Easter Fun

Ava decorating our Easter Egg Tree 

In Hungary and certain other European countries, it's a tradition to celebrate Easter by hanging eggs from the branches of trees 

Our sweet neighbor (Maria neni/grandma) brought Ava these home baked treats along with a chocolate Easter bunny!

We were invited for Easter breakfast by our dear friends Adam and Rita Balogh.  Armen (their 2-yr-old) gifted Ava a wonderful book and a handmade Easter egg.

Eszter, our super sweet babysitter, made this beautiful bag

 Finally, Ava gets to open her goodies from Easter bunny :-)

It's All Greek To Me

We planned an impromptu trip to Athens in March over the long weekend.  On our last trip in June 2010, we visited the Acropolis and other must see sights.  We also went on a day cruise of the Saronic Islands (Hydra, Poros and Aegina) and stayed in a beach resort outskirts of Athens.  This time around we stayed put in the city and found a gem of a boutique hotel called Hotel Ava (how cool is that) in the Plaka area (aka the neighborhood of gods).  The location was perfect and we could get to most places by foot.  


We ate (a lot), shopped and walked a fair bit.  We also made time for some fun kiddo activities that Ava thoroughly enjoyed.  This is always a MUST on our itinerary!  FYI - I scope out fun kids activities prior to our travel.  On this trip, we visited the Children's Museum which was located in Plaka, took the little sightseeing train that goes all around Plaka and visited the National Gardens where Ava got to try cotton candy for the first time.  The National Garden houses a small zoo, a duck pond, Botanical museum and a children's library and playground.  We even got to go on a romantic date night.  All in all, a fantastic trip!

Hotel Ava ranked in the Top 25 Hotels in Europe by the Travelers' Choice Hotel Awards for 2011 and 2010. 

Crash Course in Greek - anyone?

Greek Children's Museum, Plaka Area

Experimenting with water always a fun project

Bubble Room

Syntagma Square and Ermou Street

One of the many cool cafes in Kolonaki

Fielder Family Recommendations:

HOTEL: 

• Hotel Ava for a short-weekend getaway

RESTAURANTS: 

• Psarra
• Strofi
• Eat at Milton's
• Jimmy and the Fish
• Tzitsikas and Mermingas. 

SHOPPING: 

• Spices for Greek Salad, Tzatziki and Mousakka
• Byzantine jewellery
• Olive oil, Red Vinegar.

CAFES: 

• Rooftop cafe at the Public store at Syntagma Square
• Acropolis Museum Cafe (beautiful view of the Acropolis)
• Paul's Boulangerie in trendy Kolonaki

NEIGHBORHOODS OF INTEREST: 

• Plaka (the most picturesque and oldest section of Athens, very TOURISTY but fun!)
• Monastiraki (shop on Ermou Street and the Flea Market on Sunday) 
• Kolonaki (trendy neighborhood - best for people watching and high-end retailers)
• Syntagma Square (watch the changing of the guard in front of the Parliament building, explore the National Gardens.)

Few of my favorite websites

Who doesn't love to surf the net?? my favorite ones relate to travel, food, travel and more food...
www.spottedbylocals.com − LOVE this site - I don't travel anywhere in Europe without checking out this site.  Its been a huge help for me even in Budapest  If you want to experience European cities like locals then this is the site for you.  It was started by a couple in Netherlands (Sanne and Bart van Poll) and in their own words "Spotted by Locals is a series of blogs, PDF city guides and iPhone apps with up-to-date tips by handpicked local bloggers in 33 cities in Europe."

www.mrandmrssmith.com − Boutique and Luxury Booking Specialists.  At first glance, you think they only list high-end hotels but once you start exploring the site they do have some great options.  You can explore hotels by categories (i.e., child-friendly, budget boutique hotels, spa stays, honeymoons etc).  We booked our stay in Barcelona last year through this site and loved it!

www.travel.nytimes.com − what is there to not like about this site? I especially love the 36 hours column.  Such a handy column for short trips.


The next three sites are all related to food.  My love for food started late in life...I was always a very picky eater and to some extent I still am where meats are concerned.  However, in my late 20s, I discovered my love for food and my husband (then boyfriend).  Shawn is a big foodie and throughout our dating years we ate out most days but made it a point to cook at least twice a month (these were elaborate 3/4 course meals.)  I absolutely enjoy finding new restaurants, recipes and trying out various cuisines.  And so started my love affair(s).

www.allrecipes.com − For most of my everyday cooking, I refer to this site.  To my surprise, the recipes I have used from this site have never been bad.

www.tablespoon.com − I recently came across this site and fell in love with it.  Its very well laid out and among its many features, the site can recommend recipes to suit your palette.

www.goodlifeeats.com − Again a well-laid out site and through their recipe index, you can find recipes you like easily.

Anytime dessert - Coconut Macaroons

On Saturday, I attended a babyshower for four ladies who are expecting five babies in total (one of them is expecting twins.)  I signed up to take a dessert and the night before I whipped up my favorite coconut macaroons (recipe below).  They are so easy to make and are utterly delicious.  It was a huge hit with all the ladies.  

Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 egg white, whipped
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 1 (14 ounce) package flaked coconut
• 
  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven 325 degrees F. Line baking sheets with foil; grease and flour foil. Set aside.
2. In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, egg white, extracts and coconut; mix well. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets; slightly flatten each mound with a spoon.
3. Bake 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned around edges. Immediately remove from baking sheets (macaroons will stick if allowed to cool); cool on wire racks. Store loosely covered at room temperature.

                                                                                   Few alterations to the recipe:

* whip the egg white separately before combining with other ingredients.  I use unsweetened coconut when I bake them for my daughter as condensed milk is already sweet.  I also add more coconut than indicated in the recipe and 1 to 3 tablespoons of flour to the mixture to thicken the dough.  After the macaroons are baked, I press a chocolate candy piece or sliced almond in the center of each macaroon.  For the babyshower, I used pink and blue frosting (see pic).

Ava's first fashion show

Last Friday, Ava and I were alone at home.  Shawn was working late and our houseguests from Boston were out on a date.  Luckily for us, our neighbor, a high-end fashion house called Manier by Aniko Nemeth hosted a street fashion event to showcase their Spring/Summer 2011 collection.  They had a live band, a soprano singer (so fitting - did I mention our other neighbor is the Hungarian State Opera House), served drinks and, it was open to the public.  The event started at 8pm, which is typically Ava’s bedtime but I do make exceptions when its necessary and a fashion show is one of those occasions (he he).  My budding fashionista was in her nightclothes and decided to dress up her look by wearing my necklace.  We had a great time watching the show – the clothes were beautiful, models were SKINNY and the music was awesome.