Jordan

I was so happy that I got to go to Jordan for work; the timing was fortunate, because we had a weekend so that we could do some tourism there. My mother-in-law and I both bought the Jordan pass, which includes the visa entry fee and entrance to several tourist attractions. I did some research prior to arrival on tips when travelling with children, and the most common advice was not to go during the summer! My work trip was scheduled for July, so we had no choice. We got lucky with the weather though, and it wasn't much hotter than it was in Geneva.

Upon arrival in Amman, we could see that people dressed much more conservatively than in Lebanon. We stayed at the Shams Al-Webdeh suites, which I would highly recommend. The location is great, close to many cafes and restaurants. As with most of my posts these days, I waited way too long to write and forgot the names of most of the places, but I do remember one restaurant that was really excellent--Jordan Heritage Restaurant. It also doubles as an art gallery. I didn't know that Jordanian food is so different from Lebanese food. This restaurant specializes in Jordanian dishes. It is more similar to Indian food, I found, because they have very rich stew-like dishes. The rice itself was fragrant, and each dish we ordered was phenomenal. We ended up going there twice during our short stay.

The highlight of our Jordan trip was, of course, our trip to Petra. A friend of mind had recommended doing Petra by night, which I can see as being a wonderful, night time hike if done with a friend or romantic partner. The treasury is lit with colored lights, and there are a thousand candles lighting the trail. I wish that my husband would have been able to come, and made a mental note to go again with my husband. This time however, I went with a very cranky one year old. My son screamed the entire mile hike, and continued to scream even as we were at the treasury. When I look back, I realize I should have just given up. We had had a long trip to Petra from Amman, about three hours by car. It was a nice view, but an incredibly difficult walk for both my MIL and me. We stayed at a hotel about five minutes from the visitor center of Petra. The rooms were nice, and the food was acceptable. The convenient location though was worth it!

The next day, we woke up at 6:00 am to try to beat the heat and the crowd. I had a really good baby carrier, and had my son carried in front of me. As we left, the air was a cool, 70 degrees F, and there was almost no one else on the trail. I think we only saw a handful of people on our way to the treasury. The early morning sun was a pale white, and the rock formations a light pink. As the sun rose higher, the color of the rocks became deeper. When we arrived at the treasury, one of the bedouins came to say hi to us. I mentioned that we went to Petra by night yesterday, and he said, "oh, was he the baby that was screaming the whole time?" I felt a little bit bad, because I guess we must have ruined the ambiance for some people.

We ended up taking mules to go to the entrance of the monastery, and hiked up. That was not easy (especially while carrying a 20 pound child), but it was wonderful! My son loved the monastery, and played happily in the sand. There were beautiful views from the mountain.

On our way back, we stopped to take some photos of some older buildings, but I can't remember now what they were.

We also saw Wadi Rum and the dead sea. Wadi rum was cool because of the never-ending sand dunes, but the dead sea was just okay. I guess that might be because we didn't go in, since I thought the salt would be too harsh for my son. On our way back, we stopped by little Petra, and also saw some fortresses.

Santorini and Crete

I remember learning a long time ago that the color green has a relaxing effect on our brains, which is why walking through nature is so good for us. I wonder if there is something similar about the color blue. When I look out at the deep blue ocean, and the bright blue sky, I can’t help but feel that my heart is lighter. My worries are reassured, and something in me heals. Winter is a hard time, and here I finally feel like it is over and summer is back! I really sympathize with the game of thrones warning that “winter is coming”, because winter is really awful. I hate the cold, and by February I am looking forward to the end of this horrible season, which in Geneva doesn’t seem to really end until May. They have something awful which they call the “bise”, which means the kiss—it’s a nasty, biting wind that bullies you along the street, threatening to tip over your stroller and slapping you in the face with its icy sting. I hate the bise. You may have a glorious sunny day and you walk outside and realize that the bise is here. It apparently lasts for either one, three, or six days.

Anyway, in Greece there is none of this unpleasantness. We stayed at an airbnb overlooking the water in Santorini. It is a cave house, so it is carved into the mountain. We celebrated my son's first birthday here, at a restaurant that I can't remember anymore. I remember that all of the restaurants were really good. There is a shopping area with a mix of tourist items and artisan goods. We made reservations at a restaurant where we could eat and watch the sunset. We met a pair of doctors who were volunteering at a refugee camp in Lesbos. 

Unfortunately, I am writing the last of the post a year later, and am having trouble remembering the details. We also went to Crete, which involved more driving. I realized that as my dad has gotten older, his driving has become faster. Or maybe I am the one who has changed, since now I am a mom and worry more about safety. Crete had some really nice beaches that my son enjoyed playing on, though it was very windy. We stopped by a wonderful seafood restaurant where they let you pick the fish that you want to eat. Most of the fish is just grilled and lightly seasoned, but because it is so fresh, that is all that is needed. 

Delphi and Meteora, Greece

I went to Athens again, this time with a baby in tow. I did a bit of research on traveling with a baby—not that this is our first time. Greece will be the 12th country that my son has visited before his first birthday. Greece however, would be our longest vacation away from home (excluding our trip back to the US, which I count as home). 

I was debating which stroller to bring, and am glad that I brought our light travel stroller. He doesn’t sleep as well in that one, and it is not as good on rough terrain, but there are many places where a stroller isn’t even feasible so it’s easier to just have a carrier and a light stroller that can be easily carried too. 

We began our trip with a four day land tour. I don’t really remember the first two days. We went to Olympia and something else. My son is now obsessed with rocks and pebbles, so whenever we go to a place with rubble (which is pretty much any ruin), he wants to squat down and play with rocks and refuses to do anything else. I pretty much just migrated from site to site, putting him among some rocks here and there and dealing with a tantrum during the transitions since he protested being moved away from any particular site.  

The last two days of the tour were spectacular. We went to Delphi and Meteora. Delphi’s is supposedly a sacred place with a divine energy that facilitates fortune telling. Our guide was very thorough, but with a squirmy toddler we decided to go ahead and walk to the top so that we could take our time coming back down and let him walk for part of the way. According to myth, Zeus released two golden eagles and declared that there would be a sacred place where the eagles met. The eagles met over Delphi, so Zeus threw a stone there—and today there still stands an egg like statue commemorating this. There was also a wall with carvings, supposedly 3,000 names of freed slaves, along with their gratitude, for being granted their freedom in Delphi. 

I enjoyed the sites because I was really interested in Greek mythology as a child. Delphi is the home of Apollo, god of music and the sun. There are of course, many myths about him raping women. The guide commented that Greek Gods, unlike the Gods in many other religions, were flawed and often also had negative characteristics. The hike to the stadium at the top was not easy with a 25 pound baby strapped to my chest, but the way down was really pleasant. He had so much fun walking a few steps and playing with stones along the way. 

The food on the tour was not bad. I think that perhaps I really am old since I go in tour groups now. I used to do all my travels independently, with the exception of a few trips. Anyway, the other people on the tour (mostly old people) were very friendly and nice to my son. 

Meteora was spectacular, and apparently where a James Bond movie was filmed, and part of Game of Thrones. The rock formations are majestic, and the site for several monasteries and nunneries. The places of worship require women to wear a medium to long dress or skirt, though men can wear whatever. It does look like a magical land from a fantasy book series. On the way, we saw both coast and mountains. The bus rides were a bit longer than I thought they would be, which was a challenge with a baby. 

I had come to Athens 10 years ago, and the city changed a lot since then. It has gotten cleaner, and there are even more restaurants now. I had the best olive oil in Greece, so was happy to have a tasting during the tour. I leaned that Kalamata is a famous place for olive oil production. In Delphi, there are 2 million olive trees. I bought a bottle of fragrant olive oil, a light green color with a bit of bitterness. Ten years ago, I remember there was olive oil on every table of every restaurant that I went to.  Now you have to ask for it. Not sure why that changed, probably due to price.

Bratislava and Bojnice

After my trip to Kiev was Easter break, so I went to Slovakia with a good friend of mine (my son’s godmother) from Geneva. She has a flat in Bratislava so we stayed there the first and last night.

My son loved Slovakia. I’m not sure if it was the air or the weather (indeed we left cold Kiev and came to sunshine and warmth), but he was incredibly happy. We walked through the square and I had a duck liver wrap that was heavy but actually quite good. There were many little stands open for Easter, so I bought a few souvenirs. Some of the cafes were very child friendly, with small play areas for kids.

He father picked us up and drove us to the small town that she is from, Bojnice, which has both a spa and a castle. Her parents were really sweet and played with my son. I slept early and woke early and got to have home cooked food. We also went to a few nice cafes in Bratislava.

Apparently around Easter there is a tradition, from pagan times, in which the men hit the women with sticks and splash water on them for good health. My friend told me that traditionally, the women would then hit the men back a few days later, but they got rid of that part.

I like Eastern Europe a lot so far! I would really like to come back and visit some other countries in the region.

Kiev

I had to go to Kiev for work, so my mom came to help take care of my son and the three of us travelled there together. I don’t think Kiev is necessarily a popular tourist destination, but it is a beautiful city. Several golden domed cathedrals, and some of the best food that I have had in a long time. I didn’t have a lot of time to do touristy things, but I did make sure to check out Saint Sophia’s cathedral, with its green spires and intricate artwork. There was a mural made with individually painted Easter eggs, and some other more modern artwork too.

I actually had a lot of Georgian food in Ukraine, which made me realize that I should also visit Georgia too. People in Ukraine we so friendly—possibly the nicest people in Europe. Everywhere we went, people offered to help with my son. Once, he was screaming his head off in the street, and a lady came out and offered to let us sit in her office so that I could breastfeed him. There is a nice playground for children, next to a really good Ukrainian restaurant. Some of the food I had including zucchini pancakes, borscht, dumplings (variniki), and roasted meat. I had chicken Kiev which was just okay (I’m not sure if this is even really a Kiev thing). I also had Georgian style dumplings, eggplants stuffed with walnut paste, chicken stew with cream, and grilled lamb.

I bought a pair of socks for my husband with dumplings on them, and the store owner gave me a flask of liquor for free. I was really astounded by how warm and generous people there were.

The weather was super cold, even for April. Kiev is very safe, but in the eastern part of the country there is an armed conflict that continues to result in many casualties. It makes me sad that the country is going through this. It’s a beautiful place and I would like to go back, especially since I did not get to see the monastery. We stayed next to Volodymir’s Cathedral, so I got to see that. I walked to the independence square and got a glimpse of St. Andrew’s cathedral too.

The airport was a bit difficult, but every step of the way people offered to help me. With how the airport is set up, I had to go through security three times with my enormous stroller. The staff let me skip the lines though, since I had a child with me. They were so understanding. My son had a meltdown in a restaurant, and instead of getting angry a waitress ran over with a toy for him. I didn’t get dirty glances from people at all.
The highlight of this trip was definitely the food and the wonderful Ukrainian people.

London

I went to London for the first time this weekend. London is one of the places that people are often surprised to hear that I haven’t been to. We flew into Heathrow Airport on Wednesday night, and I worked from there on Thursday and Friday. We didn’t go for the purpose of touring, but for eating. We don’t have access to good Chinese food in Geneva, so I was really looking forward to this trip. Before this trip, I was puzzled by people who made shopping a travel goal, but now I understand. There are so many stores in London that are not available in Geneva, so that was also on my to do list—especially baby stores.

When we arrived, the passport control line was extremely long, since we got in right behind a Korean tour group and we are not EU citizens. We were in the line for about 10 minutes when my 9 month old decided he had enough and just started screaming. A lady scuttled over to us quickly and brought us to the priority service line and we were out in a jiffy. One of the few times a crying baby really helped us!

On our first night, we ate at Tukdin Malaysian restaurant. We brought our infant son, who I would have given a B- for his behavior—he was pretty good, but started to cry when he got tired.  The staff was so nice. My husband wheeled him around the block so that he would fall asleep, and when he returned the cute Malaysians ladies shushed each other because they didn’t want to wake the baby. I had the shrimp soup, which gave me a ratatouille moment. For those of you who have seen the movie (spoiler alert), at the end, the critic takes a bite of ratatouille and it takes him back to his childhood, eating ratatouille in his home. The first bite of this soup did that for me. It was all the right spices, the right amount of sweetness to sour ratio. It didn’t bring me back to Malaysia of course, as I’m not from there and have never been, but it brought me back to New York. It wasn’t childhood either, but my mid-twenties, which was still very carefree and relaxed.

I worked on Thursday, and then went to a baby store called tiny feet. I had been a bit daunted by the metro so I walked a mile, and found they were closed!! The manager however had just closed up and reopened for me, so I bought some cloth diapers. I saw the uniqlo, another store that I wanted to go to, was about a mile away, so I gave myself a pep talk and said, “you were a New Yorker, subways should be nothing for you!” So I took the tube. I love the tube! It’s fast and clean. Why is the New York subways system so disgusting? I used to believe it’s because it was one of the oldest systems, but the Tube is old too.

A big negative though is all the stairs. In Geneva, the public transportation is very stroller friendly. However, I found the people in London to be incredibly nice and helpful. At each staircase, someone offered to help me carry the stroller. On every ride, if I was holding my son someone would stand up and let me sit. I didn’t expect people in London to be so nice, but they really went above and beyond. Even on the street people were friendly and helped us with directions.

Anyway, I had gone to Oxford Circus to go to uniqlo. My son had a meltdown, but then fell asleep and I was able to do a lot of shopping before meeting an old friend in Chinatown. Oxford Circus is overwhelming, almost like Times Square. It was so crowded that it put me in a bad mood, but then the hundreds of red lanterns in Chinatown lifted my spirits again. I went to Dumpling Legend, which was very good, but left me wanting even more dumplings.

I had heard than Din Tai Fung opened in London, but was hesitant to go because of the long lines, and fear of disappointment. Since I was working from home on Friday, I decided to go at a weird time, and took a late lunch break at around 2:30. The restaurant was not crowded, but there was still a 20 minute wait. However, they just text you when your table is ready so I went out and did some shopping. Covent Garden ended up being my favorite part of the trip!

I was called back to my table, and luckily my son was asleep again! The waitress had originally asked us to fold the stroller and set it aside by my husband said, “please, if you have children you will understand how valuable it is to keep them asleep!” She let us take the stroller to the table where we had a wonderful first half of our meal undisturbed. I order four types of soup dumplings, my favorite being the chili crab, and beef noodle soup. Their bubble tea was good too. I think this meal may have been the highlight of my trip, plus the shopping in Covent Garden. It was pricy, but totally worth it. I thought about going back again but my poor husband was getting sick of Chinese food. We asked a man to take a photo for us by the square, and he said, “I could be a phone thief!”, to which I said, “please don’t steal my phone!”

I did have a friend who got her phone stolen because someone asked to borrow it and then run away with it, so when asking people to take a photo I usually ask the elderly or people with children. I figure you wouldn’t take kids along on a heist, since they make everything more difficult to do.

That night, we met a friend of mine and her fiancé at Pearl Liang, another Chinese restaurant. I had their crispy chicken stuffed with prawn and for appetizer, the soft shell crab. I topped it all off with a raspberry mojito. My son woke up during the dinner and was an A+! He was happy and all smiles. Later we went to Mitre, a pub with nice wall paper and comfortable chairs.

We had an English breakfast as well, which is just sausage, ham, eggs, beans, and toast. Can’t go wrong with that.

On Saturday, we met a friend across from St. Paul’s Cathedral at Founder’s Arms. We sat overlooking the Thames, and had fish and chips, venison pie and sticky toffee pudding. I got the last of my shopping done, and we have a quiet night at the same Malaysian restaurant.

Sunday morning we went to an Australian brunch place called Debbie Green, which is on a houseboat. The manager let us eat in the bar area since there was more space for our stroller there. I had an amazing breakfast with a Bloody Mary, latte, the best vegetarian eggs Benedict I have ever had, and a banana bread “sandwich” for dessert.

A wonderful end to a wonderful trip.