BY: BROOK WILKINSON

Lupins bloom above the ancient Inca ruins of Choquequirao in the Andes, Peru. Photo: Adriana Von Hagen

Where to go in April? That’s easy: Flowers in full bloom, festive celebrations, and mild temperatures make this early spring month a lovely time to visit many parts of the globe. The best deals usually appear starting one week after Easter (April 1 this year).

Washington, D.C.

National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, D.C. Photo: National Cherry Blossom Festival

Washington, D.C., is great in the spring before Memorial Day, when you can avoid the high season while taking advantage of the balmy weather. Several fun events take place in April this year: the National Cherry Blossom Festival’s Petalpalooza Parade (April 15); the Home Opener Day for the Washington Nationals (April 5); the Smithsonian Craft Show (April 27–30); and the Wine and Food Fest just down the Potomac River in National Harbor, Maryland (April 28–29).

Paris

There’s nothing more romantic than a view of the Eiffel Tower. Photo: Paris Perfect

Discover the first hints of spring in Paris while strolling through the Tuileries or pausing a moment under the blossoming trees by Notre Dame Cathedral; in April, the weather is usually mild and the city is bedecked in blossoms. You’ll beat the tourist crowds before they arrive later in the spring and catch some excellent art exhibits, too: a long-awaited retrospective of Mary Cassatt at the Musée Jacquemart-André, a celebration of the 80th anniversary of the creation of Guernica at the Musée Picasso, and an exhibition illustrating the beginning of modernity at the Centre Pompidou, to name a few.

Riviera Maya, Mexico

Tulum, Riviera Maya. Courtesy Journey Mexico

Starting a week after Easter Sunday and running through May, rates are low, resorts aren’t too crowded, and the weather is pleasant (mid to high 80s) with little rain.

Hawaii

Makena, Maui. Photo: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson

April means an optimal combination of great weather and relatively low prices in the islands. (Just make sure to avoid the crush of visitors and higher rates that Spring Break brings.)

Peru

Lupins bloom above the ancient Inca ruins of Choquequirao in the Andes, Peru. Photo: Adriana Von Hagen

April sees the best mix of weather both inland and on Peru’s coast; it’s sunny and warm in Lima, and dry and temperate in the Andes. Since the rainy season has just ended, the air is clear, and the fields are green and lush, dotted with the yellow, pink, and mauve hues of quinoa, amaranth, lupins, and potatoes ready to harvest.

Seville and Andalusia

Seville, Spain

Spain is always at its best when people are celebrating something—such as Feria, Seville’s April Fair (it always take place two weeks after Easter, so occasionally falls during May). If you visit then, we can get you into a private casita belonging to a respected family, not a corporation—a huge deal. April is also a lovely time to relax in the sun on the Costa del Sol, before it gets crowded with summer visitors. 

Netherlands

Spring is tulip time in the Netherlands. Photo: Keukenhof Gardens

April is bright and pleasant, and it’s prime time for Tulipmania, when the Keukenhof (one of the world’s largest flower gardens) is full of blooms. King’s Day, on April 27, is the biggest street party of the year in Amsterdam; it’s very busy, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the Dutch joie de vivre (you can also enjoy the parades and festivities in a more rural setting). There’s also the Spring Beer Festival in the Posthoornkerk, a beautiful old basilica, on April 22. By traveling in April, you’ll also miss the public holidays in May that bring out large crowds.

Mediterranean Cruises

Sailing through Venice, Italy aboard the Crystal Serenity. Photo courtesy Crystal Cruises.

April is the perfect month to enjoy the brilliant blue skies in the Mediterranean, when the sunny days start to outnumber the cold and cloudy ones of winter. Cruise ships have just re-positioned to the region, so you can explore iconic ports such as Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Rome, and Venice without the crowds and heat of summertime. And fares are lower, since this is considered the off-season.

Istanbul

Istanbul, Turkey. Photo courtesy Crystal Cruises.

During the annual tulip festival in April, the city is awash in millions (literally) of colorful blooms. The weather is temperate, perfect for visiting the outdoor ancient sites that can be scorching in summer—and the tourist hordes have not yet arrived. Since it’s shoulder season, there are deals to be had at hotels.

Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic

Prague, Czech Republic. Photo: Joseph Pisani

April means mild weather, springtime flowers, and no bus-tour crowds in Eastern Europe. This year Easter is April 1 and there are charming holiday markets and festivals in Vienna leading up to the holiday. In Budapest, the Spring Fair runs all month long with folk music, dancing, and concerts. In Prague, popular Easter Markets are running through April 8. Crowded summertime destinations, such as Lake Balaton in Hungary and the Wachau Valley in Austria, are relatively tranquil. In the Czech Republic, all the countryside castles are just reopening from their winter dormancy.

Crete

The island of Spinalonga, Crete, Greece. Photo: Blue Palace Resort and Spa

Renowned for its rich local culture, Crete is a wonderful place to visit in April when Greek Orthodox Easter falls during that month, as it does this year (on the 8th). Experience renowned Cretan hospitality throughout the festive celebrations, which are distinctive to Greece’s most southern (and thus warmest) island. There are also beautiful wildflowers in April, fewer crowds, and lower hotel rates than you’ll find later in spring.

Maldives

Huvafen Fushi, Maldives. Photo: Huvafen Fush

European vacationers drive up prices from Christmas through Easter, but for the few weeks after this period, you’ll find a sweet spot of lower hotel rates and ideal weather: Temperatures are consistently in the high 80s year-round, but in late April there is almost no rain or wind, so the water is calm for snorkeling and diving.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea. Photo: Pixabay/freesally

In April the rainy season is just ending, so prices are better than in the high months of May, June, and July.

Luang Prabang, Laos

Monks in Luang Prabang, Laos. Photo: Flickr/jayarc

Songkran, the Lao New Year, is celebrated in mid-April with a whole week of parades, street markets, and concerts. Tradition holds that revelers douse one another with water in order to wash away the past year’s sins; unlike in Thailand, where you might well be ambushed outside your hotel in the morning, in Laos the locals usually ask before splashing you.

CroatiaCuba

England: Castles,

Germany: Bavaria

Greece: Athens

Israel

Israel: Jerusalem

Italy: Lake Como villas

ItalMexico City

Myanmar

Namibia

Nepal

New Zealand

New Zealand: Bay of Islands

New Zealand: Queenstown hiking and cycling

Patagonia

Peru: Machu Picchu

River Rafting in the American West

Russia: Moscow

Russia: St. Petersburg

Scotland: wildflowers and deals

Seychelles

South Africa: Cape Town and Vietnam: north and Central region

Where to Go in February: The Best Places to Travel

The depths of winter make for the heights of sightseeing in many destinations that are usually overcrowded. Here are the best places to travel in February.

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BROOK WILKINSON

While the last 10 days of December spell crowds and exorbitant prices, the first two-thirds of the month can be a serene time to travel.

Travel Tips

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By: Marie Telling…

Macaroons ~ What it is: Little almond-meringue cookies filled with flavored buttercream.

Why it’s awesome: You can get them in basically every flavor you want. And when they’re done right, they’re like little bites of heaven melting in your mouth.
2. French Lemon Pie

What it is: A buttery crust filled with lemon curd.
Why it’s awesome: It’s refreshing, sweet, and slightly less tangy than its American counterpart (but just as good).
3. Crème Brûlée

What it is: A custard topped with a crisp caramel layer.
Why it’s awesome: There are few things in life as satisfying as cracking the caramel layer of a crème brûlée with the back of your spoon.
4. Crêpes

What it is: Very thin pancakes filled with just about anything you can think of.
Why it’s awesome: They’re super fun to eat, and you can accommodate everybody’s tastes with all the different fillings — like Nutella, strawberries and cream, or maple syrup.
5. Chocolate Soufflé

What it is: An ~ethereal~ chocolate cake with a crispy crust and a soft middle.
Why it’s awesome: It manages to be both light and rich. (And chocolate is involved, which is always a good thing.)

6. Madeleines

What it is: Fluffy and delightful little buttery cakes.
Why it’s awesome: They’re simple yet addictive, and you can stray from the traditional recipe to create different flavors.
7. Chocolate Meringue

What it is: A crunchy meringue with chocolate swirls and a slightly chewy inside.
Why it’s awesome: Meringue is already pretty amazing on its own, but add some chocolate to the equation and it’s even better.
8. Clafoutis

What is it: A flan-like cake usually filled with cherries.
Why it’s awesome: Soft texture + tart cherries = a truly perfect summer bake.

9. Tarte Tatin

What it is: An upside-down caramelized apple pie, basically.
Why it’s awesome: Caramelized apples and a crispy crust. What more do you need?
10. Chocolate Mousse

What it is: I mean, it’s a chocolate mousse.
Why it’s awesome: It’s light, rich, fluffy, and chocolatey. (In other words, it’s pretty much perfect.)
11. Dacquoise

What it is: A pastry made of layers of whipped cream and hazelnut meringue.
Why it’s awesome: The contrast between the crunch of the meringue and the softness of the cream? It’s next level.

12. Nougat

What it is: A candy from Southern France made with honey, egg whites, and nuts.
Why it’s awesome: Variations of this specialty exist all around the Mediterranean Sea. The French version is soft and sweet — and might use pistachios, almonds, or hazelnuts.
13. Éclairs

What it is: A pastry made with pâte à choux (or light dough), filled with flavored custard and topped with glossy icing.
Why it’s awesome: There’s something for everyone: Along with traditional chocolate and coffee éclairs, you can now often find many flavors — like raspberry and pistachios — in French bakeries.
14. French Chocolate Cake

What it is: Chocolate cake. Enough said.
Why it’s awesome: Every French household has their own take on this classic. Three signs of a good one? Delicious chocolate, soft cake, and a crispy crust.
15. Crêpes Suzette

What it is: Crêpes flambé in a sauce that’s made of butter, caramel, orange, and Grand Marnier.
Why it’s awesome: Because who doesn’t love setting a dessert on ~fire~?
16. Kouign-Amann

What it is: A cake from the Brittany region made of sugar-crusted layers of dough and butter.
Why it’s awesome: Butter. Lots of it.
17. French Apple Pie

What it is: A longtime favorite that French grandmas swear by.
Why it’s awesome: Compared to its American counterpart, French apple pies are always thin-crusted, open-faced, and only have one layer of apple slices. They’re equal parts straightforward and super satisfying.
18. Paris-Brest

What it is: A cream puff sandwich stuffed with praline-flavored cream.
Why it’s awesome: I repeat: it’s a cream puff sandwich stuffed with praline-flavored cream.
19. Chocolate Pots de Crème

What it is: Chocolate cream often served with some Chantilly.
Why it’s awesome: It’s creamy AND it’s chocolatey — aka everything that’s good in this world.

The invitation read “front row only” and true to its inscription there was only front row seating at today’s fall 2016 Chanel show. To give everyone a front row seat, wooden-backed chairs, like the kind you’d find in an atelier, wrapped the entire length of Paris’ Grand Palais. (Invitations came with maps to help guests navigate the three separate entrances.)

That meant each model took a trip down a catwalk that ran well over a mile. One source tells us the runway added up to 1.6 miles (and that’s not including the finale walk). Thank goodness then that the shoes were incredibly practical: pink tweed wellies, flat knee high-boots, and the tiniest of kitten heels.

Nothing to distract from the clothes—classic tweed suits, sporty parkas, tent-like trenches, flowing frocks with corsetry details—which everyone could see up close from their front row seat. Nothing of course, except the celebrity models (Kendall Jenner, Gigi and Bella Hadid)…

KENDALL JENNER WALKS CHANEL FALL 2016

This was made even more charming when Lagerfeld brought his godson and sometimes catwalk model, seven-year-old Hudson Kroenig, out for his finale bow.

” What do the Holidays mean to you, and what should they mean to the world.”

We are thrilled to have Laura Bounin join us this Holiday Season….. Laura grew up in Paris and attended the prestigious boarding School, Le Rosey. She is currently studying at Regents University in London for a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Journalism. She speaks and writes three fluent languages …French, Romanian and English. In the Springtime she will be graduating, year 2016. We here at Old Fashioned Mom Magazine are proud to introduce Laura Bounin!

Ah! It is that time of the year, the Christmas bells are ringing, you can smell the flavor of the Christmas Turkey and admire the marvelous presents underneath the Christmas tree, though it is not the time to open them just yet…

As the Christmas Holidays are approaching it is a great time of year to be next to your loved ones and enjoy quality moments, as there is nothing more important than family traditions! It is also a great time for you to invest more in yourself and to start doing all these little things you never made time for throughout the year. Holidays are the chance for you to finally go out of your daily routine. Go ahead and read this book that has been sitting on your shelf for so long, go sign up to this yoga class, learn a new language, call up that old friend of yours you haven’t talked to in so long. Holidays are a good time of the year to reconnect with your inner self.

Though, holidays are also about traveling! For my part I think there is no greater time of the year to go out and explore the world! There is a dazzling amount of opportunities on our doorstep; it is time to release the hidden Christopher Columbus hiding inside each of us and to go explore the treasures of the world. There are so many ways in which one can enjoy a holiday, whether you prefer savoring a cocktail on a beautiful beach in Bali while admiring a wonderful sunset, going for a trek on the Himalaya Mountains, visiting an old Maya temple in Mexico, or going skiing to the French Alps. You get my point, holidays are really for everyone, the lazy, the adventurous, the athletes. Holidays don’t put anyone aside. We travel in the purpose of discovering other lives, other souls, other cultures and to find ourselves speechless in front of the beauty of the world!

There is no such luxury and treasure as the one a holiday can bring, culture, knowledge and memories come together and become one. Sometimes all we need is a beautiful place, with beautiful souls far away from home just to rest and remove all sort of negativity from our lives. We will never truly know all the surprises a holiday can bring, it might be a new lover, a new friend, a new job. We should go places we’ve never seen before, and travel the whole world with people we love. Holidays are a great opportunity to fill your life with experiences and stories to tell. Rich is the man who has the chance to marvel at small thing and fill his heart of the world’s beauty.

So let’s embrace the luck of this wealth, and let’s travel and create our memories for tomorrow with the people closest to your hearts and souls, let’s allow ourselves to feel experiences as they are, only focusing on the present moment, because now is all we have and everything in this life is ephemeral except the memories we make.

St. Augustine said it himself : « The world is a book and those who don’t travel only read one page » .

We are the sole writers of your book so let’s go explore the unknown and create a story worth reading for this new Holiday season!

By Laura Bounin

In September 2008, BON made its return to a splendid, original and contemporary decor orchestrated by Philippe Starck.

The various salons – each with its own singular and intimist ambiance – invite visitors to discover the charms of a different world as they lunch or dine

Guests may choose between the Vinothèque, the Fireplace room, or the Library – the Boudoir being reserved for private or professional events catering for between 10 and 20 people.

There is an unusual and comfortable smoking room for smokers – although we hasten to remind them that smoking is not considered good for the health.

The menu takes its inspiration from the far-flung countries of South-East Asia, with a palette of subtle and elegant flavours.

When the fine weather arrives, guests may enjoy the tranquility and comfort of our gardens, reserved exclusively for lunches during the week, from Monday to Friday.

The restaurant has four dining areas which can be reserved privately, together or separately, to accommodate anywhere between 10 and 180 guests.

A range of menus can be provided, or a special menu tailored to your particular requirements.

Starter

Crab spring rolls

Wagyu beef tataki, wakame, soy caramel, roasted sesame

Foie gras served with toast, spicy manguo chutney

Beef and lemongrass salad

Carpaccio of organic salmon, lemon combawa

Tuna tataki style, sesame seed, basil

Avocado, mango and salmon tartare

Sashimi tuna, sea bream, organic salmon, scalopps

Pan fried foie gras, Thaï broth, shiitake

Lacquered eggplant, Miso sauce

Wonton soup

Black BON Platter (for 2 persons)

Dim Sum

Shrimps, sweet chili sauce

Crab meat and artichoke

Pecking duck and Hoisin sauce

Mixed Dim Sum

Lobster Dim sum

Chicken Pad Thaï Dim sum

Beef Thaï basil dim sum

Rolls

Vegetables rolls

Chicken and curry

Beef and basil

Shrimps and coriander

Mixed rolls (one of each)

Fish

Black cod “c’est BON” (cod marinated in soya sauce, sweetened in sake vinegar and caramelized)

Grilled sea bream on banana leaf

Grilled sole served with toffee

Squids,red chili, basil

Shrimps Pad Thaï

Roasted sea bass with white butter, ginger, confit lemon

Turbot, Tom Yam sauce

Lobster spicy noodles

Snaked red tuna, satay sauce

Lacquered scallops

Meat

Crispy “sweet and sour” chicken

Grilled chicken, lemongrass

Five flavours pork ribs

Wok of minced beef, basil

Thinly sliced veal, krachai, green sweet pepper

China town crispy duck

Chef of the restaurant Bon: Brice Alexandre / Director of the restaurant Bon: Thomas Robert

Tiger’s tears (filet of beef marinated, grilled and thinly sliced

Spicy pluma Iberico

Snacked filet of Wagyu beef, Teriyaki sauce

Sidedish

White rice

Rice in a lotus leaf

Laos rice, shrimps and herbs

Rice sauteed with curry

Steamed vegetables, ginger and coriander

Noodles with vegetables

Fresh bean sprout sauteed on a wok

Banh Hoi

Desserts

Choco BON

Coconut soup with fresh mango and passion fruit

Profiteroles BON Ty

Classic Mont Blanc

Rum Baba,pineapple

Frozen Bubbies

Banana rolls with chocolate sauce

Red fruits Pavlova

Rose pannacotta with litchi sauce and fresh strawberries

Lemon tart in “crumble style”

Crème brulée with passion fruit

Gourmet Champagne

Web site: www.restaurantbon.fr
email: reservation@restaurantbon.fr

Corporate’s menu from 49.50 € to 122 € – on request

Amelia OUKALA is at your disposal to help and ensure the success of your personal or business event.
Gastronomic invitation:

If you wish to invite friends or thank customers, we publish Vouchers according to your budget: brunch, lunch or dinner.

The beneficiary will receive directly his invitation by mail

You can make enquiries by

email to reservation@restaurantbon.fr or by

telephone on +33(0)1 40 72 7000

Only the sweetest memories fill my mind when I think of La Maison du Chocolat…..as I have been coming here with my children since they were born. Undoubtedly the best hot chocolate in the world and the pastries that can accompany this dark nectar are heaven.

In fact when my son, Hudson, was little he said ” Mom, this must be what heaven is like.” I will never forget this and a location must exist where heaven is located.

Last week when we were there the waiter only spoke French to us, so this allowed me to exercise a language I at one time spoke somewhat well. Hudson courageously sang a French song he had just learned in School. What a delight! This is a fabulous place to stop in with children, go straight to the back and take a seat. A friendly waiter will greet you and on the way out it is always nice to leave with a box of chocolates!