Bites of Nassau Food Tour

Food tours are one of the best ways to immerse yourself in a city. You can interact with locals, learn history and fun facts, and literally taste the culture. During my most recent trip to Nassau I got to immerse myself in Bahamian culture via a foodie adventure.

Our three hour culinary tour with Tru Bahamian Food Tours allowed us to explore six different dining destinations in the city. Our first stop at Bahamian Cookin' provided us with a true Bahamian meal. Along the way we tried everything from decadent handmade chocolates, to seasoning mixes and a thai coconut soup. Our tour ended with a sweet treat at Tortuga Rum Cake Company.

My favorite stop on the journey was #5 - Athena Cafe and Bar. Athena is a Greek restaurant located above a jewelry store not far from the cruise port. We were served a mini Greek salad with grilled pita bread. It was a perfectly refreshing dish after a day walking around the city and exploring new flavors. When we return to Nassau in the future, we will definitely stop at Athena for lunch.

Here is a look at some of the dishes we got to try:

Conch Fritters!

Chicken, baked Mac and Cheese, Rice and Beans, Plantains, and Coleslaw

Thai Coconut Soup

Greek Salad with grilled pita

Sea-Salt and Key Lime Chocolates

I recommend Tru Bahamian Food Tours for visitors to Nassau. Not only did we eat well, but we also walked away with a lot of information about Nassau's history and day to day life in the city. This was a great alternative to the typical cruise excursions offered in the port area. 

What city would you most like to do a food tour in?

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Orlando weekend recap

Last weekend we ventured out of Tampa Bay and into the Orlando area. No theme parks in mind on this particular visit, just relaxing and enjoying time together and with friends.

The best part of our trip was our temporary vacation home at Windsor Hills Resort. Windsor Hills is a perfectly kept community of vacation homes for families visiting the Orlando area. They boast themselves as "the closest vacation home resort to Walt Disney World." The property seemed to be very secure, and totally picture perfect. The lawns were perfectly manicured, the neighborhood was perfectly quietly, and it looked like the ultimate suburbia dream land. Nearby you could find every chain restaurant you could imagine and lots of souvenir shops. If you are vacationing with your family to the Disney area, this is the way to do it. Our vacation home had 6 bedrooms, a game room, and a private pool.

Ah, Pleasantville

My favorite meal of the trip came from Shula Burger. I found out that this was actually the newest location - it was in Kissimmee at the Rolling Oaks Plaza. (We actually visited the Rolling Oaks Plaza several times while we were in town. It has pretty much everything you need.) Shula Burger is a part of the Shula family of restaurants (including Shula's Steak House), from namesake and former NFL coach Don Shula. The Kissimmee location of Shula Burger is the 5th - and I was really surprised when I learned that one of the locations is in the Southwest terminal at Tampa International Airport. I am hoping that Shula Burger adds a full scale Tampa or St. Pete location in the near future. I have been thinking about that burger since I had it 2 weeks ago!

Shula Burger is a fast-casual burger chain. You order at the counter and your meal is delivered to your table. The staff was incredibly accommodating, starting with Carlos who greeted us at the door and explained the experience to us. He mentioned that he had tried everything on the menu (lucky guy!) and would be happy to make recommendations if we needed them. I stuck with my favorite type of burger, the Mushroom Swiss burger. There were 9 signature burgers to choose from or you could customize your own creation. I counted at least 8 cooks in the kitchen during our Saturday afternoon visit. It was nice to know that they had adequate staff to handle the lunch rush.

The Shula Burger and Sweet Potato Tots

Mushroom Swiss Burger with Sea Salt Fries

I was also very happy to find that Shula Burger uses brioche buns for their burgers. I hate going to a burger place and being served a cheap bun. The buns used at Shula Burger were strong enough to hold the patty and toppings without falling apart. The burger patties are made from Black Angus beef, short rib, and brisket. The burger was very juicy and flavorful. I loved that they used a perfect ratio of cheese on the burger. The cheese fit the whole patty - not too big or too small like at other burger places. The branding of Shula on the bun was a nice touch too. The Sea Salt fries sounded a little intimidating because I don't love salt THAT much, but they were pretty much regular fries. The salt was not overwhelming or even really that noticeable and the fries were extra crispy.

In case you can't tell, I give Shula Burger an A+!

On Saturday evening we ventured out to Citywalk at Universal. I love going to the Universal parks, especially during Grinchmas. Our visit to Citywalk featured a trip to Rising Star. Rising Star is the ultimate karaoke venue for those who dream about being on stage. You sing karaoke along with a live band and backup singers. All of the singers were really good. This is not your typical "tone deaf" karaoke bar (although maybe some not so good singers came on after we left?). Rising Star has an ample list of karaoke classics and several current songs to choose from. The downside was that the band takes 30 minute breaks in between sets of about 30 minutes. I'm not sure why they go from 100% entertainment to 0% entertainment for such long periods. However, this is the perfect spot for anyone who dreams of being on stage and wants a taste of stardom - even if just for 1 song.

Rising Star - backup singers, live band, and an awesome performer

What are your favorite places in Orlando? I hope to be back for Grinchmas this year!

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Sailing away on the Norwegian Epic {part 4}

Let's scan our room key cards and get back onboard the Norwegian epic for the final part of my vacation recap series. We've talked about pre-cruise, our stateroom, and the excursions.

So what kind of food blogger goes on a cruise and doesn't take any food pictures? Me. I'll hang my head in shame. I didn't board the ship with intentions of blogging about it, and since I was on vacation I didn't carry my phone with me to take pictures. Once I got home I regretted it. I won't let it happen again!

Yes, cruises have food available 24/7. If it's not from a dining room or a speciality restaurant, it could be from a buffet, room service, or pizza delivery. Oh yeah, 24/7 pizza delivery is available on NCL ships - and it can be delivered anywhere on the ship! We didn't take advantage but I did have plenty of pizza on board.

Norwegian is known for their specialty restaurants. These are an additional fee per diner, but usually worth it. During our 7 day Epic cruise we dined at a few specialty restaurants:

Moderno - a Brazilian steakhouse. So worth the $20 for a massive salad bar with meats and cheeses, and all you can eat churrascaria meats served table side. Also 3 desserts and grilled pineapple. Needless to say we were stuffed when we left here.

La Cucina Italian Restaurant - Classic Italian restaurant with traditional dishes for $15. This was not as good as the La Cucina we had last year on the NCL Star, but overall not a bad dinner.

Wasabi Sushi Bar - We stopped by between lunch and dinner for a sushi snack. Well... one thing lead to another and a few sushi rolls later we waddled back to the cabin. So good and so fresh.

The aftermath of 3 desserts at Moderno

Besides eating, drinking, excursions, and laying poolside - here are some of our other favorite activities on the Epic:

Howl at the Moon - A dueling piano bar with 3 very talented performers. Bring your request (and tip money!) and a sense of humor, and you'll be hooked. We attended 3 out of 4 Howl performances on board. This was our favorite part of the ship, and we wish NCL would bring Howl at the Moon on all ships fleet-wide. 

Our 2 favorite performers and favorite audience member (left)

Svedka Ice Bar - An entire room made of ice, Svedka vodka drinks served in ice shot glasses, and a whole lot of chill! Make a reservation, put on a parka and gloves, and head in for the most unique bar on the high seas. $20 per person includes 2 drinks. Only drinks from the limited menu are served. Tip: You can order the non-alcoholic options and ask the bartender to add vodka. Dress warm! (I wore flip flops. Brrrr!)

Key Master Game - Kudos to whoever came up with this! What a money maker! Every time we walked by the casino, we stopped to watch whoever was playing the Key Master game. We never saw anyone actually win, but every single person gets "so close." It's even more addicting because no cash is involved - you just slide your room key card. I only wasted $2 playing this, but we saw some do a lot more. These are strategically placed on both sides of the casino, so you're sure to stop, stare, and sneak in a play. Just one try. Ok, one more... 

Win an iPad or lots of cash! 

Other onboard activities we liked:

Blue Man Group - I am glad I saw this, but wouldn't see it again. 

Legends in Concert - I'm happy Michael Jackson was one of our entertainers. He was great! Other performers were Donna Summer, Jimmy Buffet, and Whoopi Goldberg. 

Aqua Park - The lines for slides can be long on sea days, but quick and easy on port days. The Epic Plunge was great!

One of our favorite onboard activities was just sitting on the balcony and enjoying the view. Before we knew it, 7 days was up and we were back to reality. We can't wait to book our next NCL cruise!

Sun setting on our vacation

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Sailing away on the Norwegian Epic {part 3}

We're onboard the Norwegian Epic, and ready to hit the open waters. Catch up on part 1 of my review here, and part 2 here.

Some people choose a cruise based on the ports of call they'll be visiting. I prefer to choose based on the ship and onboard amenities, but our ports of call on the Epic were pretty, well, Epic. We were on an Eastern Caribbean itinerary which sailed out of Miami to St. Martaan, St. Thomas, and Nassau. This was a 7 day cruise, so we had 3 sea days as well.

Here are some of the highlights of our excursions:

St. Martaan (or St. Martin depending on which side of the island you're on)
We chose the Ultimate Island Tour & Explorer Cruise excursion offered by NCL. This was a relaxing way to see both the Dutch and French sides of the island, and learn a lot of history about the island. Our tour guide on the bus ride was Cecilia. She had a heavy accent and I felt like I was comprehending her in slow motion. I had to really slow down and listen to everything she said so I could understand her. She was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor.

View from where our ship was docked

Bus tour

After about 20 minutes on the bus with Cecilia, we boarded our Explorer cruise. As soon as we stepped foot on the boat, the dark skies welcomed us with heavy rain and wind. What a nightmare! We were able to grab chairs on the top deck, which was covered, and rum punch to warm us up. Did I mention that the boat has unlimited rum punch? I think I might have had 3 glasses before we reached Marigot.

The sun came out shortly after the Explorer left the dock. Whew!

Gorgeous Marigot area

We were dropped off for an hour in Marigot. This was a marina shopping area on the French side of the island. Well if I can't be in Paris this year, I was going to soak up being in a French territory! The merchants accepted Euros and all spoke perfect French. Even the handwriting was very French - I loved looking at all of the menu boards.

French handwriting, French cuisine = I'm in France! 

We opted to eat lunch instead of shopping. We ended up with a crepe and a pizza. Even after 3 days of all you can eat pizza onboard the Epic, I was craving pizza for some reason. Both dishes were good, but a little pricey after factoring in the Euro to US Dollar conversion.

Jambon, fromage, and oeuf crepe

Margherita pizza

After our hour flew by, we were back on the bus with Cecilia to return back to our ship. We had the option of being dropped off in the shopping area, but we chose to return to our home away from home on the Epic.

St. Thomas

St. Thomas was pretty darn close to paradise. You know those images with the crystal blue water and the palm trees? Yep, that's where we were. We chose the St. John Champagne Catamaran Sail and Snorkel offered by NCL. This was the highest rated excursion offered for our itinerary and all of the reviews I found online were good as well. Plus, it had "champagne" in the name, so I knew it had to be good!

We had a short ride to the dock where we were greeted by our catamaran crew. We saw a boat docked in the marina that was from St. Petersburg, Florida. What a small world! I had to get a picture of that!

When we were leaving we actually saw Mr. and Mrs. Mango Man on their boat. We told them we were also from St. Petersburg. The Mango's had been docked in St. Thomas for 3 months and they were getting ready to head out to the British Virgin Islands. This is where I almost had my Chris Gardner moment, "What do you do and how do you do it?"

The scenery on the ride to our near private island, St. John, was beautiful. We arrived at the snorkeling destination and had an hour or two to explore. I am not a snorkeler, so we headed to the beach and enjoyed the water. You could almost see your feet through the water, it was that clear.

Before we knew it, we headed back onboard our catamaran for some drinks and snacks. Being bummed about leaving the island was made better with unlimited champagne and rum punch. How many rum punches could we drink before we headed back onboard the Epic? Not enough :)

Bye bye St. John! 

Fueling up

Nassau
We actually decided to stay onboard the Epic instead of doing an excursion in Nassau. I've been to Nassau 3 times on cruises and never gotten off of the boat there. Either I am really missing out or I'm not missing much at all.

Stay tuned for part 4 of my vacation recap - featuring all of the onboard features of the Epic!

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Sailing away on the Norwegian Epic {part 2}

We've just boarded the Norwegian Epic - a foodie paradise on the high seas. Catch up on part 1 of my review here.

Upon entering the Norwegian Epic, the sparkling clean and modern mega ship, we headed straight up to the pool deck. The first thing I noticed was the Epic Plunge - a swirly water slide. I didn't have my bathing suit on, so we grabbed a seat and enjoyed the views of Miami's swanky million dollar homes. The feeling you get when boarding a ship is electric - everyone is ready to be on vacation and unwind. The drinks are flowing, the food is hot, and the spirits are high.

An hour or so after we boarded, the announcement came on telling us our rooms were ready. We were really excited to see our room since we booked a mini-suite with a balcony. Since we booked during a sale, we were able to get a really great rate on the room. I checked the price often during my pre-cruise planning, and it never went lower than the price we paid. I recommend booking directly with NCL so you can be in line in the event any upgrade opportunities become available. 

Our room was #10272 - located near the aft elevators. Since I wasn't able to find any pictures of the cabin before we cruised, I wanted to make sure I posted all of these. Hopefully it helps future Epic mini suite passengers! (Shout out to anyone booking #10272 - comment if you do!)

The room was amazing! It had a spacious feel to it, and there was so much storage for anything and everything you could have brought on board with you. Almost every area had storage available. 

The bathrooms on the Epic are a little different, and highly controversial. The bathroom is "deconstructed" meaning that the shower/tub, toilet, and sink are all separated. They are not in one room with 1 door like Americans are used to. The shower and toilet have frosted glass doors, and there is a curtain that separates the shower and toilet from the rest of the room. The layout did not bother us much, and the features of the ship clearly outweigh this flaw. Here is a photo tour of our cabin:

Bed, TV, and Balcony - view from the bathroom area

Toilet and sink area, with frosted glass door. There is plenty of storage under the sink

Shower and tub (not all cabins have a tub)

High tech room phone - touch screen for direct access to Room Service, Reservations, and more. It even has speaker phone with was perfect for us since we were traveling with a group

Room safe - yes it is big enough to hold your iPad, but just barely. Make sure to lock up all of your valuables (especially passports) in here

And, drumroll please...

 THE BALCONY!

When selecting a cruise cabin, we like to choose one that is close to elevators. It's just so much more convenient, especially when coming back from a day in the sun or a big meal. This was even more important on the Epic - the ship is so big that you do a LOT of walking. We got in the elevators, just a few steps away, and easily made it up to the pool deck or down to the casino. Voila! 

Stay tuned for part 3 of my cruise recap, featuring our excursions!

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Sailing away on the Norwegian Epic (part 1)

My Spring vacation has come and gone. This year, we traveled to Miami to embark on a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Epic. Our ports of call were St. Martaan, St. Thomas, and Nassau. After counting down for 8 months, hundreds of hours on Cruise Critic, and endless hours of daydreaming, our departure day finally arrived. Saturday April 6th!

Here is the view from the rooftop pool deck from our hotel, The Mayfair Hotel and Spa in Coconut Grove:

Unfortunately we did not get to enjoy the rooftop pool since it was raining the night we arrived. We ventured up Saturday morning to get a peek. The Mayfair is a boutique hotel close to shopping and restaurants, at Cocowalk. Cocowalk is the Grove's version of Baywalk or Channelside. We had dinner at Bice Bistro and enjoyed 2 for 1 drinks. It was a "happy hour" that lasted the whole night through!

We started Saturday morning with breakfast at the Cuban eatery La Carreta. This restaurant was recommended to us by a server we had the night before. I didn't need anymore energy to get me pumped for sailing, but when Cafe Con Leche is available, a girl's got to take it. I paired my Cuban coffee with scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes (with a hint of spice), and of course, Cuban toast! I wish La Carreta was closer to Tampa Bay. If I could start every day with Cafe Con Leche and Cuban bread, I'd be pretty happy!

Our next stop was the Port of Miami. After dropping off our luggage, completing check in, and taking our obligatory "I'm about to get on a cruise!" picture, we entered the NCL Epic!

For those of you who aren't familiar with cruising, the Epic was the 3rd largest cruise ship in the world when it was built. The Epic has been sailing since 2010, and is the youngest ship sailing for Norwegian Cruise Lines - for a few more days. (The Norwegian Breakaway takes it's maiden voyage this week!)  Over 4,000 passengers can sail on the Epic at a time, along with 1,700 crew members.

What is there to do on the Norwegian Epic? I am glad you asked! Here is just a sample of what the ship has to offer:

20 restaurants/dining options

12 bars and lounges, including the SVEDKA Ice Bar

Aqua park with 3 slides

Blue Man Group

Cirque Dreams and Dinner

Second City improv comedy

Howl at the Moon dueling pianos

2 bowling alleys

Legends in Concert

Stay tuned for my next installment to see what happened over the next 7 days! 

Check out what others are saying about La Carreta on UrbanSpoon

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