Adelaide, as though by choice behind Sydney’s bustle and Melbourne’s pomp, is the gem-like third city of Australia. Informal and welcoming, Adelaide is at her best in Springtime and Autumn, when ubiquitous flowers adorn the otherwise ‘regular folk’ attractiveness of this uncomplicated capital city just under two hours by plane from Sydney. At the Naval, [...]
Archive for the ‘two hippos make an island’ Category
dress up and relax: Naval, Military and Air Force Club of South Australia (Inc.)
Posted in two hippos make an island on October 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
a quiet home-away-from-home in Macau: Pousada de Coloane
Posted in two hippos make an island on October 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Macau—one of China’s ‘special administrative zones’—can be a bit too special. Just a ferry’s ride from Hong Kong International Airport and from Hong Kong itself, this former Portuguese colony has found its modern incarnation as a garish Las Vegas of the Orient. All that follows upon a region or a city selling itself to gaming [...]
smooth: riding the Hungarian rails
Posted in two hippos make an island on October 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
During a recent business trip to Sopron, Hungary, I booked flights through Budapest, supposing this to be the quickest way to the city of Sopron, way out on Hungary’s western border with Austria. I was wrong. Vienna would have been them logical choice. No harm done. I purchased a Hungary Rail Pass through my US [...]
a home in Western Hungary: Hotel Fagus, Sopron
Posted in two hippos make an island, tagged Europe, Hungary, reseña on October 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
A pleasant train ride from Budapest and an even shorter trip from Vienna, across the Austrian border, the lovely city of Sopron holds its own as a genteel border city in Central Europe. When your travels take you to Sopron (or even to a two-day trip, say, during a visit to Vienna), you needn’t think [...]
reliable digs near the Frankfurt airport: Airport Hotel Kelsterbach
Posted in two hippos make an island, tagged Europe, Germany, travel on March 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Courtesy of friendly, helpful van drivers, you can be at the AIrport Hotel Kelsterbach’s tidy, simple, economical location ten minutes from pickup outside the terminal. This is a hotel for small- to medium-sized meetings, quick transport, and reliable but budget-priced economics. A Greek and an Italian restaurant are a short walk way in a pleasant [...]
VIP Lounge, Juan Santamaría International Airport, San José, Costa Rica
Posted in two hippos make an island, tagged air travel, airports, travel on January 13, 2009 | 5 Comments »
SJO as she is called was my home airport for many years, so this review of its single, well-hidden VIP lounge may be nudged from stark objectivity by a certain affection for the place. In spite of the wide spectrum of airlines that now services Costa Rica’s capital city, none of the major North American [...]
meat and malbec in Seattle: the Buenos Aires Grill
Posted in two hippos make an island, tagged food, Seattle on December 13, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Not for the faint of heart is the effort to discover a true Buenos Aires dining experience outside of that Argentine capital. The middle-aged men who wait on table there are not moonlighting on, say, their day job as a CPA. They are meseros. ‘Always been, always will be. Serving you your Argentine beef is [...]
tiquicia and how it got that way: Steven Palmer and Iván Molina (eds), The Costa Rica Reader. History, culture, politics
Posted in denkschrift, reseña, two hippos make an island, tagged Costa Rica, Latin America, travel on September 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Rarely does an anthology of original documents of historical value mingled with insightful interpretative essays come together as a coherent work. Steven Palmer and Iván Molina, against those odds, have put the ball in the back of the net with just such a book.
a jewel: San José’s Hotel Ave del Paraíso
Posted in two hippos make an island, tagged Costa Rica, Latin America, travel on September 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Conveniently located off the ring road that encircles San José’s urban chaos and snuggled up next to the landmark Law Faculty (Facultad de Derecho) of the University of Costa Rica, the Hotel Ave del Paraíso is a jewel that is easily overlooked. The Adamski family has converted a sprawling old home with its attending jumble [...]
Don’t miss it: San José, Costa Rica’s Hotel Grano de Oro
Posted in two hippos make an island, tagged Costa Rica, Latin America, travel on September 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Some years back, while living in Costa Rica, I found the Hotel Grano de Oro a fine place to take guests for a nice dinner. During a recent business trip, I decided to stay for a night at this constantly improving establishment, whose only deficit is its rather seedy location on the east side of [...]