In a little less than four weeks Spencer and I will be on an adventure through Asia. We just booked it a couple of weeks ago, so I am in the thick of planning and researching right now and would love your recommendations!

We’re going to Shanghai, Hong Kong and then Vietnam (Hanoi and Hoi An).

Been to any of these places? I would love any and all recommendations! xo

All of the snow up in Michigan was incredible this weekend. It was such a fun winter wonderland. The beaches are incredible, you would never even know there was sand or water there.

This crazy winter has definitely been wearing on me, but weekends like this where we can snuggle up in front of a big fire, make it a lot more bearable.

Image by me

Where we stayed: Melian Boutique Hotel
The most perfect little boutique hotel, really well priced and just a short walk from town. Right on the water, a small little dipping pool, nice relaxation area outside of the lobby and a beautiful deck for most of the rooms.

How to get there: We took a two hour ferry ride from Santorini. Cheap and easy.

Where we ate: We ate in the town right by our hotel every night. Everything is so fresh you can’t really go wrong. Our favorite place was called Yaros (that’s how it said, not spelled) and it was amazing. We ate dinner there two of our three nights.

What to do: We rented a car and explored the island. The topography of the island is absolutely incredible and every single beach you stop at is different than the next. There is really only one main, paved road that goes all the way around the island so its easy enough to get around. We spent our days going from beach to beach. Some were your typical walk down to a beach club beaches, some you had to actual rock-repel down to, others were moon rock, sand caves that you could climb through. We absolutely fell in love with one beach in particular called Sarakiniko (pictured above). I also definitely suggest signing up for spa treatments if you stay at the Melian. I had an hour and 15 minute massage for $50. It was incredible!

image by me

Where we stayed: Katikies
It was beautiful, tucked into the mountainside in Oia, with white stucco and blue waters. The service left quite a bit to be desired , but the location was perfect and the accommodations were lovely, so we couldn’t really complain.

Where we ate: Mostly at little random hole in the walls that we walked past, but a couple specifics:

• 1800 was recommended to us by friends, as well as the hotel. They have a dining area on the roof where you can see the sunset. A bit more formal than I typically like on vacation but a fun experience
• We didn’t eat at Ambrosia but we heard great things about it from everyone we talked to. Make sure to make reservations in advance, we couldn’t get in!

What to do:

• Our hotel was in Oia, which is the town at the very tip of the island. Its fun to wander around the shops and take walks through the little town. Lots of people told us rent an ATV to explore the island but we didn’t end up doing that. You can walk down to Announdi Point which is a million stairs down, but a beautiful little spot down on the water. This is a great spot to view the sunset or grab a casual lunch.
• Thira is the other town, more of the main town. Its much bigger than Oia with a lot more going on. More shops, more restaurants, more of everything but similarly built into the side of the mountain overlooking the water.
• No matter where you stay, Santorini is a great place to relax at your hotel, lay in the sun and just hang out. You can take day trips to the black sand beaches too which we did for a day. There is definitely more to do on Santorini, but we chose this leg of our trip to relax.

I’ll be posting Milos tomorrow. Hope these little guides are helpful!

Ingredients:
- 2 large heads of broccoli
- 1 large glove of garlic
- Pasta (I like orecchiette for this because the “sauce” gets into the little shells)
- Red pepper flakes
- Salt/Pepper
- Olive oil
- Amylu Italian chicken sausage

Directions:
- Boil broccoli (with stems cut off) in a large pot of salted water. Cook it a little bit more than you would if you were preparing it normally
- Drain broccoli and then using a very sharp knife, cut the broccoli very finely.
- Combine garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes and broccoli into a sauce pan
- Cook on medium thoroughly until flavors have combined
- Cook pasta normally
- Grill chicken sausage and cut into small pieces
- Combine broccoli, pasta and sausage.
- Serve with parmesan cheese

Ingredients:
- One package of boneless, skinless chicken breast (I like the thin cutlets)
- One plastic container of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs 
- 1 tablespoon of dried basil
- 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- salt / pepper to taste

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine parmesan cheese with basil, oregano, cayenne and salt and pepper in a bowl.
- Beat eggs in a bowl
- Dip chicken breasts into beaten eggs
- And then dip chicken breasts in parm mixture
- Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Bake for 20 minutes (or until cooked through) at 350 degrees

Ingredients (to serve four):
- one large eggplant
- one large zucchini
- one red pepper
- half of a white onion
- basil
- chicken sausage
- fresh mozzerella
- tomato sauce (my favorite out of the jar sauce of Rao’s)

Directions:
1. Remove chicken sausage from the casing and brown it in a pan, while cooking all the way through.
2. On medium to high heat, add chopped eggplant, zucchini, red pepper and onion. Mix around until onions are beginning to become transparent
3. Add half a jar of tomato sauce and fresh basil
4. Cover and let simmer on low for 10 minutes (or until sauce is cooked down a bit and vegetables are cooked through)
5. Plate food, and add fresh mozzarella (we also added a little bit of parm)
6. Serve!