Passover in Paris

This year we were lucky enough to celebrate Passover in Paris! Even better, my parents joined us!

We spent a week in the city of lights. We went a few days before Passover so that we could fully enjoy all the delicious French food first. Though I absolutely love Passover, the only downside is that macarons, croissants, and baguettes are off-limits. Don't worry. We ate ourselves silly for those first few days. We even had a bunch of amazing kosher food that we can't get in Harrogate: Indian, Chinese, falafel and shwarma!

We stayed in an apartment in the trendy neighborhood of Marais. There was some last-minute drama as the owners of the original apartment we booked canceled three days before our trip. Thankfully, Airbnb worked with us to find another place. It wasn't ideal, but the apartment was beautiful and made a great place for us to hold our seder.

Speaking of seders, both were very memorable and very different. The first night we went to a community event sponsored by Chabad. There were more than 200 people there! It was run very efficiently. Each table of 15 had its own Chabad leader. There were English, French and Hebrew-speaking tables. Our table was mostly Americans, with one couple from South Africa. Zahara did amazing! The seder didn't start until after 9 and we left around midnight. Because it was a religious holiday, we weren't allowed to take any pictures, unfortunately.

The next night we had a much smaller, more intimate seder at our apartment. And wouldn't you know, Zahara did not do as well this night. We tried putting her to bed, but she cried and cried until we brought her back out and let her be part of the seder. Maybe she just loves the holiday as much as me and didn't want to miss anything.

Of course we did tons of sight-seeing while in Paris.

Read more about our trip to Paris:
Sights in the City of Lights

A Day at the Farm

Happy Passover and Easter to you! Dan, Zoey and I spent last week in Paris with my parents and I can't wait to tell you all about it. But first, let me tell you about the day we spent at a working farm a couple of weeks ago.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, springtime in Harrogate just can't be beat--the gorgeous wild flowers on the stray, the almost-neon-yellow rapeseed fields, and of course the spring lambs. Every year the Heartbeat, a charitable organization with which I am involved, sponsors a trip to a farm to bottle-feed the new lambs. I missed it the first year, and last year I couldn't go because pregnant women can't be near lambs. This year I was determined to be there, and I'm so glad I was!

We saw tons of chickens, sheep, cows, rabbits, and of course lambs! We were able to hand-feed the sheep and lambs. Some of the lambs were literally only an hour old.

Zoey wasn't too sure about it all, but she did like the bunnies--especially Betty, who was easily the biggest rabbit I've ever seen.

Just another great day out in Yorkshire!

Istanbul: Final Thoughts

We took full advantage of the great weather in Istanbul by taking a cruise up the Bosphorus Strait to the Asian side of the city. Our Rick Steves guidebook had a good tip for us: take the public ferry from Istanbul rather than hiring a private tour. The ferry only costs 25 Lira ($11.80) for a round-trip. The boat takes you nearly to the edge of the Black Sea, where you stop for lunch in Anadolu Kavagi, an Asian fishing village. It was really nice seeing the major landmarks like the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia from the water.

Rumelihisari Fortress

               

Another big hit for us was the Topkapi Palace, which was home to the Ottoman Sultans for more than 400 years. Make sure to buy a ticket to the Harem too; it was my favorite part. I learned a really interesting fact about the women who made up the harem: the Sultan was not allowed to sleep with them at will. The Sultan had up to four wives, and could choose a couple of "favorites" from the harem. The rest were strictly off-limits.

The palace gardens were beautiful, and the tile work throughout was absolutely stunning. The terrace, with its views of the Bosphorus, was a great place for a quick snack.

I was really surprised how much I enjoyed the food in Turkey. It was extremely vegetarian friendly, and even the simple dishes were bursting with flavor. I loved borek (a baked savory pastry filled with cheese), menemen (a dish similar to shakshuka), and surprisingly the Turkish Delight (known as lokum). I always thought I hated that candy since I associate it with an overpowering floral flavor. It turns out that there are many other flavors of lokum, including strawberry; chocolate pistachio; and pomegranate.

Trust me when I say I sampled pretty much every lokum in the city, and the best one by far was at Hafiz Mustafa 1864. We actually stopped there a few times because their desserts were so delicious.

All-in-all, it was a very successful trip--Zoey's first to Asia!

Read more about our trip to Istanbul:
Exploring Istanbul
Istanbul: Mosques and Markets

Istanbul: Mosques and Markets

I've already told you about two of my favorite things in Istanbul: the people and the hamam, but there is so much to love about the city. Istanbul has more than 3,00 mosques (!), so of course we could only visit a very small fraction of those. But let me tell you, the ones we saw were breathtaking. My favorite was the Süleymaniye.

The courtyard was majestic, and we had such a nice time playing with Zahara in the lush grass. Inside, the mosque is tranquil and cool. The carpet felt nice against my shoe-less feet (everyone must remove their shoes when entering a mosque). I learned a couple of interesting tidbits courtesy of our Rick Steve's guidebook:

1. The carpet has a subtle design in it that helps organize those who are praying.
2. The pillars were designed to blend in to the decor--a very different style than the Blue Mosque, whose pillars are obvious. I liked this style better.

Due to a scheduling error on our part, we missed seeing the inside of the Hagia Sofia, but we did get to check out the Sultanahmet, or Blue Mosque. The inside is stunning, but it felt very touristy compared to the Süleymaniye. Granted, we were there only a few minutes before the mosque closed for prayer time, but there was a whole tourist infrastructure that didn't exist at the Süleymaniye. It was almost an assembly line for taking off your shoes, giving you a scarf or robe if you needed one and ushering you through the door. Not nearly as peaceful as the Süleymaniye. The tile work is outstanding though, so it is well-worth a visit.

No trip to Istanbul is complete without seeing the chaos of the spice market and grand bazaar. The bazaar is called the oldest shopping mall in the world; it dates back to the 1450s and has more than 3,000 shops. You'll find everything in the bazaar from lanterns, to knick-knacks, to Turkish linens. Dan and I actually bought some towels after I fell in love with the ones at my hamam.

I especially enjoyed the pretty courtyard where we had an amazing meal; the street filled with more gold than I've ever seen in my life; and the alley filled with silver-smiths at work.

As busy as the grand bazaar was, it was nothing compared to our first visit to the spice market. Unlike Dan, crowds never really bother me. However, this was over-the-top. I couldn't move on my own; I was simply carried away by the tides of people. Don't take my word for it. Check out this video Dan took. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I was constantly worried about people elbowing Zahara in the head. Fortunately, we went back another day and it was much less crowded.

Stay tuned for part 3, where I'll tell you about our Bosphorus cruise, the Topkapi Palace, and my surprising love of Turkish Delights.

Read more about our trip to Istanbul:
Exploring Istanbul
Istanbul: Final Thoughts

British Mother's Day

Last weekend, in addition to finally changing our clocks forward, England celebrated Mother's Day. Though Dan made it very clear that we are American, and therefore ineligible to celebrate*, I managed to sneak in some merriment thanks to my yoga mummy friends.

We all gathered on the Monday after Mother's Day to swap gifts, drink tea and play with our little ones. It's the first Mother's Day for all of us, and it is remarkable to think how much our babies have all grown in this year. I met these women while we were all pregnant, so I have literally known these kids since the day they were born. Now, watching them all interact with each other is such a special treat.

Though we'll be celebrating "real" Mother's Day (as Dan says) in May, it was nice to take part in another British tradition before we leave here. Whether you celebrate this day or any day, happy Mother's Day!

*In fairness to Dan, he did make me an absolutely wonderful card with pictures from each of Zoey's nine months of life. It made me cry happy tears.

Exploring Istanbul

Last week we fulfilled one of my life-long dreams and went to Istanbul. The mix of ancient and modern; sea and land; Europe and Asia--I just couldn't wait to see it in person. It did not disappoint.

We spent a long weekend there, and it was just the right amount of time. I wish we had time to explore more of Turkey, but I'll just have to come back to see Cappadocia and Ephesus. Traveling with an almost-nine-month-old means going at a much slower pace than we're used to, but I am actually really enjoying it. We get more opportunities to mingle with locals who can't seem to resist Zahara's charms.

Seriously, I don't know what it is about Turks, but they LOVED Zahara. Turkish men were especially fond of her. I've never seen anything like it. Men would pinch her cheeks and make kissing noises. Twice at a restaurant, people actually lifted her out of our arms and kissed her before passing her around the table. One man even gave us money! It was only 5 lira, but he insisted it was for good luck.

We got so lucky with great weather. We stayed near the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia and walked pretty much everywhere. I was surprised at how big the whole city of Istanbul is, but most of the big tourist attractions are located pretty centrally.

I'll tell you more about the big sights in my next posts, but first let me tell you about one of the best experiences I've had in a long time: an authentic hamam (Turkish bath). Dan and I researched places in advance and made bookings at Kilic Ali Pasa Hamami. This establishment is very traditional; men and women bathe separately. This actually worked out well since one of us was able to watch Zahara while the other bathed.

From the moment I walked in the door I was instantly transported to a state of pure zen. I was given some quince juice (so good!), a towel and some slippers. The bath was a gorgeous marble room with stunning skylights. I could have spent all day laying on the giant heated marble slab. I really enjoyed the whole process of washing, scrubbing and massaging.

Lobby [source]

My favorite part was when my lady grabbed the clean rag from the soap bucket, swung it around a few times and then wrung it out on top of me creating a giant bubble bath! It's hard to imagine, but I was covered head to toe in bubbles!

Steam Room [source]

[source]

I spent around two hours being pampered while Dan hung out with Zoey in town. He had his turn the next night when the bath opened for men. There's a Turkish Bath in Harrogate that I have yet to explore. Have you been there? Was it a similar experience?

I'll be back soon with more Istanbul highlights!

Read more about our trip to Istanbul:
Istanbul: Mosques and Markets
Istanbul: Final Thoughts

Dear Zahara: 9 Months

Dear Zahara,

Happy nine month birthday! Thanks for another great month! You are such a happy baby, constantly smiling and cooing.

You are really showing your personality now and are developing likes and dislikes. You are the happiest when you are surrounded by people; you thrive on the attention of others. The more people smile at you, the more you laugh and clap back at them. It's infectious. You can be in the middle of a tantrum, and if someone comes over and smiles at you, you stop crying and start cooing. It's ridiculous.

Reading is one of our favorite activities. We've read the Gruffalo so often that we can say it by heart now. You love clapping along to music and when you feel proud of yourself. You learned how to wave last week. Somehow living in England has rubbed off on you because you wave like the Queen. Ha!

You are constantly on the move chasing after the kitties, grabbing the TV wires or trying to crawl into the fireplace. Mummy and daddy have to keep a close eye on you. Especially now that you started pulling up on furniture. It won't be long before you are walking.

We're happy you're such an adventurous eater. There really isn't anything you've turned down. Your current favorites are fish, bananas and clementines. You literally start squealing when you see the clementine and we can't get it to you fast enough. But you've eaten everything from raw mackerel (in the airport in Amsterdam) to pickled ginger (at a make-your-own-sushi night) to curried chicken.

We love you so much and can't wait to see what the next month brings.