Category Archives: Travel

Packing fragile and perishable items in a checked bag and the anxiety that comes with it

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When traveling, Chris and I rarely check bags when we can prevent it. There’s always anxiety around a checked bag getting delayed (or LOST), especially in a post-pandemic era where it seems like every week, we hear stories about bags getting lost and never found…or turning up in some random city weeks or months later. There are some guaranteed exceptions, though, such as when we go back and forth to Australia, as well as a few times when we’ve traveled with Kaia as a baby (all that baby stuff really accumulates!), and also, certain countries where I love “things” — France, Japan, and Korea. The idea of visiting a place like France and not checking a bag with goodies to bring home seems like such a waste. You went all that way to a glorious, delicious country, and you’re not planning to bring ANY of that deliciousness home with you?!

This time, amongst a large stash of discount French pharmacy items for myself as a gifts, we’ve also purchased and packed tea, chocolate, caramels, pates de fruits, and perhaps the most nerve racking item: French butter, specifically Maison Bordier butter (formerly known as Le Beurre Bordier). La Bon Marche actually does sous vide/vacuum sealing now for just one euro per bag (you can fit about 6-7 Maison Bordier blocks into it), so that eased my worry around the butter getting back to the U.S. fine and without going bad. In addition, some of the French pharmacy items are packaged in glass, so I had to wrap them up with all my clothes in my packing pods to alleviate my worry about them breaking. In the back of my mind, I always have this tiny worry that things I pack in a checked bag will break, even if I know logically that I’ve done my due diligence to cushion it well. I always remember the story of one of my friends coming back from Italy with several amazing wine bottles to open her luggage and discover the bottles had broken, and all her clothes were stained with red wine.

Well, knock on wood: to this date, I’ve never broken anything in a checked luggage. So hopefully my good luck continues and I’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief after we fully unpack when we get back home later today.

Last full day in Paris: beautiful food and floral displays, La Biblioteque Sainte Genevieve, and Place Vendome

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I don’t know how it seems like even the littlest displays of fruit and food are always so gorgeous here. There can simply be a florist shop on a street, and it will look like someone with a keen artistic eye spent a lot of time arranging all the flowers, pots, and accessories so that every object is just so to make the scene look perfect. Today, we ate at a cute little bistro called Le Petit Cler on Rue Cler, and on the same street there were endless little grocers, shops specializing in specific types of meats, seafoods, and other epicurean delights; each simple display looked like it could be photographed for a magazine. But all those foods, whether it was a display of fruit or a very earthy setup of mushrooms in baskets, all were edible and ready to be purchased, cooked with, and eaten.

There was also an architectural wonder I had on my list for a while that I never got around to: The Sainte Geneiveve Library just a block away from the Pantheon. The library is known to be a beautiful place to read and study and houses about two million historic documents that date back to the 9th century. What is crazy about this place is that as a student, you have to book a time slot and an actual assigned seat in the library, showing proof of your student status via a university ID. And any old visitors are not welcome at any time, as you cannot simply walk in. You have to book designated (and very limited) tours at specific hours, and the areas where you are allowed to stand/look are very small.

I didn’t do my research on this beforehand and thought we could just walk in. Alas, my timing was fortuitous because as I poked my head in to ask the security guard if we could enter, a library employee had just come back from her break. Without hesitation, she ushered me in, telling me in French that they usually don’t do this, but she’d make an exception for us given we were tourists from out of town. We got to stand in the same limited standing area overlooking the reading rows. And I looked up and snapped a few photos of the big windows, reading rows, and interior. And I remembered how I first learned about this library: the Boston Public Library, very well respected for its architecture both on the exterior and interior, was modeled after La Biblioteque Sainte Genevieve.

In the evening, after a last stop at the Paris Christmas markets, we walked through Place Vendome on our way back to the hotel for the night. Paris is one of those global cities that really takes Christmas seriously: all the department store facades were decked out in holiday cheer, and the plaza of Place Vendome and the shops that lined it were the definition of Christmas’s “merry and bright.” The lights twinkled all along the plaza, and it even had this beautiful children’s carousel with endless surrounding yellow and white twinkling lights, wreaths, and glittering Christmas trees.

While walking through the plaza, I actually thought about my mom and how even before she became a Jehovah’s Witness, she never enjoyed Christmas. She used to find the entire holiday a chore, from buying and wrapping gifts to making food to even having a Christmas tree with lights on in the living room. She used to insist that if she were sitting or lying down in the living room that the Christmas tree lights had to be turned off. She would complain and say, “They hurt my eyes! Shut them off!” So when she started studying to become a JW, it was an easy argument for her to completely nix any Christmas tree and lights. And while walking through Place Vendome, I just felt a little sad for her. Had she experienced so much trauma and hate in her life that she couldn’t find it in her heart to embrace this one “merry and bright” season of the year, especially since she knew her kids loved it so much?

But that’s why we learn from the past and try to create better experiences for our future. It’s why I’m so happy that I can create new family traditions for the own family I’ve chosen and formed and move away from all that inherited negativity of the past.

Strasbourg mini Christmas village for littles, delicious pastries and crepes, and tea back in Paris

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Strasbourg was a magical place during our Thanksgiving week, an enchanting Christmas wonderland that I’ll likely remember forever. What also made it so memorable was how child friendly it was. When we first arrived, there was an area in front of one of the markets that had a bunch of wooden boards laid out. I assumed it was likely a mini Christmas village for littles that they’d build. Just hours later, the entire kids’ village was constructed, complete with multiple sturdy wooden houses, fancy rooftops, and even little fireplaces with lanterns, Christmas decorations, and stockings hung up. All the families that passed with young children let their children run in and embrace the fun. Kaia had a little devious mind of her own: she grabbed one of the lanterns, took it into a little house, then shut the door. Clearly, she was up to no good because when we opened the door, we discovered that she had tried to pick apart the inside of the lantern and disconnect it. One of the Christmas mini village workers came over to lightly scold her in broken English, telling her this was, “No good, no good!”, to which Kaia simply responded with a cheeky grin and ran off giggling.

What was also fun was having my French listening and speaking comprehension slowly return bit by bit. We popped into a little patisserie and asked if they had their famous almond croissants left after a lunch at an Alsatian restaurant. The employee responded in French, saying that they had run out of almond croissants, but they still had almond and chocolat croissants left if I’d be interested. My response in my head was, “Uhhh, YEAH!” and I told her that I’d definitely like one. That creme d’amande et chocolat croissant was one of the most delicious ones we’ve eaten. The almond filling was different than the ones we’ve had back in New York in that it was a whipped almond cream filling, like a cross between blended almond paste, cream, and custard. The end conclusion: it was extremely decadent and flaky, just as a French croissant should be.

While in France, while we do enjoy decadent croissants and pastries, what we also enjoy that we never get back home are the simplest dishes, like crepes with butter and sugar or with Grand Marnier and nutella. I love crepes and how simple and delicious they are; they really don’t use that many ingredients, but they’re always so satisfying and light. I used to make them all the time when I was in high school, but since then, I’ve never bothered making them since the effort that goes into them is better for a crowd. And sometimes, you just want someone else to make you something simple and delicious. We enjoyed these crepes on our last night in Strasbourg while Pookster napped peacefully in her stroller.

Today, we headed back to Paris by high-speed train. And my first stop with Kaia after we checked into the hotel was to the closest Mariage Freres tea salon in the 9eme arrondissement. I had last visited a Mariage Freres tea salon back in 2015 when Chris and I last came together. And lucky me, even since then, I’ve had Mariage Freres tea since Chris had come to France on a couple work trips and brought them back. This afternoon, I went row by row, tin by tin, to smell all these beautifully blended teas. I usually detest tea blends with things added other than tea leaves (I’m usually a tea purist), but Mariage Freres truly masters the art of tea blended with fruit and other aromatics. Kaia, of course, wanted to be part of the action, so as I sniffed the tins, she immediately wanted to sniff right after and tell me if she liked the fragrance or not. I ended up leaving with four 100-gram bags of tea, one of which I would give away as a gift.

While tea the prices predictably had gone up, and there has always been a surcharge to have the tea packaged into a gift tin, I was not necessarily expecting the surcharge to go up to 6 euros per tin. This is annoying not just for cost (especially since some of the teas are just 10-11 euros for 100 grams, so an over-50 percent surcharge just for the freaking tin!), but also for packaging reasons. It’s far easier to pack a bag of loose leaf tea than it is a rounded wide tin of tea into your luggage. So even though one of the teas was a gift, I figured my recipient wouldn’t mind not having a tin.

I also noticed something else interesting with the tea containers: now, you can purchase what they consider their “vintage” tea tins and even porcelain jars! The prices for these lacquered jars, bottles, and metal tins range from 15 euros all way up to (gasp!) 150 euros each. This cost is only for the vessel itself; you will have to pay extra for the tea to be added to it. This sounded completely insane to me, as you must REALLY love this brand the history of Mariage Freres to pay those types of premiums just for the tea containers themselves.

France is truly a treasure trove for all things epicurean, as well as all things tangentially related, like beautiful scents and pleasing aesthetics. I’ll never get bored of eating and drinking in this gastronomic capital of the world.

Christmas carousels, Kaia’s love of pretzels, and the most decadent little Madeleine cookie I’ve eaten in my life in Strasbourg

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Merry-go-round carousels are often an image that arises in one’s mind when thinking of childhood, at least in the West. Most of us who were raised in western countries can recall times in our childhood when we rode on top of a carriage, horse, or unicorn on a happy merry-go-round with fun, festive lights, colors, and music. As someone who is well into her 30s and quickly approaching her 40s, I hadn’t actively thought about carousels until we took Kaia on her first one in Central Park during a play date with her bestie from her last school and his parents back in the spring of this year. Then, she was absolutely terrified and screaming her entire first ride with me, which was miserable to say the least. But she’s changed quite a bit in the last 6-7 months. Now, she sees carousels, immediately gets excited, and demands to get on them ASAP. She got to experience four rides on the main Strasbourg Christmas market carousel; four rides that she never, ever wanted to end, likely because the ride was like magic to her. Currently, she doesn’t seem that into the horses or unicorns, but she rather sit in the vehicles when on offer, particularly the fire trucks and airplanes predictably. She LOVES fire trucks and airplanes in real life, so that came as no surprise to us.

Strasbourg during Christmas time is truly a magical place, likely one of the most fairy tale-esque Christmas market experiences we’ve ever had. And the carousel rides and its brilliant lights and decor added to the festive and fairy tale feel. Here we are, as “those parents” who are excited to get just the right pictures and videos of our happy and giggling child on her magical fairy tale merry-go-round rides. Watching her on the carousel rides all those times and trying to capture the moment made me feel really happy, too. It was almost like I was reliving my own childhood through her, but in a much happier and fulfilled way. I have mixed feelings about my own childhood. Of course, I have lots of happy and heart-warming experiences I remember. But I also remember lots of things that I frankly should never have experienced or had to deal with. And so because of that, I feel even more joy observing my own child in her happy moments because it’s like a reminder to me to not repeat all the intergenerational trauma that I’ve inherited.

Some other fun tidbits from the last day: Kaia took a very long nap during one of our Strasbourg days. When she woke up, it was already early evening, and the sun had gone down, so it was quite dark. She immediately saw a food stand at a market with pretzels and asked if she could have one. This was much to Chris’s chagrin, as he absolutely detests pretzels of any and all kinds and begrudgingly agreed that we’d get her one. As long as I have known Chris, he has gone on mini rants about how plain and boring pretzels are, that they’re a total waste of space in the food world and are the epitome of blandness. While all of that may be true, when your child wants one and is famished… well, you kind of… should probably give in and just get her fed.

One of the boulangeries I had originally bookmarked for our Strasbourg trip, Au Pain de Mon Grand-Pere, has three locations in Strasbourg and is quite popular for their baguettes, pain au chocolat, and eclairs. While I’m generally not a “chain” person while I travel, I do make exceptions for specific types of food. And well in France, by default the food quality is so much higher than in the U.S. because of greater emphasis on food and quality of ingredients, so we popped in today to pick up a couple things. Originally, I was in line just for a pain au chocolat (which was delicious and very satisfying), but what I decided to pick up on a whim was a fat madeleine cookie that was beckoning to me under the glass. I threw that in at last minute while I was being rung up at the cash register. My pain au chocolat and madeleine didn’t even cost 2 euros, which was the first thing that stunned me. The second thing that stunned me, though, was exactly how delicious this madeleine was. It had a slight crunch on the outside, was soft and cake-like on the inside, and what really stood out was how buttery this whole thing was. The butter just sang in my mouth when I chewed. This could have been the best madeleine of my life.

If you did not grow up in France, you may have first heard of the madeleine cookie (really, it’s a cake disguised as a cookie in terms of size/shape) from Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time novel. The madeleine in the story serves as an object that triggers memories of the past. The main character eats a madeleine dipped in a tea and is then immediately transported back to his childhood. This is known as the “Proust Phenomenon.” I have always loved the idea of madeleines, but honestly, when I’ve had most, they’ve just been passable. This one I’ve eaten in Strasbourg will remain emblazoned in my mind as the very best madeleine i’ve ever eaten… at the nice ripe age of 38.

Strasbourg – La Capitale de Noel

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Strasbourg has declared itself the capital of Christmas, aka la capitale de Noel in French. Chris says that no one can really claim that about themselves, but hey, Strasbourg was bold and decided f- everyone: we can call it like we see it and believe it! Strasbourg is one of the capitals of the EU. It has gone back and forth between being a part of Germany and France, and now, it’s currently part of France and is located right at the France/Germany border. It is famous as being one of the least French cities in all of France, and of course, for having some of the most magnificent Christmas markets in all of Europe. Its Christmas markets are one of the oldest in Europe, going strong since the 1570s, and now stretches over 300 markets stalls across the entire city. Strasbourg’s Christmas tree is known as the tallest decorate Christmas tree in all of Europe, and with all the half-timber houses lining the city, it is beyond picturesque during Christmas time. And with all the gorgeous reflections of lights and half-timber houses along the Rhine River, walking through it has felt like a fairy tale adventure.

We’ve been lucky and privileged to have visited various European Christmas markets for the last 11 years, except for 2020 (pandemic) and 2021 (when I was pregnant, then Kaia was born). We started in Hamburg and Berlin, Germany, in 2013, moved onto Vienna (2014), multiple cities across Switzerland (2015), Brussels, Brugges, and Amsterdam (2019). And this year, we’re in Paris and Strasbourg for their Christmas markets. I do not say this lightly since I never rank or have favorites for places I’ve visited: Strasbourg is likely one of the very best European Christmas market destinations we’ve ever visited; in my opinion, it really lives up the self-declared “Capitale de Noel” designation. Berlin and Hamburg were truly epic with a flying Santa with his reindeer and sleigh in Hamburg (!!) and endless, humongous, and elaborate weihnachtspyramide, or Christmas Pyramids. And here in Strasbourg, it seems like almost every house, shop, and building decks out its facade for Christmas, with Christmas themed teddy bears, Christmas lights, holly, wreaths, and endless ornaments. The markets all have local, Alsatian handmade goods, lots of edible delights (oh, the food at these markets is better and far more varied than in Germany given the French influence!), so there’s lots of fascinating, intricate, artisan-crafted goods to see as eye candy (or purchases, if your luggage has space). And the Christmas tree in Place Kleber – oh, my goodness. It’s likely my favorite Christmas tree of all the European Christmas markets we’ve been to. It’s so, so tall, and it has lots of interesting ornaments and lights that change different colors. Every 30 minutes to an hour, the lights “dance” to a light and music show that is a medley of familiar and favorite Christmas tunes. And my favorite part: it has little gingerbread people all over it! I just loved this tree SO much!

Sometimes when I walk through these markets, I feel like a child again, wide-eyed with wonder at all of the beautiful twinkling lights, mouth-watering scents, and all the fun and festive vibes emanating around me from both tourists and locals alike. I suppose each and every one of us adults has an inner child in us. But oddly enough, as I’ve gotten older each year, I have felt even more like a happy, innocent child at these markets, admiring the simple joys and pleasures of life and taking it all in like there might not be a tomorrow.

Third time in France

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When I was young, I used to have all these fantasies and idealizations of France as some paradise on earth, where people simply understood la joie de vivre (“the joy of living”) and lived life to their fullest. But as someone who is about to turn 39 and nearly entering her 40s, I have realized as an adult who is only getting older that there’s really no such thing as a perfect or ideal society, that every city, country, and place on earth has its tradeoffs. You cannot have one great thing without sacrificing another. The things I love about France can also be the things that frustrate me about it, in the same way that the things I love about the U.S. are also the things that make me absolutely detest it and want to run from it. But alas, that certainly does not mean I do not love France and look forward to every visit here. I feel very lucky to say that I have visited this beautiful and delicious country three times now. It’s one of just a handful of places on earth where I feel like I need to save extra luggage space for all the delicious things I want to bring back home with me (not to mention all the incredible French skincare finds that are so much cheaper here!).

We spent the last day in Paris unexpectedly given my unanticipated ER visit and a delayed arrival in Europe. I got to visit Paris’s Chinatown for the second time (the first time was for Chris’s cousin’s wedding back in October 2015), but this time, we actually got to explore it. We found Chris’s cousin’s ex favorite durian cake spot and got some durian flaky pastries to enjoy. I noticed how much more Vietnamese than Chinese the neighborhood was. Paris’s Chinatown doesn’t look at all like any other Chinatown I’ve been to in that 1) it’s not really that Chinese, and 2) it feels more like a suburban neighborhood where everyone gets around by foot, but the shops, stores, and restaurants don’t really live on a main street or drag. Rather, they are all spread out just within blocks of each other for you to stumble upon.

One interesting thing I learned while looking at how Asian foods, particularly breads or “bao” are labeled in France is that they basically call all bao (soft, fluffy milk bread/buns) “brioche.” When I think of “brioche,” I think of a very specific type of extremely soft, buttery French bread. But “brioche” in France, it seems, is used a lot more loosely. They use it to label all Chinese buns, likely because Chinese bao (good quality ones) are all light, fluffy, and soft in your mouth. This kind of tickled me and gave me some more insight into the French language. My grasp of French is pretty poor now, but it has been coming back to me being surrounded by it here for the last day, and I’ve started remembering basic phrases and have been able to understand what people are saying to each other based on context. But I do love learning nuances of linguistics, especially of Chinese and French because they are the two languages I have formally studied.

Travel while sick

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“Are you excited about your Luxembourg/France trip?” my friend happily texted me yesterday morning. I grunted when I saw her message.

I felt like a poor little rich girl when I saw that message. I should be happy that I have this fun European Thanksgiving trip filled with Christmas markets across three cities the next week. But honestly, nothing is that exciting or satisfying when you are not feeling well, especially when it’s a challenge to talk, eat, and breathe. Going on a trip, especially for over a week, means I have to pack and organize all my stuff. It means that I have to pack and organize all of Pookster’s stuff. It means I have to think about which bags/rollers to take and which not to take. It’s a mental load that when you are sick, is not very fun. Oh, and then I realize that I didn’t even compile lists for things to do/eat while in two out of three of the cities, so I had to spend time doing that yesterday.

At least one fun thing I did between preparing for the trip and napping is watching cooking videos (hi, Kenji and Pailin from Hot Thai Kitchen), and also watching people take out all their Trader Joe’s grocery hauls. I love watching people reveal their grocery purchases!

Toddler moments: chasing after a squirrel

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On Friday when we arrived in Albany, in the late afternoon we went to the State Capitol area and let Kaia run around the buildings, green areas, and The Egg. It suddenly dawned on me while we were roaming around the area how rare it is that we just let her run free in any open area without being within arm’s reach of her. She reveled in it and soaked it all up, running and giggling with glee everywhere. She especially got excited every time she saw a squirrel, as she’d try to chase it until it ran up a tree. Then, she would whine and wave her arms up and down, yelling, “Why’d you go up the tree! Come back! Come back!” She’d feebly attempt to wrap her arms around the tree trunk in a weak attempt to hoist herself up the tree, then would immediately stop and just whine that the squirrel got away. I documented some of it via video and laughed each time. It was just too adorable to watch.

Her innocence in a photo is one thing, but video certainly takes capturing her moments to another level. It reminded me of when I listened to the YouTube star/food influencer Mark Wiens years ago, and he talked about how he originally documented all the food he ate on his travels via his blog. But after a little bit of time, he realized that while he enjoyed writing and and taking photos, it just wasn’t enough to capture the three-dimensional side of food, energy, and life. He needed to incorporate video to truly make his experiences come to life, and to allow his audience to experience what he was experiencing as though they were there.

I’m grateful to have easy access to technology to so easily document all my moments with her and her growth. That evening, I played the video of her yelling at the squirrel and commenting how she didn’t want it to get away over and over. This goes into my memory box of moments I never want to forget because of how innocent and truly adorable she is at this moment in time, at this age. Each day, Kaia is growing, getting bigger, smarter, and more mature. Each day, she changes. But I’ll always have these videos to go back to and watch and remember how amazing these times with her were at this point in time.

Indian Ladder Farm and Oysterfest 2024

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A short drive away from Albany is a cute farm in Altamont, NY, called Indian Ladder Farm, which offers lots of fresh produce grown on the land, as well as dairy products and meat from neighboring farms. They also make their own apple cider donuts, pies, pastries, and other desserts. The farm has a large pumpkin patch where you choose a pumpkin, as well as endless apple orchards where you can PYO (pick your own) apples and pay by the weight. In 2003, Indian Ladder Farm, named after the Indian Ladder Trail, a Mohawk trade route, became the first farm in Albany County to receive a state farmland protection grant to protect the land from development. The land has to remain available for agricultural development and can never be developed. The space is definitely well used and laid out, with a full fledged store full of local goods and produce, lots of outdoor space for kids and families to hang out and play, as well as areas for riding ponies, a large sandbox for littles to dig holes and build sand castles, and an entertainment area with a stage for live music, a pizza oven/outdoor restaurant setup, an alcoholic drinks area where you can purchase local beers and wines, and endless seating, both indoors and out. It was quick to see why families and friends who are local would be happy to spend a full day hanging out at a place like this.

We got lucky with our visit to Indian Ladder Farm, as the annual Oysterfest was happening this weekend. Blue Point oysters, which are grown on oyster farms in the Great South Bay in Long Island, are served right on the farm. So we got to indulge in a dozen local oysters while also enjoying a white clam pizza (one of my all-time faves) that came fresh out of the coal pizza oven. An interesting thing that we didn’t try that I saw was an oyster stout, which is a dark semi-sweet beer brewed with oyster shells. It’s supposed to give the beer a richer, more savory flavor with a hint of brininess. Who would have thought that was a way to reuse oyster shells?

The area Kaia loved the most was one of the simplest, which was the sandbox. She spent a good amount of time using the different bucket and shovels, digging holes, creating large sand piles, handing the buckets to me, and then repeating the process over and over again in different spots. She didn’t seem to tire of this no matter how much time passed. It was a reminder to me how simple her desires are and how it really doesn’t take much to entertain or amuse her for hours (potentially) on end. A sandbox seems so basic, but oddly enough, we don’t really have one near us in the parks and playgrounds on the Upper West Side that I’m aware of. So I’m happy she was able to indulge even if just for a bit.

Autumn in New York state is in full force now

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Growing up in California, I didn’t really know what autumn was. Fall was this nearly mythical, far-away concept that had no bearing on my life. While leaves did change color in San Francisco, it was usually from green into a sad beige or brown almost immediately. As a child, I was never exposed to the brilliant yellows, golds, bright, nearly fluorescent oranges, burgundy-reds, and even deep purples that you can see near in the Northeast of the U.S. Then, I went to Wellesley for college, in the heart of New England, and every fall once the new school year began, I was thrusted into all this endless and beautiful color. Although I am never that happy when the temperatures start cooling and the days get shorter, I always love the fall leaves and the changing colors right before my eyes every day.

Last year, we went to Springfield, Massachusetts, the first week of October in search of fall leaves, but alas, due to global warming, we came a bit too early. Everywhere we went, all we saw was green, and the locals told us that we’d be unlikely to see any autumn leaves until the end of the month. So, this year, Chris booked our fall long weekend trip for the last weekend of October, and this time, it’s in Albany, the state’s capital. And the timing was pretty spot on this year: all along the roads we drove on and everywhere we went, we saw the vibrant goldenrods, fiery burnt oranges, and deep crimsons that scream autumn.

On our way up to Albany, we stopped in the cute little town of Kingston at a well loved coffee/donut shop called Half Moon Rondout Cafe. They had a delicious variety of donuts, some of which are made to order. Here, we shared a pistachio honey latte, a pistachio bombolini (Italian style donut), a freshly churned out cinnamon sugar donut, and a slice of their signature and decadent chocolate babka. The latte had just enough pistachio flavor, the bombolini had a sweet nuttiness to it, and the fresh cinnamon sugar donut was deceptively light and airy while being not too sweet. The chocolate babka slice was clearly the star of the show, though, even with such delicious donuts. I couldn’t believe how much chocolate they had managed to pack into this slice, and all the layers of dough that just melded together and formed what is likely the richest babka we’ve ever enjoyed. I was tempted to get a whole babka loaf to bring home, but I decided that it would be a bit too gluttony of us given other delicious things we’d be eating on this trip. Every time we leave the city, I always marvel at the spacious cafes and the ample seating; not every cafe out there is packed to the brim with people on their laptops like in New York City.

We also visited the Emerson Kaleidoscope, which is supposed to be the world’s largest kaleidoscope. We did the kaleidoscope show, which lasted about ten minutes and required you to stand leaning on these back “rests.” You also have the option to lie or sit on the floor while looking up, which is what Kaia did. It doesn’t seem to matter whether you are 3 or 63, but if you like colors, kaleidoscopes would appeal to anyone at any age. Kaia seemed to enjoy it, as she didn’t fuss at all during the short show and was looking up the entire time.

Another highlight of today was visiting the Kleinke Dutch Farm, where Kaia got to see lots of farm animals (and even got bitten by a couple when she tried to fake-feed them…), touch lots of fresh pumpkins, and throw and kick in endless fallen leaves everywhere. While kicking and throwing leaves with her, I thought about how fun this was and how I wasn’t sure what I enjoyed more: seeing autumn colors and leaves, or hearing that lovely sound of them crunching under my feet. These are experiences I never got when I was little, but now, I get to be a kid again and enjoy all this with her together.

We had two notable meals today: a late lunch at the historic Olde English Pub, in a beautiful house that is one of the original buildings in Albany, constructed in 1736, previously called the Quackenbush House. There, we enjoyed maple roasted brussel sprouts, a buttery and belly-warming beef pot pie, and fish and chips; plus, dinner at Shwe Burmese Restaurant, where it felt like we were dining in someone’s house. The staff all seemed like family (and the kids even played with Kaia towards the end of the meal). We had Burmese tea (sweet, creamy, and strong, almost like Hong Kong style milk tea), tea leaf salad, a Burmese egg noodle salad (tasted like a savory-sweet mix of tamarind and sesame paste), and a Burmese fish curry. Our mains came with soup, salad, and an interesting shaved ice dessert that had grass jelly, raisins, peanuts, and a fruit syrup topping. I wasn’t expecting grass jelly, but I enjoyed this dessert!

Albany isn’t considered a “major” metro area, but it has quite a number of eclectic restaurants and cafes to keep you interested. The fall colors everywhere have been a gorgeous backdrop, so we really got lucky with our timing this year.