Around The World Update

“Bizarre travel plans are dancing lessons from God.” – Kurt Vonnegut

Big Hearts, Little Egos

Emotions are bitter-sweet as we embark on our our sixth and final ‘first pass’ food journey across the ENTIRE world eating at 6 of the top 10 restaurants in the world and 24 of the top 50. Beginning in 2013, we painted the globe with a broad brush stroke visiting both hemispheres earmarking  the fine dining spots ranking on The World’s 50 Best Restaurant’s list / Michelin Guide – we don’t follow these lists to be fancy, we follow them to ensure we’ll have elevated experiences everywhere we go.

While Antartica is on the books for 2019, it’s not exactly a mecca for fine dining, but, nonetheless it’s the 7th and final stop on the broad world tour.  Traveling makes us feel fully alive and has stripped us of what little egos we had to begin with making us yearn for nothing and happy with less, we’ve morphed into ‘luxury minimalists’ – a concept we discuss in our self-published book, The Wanderer’s Compass.

Who You Travel With

After we had been together for some time, we heard a solid bit of retroactive advice worth discussing.

“If you have someone that you think is The One, don’t just think in your ordinary mind, ‘Okay, let’s make a date, let’s plan this and make a party and get married.’ Take that person and travel around the world. Buy a plane ticket for the two of you to travel all around the world, and go to places that are hard to go to and hard to get out of. And if when you land at JFK and you’re still in love with that person, get married at the airport.” ~ Bill Murray

We vetted our relationship with a similar methodology and it’s truly idiot proof.  We planned every conceivable trip –  local, domestic and international and discovered undeniable chemistry.  Even more importantly, observing each other outside of our normal routines and comfort zones helped to uncover and steer the alignment of life philosophies.  We shared the same curiosity and thirst to explore, discover and achieve seemingly impossible things.  Miraculously we aligned on every level (career, family, spirituality, hobbies, dreams, hopes, politics, expectations, love) turning the world into our playground.  We are the architects and autobiographers of the greatest LoveStory ever written.  

The Next Chapter

While nothing is as sweet as falling in love with a person or a place for the first time, upon second visit, our admiration will grow deeper and more meaningful.  Our next travel chapter will be to return and focus for longer periods of time (3 months out of the year) to various countries gaining deeper exposure to ecosystems, people and cultures.   As we establish the “Woodward Foundation” leaving a legacy of love, hope and beauty long after we transcend the confines of the earth  😉 

Without further adieu, we present >>>

Highlights of our 6 year journey (2013 – 2018)

Six continents down, one to go!

Africa 

  • Serengeti Safari with dmAfrica
  • Great Migration
  • Big 5
  • Rwandan / Congo Gorilla Trek
  • Making friends with Duncan and Bosco
  • Kenya’s Giraffe Manor
  • Genocide Museum
  • Kenya’s Children’s Home
  • Meeting and sponsoring Namnyak Lepore
  • Elephant sanctuary

Antartica
Coming 2019
Asia – EMBARKING ON THIS VOYAGE DECEMBER 2018

  • Thailand elephant sanctuary
  • Cambodia Angkor Wat
  • Sailing Phuket
  • Gaggan Anand

Australia

  • World’s 50 Best Ceremony 2017
  • Phillip Island Kangaroos
  • Koala Sanctuary
  • Penguins Returning from Sea
  • Ocean & Countryside ‘Glamping’
  • Lovelock Yarra River
  • Heston Blumenthal
  • Peter Gunn

Central America

  • Costa Rican surfing
  • Sailing
  • Snorkeling
  •  napping ad nauseam
  • daily massages
  • sunsets

Europe

  • Cirque Du Soleil
  • One-on-one with Albert Adria
  • Clubbing in Ibiza
  • Tibidabo Amusement Park
  • Leaning Tower of Pisa
  • Lovelock Pont Des Arts
  • Lovelock Cinque Terre Footpath
  • Pintxos tour with Michelin Chef Josean Alija
  • UK Blog Awards Ceremony
  • Nomination for International Influencers of 2018
  • Nomination for Travel Blog of 2018
  • Guggenheim
  • Many speeding tickets
  • Ferrari Museum
  • 100 years Maserati
  • ♥♥♥
  • Paris Engagement
  • Tour de Eiffel
  • Louvre
  • Aston Martin London
  • Big Ben
  • London Eye
  • Venice Canals
  • Tea at Harrods
  • Tuscany
  • Turkish Spa Milano
  • Christmas in Venice
  • Massimo Bottura
  • Maserati Headquarters
  • Cinque Terre
  • New Years Eve in Milan
  • Switzerland
  • Lake Como
  • New Years Eve on the Champs-Élysées
  • Denmark
  • Florence
  • Tuscany
  • Modena
  • Basque Country
  • Azurmendi
  • Etxebarri
  • Top 9 post of @theworld’s50Best 2018

North America

  • Disneyworld
  • One-on-one with Jose Andres
  • One-on-One with Dave Chappelle
  • Becoming friends with Donnell Rawlings and being a guest of the Chappelle Show in Hanover, CT
  • Alaskan Cruise
  • Dual residency between Chicago & Nashville
  • Freedom Trail
  • Mount Rushmore
  • HalfMoon Bay
  • Founding Platinum Sculpt CoolSculpting
  • Founding First Startup
  • Skiing British Colombia, Whistler, BlackComb, Beaver Creek, Steamboat Springs, Jackson’s Hole & Wolf Creek
  • Guggenheim NYC
  • Rolling Stones in NYC
  • Kid Rock in Nashville
  • Garth Brooks in Nashville
  • Elton John in Las Vegas & Lousiville
  • Iceskating Rockefeller
  • Empire State Building
  • 30 consecutive days skiing Vail
  • Visiting 36 of 50 states
  • Surfing Mission Beach
  • Toronto Lovelock at the Christmas Market
  • Yukon Territory, Sled Dog Sanctuary
  • World’s smallest Desert
  • Kayaking Alaska
  • Boating through Glaciers
  • Napa Wine Tours

South America

  • Machu Picchu
  • Surfing
  • Latin America’s 50 Best Awards, Bogotá
  • Lovelock Parque del Amor
  • 30 days in Miraflores
  • One-on-one with Virgilio Martinez

Islands and Territories  

  • Peter Island
  • Bora Bora Wedding
  • Jose Villa / Four Seasons Photo Shoot
  • British Virgin Islands
  • Baths at Virgin Gorda

Common Denominators

  • Morning snuggles
  • Afternoon naps
  • Evening snuggles
  • Sleeping in / no alarm clocks
  • arm-in-arm, sipping coffee
  • long walks
  • air BnB’s
  • minimalist luxury
  • walking endless miles
  • PDA
  • Tasting Menus
  • diversity

global restaurant

résumé

Fine Dining Across 6 Continents

World’s 50 Best 2018 
No 01 Osteria Francescana Modena, Italy
No 04 Eleven Madison Park New York, USA
No 05 Gaggan Bankgog, Thailand
No 06 Central Lima, Peru
No 07 Maido Lima, Peru
No 10 Asador Etxebarri
No 18 Disfrutar Barcelona Spain
No 25 Cosme New York, USA
No 26 Le Bernardin New York, USA
No 32 Tickets Barcelona, Spain
No 34 Alinea Chicago, USA
No 36 The Dining Room at The House on Sathorn Bangkok, Thailand
No 39 Astrid Y Gaston Lima, Peru
No 43 Azurmendi Larrabetzu, Spain
No 45 Dinner by Heston Blumenthal London UK
No 49 Nahm Bangkok, Thailand
No 54 Suhring Bangkok, Thailand
No 57 Neura, Bilbao Spain
No 83 Estela, New York, USA
No 85 Le CouCou New York, USA
No 86 The French Laundry Yountville, USA
No 95 Enigma Barcelona, Spain
No 99 Leo Bogota, Colombia
Latin America’s 50 Best 2018 
No 01 Maido Lima
No 02 Central Lima
No 07 Astrid Y Gaston
No 15 La Mar Lima
No 17 Harry Sasson Bogota
No 18 Leo, Bogota
No 21 Isolina Lima
No 30 Malabar
No 46 Fiesta Lima
No 47 Amaz Lima
Asia’s 50 Best 2018
No 01 Gaggan
No 04 Suhring
No 31 Paste
No 43 The Dining Room At the House On Sathorn Bangkok, Thailand
33 of the World’s Best Restaurants 2013 – 2018.
Michelin Guide Washington D.C.  2018
The Inn at Little Washington ***
Minibar **
Pineapple & Pearls **
Michelin Guide Chicago 2018
Alinea ***
Blackbird *
Sixteen **
El Ideas *
Naha *
Roister *
Schwa *
Sepia *
Spiaggia *
Topolobampo *
Michelin Guide Northern Cali & San Fran 2018
COI ***
The French Laundry ***
Michael Mina *
Terra *
Michelin Guide Spain 2018
Azurmendi ***
Disfrutar **
Enigma *
Eneko*
Michelin Guide Paris 2018
Pierre Gagnaire ***
La Truffiere (platted)
Michelin Guide NYC 2018
Le Bernardin ***
Eleven Madison Park ***
Daniel **
Babbo *
Cafe Boulud *
Peter Luger *
Michelin Guide Italy 2018
Osteria Francescana ***
Winter Garden by Caino*
Michelin Guide United Kingdom 2018
Dinner by HB **
Core by Clare Smyth **
Michelin Guide Bangkok 2018 – ON THE CALENDAR FOR DECEMBER
Gaggan **
Jay Fai *
Suhring *
Paste *
Nahm*
53 Michelin Stars 2013 – 2018
We are SO grateful. After one last trek in 2019, we’ll have fulfilled our loftiest pursuit.  #damnitfeelsgood

Our Vision

Our goal was to see the entire world, visiting all 7 continents in the first 7 years of our relationship (2013 – 2019).  We will have achieved this goal by 2019.   Each place we visited, we left a little better than how we found it, all the while  gaining perspective, love, and  appreciation for vast cultures, family-bonds, economics & lifestyle.  As we explored the earth, we built our restaurant resume falling madly in love with the planet and each other.  We are so comforted having left our corporate jobs in exchange for going into business for ourselves and creating the freedom and capacity to be fully alive, fully free, and deeply traveled. We can’t wait to see what the future holds.  In our eyes, the present moment is irreplaceable and the best is STILL yet to come.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou