Some of my extended family moved to Oceanside, California, just about an hour north of San Diego and an hour south of Orange County, about 25 years ago. My folks followed about 10 years ago, so I have been hanging out in this area of California for a long time. On my most recent trip, I was looking for something to do that I’ve never done before in O’side, and stumbled across the fact that Oceanside is one of 14…
I often think about how lucky I am to live in such an amazing city with incredible restaurants, sports teams, activities and architecture. We always make it a point to become members of one or two museums at a time – as a family of six, it’s worth it because it pays itself off within one or two visits. The one membership I keep renewing forever into eternity, though, is for the Art Institute of Chicago. Often rated as one…
We ate dinner at almost all of the restaurants on offer at the sweeping Nayara Resort in Costa Rica and I can say that they were all good. We only skipped Las Terrazas (though for breakfast, it was the best complimentary buffet breakfast of most resorts and hotels I’ve been to worldwide) and Mis Amores (but we did have their lunch menu by the pool several times and absolutely no complaints there!). There were a few stand-outs, though, and so…
This article is going to cover the other places around Nayara Resort to hang out. First, and most important, is the Las Terrazas restaurant at Nayara Gardens. We never ate here for dinner, but we had our complimentary breakfast here every day. The bright and airy restaurant is right next to the reception area, and is really quite huge, but the atmosphere in the morning is buzzing. Each morning, a different type of coffee is served and they list it…
If there is one tour that you do near the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica, this hanging bridges tour has got to be it. It’s a several mile easy hike through primary and secondary forest, and your cross six hanging, suspension bridges along the way. We used a guide through Jacamar Tours, which was booked through our resort – Nayara Gardens, and we booked a private tour. I was super nervous about this experience because I’m not really great with…
Nostalgia Wine Bar at Nayara Gardens in Costa Rica was one of our favorite places to dine at the entire Nayara resort, so much so, that we ate here twice! The first time was celebrating our anniversary – we participated in the multi-course wine tasting dinner which was exquisite. The second time was enjoying some of their wines by the glass and spanish tapas menu. I had really low expectations when it came to the wine tasting dinner. Typically, I…
Taverna Violi is the new kid on the block at Oak Brook mall, having taken over the space that was formerly Mon Ami Gabi. Let’s just take a moment to shed a tear for the loss of that superb restaurant at Oak Brook! OK, moving on! Violi is a Greek Taverna, and this is not your regular old Greek diner. It’s most definitely a step up from even the old standard restaurants in Greek Town, and is a worthy replacement…
We loved Asia Luna Restaurant so much, that we ate here twice during our week-long stay at Nayara Gardens! If you search around, you’ll find that most folks who review the resort on Trip Advisor or wherever else, also list Asia Luna as one of the best meals they had at the resort. We ate here on our first and last nights at the resort. Asia Luna is called a fusion restaurant, however it is really mostly heavily Asian influenced….
This article is just a short description of our room at Nayara Gardens. I booked the Rainforest Pool Villa here because we wanted our own private space, and the resort was running a book 7 nights, pay for 5 deal. About half of the rooms at Nayara Gardens have a personal plunge pool. All of the rooms at Nayara Spring and Nayara Tented Camp have one. Our room was absolutely enormous, and easily one of the largest rooms we have…
Amor Loco restaurant is located at Nayara Springs within the sprawling Nayara resort in Costa Rica. This restaurant definitely wins for funkiest decor. Nayara Springs is the adults only section of the resort, and this restaurant is definitely geared towards romance. The vibe was like a hookah-lounge mixed with a steakhouse or bistro. There were plush velvet couches and chairs, purple, red and blue lighting, along with photos of all sorts of celebrities both old-timey and current, plastered along the…