Trapp Family Lodge Ⅱ

On Sunday it was raining in the morning.So we woke up late and had breakfast at the bakery near the lodge.This bakery bakes breads for the restaurant in the hotel,too.

There were various kind of danishes there and all the breads we ordered were so good.

Their apple strudel seems very popular and actually it was delicious.It's highly recommended.

In the afternoon, it stopped raining and the sun came out.We went hiking in the woods.

The fresh green leaves after rain was very beautiful and we felt so relaxed in the fresh air.

My daughter enjoyed walking along the trail with finding frogs,butterflies.It was really good for kids ,too.

It was a shame that my daughter couldn't try a pony ride because the pony was sick on that day.

But she looked satisfied with watching cows instead.

We had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel.Although it looked a little fancy restaurant ,they had kids menu,too.

We ordered ram and pork.It was very big....but tasted wonderful!!

Despite of long drive,I think it's worth it.

Hopefully we want to visit this place again in autumn.

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please

Trapp Family Lodge Ⅰ

On Memorial Holidays we went to Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont.
This lodge is owned by the Trapp family who are famous for "Sound of Music".They moved in the US from Austria and found their new home in Vermont as the beautiful mountains in Vermont was similar to their home in Austria.

We left home early in the morning and it took about 5.5 hours by driving.It was not too bad.

we stopped by the Ben & Jenny ice cream factory near the lodge,where we joined the mini tour which included the history film ,watching inside the factory and tasting a cup of ice cream.

Actually it was a little chilly day ,not good day to eat ice cream. But still,their fresh ice cream was delicious.

We arrived the lodge around 1pm.We had lunch at the lounge in the lodge.

Inside the lodge,their European taste interior was nice and cozy.

After lunch ,we swam in the indoor swimming pool.My daughter was so excited with the pool.

They also have fitness,SPA and sauna for adults.We spent a time for relaxing.

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please

Get along with girls...

There are so many things to think about my daughter's school these days. She is going to be 5 in July,I know she is still very young ,but I was surprised that the girls already tend to make small groups and want to play only with the members of the group.

My daughter is a kind of person who is enjoying herself and she has no idea which group she should belong to. As the matter of the fact, the girls don't play with her ,she always plays with boys.

And she told me that she can't understand what the girls are talking and the girls don't understand what she said.

It seems like hard for her to play with talking since she has been leaning English for less than 2 years.I feel sorry for her.

In our area ,there are very few non native English speakers .That is not easy for her.Almost nobody understands why she doesn't speak English well.

It is really hard... I keep watching her and will try to find out a solution.

However ,a good thing is that she loves play with boys ,and the boys like play with her.Boys don't need to talk a lot while they are playing,they are just running around,kicking a ball or sometimes fighting....very simple.

We went to her boy friend's house and they played in a swimming pool and a sprinkler.

They had so much fun .I was wondering why she has to play with girls.If it is easy for her to play with boys ,I think it is OK!

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please

Hmart(Korean Supermarket)

We went to Mitsuwa in New Jersey again since my husband had a golf lesson at a driving range next to Mitsuwa(Japanese supermarket).

My daughter and I ate taiyaki for snack there.
: Taiyaki is a Japanese cake shaped like a snapper and sweetened red beans is stuffed inside.

I felt kind of nostalgia for Japan as I haven't eaten taiyaki for many years.

Afterward we stopped by a Korean big supermarket Hmart which my friend told me to go.

However the parking was crowded,it was worth coming.
Perishable foods were low-priced and seemed fresh.Particularly they have many kind of fresh fishery products at low price.

Also I was excited with thin sliced beef and pork as local supermarkets usually don't have very thin sliced ones and they are much cheaper than Japanese supermarkets.

and I got a huge bag of Kimchi at $8.99.I was not sure which one was good one since there were various kinds of kimchi.So I got the one many customer were picking up.

As we went on shopping, we felt like eating Korean BBQ for dinner.

After we came back home,I gave some Kimchi to our neighbors as it was too much.

And we stuffed ourselves with yummy Korean BBQ!!

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please

Roast Beef

I made roast beef with my friend today.I was taught how to cook roast beef by my mother-in-low.She is an excellent cook.
I didn't make roast beef by myself in Japan as you know beef is pricey in Japan.
But in the US it is cheaper than Japan.Why not making roast beef as much as I can while I am staying here.

I think I have made it 7or 8times so far...it's getting better but still on trials and errors.

I have a recipe from mother-in-low ,however,I think it needs delicate adjustment depending on the shape of meat or power of the ovens.

Umm...It is really difficult.
I feel I heated a little bit too long this time,although my friend looked satisfied with it.

My friend's son and my daughter seemed to like it.

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please

Hiromi Uehara's jazz live

I made a reservation for Hiromi Uehara 's jazz live at Blue note in July.
Now I am listening to her jazz albums "Hiromi's sonicbloom"and "Spiral".I am so moved with her sound.

Actually I didn't know much about her , but as soon as I got to know that she used to be at Yamaha music school in her childhood,I got interested with her background since I used to go the same school for many years and I loved watching the TV program JOC(Junior Original Concert, which is a music concert played by Yamaha's students.)
Unfortunately I ended up with learning the Electone just as a hobby,But I remember I have seen some Junior genius players practicing enthusiastically. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 (↑Photo from her web site)

Also I was so impressed with the story that Chick Corea invited Hiromi (17years old at that time)to his concert the very next day of meeting her by chance at Yamaha music school to do a rehearsal for his concert in Tokyo .
It must be destiny!!
Afterward she graduated Berklee College of Music in Boston.

As I listen to her music,I feel like the piano is not an instrument for her,but a part of her body and she can't be apart from the piano.She is literally a born musician.

Anyway I can't wait for her live!!!

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please

Blue Hills at Stone Barns (restaurant)

It was a beautiful day today!! We had lunch with our friend family
at Blue Hills at Stone Barns in Tarry Town.Blue Hills at Stone Barns is located in a huge farm owned by Rockefeller and they use some ingredients such as vegetables ,eggs and meat from their farm.

Although this place doesn't look like fancy from outside,inside the restaurant is well designed ,tastefully decorated with beautiful flowers in the center of the dining hall.
We could see the new green leaves of the spring from the inside.I've never come here for dinner yet,but I would recommend to visit here for lunch,especially in the spring.

The scenery of the bright green grass and trees are so beautiful.

The menu seems to change seasonally.I've visited here twice before and the menu was different every time I came.It was Mother's day special menu today.

These asparagus and beets burgers for amuses were dished up very cute.

Asparagus and carrots seemed in season now.
This carrot soup was so good.
I chose crab cake and lion of beef this time.
All the dishes were out of this world.I am convinced that this is one of the excellent restaurants in NY,even though it's located at a remote area in Westchester.

All of us stuffed ourselves with such a delicious lunch.

After we came out of the restaurants,we got on a hay ride which goes around inside the farm.

It was fun and my daughter was so excited with it ,although I felt a little bit badly when I saw cows and pigs...

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please

Tofu Soup

We went to IKEA in New Jersey to get my daughter's table and chairs. This is the table set.I love the color.Isn't it cute?My daughter seems to like it.It was fun to look around furniture and kitchen utensils.

After we left IKEA,my husband went to golf driving range.Meanwhile my daughter and I were shopping at Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa and book store Sanseido.

I got some Japanese drills for my daughter.

For dinner ,we went to a Korean restaurant "So Kong Dong" (130Main St,Fort Lee NJ07024),which seems like popular for Tofu Soup(Chige).When we arrived at the restaurant around 7:30pm ,many people were waiting in front of the restaurant.

However,we decided to wait since my husband was saying the tofu soup tasted so good.We got our seats about 30minutes later.I was so hungry at that time and I couldn't wait the food as the smell in the restaurant was so good.We ordered Tofu Soup with Beef ,Oyster Tofu Soup and Beef BBQ.

All of them were tasted good ,but I think Oyster Tofu Soup was more tasty than beef one.My daughter ate Beef BBQ a lot.We can choose the spicy level.We chose the second to the mildest.It was not so hot.

Actually I ate "Tofu Soup " for the first time.I liked it because it seems healthy and tastes good.Also I love the vegetable dishes the most Korean restaurant serve such as Kimchi ,bean sprout.

This restaurant was worth waiting.Only issue was they don't have alcohols.

It is a shame..... their spicy food definitely match beers.

onegaishimasu... ↓



↑click this button please