Category: Travel and Food

What can I say about San Francisco...sincerely two years ago was not love at first sight. When I arrived there, it was an august day full of foggy and wet. At the beginning, this conditioned my opinion. It seems to be dark and misterious. Only the day after , when the sun was shining, I understand that San Francisco is a fascinating city because of these various aspects.
It's nice for all this aspects, both when is full of fog or full of sun. For about the weather is a particular city; it is cold and wet instead of its geographical position, and the fog is present about every day. In this case the best months to visit it are september and october, when days are hottier and there is less rain. In april, in 3 days, we find every kind of weather: one day,foggy, one sunny and one rainy. 
San Francisco is a modern, alternative city, full of life. It's a strange american city, it seems to be an european city. It has a square, Union Square, and not many skyscrapers.
People who live in San Francisco come from every part of the world, there is on of the biggest chinese community and also many italians. So, also about the food, there are many possibilities! We can eat chinese, japanese, thai, america, italian... there are many good restaurants for every kind of food do you want to choose. See you at next and last stop of this trip and for every infos write me at info@cooked4u.it.

Las Vegas is a big circus. An only place in the place for its extravagance. And obviously an unmissable place!
You must go just only to see the fantastic show of the Bellagio's fountain that moves following the rhythm of music, really exciting!
And of course even if you don't play, a quick visit to the slot machine is obliged, maybe you could be lucky! Also in this case, for about the weather, I suggest you to go during the spring, not because of the hottest summer (dry) with temperatures over 40°C (104°F), but because of air condition into hotels and restaurants...maybe here the temperatures are about 16-18°C! Pay attention to colds! 
And the food? In Las Vegas you can find everything. We choose a fantastic american dinner in a restaurant inside Caesar Palace. Chicken fried in big quantity but really good! If you want to learn more, contact me at info@cooked4u.it. See you at next stop!

This little town offers two incredible natural sight: the Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Canyon.
They are both becoming very popular but I'm sure that a visit is worth the effort. They are two completely different landscapes; the first is a ring of rock surronded by the Colorado river. A breath-taking show with an unlimited horizon.
I cannot describe what you feel when you'll arrive to the limit of the path and you'll see the Horseshoe bend...it's incredible!
The Antelope Canyon is a natural canyon modelled by water and wind, very narrow and when the light pass throw the rocks, it produces particular colour effects. 
I suggest you to visit it in the centarl hours of the day, from 11 to 14. It's a fascinating way of about 300-400 metres between two narrow rock's walls.
You can't go alone but it's necessary to go visiting the canyon with local guides that tell you about the peculiarity of this canyon. It's easy to book the visit throw their website and then you'll pay directly the day of the visit.
The weather in april was perfect; sunny day and warm. In august is easier to find rainy day. In this case you can't visit Antelope Canyon because with rain is very dangerous. Also here the best period for the visit is june.
So, the food? In Page I ate one of the best beef fillet of my life. American people are very good in cooking meat! For visiting Page and its attractions is necessary stay there for 1 night, so I could taste just one restaurant, a very good restaurant! Contact me for every infos and/or curiosity at info@cooked4u.it! See you at next stop!

Maybe the most beautiful place I've seen in this trip and one of the most incredible visited in my life. Monument Valley is a extraordinary place. It's a little bit out of the classic itinerary of west coast but if you can, you must come here. I wish you to see it in a sunny day as we do. Colours are wonderful. Another peculiarity is that in Monument Valley still leave Natives. Even if we are in Utah state, they have just 8 hour minus instead of Italy because they don't use daylight saving time. Coming here is like to do a leap into the past, in western films that everybody saw at least once in his own life. In fact in the lodge where we went, once stayed also the western film's actors.
It's truly a magic place. Also the food is particular: they eat above all natives dishes that have mexican influences and the portions are very big! The unmissable tacos, the fantastic fried bread, very good also for breakfast. Strong flavors and tastes for a unique cuisins, a mix between old traditions and new american food. A fantastic couple! 
Monument valley is an unmissable place and if you want to learn more, contact me! See you soon at next stop!

The second stop of this trip; a wonderful place, the only one in its genre. For nature lovers, of course this is one of the most spectacular landscapes. Grand Canyon is an inevitable stop-over for people who are doing a travel like this. Choosing april for the visit was perfect. Weather was fantastic: warm and sunny during the day and cool in the evening.
Usually, the best period for the visiting is june when rain is less probable. 2 years ago, I went there in august but I couldn't visit it because of some storms. In this conditions could be very dangerous. For this reason, we decided to come back again and this time we have been more lucky!
About food, the choice is limited. Both you stay inside park or in the town nearby, places for eating are not so much and they do only a low quality american cuisine. Hamburger, meat and pizza (american pizza...) are the only food. In one photo you will see a Tacos I eate during my short stop in Phoenix: strong tastes but good! But I guarantee that in a place like this it's easy to adapt!
Some days are necessary for visiting park and doing trekking. We stay there for 2 nights: if you want to have a general look and have a short walk, 2 nights are enough.
Before arriving in Grand Canyon, coming from Phoenix, we stopped for lunch in Flagstaff: a characteristic town on the Route 66. Don't go in the typical touristic place on the main street. Just near the city center you can find a very pretty restaurant completely managed by women. Food is spectacular: not light but surely tasty and characteristic!
See you soon for the next stop and if you want to learn more, contact me! 

It's difficult to resume this travel in few words. It's the Travel, the one that more than others you will remember for all your life, just secondary the Honeymoon travel. And in fact, also in that situation the destination was less or more the same. Maybe for this reason me and my husband decided to travel through again, obviously with some variations, our most important trip with our family.
So last april, we went to the West Coast and this time also our parents left with us: terrified but at the same time curious to take on this experience with us. Of course the expectations were respected and also went beyond! 
This journey has been long and fascinating so I decide to divide my report in different episodes on the basis of the place we visited.
The first place is Los Angeles. I love this city. It has all I like: sea, sun, every kind of food but especially lovely and open-minded people and a really optimisme in the air. I love Santa Monica, I believe that Beverly Hills is very fascinating and you must visite Universal Studios; an amusement park but also a world cinema library! Very interesting!
Los Angeles is this and more, remember that is necessary to have a car to go around the city because public transport are not so efficient. Of course LA is very extended: you need at least 3-4 days to see principal areas of the city. And of course you can eat everything, everywhere and every kind of food: american, italian, asian, french...
If you want a suggestion, go to Rainbow in Sunset Boulevard. It's a famous bar/pub where exhibited the most famous Rock and Metal bands and where you can eat a fantastic american cuisine. Chicken and hamburgers in this seventy and eighties atmosphere are unmissable. See you soon for the next story of this beautiful trip and if you want to learn more, contact me!

For me 2016 was a year full of travels! After NY and Andalusia just told you in other stories, in august me and my husband went to Portugal. In particular we went to Lisbon, Coimbra, Sintra, Cascais and Algarve.
I've just been in Lisbon in 2000 with my parents: it's changed a lot! In few years it has been transformed and became a modern city. Always wonderful, rich of monuments, street and fantastic landscapes first of all because of sunny days we had in our 10 days holiday.
Coimbra is a little but precious town: there is the oldest european University. In Sintra there is a beautiful castle where royal family went for holidays. It's perfectly preserved!
Cascais is a little town on the sea where Lisbonian people went for their weekend holidays.
But first of all you must visit Algarve: a beautiful sea, red rocks and gold sand. A unique landscape! And food? Unfortunately food disappoints me a little. During my first visit 15 years ago, I remembered a fantastic salted codfish (one of my favourite plate), a food not so various, but tasty and well-finished. Now, I found, particularly in Lisbon, a low quality food instead of 15 years ago and I havent't find a good restaurant to eat a good salted codfish. But a visit in Lisbon is necessary to taste the fantastic Pasteis de Belèm: little sweets made with puff pastry, crème patissière and cinnamon. Delicious!
In Algarve the main plate is "asado", that it's grilled meat: they are very good in it!
Surely Portugal is a great country and portugues people are very welcoming. If you want to learn more contact me at: info@cooked4u.it. See you soon!!