Ladurée in Paris
Most people go to Ladurée for the fresh macarons: a sweet meringue based confection filled with a ganache or buttercream. Crunchy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside, the classic small round macaron originated in France. Ladurée has been making macarons since 1862 and is the most well-known brand in the world, if not the most elegant. With more than 20 flavors offered in the most beautiful ribbon covered pastel boxes ever made, Ladurée macarons can make you feel like Marie-Antionette at Versailles. Read more 
Jour Naked in Paris
Only the French could name a chain of restaurants “Naked Day” and get away with it. “Jour Naked” is a relatively new type of fast food in Paris that is sure to expand in popularity with tourists and locals who welcome the opportunity to choose the ingredients of their meal. While strolling the avenues of Paris this week, I discovered this treasure of a restaurant that specializes in fresh hand-tossed salads. “Jour Naked” does to salad what “Pinkberry” does to frozen yogurt: they take a good basic product and offer quality toppings to make it a real treat. Read more
“The Dovekeepers”
Two years ago, I traveled with my family to Masada, a remote fortress on a mountain in the Judaean Desert of southern Israel by the Dead Sea. Masada is legendary for being the place where more than 900 Jews killed themselves rather than be tortured, killed or enslaved by the Romans approximately 2,000 years ago. The day of our visit was brutally hot and there was little shade in this fortress that King Herod built as a refuge. As the sun was beating down and I looked in every direction and saw only the dry earth of the desert and the salty Dead Sea in the distance, I remember thinking “why did they die for this?” “The Dovekeepers” by Alice Hoffman answers that question. Read more
Powell’s Sweet Shoppe
There are three big holidays a year where candy is emphasized: Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Halloween. With the Easter season upon us, there is no better time to talk about candy: jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, malted eggs, marshmallow chicks, lollipops, peanut butter eggs, and more. Read more
Papabubble Candy
My daughter was visiting her cousin in New York City when she discovered Papabubble which she pronounced “Papa Booblay,” a candy store that looks more like a chemists storefront from the exterior in Greenwich Village. Inside, the store retains its character with elegant two-tone bags with silver backing and transparent fronts bursting with colorful candies, all neatly lined up in rows along the wall. Read more
The King Arthur Flour Company: The 4 in 1 Baker’s Resource
There are an abundance of schools, supply stores, bakeries/cafes, and on-line resources dedicated to baking throughout the United States but there is only one place that combines all four: The King Arthur Flour Company. Located in Norwich, Vermont, a small town in central-eastern Vermont close to the New Hampshire border – the King Arthur store, bakery, cafe, and education center are easily accessible by car from the following major cities/towns: Read more
Exploring Madison County, Iowa
Ciudad Real, Spain: Weekend Getaway
Ciudad Real is located approximately 115 miles south of Madrid and is accessible in less than an hour from Madrid’s Atocha train station via the high-speed train Alta Velocidad Espanola (AVE). A small city of about 75,000 people, Ciudad Real is located in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha which conjures up thoughts of windmills and Don Quixote. This is the area made famous by Miguel de Cervantes more than 400 years ago in his classic Spanish literature. Read more
You Know You’re In The USA When…
Forty years of my life were spent primarily in the United States and so the culture of this great nation is at my core even though there seems to be more cultural diversity in the US than any other country in the world. Read more
The Historic Triangle: Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown
During my daughter’s primary and middle school years, history was part of her curriculum every year. She spent a year studying Spanish history and memorizing the 17 autonomous communities in Spain (and had the wisdom at age 7 to ask me “why do I have to learn these?”), another year devoted to the Middle Ages (6th grade) and a semester on Greek history which culminated in a class trip to Greece to see the sights they had been studying. At the time,we didn’t think twice about her history curriculum although my husband was on a quest to show her as many ruins as possible. Read more
Paddock Post 