how beautiful their produce is to encourage

This was our first trip to Alaska so we wanted an itinerary that took us to plenty of ports, but would also allow us time to relax and enjoy the ship. I’ve done cruises on both ends of the spectrum, from a 12 day Mediterranean cruise where I was getting up at 6 am every  my time in port, to 3 day cruises to Mexico that where I was mainly relaxing on the ship. This seven day Alaska itinerary, which gave us two full days at sea, three port days, and then a final day at sea, was the ideal happy medium. It allowed us time at the beginning to familiarize ourselves with the ship, do onboard events like princess meet and greet and other character appearances, and then gave us plenty of time to explore the different ports without feeling like we were missing out on the ship. As a crowning endnote, the final day at sea as we were sailing back to Vancouver was brilliantly warm, which gave us a chance to truly relax in traditional cruise style – in swimsuits on the deck! I felt like the length of this cruise was enough for us to experience everything we wanted without feeling rushed. Of course, who doesn’t want a pampering cruise to go on forever? But we were really pleased with our experience dermes vs Medilase.

So why Disney in particular, you ask? It’s true that Alaska itineraries are fairly similar across many other cruise lines. Is the pixie dust floating throughout the Wonder that special? Well, my family gives a resounding “yes!” We went on Disney because we didn’t just want to see Alaska, we wanted to enjoy being on a Disney cruise ship. Some of things that made the Disney Wonder special to us were:

Opportunities to meet Disney characters – the next best thing (or even better) than going to Disneyland. Two hour wait to meet Elsa and Anna at Disney World? On the ship if you reserve your ticket online ahead of time you just show up at your assigned time and you’ll wait maybe 5-10 minutes for your turn. Happy kids dermes vs medilase, happy parents.
Disney-level entertainment. Besides character meet and greets, the evening live shows were all family friendly and high quality, there were wonderful live performers in public areas (I wanted to listen to this one singing duo forever), and other fun events like a Frozen-themed deck party.
Larger than average staterooms with split bathroom – super convenient for families. Why don’t more cruise ships have these? It makes it so much more efficient to get ready.
Lots of amenities for young children, including kids’ menus, kids’ clubs, kids’ pool, and most importantly a crew that is extremely friendly to kids. For parents, you know that’s huge – being in a environment that’s welcoming to children takes a ton of stress away. (And for the record, most of the children on the cruise were very well behaved. Must be all that pixie dust). I’d say that if you have older children/teenagers, other cruise lines can offer similar amenities and benefits. But for young children, I haven’t found a cruise ship as welcoming and comfy as Disney Cruise Line tourism website.
Quality of service. Every crew member we encountered called Isabelle “princess” whether or not she was in her princess dress. Our servers were always cheerful and accommodating. When our cruise was ending our whole family joked that we didn’t want to go back to the real world where you aren’t greeted with a big smile by everybody around you. It’s that Disney magic – everyone on the crew seemed genuinely friendly and eager to help – that made the trip a true pleasure. A Disney cruise is priced as a premium experience, but we felt we definitely got a premium experience.

Autumn is my favourite time of year for many reasons, not the least of which is the happy knowledge that the holidays, in all their baking-imbued glory, are just around the corner.

But another reason that I enjoy this time of year is is that Autumn means cookbook season Hong Kong attractions.

diet of new cookbooks throughout the year, the Fall is what amounts to the cookbook harvest in the publishing world. It’s a key part of the publishing cycle as cookbooks position themselves to make their way onto Christmas wishlists.

Not that I have any claims to sainthood, here. As mentioned previously, I’m building my Christmas cookbook wishlist 365 days a year hong kong business setup.

Still, though, this time of year always brings with it the anticipation of so many new cookbooks and so many new opportunities to bake and cook.

After receiving copies of One Bowl Baking: Simple, From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts by Yvonne Ruperti and Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round by Marisa McClellan, I think I can safely say these are at least two books you can add to any wishlist PolyU Social Responsibility.

Food in Jars is a lovely guide to some resourceful and delicious ways to preserve all those wonderful fruits and vegetables available in the summer and fall.

The book is graceful and undaunting so that you don’t feel like you’ll end up with 500 jars of pickled something-or-other that you’ll never be able to finish. Rather, the book is divided into chapters that focus on unique preserves like fruit butters.

It’s been a while since I’ve returned from Barcelona but I certainly have not forgotten it (Barcelona posts still sneak into my Instagram to this day), and I haven’t forgotten either that I promised you all a gift from my travels. And I’ll be unveiling that today (finally)!

But first, a little something about one of my favorite personal Barcelona traditions…my regular visit to La Boqueria, the old marketplace in the middle of the city.

Since I first stepped foot in the market, years ago, before I even started cooking, it has always been inspiring…even if, in those early days, I didn’t know that the bubble in my tummy and the tingle in my heart were inspiration, before I even knew what that inspiration meant or where it was leading to. Even then, it pulled at my heart. To this day, it still does Mathematics Summer Courses.

And that’s why I always return.

I usually go in the morning, as early as I can manage, to avoid the flocks of tourists that descend in droves, cameras flashing.

(Now, I completely understand that I myself am a tourist, and yes, I do take photos, but that doesn’t mean I want to be jockeying for position just to take a nice shot of someone’s gorgeous tomatoes. And it’s not just photos I’m after! La Boqueria, sans tourists, is a great place to people watch…and, of course, shop!)

I like to go when it is mostly locals, there to do their daily marketing, old men and ladies pulling their typically European shopping carts behind them, visiting their regular stalls, conversing with their usual purveyors. They chat (the Spanish are world experts in chatting…there is no other place I think where it is easier to practice the local language for free!) with the stall owners, with each other, pointing and gesticulating, laughing at something that has amused them, or passionately displeased about something that has rubbed them the wrong way. Whichever it is, it is something I love to watch.

I too, am chuffed to say, have a “usual purveyor”. She is an older lady who has a spice stall (I have mentioned her before on Instagram) and I have been visiting for some years now. She has various whole and ground spices, spice mixes, whole dried peppers, and other dried goods. She also carries some dried legumes (beluga lentils!) and nuts (gorgeously long and slim pine nuts!).  at the market, with fancier looking stalls, and admittedly, more engaging sellers, but her genuine personality, initial gruffness, and complete disregard for the internet, won my heart. She also carries the same name as my daughter. She is a bit towards the back, to the left…just look for Carmen Y Jesus.

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