Sandra Scott Travels

The word gulyás, commonly written goulash, means “cowboy” in Hungarian. The dish originated with ninth century shepherds who stewed their meat until all liquid disappeared, dried it in the sun and whenever they wanted food, they took out a piece of the dried meat, added some water and reheated it.

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is bisected by the River Danube. The views from the Danube are stunning, day and night. One of my credit cards is with the InterContinental group of hotels (think Holiday Inn) so I used some points to stay at the InterContinental where I had an incredible view of the Castle Hill and the Chain Bridge.

Mention Las Vegas and most people think of gambling. But, Vegas it an excellent hub for enjoying nature. Vegas may be located in a desert, but besides exploring the colorful rocky terrain there are lakes and rivers to explore. Most of the natural areas are part of a national or state park.

The Caribbean island of Bonaire is 50 miles north of Venezuela and 86 miles east of Aruba. The best thing is that it is out of the hurricane belt so any time of the year is a good time to visit. There is plenty of sunshine year round.

I choose the Bermuda cruise because it scheduled three days in port and I had never been there. I like it better than a cruise where they only stop for 10 hours. Ten hours is never enough to learn about a place. The best way to see Bermuda would be to book a week at one of their hotels or an AirBnB.

Central New York has been blessed with many, many beautiful days these last couple months. But, it won’t last. So don’t waste any of the nice fall days. The Adirondack Railroad has several fall trips departing from Utica.

I encourage people to belong to every possible customer loyalty program and to make sure their credit cards are working for them. My Master Card is with InterContinental Hotels (think Holiday Inn properties). I get one free night a year so I used it at the 5-star InterContinental on 44th Street in NYC and my Master Card gave me a VIP pass to One World Trade Center Tower (aka Freedom Tower). From the InterContinental I took Uber to One World trade Center.

Before I went to Bermuda I searched for a place to do a cooking experience and found a unique one offered by Doreen Williams-James. She calls herself a forager, an expert in locating, eating, and preparing food that grows in the wild. Foraging runs in the family; she learned from her father who learned from his father.

The last time I was in NYC I discover the Downtown Connection, a free bus that goes from Southstreet Seaport to City Hall. It makes many stops but you can pull the cord for an unscheduled stop. The shuttle bus runs seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The sign can be easy to miss but it is on the same pole as the bus signs and just says “Downtown Connection.”