No Place Like Home...Panama, Part 1: Panama City

Howie and I officially scratched Central America off of our travel bucket list last week during a wild and adventurous trip to Panama.  After having the opportunity to visit a cosmopolitan finance capital, a quiet beach town, the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, the rainforest and a gorgeous Spanish Colonial Old Town - all in a single trip - I can most certainly promise that this won't be my last time visiting Central America.  There's no doubt in my mind that the most spectacular part about traveling to Panama was that it still felt like a secret.  I was at some of the most astonishingly beautiful places I had ever been in my life, but knew that only a handful of other people had laid eyes on the landscape or stepped on the terrain.

Welcome to Panama, the "land of 1,000 fishes"...and perpetual bad hair days.

Cleveland Botanical Gardens

One of my all-time favorite activities (besides cooking of course!) is exploring Cleveland.  I know it sounds a little cliche, but I didn't name my blog No Place Like O(H)ome for kicks.  There are so many interesting neighborhoods that define Cleveland, each with different personalities, attractions, people, architecture...the list can go on forever!  University Circle is probably Cleveland's fastest growing area with a ton of museums and cultural attractions, but I only go maybe twice a year for fun?  Not okay!  Maybe I was scarred from having 3 studio projects located on the Case Western Campus within a year?!

That outlook's about to change now that I'm a fully functioning adult because the area is BEAUTIFUL!  This past Sunday, my family had a Christmas outing to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens, and it was my first time there.  The Botanical Gardens were amazing, especially when every room was adorned with extra lights, decorations, and hundreds of gingerbead houses for the Christmas season.  They even managed to scope out tropical plants from Costa Rica and Madagascar that fit the holiday scenery.  Incredible to say the least!  I can't wait to go back; preferably when it's warm and I can actually explore the gardens outside...

After the gardens we had a delicious pre-holiday celebration at Southside: Restaurant and Bar in Tremont.  Wine, laughs, a million appetizers, and on top of it, an actual dinner!  It's never a dull moment with the Schills!