Restaurants

Christmas Tea at Edinburgh Castle: A Festive Treat or Just Regular Afternoon Tea?

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When we visited Edinburgh for Hogmanay, I could not resist booking a “Christmas Tea” at Edinburgh Castle. It sounded magical. We reserved and paid for the tea in advance, excited for a festive afternoon surrounded by holiday cheer. The experience turned out to be fun and fine—though not quite as Christmasy as I’d hoped or imagined. It ended up being more of a regular tea, just taking place during the Christmas season. In this post, I’ll share all the details of our Edinburgh Castle Christmas Tea and what to expect if you’re planning to go yourself! And side note, I am pretty sure the Edinburgh Castle Tea is very similar to the Christmas Tea year round, so read this before booking any Edinburgh Castle Tea experience.

In front of Edinburgh Castle. You cannot get past the entrance gate without a ticket.

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Restaurant Review: Ristorante Angelina a Testaccio

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We are big Rome restaurant fans, have a pretty good roster of Rome restaurants, and were very excited to share some of these spots with our friends on our October trip to Rome. We originally planned to take our friends to another Testaccio favorite but we had to pivot at the last minute and luckily scored a reservation at Ristorante Angelina a Testaccio! This was our second visit to Ristorante Angelina a Testaccio, and it was just as great as the first (if not better). Highly recommend Ristorante Angelina a Testaccio for a solid Roman meal in Rome. This post details our dinner at Ristorante Angelina a Testaccio in October 2025.

Angelina a Testaccio – lunch, dinner and cocktails!

ANGELINA A TESTACCIO

Angelina a Testaccio is a Roman restaurant serving traditional Roman fare, including local wine, delicious appetizers specific to Lazio, and, of course, Rome’s 4 famous pastas! Angelina is one of 3 “Angelina” locations in Rome, and this one is located in Rome’s Testaccio neighborhood. For those unfamiliar, Testaccio is home to Rome’s only pyramid and also used to be the site of Rome’s slaughterhouses, leading to some excellent restaurants (kind of odd, I know). Angelina a Testaccio keeps some of the original slaughterhouse vibe (for lack of a better word, LOL) alive through its architecture, including some original furnishings, its sloping floor, the rods on the ceiling where the skins were attached, the signs indicating the breeds of meat, large fireplaces and in the center, a table recovered from an ancient convent.

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Naxos Itinerary: A Relaxed Greek Island Escape.

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As you may know, last summer’s July 4 vacation took us back to Greece,this time to Crete and Naxos. I shared a lot about our time in Crete and how you can recreate it our trip for yourself, but I haven’t shared much about Naxos. And quite frankly, that is because I absolutely LOVED Naxos and simply cannot put into a blog post how much. We also didn’t do anything too touristy or fancy; we just relaxed and enjoyed the island. In this post, I will share what we did with our time in Naxos, including what we loved, what was meh (very little), and what I will do again. If you are considering Naxos as a vacation destination, I highly recommend it!

Chora, Naxos, Greece.

NAXOS ISLAND – LOCATION & GENERAL INFORMATION

The Cyclades are a group of famous Greek islands that are well know for being the “blue and white islands” made famous by the likes of Mama Mia and the legends of Santorini. The Cyclades are also home to the party-centric Mykonos and the recently popular Milos. Naxos is the largest of all the islands in the Cyclades. We have been to 5 of the Cyclades (Santorini, Mykonos, Milos, Paros, and Naxos), and we love this island group.

Naxos, Greece on a map.

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Hotel Review: Domes Zeen Chania, Crete.

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Dan and I spent a lovely and relaxing week just outside of Chania, Crete last July (2025). We stayed at Domes Zeen Chania, a Marriott Bonvoy property (making it ideal for those looking for point redemptions). While it is not in Chania proper, we had a wonderful stay at Domes Zeen Chania would easily return. This post details our stay at Domes Zeen Chania in July 2025.

Our private terrace at Domes Zeen Chania.

Pros of Domes Zeen Chania: Beautiful property, spacious rooms with excellent air conditioning, natural beauty, especially at sunset, possible to use Marriott Bonvoy points, American style mattresses (IYKYK).

Cons of Domes Zeen Chania: Lots of families with children, pricey compared to other hotels in the area, more Western International than Greek, located far from Chania town.

Sunset from the main pool at Domes Zeen Chania. The sunsets were consistently outstanding. 

THE DOMES ZEEN CHANIA PROPERTY

Domes Zeen Chania is located in greater Chania town – a 15 minute drive, or a 45 minute walk, from Chania’s famous Old Venetian Port. As it is outside of Chania, the hotel is somewhat secluded, abutting the sea on one side and being pretty closed off from the public otherwise. There are a few businesses – beach clubs and restaurants – within a short walk, but you will likely spend most of your time at the hotel unless you venture into Chania proper. In other words, this is a good spot for those just wanting to enjoy a relaxing vacation without too much sightseeing.

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The Perfect First Night in Rome – A Trastevere Food Tour

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Before kicking off our big Italian vacation in 2026 on the Amalfi Coast, we spent one day and evening in Rome. The sole item on our agenda was a food tour through one or Dan and my favorite neighborhoods in Rome, Trastevere (fun fact – also where we lived when we studied in Rome!). This was the third time we have taken this tour, and it was just as good as we remembered. This post details our food tour through Trastevere with Eating Europe!

Walking to the food tour. I love Rome so much – just casually passing ruins on our walk.

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