Amritsar has been on my bucket list for a  long time for two reasons: The Golden Temple and Wagah Border. Despite numerous trips to India over the years, the timing was never right.  R and I were in India for a couple of weeks over the Easter holidays and I was determined to make it happen this time. Our schedule was hectic, to say the least, but we somehow managed a quick getaway to Punjab, where we spent a day in Amritsar followed by a day visiting my Nani (maternal grandmother) and family in Jalandhar.

How are you? Have you missed me?

It’s been far too long since I last wrote and a lot has happened. I won’t get into too much detail here but, life got in the way and Hungry Aphrodite had no choice but to take a backseat. I’ve missed taking photos of my food, writing about it and sharing my recipes, travels and experiences with you. I’ve missed connecting and bonding with family, friends and other food-lovers around the world, through my little world. I’ve been waiting to revive my food diaries for a while now and am excited to pick up where I left off.

If you are following me on Instagram, you will know that I have just returned from a fabulous trip to sunny Dubai.

Dubai has been on my travel bucket list for a while now and given that this was my first experience of the Middle East,  I was beyond excited. As you may know, I am also obsessed with food from this part of the world and simply couldn’t wait to be let loose in the land of mezze and shisha. 🙂

Paris in December is slowly becoming an annual tradition for our little family. Definitely not the best time of year to visit but the city of light is especially sparkly around Christmas, despite the cold and rain.

Any trip we take revolves entirely around food and we certainly couldn’t go wrong in Paris. It was little A’s first trip to Paris and macarons and crepes featured high on his list (and ours too!)

Here’s a quick snapshot of the beautiful things we saw and the delicious food we ate! 

We stayed at the beautiful Intercontinental Le Grand near Palais Garnier. This huge Eiffel Tower made entirely of Laduree macarons greeted us in the lobby upon our arrival…

You know it was a good meal when the last bite is just as enjoyable as the first. We had a couple of special meals like this on our Canarian holiday…so special that I am dedicating a whole blog post to my two favourite Lanzarote restaurants – Romantica and La Chalanita.

As the name suggests, Romantica attracts couples visiting Lanzarote for a romantic getaway. We strolled in with little R and may have ruined romance for many that evening – whoops! 😉

Romantica boasts spectacular views and a brilliant fusion menu created by Colombian chefs Jonathan and Johanna who started the restaurant 3 years ago.

Hola everyone! I am back from a sunny holiday in the Canary Islands with a serious tan and a horrible sore throat I picked up on the flight to London. 🙁

Lanzarote was amazing though –  and how could it be anything but with the blissful promise of sun, sea and sangria! We spent most of our time either by the beach at Playa Blanca in Yaiza, Lanzarote….

Or, on a boat…

Or, poolside at the  beautiful Princesa Yaiza resort, our home for the week.

Despite living in the UK for so many years, I still struggle with pubs. A selection of beers on tap doesn’t tempt me and the only time I’ve actually visited pubs lately is for Thai food (Walmer Castle/Churchill Arms in Notting Hill – Yum!) or if I’m on holiday in the country!

Pubs are unavoidable here in Surrey and thankfully, there seem to be some lovely, scenic ones around. We decided to begin our Surrey pub crawl with a visit to our local gastro-pub on a stormy bank holiday Monday afternoon.

The beauty of the Great British countryside never fails to impress me. We went on a family holiday to Wales last week and there were several moments of our journey when I actually felt I was driving through the lush green hills of Tuscany (minus the weather, of course!)

We stayed at The Manor House , a beautiful 19th century country house that is part of the massive Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, South Wales. Celtic Manor is famously known for its sprawling golf course, regarded as one of the best in the world. We weren’t here to play golf though.

I had my food blogger lens on throughout the Paris trip and what really caught my hungry eyes was the stunning food displays at marches, patisseries and shops around town.

The beautiful presentation made the simplest of foods seem even more enticing. Have a look at these drool-worthy shots and you will see what I mean.

Mont Blancs at Angelina Paris

Macarons at Angelina Paris

Normandy Oysters at a Marche in Marais

Colourful seafood at a marche in Marais

Lovely looking greens in Marais

Berries, anyone?

Flavoured butter at Breizh Cafe shop in Marais

Happy New Year, everyone!! Hope you all had a great end to 2013 and a beautiful start to the year that lies ahead. I have a good feeling about 2014 – it just has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

My 2013 ended with a fabulous trip to Paris with Mr. A to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Having been to Paris a few times before, there was no sightseeing at all on the agenda besides the obligatory view(s) of the sparkling Eiffel from various parts of the city. I was excited to simply wander the streets of Paris and take in the beauty around me – and, of course, to eat amazing food and drink good wine. 🙂

Today, I am handing the blog over to my husband (hereby known as Mr. A) who has recently returned from a lot of eating and drinking in Madrid. I loved hearing about his trip and thought a guest post on Hungry Aphrodite would be the perfect way for him to share his experiences with my hungry readers. So, here’s Mr. A!

MR. A IN MADRID

By Rahul Agarwal

Mr. Hungry Aphrodite was recently allowed a boys’ trip to Madrid on the condition that I promised to eat lots of delicious Tapas, take plenty of pictures and write a guest blog upon my return. I hope today’s post is so successful that I am sent on many such missions in the future.

My friend Hina & I spent this past weekend rediscovering Bath, a historic town located an easy 90 minute train ride from London. I have been to Bath many times before and am always mesmerized by the Georgian architecture and stunning scenery in and around town.

Pictured below are some of my favourite shots of Bath from the weekend.

After wandering the beautiful streets of Bath on Saturday, we spent Sunday relaxing at the Thermae Bath Spa, Britain’s only thermal day spa fully serviced by the mineral rich, healing waters that have made Bath so famous. The spa boasts of a warm open-air rooftop pool overlooking Bath and the countryside. Cameras aren’t allowed in the spa but hopefully these images from their website will give you an idea of the experience we had!

There are people who eat to live and then there’s those of us who live to eat. My fascination with good food doesn’t stop at eating. I must also talk, write and read about it every single chance I get.

I love food-lit and have a great selection of delicious cookbooks, healthy eating guides and food/travel memoirs scattered around my home. Flipping through these books is one of my favourite ways to switch off, unwind and drift off into a world where everything tastes heavenly and calories don’t count. 😉

Italy is one of my favourite places in the world. I have visited many times over the years and each trip has been so memorable.

Eating the most divine and authentic pizza in Naples, a beautiful Tuscan holiday with family, driving through the breathtaking Amalfi coast and discovering the best (and worst!) Italian food in Rome are just a few of my favourite memories of Italy.

Last Friday, I caught an episode of Gino’s Italian Escape, an ITV series featuring Italian chef Gino D’Acampo as he travels to various parts of  Italy introducing viewers to classic Italian recipes. In this episode, Gino was in Rome and making a traditional Roman Bucatini alla Carbonara  – without the cream.

My dear hubby surprised me with a quick getaway to Brussels over the weekend. We had been talking about a Eurostar train trip for quite some time and as much as I LOVE Paris, I was excited to explore a city that I had never been to before. My excitement multiplied after hearing about all the Belgian culinary treats on offer. Chocolate, waffles, fries and other yumminess…I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a delicious trip. And, oh yes, it was!

Here is my foodie guide to Brussels!

Belgian Chocolate

On this day, exactly one year ago, I experienced beautiful Tuscany for the very first time. I still vividly remember the long drive from Bologna to our villa at the Castello di Casole, through those spectacular green hills and vineyards. An unforgettable holiday spent with our lovely family enjoying delicious food and wine at the most luxurious  Tuscan villa – pure bliss!

I love to travel and Italy ranks high up (if not, at the top!) of my favourite destinations list. Food, dessert, wine, art, fashion, design – the Italians always seem to get it right, don’t they? From the rolling hills of Tuscany to the striking Amalfi coast, Italy never ceases to amaze me.

My first introduction to Parsi cuisine was at a friend’s dinner party in Mumbai a few years ago. The Parsis are descendants of the Persian Zoroastrian community that emigrated to India in the 8th century to avoid religious persecution. Mainly settled in Mumbai, they are a small but significant and highly eccentric group with unique customs and lovely food!

Hubby and I recently attended a friend’s wedding at the gorgeous Park Hyatt Resort in Goa, India. It was here that I was first introduced to products made by “Forest Essentials: Luxurious Ayurveda’. Founded in 2000, Forest Essentials has revived ingredients used in many old Ayurvedic recipes. Their products are sourced from plants, trees and herbs naturally grown in forests in the Himalayas – Music to my ears!

The shampoo, conditioner and sugar soap bar that we tried at the hotel were fabulous and definitely inspired me to pay a visit to their Delhi store before we headed back to London.