Introduction

After a recent return from ten weeks of traversing the Mediterranean, I've discovered my fondness for writing about my experiences. In particular, I have found that writing about my travels is not only helpful to my memory and I, but could possibly be helpful for other people as well.

Two of my favorite things in this world are travel and food. This blog will combine the two, consisting of restaurant reviews and my travel chronicles. I have ditched my former informal Semester at Sea blog for this more organized, more focused approach.

I have recently made it my life's goal to visit every country in the world, and so far I have been to fourteen: the United States and the Virgin Islands, Canada, Mexico, Spain, France, Italy and Vatican City, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Morocco. I have several trips planned over the next year, including a road trip through California, Portland, and Washington; a visit to Costa Rica and Nicaragua; my birthright to Israel; and a Semester at Sea reunion voyage to Cabo San Lucas. I will also be visiting Las Vegas for my twenty-first birthday in November and several east coast states in the spring to determine which graduate school I will be attending.

The gaps between my updates regarding my travels will be filled with reviews of restaurants that I enjoy. Primarily they will be restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles; others will be featured in travel updates they belong to. I in no way claim to be an expert of food; I do, however, know what I like and hope to speak for and recommend restaurants that I believe deserve praises. Occasionally I may include a negative review, but I prefer to use whatever small power I might have, whether real or imaginary, for good rather than evil. I harbor a rather picky palate, and there are three things I absolutely refuse to eat: onions, mushrooms, and beef. I believe the most successful dishes have none of these things, but will try to maintain objectivity.

Here's to the new venture!

-Madeline Wolff