing the menu, we noticed that the words rum, vodka, bourbon, etc were all in quotes. We asked the server about what that meant, and she said that they don’t have a real liquor license, and are only allowed to serve wine and beer. Therefore, all the cocktails are wine-based. They explained that a full liquor license is very expensive, and that the owners didn’t want to spend the money. I suppose they are also trying to lean into the local wine country vibe by serving (and bottling) their own wines.

Might as well give the cocktails a shot anyway. I asked what drink has the most fun presentation, and she said the Tiki bowl would be her recommendation, and that they could put any of the cocktails into a Tiki bowl. We ordered the Zombie Viking.

The presentation was fun, with light up “ice cubes,” signature swizzle sticks, and a skull. However, it was pretty sweet. The traditional Zombie cocktail packs a punch with three different kinds of rum, this one did not. It tasted more like a weird wine cooler.

We enjoyed the atmosphere and decided to do one more round, because what the hell. I can’t remember what Eric had, but I ordered the Prickly Pear Margarita.

The Prickly Pear Margarita was a swing and a miss. Very sweet, and the wine gave it a weird, sour aftertaste that really wasn’t working for me.

I have a hard time with a tiki bar that doesn’t serve actual rum, let alone any booze. Such a missed opportunity! They have the bar, the mugs, the swag, the merch….and yet no booze. They could come up with some really unique Danish aquavit based Tiki cocktails! If you are a Tiki fan or a cocktail fan, I can’t say that I recommend this place. The “high roller” gambling theme doesn’t make sense for the location either….I feel like they could have gone with the Hans Christian Andersen Little Mermaid theme….or a salty sailor Viking theme? Someone should open a competing Tiki bar in Solvang—I just gave you all the ideas. Make sure you know how to craft a fabulous cocktail with quality ingredients and serve some smørrebrød and salt licorice vodka shots on the side….and a great rum collection.

If you do want to come for the atmosphere, they do have a lot of wine and craft beer on the menu, and I would stick to those. Don’t bother with the cocktails.

Eric and I had spent the previous night up late tying one on in Hollywood, so we were a bit tired. Or maybe I was just tired. In any event, the nightlife in Solvang ends at 10:00 PM–so you might as well get some rest (or enjoy a bottle of local wine by your hotel room firepit?).

The next morning, we had breakfast at Solvang Restaurant, particularly because they have æbleskiver. This was a moment where Eric and I’s Danish cultural experiences differed, because he had never had them (!!!).

Æbleskiver at Solvang Restaurant, Solvang CA

Æbleskiver are round pancake balls, and æble means apple, although there aren’t actually apples in them. I inquired about this to my host family, and I think the answer was that they used to have apple in them but they don’t any more, but no one was able to explain why.

During my exchange year in Denmark, æbleskiver were served around Christmas time with lingonberry jam, powdered sugar, and gløgg (mulled wine with almonds and raisins). They are made kind of like Japanese takoyaki, where batter is poured into a pan with round dips in it, and the balls are turned with sticks while the batter cooks and rises until they become full, round balls. I had a lot of them at December parties and events in Denmark, although most Danish people these days have an old iron æbleskiver pan hanging in their kitchen as a decoration, and purchase a bag of frozen pre-made æbleskiver that they heat up in the oven.

Eric and I shared an order of æbleskiver and ordered entrees off of their full breakfast menu, which has a lot of standard American breakfast fare. Their lunch and dinner menu looked like it had more Danish dishes on it, and had we had another night here we probably would have come back to check that out.

Solvang Restaurant has a cute interior, and was very busy. Their booths and decor looked a little more Bavarian than Danish to me, but to most Americans I’m sure it’s all the same.

After breakfast we walked around town a bit more, picking up a souvenir postcard and shot glass, but mostly hunting through the Danish bakeries for a specific pastry Eric remembered from his exchange year. We finally found something he felt was close at Mortensen’s Danish Bakery.

We got some pastries to go, I got a slice of an almond bearclaw. The pastries I remember the most had almond paste inside (also traditional in the Danish Kringle). There is a really awesome Danish bakery in Seattle that does authentic pastries and kringles called Larsen’s. if you’re ever in Seattle and craving authentic Danish pastries, be sure to check out Larsen’s. In fact, writing this post makes me want to go get one soon.

Mortensen's Danish Bakery, Solvang — Mortensen’s Danish Bakery, Solvang

Mortensen’s was delicious and authentic. There are a lot of Danish bakery choices in Solvang, and we only tried this one so I couldn’t tell you which is the best. However, I don’t think you can really go wrong with any of them.

Solvang is a town your mom will love. It’s touristy, it’s kitschy. It’s family-friendly. I don’t think there is enough to do in the town itself to warrant spending more than one night here, but if you are doing some wine touring in the area or driving through, it’s a fun stop for some Danish food. So check it out. Bring your mom. Get a pastry. Get some æbleskiver. Drink some wine. Eat some herring. Eat a sausage.

ADVENTURES IN EUROPE, Main menu

Scotland: The Lower Highlands and Glasgow

February 24, 2026 whitney Leave a comment

The last leg of our two-week trip to Scotland: High Tea, the Glencoe Valley, and three nights exploring Glasgow

Day 1: High tea in a fancy historic manor

We began our morning checking out of our wee yurt on the Isle of Harris in the dark so that we could catch the 6:00 AM ferry back to Uig. We had a long morning of driving to the small town of Ballachulish, just west of the Glencoe Valley. Read about our time on the Isles of Harris and Lewis here.

As this was the final few days of our two-week trip around Scotland, we were starting to feel a bit travel-weary. I had anticipated this, and opted for our last two accommodations to have king sized beds and buffet breakfasts. We loved all the tiny hut and yurt accommodations we stayed at on the Isles of Skye, Lewis, and Harris, but we were ready to be done self-catering and have a little luxury.

We arrived at the Ballachulish Hotel around 12:30, and while our room was not yet ready, we had booked a 1:00 afternoon tea.

The Ballachulish hotel was built in 1877, and the staff is proud to tell you that Queen Victoria once stayed there. It is lovely, and very British.

We were the only ones who had booked afternoon tea, which was served in the front drawing room. Afternoon tea is available to be booked on their website between 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM, and costs £24.95 per person (about $33 USD). This was very reasonable considering the high tea at the Empress Hotel in Victoria BC, Canada costs $80/person USD. We had never had British afternoon tea before, and weren’t sure what to expect.

We were provided with a choice of teas and the tea food menu (set menu).

Afternoon tea at the Ballachulish Hotel, Scotland

The afternoon tea food tray exceeded our expectations by a long shot. It was so fancy! The Scotch egg was a favorite, and the tea sandwiches were also lovely. The scones with clotted cream and jam were amazing–they tasted fresh out of the oven. Chocolate dipped strawberries were served in a bowl made from spun sugar, and there were several little cakes as well as a couple tiny parfaits to eat with a spoon.

There were so many sweets, we couldn’t finish them all. The hotel provided a to-go box for us to take what we couldn’t finish with us. Overall, this was a fantastic experience and good value for the money. If you stay at the Ballachulish, don’t miss out on the afternoon tea!

Our room wasn’t quite ready yet when we finished tea, but the but the front drawing room was empty and had some nice couches for us to sit and read on while we waited.

Finally, we were able to check in and our room was wonderful. We were ready for a nap after getting up so early and driving for three and a half hours. Be advised that there is no elevator at the Ballachulish, and all the rooms are up at least one story from the main level so you will need to take stairs (and carry your luggage up stairs).

The king bed was comfy, and the room was spacious with coffee and tea available in the room. I especially appreciated that they had a fan in the closet that I was able to set up at night.

Today was mostly a rest day. We napped and read books, and then went downstairs for dinner. Paddy was tired of driving, so we opted to eat at the hotel restaurant instead of going anywhere.

Fish Restaurant did not disappoint, and more than made up for the previous night’s disappointing dinner at the Hotel Hebrides on the Isle of Harris.

We shared the charcoal sardine appetizer with gremolata dressing, which was delicious. Paddy had the Ballachulish fish pie, which came with a hollandaise sauce on top, and I had the wild mushroom ravioli. We also shared the arugula salad. Service was fantastic, and the restaurant was very busy for a Monday.

We spent the evening relaxing in our spacious room, resting up for our last day of driving to Glasgow the next day.

Day 2: The Glencoe Valley and meeting up with an old friend in Glasgow

Our morning started with a very nice buffet breakfast at The Ballachulish Hotel, and we got back on the road for our last driving day of our trip. Paddy was pretty anxious to get to Glasgow and be done driving.

From Ballachulish, we drove East through the Glencoe Valley, which was a gorgeous drive. The pictures I took couldn’t do it justice at all. We saw a lot of hiking trails and people hiking just off of the highway, so if you love hiking you might check into this spot. I’m sure when the weather is nice, the hiking here is incredible.

Not far out of Glasgow, we decided we needed to stop for a light snack or small lunch before we hit the city, and Google Maps showed a cafe off the highway. We pulled in, not knowing that it was the small touristy village of Luss on Loch Lomand. We got stuck driving through the whole village, where there was no parking, and there were hoards of tour bus tourists walking about.

We finally made it back around to the main parking area by the gas station and pulled over. I used the bathroom which was a pay bathroom (fortunately credit cards accepted). This is a pretty big tour bus stop and I would recommend avoiding it at all costs.

Paddy was getting grumpy at this point, and we opted not to wait in the long line for the food in The Village Shop by the parking area, and just get a hot dog and a chicken burger at the little cart outside. We received a microwaved chicken patty and hot dog, definitely not great but edible and did the trick of giving us the protein boost we needed to finish our journey towards Glasgow.

Finally, we reached the Arnold Clark rental location in Glasgow, dropped the car off and called an Uber to our hotel. We had an amazing two weeks touring around Scotland, but were relieved to be done driving and no longer responsible for an expensive BMW that we do not own. Arnold Clark was a great rental experience and we would definitely recommend them if you are renting a car in Scotland.

Our Motel was a quick Uber ride away in downtown Glasgow, Motel One.

Check in was a breeze, the staff were lovely, and our room was comfy with a king bed and a nice view. Small, but had everything we needed. We dropped off our bags and went to walk around the city a bit.

Glasgow is very different than Edinburgh. There are no hoards of tourists, and the buildings are old but not as much medieval architecture as Edinburgh. It’s a bigger city, with fewer big touristy attractions.

That said, we loved it. We felt right at home, and it was nice to walk around in a “locals” city with real people going about their day, shopping, going to happy hour, etc.

Buchanan Street is the main pedestrian shopping street through town, full of retail shops and shopping malls. All the side streets had lots of bars, cafes, and restaurants. George Square is the main historical square in the city center, with the City Chambers building. It was closed off for construction when we were there, but we could see a bit of the City Chambers building from afar.

After meandering for a bit, we walked by a sign advertising a great price on oysters for happy hour, and decided to go in for oysters and a pint of Guinness. The location was Atlantic Bar and Brasserie, a fancy-looking French restaurant. There was barely anyone in the restaurant, so we sat at the bar, enjoyed our happy hour oysters and Guinness, and chatted with the young bartender.

For dinner later, we met up with an old friend of mine from high school, Emma. Emma is Scottish but lived in Washington state for a while while she was in school. I hadn’t seen her in 26 years!

We knew that the UK has some fantastic Indian food, and after eating nothing but Scottish fare for our entire trip, we were ready for something different.

Emma suggested Chaakoo Bombay Cafe in the city center. It was busy, but we were able to get a cocktail at the bar while we waited for our table. Chaakoo has some lovely cocktails. Paddy had the Maharaja (chili vodka, gin, apple, lime, and aquafaba), and I had the Jaipur Martini (sloeberry gin, framboise, lime). Both were delicious.

Chaakoo does small plates family style, which was great because we were able try quite a few things. Everything was fantastic.

We really liked Chaakoo, the food and atmosphere and cocktails were all delightful. We had a great time catching up with Emma.

After dinner, we walked across downtown to the Tiki Bar & Darts Den. If you’ve followed our travels, you might have figured out that we love visiting Tiki bars around the world, and even have a home tiki bar in our basement in Seattle. Discovering that there was a Tiki bar in Glasgow, we had to go.

The decor was pretty on point with a classic Tiki bar, and the bartenders were friendly. The drinks however, were not our favorites. Paddy had a Mai Tai, which he said was alright. Emma ordered the frozen banana daiquiri, which she seemed to enjoy but said it was very sweet. Looking for something less sweet, I decided to try the Penicillin, which had a Scottish twist with a splash of Laphroaig whiskey. The Penicillin had a cough syrup aftertaste which I really didn’t enjoy–although if the goal was to make it taste medicinal, they succeeded. They do have food here, which we didn’t try. It might be worth coming back for food or if you like darts (there is an upstairs darts den and game room). Just be aware that the drinks are a bit sweet.

Emma had another local friend who had a couple American friends visiting from North Carolina that evening, and they met up with us at the Tiki bar. We all had a good time chatting until around 12:30 AM when we called it a night. I switched to a regular Old Fashioned for my second cocktail, which was better.

Day 3: Exploring Glasgow

We started our first full day in Glasgow by sleeping in, followed by a nice European continental buffet breakfast at the hotel. Motel One had a great selection of continental fare, including hard boiled eggs, meats, cheeses, hummus, tomatoes, cucumbers, breads, yogurts, pastries, etc.

We made a reservation online at a Thai massage place, only when we arrived the door was open and no one was there (weird). We found a different place and were able to schedule massages for the next day instead.

We meandered around the city center, exploring some of the shops until we were hungry for lunch.

By lunch time it was raining, and when we walked by Maki & Ramen, we decided that a nice, hot bowl of ramen was the way to go.

Maki & Ramen had a cute atmosphere, and the ramen was delicious. Paddy had the spicy Hell Ramen, and I had one with truffle, although I can’t remember the name. It was exactly what we needed on a rainy day.

We did a little more browsing after lunch. My favorite shop that we found was called Maia Gifts, located on W Nile St and Bath St. in the City Center. They had some unique and very cute gifts, cards, and souvenirs, and we did most of our souvenir shopping here. I loved their knit items such as hats, scarves, and gloves and bought some for myself and a friend. Definitely check this place out.

We also enjoyed Flying Tiger Copenhagen, a Danish chain store with all kinds of random, interesting things that are not very expensive. I remembered this store from when we were in Stockholm.

After a little shopping and exploring downtown, we decided to end the afternoon with some Scotch whiskey tasting at The Pot Still. As most of our trip was out in rural Scotland, we weren’t able to do much Scotch sampling as we were driving. However, we couldn’t leave Scotland without sampling some more Scotch whiskey!

The Pot Still in Glasgow is a great place to sample some whiskies. They offer several flight options from different regions, and the traditional Scottish pub atmosphere is cozy. It was busy for 3:00 PM in the afternoon, but we were fortunate to snag the only open table.

At The Pot Still you order at the bar, but you will need to be seated at a table if you want to do a whiskey flight. If it’s busy and all the tables are full, maybe enjoy a pint until a table opens up.

We did the tour around Scotland flight, and one other regional flight (although I can’t remember which). All in all we shared samples of about 12 different whiskies. I’m not the biggest Scotch whiskey fan, and Paddy had a good time making fun of my “whiskey face” whenever I tasted one that I didn’t like so much. I did find two that I really liked–they were all so different!

If you’re hungry (or just want to absorb all that whiskey and beer), The Pot Still serves traditional Scottish Pub fare as well.

For dinner, we decided to try Cafe Andaluz, a Spanish Tapas restaurant in the city center. We were there early enough for their pre-theater menu which was discounted.

We liked the Gambas Pil Pil (prawns with olive oil, chili, paprika, and garlic) and Gambas Rebozadas (prawns with ginger and chili glaze with arugula), and the Queso De Cabra Al Horno (grilled goat cheese with orange and chili marmalade). The Patatas Bravas were mediocre, the tomato sauce wasn’t that flavorful and the aoli was sparse. Overall, this place was okay. It wasn’t bad, but we have definitely had better tapas elsewhere.

We were a bit tired from staying out late the night before (and maybe the day drinking at The Pot Still….?), so we took it easy that evening.

Day 4: Exploring Finnieston and the most unique Irish Pub I’ve ever seen

Our last day in Scotland began with Thai Massages, and then an exploration of the Finnieston neighborhood west of downtown. The Finnieston neighborhood is a funky, artsy area not far from the University of Glasgow.

The main thing we came to explore was The Hidden Lane, a collection of local art and vintage shops down a narrow lane off of Argyle Street.

We really enjoyed the Music from Big Blue record store, as well as another tiny shop I can’t remember the name of (pictured above). There are lots of independent and artist-owned shops here, definitely check it out. There is also a little tea shop called the Hidden Lane Tea Room, but we didn’t get any tea. It looked really cute though.

Another shop that I loved was Gallus Alice, located just outside the Hidden Lane on Argyle Street. It was a really fun place for gifts, cards, retro clothing, and all the weird things you didn’t know you needed.

All that exploring made us hungry and thirsty, so we stopped in to Finnieston Fez, a really cute Moroccan themed cafe. We quenched our thirst with delicious Marrakesh Express homemade apple, ginger, and mint lemonades. We also really enjoyed their paninis–Paddy had the tuna, brie, and harissa panini, and I had the falafel and brie panini. We loved that they came with a side of olives. Finnieston Fez also serves coffees, desserts, Mediterranean snack boards, and other delights. I absolutely loved this little spot.

We did a little more last minute souvenir shopping downtown, and then decided to rest for a bit.

For our last evening in Glasgow, we went for food and drinks at an Irish Pub called Waxy O’Connor’s.

Waxy O’Connor’s isn’t just a normal Scottish Pub. It’s a labyrinth. You walk in on one level from the street, and it’s easy to get lost from there. There are multiple levels, cozy alcoves, small bars, stairways, and off-shoot rooms to get lost in. We did a full lap before deciding on a table, and then found our way back up to the main bar to order food and beers. The photos I took don’t do it justice–it really is an experience. I loved the tree branches incorporated into the design in some parts, and all the hanging lanterns.

Waxy O'Connor's, Glasgow — Waxy O’Connor’s, Glasgow

For dinner Paddy ordered the Bangers and Hash, which was large enough to feed a family of four. I had the cider battered prawns and chips, which were good, albeit a little batter heavy. At 7:00, some live music started, although there wasn’t really a stage to watch. The performer was playing in a little loft area, so we could hear them but they could only be seen from the main bar area. You might consider sharing a dish here, the portions on some of them are pretty huge.

We had a fantastic two weeks in Scotland, and would love to go back. If we do return, we would definitely go back to Glasgow and stay in the West End area to see a bit more of the trendy neighborhoods. Finnieston in particular looked like it had a lot of fun shops, bars, and restaurants.

We would also highly recommend the Ballachulish Hotel, especially the afternoon tea. It was very high quality and a very good price for what you get. The Motel One was a good mid-range option for staying right in the city center of Glasgow, and we would recommend that one as well. Read about our other adventures in Scotland here:

Edinburgh, Scotland

Aberdeenshire, The Highlands, and The Isle of Skye

Isles of Harris and Lewis

ADVENTURES IN EUROPE, Main menu

Isles of Harris and Lewis, Scotland

February 11, 2026 whitney Leave a comment

Two days on the Isles of Harris and Lewis, Scotland: Beautiful beaches and ancient stone ruins, a medieval church, a sauna, and haggis pizza

Day 1: Exploring The Isle of Harris

The third leg of our two-week trip around Scotland continued with a morning ferry ride from Uig on the Isle of Skye to Tarbert on the Isle of Harris. Read about our previous adventures on the Isle of Skye here.

We booked our ferry tickets from Uig to Tarbert months in advance, as there are often only 2-3 ferries per day and vehicle space is limited. Be sure to get your ferry ticket prior to booking your accommodation, unless you are taking public transport and walking on the ferry.

You can book ferry tickets online at https://www.calmac.co.uk/en-gb/route-information/uig-tarbert-harris/#/. Taking a car on the ferry is not cheap, it costs £81.00 round trip, plus £16.40 round trip per adult. However, having a vehicle is the best way to explore the islands, and we would highly recommend it.

If you really don’t want to drive or rent a car in Scotland, a tour company that I’ve read rave reviews about that does tours on Harris and Lewis is Rabbie’s Small Group Tours.

Paddy and I both grew up on an island in Puget Sound, so we are always drawn to islands in our travels. Getting on the Calmac ferry in Uig was very similar to the Washington State Ferry experience, however the cabin and galley were much different.

Upstairs there were areas to sit that were similar to a train or an airplane, with rows of seats. There were also lounge areas, a children’s play area, a coffee shop/gift shop, a galley, and an outdoor observation deck. It sounds like they create a double decker car deck using a lift technology, which is pretty cool.

When we pulled into the ferry, we were given a paper card that told us that we were on a lift deck and to wait for the crew to tell us when to go back down to the car deck upon arrival. The car deck was closed off to passengers throughout the hour and twenty minute journey.

We felt very fortunate that we had not booked our ferry travel two days prior during the bad storm. Stormy weather often causes boats to be cancelled or delayed, and if they do sail — bring some motion sickness medication. I did notice that they had sick bags available around the lounge area, just in case. As someone who suffers from motion sickness, this is always a concern for me. I took some Bonine (non-drowsy motion sickness tablets) before each ferry ride and I was fine. However, I appreciated the sick bags being available for worst case scenarios.

I went to the galley to order a morning roll, for which you could choose from several fillings such as bacon, tattie scones (hashbrown-type potato cakes), sausage, fried eggs, mushrooms, etc. I asked if they had cheese and caused some confusion–don’t ask for cheese on your morning roll in Scotland, apparently. Lesson learned.

Food was served on beautiful blue ceramic plates with real metal silverware, a sharp contrast to disposable fare on American ferries.

When we arrived in Tarbert, we drove straight from the ferry to Leverburgh on the south end of the Isle of Harris to find lunch. Our first choice was a place called The Bothy, but they were already closed for the season (open in summer only). The other sit-down lunch option was the Isle of Harris Brewery. The drive out was beautiful, and the weather was in our favor yet again.

Paddy had some seafood stew and I had fish and chips, served classic style with chunky chips and mushy peas and homemade tartar sauce. We didn’t try any of the beers as we were going to be driving the rest of the afternoon, and we didn’t see any bottles for sale in their shop.

After lunch, we stopped at the largest grocery store on the Isle of Harris, the Harris Community Shop to pick up beer, wine, and breakfast stuff for our stay.

Stocked up for the weekend, we continued to St Clement’s Church.

St. Clement’s Church was founded by Alasdair ‘Crotach’ MacLeod of Dunvegan and Harris, 8th chief of Clan MacLeod in the 1500s, and his tomb is still inside the church to visit. There was no one there when we went, the door and gate were open to visitors.

St. Clement's Church, Isle of Harris, Scotland — St. Clement’s Church, Isle of Harris, Scotland

St. Clement’s has been impressively restored. The tower portion of the church was not open, but there was a sign that said that they were in the process of restoring it. So maybe someday it will be open to visitors. There were several medieval tombs and carvings/headstones inside. Definitely worth a stop.

We continued back up north, completing a near a full loop around Harris back up the narrow eastern portion of the A859 road. It was single lane with lots of hills and passing pullouts (and of course, more sheep). Not a fast route, but very scenic and we enjoyed it. Just pack your patience for all the passing pullouts (and wandering sheep).

After a slow and beautiful drive north, we reconnected with the two lane road and continued west to Luskentyre Beach.

Luskentyre Beach is one of the main reasons I wanted to go to the Isle of Harris. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in Scotland, with powdery white sand and clear blue water. During the right weather and time of day, it can look like a beach in the Caribbean.

Just before arriving to the beach, we saw a tiny shed on the side of the road called the Cake Shed, and had to stop. Inside were all kinds of delicious baked goods with prices and a cash box–it is on the honor system. We were really tempted, but we already had some pastries that we bought at the Community Shop and aren’t able to eat that much sugar. I am kind of regretting not buying a lemon raspberry sponge though now that I’m looking at these photos again. Please stop here and get something if you are on the way to Luskentyre Beach. Cash only.

The beach was gorgeous. There was a parking lot and the path to the beach through the dunes was not long.

We strolled for a bit, and then left to go check into our Airbnb as it was getting to be late afternoon. Fortunately, we had one more beach excursion planned for later that evening.

When looking for accommodations on the Isle of Harris, there were a couple hotels in town, but again, we were on a budget and wanted something a bit more unique and self-catering. We found a “wee yurt” on Airbnb located in the backyard of an artist’s home and it was the perfect spot. It was adorable, comfortable, and had a fantastic view. In addition, it was only an 11 minute drive to the Tarbert ferry–essential as we would be taking the 6:00 AM ferry back on Monday morning.

Our host Stefan was very friendly but also gave us our privacy. The Yurt was equipped with a small kitchenette and cereal, coffee, tea, and milk were provided. The bed had a nice fluffy comforter. This was one of our favorite places we stayed on our trip.

We had a little time to get settled before we had to head back out again to Horgabost Beach, about a 30 minute drive from the yurt.

Horgabost Beach is similar to Luskentyre Beach but a bit smaller, and has a campground and bathrooms available.

The reason we were there in the evening, was for Saltbox Sauna, a portable sauna right on the beach. We chose the last appointment of the evening at 5:45, right around golden hour/sunset.

Saltbox Sauna, Horgabost Beach, Isle of Harris

The Saltbox Sauna at Horgabost Beach accommodates up to 4 people per session, sessions last an hour and ten minutes and cost about $28 per person. Bathing suits and towels are required, but if you are traveling and don’t have a towel, you can rent one and add it to your sauna reservation online. We opted to rent the towels as we didn’t want to use our bath towels at the Airbnb for the beach.

One of the best parts of the Horgabost Beach sauna is the view.

We had one other person in the sauna with us, a very nice Scottish woman who convinced me to do a polar plunge in the sea with her a couple times. If you don’t want to run out to the sea to cool down, there are watering cans with fresh water available outside the sauna. The attendant was very nice, and watched our clothes and belongings while we used the sauna. Don’t forget to bring bottled water with you.

We did experience some midges on the beach this evening, which was luckily the only time they were a nuisance on our trip. It wasn’t too bad though as we were in and out of the sauna frequently so we weren’t spending a lot of time sitting still outdoors. Midges are like tiny mosquitos, and have a difficult time biting if you are moving. I can imagine that they were pretty unpleasant for the campers in the campground, however.

Saltbox Sauna on the beach was a big highlight of our trip, and we would definitely recommend it–especially around sunset. Saltbox Sauna has other locations around the Isles of Harris and Lewis, so check their website to see if they have one near where you are traveling. The Horgabost Beach sauna on the Isle of Harris is only available May through September.

Relaxed and refreshed after sweating out all the impurities, we drove back into town to the Harris Hotel bar in Tarbert, to pick up some takeaway pizzas. The Harris Hotel offers takeaway pizzas Monday through Saturday from 5:00 to 8:30 PM.

I got a tuna pizza, and Paddy decided that he would be remiss to not try the haggis pizza.

Haggis Pizza, Hotel Harris, Isle of Harris

We enjoyed the pizzas and some beer and wine in the wee yurt, and read books. It was a lovely evening. As for the haggis pizza….Paddy didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t his favorite. It was a little gamey for me. It was an experience!

Day 2: Exploring the Isle of Lewis

Our second full day on the Isles of Harris and Lewis was spent exploring Lewis, the larger portion of the island. Lewis and Harris are connected by a somewhat wide isthmus of land where the town of Tarbert is located. We enjoyed breakfast in our wee yurt, and set out on the road.

Unfortunately, our second full day was a Sunday, and most things on the Isles of Lewis and Harris are closed on Sundays. However, the real beauty of these islands is all outdoors, so this didn’t hamper our sightseeing that much.

Our first stop was the Calanais Standing Stones, an hour drive north of Tarbert.

This neolithic stone circle is about 5000 years old, and pre-dates Stonehenge in England. There is no fee to visit these stones. It is hypothesized that the stones were used as a kind of astronomical observatory and ritual site.

About a 12 minute drive north of the Calanais Standing Stones is Dun Carloway Broch, the ruins of an ancient residential stone structure dating back to 200 BC. Brochs are stone structures unique to Scotland during that time period, and this one is impressively intact for being so old. There is a tiny museum with bathrooms off of the parking lot that explains how the broch was used and what it would have looked like back then. This attraction is also free to visit.

Continuing north along the west coast of Lewis, we were trying to locate ancient ruins of a church called Teampall Pheadair, but we never found it. We did find a cemetery, a cow pasture, and a really pretty overlook to Eoropie Beach.

Not far from Eoropie Beach is the Butt of Lewis, the northernmost point on the Isle of Lewis. Jokes about the name aside, it’s a nice scenic photo op stop with 19th century lighthouse.

This completed most of our sightseeing on Lewis save for one spot on the way back down the east coast of Lewis– Stornoway.

Unfortunately, since it was Sunday, most of Stornoway was closed. There were a few restaurants open, but all of the shops were closed. We had lunch at the HS-1 Cafe inside the Royal Hotel. The menu was mostly burgers and wraps, with a few Indian dishes and fish and chips. It was good, but nothing to write home about. If you are not visiting on an Sunday, there are many dining options available in Stornoway.

Stornoway Harbor was very picturesque, and the town itself looked really cute. We wished we would have been able to spend time checking out the town.

As it was though, we were tired. The Isle of Lewis is considerably larger than the Isle of Harris, and circumnavigating it all in one day and sightseeing ends up being a pretty full day.

It should be noted that back on the Isle of Harris, where we were staying, many restaurants are closed entirely on weekends. Knowing this in advance, I had pre-booked a dinner reservation at the Pierhouse Cafe and Restaurant in Tarbert, located in the Hotel Hebrides.

The Pierhouse was unfortunately the worst meal of our entire Scotland trip.

Every restaurant has new staff and “off” nights, but whatever was going on the night we were dining was WAY off. We stood at the front for about 10 minutes before a hostess finally came around, we were served the wrong dish, and the pork loin that I ordered ended up being a tough pork chop (totally different cut of meat). The food wasn’t terrible, and maybe they were just having a bad night. We didn’t complain, other than to send back the incorrect dish, but they did acknowledge their shortcomings though and discounted 10% off of our bill. That was nice. I would hate to say don’t come here–because maybe it was just an off night at the end of a busy tourist season (Paddy and I can attest to the horrors of working in tourist town restaurants). However, I probably wouldn’t come back unless that was the only option.

We spent the rest of the evening cozied up in our yurt reading books, as we had a very early morning and lot of driving ahead of us the next day.

We really loved the Isles of Lewis and Harris, and of the two I think I liked the Isle of Harris a lot more. It was much smaller, but the beaches were amazing, as all the scenery on the island. Had we had one more day on Lewis and Harris, I would have spent some time exploring the shops and having another lunch in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, and then spent some more time exploring the beaches and roads of Harris.

ADVENTURES IN EUROPE, Main menu

Edinburgh, Scotland

January 29, 2026 whitney Leave a comment

Edinburgh, Scotland: A Weekend in Edinburgh as the first part of our two-week Scotland adventure: Edinburgh Castle, pubs, unique bars and restaurants, a palace, and some amazing Scottish food.

Day 1: Arrival

Scotland has always been on Paddy’s bucket list. He has half Irish and half Scottish heritage, so he was anxious to explore Scotland and his ancestry. Edinburgh was the first arrival stop on our two-week trip around Scotland, continuing on to the Highlands and the Isle of Skye, the Isles of Lewis and Harris, and Glasgow.

We arrived in Edinburgh with a layover in Dublin via Aer Lingus, and we have no complaints about the Aer Lingus experience. The other option we were considering was British Airways, but their ridiculously high seat selection fees along with their three-three-three seat configuration and poor online reviews made us decide otherwise. Overall, Aer Lingus ended up being cheaper with the free seat selection, and more comfortable for us as a couple with the two-four-two seat configuration.

Upon arrival at the Edinburgh airport, we opted to take an Uber to our accommodation in the city. While there may have been less expensive public transportation options to get to the city center, it was evening and we were tired. Overall it was worth the $45.00 USD to be dropped door to door with our luggage at our Airbnb.

We do feel a bit guilty using Airbnb these days, as it is causing an affordable housing crisis in many places in the world. However, the hotels in Edinburgh were expensive and we really like having a bit of space when we travel, as well as the ability to make our own breakfast. The Airbnb we stayed in was in easy walking distance to all the main city center attractions, and had everything we needed. Our hosts even left us some Scottish whiskey and shortbread.

Exhausted but hungry, we took some quick showers, unpacked a little, and headed out in search of a pint and some sustenance. I had researched a few Scottish pubs in advance, and we decided to try the Auld Hundred.

They were busy as it was a Friday night, but were able to accommodate us for food upstairs in about an hour or less. We got on the list and were able to wait downstairs in the bar, having a couple pints while we waited. The first beer on vacation is always the best, isn’t it?

The food was traditional Scottish. Paddy had the homemade steak pie, and I had the first of quite a few orders of haddock and chips that I would have over our two weeks in Scotland. I’m a pretty big fan of chunky chips, something Scotland does well. It was a delicious start to our trip.

After dinner we went home to sleep, hoping to wake up fresh the for sightseeing the next day.

Day 2: Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile and Victoria Street, a witchy museum, and a fancy dinner

For our first full day in Edinburgh, we started off with a quick morning roll and coffee at the Starbucks next door, and headed off to Edinburgh Castle. It is highly recommended that you book your Edinburgh Castle tickets a couple weeks in advance, as they do tend to sell out–especially on weekends. Tickets are timed entry, and you need to be through the ticket gate within your 30 minute ticket time window. We went at 9:30, right after they opened.

Edinburgh Castle is the top tourist attraction in Edinburgh, and while it was interesting, it wasn’t our favorite castle, nor our favorite thing in Edinburgh. That said, I wouldn’t tell you not to go–however just temper your expectations. The cost of visiting Edinburgh Castle was roughly $30.00 USD per adult.

There isn’t a lot of interior castle to explore, such as living areas or bedchambers or anything like that. The majority of the castle is walking around outdoors, so be prepared for weather. That said, it is high on a hill overlooking the city, so there are some great views.

The indoor exhibits are mostly military-related. If learning about the history of the Scottish military and wars in Scotland are your thing, this will be interesting for you. We enjoyed learning about the history of the castle and Scotland, however the military museum wasn’t super captivating to us. The Armory was pretty cool, however.

When entering or leaving Edinburgh Castle, look for the Witches Well. It is a small fountain dedicated to the memorial of all the women who were burned at the stake in the courtyard in front of the main castle entrance. I did notice that the plaque says “the site on which many witches were burned at the stake,” which is unfortunate as it still uses language that demonizes the innocent women who were executed on the site. That said, it is great that Scotland is acknowledging this horrific time in the country’s history.

If you would like to read more about Scotland’s witch trials and history, I highly recommend the book How to Kill a Witch by Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell. I read it prior to our Scotland trip and it provided a lot of insight into some of the attractions that we visited, as well as Scotland’s dark history.

After spending about an hour and a half at Edinburgh Castle, we walked down the Royal Mile a bit. The Royal Mile is the street from Edinburgh Castle (Castle Hill, turning into Lawnmarket, turning into High Street, turning into Canongate) all the way to Holyrood Palace. The portion nearest the Castle is the most touristy, with a lot of souvenir shops, and bagpipers, and all that jazz. It can also get really crowded, and was a little much for us. I can only imagine how crazy it is here during festival season in August.

We turned off to detour down Victoria Street, one of Edinburgh’s most famous streets due to the colorful little shops and cafes. It is one of the most picturesque streets in Edinburgh, and has some fun little shops and restaurants to explore.

It was early, but we were kind of hungry and needed a short rest, so we stopped in for sandwiches at Oink on Victoria Street. Oink was made famous by being featured on Somebody Feed Phil, one of our favorite travel shows about food. Oink is tiny, with very limited seating. Fortunately we beat the rush and were able to secure two stools at the counter in the back.

Oink specializes in pulled pork sandwiches, and comes in three sizes: The Piglet, The Oink, and The Grunter. There are various fillings to select along with the pork. I went with the suggested stuffing and apple filling. There are crispy pieces of skin in with the pulled pork meat, and it didn’t disappoint. I will say that we had pork sandwiches in Rome that still hold their crown as the best pork sandwiches we’ve ever had, however these were really good.

Freshly re-fueled, we continued down the Royal Mile, stopping off to peer down some of the tiny alleys called “closes” along the way. Be sure to explore these, you never know what you might find.

Our last stop of the afternoon was The Museum of Magic, Fortune-Telling, and Witchcraft, located right off the Royal Mile down Chalmers Close.

Museum of Magic, Fortune-Telling, and Witchcraft, Edinburgh

This museum is tiny, but if you are interested in the occult or the history of witchery in Scotland, this is an interesting little stop. The museum is roughly $10.00 USD per person. They also offer guided tours, which I didn’t look into very thoroughly but you can read about them on their website.

Museum of Magic, Fortune-Telling, and Witchcraft, Edinburgh

After learning all about the Scottish occult, we needed to rest our feet so headed back to the apartment for a bit.

That evening, we had reservations at Edinburgh’s fanciest (and possibly most infamous?) restaurant, The Witchery. Paddy’s birthday was two days prior, so we were looking forward to celebrating with a nice dinner.

The Witchery has been an Edinburgh establishment since 1979, located in a medieval building next to the Edinburgh Castle courtyard, where many women were once burned as witches. It is also a very expensive boutique hotel. The rooms were way out of our budget, but it’s worth looking at photos of them on their website–they are pretty spectacular.

Reservations should be made a couple weeks in advance if possible, as they do book up. We reserved a table in their main dining room, which was dimly lit and very ornately decorated.

The Witchery is pricey, so expect to spend about $250-$350 on a dinner for two. Each person is required to order a main dish. We shared the oysters to start, Paddy opted for the halibut and I had the duck. We also shared a side of truffled mashed potatoes.

The halibut and duck were fantastic, the truffled mashed potatoes were the only disappointment. The truffle wasn’t really detectable. That said, mashed potatoes did make a nice accompaniment to our main dishes. I would recommend having a starter, a main, and sharing one or two sides as the main portions are fine dining size.

We also had dessert, and I was delighted to see that they read my note about celebrating Paddy’s birthday in my online reservation–his dessert arrived with a happy birthday candle and writing on the plate in dessert sauce.

Overall, service was great, ambiance was excellent, and the food was fantastic. Service fee is added to the bill.

After dinner, we were ready to check out some local nightlife. Our first stop was Banshee Labyrinth, a rock/horror themed bar that we found to be aptly named. It literally is a labyrinth of different rooms on different levels, with a ticketed stage show going on in one room, several underground cave areas with tables, and a small movie theater.

We located the bar near the entrance and ordered a couple drinks, then wandered through the labyrinth. It was just starting to get busy, and there wasn’t really anywhere to sit except the movie theater, which was showing IT. We sat in the theater and enjoyed our drinks for a bit, then decided to move on.

Our second stop was Bannerman’s Bar just down the street. Another rock themed bar, with a ticketed rock show going on in a back room with a stage, and seating and a bar up front. It had a very local vibe to it.

Bannerman's Bar, Edinburgh — Bannerman’s Bar, Edinburgh

We had planned on going to a third Frankenstien/mad scientist themed bar called Frankenstein, but the jet lag caught up to us and we decided to call it a night. I’m a little bummed that we didn’t go, although it was hard to tell if it was a kitschy tourist trap or not. Maybe you can check it out and tell us about it on your Edinburgh trip?

Day 3: Mary King’s Close, Holyrood Palace, a fancy lunch, and Sunday roast

Our last day in Edinburgh, we started the day with Edinburgh’s second most popular tourist attraction: Mary King’s Close.

Mary King’s Close used to be a haunted underground tour, but it is now an historical tour of an underground close off of the Royal Mile. It is a guided tour by a guide dressed in medieval peasant attire, guiding you through a series of medieval rooms and streets modeled to look like they would have back in those times, explaining to you what life would have been like back then. It was a little campy, but still fun.

Photos weren’t allowed, so I don’t have any to share but I would recommend this tour. We enjoyed it more than Edinburgh Castle, and we learned a lot about living conditions in Edinburgh during medieval times. If you want to tour Mary King’s Close, be sure to book tickets a week or two in advance for this attraction as well–it also sells out. The cost of the Mary Kings Close tour was roughly $34.00 USD per adult.

After the tour we wandered over to Cockburn Street, another picturesque street in Edinburgh City Center. Not as colorful as Victoria Street, but gorgeous medieval charm all the same. Edinburgh is a beautiful city, with many medieval buildings still in tact.

Our last big tourist attraction of the day was Holyrood Palace, which is all the way at the end of the Royal Mile. We followed the Royal Mile down, taking in sights as we went. We happened upon a Scottish Independence protest march, which was cool to see.

Scottish Independence protest march, Edinburgh

On the way down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace, be sure to check out the Tolbooth Tavern building on Canongate. The building was constructed in 1591, and was a tollbooth used to collect tolls from travelers to Edinburgh, as well as a prison. It became a tavern 200 years ago. Even if you don’t want to visit the tavern, the building is a really interesting example of medieval architecture.

Eventually we arrived at Holyrood Palace, the royal palace of Edinburgh, still used today by the British Royal Family to entertain visitors to Scotland. We didn’t bother booking tickets in advance, as they aren’t timed entry and from what I read, it doesn’t sound like the palace sells out very often. The cost to tour the palace is roughly $27.60 USD per adult.

No photos are allowed inside the palace itself, but you are allowed to take photos on the grounds and in the ruins of the adjacent Abbey.

The self-guided tour comes with headphones and an ipad-like device that will play information for you about each room when you are ready. The most interesting part of the tour was Mary, Queen of Scot’s bedchambers, which are still set up to look as they would in the 1500s. In 1566, David Rizzio, the private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, was murdered in these chambers in front of Mary. There is still a real blood stain on the bedchamber floor from this murder, adding a little extra macabre visual history to the tour.

We also enjoyed the ruins of the medieval Holyrood Abbey, established by David I of England in 1128, which operated as an Abbey or church until it fell to ruin in the 1700s.

The final part of the palace tour is the gardens, which includes a short path around the garden before ending the tour at the cafe and gift shop. From the gardens and Abbey exterior you can get a good view of Arthur’s Seat, an ancient extinct volcano in Holyrood Park. If you enjoy hiking, you can hike to the top of it for spectacular views of the city on a clear day.

It was mid afternoon when we completed the Holyrood tour, and we were tired and hungry. We ordered an Uber from the Palace to a very fancy restaurant called The Dome.

I came across The Dome while poking around on Google Maps, and it looked really cool and unique. I discovered that they had an affordable bar menu, and you can just go in there and have a drink and some small bites at a table in the bar, without partaking in their pricey restaurant menu.

Why did I want to have a drink and bar snacks here? Well, just look at it:

The interior of the building is really impressive, with a beautiful, ornate dome in the center of the main bar room. There were a few other dining areas, but we weren’t able to explore them.

We each had a half sandwich and a coup of potato leek soup, and shared an order of truffle fries. It was a perfect lunch. I also ordered a Sarti Spritz, which I’d never had before and it was delicious.

It was fun to feel fancy without dropping a fortune.

On our way back to our apartment, we stumbled upon a food court right down the street called Edinburgh Street Food. We wandered in, and were instantly sad we didn’t have another day in Edinburgh to eat there, as we already had dinner plans that evening. There were numerous food stalls, dessert stalls, and bars with a communal food court in the middle and a lively, hip atmosphere. If you come to Edinburgh, check this place out. A fun place to get dinner and a drink that is also very affordable.

After a much needed rest back at the apartment, we went back out again for dinner. As it was Sunday, we wanted to experience a very Scottish tradition: The Sunday Roast.

I did some research in advance of our trip on the most recommended places to get a Sunday Roast in Edinburgh, and decided on a cozy traditional Scottish pub called The Queens Arms.

Sunday Roast at The Queens Arms only goes until 6:00 PM, so I made an early dinner reservation for 5:00 PM. Upon arrival, they weren’t able to find our reservation. We discovered that there was also a Queens Arms location in London, which is apparently where we booked (oops). Fortunately they were still able to accommodate us and were very nice about it.

The traditional Scottish Sunday Roast comes with roasted potatoes, yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables, cauliflower cheese & homemade gravy. You can order an individual portion or one to share for two people. I don’t eat beef, which wasn’t an issue as they had other dishes on their menu that I was able to order. Paddy thoroughly enjoyed his Sunday Roast and would absolutely recommend The Queens Arms. Just make sure to book the right location when you reserve online!

We considered going out for another drink, but we were tired and had to get up early to get our rental car for the next leg of our two-week Scotland adventure.

Overall, we wished we had one more day to explore Edinburgh. We would have loved to have eaten at Edinburgh Street Food, get a drink at the Frankenstein bar and a couple other local pubs, and explore the nearby Leith neighborhood. However, we really enjoyed the two days we spent here. It is a beautiful city with a lot of medieval history and architecture to explore.

ADVENTURES IN THE UNITED STATES, Main menu, TIKI TIME

San Francisco

June 24, 2025 whitney Leave a comment

A week in San Francisco, California: Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, Japantown, delicious seafood, driverless cars, and Tiki bars galore!

Paddy and I had never been to San Francisco together. I went once back in 2008 and visited a dear friend who lived there at the time, and loved it. I always wanted to go back with Paddy but we kept putting it off because it was such an “easy” place to go from Seattle. We thought we’d do a long weekend there someday, but never got around to it.

So when we were looking for a cheap flight somewhere to spend Thanksgiving week, San Francisco fit the bill. I am so glad we were able to spend a whole week in San Francisco! A long weekend wouldn’t have cut it. There is so much to do and see. Particularly because we love Tiki bars, and San Francisco is kind of the Tiki bar capital of America. On this trip we visited (10?) Tiki bars total, and we still didn’t visit all of them.

We found the locals to be really friendly, and the milder weather was nice for November. San Francisco is about 10 degrees warmer on average in the winter than Seattle, and although it has rain (and a lot of fog), it definitely has a lot more sunshine.

Day 1: A late flight, a rainy night, and some cocktails

Our late afternoon flight turned into an evening flight due to a delay, fortunately we at least had time to purchase a couple unenjoyable sandwiches at the airport to eat on the plane so that we didn’t arrive famished.

Taking a Lyft from the San Francisco airport was relatively easy, albeit not the cheapest option to get downtown. The BART train system is a great way to travel from the airport, however it was late and we were anxious to just get checked in and enjoy what we could of the evening.

The hotel we chose was The Donatello, which we reserved through Booking.com. I believe it is a timeshare type of hotel, although we didn’t experience any pressure to buy a timeshare or anything like that. We chose the Donatello for it’s central downtown location, and it offered a spacious studio with a king bed, sofa, and kitchenette for an affordable price.

The staff was very welcoming, the bed was comfortable, and we loved having the kitchenette with a fridge, coffee maker, dishes, dish towels, silverware, etc. Another small thing that we absolutely loved was a water pitcher in the fridge which we could fill at a filtered water station next to the ice maker one floor up. This saved us from having to purchase bottled water, and the kitchenette allowed us to make breakfast in the room each morning to save money as well.

After ditching our luggage and unpacking a little, we were ready for some adult beverages. Most of the bars we planned to go to on this trip were tiki bars, but there were two downtown that were not tiki themed that we were curious about.

The first stop was Kung Fu Action Theater. This bar is only open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights after 8:00 PM, and as you may have guessed from the title is Kung Fu movie-themed. The decor was fun, particularly the huge illuminated dragon over the bar and the animatronic dragon in the corner. We also enjoyed the Bruce Lee / vintage Kung Fu movie poster wall.

The atmosphere however, was not really our scene. It was a young crowd with club music playing, so we just had one drink and moved on. Had it been full of crusty Gen X folks with 80s metal blaring, we probably would have settled in for the night.

A note about the location: Kung Fu Action Theater and The Donatello are on the edge of the area of downtown called The Tenderloin. The Tenderloin is probably the worst area of downtown, with a lot of unhoused and drug using people–particularly on O’Farrell Street. We are used to some of this in downtown Seattle where we live, so it wasn’t shocking and while we remained alert walking in these areas, we didn’t feel unsafe.

One thing you will need to look out for in the Tenderloin or on O’Farrell Street is human feces on the sidewalks. The city of San Francisco does a fairly good job of cleaning the sidewalks regularly, but some of this is to be found–so watch where you step. Mostly, the folks on the street were in such a drugged up stupor that we felt very little threat from them, just sadness about what opioid addition epidemic has caused them.

Our next stop was much more our vibe– Kozy Kar. Kozy Kar is in the Nob Hill neighborhood of downtown, and has a 70’s theme. The music was much better, and we stayed for a couple rounds.

Vintage 70’s Playboy centerfolds were plastered underneath the plexiglass bar surface, vintage memorabilia hung all over the bar, and they even had a booth made out of an old van.

They also had a couple of actual waterbeds to lounge on. There was a couple lounging on one near the bar who looked very, very high. We really enjoyed this place and would have gone back again had it not been for the very long list of bars we intended to visit during this trip.

When we paid our bar tab, there was an option to tip a custom amount, or either 20%, 25%, or 69% on the signature receipt. Nice touch.

Day 2: Chinatown, driverless cars, and three Tiki bars

On Saturday we opted to start our day with dim sum in San Francisco’s famous Chinatown. San Francisco’s Chinatown is hands down one of the best in the US, if not THE best.

We were able to get to Chinatown easily on the metro from Union Square metro station downtown.

City View Dim Sum isn’t the best dim sum in San Francisco, but it was highly rated and near the Chinatown areas we wanted to explore. It was very good though, but no carts–order off the menu.

Once we were full of dim sum, it was time to explore Chinatown.

The hanging lanterns on the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown are definitely part of the appeal, we also enjoyed some of the murals and exploring the little gift shops.

One thing that San Francisco’s Chinatown is famous for is the invention of the fortune cookie. Contrary to popular belief, fortune cookies were invented in San Francisco and not China, and you can still visit their birthplace: The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory.

The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory has been making fortune cookies since 1962, and they make a lot of different kinds that you can purchase there. In addition to the traditional cookies, you can get chocolate cookies, green tea cookies, strawberry cookies, and cookies with X-rated messages inside them.

I first visited this factory back in 2008, and at that time it didn’t have much of an online presence. An elderly man sat outside the factory with a cup that you could deposit $0.50 in to look inside and take a photo.

It’s a bit more organized now, they offer tours and have a lot of cookies for sale in bags up front. We stopped in for a quick peek and a pic–it’s fun to see how the cookies are made by hand.

After walking around Chinatown a bit, we decided to pick up some Italian sandwiches for later from Molinari Delicatessen, a short walk from Chinatown in the North Beach / Little Italy neighborhood.

Molinari’s is VERY popular, so take a number and expect to wait for a bit. I can assure you, it is worth it. I had the Lucca Special with Mortadella, provolone, sweet bell peppers, sun dried tomatoes, and lettuce and it was the best Italian sandwich I’ve ever had. Their sandwiches are large and easily shareable as well. Don’t miss this place if you are a fan of Italian subs and sandwiches.

While you wait, you can browse their selection of cheeses and imported Italian pantry items for sale.

We decided to head back to the hotel for a break, and instead of the metro we opted to try a Waymo driverless car.

We simply downloaded the app, added a payment method, and called a car. It showed up, and we used the app to unlock the door and get in. The car welcomed us with a screen where we could opt to start the ride, stop the ride, or call for assistance. Spa music was playing, which made me wonder if anyone had ever fallen asleep in a Waymo and what would happen in that case..

Riding in the Waymo was a trip. You are allowed to sit anywhere but in the drivers seat, and you can cast your own music on the stereo with bluetooth. The car’s “ghost driver” steers and starts and stops and did a very good job of driving us around the city. A large spinning camera is on top of the car recording the car’s surroundings at all times.

Overall, the cost of the ride was slightly higher than a Lyft or Uber ride, but the same cost if you factor in a tip with Lyft and Uber. Therefore, I didn’t really see the point unless you really don’t want to interact with another human. I would also prefer to give my money to a person earning a living rather than a company and their robot. However, it was an interesting experience that I’m sure will become more common eventually.

For dinner we tried iThai Bangkok Street Food downtown, not far from our hotel. In addition to standard Thai dishes they had a “street food” menu with more unique options.

We shared the Tom Kha soup to start, and then ordered Kao Ka Moo (stewed pork shank in 5 spice sauce with boiled eggs, Chinese broccoli, and pickled cabbage), and the Kao Moo Dang (three styles of pork with boiled egg and gravy). Everything was delicious. If you are downtown and are looking for Thai food made with love that is more than your standard Thai menu fare, iThai Bangkok Street Food is a little gem.

I Thai San Francisco — Tom Kha soup at iThai Bangkok Street Food, San Francisco

After dinner, we were ready to begin our week-long Tiki tour of San Francisco, starting with one of San Francisco’s oldest and most famous Tiki bars, The Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar.

Side note on San Francisco’s streets: You probably have heard about how hilly San Francisco is. We opted to walk to the Tonga Room from iThai as it was a short half mile walk. However, it involved going up a long street so steep the sidewalk had stairs. If you have mobility issues or are really out of shape, take this into consideration when reading Google Maps. We huffed and puffed and made it.

Located in the Fairmont Hotel, Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar has been in business since 1945. The bar and restaurant is built around the Fairmont hotel’s original indoor pool from the 1920s, and evenings feature a live band on a boat in the middle of the pool. Occasionally, there are thunder sounds and it “rains” in the pool for effect.

I read some reviews online, and learned ahead of time that there is a $15.00 per person cover fee applied to the bill if you are seated at a table. If you don’t want to have food and just want to come in for a drink, you can avoid this by letting the host know you just want to have a drink in the bar area, which is standing room only. We opted to go this route.

Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar, San Francisco

We ordered at the bar, a bit disappointed to see that the bartenders used pre-mixed drinks. It was to be expected for how busy they were, but I don’t know how many ingredients were fresh or if they were bottled pre-mixed. I had the Mermaid Margarita ($24) and Paddy had the Expat ($20). The cocktails were okay, but not top tier to match the top tier price. However, you’re paying for the ambiance and experience. That said, we were glad we weren’t paying the $15 per person cover on top of the steep cocktail prices.

We definitely recommend coming here to check it out since it is an historic and classic Tiki experience, and the pool in the bar is very unique. If this were one of two or three Tiki bars in San Francisco, we would have had dinner and made a whole evening of it. However, we had many other Tiki bars to visit.

Our second stop was Bamboo Hut in the North Beach area. Bamboo Hut’s decor was on point, however the music was horrendous. Early 2000s emo rock was blaring, which happens to be Paddy and I’s least favorite type of music in the entire world.

The bartenders were very nice however, and I chatted with them a little bit. I ordered the Rico Guave, a blended drink containing coconut, cachaca, Aperol, honey, guava-rose syrup, and lime. It was pretty good although a little heavy on the rose. I can’t remember what Paddy had, but it was pretty good. Prices were much more palatable at $15 a cocktail.

Bamboo Hut is more of a neighborhood Tiki bar where you can socialize, watch the game, and meet up with a friend after work, rather than an immersive Tiki experience. Overall it was fun and the bartenders were great. If you go, hopefully there will be better music.

We ended up saving the best for last for our last stop at Pagan Idol. This was an immersive Tiki experience. Pagan Idol is one of the Tiki revival bars, where the ambiance and the cocktail are of utmost importance.

Dim, ambient lighting and lots of nooks and crannies and a few little bamboo hut booths gave the interior the feel of being on the beach of an exotic island. There was a live koi pond in the corner with seating around it, and the ceiling was made of thousands of tiny fiber-optic stars.

I ordered the Tom-Kha-lada ($16), comprised of rum, coconut, lemongrass, and lime. It was really tasty, but I did wish the lemongrass was a bit more prominent. Paddy had the Daywalker ($20) which was their secret house recipe Zombie cocktail, which is a bit stronger than the rest (limit 2 per customer).

Pagan Idol was a great place for a nightcap and we thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and attention to detail here. We would definitely recommend Pagan Idol.

On the way home we walked by Union Square and enjoyed the Macy’s Christmas tree.

Union Square Christmas display, San Francisco

Day 3: Obligatory tourist day: Fancy brunch, Fisherman’s Warf and Pier 39, vintage video games, and more Tiki bars.

Sunday, we had a brunch reservation at Son & Garden. Comprised of a bar section and a restaurant section, we opted to sit in the bar area. Son & Garden is an Instagrammers delight, with flowers and an Alice in Wonderland style theme, as well as really over the top cocktails. In fact, there were a couple of influencers photographing a whole lot of cocktails and dishes and themselves while we were in the bar.

I wasn’t sure if this place would be all gimmick or not, but I was willing to find out.

Because we were at the start of a day of sightseeing, we didn’t try the cocktails. They looked beautiful, albeit a bit too sweet. Most of them are made with Soju.

As for the breakfast dishes, definitely come hungry! They were very large. I splurged on the Crabby Omelet with Dungeness Crab meat, sundried tomatoes, capers, spinach, celery, hollandaise sauce, scallions, and salsa on the side. Paddy had the Hola! Omelet with slow-cooked pork belly, spinach, onion, pepper, pickled red onions, avocado, salsa, and spicy aoli.

Both came with homestyle potatoes and a house made berry scone.

The food didn’t disappoint, and the scones were delicious. I don’t normally order pastries and baked goods because I can’t have much sugar in the morning, but it was the perfect little sweet (but not too sweet) side along with some protein. Neither of us could finish all the potatoes, which were seasoned well.

Son & Garden also offers English-style afternoon tea, lunch, and dinner. Reservations recommended.

Full and needing to walk around to digest the enormous brunch we just consumed, we waddled outside and called a Lyft to Musee Mechanique at Fisherman’s Warf.

Musee Mechanique is one of the most unique tourist attractions in San Francisco, and it is free to visit. You should however bring some quarters or cash to exchange for quarters so that you can try out some of their extensive collection of coin-operated antique arcade games. I am not sure how old the oldest one is, but many of them date back to the early 1900’s. They span all the way through the 20th century up to the 1990s.

Musee Mechanique, San Francisco. This woman was terrifying

Paddy had a great time revisiting some of his favorites from his teen years, and some of the really old ones were pretty funny.

Sometimes it was hard to decide which of the old games to spend your quarters on, because it was hard to tell what they would do. Some were more exciting than others. Just pick a few and go for it.

You can also get a view of Alcatraz from Fisherman’s Warf.

Next, we walked over to Pier 39 to wander around some of the little shops, buy a souvenir Christmas ornament at Christmas in San Francisco, and take in all the sea lion drama.

Alcatraz from Fisherman's Warf/Pier 39 — Golden Gate Bridge from Fisherman’s Warf/Pier 39

We also stopped into Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze on Pier 39. Admission is $10.00, and you are given plastic gloves to wear so that you don’t get fingerprints on the mirrors. I thought it might be underwhelming but it was actually a lot more challenging to find your way inside the maze than it looks!

You end up touching the mirrors a lot to try and figure out which is a way through and which is mirror. At times you are walking beside yourself, which is a weird experience.

If you’re on a tight budget, I’d skip this but if you have $10 to spare, it was a fun and unique little experience.

Magowan's Infinite Mirror Maze, San Francisco — Magowan’s Infinite Mirror Maze, San Francisco

Our last stop of the day was the Greetings from San Francisco mural in Umbrella Alley. It looked like kind of an art exhibit with a $5.00 suggested donation. We didn’t know this and didn’t have cash, however no one seemed to be working to collect a fee. We thought it was just a mural.

We walked in anyway and got a couple snapshots. If you want to get a photo here, bring $5.00 cash in case they are taking admission. Maybe there is something else that goes on here during busier times?

That evening we did a Tiki bar tour of the Oakland side of the Bay Area. We figured taking the metro would be the least expensive option to get to Oakland, although it was a different type of train (the BART train) and we couldn’t use the phone ticket app that we used for the metro the day prior. We each had to purchase a card for a $3.00 fee (we couldn’t share one) and load $7.25 each onto them. So we ended up spending about $20.00 total, which was probably still probably half the cost of a Lyft ride. If you take the BART train from the airport, you will already have a card to load fare onto.

We couldn’t get a straight ride all the way to our destination, which was Forbidden Island in Alameda, so we figured we would take the BART train over there, get off at the closest stop, and Lyft from there. We ended up accidentally getting on the blue line to Oakland and not the yellow line, but Google Maps helped me figure out which stop on the blue line to get off at–just slightly further away.

Forbidden Island was a delight. Tucked into a little neighborhood in Alameda, this Tiki bar is very classic. The staff were very friendly and seemed to enjoy working there. Forbidden Island takes reservations and has souvenir mugs for purchase, which we bought.

I ordered the signature cocktail, “Forbidden Island,” in their signature mug to take home ($45 including the mug and drink). I can’t remember what Paddy ordered. Both drinks were delicious, with fresh orchids and fresh mint. The menu was pretty extensive and included a few appetizers.

Forbidden Island had great drinks and we felt very welcome here. Well done and a cute little neighborhood spot.

Next, we took a Lyft over to Trader Vic’s in Emeryville for dinner and drinks.

Trader Vic's, Emeryville — Trader Vic’s, Emeryville

Trader Vic’s is one of the two main originators of the Tiki craze in the US, the other being Don The Beachcomber. The Oakland Trader Vic’s is the original bar and restaurant since the 1930s.

Before coming here, I had perused the menu online and blanched a little at the high food prices. We weren’t sure if it was going to be a tourist trap, but given the history, we were willing to roll the dice.

We didn’t have a reservation and were seated in the bar area. It was a Sunday, and not super busy. The bar was lovely, lots of classic tropical decor. I took a little stroll around the restaurant while we were waiting on our drinks–there are a lot of different seating areas. Also on display through glass is a wood-fired oven that is used to cook some of the dishes, which was particularly impressive.

Trader Vic’s is where the Mai Tai was invented. I felt like one of us should order a Mai Tai, but there were just too many other interesting cocktails on the menu (and I’m not a huge Mai Tai fan).

I ordered the Bambu Hunter ($16), recommended by our server. It was full of rums and spices, and came with star anise and a smoking cinnamon stick. The cinnamon smoke and the star anise really added to the overall taste and experience with all the spices in the drink. I would definitely recommend this one.

Paddy tried the Macabou Mambo ($16), with bourbon, mango, and Trader Vic’s signature macadamia nut liqueur and he also really enjoyed it.

We were pleasantly surprised that the food was fantastic and totally worth the price.

Paddy got one of their wood fired oven smoked steaks, served with whipped potatoes, crispy creamed spinach, and chimichurri, and I ordered the 5 Spice Half Duck with moo shoo pancakes, hoisin sauce, and cucumber scallion slaw

Everything was outstanding. We had to order an additional side of the crispy creamed spinach–it was so good! Neither of us had ever had breaded and deep fried creamed spinach before, and it was delicious.

As expected, they had quite a few souvenir Tiki mugs to choose from, and even a signature Christmas ornament.

For our last stop of the evening, we took a Lyft to downtown Oakland for a night cap at the Kon Tiki.

The Kon Tiki had a bright and colorful atmosphere, and we enjoyed all the faux tropical plants hanging from the ceiling. I ordered the Virgin’s Sacrifice ($15), with tequila, mezcal, lime, passion fruit, pineapple, and spicy chili. It was delicious. Paddy had the Red Lantern ($15), with Japanese whiskey, passion fruit, pomegranate, and lemon. The cocktails here are worth the visit alone.

The Kon Tiki also serves food.

Day 4: Seafood, shops, and a vibrator museum in the Mission District, and more Tiki bars

Monday we slept in and took it easy in the morning, then headed to the Mission District for lunch at the infamous Swan Oyster Depot.

After seeing Anthony Bourdain eat here years ago on No Reservations, this was a top attraction for us in San Francisco. Here are some things to know before you go:

Bring cash. They only accept cash, and the prices are pretty high, so be sure you bring plenty. We dropped over $100 on lunch for two here.
Expect a line–wear comfortable shoes. If it’s raining, wear a rain coat, bring an umbrella. I read about 1-2 hour waits on the weekends. I think it’s worth an hour wait, not sure about a two hour wait.

We were hoping if we got there around 11:00 AM on a Monday, the line might be a bit shorter and we were right. Still, the wait was about 30-40 minutes. The place is small, and is counter seating only.

We were sad to discover that they didn’t have crab that day, after salivating over Anthony Bourdain dip bread into crab fat on No Reservations. However, there were many other delightful things to eat.

We started with a couple beers, a half dozen oysters, and some rustic sourdough bread. (Sourdough bread was invented in San Francisco, so when in Rome and all that stuff).

We also ordered a large Sicilian sashimi which comprised of four different types of raw fish adorned with olive oil, capers, red onion, salt and pepper. It was amazing, although I think we could have done with a medium sized.

The star for me was the mixed seafood salad with their homemade thousand island dressing. It is normally made with shrimp, crab, and prawns, but since they were out of crab they substituted smoked salmon. The smoked salmon was some of the best I’ve ever tasted and gave the salad a lot more flavor. I still think about this salad sometimes…

The bill (hand written on a piece of paper) was hefty at $131.50, but it was worth it. If you love seafood, don’t miss Swan Oyster Depot.

After lunch, we walked around the Mission District a bit, starting with the Antique Vibrator Museum at Good Vibes across the street.

Entrance to the museum in the back of the shop is free, but you are encouraged to do a little shopping in the store.

They have quite the collection of antique vibrators and history about them. Models from the early 20th century when they were invented as a treatment for “hysteria,” all the way to versions from the 1970s. Good Vibes is a very feminist and sex positive store, and the staff are helpful with any questions you may have. Definitely check out their museum.

Next we explored the 826 Valencia Pirate Supply Store, a shop with lots of little nautical knick knacks and hidden drawers of odds and ends to explore. I’ve never been anywhere quite like it.

We also enjoyed Paxton Gate, a shop with lots of taxidermy, crystals, books, plants, and other interesting items, and Aggregate Supply–a shop with clothing, home goods, and other fun gifts.

It was rainy, so we didn’t spend a lot more time in the Mission District but we would like to go back and spend more time here on a future visit.

Later that evening, we opted for an inexpensive dinner at Nojo Ramen in the Civic Center neighborhood. We chose Nojo because Paddy had a ramen craving and it was located in walking distance to our first bar of the evening. It didn’t disappoint–the ramen was great.

After dinner, we walked over to Smuggler’s Cove, the Tiki bar we had been most looking forward to on this trip. Smuggler’s Cove is part of the Tiki revival phenomenon, owned by Martin Cate who wrote a book by the same name. We bought this book several years ago, in which Martin Cate details Tiki bar history in the US including the cultural appropriation elements, the Tiki revival, and tips for building your own home Tiki bar. Included throughout the book are numerous recipes for excellent cocktails that he serves at Smugglers Cove. We made our way through at least 75% of the cocktail recipes during the pandemic, when we were stuck at home and needed to entertain ourselves in our own Tiki bar on Friday and Saturday nights.

There are no gimmicks here, just a classic, beautifully decorated Tiki bar with top notch cocktails. The bar was full when we walked in, so we headed downstairs to find that bar area packed as well. There is an upstairs loft which we found seating in, and were able to look down over the bartenders while they worked. We had been hoping to sit at the bar but were happy just to find a seat.

The menu is extensive, comprised of classics and originals. I ordered The Expedition, which you can get in their signature mug to keep for an additional $40. Paddy had the Rongorongo with rum, pineapple, lime, and cinnamon.

Paddy went down to order a second round, and noticed two seats available at the bar. We snagged them and had the experience we were hoping for, watching the bartenders work and chatting them up.

For my second round I ordered Dr Barca’s Fluffy Banana, a cachaca drink served in a coupe glass with coconut, banana liqueur, lemon juice and bitters. It was great–not too sweet with a nice caramelized banana flavor.

Smuggler’s Cove is a real gem, where the cocktails are the star of the show. If it’s busy, be patient. It’s worth the wait. Try to get a seat at the bar if you can.

Our second and final stop of the night was Last Rites, located in between the Mission District and Haight-Ashbury.

By contrast, Last Rites is all gimmick, but gimmick done very well. Tiki-adjacent, Last Rites is an immersive experience that makes you feel like you are on a tropical island amidst the ruins of a plane crash. We thoroughly felt like we were in the show Lost while we were here.

Faux tropical plants hang from the ceiling and peek out from in between airplane parts, giving the illusion of a fuselage that the jungle has claimed. The bar seats are all made from vintage plane seats, and giant skulls lurk in dark nooks, keeping watch over the tables of people below them. Behind the bar is a wall of airplane steel and windows.

The drinks also did not disappoint. Paddy had the signature Last Rites drink ($16) with overproof rum, lime, passion fruit, amaro, spices, and salted molasses. We opted to purchase the souvenir Mai Tai glass for an additional $18.

I had the Violet Vixen ($16) with Tequila, lavender, lychee, creme de noyaux, lemon, and lime.

The cocktails were so good we had to get a second round, but it was so hard to decide which ones to get. They all looked so interesting. We settled on the Red Harvest ($16) with Bing Zhou, rye whiskey, lemon , grapefruit, lapsang, maple syrup, strawberry, and creole bitters, and the Emerald Eclipse ($16) with Mezcal, rum, lime, ginger, snap pea juice, sales, and cumin. Both were just as outstanding as the first two.

We absolutely loved both Smugglers Cove and Last Rites, and would put them at the top of our list to re-visit on a second San Francisco trip.

Day 5: Japantown, dinner at the oldest restaurant in California, and a wild night in Chinatown and North Beach

San Francisco has one of the only Japantowns left in the US, the other two being San Jose and Los Angeles. The epicenter of San Francisco’s Japantown is the Japan Center mall, which is comprised of lots of little shops full of Japanese imports and restaurants. We spent an hour or so exploring the little shops, with so many little fun trinkets, accessories, home goods, and gifts.

We had a hard time deciding where to each lunch–all the little restaurants looked good. We opted to eat at Hikari Bullet Train Sushi, since it seemed like a very Japanese thing to do, and when in Japantown and all.

Hikari Bullet Train Sushi, San Francisco

At Hikari, we were shown to a booth where we could order on a computer screen. Sushi arrived on a “train” next to the booth. Paddy ordered ramen, and I was a little nervous about how that was going to work with the train (seemed like it might be a little sloshy?). To our relief, it was carried out to him by a server.

The sushi wasn’t anything exceptional or unique, but Hikari was a fun way to feel like we were in Japan for a moment.

We explored some more of the shops near the Japan Center mall, and then went back to the hotel to relax. If you are interested in Japanese culture or like to shop for cutesy “kawaii” imports, definitely check out San Francisco’s Japantown.

For dinner, we had a reservation at the oldest restaurant in California, the Tadich Grill, which has been a restaurant since 1882, with origins as a coffee shop since 1849. The Tadich is a quintessential San Francisco experience, and if you can only splurge on one fancy dining experience on your San Francisco trip, consider the Tadich as a top contender.

The Tadich grill reminded me a lot of Los Angeles’ Musso & Frank Grill, another historic restaurant that’s been operating for over 100 years. It’s the kind of place where you order a Manhattan or a dirty martini, and many of the menu items are classic fare from the early to mid 20th century.

The Tadich specializes a bit more in seafood however than Musso & Frank. They are probably best known for their cioppino which (just like fortune cookies), was invented in San Francisco by Italian and Portuguese immigrant fishermen.

As tempting as the cioppino was, we wanted to try some of their other seafood dishes. Paddy had a starter Caesar salad (complete with fresh anchovies), and I had a small dinner salad with crab and shrimp.

For entrees I had the crab cakes, and Paddy had the Petrale sole, and we shared the chocolate torte for dessert. Everything was cooked perfectly. Very classic preparations that showcased the seafood nicely.

After dinner, we hiked up the hill to Chinatown, ready to imbibe at the historic Li Po Lounge.

The Li Po Lounge is another San Francisco institution, open since 1937. It was made even more famous by a visit from Anthony Bourdain on The Layover. The signature drink here is the Chinese Mai Tai, served by a surly older woman behind the bar. What is the Chinese Mai Tai, exactly? It’s basically three different kinds of white rum (including Bacardi 151), Mei Kuei Lu (a Chinese liqueur), and pineapple juice. Is it good? Not really. Is it a rite of passage when visiting San Francisco? Absolutely.

We decided that sharing one Chinese Mai Tai would be plenty, so we had one (I drank most of it) and some Buddha beers. The Li Po Lounge is a classic San Francisco dive bar, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Chinese Mai Tai, Li Po Lounge, San Francisco

We had no real plan for the rest of the evening, so after finishing our drinks at the Li Po Lounge, we wandered across the street to the Buddha Lounge for another drink. This is where the night began to get interesting.

The Buddha Lounge was a very small bar, and the only people in the bar were two people who were chatting with the bartender. We ordered a couple more Buddha beers and sat at the bar.

A few sips into our beers, we realized that our bartender was three sheets to the wind. He was talking to the two people at the end of the bar who seemed to be friends of his, and we overheard that he just got fired a couple hours ago. And yet, he was left in charge of the bar for the rest of the evening–an odd choice by the bar owner. The bartender did some shots with his friends, and started crying.

Paddy and I hadn’t paid for the beers yet, and we weren’t sure how to gracefully exit the situation. We eventually finished our beers, walked over to the bartender who was still crying and being hugged and comforted by his friends, gave him a $20 bill, and told him he would find something better and that it would all be okay. Whether he put that $20 in the till for our beers or just in his pocket was none of our business. We wish him well.

Moving on, we decided to walk further up into the North Beach/Little Italy neighborhood. The streets had strings of lights hanging over them that were red, white and green (like the Italian flag), and restaurants and bars were full of people enjoying the night.

We salivated over some of the restaurant menus and considered coming back the next day to try one of the restaurants.

We strolled past some people hanging outside of what looked like a very old bar called The Saloon. We peeked in, and the guys hanging out outside told us it was one of the oldest bars in San Francisco and that we should check it out, and that a band was setting up to play soon. We bellied up to the bar and ordered a couple drinks, served by another wonderfully surly older woman in a sequin ball cap. The Saloon has been in business since 1868, and still has it’s original bar.

Pretty soon we were being chatted up by David, a very drunk fisherman who it turned out owned a rental property up in our old neighborhood of Seattle. He was very drunk but very friendly. He left eventually and another gentleman sat in his seat. His name was Brian, a 67 year old DJ who had lived in San Francisco many years. He had a single egg in a restaurant takeout box that he said he was going to take home and make meatloaf with. Brian was quite the character.

After watching the blues band for a bit, we decided to move on. Brian bumped into us again across the street and convinced us to go with him to the Bow Bow Lounge back down in Chinatown, which he said was another classic San Francisco bar. Bow Bow Lounge was another very small bar that had karaoke going on. Brian bought us a round of beers. We learned that Brian has two girlfriends, but they know about each other. Brian has learned in life that nothing good comes from lying to a woman.

We thanked Brian for the beers and wished him well, deciding to make our final stop of the evening The Condor Club.

Before traveling to San Francisco, we watched the documentary “Topless at the Condor” about San Francisco’s famous exotic dancer Carol Doda, who was the first topless dancer in America at The Condor Club back in the 1960s.

The Condor today is pretty disappointing. It’s a topless bar, but full of black leather benches and devoid of any personality whatsoever. Cover was $10, but the beers were an average price (not expensive). We had one beer each and tipped the bored dancers on the stage for a bit, then called it a night.

The famous piano that Carol Doda danced on is encased in glass under the floor near the bar, but that’s about all that is left of the 1960s glamour days. It would be beautiful if someone bought this place and turned it into a classy, mid-century style cocktail lounge with burlesque dancers and big velvet booths. I wish I had the funds to embark on such a venture. Sigh.

We had quite the interesting (and fun) night in Chinatown and North Beach. San Francisco locals are very friendly! Sadly, we didn’t end up making it back up to North Beach for some Italian food, but our next visit we will be making dinner and another evening out in North Beach a priority. We would recommend skipping The Condor.

Day 6: Haight-Ashbury, a speakeasy, and one last Tiki bar

When I think of San Francisco history, the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is always what comes to mind first. Haight-Ashbury was (and still kind of is), a hippie mecca. Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane all lived within blocks of each other in this neighborhood. I can only imagine the parties, late night jam-sessions, and the copious amounts of substances consumed in 1960s Haight-Ashbury.

Haight-Ashbury has a lot of fun shops to explore on Haight Street. Start at Haight and Masonic Avenue, and work your way towards Golden Gate Park, then loop back on the other side of the street. You will find lots of vintage clothing, art, gifts, and other fun things that you probably don’t need but will want to buy anyway.

A few favorites that we stopped in:

Love on Haight: All kinds of psychedelic hippy clothes, books, tie dye, etc.

Relic Vintage: If you are looking for authentic mid century vintage, this store has a very well curated collection.

Decades of Fashion: Another great place to shop for vintage clothing

Piedmont Boutique–crazy costumes, fun earrings, sunglasses, pasties, sequins, etc. Burlesque dancers and drag queens frequently shop here.

Amoeba Music: The best record store in California. Records, CDs, Cassette Tapes, rare DVDs, and collectibles.

We had lunch at Cha Cha Cha, an eclectic restaurant featuring Spanish tapas and Cuban fare. I had been there once before for dinner when I was visiting my friend Brian back in 2008, and it’s a fun spot. The tapas are fantastic, and the atmosphere is colorful.

Our adventures in Haight-Ashbury weren’t complete without seeking out a few of the historic former celebrity houses. Jimi Hendrix’s house is the easiest to spot–it’s right on Haight Street and has a mural of him painted on it:

Jimi Hendrix's house, Haight-Ashbury — Jimi Hendrix’s house, Haight-Ashbury

Janis Joplin’s at 635 Ashbury house was my favorite, immaculately painted in pink. It is now an apartment building and last sold for $3,264,000.00 in 2024.

Janis Joplin's house, Haight-Ashbury — Janis Joplin’s house, Haight-Ashbury

The Grateful Dead house is located at 710 Ashbury St. A little snooping on Zillow shows that it has been owned by the same owner since 1973, purchased for $55,000. Now the estimated value is $1,688,000. It’s amazing how expensive San Francisco has become.

That evening we had an inexpensive dinner at Berlin Doner & Kebab house, and then walked to imbibe at the last two bars on our San Francisco list, Bourbon & Branch and Zombie Village in the Tenderloin neighborhood of downtown.

Bourbon & Branch and Zombie Village (along with Pagan Idol, which we visited earlier in the week) are owned by the same proprietor. Bourbon & Branch and Zombie Village are conveniently located right next door together. However, they have wildly different themes. Both cocktail bars take reservations, which are recommended.

Our first reservation was at Bourbon & Branch, which is a 1920’s speakeasy style bar.

The 1920’s speakeasy theme isn’t anything new, and we’ve been to several in our travels. Bourbon & Branch however, takes the cake for ambiance and overall experience. In true speakeasy style, the door was difficult to find, and we had to knock on it to get in.

The decor is on point, and a lot of the lighting comes from votive candles throughout the bar. The cocktail menu is carefully and lovingly crafted, as are the drinks. The menu explicitly tells you not to bother ordering a “Cosmo” here.

I can’t remember which cocktails we ordered, but everything was fantastic. Your reservation is limited to 90 minutes, about enough for two rounds. During the latter part of your reservation, you are led through a secret entrance (I won’t give it away) into the “library” part of the bar, which has standing room with some bar stools and a few high top tables, and another bar with a more limited menu.

The whole experience was delightful, and we would definitely recommend putting this bar towards the top of your list for San Francisco.

Next, we walked a quarter block up the street to Zombie Village, another Tiki bar that is part of the Tiki revival. Zombie Village was even more impressive than it’s sister bar, Pagan Idol. Pictures don’t do it justice. It has the same fiberoptic star ceiling, but much higher. Giant Moai style Tiki gods blow fog from a fog machine, creating a steamy, jungle atmosphere. There are many different kinds of lighting, along with wood carvings, tree branches, vines, etc.

My favorite part of The Zombie Village were the individual bamboo hut booths, which we were very happy that we were seated at.

For our first round I tried the Desert Oasis ($16) which had mezcal, charanda, lemon, prickly pear, aloe, and chipotle, and came with a pickled nopale cactus. The pickled cactus gave a really unique compliment to the drink–I absolutely loved this cocktail. My second round I tried the Disco Banana ($16) which was comprised of Martinique rum, Jamaican rum, lime, cinnamon, and banana. It was also delicious. Paddy had Doc’s Grog ($18) and the Jamaican Zombie ($19) which was a very different and spicy spin on the classic Zombie cocktail with mango, habanero pepper and spices. He really enjoyed them both.

The servers were very friendly and we talked to them quite a bit. It was a Wednesday and a slower night, and they were nice enough to give us a tour of their upstairs bar area, which was closed off. Typically it is only open for really busy nights or for private party reservations. The decor continued to impress and enchant us upstairs as well.

The Zombie Village, upstairs bar, San Francisco

We would highly recommend visiting The Zombie Village, reservations recommended.

Day 7: A visit to the “Painted Ladies,” The California Academy of Sciences, and some outstanding Chinese food.

Our last day was Thanksgiving, so not a lot was open. However, both the California Academy of Sciences and the Aquarium of the Bay are open on Thanksgiving day with shortened hours. We’ve been to several Aquariums before and have a great one in Seattle, so we opted for the California Academy of Sciences. I had been there before on my trip in 2008, and really enjoyed it.

But first, we thought we would make a couple photo op stops at the Full House house (1709 Broderick Street–from the 1980s TV show), and at San Francisco’s famous “Painted Ladies” (right across the street from Alamo Square Park).

We opted to use a Waymo driverless car again because we liked the idea of being able to program in a couple stops in our route without worrying about annoying a waiting driver. It worked well, we arrived at the Full House house and the car waited for us and didn’t start driving again until we told it to, and then dropped us off at the Painted Ladies.

The Full House house and the Painted Ladies are private residences, so be sure to be respectful when visiting/photographing.

The Full House House, 1709 Broderick Street, San Francisco

It was a lovely sunny day, and Alamo Square Park across the street from The Painted Ladies houses has good views of the city, and is also a good spot for a picnic if you’re looking to make an afternoon of it. We enjoyed the views and the murals for a bit, and then called a Lyft to the California Academy of Sciences.

Art near Alamo Square Park, San Francisco

The California Academy of Sciences is a bit pricey at $49-$55 per adult (depending on when you go), however it is HUGE and you can easily spend the good part of a whole day here.

Tip: When you arrive, be sure to sign up for a free planetarium show in the main lobby. You will see a sign for the planetarium sign up, with different time and show options for the day. If you’ve never seen a planetarium show, you are in for a treat. Planetarium shows are one of my favorite things to do.

We browsed the exhibits in the main area, including the seasonal reindeer exhibit outdoors.

Reindeer at the Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

There is so much to see–a gem stone, crystal, and geology exhibit, a tidepool exhibit, a rainforest exhibit, and an aquarium in the bottom level. I recommend exploring all the smaller exhibits on the main floor first, then going into the biosphere. The biosphere tour takes you on a winding trail upwards through a steamy rainforest environment with lots of butterflies, frogs, snakes, and insects on display (most are inside terrariums, however the butterflies and parrots are out in the open).

Tidepool exhibit at the Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

Rainforest biosphere at the Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

Poison dart frog at the Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

At the top of the biosphere, you take an elevator down to the aquarium level to explore the aquarium and the swamplands.

Aquarium at the Academy of Sciences, San Francisco

The cafeteria at the California Academy of Sciences is actually pretty good, with a lot of different options. There is seating indoors and outside. It was a pretty nice day, so we found a spot outside away from the ruckus of families.

The California Academy of Sciences has a lot to offer from astronomy to geology to marine biology to dinosaurs and much more. If you have the time, this is a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Later that evening, we had a reservation at R&G Lounge, one of San Francisco’s most iconic Chinese restaurants since 1985. It was Thanksgiving, and it was very busy. We made a reservation weeks in advance, so it didn’t take us long to get our table.

The R&G Lounge is known for it’s salt and pepper crab, which we were really tempted to order but it was pretty pricey. Also, it was Thanksgiving, so we felt like we should go the poultry route and try another of their signature dishes–the Peking Duck.

We started with the vegetable soup and the hot and sour soup, which were very nice. They also had fantastic cocktails. Paddy had the Choya Manhattan with Choya Umeshu plum wine, sweet vermouth, Makers Mark, and bitters. It was really delicious. I had the Lychee Martini which was also a very nice compliment to the meal.

I also read the reviews and many people were raving about the seafood garlic noodles, and I can attest that they live up to the hype.

Lychee Martini, Choya Manhattan, and seafood garlic noodles at R&G Lounge, San Francisco

Peking Duck and garlic seafood noodles at R&G Lounge, San Francisco

The Peking Duck was some of the best we’ve ever had. Moist and tender with delicious crispy skin. The garlic seafood noodles had lots of big pawns and scallops. If we come back to San Francisco this place is one of the top restaurants we would go back to. Reservations recommended, even if you aren’t going on a holiday.

We had a fantastic week in San Francisco, and can’t wait to go back. On a future trip we would love to explore the North Beach area and Mission District more, and maybe get out into some of the other neighborhoods outside of the downtown area. There are even a few tiki bars we didn’t make it to!

If you only have a couple days in San Francisco, the top four restaurants that we went to that I would recommend putting on your list are the Swan Oyster Depot (if you like seafood), The Tadich Grill for a fancy and historical splurge, Molinari Delicatessen for amazing sandwiches, and the R&G Lounge for some outstanding Chinese food. We know there area a lot more amazing restaurants in San Francisco that we haven’t tried–but those were our four favorites from this trip. Honorable mention goes to Trader Vic’s in Oakland/Emeryville.

As for bars, here is our list of the bars we went to in order of most loved to least loved (although we enjoyed them all).

Smugglers Cove
Last Rites
Zombie Village
Bourbon & Branch
Trader Vic’s
Pagan Idol
Li Po Lounge
Kozy Kar
Tonga Room & Hurricane Lounge
Forbidden Island
The Saloon
Kon Tiki
Bamboo Hut
Bow Bow Bar
Buddha Lounge
Kung Fu Action Theater

Thank you San Francisco for a lovely time.

ADVENTURES IN THE UNITED STATES, Main menu, TIKI TIME, TRAVEL TIPS

Our Favorite Places in Las Vegas

May 30, 2025 whitney 1 Comment

Guide to our favorite places in Las Vegas: Downtown Vegas, The Arts District, and some classic local favorites.

We’ve been to Las Vegas a lot, especially after my parents moved to Lake Havasu, where Las Vegas is the closest airport. Each trip we try something new, and return to a few old favorites.

Our first trip to Las Vegas was in 2003. I was a poor college student at the time, and Paddy and I had just started dating. I think this was actually our first trip together involving an airplane! We stayed at the Mirage (now closed), marveled at how we could walk around with a drink in our hands in between casinos and even out on the street, as well as get free drinks while gambling low-stakes at the nickel slots. We ate a cheap dinner at the casino buffet, saw the Mirage dolphin habitat, ordered late night room service. We made the rookie mistake of thinking we could walk the entire Strip (don’t try this, especially in the summer heat–it is WAY further than it looks), enjoyed an afternoon at the pool, and saw a classic showgirls show. There was lots of free entertainment–the Mirage volcano that would go off every hour, the Treasure Island pirate ship show, Carnival dancers at The Rio, among other delights.

Paddy on our first trip to Las Vegas, 2003

Most of that Las Vegas Strip is gone. The majority of the classic old casinos have been torn down and are being rebuilt as new resorts. The Flamingo, Caesar’s Palace, and The Sahara are the only ones still standing from the mid-century heyday. The glamourous vibe of The Strip has become a watered-down, shopping mall/adult Disneyland version of something that used to be cool. Kind of like Hot Topic, The Strip is where cool ideas go to die. Remember the speakeasy bar craze of the 2000s and 2010s? The Strip casinos have just now caught on, adding “speakeasys” with expensive classic cocktails to their bar attractions.

Like a car salesman with sparkling white teeth, The Strip does everything it can to greedily separate you from as much of your money as possible. The cheap buffets at all the casinos on The Strip are gone, and the only buffets left are breakfast and lunch only. The dinner buffets have been replaced by fancy celebrity chef restaurants. The free drinks while gambling is still a thing, but barely. You really have to be doing some serious gambling to get free drinks now. Casinos now charge upwards of $15-$30 a cocktail, and EVERYTHING is expensive on The Strip.

My biggest piece of advice: Skip the Strip.

UNLESS…this is your first time to Las Vegas. If you have never been to Las Vegas, you should go to the strip at least once, just don’t spend all your time there.

Our Tips for The Strip–if you must:

If it is at all possible for you to go during the week vs a weekend, do it.

Hotel Prices are dirt cheap Sunday through Thursday. You can get very nice rooms for $40-$60 a night, but be aware that there will be a “resort fee” or “amenities fee” that may be as much as the price of the room. Still, $90 total per night for a really nice hotel room is still a great deal. In addition, Las Vegas on the weekend (particularly on The Strip) is much more crowded and full of douchebags.

Don’t touch anything in the minibar or any of the snacks in the room.

The Mini fridge has a sensor, as do the snack displays in the room. You will be charged if things are moved even slightly. I stayed at Mandalay Bay last year and a bottle of water in the mini bar was $26.00. Get your snacks and drinks elsewhere, and don’t put anything near it that could potentially bump something!

All the food and drinks on The Strip are expensive–but there are hacks.

Last time Paddy and I stayed on The Strip together we stayed at the Paris casino. The rooms were lovely, but we definitely got sticker shock when we walked down to the casino and ordered a couple beers, only to be given a bill for $22.00. The next morning we wanted to do something cheap and quick for breakfast, and the little counter service cafe in the casino had $6.99 drip coffee and $16.99 breakfast sandwiches. Same deal when I stayed at Mandalay Bay last year.

To get the best value for meals on The Strip, research where you want to eat and plan your meals in advance. There are some very nice high end restaurants, and if you are up for dropping some dough on a fancy meal–The Strip has plenty of options for that.

If budget food is your priority–this is going to be trickier but do-able. You just have to research options in advance. Look at menus at the restaurants around your hotel on Google Maps and see which options fit your budget. When we stayed at Paris, we discovered a food court at the Cosmopolitan across the street with some good options. Or–just leave the strip for meals altogether.

As for drinks, take advantage of the no open container laws, and bring a purse. Pick up some beers, little bottles of wine or baby bottles of booze at one of the Walgreens or liquor stores on the Strip. Order a soda at one of the casino bars or procure a cup somewhere, and (stealthily) pour what you bought inside. You can make your own drink and just walk around freely without dropping $20 on a cocktail. There is no shame.

There are some free attractions on The Strip to see

Each themed casino is fun to walk around in if you’ve never been to The Strip before. Some of the theme casinos with cheesy and fun interiors are Paris, The Venetian, New York New York, Luxor, Circus Circus, Excalibur, Treasure Island, and Caesar’s Palace. Walk around with a drink and marvel at the faux statues, streets, cafes, pirate ships, etc. Just walking around these casinos is a sight-seeing tour in itself.

A few of the casinos still have free attractions. The Flamingo casino has a Flamingo habitat that is free and open during the day. The Bellagio has a fountain show that can be seen from the sidewalk and is best seen at night. The Bellagio also has a botanical garden which I’ve never been to, but I believe it is also free to visit.

The Flamingo Sanctuary at The Flamingo, Las Vegas

There are also things you can pay to do that can be fun. The New York New York casino has a massive rollercoaster that goes around it, The Paris has an Eiffel tour you can go up in for great views of The Strip (go at night if you do this one), and The Venetian has gondola rides in the Grand Canal shops.

See a show

The only reason I still want to visit The Strip on occasion these days is to see a show. There are some fantastic shows in Las Vegas. The one we just saw on our last trip was Dita Von Teese at the Voltaire in The Venetian, and it was top notch. The theater room itself was mind-blowingly glamourous. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Cirque du Soleil, but there really is a show for everyone. In my experience, the earlier you buy your show tickets the cheaper they can be.

Voltaire theater in The Venetian, Las Vegas

Unfortunately, getting a Lyft ride from the Venetian/Harrah’s Lyft/Uber pick up area when the show was over took 40 minutes to get a car. This freshly renewed our “fuck The Strip” mentality, despite the wonderful show experience.

Now that we’ve gotten The Strip out of the way, here are our favorite spots in Las Vegas:

Downtown and The Arts District:

While The Strip has become increasingly lame and is tearing down old mid century casinos to make way for giant Hard Rock Cafe mega resorts, Downtown Las Vegas and The Arts District are reviving and preserving vintage Vegas. We were delighted to see the streets between and around downtown and the Arts District had vintage neon hotel signs installed along the streets and in the midways. The casino hotels here have more reasonably priced food and drinks, and there are a lot of cool bars and restaurants in walking distance of the downtown casinos to explore.

Downtown hotels:

I’ve stayed at the Golden Nugget, The Plaza, and The El Cortez downtown. The Golden Nugget had the nicest rooms of the three (we got upgraded to the newer Rush Tower rooms and they were very nice).

Rush Tower room, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas

The Golden Nugget also has a huge aquarium with a clear waterslide tube that goes through it to the pool. We stayed there in February and it was too cold to enjoy the pool and the slide was closed, but I’ve heard that it’s fun. You can also pay a $40 fee to just use the slide and pool for the day if you’re not staying there. Info on reserving pool admission and/or cabanas and day beds can be found here.

The Plaza hotel is a cheaper hotel, and the rooms are pretty bare bones. Boring and gray, but adequate and include mini fridges, which is a very nice touch (no overpriced mini bar here). The hotel itself however, is pretty hip. It’s at the tail end of the Fremont Street Experience, which is the most touristy thing downtown. Our room included a free slice of mediocre pizza from the little pizza place in the casino, and a drink at the Carousel Bar outside. Use of the small pool is included. There’s a coffee shop inside with reasonable prices, and a Starbucks just a short walk away for inexpensive coffee and breakfast options. I loved the vintage signage and glittery over the top light bulbs, and the pop art mural at the pool was also really cool. I’d stay here again, but I wish they would jazz up their rooms a bit–add some color and maybe some cool vintage Vegas art.

Most recently, we tried out the Original 47 rooms at the historic El Cortez downtown. We reserved a king suite, which had a mini fridge, coffee maker, and a couch seating area. We loved the vintage decor and the location, and they have a free airport shuttle (to the airport only, not from). For the shuttle you just have to sign up for it in advance the day before.

The Original 47 rooms are older, and not luxury, but fun. Bathroom was tiny, and the only access is a flight of stairs to the second floor (be sure you are able to haul your luggage up a flight of stairs before booking these specific rooms). They have more modern rooms with an elevator in a separate tower, but I have not seen them. TV channels were very limited–but who goes to Vegas to watch TV? Another thing we didn’t love was a bracelet key. I suppose it’s harder to lose a bright orange key that is around your wrist, but it doesn’t exactly go with all outfits. Also, ear plugs are necessary for these rooms, particularly on weekends. The casino below gets very loud and stays loud into the wee hours. Thursday night wasn’t so bad, but Friday night we were very glad we brought ear plugs.

The location of the El Cortez was top notch. Outside of the Fremont Street Experience on Fremont Street East, it is right in the middle of everything on Fremont Street and downtown, and easy to walk to bars and restaurants nearby. There’s a Starbucks in the lobby where you can buy reasonably priced coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and water. We were denied entry to the Siegel’s restaurant for breakfast due to Paddy wearing a tank top, which we thought was super lame. However, we found a much better breakfast at a small local spot across the street.

There are a lot of other hotels downtown that we haven’t tried, most are all within walking distance of everything on Fremont Street.

Downtown Restaurants:

We honestly haven’t eaten at a lot of the downtown restaurants, but here are a few that we enjoyed:

BajaMar Seafood and Tacos

If you like seafood, you need to check this place out, it is a true gem. If you’re coming for dinner you will need to come on the early side as they close at 7:00 PM. Be warned though, the dishes that say they are spicy are pretty spicy. I learned that the hard way last time!

Luv-It Frozen Custard

If you ate a spicy dish at Bajamar and need to put out the fire, fret not because Luv-It Frozen Custard is right next door. Serving frozen custard, sundaes, and shakes since 1973, this is a classic Vegas institution.

Dirt Dog

Located in the heart of the Fremont Street Experience, Dirt Dog is a great place to go for a quick cheap lunch or when you’re drunk late at night–they are open until 2:00 AM. I recommend the Elote Dog.

Evel Pie

Evel Pie is an Evel-Knievel themed pizza joint also right on Fremont Street, and is also open late and good for a slice before bed after some drinks. Or just a quick slice for lunch.

Parlour Coffee and Cooking

We had breakfast at Parlour Coffee and Cooking, located just a block off of Fremont Street downtown, and it was great. Prices were reasonable for what was offered. Lots of espresso drinks, some cocktails, and a delectable breakfast menu. Counter service, cozy and ambient seating, and lots of power outlets for people who want to bring a laptop and work. We really enjoyed this spot.

Hash House a Go Go

Hash House a Go Go has several locations in Las Vegas, and the one downtown is located in the Plaza hotel/casino. This is a great place to go if you are hungover. We came here once and shared “Andy’s Sage Fried Chicken Benedict” and we were so glad we split it. It was HUGE. There is no way one of us could have eaten it by ourselves. Be aware of the portion sizes here. That said, it was delicious.

Downtown Bars:

Atomic Liquors

It doesn’t get much more classic Las Vegas than Atomic Liquors, Vegas’ oldest free standing bar. Open since 1952, it got it’s name because people used to watch the atomic bomb testing from it’s roof (!!). This is a locals bar, a bit divey but a wonderful oasis from the tourist track of Las Vegas. The bartenders are always great here, and I can attest that they make a very good margarita on the rocks. Atomic Liquors is hands down my favorite downtown bar, located right on Fremont Street but nice and far away from the Fremont Street Experience.

ReBAR

The ReBAR is in the heart of the Arts District, and is another great local spot. The ReBAR is 80% bar, 20% antique store. There are some collectables for sale scattered around the bar, and some fun old relics that are not for sale, such as a working Zoltar machine. (Zoltar takes credit cards now apparently–he is moving with the times). Very local-feeling spot, a little hipster, good place to take a rest and have a beer while exploring the antique and vintage stores in the Arts District.

Velveteen Rabbit

Full disclosure–I haven’t been to this Arts District bar since it was pretty new back in 2016. It seems to have stood the test of time and I would love to go back again and check it out on my next trip.

If you like fancy craft cocktails and an artsy, eclectic atmosphere–this is an awesome spot. I remember candles, antique furniture, and a lovingly crafted little book of cocktails as the menu. It looks like they have added a pretty nice outdoor patio as well. Great spot for a date or a romantic nightcap.

The Stray Pirate

The Stray Pirate is another newer bar in the Arts District that is (as you might have guessed), a pirate-themed tiki bar. There is also a secondary dog theme, which was unexpected. I think the owner just really likes dogs.

The cocktails were nice and the decor was really well done. Drinks come with little pirate flags, which is a nice touch. Feels like you’re drinking inside a pirate ship.

There are a lot of new bars that have popped up in the arts district that look really cool that we still have not yet explored. The Arts District is the most up and coming area of Las Vegas, and I would love to make it my main focus on my next visit.

Downtown attractions:

The Fremont Street Experience

To be honest, The Fremont Street Experience isn’t my favorite thing downtown, but it is the most touristy attraction. It’s a section of Fremont Street covered with a ceiling that has a light show on it, as well as lots of street performers, live bands playing, and a zipline experience going through it. It is a unique site to behold, but we were over it after about 30 minutes. It is a bit of a sensory overload. Definitely check it out at least once, get a beer from one of the beer stands on the side of the street, walk around a bit.

Fremont Street Las Vegas — Random gorilla guy on Fremont Street, Las Vegas

The Arts District

As mentioned above, the Arts District neighborhood is the new hip area of Vegas. If you like vintage clothing and antiques, you will love the Arts District. A couple of my favorites are:

Rockin’ Bettie (if you like retro style clothes–they have plus sizes, accessories, and a few menswear items in addition to lots of retro dresses, tops, etc. They also sell their clothes online, but it’s fun to be able to try their creations on in person. There is also another vintage clothing store right next door.

Main Street Peddlers Antique Mall

There are several great antique stores in the Arts District, but we are partial to this one because one of the sellers has a whole tiki display of vintage tiki-related items and clothing. This store also has a lot of great vintage Las Vegas collectables such as swizzle sticks, ash trays, matchbooks, shot glasses, etc.

Antique mall in the Arts District, Las Vegas

Tiki corner at the Main Street Peddlers Antique Mall, Las Vegas

Vintage Vegas Antiques

Another cool antique store, conveniently right next to the ReBAR if you need to rest and have a beer. Looks like they might be building their own retro bar and lounge right next door as well, can’t wait to see it when it is open.

The Neon Museum / Neon Boneyard

The Neon Museum is, in my opinion, the best tourist attraction in Las Vegas. Located downtown and also called the Neon Boneyard, it is a final resting place and outdoor museum for the old neon signs of Las Vegas’ past. I recommend getting your tickets in advance, especially on weekends as it can sell out. When I first visited back in 2011, it was just a daytime tour, but now it is also open in the evening and many of the signs are restored and lit up at night. I recommend going around sunset so you can see a bit of both.

Bear in mind that the museum is outdoors with no shade or rain cover, so dress accordingly.

Container Park Mall

The Container Park Mall is a collection of shipping containers that have been made into shops and restaurants, located right downtown on Fremont Street. I haven’t been there since 2016 so I’m not sure what kind of shops are there now, but it’s a unique place to explore. At night there is a large praying mantis sculpture that puts on a fire show periodically between 7:30 to 11:00 PM, weather permitting.

Mantis sculpture, Container Park Mall, Las Vegas

Vintage slot machines at The D

While you’re wandering around Fremont Street Experience, pop into The D casino and head up to the second floor to play some of the old classic vintage slot machines with the pull lever and the fruit that spins. A little piece of classic Vegas history.

Vintage slot machine at The D, Las Vegas

Other Bars and Restaurants we love:

The Bootlegger Italian Bistro

The Bootlegger is an old school Las Vegas institution, and the family that owns it has been cooking for Las Vegas since the Rat Pack days. Big leather booths, fantastic service, and live music–not to mention fantastic Italian American fare.

Lotus of Siam

The most popular Thai Restaurant in Las Vegas is Lotus of Siam, and you definitely need a reservation. Specializing in Issan/Northern Thai cuisine, the food here is outstanding. Be sure to order off their highlight menu–particularly the Khao Soi and the garlic prawns. This place is super popular and very busy, and the staff was like a well-oiled machine. If you like Thai food, book a table here. It’s worth the detour away from downtown or The Strip.

District One

Las Vegas has a Chinatown, but it’s not very picturesque. It is essentially a big strip mall west of The Strip. However, there are some awesome restaurants to be found here. I’ve only been to one so far, and it was a winner. District One has a Vietnamese/Asian fusion menu with lots of fresh seafood and unique dishes. We would love to go back, and try more of Las Vegas’ Chinatown restaurants.

Frankie’s Tiki Room

Even if you aren’t big into Tiki bars, Frankie’s Tiki Room is a classic Las Vegas institution. The bar itself is the former Frankie’s Bar and Cocktail Lounge which was around since the 1950s, and was re-opened as a Tiki bar in 2008. There is no food here, and they do allow smoking, but the atmosphere is classic. Frankie’s has quite a few signature Tiki mugs that you can buy as a souvenir, and lots of swag like stickers and matchbooks that they often throw in for free if you buy a mug. The drinks here are a bit sweet–I wouldn’t recommend imbibing on very many of them unless you want a terrible hangover. However, you can also get beer and whatever other type of cocktail you want as well. Open 24 hours…I’ve always wondered what this place is like at 6:00 AM on a Tuesday.

Golden Tiki

The Golden Tiki is a newer Tiki bar in Las Vegas, and as much as I love Frankie’s, Golden Tiki is my favorite. The immersive Tiki atmosphere is on point. Located in Chinatown, they serve food and their drinks are a bit more upscale and not as sugary. In addition, you can make a reservation here which is awesome if you have a bigger group. They have Dole Whip, if you are a Dole Whip fanatic. The back room area has a few secret little portholes in the walls with some impressive photos….I’ll just leave it at that. Also on display is a very large collection of shrunken celebrity heads. Golden Tiki is a great time and shouldn’t be missed. Like Frankie’s, Golden Tiki is also open 24 hours.

The Double Down Saloon

A sister bar to Frankie’s Tiki Room, the Double Down Saloon is about as local and punk rock as it gets. They have live music and their signature drink is “Ass Juice,” which you can purchase in a souvenir toilet Tiki mug, if you’re so inclined. I asked the Bartender what the “Ass Juice” consists of, and was told it’s whatever the current bartender wants to throw in a vat that day. I tried it, it wasn’t bad that day. Try it once–it’s a Las Vegas rite of passage. Check out their website to see what bands are playing while you’re in town. Also open 24 hours.

Ass Juice, The Double Down Saloon, Las Vegas

The Peppermill and Fireside Lounge

The Peppermill is another classic Vegas spot since 1972, and technically it is on The Strip, just pretty far north towards downtown. Part diner and part neon velvet fever dream, this place just kind of needs to be seen to be explained. Inside you will find neon lights and big purple and blue velvet booths, in the lounge pink velvet couches surround a firepit. Food is diner fare, and there are plenty of fruity tropical drinks. The Peppermill is known for the 64 ounce Scorpion Bowl, to be shared with 1-3 friends. If you are looking for cheesy, neon, over-the-top Las Vegas, you’ve found it.

Other Fun Attractions in Las Vegas:

Area 15

Area 15 is a really unique venue with lots of different art and immersive experiences going on. Entrance is free, but each exhibit costs a separate fee, so you should do some research ahead of time and figure out which ones you want to do. There are so many different exhibits and activities and many are rotating so there is new stuff being added all the time. We did Wink World the first time which was kind of an immersive art maze. The second time I went with a friend and we did the Meow Wolf Omega Mart, which I HIGHLY recommend. The Meow Wolf Omega Mart looks small from the outside, but trust me–you will spend at least an hour or two exploring it. It is huge and there is so much bizarre stuff to see.

Area 15 is a great day time activity, especially when it’s hot and you need to get out of the heat and sun for a while. Research the exhibits before you go and get time slot tickets for one or two, and maybe have some food or a drink at one of the bars and enjoy the weird atmosphere.

Mermaid show at the Silverton Casino

If you’re in Las Vegas on a Thursday through Sunday, you can catch a free Mermaid Show at the Silverton Casino. Mermaids swim and do tricks in a giant saltwater aquarium in the center of the casino. You will have to drive or take a Lyft/Uber there though–it’s a ways from the Strip and downtown. But it’s FREE.

However, the Silverton is a locals casino and the prices are good. There is a restaurant on site. If you go on a Friday or Saturday between 5-8 PM, you can see the mermaid show and have a drink in the Mermaid Lounge next to the aquarium. The mermaids swim every half hour between 12:00 to 3:45 PM Thursday through Sunday, and between 5-8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 5-6:30 PM on Sundays. Sometimes this schedule changes, so best to check their website before you go.

Mermaid Show at the Silverton Casino, Las Vegas

The Welcome to Las Vegas sign

Just a photo op with the classic sign. You will need a car to get to it, but if you’re driving there is parking available near the sign.

The Punk Rock Museum

We recently visited the new Punk Rock Museum on our last visit, and if you like punk music, this is worth a visit. Some great artifacts/memorabilia on display, a small bar downstairs and a small record shop and tattoo shop upstairs. Admission is $39.00

Overall, I thought they were missing a Riot Grrl exhibit (although they did showcase some items from a few Riot Grrl bands), and I think that including the early 2000s Emo music scene is questionably punk, but still a good museum. It would be cool if they added some more interactive displays. It is a new museum though, so there is always potential to grow and change.

One really cool thing that they offer is guided tours by celebrity musicians for $100.00. Check their schedule to see who is touring when you’re in town–maybe it’s someone you really want to meet.

Red Rock Canyon

If you have a car and like to get outdoors or hike, Red Rock Canyon is just outside of the city and has hiking trails and a good taste of the Nevada desert landscape. Check out the Red Rock Canyon site for info on hikes and reservations. Reservations are required to visit October through May.

I wouldn’t recommend visiting Red Rock in the summer as it gets really hot in Las Vegas. We were in Las Vegas once in June and it was 114 degrees.

This is not a definitive list of everything cool in Las Vegas, as we are not locals there and have definitely not seen it all. There are a lot of other things we would like to check out, such as the new Sphere, and more of the Area 15 activities such as the Illuminarium. We would also like to try some more restaurants in Chinatown. The Arts District keeps growing as well, and new cool things are being added all the time. Just get off The Strip and seek out some funky, local spots and you will have a great time.

ADVENTURES IN THE UNITED STATES, Main menu

Nashville, Tennessee

April 15, 2025 whitney Leave a comment

Three days in Nashville, Tennesee: Honky Tonkin’, Tiki bars, a retro 1970’s themed motel, and some fantastic food

Day 1: Tina Turner Museum, Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, the funkiest motel this side of The Smoky Mountains, and honky-tonkin’ on Broadway

Our trip to Nashville was part of a week-long trip to Tennessee to visit Memphis and Nashville. (Read about our previous three days in Memphis here). Overall, I felt like we did more sightseeing in Memphis than Nashville, so I’d like to come back to Nashville again to explore a little more. That said, we had a fun time in Nashville and found a lot of fun experiences and hidden gems outside the main tourist trail.

Our trip started with the drive from Memphis to Nashville, which takes about 3.5 hours without stops. However, we made a couple stops (what’s a road trip without roadside attractions, right?):

Our first stop was at the Tina Turner Museum, which is part of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, Tennessee. It’s a free museum with some other interesting cultural exhibits and is only about an hour outside of Memphis.

The Tina Turner Museum portion is in the one-room school house that Tina Turner (birth name Anna Mae Bullock) attended growing up. Inside you can see the school house along with some of Tina’s outfits, high school yearbook, gold records, and other memorabilia.

The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center is a great road trip rest stop with bathrooms, and the exhibits don’t take much time to tour. It’s free but donations are encouraged.

Moving on, we made our second stop at Loretta Lynn’s ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN, about an hour and 20 minutes from Nashville. The ranch is quite a ways off the highway, and you can do a guided tour for $20/person, see the museum for $20/person, or do both for $35/person.

We had spent the previous day touring three museums and the day before that touring Graceland, and we were getting tired and ready to get to Nashville and check into our hotel. Therefore we skipped the tour and the museum and couldn’t tell you if it was worth it or not.

We were able to see the replica of Loretta Lynn’s childhood home, however, as well as have lunch at the restaurant.

Loretta Lynn’s Kitchen is closer to the highway and serves a lot of southern country fare for really reasonable prices. I opted for just the fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and a side of white beans.

Loretta Lynn's Ranch — Loretta Lynn’s Ranch

Lunch at Loretta Lynn's Ranch — Lunch at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch

After lunch, it wasn’t long before we reached Nashville and headed to our motel.

A couple years ago, I saw an Instagram post about The Dive Motel and was kind of obsessed with it ever since. The Dive Motel is an old motel on Dickerson Pike in northeast Nashville that was renovated by someone with a very beautiful and funky dream.

All the rooms are decorated vibrantly and with an artsy, funky, disco flare. They all have disco balls and a “party switch” which activates the disco ball as well as the in-room surround stereo. The Motel radio piped into the room has four channels: “Sex”, “Drugs”, “Rock n Roll”, and “Sleep.” Each room is decorated differently. Upon check in you are given a ticket for a free beer or non-alcoholic beverage from the lobby bar.

Another thing we loved about The Dive Motel: the entire motel, bar, and swim club are 21+ only. Only adults, no families.

The Dive Motel, Nashville--queen room — The Dive Motel, Nashville–queen room

You don’t get to choose which room you get, unless, however, you are like us and go for the Honeymoon Suite–which looks like this:

Honeymoon Suite, The Dive Motel, Nashville

Not one, but TWO disco balls and a disco soundtrack greeted us when we arrived. It also comes equipped with not one, but TWO gigantic orange bathtubs in the room.

In addition, there is a bathroom with a regular shower, some mid century furniture, a mini fridge, and a deck off the room shared with two other suites.

The mini fridge is stocked with waters, sodas, beers, wine, CBD water, etc that are for sale with a price list. There are no sensors or anything, so you can take them out and put your own stuff in if you want to, then put them back when you check out. The top of the mini fridge also has various snacks for sale, sunscreen, and even a small, cheap vibrator. Prices were more expensive than the store, but not outrageous.

We loved the decor in the honeymoon suite. A few improvements could be made to make it perfect though–including a coffee maker in the room, a much firmer mattress (it was really gushy–it’s probably seen some action in it’s life), and a shelf or some sort of piece of furniture in the bathroom to put things. The pedestal sink didn’t provide a lot of space to set things on. Otherwise, it was a pretty fun room.

The Dive Motel has a pool and allows people to come in and use their “swim club” during the day for a fee. We were provided bracelets at check in that are a different color than the swim club day guests, to help identify us as guests while at the pool so that we could get towels and charge drinks to our room if we wanted to.

Most of the motel rooms are right off the pool. Another thing we liked about the Honeymoon Suite was that it was in an outbuilding at the end of the property, slightly away from the pool area, on the second floor. The deck overlooks the pool and property and has some furniture to sit at and have a drink without having to be down in the lobby or at the pool. It was also a bit quieter than the close quarters of the pool front motel rooms. The deck is shared with two other suites on the top floor, but we found it to be empty most of the time.

We all needed a nap after the long drive so we went off to enjoy our separate rooms for a bit before heading out for the evening.

You can’t go to Nashville without at least one night on Broadway, the famous honky-tonk strip in Nashville. It was Thursday, so we figured maybe that might be a little less insane on Broadway than Friday or Saturday.

Our uber driver got us about a block away from Broadway, where we got out and turned the corner into tourist honky-tonk chaos. I’d like to say that the Vegas Strip or Bourbon Street in New Orleans prepared me for Broadway in Nashville, but it was still an overwhelming experience that engaged my fight-or-flight instincts. Music blared out of every bar, neon lights glowed, and tourists and herds of bachelorettes packed the sidewalks.

An unfortunate phenomenon in Nashville that has emerged over the past few years is that Nashville is now usurping Vegas as a top bachelorette party destination. In addition to to all the tourists, bachelorette parties clad in matching outfits were everywhere as far as the eye could see.

Our goal was to sit down some where, have a drink and get something to eat. The flight part of the fight or flight instinct won over, and we spotted several bars with rooftop terraces across the street. Hoping for the best, we dashed across the street and up the stairs to the roof, locating an empty table as a place of refuge. There was live music downstairs but not much on the roof, but we were happy to find a table and be off the street. Paddy and Al ordered us some drinks at the roof top bar while I was asked to take photos for a bachelorette party passing through. I obliged. I’m a nice person.

It was nice to view Broadway from the roof as the sun went down. There appeared to be many rooftop bars on Broadway, which we did really like.

We stayed for a while, ate some mediocre pizza and listened to a really bad live musician at the rooftop next door, trying to down a few drinks and catch a slight buzz before we went back into the fray.

Al had been to Nashville once before and led us to Layla’s Honky Tonk, the only woman-owned honky tonk on Broadway. Like every other bar, they had some cover bands, all of which were very good. We found a table with a good view of the stage and watched everyone dancing.

Layla's Honky Tonk, Nashville — Layla’s Honky Tonk, Nashville

Everyone had rehearsed line dancing moves, and couples danced together. The women on Broadway all seemed to have a “uniform” of either cut-off jean shorts, a tight top and cowboy boots, or a short, summery dress and cowboy boots. I might have been out of place in my sundress and sandals, but the great thing about getting older is that you stop caring about fitting in.

I loved that Layla’s was woman-owned and would definitely go back there if we were in Nashville again. We didn’t end up exploring any other honky-tonks on Broadway, but we had a very nice time at Layla’s.

Day 2: Brunch at the Dolly Parton themed White Limozeen, exploring East Nashville, an amazing farm to table dinner, and some Tiki bars

One of the top things on my list was brunch at White Limozeen, the Dolly Parton-themed restaurant on the rooftop of the Graduate Hotel downtown. I did some research while planning our trip, and the Google reviews for White Limozeen seemed to be mostly good for brunch, and mostly bad for dinner. Therefore, we opted for brunch.

Brunch is only served Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and reservations can be kind of hard to get depending on the season and how large your party is. For large bachelorette parties (which are very attracted to White Limozeen), it can be pretty cutthroat and you have to be on it to get your large party reservation at times. They release brunch reservations 14 days in advance. Be sure to get a reservation for brunch or dinner if you want to come here.

White Limozeen is immaculately decorated and very, very pink. Obviously a classic bachelorette party destination. They have an outdoor patio area that is open seasonally with a pool. You may make a reservation for a lounger at the pool too if you like, which can also be difficult to get on weekends (reserve here). That said, the pool is very small and mostly just conducive to lounging, taking selfies, and drinking cocktails.

Brunch was pretty good, and overall a fun spot to visit, albeit a bit pricey. One of the big attractions is being able to take a selfie on the patio with the giant pink Dolly Parton bust statue.

Everyone enjoyed their meal, but the food isn’t the reason you come here, it’s the atmosphere. I don’t know that I would go back, but it was fun to do once.

After Paddy and Al humored me by having brunch at the pinkest restaurant in Nashville, I returned the favor by tagging along with them to look at guitars at the Gibson Garage downtown. They are both musicians and needed to ogle some guitars for a while. Paddy is a bass player, and Gibson didn’t have a huge selection of bass guitars, but if you are a guitar player, this is probably worth a stop for you.

We spent the latter part of the afternoon exploring the East Nashville neighborhood.

I was expecting the neighborhood to be a little like South Congress in Austin or N 4th Ave in Tucson, with lots of little funky shops and restaurants and bars to explore. Unfortunately, it wasn’t laid out quite like those streets. While there were some gems, it wasn’t very walkable as everything was really spread out. That said, the neighborhood is much more local than the downtown/Broadway tourist beat, and there are some fun spots here to explore. It’s best if you have a car, however.

We enjoyed browsing the following shops:

Of the shops we visited, Hail Dark Aesthetics was the most unique. Lots of funky taxidermy, antiques, and items of the occult. There was a little museum that you could peek into for $5.00, but we didn’t opt in….and I kind of regret it.

Later that evening after a siesta (we’re old), we had a reservation at Lou, a farm to table restaurant in the East Nashville/South Inglewood neighborhood. I am very sad to see that Lou has since permanently closed. It was a charming little farmhouse in a residential neighborhood and the food was outstanding. It was such a lovely experience to eat outside listening to the cicadas while the sun set. There was a butter bean and mushroom in pork broth dish that blew my damn mind.

This was our favorite meal in Nashville, and I sincerely hope Chef Mailea Weger (who was nominated for a James Beard award for Lou), goes on to start something else wonderful.

After dinner, we headed back over to the main area of East Nashville to visit Nashville’s two tiki bars, the first of which was Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk.

Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk gets extra brownie points for the awesome name. The atmosphere matches the name –this bar is great fun.

Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk takes the kitsch factor to new levels–instead of a classic tiki theme it is more of a vintage pop culture/Nashville/Rock n Roll/Country memorabilia. There is something interesting to look at everywhere you turn. We ordered some cocktails and enjoyed the blaring 80’s metal that was straight outta Paddy and Al’s high school days.

I opted for the Swayze Crazy (gin, banana liqueur, lemon juice, orgeat, and falernum), and Paddy had the Zippy Paloma (pineapple-jalepeno tequila, lime, grapefruit, and squirt with a Tajin rim).

I definitely preferred the Zippy Paloma–the Swayze Crazy was pretty sweet, albeit unique. The tiki drinks here aren’t super upscale and are a bit on the sweet side, but the atmosphere makes up for it. Maybe try a tiki drink, and then switch over to something more classic like an old fashioned or a gin and tonic here.

And can we talk about this Christmas-themed bathroom for a minute? It’s Christmas all year round in the loo at the Tiki Tonk.

Next, we ended the evening at Chopper, a robot/sci-fi themed tiki bar up the street from Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk.

Chopper was having a Star Wars theme month when we were there so there were a lot of Star Wars tiki mugs and themed drinks.

A very unique take on a tiki bar, this place was a lot mellower and a bit more upscale than the kitschy Tiki Tonk. Lots of cozy booths and glowing neon giving it a futuristic vibe, with classic tiki cocktail flavors on the menu.

I had the Robo Zombie (rum, Falernum, pineapple, lemon, lime, cinnamon, fassionola, and bitters), and it came on fire, which is always exciting. Cinnamon sprinkled on the flame by the server sparked it into a flaming frenzy at the table.

Al had the Dopamine (bourbon, rum, coffee, coconut, cinnamon, and lemon). It came in a snifter with a live orchid and a sprig of mint

If you are looking for inventive craft Tiki cocktails—Chopper is the place to go. Whether you’re a sci-fi nerd, Tiki enthusiast, craft cocktail enthusiast, or just looking for an interesting place to bring a date–Chopper is definitely recommended.

For a kitschy fun time with some punk rock/metal vibes–Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk fits the bill. We really enjoyed both of them.

Day 3: Fancy brunch, a pool party, and some really, really hot chicken

After sleeping in a bit, we drove over to our brunch reservation at Audry, celebrity chef Sean Brock’s flagship Nashville restaurant.

Paddy and I had been really excited to try Sean Brock’s food ever since seeing him on the PBS docu-series Mind of a Chef on Netflix.

We ordered the heirloom cornbread with sour corn butter and cracklins for the table, along with the beignets with blueberry sugar.

I opted for the shrimp and grits with a sunnyside egg and tomato gravy, which was a smaller appetizer portion, and Paddy had the Appalachian Country Breakfast with eggs, hashbrowns, black pepper bacon, buttermilk biscuit and gravy, and tomato jam.

Appalachian Country Breakfast–Audry Nashville

Everything was outstanding–but be aware that the portions are small as this is a high end restaurant. I wished the shrimp and grits were a bit larger, but with the cornbread and the beignets, it ended up being the perfect amount of food. It was so delicious I almost licked the bowl.

We would love to come back on a future visit for dinner.

The week had kind of caught up to us, and the weather was wonderful, so Paddy and I opted to enjoy the pool party going on at the Dive Motel that afternoon. Al took a siesta.

The Dive Motel has a pool club where locals can pay to come enjoy the pool during the day. The pool is 21 and over, so no kids, no families. I am always a sucker for an adults-only pool.

We were probably the oldest people at the pool, as it was full of twenty-something hipsters. However, the DJ was spinning a fantastic mix of early 90s hip hop, disco, and a few modern songs that was definitely my vibe. The young folks all wanted to be in the pool or around the pool, which made it easy for me to snag the last set of lounge chairs just before it got really busy.

We had bracelets identifying us as hotel guests and not day pass guests, so we were able to get towels and charge drinks to our room. No water bottles or outside beverages are allowed in the pool area, but there are complimentary water stations with cups around the pool area so that you can stay hydrated. We had a couple delicious frozen margaritas that were pretty expensive at about $20 each, however they were strong and refreshing. One margarita provided a nice buzz.

For dinner that evening, we had not yet tried the infamous Nashville hot chicken. We opted for the famous local spot Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish. After seeing chefs David Chang and Anthony Bourdain opt for the hot spice level chicken options on separate TV show episodes, we knew we should play it safe here. Apparently the extra hot made David Chang hallucinate. On the way over, our Lyft driver confirmed that we should not “be a hero.” He said don’t even think about ordering anything higher than medium, and even medium will melt your face off.

Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish, Nashville — Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish, Nashville

When we walked in the door of the restaurant, we happened upon a spectacle of young ladies dressed like they were about to go to the club, eating chicken around the table and crying. “We ordered medium.” They sobbed.

Noted.

Also, somewhat cruelly, they don’t sell milk here. This was confirmed by watching one of the crying young ladies go back up to the window and try to order milk, only to be told by the employee with a smile, “no milk.”

The spice levels are no spice, lite, lite mild, mild, medium, hot, and extra hot. There is also a warning sign advising you not to touch your eyes or babies after eating the chicken.

After taking this all in (and with the knowledge that we were to be getting on a plane home the next morning….as spice has a habit of showing back up later), Paddy and I ordered one order of chicken and one order of catfish with the “lite” spice. Al ordered “lite mild.”

Al was sweating through the lite mild chicken a bit, but he was able to do it without consequence. Paddy and I thoroughly enjoyed the lite spice level chicken and catfish, the catfish being the best fried catfish I’ve ever had. We had the collard greens and potato salad too, which were also good. This place truly is a gem, just don’t get too brave with the spice. The chicken and fish are really good and you will want to be able to taste them.

If you do get brave–maybe bring your own milk along just in case.

Three days wasn’t much time to really experience Nashville, but we had a great time. A few places on our list that we opted out of due to museum fatigue from Memphis are:

The Johnny Cash Museum

The Patsy Cline Museum

The Grand Ole Opry–offers tours

Johnny Cash and June Carter’s grave sites

Cooter’s Dukes of Hazard Museum

We were also very sad that the infamous Bluebird Cafe was closed for some reason the week we were there. We would love to go back and see a show there on a future trip.

If we come back to Nashville, we would definitely like to see these places, as well as experience more Nashville food. Broadway was a bit much for me, but I’d give it another shot. There is a lot of great music to see in the Music City. I would also love to see Dollywood–just once. That’s about a three hour drive East of Nashville.

All in all, Nashville is a really fun place to visit. Just watch out for those bachelorette parties….

ADVENTURES IN THE UNITED STATES, Main menu

Memphis, Tennessee

January 28, 2025 whitney Leave a comment

Three days in Memphis, Tennessee: Touring Graceland, delicious BBQ, and a lot of Blues, Rock N Roll, Soul Music, and civil rights history

So much amazing music has come out of Memphis. This three day trip was part of a 1 week trip to both Memphis and Nashville. After a quick visit to each, we found that we enjoyed Memphis the most. Memphis is a small city, and the soul, blues, and rock and roll history runs deep here. It might be that we enjoy this type of music more than country-centric Nashville. However, we also found Memphis to be much smaller and easier to navigate. People were friendly, and the atmosphere felt slightly reminiscent of New Orleans at times.

Memphis attractions outside of the Beale Street music and bar scene are pretty museum-heavy, which normally isn’t my thing. However, we thoroughly enjoyed all the museums we visited in Memphis. If you like music, you will like Memphis.

Day 1: Museum of Rock N Soul, and Beale Street

We arrived in Memphis around 11:00 AM, and had a couple hours to kill before we could check into our rental apartment. We were hungry, so opted for lunch at Gus’s Fried Chicken in downtown Memphis.

Gus's Fried Chicken Memphis — Gus’s Fried Chicken Memphis

Gus’s is a cute little spot with a good local vibe. The fried chicken, collard greens, and fried green tomatoes were all tasty, but not the best I’ve had. Good overall, if you’re in the mood for fried chicken this is a good stop, however not a “can’t miss” food destination for Memphis.

After lunch we headed to the Memphis Rock N Soul Museum. I’m glad we made this our first Museum in Memphis, because the rest were all more exciting. That said, we did really enjoy this one, and it gives a good comprehensive overview of Memphis’ music history. If you only have a day or two and are trying to narrow down which attractions to see, put this one towards the bottom of the list.

One piece of history I found really interesting was of the WHER radio station in the 1950’s, which became the first (and one of the only) radio stations in America to play only music performed by women.

While Graceland has most of the Elvis artifacts, the Memphis Rock N Soul Museum has a few, such as the original lyrics to Heartbreak Hotel:

The Rock N Soul Museum is open daily from 10-5 and tickets are $14.00 per person.

It was finally time to check into our apartment, so we got settled and took a rest before heading out for the evening.

We had our friend Alan with us, and opted to stay at The Rambler, which offers studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments. We rented a two bedroom apartment which had a spacious living room and kitchen. It was very clean and comfortable and we would recommend it. It has a pool area with a hot tub and a cool Elvis mural that was usually empty during the week while we were there.

Aside from being clean and comfortable, The Rambler was in walking distance to Beale Street/downtown Memphis, as well as lots of restaurants and cafes and the street car.

The Rambler apartment building pool, Memphis

That evening, we went for dinner at Flying Fish, a casual downtown restaurant with a southern seafood focus. We all love seafood and were not disappointed. Oysters, BBQ shrimp, lobster rolls, alligator, frog legs, jambalaya, po’ boys, catfish–they have it all with plenty of beers to wash it down with. The prices were very reasonable and it was all delicious. I was disappointed that we didn’t have more time to explore more items on the menu.

An amusing feature of Flying Fish is the “Big Mouth Billy Bass Adoption Center” in the front of the restaurant, where people can donate unloved and unwanted Billy Bass fish from a fad gone by.

After dinner it was time to check out Memphis’ infamous Beale Street, the official “Home of the Blues.” Blues legends such as Howlin’ Wolf, BB King, and Muddy Waters used to play the clubs on this street. Elvis used to frequent clubs on Beale Street before he got famous, and it’s there that he heard and later appropriated his first big hit “That’s Alright.”

It was relatively early on a Monday night, so it was pretty quiet. I’m sure it gets pretty lively on the weekends.

Our first stop was an Irish pub called Silky O’ Sullivan’s, as we heard that they had goats living at the bar. Yes, goats.

Silky’s didn’t have a lot going on, but we did find the goats out on the back patio. They seemed to live in these little turret houses in a fenced area off the back patio, to which they climbed and explored as they pleased, keeping watch on anyone below. I hope they have a good life, it was hard to tell.

Silky O'Sullivan's goats — Silky O’Sullivan’s goats

We wanted a little more action than a dead Irish pub with some lonely backyard goats, so we ventured up and down Beale Street and settled on BB King’s Blues Club, which was packed with customers and had a live blues band playing covers.

BB King's Blues Club — BB King’s Blues Club

Cover was $10, and the band and singers were great. We stayed a couple hours, during which time they switched out the singers a couple times. It might have been touristy, but we fully enjoyed it. If it was this busy on a Monday night, I can only imagine how packed it gets on the weekends.

We didn’t try any of the other Beale Street bars and clubs, so we can’t give you any full recommendations of the best spots to visit, but BB Kings was a good time.

Day 2: Graceland and some Memphis BBQ

After a quick breakfast at Starbucks, we drove out to check in for our 11:00 AM tour of Graceland.

Graceland has several ticket options, depending on how big of a die-hard Elvis fan you are. Tickets range from $51-$225 depending on how much you want to see and how personal of a tour you want.

We went with the “Elvis Experience” for $84/person, which included a self-guided tour of his mansion (with digital tour guide John Stamos), as well as access to the museums, cars, and private jets. Personally, I feel like this is more than adequate to see everything, and overall we spent 3.5 hours touring it all. Definitely plan on an entire afternoon here, with some time to rest afterward. It is A LOT.

That said, we had a great time. Tickets are timed entry, and can sell out so it is advised to book a day or two to a week in advance. Once our tickets were scanned, we were lead to a line for a shuttle to take us across the street and up to the front entrance of Graceland Mansion. After that, a guide gave us an introduction and explained how to use our digital John Stamos tour guide pad with headphones, and we began touring the inside of the mansion and then the surrounding property and outbuildings.

The main level consisted of the living room, kitchen, dining room, and Elvis’ parents bedroom. In the basement were the Jungle room, a billiards room, and a den/media lounge. The Jungle Room was my favorite, followed by the den. Everything in the basement was eccentrically decorated with a mid-century modern maximalist vision, which is 100% my cup of tea.

The top floor of Graceland Mansion consists of Elvis’ bedroom, Lisa Marie’s bedroom, and Elvis’ office, and are off limits, even to staff. Only family is permitted to go up there. Rumor has it that everything was basically left as is from the day he died–socks and underwear still in drawers, toiletries in the bathroom, sheets that he last slept on still on the bed. Wild!

Out the back of the Mansion we toured Elvis’ dad’s office, the racquetball court, and the rest of the outbuilding which is now a museum to other pieces of furniture from the estate, documents, etc. To the side are the swimming pool and the graves of Elvis, Lisa Marie, Elvis’ parents, and even Elvis’ stillborn twin brother Jesse.

The shuttle brought us back to the main complex where we toured museums of Elvis’ film career, more belongings, extensive collection of stage outfits, cars, and his two private jets.

Elvis' pink cadillac, Graceland — Elvis’ pink Cadillac, Graceland

Elvis' private jets, Graceland — Elvis’ private jets, Graceland

Three and a half hours later, we walked back to the parking lot fairly exhausted. As we walked back in tired silence, our friend Alan said, “That was a lot of shit!”

It was. It was a lot of shit. And if you’re an Elvis fan, you should see it.

We were hungry, but it was late so we just kind of felt like an adult beverage and a small meal. We opted for the Slider Inn bar next to our apartment building. They had pub grub, a pretty big variety of types of sliders, soups, salads, cold beers and adult slushies. It was a perfect spot to revive after a long afternoon.

Later that evening, we ventured out to dinner at Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous downtown.

This time, we opted to take the Memphis street car for $1.00, half out of laziness (we were still tired from a full afternoon at Graceland), and half because it seemed like a Memphis thing to do. The street car is very vintage inside, and it was fun to ride once.

Charlie Vergo’s Rendezvous is the inventor of “Memphis-style” BBQ and has been open since 1948. The signature dish here is ribs, charcoal grilled with a vinegar wash and a dry rub.

The interior is classic, casual with red and white checker table cloths and a large bar in the middle of the front of the restaurant.

The ribs were good, but the beans and coleslaw sides were also surprisingly good and full of flavor. If you want to experience classic Memphis style BBQ, this is the place.

I went with the small order of ribs and still couldn’t fully finish it. The guys each had the pork ribs and brisket combo, and we were all waddling out of there by the end. We opted to walk back to the apartment as we desperately needed a walk to help digest all that meat.

We did manage to squeeze in some chess pie for dessert-one mini pie which we all shared. I’d never had chess pie, which is a classic dessert in the south. It consists of flour, eggs, sugar, butter, and milk. We saw chess pie on a lot of menus during our week in Tennessee. Often there was an original option and a chocolate version. It was pretty good.

Being a bit tired from our long day at Graceland and being middle-aged and all, we finished the evening with a movie in our apartment so that we could rest up for more sight-seeing the next day.

Day 3: Sun Studios, Stax Records, and the Civil Rights Museum

We started the day with breakfast at Sunrise Memphis, a cheerful downtown spot with delicious biscuit sandwiches and other breakfast dishes. It isn’t all greasy spoon type food here though–there are also several healthy and even vegan options on the menu as well.

I opted for the Dirty South Biscuit Sammie, which came with pimento cheese, fried green tomato, and pepper relish, and a side of turkey bacon. The guys had the King Biscuit bowl, a heavier breakfast bowl with an open faced biscuit piled with fried chicken, country ham, an over easy egg, and sausage gravy.

I highly recommend the Dirty South Sammie, and would absolutely recommend this place. I read that it can get pretty busy on the weekends, but luckily we were there on a weekday and had no problem snagging one of their comfy booths.

Next, we started our day of museum touring with Sun Studio , the infamous record studio that first recorded BB King, Howlin’ Wolf, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and many others.

Admission is $20.00, and tours go every half hour on the hour. The tour takes you through a small museum room with a replica of the WHBQ radio station room as it was during the 1950s, along with other instruments and artifacts from that time period. The guide was great and had plenty of interesting stories to tell.

Replica of WHBQ radio station, Sun Studio

After the museum room, we headed to the recording studio room, which is still very close to what it looked like in the 1950s, and is still an actual recording studio to this day. You can get a photo holding the same microphone all these legends used to record with, and see the piano they played on. The keyboard of the piano even has a cigar burn from when Jerry Lee Lewis decided to put his cigar out on the keys.

I was very happy that they included the contributions of Marion Keisker, who worked as Sam Phillips’ secretary. She was much more than a secretary –she helped with recording, did radio shows, and was the first person to record Elvis. I feel like a lot of women like Marion don’t get the recognition they deserve, and I loved that the guide made sure to include stories about her work and role in Sun Studios.

The tour was short and sweet (30 minutes long). We headed to our next historic destination, Stax Records.

If Sun Studio is the birthplace of Rock N Roll in Memphis, Stax Records is the birthplace of Memphis Soul.

Unfortunately, following a break with Atlantic Records in the late 60’s, Stax went independent and eventually went bankrupt in the 1970s. It has gone through a very long, tedious, complicated history of ownership and revival. The original recording studio building was demolished in 1989. In 2003, the non-profit Soulsville Foundation built a replica of the original building at the same location, turning it into a soul music museum which you can tour today.

Soul and blues legends such as Carla Thomas, Otis Redding, Booker T. & The M.G.’s, Sam & Dave, Isaac Hayes, and many more recorded their hits at Stax.

Tickets are $15, and the museum is a self-tour. I really enjoyed seeing some of the original instruments the artists recorded with, along with Isaac Hayes’ car and the replica of Isaac Hayes’ office at the original Stax Records. Isaac Hayes’ car is something to behold–it turns around on a rotating platform with the door open so that you can really get a full view of the faux fur interior and all the fancy details.

Recording studio, Stax Museum — Recording studio replica, Stax Museum

Isaac Hayes' car, Stax Museum — Isaac Hayes’ car, Stax Museum

After touring Stax, we ventured over to the Cooper-Young neighborhood in East Memphis, to visit a record store and explore some shops. We enjoyed Goner Records, but it began pouring rain and therefore was not great “walking around” weather, so we abandoned the neighborhood exploration plan.

Ending up back near our apartment, we got another late lunch and a beer at the Slider Inn again.

Two museums in one day is a lot for me, but it was our last day and we couldn’t leave Memphis without touring the National Civil Rights Museum, located right next to our apartment.

The National Civil Rights Museum is located in the original Lorraine Motel, which is the location where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.

Admission is $20, with discounts available for students, military members, seniors, and educators.

The museum has a lot of information, photos, and interactive exhibits. Towards the end of the self-guided tour you arrive at the hotel room of Martin Luther King Jr, which is set up as a replica from the day he was shot on the balcony outside. On the outside of the Motel building, a commemorative wreath is hung on the balcony, and a couple vintage cars are parked below.

Overall the museum is very well done and I love that they have taken the location of a horrible tragedy and turned it into a comprehensive educational experience. This museum is a must-visit if you’re visiting Memphis.

Lorraine Motel/National Civil Rights Museum

Later that evening, we had booked a reservation for dinner at The Beauty Shop back over in the Cooper-Young neighborhood in East Memphis. We really liked the Cooper-Young area, it seemed to have a lot of fun shops and restaurants and even some rainbow sidewalks.

Rainbow sidewalk, East Memphis — Rainbow sidewalk, Cooper-Young district in East Memphis

The Beauty Shop is a restaurant that actually used to be a beauty shop from the early mid-century up until the 1980s. Rumor has it that Priscilla Presley used to get her hair done there back in the day. Tables are wedged in little private booths that used to be hairdresser stations, and two-top tables have vintage hair dryer seats. Food is served on adorable mis-matched plates.

The food is eclectic and fantastic. We started with the panko-fried gulf oysters with tabasco, powdered sugar, and blackberry salsa. Those ingredients don’t seem like they should work together, but somehow the chef makes them harmonize beautifully.

Fried gulf oysters with tabasco powdered sugar and blackberry salsa, The Beauty Shop

For our mains, I had the crispy duck leg with creamed corn and a tropical slaw, Paddy had the lamb chop with espresso honey and a rosemary peacan crust, jalepeno jam, beet root, and goat cheese mashed potatoes. Alan had the scallop, shrimp, and Thai pork dumpling dish with a lemongrass broth, rice, and lots of fresh herbs.

Everything was outstanding. If we come back to Memphis, we will definitely be coming back here.

For dessert they had chocolate cake, and I am a sucker for a really good chocolate cake. I was not disappointed. We all shared it.

Day 4: Breakfast at the Arcade Restaurant and setting off to Nashville

In the morning we got up at a relatively early hour to get on the road to our next destination–Nashville!

But first, we couldn’t leave Memphis without eating at the historic Arcade Restaurant.

The Arcade Restaurant is a diner that has been in operation since 1925, where Elvis used to eat often in the 1950s. They take reservations and I made one, but when I walked in it was slow and the staff didn’t seem like they bothered with reservations. We were told the Elvis booth was available if we wanted it, and we did.

If you are so inclined, you can even order Elvis’ favorite “fried peanut butter n’banana sandwich.”

I had the biscuits and gravy and it was pretty average. Perhaps other dishes are better. However, the history and the historic ambiance are enough to warrant a meal here.

Follow along for the rest of our Tennessee adventures as we travel to Nashville!

An overnight trip to the wild west town of Wickenburg, Arizona: Antique shops, gorgeous desert landscapes, saguaros, a ghost town, and a little western style nightlife

Day 1: Exploring Wickenburg town and adventures in the saguaros

Day 2: Vulture City Ghost Town

Thanksgiving weekend in Long Beach, Washington: The World’s Longest Beach, antiques and curiosities, oysters, a distillery, and a cranberry museum

Day 1: Thanksgiving Day

Day 2: Exploring Long Beach and Oysterville

Day 3: The Cranberry Museum and a cannery

24 hours in Solvang, California: The Danish capitol of America in the heart of SoCal wine country. Danish food and pastries, and….a Tiki bar?

The last leg of our two-week trip to Scotland: High Tea, the Glencoe Valley, and three nights exploring Glasgow

Day 1: High tea in a fancy historic manor

Day 2: The Glencoe Valley and meeting up with an old friend in Glasgow

Day 3: Exploring Glasgow

Day 4: Exploring Finnieston and the most unique Irish Pub I’ve ever seen

Two days on the Isles of Harris and Lewis, Scotland: Beautiful beaches and ancient stone ruins, a medieval church, a sauna, and haggis pizza

Day 1: Exploring The Isle of Harris

Day 2: Exploring the Isle of Lewis

Edinburgh, Scotland: A Weekend in Edinburgh as the first part of our two-week Scotland adventure: Edinburgh Castle, pubs, unique bars and restaurants, a palace, and some amazing Scottish food.

Day 1: Arrival

Day 2: Edinburgh Castle, The Royal Mile and Victoria Street, a witchy museum, and a fancy dinner

Day 3: Mary King’s Close, Holyrood Palace, a fancy lunch, and Sunday roast

A week in San Francisco, California: Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury, Japantown, delicious seafood, driverless cars, and Tiki bars galore!

Day 1: A late flight, a rainy night, and some cocktails

Day 2: Chinatown, driverless cars, and three Tiki bars

Day 3: Obligatory tourist day: Fancy brunch, Fisherman’s Warf and Pier 39, vintage video games, and more Tiki bars.

Day 4: Seafood, shops, and a vibrator museum in the Mission District, and more Tiki bars

Day 5: Japantown, dinner at the oldest restaurant in California, and a wild night in Chinatown and North Beach

Day 6: Haight-Ashbury, a speakeasy, and one last Tiki bar

Day 7: A visit to the “Painted Ladies,” The California Academy of Sciences, and some outstanding Chinese food.

Guide to our favorite places in Las Vegas: Downtown Vegas, The Arts District, and some classic local favorites.

Our Tips for The Strip–if you must:

If it is at all possible for you to go during the week vs a weekend, do it.

Don’t touch anything in the minibar or any of the snacks in the room.

All the food and drinks on The Strip are expensive–but there are hacks.

There are some free attractions on The Strip to see

See a show

Now that we’ve gotten The Strip out of the way, here are our favorite spots in Las Vegas:

Downtown and The Arts District:

Downtown hotels:

Downtown Restaurants:

Downtown Bars:

Downtown attractions:

Other Bars and Restaurants we love:

Other Fun Attractions in Las Vegas:

Three days in Nashville, Tennesee: Honky Tonkin’, Tiki bars, a retro 1970’s themed motel, and some fantastic food

Day 1: Tina Turner Museum, Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, the funkiest motel this side of The Smoky Mountains, and honky-tonkin’ on Broadway

Day 2: Brunch at the Dolly Parton themed White Limozeen, exploring East Nashville, an amazing farm to table dinner, and some Tiki bars

Day 3: Fancy brunch, a pool party, and some really, really hot chicken

Three days in Memphis, Tennessee: Touring Graceland, delicious BBQ, and a lot of Blues, Rock N Roll, Soul Music, and civil rights history

Day 1: Museum of Rock N Soul, and Beale Street

Day 2: Graceland and some Memphis BBQ

Day 3: Sun Studios, Stax Records, and the Civil Rights Museum

Day 4: Breakfast at the Arcade Restaurant and setting off to Nashville

Exploring the world, just the two of us