All posts tagged: featured

The Beginner Gardener Series: How I develop a passion for growing my own food and gardening.

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I have been meaning to write about my journey from being a city slicker to a nature lover.  I moved to Boston from NYC when I got married several years ago.  After a few years of city living in tight quarters, my husband and I decided to move to a suburb north of Boston to start our family.  We could finally have a backyard and fresh air!  Three summers ago, I came home from an overseas work trip to discover that my mother-in-law had created a small vegetable garden in my backyard.  She planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and a bunch of onions – the usual ingredients in Bosnian cuisine.  Since I normally worked from home when I was not traveling, it was my responsibility to maintain this nascent garden for the summer.  I started learning slowly by watering the seedlings with timid expectations of a blooming mini farm. As each day passed, I became more inspired to try growing some kitchen herbs, which necessitated numerous trips to the nearby Home Depot. As the summer progressed, the …

Review: Japan Airlines Sky Suite 787 Business Class from New York to Tokyo

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Over the years, I have faithfully flown Japan Airlines whenever I traveled to Japan or any destination in Southeast Asia. JAL has one of the best services of any airline and the cleanest bathroom even after a 14-hour flight. I had opportunities to fly on their business class a few times and have finally sat down to write this review. Value: Above Average Japan Airlines’ round trip on business class from NY to Tokyo will run approximately $7,000 and prices go up from there. I did a price comparison to ANA’s business class and for the same dates, the fare was around $9,000. You can also buy a premium economy ticket and upgrade with points to business class as an alternative to the full fare. Seat: Above average JAL’s product is called Sky Suite, a fully flatbed seat with direct aisle access that is very spacious. The seat configuration on my recent flight was in a 2-3-2 layout with privacy partition between adjoining seats, so you do not have to see your neighbor except for …

A Gastronomic Weekend in Lyon, France

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On my quick trip to France, I was enticed to come to Lyon by its gastronomic reputation even among my non-foodie friends. The best way to explore this charming city is with a local guide, and I just happen to have one in the family. My cousin, NT, planned our never-ending walk around town to explore Lyon in 1.5 days, which turned out to be much-needed exercise from all the delicious food that we ate. In this post, I will share our walking and eating tour of this charming and unassuming city. Day 1: Dinner at Restaurant M After arriving from Aix-en-Provence in the late afternoon, I only had enough time for dinner. NT introduced me to her favorite low-key restaurant in Lyon, Restaurant M. This is a contemporary French restaurant helmed by Julien Gautier, from Léon de Lyon – a 2 Michelin star restaurant. With a Michelin pedigree, the price was shockingly cheap. The menu is only 39 euros for entrée, plat and dessert. The atmosphere is of your neighborhood bistro and the restaurant …

Journey to the Bucolic Japanese Alps – Shirakawa-go and the Gifu Prefecture (Part 2)

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Waking up to birds chirping in the garden from my Japanese futon somehow felt surreal. This was a strong contrast from the night before, where I slept in a small modern hotel room in the center of Tokyo. As I watched the sun streams in through the paper windows, a sense of serenity enveloped me. It was mostly due to the time difference that I was awake this early to enjoy this moment. It was joyful to listen and observe nature doing its morning song and dance. I could’ve stayed in bed much longer but another day of exploring the Gifu region beckoned me to get up and start my day. I still had 30 minutes before breakfast, so my sister and I took advantage of the quiet morning and rode our bikes around the village. As it was very early, and no one was out and about yet, we had the roads to ourselves to leisurely admire the mountain scenery around us. There was a sense of freedom and playfulness that we don’t often …

Journey to the Bucolic Japanese Alps – Shirakawa-go and the Gifu Prefecture (Part 1)

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Over the past year, I have been lusting for Ogimachi Village in Shirakawa-go, a Unesco village nestled in the Japanese Alps and where time has seemingly left the region untouched. This mountainous area is known for its historic A-frame houses, also known as gassho-zukuri, which were made with a traditional building method without utilizing any nails. These gassho houses have withstood the test of time and continue to attract new generations of admirers. The next destination of our trip was a visit to the Gifu region where these houses are located today. Our trip started early in the morning with the high-speed train ride from Tokyo to Toyama, where we then picked up the rental car for a 1-hour drive to Shirakawa-go. Once we entered the picturesque village and checked into Shiroyamakan Inn that was established in 1884, we knew we were in for a special visit. The inn keeper’s daughter, Nana, greeted us and took us to our room where we were served tea and snacks. We were also given 3 bikes to use while …

Best Souvenirs in Tokyo for Foodies and Chefs

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Buying quality souvenirs can be a hit or miss experience. Tokyo has an amazing assortment of interesting trinkets to buy for loved ones. If you are sick of T-shirts and generic tchotchkes, I would recommend the following stores where I buy my souvenirs. A. Kappabashi-dori – For chefs and home cooking fanatics Kappabashi-dori is a 800-metre-long street lined with more than 170 shops that sell anything and everything cookware related. The shops here cater to both professional cooks and home chefs alike. Kama-asa Shoten – Japanese knives This  family-run business opened in 1908 and specializes in Japanese knives, or wabōcho, handmade by craftsmen in Japan. The business is currently run by Daisuke Kumazawa, who is the 4th generation proprietor. This is one of the most popular shops on the street. There are also very knowledgeable English-speaking staff who help you select the best knife for your cooking requirements. The best part is that they’ll engrave your name in Japanese onto each knife making it a special memento for you or for gifts. I did have to …

A Short Visit to Tokyo

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Tokyo is a dizzying hub of sights and sounds and was also the first destination on this 2.5 week trip to Japan for my mom’s special birthday. While I have been exploring this city over the past 10 years, it was her first time in Tokyo,  I created this truncated itinerary to give her the best flavors of Tokyo in a relatively short duration and I’m excited to share it with you. Day 1: Arrival into Narita Terminal 2 and the Shibuya Scramble We arrived on Japan Airline at Narita Terminal 2 in the early afternoon and proceeded to procure a pocket Wifi. This was very important as we needed the data service for navigation throughout the country. I went to the J Wifi and JAL ABC counters located on the first floor and Softbank Global Rental and XCom Global counters located in the basement level near the train platform to search for the best data plan. (see Terminal 2 map) After getting my exercise running around the terminal, I concluded that J Wifi had …

Weekend Unexplored: 3 Day Road Trip Adventure from Marrakesh to Skoura

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Planning a visit to Morocco can be intimidating for anyone. Luckily for me, my friend who is practically a local was the chief architect of our adventures. We opted for a road trip with stops at various attractions between Marrakesh, Ouarzazate and Skoura in a private SUV with our driver and guide, Edouane. Specifically, we did not want to be the tourists that just check off boxes on an itinerary. We wanted to experience each place to the fullest and we accomplished that with our agenda. Day 1: Marrakesh to Skoura This was our longest driving day as it took over 5 hours at 30-40 miles per hour to our final destination over rocks, dirt paths and up and down windy mountain “roads”. This was not a car ride for folks with motion sickness, like myself. It was rough going and I was extremely happy when we finally arrived at Ouarzazate for a late lunch and a break from the car. Along the way, we discovered a village nestled in the Atlas Mountains and watched an …

Spring Road Tripping to Normandy and Brittany in France (Mont St. Michel, Cancale, St. Malo, Dinan and Giverny)

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Shoulder season is one of the best times to visit Europe and late spring is the perfect season to see the French country side. Hotel prices are still reasonable and most attractions are open and are not overrun with tourists. The highways in France are easy to navigate and with all the technological options, gone are the days of getting hopelessly lost and confused on the road. My cousin and I decided to do a 4-day road trip to visit towns in the western part of France as it is one area we have yet to explore. Our destinations for this trip were Paris to Mont St. Michel, Cancale, St. Malo, Dinan and Giverny on our return to the city. Day 1: Paris to Mont St. Michel Mont St. Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a small island off the coast of Normandy that is topped with a medieval Benedictine monastery. Over hundreds of years, the ramparts were built around the island to keep the English forces out, which was followed by other buildings …

Explore Marrakesh (Morocco) Like in Insider

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Marrakesh, with its kaleidoscope architecture and chaotic souks, can be overwhelming for the uninitiated. I had an opportunity to visit Marrakesh for four days with my friends who have been there numerous times and had local recommendations from their friend, Zach Idrissi, the owner of Amani Hotel. Having local guidance to ease me into this overstimulating experience was a welcome blessing since I was flying solo for most of my stay in the city. I also lucked out by going around Ramadan as everything was calmer and more laid back. The markets and attractions will close a bit earlier around 5pm, but the aggressive behavior in the souks will generally be less prevalent. This makes for an overall pleasant and safe experience for solo travelers. Where to eat: Have an afternoon tea break on the terrace of La Mamounia and take a stroll in their manicured garden. You should check the availability for non-hotel guests as the hotel started to restrict non-hotel guests to certain hours for tea. Have dinner at Le Tanjia where there …