Portugal!

We had heard wonderful things about Portugal from our family living abroad and decided to check it out for ourselves. Turns out they were right - it is a great place to visit, for many reasons. It was just the vacation we needed: laid back, easy, relaxing, summer weather kind of vacation. The weather was just perfect. Warm during the day, cool at night, dry, not buggy. It was the perfect respite from work. 

Traveling with a baby is...different... things matter that never mattered before. Places that accommodate babies by providing cribs or always having a high chair, a plastic cup, and a kids menu make the process easier. Places that offer babysitting, definitely a perk. Every place we stayed had a crib for Dylan, we never needed to take the pack and play out of the car. They all took care of Dylan in the restaurants. When it came time to leave, we were pleasantly surprised to be recruited away from the crowds and long lines at the airport to the VIP access lines since we were traveling with a baby in tow - just more evidence of why its great to travel to Portugal with the little ones! 

Algarve: We started our trip in the south of Portugal, Algarve, at a resort called the Pine Cliffs Resort. This was your typical family oriented pool/beach resort. Food was decent, pools were numerous and great, beach was fantastic. They have a kids play area, babysitting services, high chairs everywhere, a nice gym and a great organic lunch spot/juice bar. Thats enough for us to love a place. There were lots of families there and kids roaming free - it would be a super fun place to return to with the sibs/cousins and their kids! There was even enough down time for me to work on a couple research projects (residency doesn't afford this opportunity on a non-vacation week). 


Evora
After a few days lounging around in Algarve, we were ready to move on. We hopped in the car and headed north. Our ultimate destination was wine country, but we decided to break up the trip by making a pit stop in Evora, an town east of Lisbon. When you drive into Evora, it almost feels as if you're traveling into a different era. Aqueducts line the city horizon, church spires can be seen from afar, old grand gates and buildings that have half crumbled to the ground have not been restored. 

We stayed at Convento do Esipinhero, an old convent that has been renovated to a resort. We enjoyed the pool and gardens, tasted wine in their wine cellar, explored the premises, and then finished the day with a really special dinner at their Michelin starred restaurant. 

Porto The next day we continued on our journey north to Porto. We drove for almost 4 hours - a totally non-stress drive. We thought about how if we had been in the car for 4 hours at home we would have spent a good portion of that sitting in traffic and would not have covered nearly as much distance. People are courteous and attentive as drivers here. No one swaying between lanes cause they're texting and driving. No one sitting in the left lane "cause they have a right to stay in the left lane when driving the speed limit." People use their turn signals. Truckers don't drive like jerks. No cops waiting with radars to slap you with a huge speeding fine. Oh and the roads... they're nice!! Despite the evidence of financial hardship affecting many of the towns in Portugal, their highways are immaculate. No potholes to destroy your nice wheels. Something for the US to aspire to. 

In Porto, we stayed at Hotel Teatro - a hotel that was once a theatre and now is a theatre-themed hotel. There is where we found our second Michelin restaurant of the trip. We decided to walk around the city, see the ancient church, walk over the pedestrian bridge over the river, and eat..as we always do. We stopped in a this new little restaurant on the main drag not far from our hotel for lunch - Impar Flores, it was surprisingly good. We thought for sure it would be one of those tourist trap places, but it was not! Dinner at Restaurant Palco was again exceptional. I had the most incredible veal paired with this amazing wine from Douro, from Qunto do Bragao - we tried to find it in wine country but were unsuccessful (next time!).

Douro
Not like any other wine country I've visited...and I've visited a few. First of all, you usually can't just stop in for a tasting. It seems that very few accommodate the unannounced visitor for a tasting. The first winery we visited, Quinto do Crasto, was 20 kilometers through switchback roads up and down several mountainsides. We thought for sure the GPS had mislead us, as we only passed 3 other vehicles along the way, 2 of which were trucks working the vineyards. We joked that it would probably be closed when we got there - and it was! Well, at least closed to the public for tours/tastings. They did however let us buy a bottle of their wine (as David put it, we had to at least get a bottle to taste after coming so far!). The views along the way were worth the trip though. We passed through a small village or two along the way, and the locals smiled as we drove through. We felt welcomed. We stopped and had lunch (with wine pairing of course) at an outstanding restaurant, Conceitus, at the Quinta Nova estate. We ate outside, drank wine, Dylan played, and we bought more wine. We moved on to check out another winery before landing at our hotel for the night, Vila Gale Douro, set right on the banks of the Douro river. With beautiful views we were able to relax and enjoy our purchases.


I should say that driving up to Qunto do Crasto was the second time that we were convinced the GPS was wrong, that the areas we were driving would have been more developed and there would be more signs or stores, or something! Driving down to Algarve was the same thing - we passed practically nothing for 2.5 hours from the airport to the resort! And the roads leading up to the resort were winding, small, and without lots of signs or advertisements. Wine country was even more sparse. It was pretty refreshing.

Peniche
On our way back from Douro, we decided to take a random detour to check out the ocean town Peniche. We were so glad that we did! The views were so beautiful. We found an awesome lunch place at the Fish Market and enjoyed squid ink croquettes, lobster, sea bream, salmon, and sangria. I also tried farofias for the first time - an amazing Portuguese dessert with a few of my favorite things (meringue and cinnamon). 


Lisbon
Finally we made our way back to Lisbon. Our first two nights we stayed at Altis Belem, a totally modern and cool waterfront hotel in the middle of it all. Our last night we stayed at the Lapa palace, on a hill overlooking the water, a few km away. We ate at the Feitoria restaurant our first night - which is my second favorite of all the Michelin's we have dined at (Kadeau, Bornholm, still holds first place).  Before each dish they brought the fish to us to show us what we would be eating. We went for the full tasting menu with wine pairings... my only complaint was that I got too full! The wines and all of the food was so good, and so wholesome, that I was stuffed by the end. It was definitely a treat. There are so many museums in Lisbon, we had to be super selective in choosing one, and we picked the Maritime museum and Viking exhibit (obvious choice if you know my family). We were really impressed and Dylan had a blast running around the museum. It was blazing hot outside, a great opportunity for an afternoon swim at the rooftop pool. 

Our last day we were so pleased with the Lapa palace, the gorgeous pool, the view from our room balcony, that we didn't even make it off the premises. Well, to be totally fair, Dylan also had a fever and slept through most of the day...but we were not complaining about the laid back Saturday. 

  

Amsterdam...again

Nikhil, Kerin and Victor are on the move...this time to London! Before they left we had one last hurrah with them in the Netherlands. We met in Amsterdam and stayed at this adorable hotel that we picked for its name: The Dylan. 

 Our cousin Dave also came from Germany to hang with us. We explored Amsterdam by bike, enjoyed lots of rose wine and caviar (!!), dined at another Michelen starred restaurant before saying goodbye.

Solskinsøen

"The sunshine island," or Bornholm, was the next destination on our trip. 

I was looking for great bike routes for families and I stumbled on an place called Bornholm, an island not too far from Copenhagen in the Baltic Sea. It seemed perfect for us, and we decided that we would fly into Copenhagen, have a short visit with "cousin Elisabeth," my grandmother's first cousin living nearby, then we would head to the sunny island. We were so happy to learn that my cousin Christian, Elisabeth's son, now lives on Bornholm. Not only does he live there, but he works at Gaarden, the center for culinary heritage, a working farm and agricultural museum with all sorts of cool workshops and courses happening there. He's totally plugged in to whats happening on the island. Bornholm is a place that is obsessed with its local food heritage and highlighting its uniqueness in local farm shops, ice cream stands and elegant dining experiences alike. We had the special treat of dining at the Michelin starred restaurant on the island, Kadeau, which serves a menu full of ingredients picked from local gardens put together to make the most beautiful dishes that left us feeling perfectly satisfied. As a side note, the staff was incredibly patient with Miss Dylan, who was growing a little tired and impatient as course after course came by. We rented bikes and toured around the island, up and down the hills of the north, and then back to the south via the rolling hills of one of the few major roads through the island. The whole island is just beautiful. We found the people warm, the local beers excellent, and the food even better. It's only a matter of time before this hidden gem of an island will be discovered by the masses. 

Skål to Christian for being an incredible host to us, cooking for us, taking us on the unofficial eating tour of the island, introducing us to the Gaarden museum, and for sharing the charm of Bornholm with us. 

Tasting the traditional smokehouse prepared fish.

Biking around the island...the many beautiful scenes en route and quiet of the island were the perfect setting for Dylan to take a nap.

Winding down after our first day on the island. Enjoying a beautiful sunset from our hotel room balcony.

Click here to see a video of the choir that assembles to sing the postal and ferry boats off as they depart from Gudhjem to the archipelago island Christiansø. It was a little windy when we were there, so you'll have to listen carefully to hear what they're singing. 

Visiting Gaarden. Dylan picking fresh parsley. The pamphlet was designed by Christian! The lady with the bowl on her lap is making mustard in the traditional way by rolling a cannon ball over mustard seeds and water until a mustard paste is made. Dylan watching the horses and David testing his horse-power strength.

The best hot dog EVER. Hallegaard farm, the tucked away spot that must be found. Delicious beers too, this one made with the vitamin C-rich berry, Havtorn. 

Incredible ice cream, pork sandwiches, and beers, all in Svaneke. Dylan strolling through the streets of this quaint harbor town. 

The beach, view from the dunes, and the lighthouse on the south side of the island. The boardwalk down to the beach has a "fire island feel," which made it...special.

Kadeau delights. All meals should be like this.

First stop...UK

Another vacation week has come and gone too fast. As usual, we packed a lot into one trip. After another painfully long delay just getting out of the DC airports, we flew overnight to Heathrow. Jill had already been in the UK for two weeks at a summer program at Oxford, we really wanted to visit her there. But first we made a pit stop at my aunt and uncles home in Kingsbury. Last time I saw them neither of us had babies. I can't believe that this was the first time I could meet Raagini ("Ragu") & Vivaksha ("Viva"), who are now 6. Dylan had so much fun watching them and learning from them. Amazingly, my brothers family also happened to be in London house hunting, and they were able to join us too. When Victor showed up, the three of them ran upstairs to where the keyboard was, and all started playing songs for each other. Victor performed his bands song "underloaded" which included some air guitar and Michael Jackson dance moves. Shankar chased after Dylan, constantly making sure that she was ok. Jyotika prepared this amazing meal for us and the kids talked about the Hindu goddess Annupurna, and that food should not be wasted to respect this goddess of food. It was so nice to catch up with everyone. When my dad was sick, Jyotika (my dad's sister in law) stopped working and came to the US to stay with him and help care for him - she took the best care of him. My siblings and I were, and are still so grateful for all that she did for him and us at that time. 

After a too short visit, we jumped in the car to Oxford. The rental service gave us the biggest Mercedes I have ever seen!  I didn't know they made cars that big in the UK. David did an amazing job navigating the tight roads and busy roundabouts, all on the opposite side of the road! When we got to Oxford, we found a beautiful campus but more important than that, a really, really happy Jill!!! Jill was loving camp, being abroad, walking around town to her favorite sandwich shop. We didn't have a lot of time together, but we were able to have dinner together and spend some time walking around the Oxford yards - a beautiful park tucked in the middle of the Oxford campus. 

Jill got henna done earlier in the day, and greeted us as so... then we went to this nice restaurant around the corner and Dylan decides she's going to put her feet on the table. These girls...

More on our next stops to come...

Hagelslag

It seems that every time I go to Europe there is a new thing that I pick up on that becomes a part of our life here at home!  Several years ago, after a trip to Paris, I startied drinking espresso rather than coffee with milk, and it stuck.

This time we discovered Hagelslag. Hagelslag is the Dutch version of sprinkles. They look the same, but there are two important differences. 1. They are eaten for breakfast 2. They are not made out of wax and hydrogenated oils as they are here. The two most well known brands of Hagelslag are owned by Heinz(!) of all companies, yet they are not filled with the garbage (HFCS and the likes) that the Heinz US products are tainted by. 

And yes, Hagelslag is eaten for breakfast!! Check out this site to see how they do it! They definitely don't skimp on the Hagelslag! Our fine dining hotel breakfast in Amsterdam included two large bowls of sprinkles. On a side note - the previous hotel in Bruges had a huge block of white chocolate at a carving station when you walked into the restaurant for breakfast. For those of you who don't know me...my two weaknesses when it comes to sweets are white chocolate and sprinkles. Needless to say, I want to move to these glorious places that serve these foods for breakfast!

the happiest Dutch kid I know

My sister in law told me that she read this article recently about how happy the Dutch children were, and that having Hagelslag for breakfast is a part of the daily routine and its not something the kids overdo in the Netherlands. Its amazing. It seems to make sense. Those things that are not so forbidden are less exciting, aren't they? I think I found the article my sister was referring to and its pretty interesting (read it here) - actually they call the Dutch kids the happiest in the world! One thing they talk about is that despite the rather liberal appearance of the Netherlands (Amsterdam's famous red light district and coffee shops), that Dutch families are actually pretty conservative, and put a great emphasis on their home life and children. They respect their children as individuals and don't see them just as extensions of their own selves. Having meals at home with the family is the norm, including breakfast. We noticed that Victor's school started so much later than when Jill and Rachel's school started, allowing time for breakfast and a casual walk to school together. 

The good news is - you can buy Hagelslag on amazon! We've already placed our first order. Here's to living Dutch!!

Victor

Exploring with the Expats

The first morning of my vacation started with a text from Delta: your flight has been cancelled. After an exhausting week at work, I was honestly too tired to process the text...but then it hit me! I woke up David with the news and he did what he always does - he fixed it. We were put on a whole new flight itinerary that landed us in Amsterdam rather than Brussels. Getting out of DC was  a real feat - from the Uber driver who preferred to ride in circles into road blocks to the connecting flight which was delayed many hours- we cancelled our plans for Brussels and made plans for our first stop to be Wassenaar, and then we finally made it a day and a half later!

My brothers family moved to Wassenaar a few years ago and fell in love with the quaint Dutch suburban lifestyle. We lugged our suitcases up the narrow spiral staircases in their home and then ventured out to explore the neighborhood. It was an unseasonably warm day there - and we took full advantage of that wandering outside, admiring the flowers and windmills, taking a small hike to find the hobbit house, and tasting some nice rose wine. We ended the night at their favorite ice cream spot, Luciano's. 

The next day some of us visited the beach while others (the alliance) went to spin class. We then headed to Delft before taking off for our next destination: Bruges, Belgium. In Delft we ate a fantastic lunch, climbed all the way to the top of the old church (349 steps in a narrow staircase to the top!), tried some really good cheeses, then hit the road to Bruges. 

At Bruges we stayed at the Dukes hotel - a beautiful spot nestled right in the heart of the city. There we met our cousins, Dave, Ali, Tess and Mitch... also expats, now living in Germany. When they arrived we dined at a Bruges favorite, the Ribs 'n Beer restaurant. It was actually really good, and we definitely recommend it! We were sure to try the fries, waffles, beer, and of course, the chocolate.

We ventured back to Wassenaar en route to Amsterdam with a pit stop in Keukenhof along the way. Keukenhof is the famous garden to see the tulips and other blossoms in bloom this time of year. We hit it at a pretty ideal time. Most flowers were blooming, but It's hard to capture the beauty of that place in just a few photos. An added perk to this leg of the trip was a visit from cousin Emma, who was able to catch a train down from her new home in northern Netherlands to hang with us for a quick visit before heading to Poland. 

While in Amsterdam, we visited the Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh museum, the Rijks museum and even managed to see a Banksy and Dali exhibit at the Moco museum. At the end of the day we returned to our hotel, Hotel de l'europe, which had a display of live baby chicks in the lobby for Easter - for the kids, this was probably the highlight of the trip.

Finally we made our way back to the states, already planning our return...

Joshua Tree

For my first vacation week, we decided to visit some friends out in California. Part of that trip included some time in Joshua Tree. Here are a few pics!

twisted joshua trees, piled up boulders and dirt roads for miles...

 we stayed overnight at the funky mojave sands motel.
aside from the owners trying to sneak some extra charges on to our credit cards for having babies with us, it was a pretty cool spot.

super dad.

 check out the fancy carrier for little wilder. #gearjunkies

monica & monika...(& dylan)

cholla cactus garden

 never a dull moment with babies on board