New Series! Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Trip

Happy New Year!

This is a continuation of my post reflecting on 2015, A Look Back at 2015, Part I. This is Part II, and essentially is a very condensed summary of my three week around-the-world trip. It's hard to fit three weeks worth of content in a reasonably-sized blog post, but I'll try my best!

Bryan had seen a sale for "around-the-world" tickets on American Airlines over six months ago. At the time, we had toyed around with the idea of planning a big trip in celebration of my milestone birthday. Since I'm one of those people who can never commit to anything, Bryan went ahead and booked a general itinerary which included Alba (I've always wanted to go to Alba during the White Truffle Fair in November), Bordeaux (a trip we've been meaning to take with friends for years now), Paris (beautiful & romantic + the food!), Japan (my favorite!), and Hong Kong (one of Bryan's favorite cities in Asia).

I promise I will write about all these places in much more detail in the upcoming months (yes, I actually believe it will take that long to cover everything). Of course, I will intersperse those travel posts with Boston restaurant posts and some cooking posts as well.

For now, here's a preview of how we spent our time from mid-November to early December!

Stop #1: Alba,Italy

The Piedmont region in Italy is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. There are rolling hills full of grape vines, rustic Italian houses, and stunning views. The people are friendly, the food is phenomenal, and the wine! Barolo, Barbaresco, and Nebbiolo, oh my!

We flew into Milan International Airport and immediately were greeted by our driver, who we had booked through Blacklane. He texted us when he arrived, and helped us carry our luggage to his spanking black Mercedes.

The price was not too crazy - 250 Euros (about $250 USD) for a 2+ hour drive in a comfortable black car all the way down to Alba. We were so jetlagged and tired, we were relieved that we didn't have to drive! We were really impressed with the level of service we got. You can book the black car in advance; all drivers are certified limo drivers; they promise to monitor your flight; and they will wait up to an hour for you at the airport.

In fact, just recently, Bryan decided that he would switch to using Blacklane for all his business trips because he finds that it provides a lot of service and value for about the same price as a taxi (a least in Boston!).

{disclosure: Blacklane provided me with a free voucher for the trip. All opinions are my own}

We chose to arrive in Alba on November 14th for a very specific reason. It was the last weekend of the annual Alba International Truffle Fair, a 6-week long event that happens every fall around white truffle season. Just imagine, hundreds of Alba white truffles all under one roof. The smell was seriously intoxicating.

Not only is the area known for white truffles, it's also known for its excellent wine. We spent one day exploring Barolo and another day exploring Barbaresco. We learned so much about the nebbiolo grape and wines made in that region.

We made sure to eat white truffles every day (and even did a truffle hunt)! They taste the best over eggs or shaved over pasta, but they are often served over steak tartare, meat, and other pastas as well.

Stop #2: Bordeaux, France

The city of Bordeaux is beautiful. It was modeled after Paris, and shares a lot of the beautiful architecture that you see in Paris. We chose Bordeaux because we had talked (for years!) of traveling there with two of our wine-loving friends from Boston. They planned out this whole portion of the trip for us, which was awesome. It was nice to just relax and for once, not worry about the details and logistics of the trip.

In a span of less than three days, we visited multiple wine regions, including Bordeaux, St. Emilion, Pauillac, and Sauternes. We saw gorgeous chateaux (most wineries have a castle associated with it), visited quaint little wine villages, learned a lot about wine.

We tasted many wines, and even bought a case of Bordeaux from Chateau Cos d'Estournel to ship home  (yum!).

Thanks Peter & Chia Chi (and your parents for watching your daughter!) for all your hard work in organizing the winery visits, picking out great restaurants, and even driving us around on those crazy, narrow, cobbled-stoned streets of Bordeaux! We had a blast.

Stop #3: Paris, France

Paris.

It had been only a week after the horrible terrorist attacks on the city. Security was crazy tight. In fact, we weren't even allowed to carry our own luggage into our hotel room. They insisted on scanning it first. Our hotel was so hyper alert, they woke me up the next morning with a phone call.

"There is a person from security outside your door. Would you please let him it? We see a suspicious package outside your window."

It turned out to be a shopping bag someone had left out there, but it still rattled my nerves quite a bit.

All museums and shopping malls remained open, but were outfitted with metal detectors. Security presence, from both the police and the army, were heavy at tourist sites. Restaurants were struggling, and places that usually had crazy lines out the door were not even full during prime dinner time.

Despite the somber overtones, the city was still just as beautiful and powerfully resilient. Many buildings and monuments were lit up in patriot red, white, and blue. People still walked around outside, and many (including us), visited the attack sites to pay tribute, drop off flowers, and just reflect. We were happy to support the city and help the struggling businesses during this challenging time.

The food was just phenomenal, and we visited many incredible three-Michelin starred restaurants, such as L'Ambroisie (Bryan's favorite) and L'Arpege (my favorite). We tried everything from rare French steak at L'Entrecote (fun place!) to drinking hot mulled wine and sampling French cheese at the Christmas market on the Champs-Élysées.

We very much enjoyed our time there. I will never tire of Paris. It is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Stop #4: Tokyo, Japan

The longest part of our trip was in Tokyo (a luxurious five full days!). I've been to Tokyo many times now, but it is still one of my favorite cities. I love the food, the culture, and the people. It's getting harder and harder to find new things to do in the city, but honestly, I don't mind revisiting my favorite places over and over again.

This year, we came during peak foliage season, so we took a day trip to hike Mount Takao, a surprisingly steep but very well developed mountain. The hike took less than two hours, but we were pretty tired near the top.  At the summit, we were thrilled to find all sorts of fun stalls selling hot drinks, snacks, and even ramen! There is an elaborate temple at the top that you can visit as well.

I discovered dango, soy sauce glazed mochi on a stick. It's sooooo good, especially when they cook it on a fire right in front of you!

We also got pretty good views of Mount Fuji from the top of Mount Takao.

We visited all of our favorite stores (Yodabashi Camera in Akihabara for Bryan and various "character" toy stores for me). I  somehow ended up adopting yet another stuffed Domo to take home with me.

Of course, we had phenomenal food. Bryan finally was able to take me to Sushi Yoshitake, the restaurant where Bryan ate the best dish he'd ever eaten. The omakase at Yoshitake was indeed incredible, and definitely one of the best I've ever had. We had more sushi at Sushi Harutaka (pretty good, but a bit too salty for me), and a lovely lunch at Florilege.
 
I loved my sushi lunch at Sushi Ya, a relatively new sushi place opened by Takao Ishiyama, an alum of Sushi Kanesaka. Funny thing is, Chef Ishiyama served me the last time I visited Sushi Kanesaka. When I saw him at Sushi Ya, I immediately recognized him as the guy who's in all my photos.

We also had the famous truffle rice at Azabu Kadowaki, and I tried fugu (puffer fish) sashimi for the first time.  Yes, it was tingly (!). We also enjoyed excellent yakitori at a swanky, dark zen-like yakitori bar hidden behind an unmarked door on the fourth floor of a building (talk about hard to find!). I even ran into a Japanese TV celebrity there. How cool is that!

Finally, I finally made my pilgrimage to Shirohige Cream Puff Factory, the only place officially licensed to make Totoro cream puffs and cookies. Apparently Miyazaki is a co-owner, and the cafe is full of Totoro stuff. It is super cute!

We saw some dear friends who live in Japan now, and spent Thanksgiving Day with them. Even though we weren't home, it felt like we were with family.

Stop #5: Hong Kong

Finally, our last stop was Hong Kong! Bryan has been to Hong Kong a lot for business, though I had not been here since high school. Since it was effectively my first time here, we did a lot of the touristy things, like visit Victoria's Peak, the Moving Escalators (longest one in the world!), and all sorts of night markets.

Food was excellent. I had incredible dim sum at Fu Sing (our favorite!) and Tim Ho Wan, met up with local friends for a delicious dinner at Din Tai Fung, and even tried our first ever high-end Chinese meal at (formerly three, now two) Michelin-starred Sun Tong Lok.

I leave you with a fun photo of this crazy Star Wars Lego exhibit at Times Square Hong Kong.

I will follow up with much more detailed posts about all of the places we visited, including wineries, restaurants, and noteworthy sites. It was most certainly a trip of a lifetime. [Update: Posts are complete and hyperlinked throughout this article]

Thank you Bryan for taking the initiative to book such a crazy birthday trip. I never would have had the guts to do it myself.

Us at a restaurant in Bordeaux on my actual birthday