Hello everybody, it's Aya here and I am officially back from holidays in Japan! Actually, it's been a few days since I've been back and all I've been doing is eating cake and playing this Tsum Tsum game on my tablet that I downloaded off of the Play Store in Japan. I think I'm officially in denial that I turned one year older while I was away.

To make the transition even harder, I'm importing all of my photos and videos onto my computer and I realized that it would just be an awful shame not to bombard you all with post photos of my beautiful vacation in Japan. Sorry that it won't be a recipe post this time around but I hope that some of the food shots here will be enticing enough!

I went to Japan with Oli and we terrorized 3 cities together: Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. I'm going in no specific order here with my photos so let's just jump over to Kyoto and see what we did there.

We stayed in a residential part of Kyoto and the area was very quiet.

On our first day, we decided to rent bikes into the city. What was supposed to be a ride to this vegan restaurant I found on happycow.net ended up being a crazy adventure into unfamiliar territory. That is, until we found out the restaurant was closed that day but nearby there was something familiar after all.




I normally like to stay away from food I already know when in a foreign country but I basically couldn't resist the coincidence of finding a German bakery in a random part of Kyoto. Also because we walked inside and realized none of the goodies were German.




But who says no to a Japanese pastry? I'll tell you: nobody.



I thought I was tired of Japanese bread but looking at this makes me want some again.

After a short trip into an area that we thought looked cool (which ended up being an incredibly popular area near the famous Fushimi Inari Shrine), we found one of the purposes of our trip: a cat cafe.


Many Japanese residences don't allow pets so the cat cafe is the perfect place to come, drink a coffee, and enjoy being in the presence of adorable furriness.


She was my favorite: a calico by the name of Ringo (it means apple in Japanese). Unfortunately, she was also the shyest and didn't really want to play, but she watched us all through a little house she went into later.

Cat cafes require you to pay a certain amount for your time there. From there, you can choose to order drinks or pay for snacks for cats. It can get a bit pricey but if you love cats or are missing your cat back home (as we were), it's worth a visit. The ones here were very friendly and even finished my tea as we were leaving.

Neko Café TiME
Fukakusa Ichinotsubocho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto
Kyoto Prefecture 612-0012, Japan

German (?) Bakery and Cat Cafe in Kyoto

• , •
• bakery cafe japan lunch snacks summer travel •
• 1 comment •
• by Aya S
  Aya S

— Continue Reading —

Now that we're officially in fall season, I decided to rewind to a time not too long ago (a month ago to be exact), when New York was scorching hot and I thought I was going to melt into a little puddle and dribble into New York sewage. Gross? Yes, that's exactly how I felt! But looking back at these pictures now, I long for this kind of weather (I am a Summer baby after all)!

One of my favorite places in the city is the Museum of Natural History. Growing up, this museum was my playground. I crawled in Ocean Life, fooled around in North American Mammals, and made my way through the various halls of dinosaur fossils. Even as I got older, I went to special exhibits and IMAX shows. There is a reason why Night at the Museum takes place here--magic lives in every corner!

Mom and I got tickets to see the new Pterosaur exhibit.

Pterosaurs were living when dinosaurs were around but they were much more evolved and had different traits among them depending on their location and diet. The exhibit compiled the fossil data that already existed with some animations, installations, and games. I suppose since there are still many questions regarding them that the exhibition seemed a tad repetitive but it was fun nonetheless.

The rest of the time we spent trying to make our way to the Hall of Gems.


Quick stop at the Hall of Biodiversity.




I used to collect rocks as a kid. When I first discovered this place, you can assume I went nuts.

On another day in town, I met up with my lovely friend Crysbel for some Southern style vegan noms aka Red Bamboo restaurant.


It's kind of our vegan joint. I mean, we don't own it (we're good kids, we share) but if we're choosing a vegan place and I'm not actively looking for a new one to try out, this is our go-to. Why? Because the food is delicious, service is friendly, and there is a clearly labeled dessert menu on the wall with vegan cheesecake options.

Speaking of which . . .


Yes, look at that sexiness. Like directing a porno when I told my friend to pierce the fork into it. The glory of vegan cheesecake everyone.

If you're ever in Greenwich village, you know where to pop into!

Red Bamboo
140 W 4th St
New York, NY 10012

American Museum of Natural History and Red Bamboo Restaurant

• , •
• dinner new york restaurant summer travel vegan •
• 1 comment •
• by Aya S
  Aya S

— Continue Reading —

I have been a very bad girl.



It all started with an innocent stroll around town. I already had my first gelato in Verona. It was okay, the guy behind the counter was nice, and it made for a pleasant end to the day. Suddenly I see a corner packed with people and a line coming outside a store. People emerging with cups and cones of gelato and whipped cream, chatting away in Italian.



I knew then that it was fate and that I had to return to try what clearly looked like a potential party in my mouth. Naturally after the first time, I came back two more times (and I'm not even going to tell you how many times Oli and I debated on whether it would be okay to get back on line for a second cone).





The store is adorable and kitschy (as all trendy places are now a days). They also had a fridge of what looked like incredible cakes that we never got to try because every time we went into their shop, we became gelato junkies.
Yes guys, we struggled to return to reality each time.



The product in question is absolutely lovely! First they drip your choice of melted dark or white chocolate into the tip of the cone, then you get to choose 2 flavors from their selection. I loved every flavor I chose so I'm guessing you can't really go wrong. They don't do very unique and far out there flavors like I've seen in other gelaterias in Rome and Florence, but what they do do (which are Italian classics such as Fior di Latte, Stracciatella, and Zabaione), they do very well.




Luckily La Romana is a chain and you can find one in various cities around Italy. Buon Appetito!

La Romana Gelateria
Piazza Santo Spirito, 9 37122 Verona, Italy

La Romana Gelateria in Verona

• , •
• dessert italy reviews street food summer sweets travel vacation •
• 1 comment •
• by Aya S
  Aya S

— Continue Reading —

On Sunday, Oli and I biked over to Liepnitzsee, a lake located between Bernau and Wandlitz in Brandenburg. The thing to do in Berlin during the summer is to bike to lakes whenever possible. They're beautiful, surrounded by nature, and it's the perfect way to cool down on a blazing hot day.

We started off by eating a good ole hearty breakfast.




Actually, this was more like brunch since we woke up pretty late (no partying but we did cram in a few episodes of House of Cards -- shout out to Dan for the recommendation!) I made a poor man's frittata because it only had two eggs (I prefer a rainbow of veggies and only a bit of egg, minimal salt, and some herbs for added flavor). Oli made himself something similar to a gratin (we didn't go to the grocery store on Saturday so we used up whatever was in the fridge for both our meals, hence the make-shift dishes).

After eating and a bit of piano playing, we were off!



A nice sunny day.

30 km later, we arrived at the park with the lake! And of course at the entrance was a little food shack packed with people.





Time to refuel!

After a few minutes more of biking around the park, we found the lake. There's a small island right in the middle of it that you can swim to. Unfortunately, I can't swim! So the only people on that side are the ones with inflatable rafts and well, ones that can swim. Hopefully I can make it over there one day!





The day ended pretty quickly from there. We ate some dried fruit and vegan muffins and started on the long ride back home. On the way, I found the cutest little sign:


Where was this sign in Studio Ghibli's The Cat Returns??

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the post! Sorry if I've been lacking in them lately. Hopefully I can post a bit more in the coming weeks. Ciao for now!

Trip to Liepnitzsee

• , •
• biking brandenburg breakfast german food germany nature summer travel •
• No Comments •
• by Aya S
  Aya S

— Continue Reading —

Hey guys, it's Aya! It's a lazy Sunday over here and I thought it was only fair to post a few pictures of what I've been up to. Summer has more or less arrived so Oli and I kidnapped the best people living in Berlin for a good ole fashioned BBQ.


Look at this gorgeous fire that Sebastian and Daniela tended to. People that know their grillin' amazes me (maybe because I know gar nicht a.k.a. absolutely nothing).


Only a small sample of the spread.




The goods.

Basically the night ended in . . . well, I don't quite remember details for reasons you can all assume. But there's not much point in asking the others because we all had similar experiences. ;)

In other not so new news, I got a new bike to replace the one that was stolen!


It's a Hauptstadt bike, made by BBF (a German company and the same company as my last one). My only qualms is that it is a smidgen too tall because I got a bigger bike with the seat just lowered to suit me. It only affects me very slightly on long distance rides but otherwise, I can ride my daily 30 km with no problem.

Finally, a simple salad:

I have a penchant for cleaning-out-the-fridge salads because I leave the flat on weekends to stay in Brandenburg and then I come back to a fridge full of things that need to be consumed immediately. This one is the latest and I do recommend it! It includes:

•  A mix of Arugula, Mint, and Coriander/Cilantro
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Shiitake Mushrooms
• Green Olives
• Chopped Roasted Peanuts (unsalted)

Basically from there I added a bit of olive oil, lime juice, and salt & pepper. I think if you omit the olives, it's fine (I just had them on hand) but the other flavors really make it refreshing and delicious! Try it out!

Anyway, that's all for today. Have a lovely Sunday and until next time!

Barbee, Bikes, and Quick Salads

• , •
• biking brandenburg event friends lunch random recipe summer •
• No Comments •
• by Aya S
  Aya S

— Continue Reading —