Andalusia - my favourites

During our stay in Andalusia we tried to balance relaxed days with sightseeing and spending as much time as possible playing with little H.

 Our hotel was amazing - set right on the beach with beautiful views on the sea and mountains. Fantastic pool area and small pool for babies were great place to relax in the sun and provided plenty of fun for the little one. Nice green grounds around the hotel were indispensable for our active girl to run around - it was great advantage of this small resort and we loved it.

 However every other second day we headed out to discover local towns, villages and andalusian culture. Here's a list of my favourite places we have been to.

Ronda - recommended town by all guidebooks didn't disappoint us. Full of character thanks to the breathtaking canion. Beautiful views, one of the oldest bull rings and a museum was worth the visit. 

Cesares - this was a total surprise and probably the best trip of the whole holiday. We found it by chance deciding on a whim to extend our drive and head towards what was on a local map - town with picture of a castle' ruins.  It turned out to be absolutely magical - very quiet and beautiful little white town - pueblos blancos as they known locally. We walked around through tiny cobbled streets in silence, listening to surrounding sounds. It was extremely peaceful - perhaps because of the siesta time. We had super relaxed lunch there in a small village cafe, by ourselves and H was playing with a cute dog who kept us company. It was magical and unforgettable experience.

Ojen - another little town where at the time of our visit, preparation for a local festival was happening. Amazing, windy streets, secret side caves and very cool museum of oil of olive and local eau de vie de Ojen. Really enjoyed that museum as was always curious how olive oil is made.

Estepona - next town by the coast from Marbella, quite touristy but what I like about it was beautiful long beach and lovely promenade perfect for a long walk with stunning views. This town also has one of the coolest restaurants we went to called Rickie's. It's almost secret place hidden in a maze of small little white streets. The inside of it could not be further from Spanish style. It's been meticulously decorated with pictures of old Hollywood movie stars and tiny lamps that give the place this cool kitschy character. The food was also good!

Marbella's old town - very pretty old town with small streets and plenty of delicious restaurants.

Malaga - old town was really beautiful in Malaga with amazing cathedral in its centre. Lively little streets full of restaurants and shops gave it a real city vibe. Picasso's museum set in beautiful building was one of the highlights.

We also went to Giblartar, which was quite interesting. We got on the top of the rock by cable car and said hello to wild monkeys, the residents of the rock.

Overall this was a fantastic holiday, full of sun, good food and discoveries. We will be back!

Ronda:

Ceseares:

Ojen:

Esteapona:

Late holidays

Our holidays season has come and we are lucky to had travelled abroad and discover beauty of Andalusia. This southern region of Spain is well known for its wonderful landscape, beaches and moorish architecture. 

We located ourselves in quiet part of Marbella city - Gualdamina. Our hotel has stunning views on the sea and mountains at the same time.

As much as we like to relax the plan is to go sightseeing too. We love exploring new places and different cultures and would love our little daughter to enjoy it too!

Review of holiday packing tips

Surfing through the web in order to find some help on packing I found this wonderful blog A Pair and A Spare. The author has many posts on how to pack light and I've read all of them. Mixing her advice, tips for other places and my own experience - I'd packed, went on holidays and came back. Now it's time for some feedback and review. 

Firstly - destination: I was away for over two weeks, in a big city but knowing I might be going more relaxed places like countryside. Weather: very hot summer time, it turned out it was even warmer than expected.  

So I decided to follow the 5,4,3,2,1 rule which allows you to take 5 tops( including jacket), 4 bottoms, 3 dresses and 3 pairs of shoes, 2 handbags and 2 accessories - sunglasses and a straw hat in my case, 1 watch. What was super helpful was lying all the clothes and accessories on the floor and making sure I have a colour theme. This also allowed me to see different outfit combinations. Definitely something I will do again.

 However I know I've packed too many shoes - I could have lived in maybe two of them. 

Another feedback - there were two items I haven't worn at all - jeans jacket ( it was too hot for it) and a black top ( I had another one in black). 

Going forward I will definitely follow the rule but edit final picks even more to make sure I don't bring items I'm not going to wear. Can't wait to next holidays . Luckily another trip is still ahead of me in couple of weeks - destination Andalusia!

Easy delicious dinners

To have an idea what to cook every night as a busy working mother is sometimes a bit of a chalange for me. Therefore I came up with idea to build up a list of fail safe favourites which tick all those three most important criteria when eating well:

They need to be:

- delicious

- don't require special ingredients

- quick to make

So far my favourites are: 

Ratatouille 

Gratin 

Veggie pasta

Veggie tortilla

All the above are well tested except recent discovery which is gratin.

So easy to make and you can throw in any veggies you have left over from the week.

Ratatouille is the one that takes a bit longer to cook, but huge advantage here is that it cooks itself - meaning after the hard work of chopping all your ingredients you just throw it in the pot and leave it on a small heat and let the magic happen. That's my favourite summer/ autumn dish! But we are loving them all!

Mini holidays

Holidays it's something that I am to busy to even think about at the moment but every so often I get that message displayed in my brain: You need holidays! Half of the year is already gone and I'm staring to feel it. Also I'm being reminded about the fact that it's holiday season by all co workers and friends who are just about to go to some exotic places or just back. My body starts to scream for a break!

Luckily I got a fabulous birthday present from my husband - a weekend away in a hotel, spa hotel it is. Couple of years ago I would consider it as the most boring thing to do but when you a parent your views change dramatically. The idea of a spa weekend equals vision of heaven for me now. 

Set in the beautifully green part of Irish countryside the hotel proved to do the job. The tranquil setting helped enormously to recharge my batteries. The spa treatment was superb. The mini holidays were a big success and that quiet time will be remembered for long. Yes to more mini holidays!

Desserts

To serve a desert or not to serve. To your child it is. My answer is definitely yes. The true secret is in balance and moderation and I wish I was a pro at this. But hey what life would be without trying to improve every day!

I've read an article about children food education that is part of their everyday upbringing in France and it made a lot of sense to me. Also I saw it in practice when and I spent time living with French families as an au pair. One of the things that stands out is the fact that children get cheese for dessert from a very early age. And they treat it as a desert. Such a great idea! There is a huge variety of cheese in France and they are truly delicious.

I've decided to try similar approach and serve cheese after dinner to our little girl- so far she tried soft ones like Camembert and harder types like cheddar. Begining wasn't to promising but now the little piece is dissapearing in no time!

Also natural yoghurt is a part of our dessert routine and a piece of fruit. No need to explain how delicious these are!

Birthdays Season

End of June is a very busy season for us - 5 family members have birthday around that time including myself. 

I love celebrating and entertaining and don't think I'll ever grow out of this. 

Firstly the search for perfect presents begins, secondly - card making. As I am very determined to make my own cards, this takes time. I love crafting but don't have as much time to do it as I wished. The only way, as a full time working mother, is to become more organised and focused. But this is a completely different subject.

My newly discovered passion for cooking was fully indulged while preparing birthday lunch for my husband. We had a small family gathering and were lucky to enjoy rare summer weather and eat alfresco. Here is what we served:

- courgette, mint and feta salad ( delicious)

- green salad with tomatoes and herbs

- vegetable quiche

- prosecco for aperitif 

- mojito cheesecake ( sugar free)

Children ate the same as adults except for the drink and desert. 

The biggest excitement came with the cheesecake - it was frozen and super healthy. Luckily super delicious too!