Sunday Cooking (Athens, Greece)

Baked Eggplants from Vefa's Kitchen

I've had Vefa's Kitchen Greek cookbook in my book case for over a year and have hardly touched it. Perhaps I listened too intently to my Greek friends who laughed at me for having bought it, telling me Vefa has turned into quite the cult figure over here in Greece. Shame on me. 

I love the book's minimal and clear design, plus its beautiful photographs. And isn't that reason enough to buy it in the first place? I also found it very handy that all measurements are given in metric and imperial, as well as temperatures in Fahrenheit and Celsius.

And so this Sunday afternoon I finally decided to try out one of her recipes: baked aubergines (or Καπακωτή in Greek). The dish was, although a bit time-consuming, very easy to make. I did add some more chile pepper as most Greek dishes are a bit bland to my taste. The result: a tasty and healthy early fall vegetable dish!

Do you love eggplants as much as we do? Check here for another delicious eggplant recipe by our very own hungry nomad.  

The Old Faithful Shop (Vancouver, Canada)

The Old Faithful Shop is situated in historic Gastown. The owners — Savannah Olsen and Walter Manning — source eclectic goods from all over the world, most of them handmade. Homeware, small leather goods, desktop lamp, flower pot, stationery and books are a few examples.  If not to buy you must take a look inside as the duo has really done a great job with the design...but I trust if you step inside you won't leave empty handed. If you do don't fret- they also offer an online shop. 

The Old Faithful Shop is located at:

320 West Cordova Street Vancouver, BC V6B 1E8 (778) 327-9376

A Gulf Coast Weekend (Pensacola Beach, USA)



Margaritaville Hotel





The Count on a stroll




Jellyfish season



Where to stay: Margaritaville Beach Hotel


Where to eat: 


Hemingway's Island Grill (great dinner location, great food and atmosphere)


Native Cafe (great breakfast and amazing homemade key lime pie)


Peg Leg Pete's (great seafood and fun atmosphere)

Sunday at Zante (Zakynthos, Greece)

Zante Town

One Saigon (Vancouver, Canada)

Lucky for me, I have a Vietnamese restaurant literally in my backyard. One Saigon is a tiny restaurant offering different specials every day of the week (including phos, Vietnamese sandwiches and shrimp spring rolls). The best part is that it is fast and cheap...making it a great place for a quick work lunch.


One Saigon is located on Hornby street just across from the Vancouver Court House. 

Beef Ball Pho 

Oman Impressions (Oman)

Last year I visited Oman. If you are a fan of impressive landscapes, whether on land or under water, this is definitely the place to visit. While snorkeling, I felt like swimming in an aquarium right in the middle of crowds of huge (and admittedly a bit scary) moray eels, cute little box fish, beautiful rays and tons of other brightly colored fish. Happy!

Hiking in the vast, bare mountains, past old deserted stone villages, steep canyons and in the wadis (oasis) I felt awestruck by the natural beauty surrounding me.

And walking through the bazaars and forts provided me with all the fragrant scents, abundant friendliness and historical sense this country has to offer. In the winter (October - February) the climate is mild and perfect for a bit of exploring. Enjoy a few of my impressions. 


Note to self: I definitely want an underwater camera.

Sunday Wine (Zakynthos, Greece)

Yup, that's red wine from the tap. Genius.

Jules French Bistro: Save your money and RUN! Horrible service by rude staff...(serving overpriced food) (Vancouver, Canada)

Dear Readers, 
I usually don't write reviews on places I absolutely dislike but I really feel that its my duty to tell the world about this horrible place in order to save them their money, peace of mind and time. 
Jules French Bistro claims to have french food and apparently french attitude? 
What can I say about this place? In a city with amazing restaurants at every corner there is NO need to put up with this sort of service anywhere. After all we are not in France and even in France they don't treat you as badly as the host treated us last night (and I should know- I lived in Paris for 2 years and NOWHERE in Paris were staff so outrageously RUDE). 
An old diva with dyed blonde hair is the host or manager at this place and he was not only rude to us but every single person that walked in the restaurant. No wonder they were about to close for business a few years ago. With that sort of attitude this man is chasing the customers away (he definitely chased us away last night). Reservations were made for 8:30 for a group of 7. We arrived at 8:25 to have the nasty host tell us we were early and walked away. Then the rest of our party arrived except our one friend who was at home putting her newborn to bed. Our table was clearly not ready at 8:30. We waited around until 9 pm... having not been acknowledged by anyone at the restaurant we asked when our table would be ready. We were told that our entire party wasnt there. We asked if our table was ready and he said NO. So what difference would it make if our friend arrived when there was nowhere to seat us in the first place? At any other restaurant the host would probably apologize for not having a table ready for us when reservations were made for 8:30. However here we were to blame because one of our friends had not arrived even when a table was not available. His complete arrogance and tone of voice added to the disappointment. The host was so rude we ended up turning around and leaving to Cobre ( A much better ambiance and food) and the host said to us: SEE YA!
Clearly we are not the only ones that feel this way about this disrespectful rude man at this restaurant... I checked out reviews on this place and most people have had similar treatment by the same host. There should be a law against allowing men like him to interact with customers.  Word to the owners if you want to stay in business perhaps you should think about hiring a new host with an agreeable attitude!!!!

Dinner at the Port (Zakynthos, Greece)

Last time we visited our favorite island Zakynthos, we decided to eat at the main port of the island. I've passed by this place each and every time I set foot on the island, but had never considered a tavern at this busy transport hub to be a good choice for a nice dinner out. So boy, was I surprised when I noticed the lovely nautical decor, including some amazing vintage pieces I was ready to take home then and there (the radio! the fan!). All this prettiness nicely hidden from the travelers coming and going from the ferries. Our food was well prepared, the wine local and the sunset very agreeable. My favorites: the grilled veggies and the stuffed sardines.

Komis Fish Tavern is not the cheapest option in town, but it's well worth the experience. Supposedly their bathrooms are a sight in and of itself. I have to admit though that not every guest was as big a fan of two of Ratatouille's friends checking out the grounds once darkness had set...