Finally, I Made It To The European Christmas Markets!

25/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Couple standing beneath the illuminated Strasbourg, Capitale de Noël arch on a crowded street during the Christmas markets

I had been wanting to go to European Christmas markets for years. Truly, YEARS. And finally in 2025, due to Dan’s job change, we found ourselves with an extra week of vacation in December and booked a last minute trip to the Alsace during Christmas market season. We visited Strasbourg, Colmar, Basel, and Paris over the course of a week! I will be posting more about this trip, including information about the Colmar market and comparing Colmar and Strasbourg, but this post details exactly what we did over the course of one week. Highly recommend taking an extra week of vacation to Christmas market hop!

Illuminated wooden chalet stalls at the Christkindelsmarik Christmas market in Strasbourg, France

A real, live Christkindelsmärik.

DAY 1: WELCOME TO STRASBOURG – THE CAPITAL OF CHRISTMAS

We arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle after an overnight flight from Newark (NYC). We took the train, which we pre-booked, directly from CDG to Strasbourg, France. We arrived in Strasbourg in the early afternoon, left our luggage at our hotel, Voco Strasbourg City Center (by IHG), and promptly walked to the Place Kléber Christmas market, one of Strasbourg’s eight (!!) Christmas markets. I didn’t originally expect to jump right into the markets without a nap, but it being too early to check in, off to the markets we went.

Strasbourg's giant Christmas tree lit up in Place Kleber at the Christmas market

Welcome to the Christmas Capital – this is Strasbourg’s largest Christmas tree in Place Kléber.

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An Interactive Photo Map of Conrad Rangali Island

16/08/2026dancozzi Leave a comment

Aerial view of Maldives atolls from a seaplane window, titled Rangali Island, an interactive photo map of the Conrad Maldives

We have stayed at Conrad Rangali Island four times now, and I have written about it here in pieces: the resort review, dinner underwater at Ithaa, the wine cellar, fifteen things I wish someone had told me first. What I never had was a way to show the whole island at once.

So here it is.

The map is satellite imagery of both islands with 25 places pinned on it. Click a pin and you get our photos of that exact spot, 171 of them, all captioned. There are 13 videos in there too, including a full walkthrough of Grand Water Villa 418 and one of the sunset water villas. Videos only load if you ask for one, so clicking through the photos stays quick.

None of it is a press photo. If you are deciding between a sunrise villa and a sunset villa, or you want to know how far Ithaa really is from the beach, or what the walk over to Vilu looks like at six in the morning, that is what this is for.

Open the interactive map

Everything else I have written about the Maldives:

And the stops we made on the way there and back:

Lillie’s Victorian Establishment: One of the Best Christmas Bars in NYC!

02/12/202527/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

The Christmas decorated interior of Lillie's Victorian Establishment, Union Square

It’s Christmas in New York City, and time to review another one of my favorite holiday spots in New York City – Lillie’s Victorian Establishment! Lillie’s is one of those over-the-top Christmassey bars/restaurants, where everyone wants an Instagram picture. This post details a visit to Lillie’s Victorian around the holidays and how to get inside, even without a reservation!

The decorated Christmas window at Lillie's Victorian Establishment in Union Square, NYC

Lillie’s Victorian Establishment decorated for Christmas. Even if you cannot get inside, this window at the Union Square location is a fantastic spot for a photograph (there may be a line).

Christmas decorations at Lillie's Victorian Establishment, Union Square

Very fun decorations at the Union Square location starting mid-November.

With two locations, Lillie’s Victorian Establishment is a year-round Victorian-era British Pub named for late British actress Lillie Langtry. The restaurant’s namesake immigrated from Britain to the US in 1882. Her acting debut, at the New York Theatre, resulted in the building burning to the ground, leaving only a sign reading Lillie Langtry. Very interesting story. In any case, for your purposes, Lillie’s is most famous for its elaborate Christmas decorations, which go up in mid-November.

At Lillie's Victorian Establishment in New York City in November

Dan and I at Lillie’s Victorian in mid-November.

The exterior of Lillie's Victorian Establishment at Union Square, New York

Lillie’s Victorian Establishment, Union Square in November 2025.

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A Hogmanay Food Tour Through Glasgow On January 2nd!

29/04/202505/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Our second stop on our Hogmanay tour of Scotland was Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow. Unlike Edinburgh, Glasgow is not a charming European city with castles and ancient things; rather, Glasgow is a fairly modern city with a large university and numerous factories. It struck me as a real working town, in a great way. Along those lines, Glasgow has a reputation as being gritty and, in places, somewhat dangerous, and I probably would have skipped Glasgow all together had we not (1) needed to catch the train to London from Glasgow Central and (2) our friend’s grandparents met in Glasgow before immigrating to North America and he wanted to see the city. These two points pushed me into staying two nights in Glasgow. Due to both of our evenings being public holidays (yes, January 1st and 2nd are public holidays in Scotland), I didn’t get the complete Glasgow experience, but I did take a food tour with a lovely local, ate lots of delicious food and learned a decent bit of Glasgow history. I enjoyed Glasgow quite a bit and would like to return and explore further. This post describes the food tour that we took through Glasgow – my favorite way to see a city!

Palms and table setting at Brown's Brasserie on the Glasgow food tour

At Glasgow’s Brown’s Brasserie on the food tour. I loved the little palms.

STOP ONE: VEGAN HAGGIS AT A LOCAL BREWERY

Our first stop on our Glasgow food tour was at one of Scotland’s most well-known breweries, Innis & Gunn, for a beer and, dun dun dun, Haggis! Before diving into the main event (i.e., the Haggis), Innis & Gunn is a well known Scottish Brewery that makes, most famously, a slightly sweet, velvety beer aged in Single Malt Whisky casks. And while I usually hate beer (or anything) aged in whisky barrels, I do enjoy this beer! The brand Innis & Gunn was created in Scotland way back in 2003 and its an OG craft beer. Of course, our meal began with a half-pint of Innis & Gunn’s original brew, called, appropriately, the “Original”. As expected, the Original was incredibly smooth and quite tasty (despite being aged in whisky casks)!

Innis and Gunn's City Centre taproom near Glasgow Central station in Glasgow

Innis & Gunn’s Glasgow City Centre location. It’s right near Glasgow Central.

Signs of a big Hogmanay celebration at Innis and Gunn in Glasgow

Clearly had a big Hogmanay celebration.

A half pint of Innis and Gunn's Original beer on the Glasgow food tour

Innis & Gunn’s Original.

Moving on from Innis & Gunn’s noteworthy beer, our tour guide advised that the first tasting of the tour would be … Haggis! I was not particularly excited to sample Haggis again, but this was a vegan version (i.e., no meat!), so I was game to sample it. The Vegan Haggis was served in fried ball form, paired with a homemade brown “chippy sauce”. Being honest, I much, much, much preferred the vegan version to the real Haggis that I tried back in Edinburgh. I would actually order this version again! Point one for the food tour, as I would have never ordered Vegan Haggis on my own. The Vegan Haggis paired very well with the Chippy Sauce. Definitely give this a try if you want to try Haggis but are scared…or even if you just find yourself at Innis & Gunn. Even the meat lovers on our tour praised the dish.

Fried vegan haggis balls with brown chippy sauce at Innis and Gunn in Glasgow

Vegan Haggis with a Brown Chippy Sauce.

The full vegan haggis and beer tasting at Innis and Gunn in Glasgow

The full sampling at Innis & Gunn.

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Airport Lounge Review: Marhaba Lounge, Dubai International, Terminal 3, Concourse B

11/03/202505/08/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

The Marhaba Lounge at Dubai International, Terminal 3, Concourse B

Dan and I spent a little over two hours in the Marhaba Lounge in Dubai International (DXB) Terminal 3, Concourse B in December 2024, after spending a week in the Maldives and a few days in Dubai. While we were sad to leave, the Marhaba Lounge provided a decent send off. We arrived in the Marharba Lounge before 6:00 AM (we had an 8:30 flight) and had a pleasant, albeit crowded, experience. We would certainly return.