Babymoon in Italy and Spain!!

Makoto and I were in Italy and Spain for the last little while on our BABYMOON! :)  We figure this is the easiest way to travel with a child :P 

Once we found out we were pregnant, one of the first things on our to do list was to plan our babymoon.  Historically, the term "babymoon" referred to the time where you enjoy your newborn baby but it is now often used to describe the vacation many new parents take BEFORE the baby is born to enjoy some time together and rest before the many sleepless nights ahead of them!

We have both always wanted to go to Spain so Barcelona was an easy choice.  It's hard to go to Europe and not visit at least one other beautiful country so we decided on Italy (really...so I can gorge on nutella (my #1 pregnancy craving) and so Makoto can stuff his face with fresh gnocchi).  We finally decided on Venice, Florence and Barcelona.


A major highlight of our trip was being joined by our good friends Mendel and Haruka in Venice for an international double date :).  They also just became engaged so we had lots to celebrate!!  What a gorgeous and romantic city!  

Makoto and I are both big fans of renaissance art, fresco painting, obsessed with the history of the Medici family and big Brunelleschi and Michaelangelo fans so Florence was an awesome leg of our trip.  We tried to take in as much art and architecture as possible,

We climbed to the top of the Duomo for the amazing views of Florence (Brunelleschi and his team used over 4 million bricks just to finished the top of the dome.....how he designed and engineered this in the 15th century is pure genius) and lit a candle for our baby.....

We hung out at the Bobali Gardens...one of our fave places in Florence....

Spain was a first for both of us and we just took in as much Gaudi as we possibly could! 

And were able to take a quick day trip to Sitges...highly, HIGHLY recommended!

One day we will go back to Spain and I'll be able to taste every single one of these Spanish wines and cavas but for now, iced herbal teas are my champagne:

We had such a lovely, relaxing and romantic time away :)  We feel refreshed and are now nesting and getting ready for our baby! 

Before you go away for your babymoon, make sure that:
1.  You and your baby are in good health
2.  It's ideal to travel in your 2nd trimester
3.  Make sure there are no breakouts of viruses, such as Rubella, that can harm your baby in the place you want to travel.
4.  Check the location of local hospitals in the area that you will be staying at so you feel secure about having an emergency place to go to juuuuuuuuuuuuust in case.
5.  Take it easy and enjoy yourself!!!

HAPPY BABYMOONING!!

:)
Aileen Lim-Trotter

Getting in touch with your roots: Our Trip to Japan & Korea

It was amazing to travel back to the motherland with Aileen.

I know for both of us, we feel an affinity with our respective cultures in Japan and Korea, despite having both grown up in Canada. I always notice how passionate Aileen is about her Korean heritage, and having been back to Japan after a hiatus of almost fifteen years, I realize how amazing it feels to be connected back with my roots as well. I was also so excited to share a part of my culture with Aileen (and of course, I knew she would go nuts with the endless shopping in Tokyo!). This made it an important and incredible trip for us both.

The one thing I do notice about the Japanese culture, is that there seems to be a well functioning hybrid of extremes. Japan has always been on the leading edge of advanced technology, but this is fused with culture that is steeped deep with ancient tradition. This is apparent in the core of bustling Tokyo, with endless retail and fluorescent signs...

...Yet, turn a corner and you may find youself at a serene well-preserved and active temple:



You can also notice this in most bathrooms, which often still maintain the custom of changing into bathroom-specific slippers, yet have the most high-tech toilet seats as standard issue (photo: notice the array of buttons and dials on the control panel).


One other thing I learned from being in Japan is that for such a populous place (Tokyo's current population is about 13 million!), there is an unbelievable amount of respect, courtesy and cleanliness. Check out this rack of bikes in busy Shinjuku...notice there aren't any locks (this would be cleaned out in 2 minutes flat in Toronto):

We were helped out with directions countless times (the network of trains and subways in Tokyo is boggling!), and were consistently amazed with how patient and helpful everyone was despite my broken Japanese.

Unfortunately, as Aileen also pointed out, we were surprised with how much of modern Japanese food has become saturated with preservatives and artificial chemicals...which is in great contrast to the health-optimizing traditional Japanese diet.

Just a few of the many other contrasts include the typical stature of Japanese compared to their monstrous athletic brethren in sumo; conservative clothes contrasted with bold, sometimes outlandish streetwear; quiet, respectfulness varied with well-known crazy Japanese gameshows and manga culture.

Reminders we took home from this trip:

• Get in touch with your heritage, and know your roots
• Incorporate traditional Japanese foods as part of a healthy diet: miso soup, seafood, seaweed, healthy stews
• Cold, unsweetened tea is an affordable, refreshing and healthy alternative to juices
• Always be respectful and helpful to others
• Be sure to balance a busy worklife with a much-needed vacation!
  

We're Baaaaaack! Amazing times at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul and Exploring Tokyo!

Oh my goodness!!  I LOOOOOOOVE KOREA AND JAPAN!!  What a wonderful way to begin 2011 :)


We started our trip in Seoul at our fave hotel, The Shilla.  After working straight through the holidays, we wanted to start our trip with some uber relaxation and there is no better place in Seoul than The Shilla to do this.  It has excellent, EXCELLENT service, an awesome gym, yummy restaurants and an extensive wine list at the lounge, amazing outdoor pool to enjoy in the summer  and THE BEST sauna and Korean Bath amenities EVER (Makoto and I are huge hydrotherapy fans and basically live in the pool/gym/sauna/steam room every time we stay here).  We went out our first night in Seoul to meet up with friends but after that, we spent the next few days relaxing, eating yummy food and visiting our fave spots in Seoul.

Entrance to gym/sauna at The Shilla:


Thank goodness we took the time to decompress because...

TOKYO IS CRAAAAAAAAZY!!  Since it was my first time in Tokyo, Makoto was my wonderful tour guide and we spent the week checking out all the major sites (Shinjuku, Harajuku, Shibuya, Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, Roponggi, Tsukiji Fish Market (the best sashimi I've ever had), Ginza, Asakusa, etc) which were insane, beautiful and completely inspiring.  I can't get over how clean and organized such an intense city can be. 

And...of course...THE SHOPPING.  Oh. My. Goodness.  I was in shopping heaven.  I shopped.....

and shopped....



and shopped...



and Makoto was so patient...until he finally had a mini (much understood) freak-out on me and reminded me that we had bought another two pieces of luggage to carry all of my treasures back home in :) hehehe.


We were also so lucky to be there during the Sumo Tournament.  Even if you know nothing about sumo, you quickly become a fan.  They still strictly follow all the interesting rituals and traditions of the game, the rules are easy to follow and you can feel the love that everyone has for the Sumo wrestlers (who are considered national heroes).

Makoto eating Chanko Nabe (Sumo Soup):

Even though we were on holidays, we still tried to keep ourselves as balanced as possible.  We knew we'd be doing a lot of this (how can you resist fresh draught beer and "highballs" which are whiskey/soda/lemon at almost every snack bar/cafe/restaurant/izakaya in both cities):


So we still made sure to hit the gym, drink lots of water/green tea and get lots of good sleep in.  One thing we noticed in both cities is that there is such an extreme in the food.  It's either completely healthy, natural and nutritious if you choose to eat traditional Korean/Japanese (Korean soups/ban chan, Japanese nabe mono/sushi/sashimi, barley/green tea) food or completely synthetic, fried and MSG laden (ramen, curry rice, aspartame in almost everything sweet...especially beverages in Japan).  We definitely gravitated towards more traditionally prepared foods but had fun trying everything!|



Also, one thing we always splurge on whether at home or away are massages.  We were in massage heaven in both Seoul and Tokyo but I must say that Ariran Spa in Shinjuku was AAAAH-mazing!  They incorporate both Swedish and Shiatsu massage techniques and finish every treatment with layering hot towels over your body then wrapping you up in a thermal blanket while they gently knead your muscles.  To. Die. For.


I've been up since the crack of dawn (forgot to take my melatonin last night!!) so I did laundry (5 loads) and am looking through all my souvenirs and pics.  I heart Seoul and Tokyo forever and caaaaaan't wait to go back!!!



Now...time to plan the next trip!!!  Spain?  South of France?

Vacation Time!! Korea and Japan!!



Makoto and I often write "TAKE A VACATION!!!" on our prescription pads to our patients.  There is nothing more relaxing and healing for your mind, body and soul than taking off to a fun and exciting destination!  It's amazing how countless patient's eczema/IBS/migraines will completely vanish while on vacation....this is our body reminding us how healthy we can be if we take time to enjoy life!!  We decided to spend my upcoming 30th birthday in Korea (going home to the motherland!  I LOVE KOREA!!) and then Makoto is taking me to Japan...he's been there a handful of times but this will be my first!!  TOOOOOO exciting!  Our office manager now refers to January as Japanuary :)  I was looking at pics of our last visit to Seoul last summer and here are just a few highlights:

Visiting my old school and dorm where I spent the last year of University - Yonsei University:





Drinking shi-keh (Korean rice beverage) at Dragon Hill Spa...great place to go for a massage and a manicure if you can`t sleep at 4 in the morning!!! 



Visiting Palaces, making paper, playing with traditional Korean toys and exploring Hanok Korean Village:

Late night shopping for the most random things:

 Food, food and more food:

And of course karaokeing!!

We were so sad to go (last late night/post Dragon Hill Spa 3am meal):

But at least we were able to come home to our little Rambo and give him his new Taekwondo outfit!



Rx:  TAKE A FUN VACATION!!

Getting Back in the Groove After Vacationing in South Beach, Miami

We spent this past weekend in South Beach, Miami for a quick relaxing weekend.  WOW....people in Miami are BUFF.  I guess that's what happens when you can be in your bikini year round!

One thing I loooooooooooove about being on vacation is not having to cook.  We were lucky to be travelling with our friend who's a frequent flyer so we had all access to the members lounge at our hotel.  Makoto and I had no shame....we were there numerous times a day to gorge on their daily breakfast/lunch/dinner/cocktails & cordial presentations.....pain au chocolat, waldorf salad, tuna tartare, grouper with roasted vegetables and berry mousse galore.  I was in heaven.

Then we came home and the last thing I felt like doing was cooking dinner.  We went to our usual fave Korean restaurant for dinner then forced ourselves to go grocery shopping.  BEST thing we could have done.  We knew that we wouldn't want to make any involved recipes so we grabbed:

Surviving the ‘Free’ Drinks and All You Can Eat Buffet at An All-Inclusive Vacation

One day this February, after *lovingly* telling Makoto that he was breathing too loudly, I determined that I was either majorly deficient in B-vitamins or completely lacking from the happy rays of sunlight. Since I religiously take my B-vitamins, I knew that the lack of sun, warmth and all the wonderful glowing things that pure sunshine can do for someone had finally taken its toll. My very understanding and patient husband immediately booked an all-inclusive trip to Mexico.

We usually try to stay away from all-inclusives since we live for travelling, exploring new territory and trying all sorts of different cuisine but in the middle of our gloomy Canadian winter, 7days on a beach without having to think about your next meal or accomodations was veeeeeeeeeery appealing.

We welcomed the wave of humidity and brightness of the sun rays with open arms. The overflowing taps of ice-cold Corona and endless bottles of champagne at our all-inclusive resort also helped. After downing our third cerveza (beer) /glass of bubbly within the first twenty minutes of our arrival, we realized that we were going to that dark place…..we call it the “starving student” mode. A combination of being on a restricted post-secondary student’s budget for over eight years tied in with our greediness for anything that tastes delicious turns us into these scary consumption monsters. So after giving each other a pep talk and reminding each other that we must not embarrass one another, we came up with these rules to enjoy our holiday while keeping our good health in mind: