Category — Travel To Go

Forget the t-shirt: I’ve discovered the perfect souvenir gift: small, inexpensive, and comes in all sizes and colors: Socks!

A recent weekend in Vermont yielded these adorable moose themed sockies for my favorite 2 year old niece and nephew. I even bought a pair in xlarge for one of our fave guy friends celebrating his 56th!

My trip to Holland found me wearing these hot pink delft socks

Guests visiting me in NYC love to take home these subway map patterned socks

One of my favorite gift shops is Little Miss Matched, where I can find colorful, mismatched 3-to-a-pair socks for kids of every age: and even little coin purses made out of socks

A perfect baby shower gift is this adorable boxed set of Trumpettes

And of course, what would a Notre Dame fan do without a pair of Go Irish socks

Who Knew? Sock it to me!

I grew up in the suburbs. Chicken comes cut up and wrapped in plastic; and eggs are white, and packed by the dozen in cartons.

Brown eggs? Gross! Clearly diseased.

Or so I thought. When we moved to Paris, one of my big adjustments was that all the eggs were brown. With big orange yolks. And not refrigerated.  All of them. At the marchés and the grocery stores. Hmmm….who knew? And often times they were fresh from the chicken: meaning unwashed. Gross. But, over the years, this became normal. I even spent one frantic day with bff J searching all over Paris to find a few white eggs that we could color for her childrens’ Easter baskets: yes, we finally found 6.  They were expensive.

Moi tip: I was attending a cooking class in Paris with a group of other American expats. We were separating eggs for the recipe, and bien sur, someone broke the yolk. Naturally, l’Américaine dipped her eggshell into the bowl to scoop out the yolk. Le Chef was horrified! These were typical unwashed fresh eggshells: covered with nasty chicken poop (sorry!) We Americans are used to the sanitized eggs we buy at the supermarket, the shells are white and sparkly clean. We were immediately instructed to discard the now ruined bowl of eggs. And in the future, remove yellow bits with a spoon. Good to know.

Now that I’m back in the US, do I buy white eggs at the grocery? Mais non! TBG and I buy our eggs from Knoll Crest Farm at the bi-weekly Greenmarket on Broadway outside Columbia University. And of course, they’re brown eggs (but lightly washed, we’re assured). And they have the bright orange yolks, just like we had in Paris.

The incredible, edible egg!

When we lived in Copenhagen, we became fans of ebelskiver: little Danish puffed pancakes, filled with fruit (typically apples, since the Danish word for apple slices is æbleskiver) and sold at streetstands and in many bakeries and cafes. Freshly made in the home to celebrate Christmas, and sold frozen in the grocery stores for easy treats year-round, we quickly became addicts! Our return to the US had us scouring the internet to find the ebelskiver pan, a skillet with seven round indentations for cooking these little puffs on top of the stove. hint: ebelskivers look a lot like Dunkin Donut munchkins!

Now just a few years later, the ebelskiver pan is sold at most cooking stores, and has been featured on many TV cooking shows like Rachel Ray. These shows added very American touches: the ebelskiver were filled not only with fruit, but with chocolate, cheeses, sauces and spices. I even upgraded my cast iron skillet for a lighter, non-stick pan from Bed Bath and Beyond, and now have a 2nd pan from Williams-Sonoma!

The challenge was learning how to make and cook ebelskivers. Naturally, I first turned to the internet. There are many complicated recipes out there, involving beaten egg whites, whisked yolks, buttermilk and sour cream, and lots of utensils. Then, to make the filling: chopping, sauteing, and spicing fruits. Delicious, but a lot of work! Williams-Sonoma recently started selling an ebelskiver mix, which cut down on the work, but still involved beating egg whites and whisking yolks.

Moi tip: WS even has a cookbook full of sweet and savory ebelskiver recipes!

Recently I simplified things and experimented with using buttermilk pancake mix: voila! It worked fine. The batter was light and fluffy, I was able to use it just as I used my home-made recipe, and they turned out great! Which is better: I think the homemade. Which will I make? The ebelskivers from the mix: its just so much easier and faster when I’m whipping up a batch for family or guests for Sunday brunch. Usually I just fill them with purchased jams, preserves, or chocolate sauces, followed by a sprinkle of powdered sugar. Or if I’m making savory, a bit of jarred pesto or pasta sauce and a bit of feta cheese are yummy.

Moi tip: Ebelskiver need to be turned over so they can cook on both sides. The TV shows and cooking stores make this seem alot more complicated than it is: they sell special utensils that look like chopsticks, that involve using both hands. Forget it! I just flip them over by sliding a spoon underneath the cooked side, and quickly flipping them over. I’ve also used my wooden toast tongs, which at least uses only 1 hand, but the spoon works really well!

Ebelskiver are very similar to poffertjes, little Dutch puffed pancakes. Poffertjes are not filled, and are served with different fresh fruit toppings, I like them with strawberries and whipped cream.

We’ve been hiking, Xcountry skiing, and snowshoeing a long time, all over the Northeast and Midwest US, and Europe and Scandinavia. Our winter sports bin is pretty complete: even though we hadn’t opened it for several years and several international and cross-country moves (due to all those moves plus TBG’s surgery marathon), we prepped for last weekend’s hiking, skiing, snowshoeing trip pretty quickly.

However, things have changed and we need to add a few items to our winter weekend packing list:

• studded snow tires for your feet: STABILicers Lite, $24.99 pair. These rubber thong booties slip on over your shoes or boots – they stretch, so even over your UGGS – and make walking on slippery ice safe and easy

• gluhwein bags to spice up our hot wine for the all-important après ski. My Berlin bff The Antiques Diva doesn’t ski, but she is an après ski connoisseur. Hot spiced wine is a must
• paper soap: Tampa bff T gifted Moi with two of these nifty little palm-sized packaged sheets of soap, perfect for your carry-on luggage: not liquid, weighs nothing. T bought mine at Pier 1, in lovely scents peppermint and pink grapefruit

• a pedometer. We know how long it takes us to raquette (snowshoe) up the mountain, but we don’t know how far we’ve gone. We want bragging rights!
• flask for taking away the chills as we hike: we have several, but they’re all stored with the fall football tailgating gear
• TBG’s heart monitor, so he knows what’s going on

Moi tip: keep a pair of the STABILicers rubber boot studs in your back seat all winter long so you can safely walk thru icy parking lots and slippery sidewalks. Sorry…I don’t think they’ll work with stilettos!

TBG tried. He really did. He meant well. He really did. But he blew it. He really did.

For a romantic Valentines Day / holiday weekend, TBG booked us at a charming farmhouse lodge in Vermont for 5 nights of relaxation, and days of cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in the Green Mountain Forest.

Except TBG forgot to read the fine print:

• no tv. fyi: we have 3 DVRs in our 4 room NYC apartment
• no cell phone reception
• no internet
• full-size bed: TBG was a college 230lb middle linebacker: Moi and Mignette are sleeping in shifts

Does he know who he’s married to? Not to mention, he was planning to do alot of school work, and for that he needs an internet connection.

I am a TV/internet addict, but I’m not totally dependent. If this was 3 days, 2 nights, no problem. Or if we were away on a desert island or Paris or Buenos Airies, we’d be happy and busy: we went to Thailand for 3 weeks and never saw a TV or computer. But TBG’s plan was an hour or 2 a day skiing or hiking – the most he can do since his recent 6 knee surgeries and quintuple bypass – and the rest of the days in the farmhouse, me reading, watching TV or relaxing, him in front of his laptop pounding out papers and researching articles. Fortunately I was warned: TBG gave me a printout of the confirmation email with driving instructions, and I immediately honed in on: cell phone coverage ends before you reach the lodge. So I had TBG email and find out what else wouldn’t be available.

No worries, there’s a cafe with wifi only 5 miles away.

Moi Note: Quelle surprise, I threw money at the problem. Thank you iTunes: we are watching episodes of 24, Damages and The Deep End that I missed while I was in India and downloaded to my laptop before we left : which I hadn’t planned to bring.  When TBG had his surgeries, I bought him The Godfather DVD collection, which we’d never seen. Finally have time to watch that. Packed another surgery gift, Star Wars Trilogy for TBG. Plus my Kindle is fully loaded. And it is a charming, rustic loft with a working fireplace and cathedral ceilings. And electricity.

Good thing TBG’s cute! btw, it is a fabulous, romantic getaway.

ps: I’m writing this post in our home away from home, Seasoned Books aka Sandy’s in Rochester. I have to type fast. They close at 6pm.

Namaste!

She’s Shopping India:
I came to India with one promise to TBG: Moi will not buy another rug.

On our morning on the road from Udaipur to Ranakpur I broke that promise. Watching S select 2 dhurries (durry) for her apartment and bargain the price down to something manageable, I was soooo not tempted, I even loaned her the rupees to complete her purchase. But after her rugs were packaged and another tourist was having dhurries madly flung in front of them, a beautiful 4×6 blue, gold and red dhurrie caught my eye.

Handmade cotton and vegetable dye dhurrie rug, originally quoted 5,350 rupees: $118, Moi paid $75. I was assured by the artisan that it was a very difficult pattern, taking 27 days to make. He’s a 4th generation rug weaver, teaching his 2 sons the trade he learned from his father. Since I had just over $75 US (which he gladly accepted) stashed in my wallet from before the trip, it doesn’t really count against my trip budget, does it?

Moi tip: Dhurrie rugs are completely reversible, the same pattern on both sides. The weaver said to clean, simply brush well with a broom, and use water to spot clean any spills. Or like Moi, just flip the rug over when company is coming!

Namaste!

She’s Shopping India:
In this colorful country nothing catches the eye more than the colorful, flowing, feminine sarees worn by Indian women. Though a relatively new fashion, sarees were adopted by women across this vast country, and are still the typical everyday uniform of woman of all ages, social classes, and incomes.

Wafting in the breeze on the back of a motorcycle, slipping the sash over their face to protect them from prying eyes, a dozen hanging over a tree branch drying in the afternoon sun, gracefully lifted to climb the steep temple stairs: you simply can’t help but notice a saree.

Pink and gold paisley, red heavily embroidered with flashing mirrors, yellow and blue with sequins, green sofly woven with coral and white flowers: Moi had to have one, or two.

Off to one of the many fabric shops to select a saree. I don’t plan to ever wear a saree. The 6 yard saree material includes a coordinating section of fabric, enough to make a matching fitted t-shirt that is worn under the saree. Or the same saree can be made into a set of panjabi, a matching shirt and pants outfit that is also frequently worn as it is easier to wear, and considered more modern.

Ranging from a silk acrylic blend to printed cottons to hand embroidered silk crepe to jewel-encrusted hand-woven silks, a saree can cost less than $20 to thousands of dollars. And one of the many tailor shops can customize your saree into a custom fit shirt or pants, or whatever else you might choose.

In Moi suitcase are two sarees for gifts, one saree I will use as a curtain in SoFlo, and 4 shirts and one panjabi bottom custom made from sarees I selected. Sewing them up is very inexpensive, typically around 150 rupees ($3) and can be completed in a few hours or overnight and delivered to your hotel.

Moi tip: different regions of India specialize in different styles of sarees. If you love a soft pastel paisley pattern surrounding you in Varanassi, don’t assume it is available in Jaipur where the local custom might dictate bold colors and patterns.

Namaste!

She’s Shopping India:
Indian food is full of rich colors, tastes and scents. Cardamom, anise, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, ginger, tumeric and nutmeg: an enticing blend.

And while Starbucks has not yet broken into India, Moi has no problem finding a chai latte, extra hot. Chai is the Hindi word for tea, and while shopping for silks, pashminas or gemstones, vendors offer a cup of chai, milky and steaming hot, typically served in small clay cups. I prefer the masala chai, spicy and slightly sweet, over the strong black chai.

The street bazaars are crammed with spice vendors, pungent kernels brimming in baskets overflowing with color and scent, or in large glass canisters displaying the many choices.

After dining, you are traditionally served a small box or bowl of anise seed (sof) to freshen the breath and aide digestion. The anise can be served alone, or beside a bowl of sugar crystals to add sweetness to the spice. But Moi favorite is the colorful anise and sugar blend, already mixed, with added flavors such as coconut, beetle nuts, peppermint or rose.

Moi tip: Tourist shops sell the anise mixture for as much as 200 rupees ($4), which doesn’t sound like much. But the same small packets can be found in the bazaars for 25 rupees, plus alot more fun selecting your favorite anise blend from the 4 or 5 offered.

Namaste!

She’s Shopping India:
Traveling in foreign and exotic locations often tempts us into luxury purchases we might not have made at home. Mexico is famous for it’s gold and silver. Amsterdam for diamonds. And India for precious and semi-precious stones: rubies and emeralds and sapphires, oh my!

Just because you’re away from home and the safety of the family jeweler (ok, Moi doesn’t have one either, but it sounds so luxurious!) doesn’t mean you have to be taken in by every jewelry con man. Moi is lucky enough to be traveling through India with a woman intent on purchasing a few bejeweled momentos: and this lady travels with her own loup!

She’s not a gemologist, but Moi did learn a few tips on buying stones:

- travel with a loup. Or borrow the jeweler’s.

- check the stone for carbon spots: little black dots that are natural to real stones. Carbon spots are a good thing to prove the stones are real, but you don’t want too many in a stone. Red spots are also natural, but too many red spots are also bad.

- real stones are dense, not porous. You can usually see clearly through colored glass. Real precious stones: diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, will be more cloudy, with shades of color from their facets. Verify they are not dyed stones, or that semi-precious stones are not real stone dust mixed with glue.

- don’t immediately walk in and announce your price limit. When you find a stone you like, ask to see a less expensive and a more expensive piece. Then ask the jeweler to explain what makes the expensive piece more valuable.

- ask for a certificate of authenticity, detailing exactly what you are purchasing.

- and if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Even though in most shops you can haggle the price down 40-60%, you can’t buy something wonderful for nothing.

If you don’t know your stones and aren’t comfortable haggling, go to one of the government approved Cottage Industries. They’re in major cities throughout India. They sell everything from jewelry to pashminas to sarees to tea to marble tables to swords and daggers…and everything in between.

Prices are fixed, but there is an honored guarantee. You get what you paid for, or you can return it. Although you can’t haggle down the price, don’t be afraid to ask for a discount: if you’re buying 2 rings and a necklace, ask for their best price. If you’re gifting all your friends with pashminas, consider 5 and ask for the 6th free. You might get lucky! A 10-15% discount just for asking is very typical.

India is a land of hospitality, and our hosts want their guests to be happy.

Moi tip: if you’re thinking of buying real stones on vacation, do your homework: check out prices and quality before you go.

Namaste from India!

She’s Shopping India:
Pashmina scarves are a classic accessory to add a burst of color to your coat, a little warmth to your neck or some style to your ensemble.

Pashmina is the type of wool found on the throat, chin, face and underbelly of adult and baby mountain goats in the Kashmir Provinces. The finer the pashmina, the lighter, softer and more expensive the scarf. 100% pure pashmina is the most expensive and warmest scarf, so soft and fine you can pull it through a wedding band.

Pashmina has become almost a generic term for any wool blend scarf, regardless if it’s 100% acrylic or 100% pashmina. Whether you’re buying at a bazaar in Jaipur for $200, or a street corner in New York City at 4 for $20, or at Macy’s in Chicago for $55, you want to get what you’re paying for.

If you’re paying 4/$20, it’s a pretty sure thing you’re buying 100% acrylic. But if you’re paying $55 and the tag promises 80% pashmina, 20% silk (most “pashminas” are a pashmina wool/silk blend), how can you be sure it’s not acrylic?

India has introduced Moi to the pashmina fire drill:

- When shopping for pashminas, bring matches

- light one strand of the pashmina fringe with a match

- immediately extinguish the strand with your thumb and pointer finger

If it smells like burning rubber and there is a black sooty streak on your thumb and finger, it’s an acrylic blend. Burning silk smells like burning hair, and doesn’t leave any soot.

Moi tip: any reputable pashmina dealer in India will respect you for performing the fire drill. Macy’s will probably arrest you.