OnTheRoadGoombah's VirtualTourist Home Page

Well, I have been lucky enough to land in jobs that take me around the world...nothing beats a reimbursable trip to Italy. Unfortunately, I haven't been very good at keeping a travelogue, so this site will be based on foggy memories dating back to 1984. Hopefully the beers, cervezas, biers, ols, cervejas, and bieres I have consumed along the way haven't befuddled me too much. The country list does include Monaco and Vatican City, but the criteria for each country being listed is I must have at least drank a beer there, slept there, or at least visited for more than 8 hours (airports and drive throughs don't count).

I was born and raised in a working class city outside of Boston, Massachusetts and treasure the lessons I learned growing up. Nothing is given to you and you must work hard to accomplish your goals. My goals were always to travel the world and see what it had in store for me. I am very happy that I have been able to see as much of the world as I have but am not done yet!

I hope to visit a total of 50 countries, but it is not so much the quantity as it is the quality of these visits. I will always see the major cultural and historical parts of a city, but I ensure that I take time to get out of the "touristy" areas and explore the real culture and lifestyle of a people.

Favorites –

I stole this concept from a different VT page I came across, but thought I would personalize it here…

Favorites –

Country - Italy
Big City – Rome
Middle City – Avignon, France
Little City – Pietraperzia, Sicily
Winter City – Innsbruck, Austria
Spring City - Boston, Massachusetts
Summer City – Bizerte, Tunisia
Fall City - Manchester, Vermont
Hotel – Sofitel, Rome Italy
Hotel Bed – Scandic Hotel Neringa, Vilnius Lithuania
Beach – Monte Carlo, Monaco
Place I've Never Been - La Manga del Mar Menor, Spain (need to go soon)
Beer - Hooesgarden
Wine - 2004 Sangiovese, DeNatale Winery
Restaurant (overall) – Antonio Bassetti's Rome, Italy
Restaurants by type
Italian – Landini Brothers, Alexandria, Virginia
Pizza – Baffetto’s Rome, Italy
Azeri – Sorena, Vilnius , Lithuania
Grill - Kubelek, Cessuna, Italy
Breakfast – Nicks, Revere, Massachusetts
Seafood – Anthony’s Pier Four, Boston, Massachusetts
Steak house - Garot's, Omaha, Nebraska
Chinese – City Lights, Washington, DC
Brazilian – Malibu Grill, Fair Oaks, Virginia
Pub – The Newbridge, Chelsea, Massachusetts
Lamb - Ribs and Rumps, Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia
Mexican – Guajillo, Arlington, Virginia
Salvadoran – Acapulco Restaurant, Hyattsville, Maryland
Bakery - Guerri's Rome, Italy
Ice Cream: Fior de Latte, Bar Gelaterria (next to Fontana di Trevi), Rome, Italy
Armenian - Akhatar, Riga, Latvia
Latvian - Cau Rasma, Riga, Latvia

Resort City: Sedona, Arizona
Golf Course: Bull Run Country Club
Resort: Spruce Point Inn, Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Outdoor Market: Queen Victoria’s, Melbourne, Australia
Airport: Changi Airport, Singapore
Airport Lounge: Air New Zealand Lounge, Sydney Australia
Hiking Trail: Skyline Drive, Shenandoah Mountains
Scenic Drive: Amalfi Coast, Italy
Train Ride: London-Paris via the Chunnel
Baths: Gellert Baths, Budapest, Hungary

Church: Saint Peter’s, Vatican City
Hotel Fitness Center: Mandarin Oriental, Manila Philippines
Hotel Pool: Bizerte, Tunisia
Hotel Breakfast: JW Marriott, Seoul, Korea
Vegas Buffet: Rio
Airline - United
Museum – The Smithsonian, Washington, DC
Ball park – Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Walking tour – The Freedom Trail, Boston, Massachusetts
Concert – Earth, Wind, and Fire
Book – Many Beautiful Things by Vincent Schiavelli
Movie – Life is Beautiful

I will continue to update this as I think of more categories

"It is something to be able to paint a particular picture or to carve a statue and so to make a few things beautiful. But it is far more glorious to carve and paint the atmosphere and medium through which we look. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts."
Henry David Thoreau
The Baking of the Bread