Bon Appetit Gourmet Food Shoppe

My acquaintance told me that there is a nice bakery run by French couple in Wilmington.
The bakery has nice baguette, and cakes are also delicious.
But he didn't remember the name of the bakery, only knew the place, which is on route 202 and same mall as Chuck E Cheese.
I could find the place by chance, and stopped by for lunch.

Actually, it's not a bakery like what I imagined.  It's a more deli place.
You can have lunch or tea cake there. Of course, you can take them out.
I ordered Mozzarella Special sandwich ($9.5) and it was very good.

Mozzarella Special

Sandwiches

Saladas

I like bread crispy and hard outside and  fluffy inside.
However, I couldn't check the softness of inside the bread this time, since it was sandwich.
They have more menus besides on the pictures.
Soup seemed delicious as well.  Next time, I will try a set pate on bread, comes with soup.

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Bon Appetit Gourmet Food Shoppe
3629 Silverside Road, Wilmimgton DE 19810
(Talleyville Shopping Center)
302-478-4344

Be careful for the time!
Mon-Fri ：9：30-16：00,  Saturday：10：00-15：00, Sunday：Closed

Alapocas Run State Park & Free Summer Taichi Class

Delaware is surrounded so many greens and you might have gone through a park every 20 minutes while you are driving.

I'm going to have a simple introduction about the trail and free summer Taichi class.

I went to Alapocas Run State Park for the first time and saw a flier the picture below.
According to the flier, Gentle Palm Karate Academy offers free Taichi classes during summer.

Taichi is a kind of Chinese martial arts and it's also moving meditation as well.
It's not here, but I'm taking 24 method Taichi lessons in IWC and I enjoy it very much.   

Flier at  Alapcas ball fields

The purpose I visit the park is for running.
Since I applied for the Philadelphia Marathon, I need to practice as much as possible.
It's too hot to run in the daytime, so I was looking for somewhere cool for running.
Besides, this park is close to the International women's club, so it's convenient for me to run after club activity.

【Full page Map (PDF)】 

PDF shows distance of each trail.

Today I stared from Alapocas Ball Fields and run light yellow trail.
It was great run in the wood, because it was cool and the ground was much softer than asphalt road.

I was worried if I would get lost, but if you come twice, it will be OK.
It's great not only for running, but also for walking. I will definitely come again for running.
Besides Alapocas Run State Park, there are many parks in Delaware. You can check them at Wilmington State Parks web site.
They will have free concerts and some other events, don't miss them!

Travel to Niagara Falls

Last year, we went to Niagara Falls in beginning of July for 3 days and 2 nights.
There are three ways to go to Niagara Falls.



1. By car
   According to Google map, it takes 7 hours directly from Delaware to Niagara Falls.

2. By airplane ( To NY Buffalo airport or Toronto airport )
   Airplane costs a lot, and you need to take a long distance bus or rent a car after you get there.

3. Apply for the tour from NY or NJ
   There are many tour from NY and NJ, but going to NY or NJ takes 3 hours,
   and the time riding bus is almost same as Delaware to Niagara Falls.

My choice was to go by car.
Many American also travel by car, and it was the most reasonable way to go there.
We got so many bugs on the front of car though.


I minded these three points for the travel.

①Since it's a long drive, don't make a tight schedule so that we can spend a relaxing time there.
②The fall at Canadian side is greater than American side, so go American side first.
③Stay at falls view hotel one night, because we can save money to go by car.

Since the first day staying at Niagara falls was Independence day, I planned to book American side hotel.
However, the hotels in Canadian side were cheaper than American side, I booked  both night in Canadian side.

I looked for a falls view hotel first, and decided to stay at The Oaks hotel.
The hotel has a beautiful view and it has the cheapest falls view room around there.
Still, it cost $341 in total for a night.
Because both Canada and America are on the holiday season, it's the busiest time for Niagara Falls at the beginning of July.

I didn't care about inside the room, but I was worried about the view from windows.
Our room was on the 13th floor, and the view was amazing just like this.
We could see fireworks very well. I was very satisfied with the view from our room.

The hotel has prepared outlook space in the hallway of the 14th floor,  so that guests can look freely.
Even if staying at the lower floors,  you can enjoy a beautiful view and fire works there.

It's too expensive to stay two night at this hotel, I booked another cheap hotel before we stay here.
While we stay in the Oak hotel for the second day, we didn't plan special activities.
We stayed at the room to enjoy the view and reading books. We felt really relax.

I'm going to go Niagara Falls again with my parents in July.
I was wondering whether choosing the Oak hotel or Radisson hotel, I booked the Oaks hotel again.
Because Radisson hotel is a little bit far from main street.
If you stay at falls view room just one night, you should book on the day which has fireworks.

We also went for a winery of Niagara on the lake. I will write about wineries next time.
My friend told me about "Niagara Falls Adventure Pass Classic". I will buy it next time.

A Saving Tip of NY Metro Card

Subway is essential for New York sight seeing.
You can buy single ride ticket, but buying Metro card is convenient.
Metro Card is used by charging money and swipe before you enter subway gate.
If you charge $10, you will get a little bonus of 50 cent.
This is also one of the saving money, but today I'm going to tell you more basic tip.

Metro card itself costs $1. If you are an honest person, you might buy one Metro card each.
However, you don't have to buy each ! One card for one group is enough!!

New York subway is a flat rate of $ 2.5, and you need to swipe a card before you enter the gate.
When exiting from the gate, you don't have to swipe the card again.
This means, you can share the card with your group.

After the first person swipe and go through the gate, pass the card to the next person behind,
and the person who received the card can do same way.
It seems just a one dollar saving, but this can save time as well.
Because when the balance is low, it eliminates the time to charge each card.

Japanese technology "Washlet"

Have you ever heard "Washlet"? It's a toilet seat which is common in Japan.
I had a party in my house and what attracted my friends the best was this Washlet.
Whomever tried it told me I need this in my house too !!

There is a controller by the seat and you can use bide, and adjust the strength of bide.
It also has warm seat equipment, it's good for winter.
This Washlet is basic, but some types of Washlet has dryer and opens automatically when you enter the restroom.

Buttons explanation:  止 is stop, おしりis for Anus, ビデ is for ladies.　You can adjust the strength 弱<<<<強.

I brought this Washlet seat from Japan, but you can buy similar one in the U.S. too.
Search on amazon "Washlet", and you will find many kinds of them.
TOTO and Panasonic and Inax, Toshiba are Japanese brand.

You need to be careful one thing. If you or someone use tooo much shower before flushing, you can't flush.
Last time, my friends loved my Washlet so much and they tried a lot, there were not enough water in the tank.
Actually, there is no problem with normal use. You don't worry about it. It's just a funny story.

You might think, it's good idea that when you travel Japan, and bring back washlet for your house, but the wide of American pipes are different from Japanese.
American pipes are 3/8 inch, but Japanese pipes are 1/2 inch.
You need to get adjustment connector for that, and I did it.
I spent 5 hours for that, it was tough work.  So I recommend to buy here.

Yo'R So Sweet in Kennett Square

One of my friend asked me to go for a lunch together, and we went to eat crepe at Kennet Square.
The Market at Liberty place is on the main street of Kennet Square.
Some cafe and shops are inside the building, it's like a cozy food court, and "Yo'R So Sweet" is also in it.
There is a parking space next to the building, so you don't have to worry about parking.

They have two types of crepe, one is savoy, the other is sweet.
I ordered Thai Chicken,  inside of the crepe has lots of chicken, it was good size for lunch.

Thai: sauce is a little bit hot

sweet crepe

Ham and cheese are inside the crepe 

Sweet crepe is from $4.5, and the picture above is $6.5 and you can add 3 topping to their original crepe.
There is a coffee shop next to the hop, so it is good to have coffee together with sweet crepes!

I heard there are many good restaurant around Kennett Square, such as Lily Asian,
Half moon, El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant, Taqueria Moroleon, Two stones.
I want to try every nice restaurant during I stay in the U.S.

Newark Farmers Maket

Newark Farmers Market is a great place for both foreigners and locals.
Their vegetables and fruits are very cheap, and they have great lineups for import products.

Since the owner is Korean,  Asian food section is particularly rich in recent months.

So many seasonings

Gobou root and gingers 

Tofu is cheap here

Ｕｄｏｎ noodle,  deep filed tofu is my favorite!

Not only Asian foods, but also other international foods are here!!

Of course Mexican foods is major in this shop. They also have great selection of Indian spices.
Vegetables and fruits are very cheap, but you need to be careful when you chose.
Some are not fresh, you must have a good eye to chose products.

Fruits and vegetables are piled

For me, the day I go shopping for Newark Farmers Market is a big cooking day.
Because the vegetables and meats are better to be cooked as soon as possible.

Sometime, I put some vegetable just into refrigerator and 3 days later,  the mold was on the tomato and cucumber.
Many products are cheaper than other shops, but Not everything.
You need to compare each by yourself, especially Commodities long shelf-life.
But I can say Bananas are always the best price here.

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Newark Famers Market
2515 Kirkwood Hwy, Newark, De 19711
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Golf Shops around Delaware

Golf is very popular sports in the U.S. Even small kids plays golf with their family.
However,　playing golf is very expensive in Japan.

Many Japanese people start to play golf after they move to the states.
We also started golf to take this advantage of staying here.

There are three kinds of big golf shops in Delaware.

I went to looking around those three shops.  【MAP】

1．Dick's Sports  　（Map：Ｃ   At Christiana Mall and at 202, same place where Target is) 

This shop is not golf department shop, but it has every kinds of sports goods.
Golf section is bigger than other sports one, but it seems there is no golf professional in the store.

   

2．Golf Galaxy   (Map：Ｂ　Route 58　Located neear Delaware park, same mall with Home depo)

It's a bit small shop, but it has a good product line up.
A Virtua triall hitting machine is  set, you can try clubs before you buy.
There were used clubs as well.

3．Golf Smith   (Map：Ａ　Route 58  North of Golf Galaxy)

It's a biggest store among the three shops. Since there were little customers in the store at that time, clerk helped me a lot.
This shop also has three virtual trial hitting machines.
The line up of used clubs is also the best among the three.
I didn't ask at other shops, but this shop clerk told me that if you don't like the clubs, you can return the product in 30 days with 90% of original price, even if you have used it.

Each shops have different product lineups.
Especially Golf Galaxy and Golf smith are located very close each other, you can go both shops before you shop.
For example, I got Lynx golf set at golf smith, but there was no Lynx set or gloves at Golf Galaxy.

I took golf classes for a year when I was college student. After that, I just played sometimes, but I always used rental clubs.
In Japan, every driving range and golf course has rental clubs and it is very cheap or free for women.
Besides, people live small house and I didn't want to keep a golf set in my room.

On the other hand, Golf is such a common sports in the state, it seems difficult or not cheap to rent a clubs.
I finally bought a golf set at Golf smith.
It was originally $399.99, and the price at the shop was $245, and it was on sale $179.99.
Finally,  there was an additional promotion for Farther's day, and I got it for  $159.99.
What a great saving!!

I'm a beginner, and I'm not sure if I keep playing golf after I go back to Japan.
So I bought an inexpensive golf set. I went to driving range with this set, and it worked well.
I'm very satisfied with this set and the price. It's not a great clubs, but enough for beginners.
I will keep practicing with this set, and I hope one day, I will feel this club is not good for me.
Because it's a proof that my skill has improved.

Grand Circle Trip

My husband and I went for a trip to Grand Circle.
Since my husband is working a Japanese company, it's easy to take a vacation
from the end of April to first week of May, which period is called Golden week in Japan.

Grand Circle (includes many GRAND places) trip is one of the most popular destinations among Japanese people.
It is a great trip for people all over the world. I will write a bit about our trail for someone's convenient.

【MAP】  ※ Points are written in English

※My husband made a plan very well,  I will rewrite those for this blog.

【Day 1】　Philadelphia Airport  → Phoenix Air port （Rent a Car）→ Sedna（Stay at hotel)

① Sedna.To see a sunset at Airport Vortex. This is a famous power spot in Japan.

【Day 2】　Sedna → Grand Canyon → Page （Stay at hotel)

①Sedna. Hiking at Cathedral Rock. This is also a famous Vortex spot.

②Grand Canyon. Take a  free shuttle bus "kaibab trail route Orange line" from information center,
    and go to South kaibab trail head. Then walk to "OOH AAH point".

【Day 3】 Page → Antelope Canyon → Monument Valley → Moab （stay at hotel）

①Page,  driving to　Horseshoe Bend 

②Antelope Canyon,  we took lower course. (about 90 minutes)

③ Monument Valley,  Driving a valley drive route.
    The road is very wild and unpaved, so it's easy to get sick.
    I thought it's enough to see just from visitor center or outside of the park.
    But don't forget to check the famous point which is very famous for "Forrest Gamp".

    

　 

【Day 4】 Arches（Moab）→ Rich field（stay at hotel）

<Strolling　Arches> 　

  We went to three arches.  ①Landscape Arch ②Delicate Arch ③ Double Arch

　It is a hard work to see ①and② on the same day.
  There are more place to see in Arches, so I think it's better to spend one whole day or 2 days for Arches National Park.
  We moved to Rich field on that day at 5. It took 3 hours from Moab to Rich field. It was difficult driving for a tied body.

【Day 5】 Rich field → Bryce Canyon National Park → Zion National Park→ St. George（stay at hotel）

①Bryce Canyon,  strolling sunset point. We planed to walk Loop trail, but the Arches trail the day before was hard,
   and we were still felt tied, we canceled it.

②Zion National Park,  looking around Visitors center.
　　※We planed to climb Angel's landing that day, but we still felt tied, it postponed to the next day.

We were too packed schedule, we spend this day for a rest.
The distance between each points were very far, it took much time than we expected, we had to change the plan a bit.

On Spring dale side of Zion, there are many shops and cottages. It was so pretty sightseeing place.
The entrance of the park was busy in afternoon by many cars. 

【Day 6】　St. George → Zion National Park → Las Vegas

① Zion National Park. Climbing  Angel's landing (About 4 hour)
  After you reach the top, it still takes 30 minutes to go Angel's landing.
  Even the middle of the trail (top of the mountain)is also very high and beautiful.
  If you plan to go to the Angel's landing, it's better to prepare gardening gloves.
  Because there are iron chains to help your climbing.  Going down is much harder than going up for my feet.

② Returning the rent a car at Las Vegas Airport.
  There is a premium outlet near the gas stand, it's a good idea to check outlet shops after you filled gas in your ca.
  However, shopping in Las vegas cost 8% tax. It can be better for us to shop at Philadelphia premium outlet?!

【Day 7】  Staying Las vegas whole day.

It was my first visit in Las Vegas. I was so surprised that I could find casinos everywhere in the Vegas.
Most hotels have a casino place in their hotels.  The play costs from $1, so I spent $20 in total.

I couldn't see famous free shows because Treasure Island Pirates show was under construction, 

fountain show at　Bellagio hotel was canceled due to a strong wind.
I was not interested in going for a luxury brands shopping nor any casual brands shopping.
So I was so disappointed  that I couldn't see the shows.
However, looking around each hotels was fun. Each hotel has unique interior and motifs.

【Day 8】 Las Vegas Airport → Philadelphia Airport （Early morning flight）

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●What to bring

Tracking shoes, clothes that you can adjust the warmness, hat, sunglasses, sun screen are the basic item for this trip.
Most place were high elevation, it was still very cold at the beginning of May.
I worn light long sleeve shirts everyday except Arches and Zion.
It's get cold especially at morning and night, you should prepare a warm sweat and a down jacket for sure.
Wind was so strong, my hat was really good to keep in with a rubber so that it is not blown by the wind.
I bought the hat at Target with $12 and put rubber band by myself.  Work gloves helped at Zion and Arches.

●Foods

We spend a lot of time in the car,  besides it was busy trip, most lunch was only snacks in the car, which was not good.
Except Zion and Arches, there are no place to sell foods (even a coffee!).
It's better to buy some food for a picnic before you enter the parks.

There are many buffet restaurant in Vegas, however it was not reasonable for us, because we could never eat so much for the price.
Especially for the breakfast,  it was so sad to pay too much for just a little we had.
For example, Chin Chin China's breakfast. We should have ordered by a la cult.
Morning Buffet was too expensive to recover what you paid especially in morning.
However, this was still expensive, but we were satisfied with the food at Wicked spoon.
It costs $47 per person. We enjoyed many seafood there.

The Grand Wok was a clean and sophisticated restaurant,
and Japanese people would like them, it was a little bit expensive for Chinese though.

I wanted to try this Thai restaurant　Lotus of Siam .  It is far from main city, so I gave up to go.

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At the end, if you allow me to rank them, the order is below.
However, I didn't prepare anything for the trip. So this is just my opinion.
This could be different from reputation of the world.

１．Arches National Park    Hiking was tough, but feels so good. I wanted to stay for 2 days.

２．Bryce Canyon             So beautiful landscape. I did not get tired even watching much.

３、Horses hoes　　　　　　   It was very excited for the highness. But it is enough for an hour to stay.

４、Zion National Park 　　  Very nice hiking place and it has good moods.

５、Antelope Canyon   　    Simply very unique view which is created by sands.

６、Grand Canyon   　　      I had too much expectation since it was very famous, but I could feel great nature.

７、Monument Valley　　　   It was enough from the outside. Wild driving way made us dizzy.

８、Sedna Vortex　  　        I couldn't feel the energy much, it was very beautiful though.

Chinese Festival 中国節

A lot of events are held in Delaware during summer time.
Today, I'm going to introduce Chinese Festival.

Chinese festival is organized by Chinese American Community Center (CACC) every year.
Last year, the festival manager asked me to help the festival.
Because she thought I was Chinese. I speak Chinese and it sounded fun.
I decided to be a volunteer for the festival. I sold Scallion pancake last year.
Besides many kinds of food, there are many kinds of performance to see.

Since I was a volunteer,  I didn't have enough time to see performance.
I saw Chinese traditional Lion dance, and Kung fu performance by kids.
Especially kids Kung fu performance was very interesting to me at the points,
not only performance was good but also there were no Chinese kids in the Kung fu club.

Borrowed from CACC Facebook page

They charge parking fee for $5 each car. So I recommend to car pool if you go with friends.
Information is not up on CACC HP yet, so you can find further information on CACC Facebook page.


Many other events will be held in Delaware, visit Wilmington.com covers more events,
such as Italian festival and Greek festival.  Enjoy your Summer with international events !!

Megabus Abolished Newark, DE - New York Line

Megabus ended their service between Newark, DE and New York at the end of May,2014.
It was the cheapest way to go to NY from Delaware, even considering a parking fee.
However, they still keep other lines, such as Washington D.C., Baltimore and so on.
According to Newark post, insffecient of ridership is the reason.

Now, the choices left are going from Wilmington by Amtrak or Greyhound or Chinese Xinxi bus.

At Wilmington Amtrak station,Taxi is always available.
DART has a route between Newark Amtrak station and Wilmington Amtrak station.
However, time is limited like this.

Chinese Xinxi bus stop is a little bit far from Wilminton Amtrak station.
The address is 3 W 4th St Wilmington, DE 19801.

2ND&CHARLES @ Newark

Today, I found a great second hand shop in Newark by chance.

The name is 2ND & CHARLES.  It's on route 58.

Although it's a second hand shop, inside the shop is very cozy and filled with many treasures.

Doctor who goods.

 American comics

Many DVDs including Japanese animations.

Many Japanese comic books !!

I was so excited while I was looking around the shop.
They are also selling used i-phone and game soft, children's books, Records, guitars, and so on.

You can't find these great variety of comics and books and DVDs at the same time in any other place in Delaware!!

Hockessin Library also has many collections of Japanese and American comics.

If you are a cartoon lover, you should visit Hockessin Library as well !!

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2ND&CHARLES

101 Geoffrey Drive Newark DE 19713

302-737-4306

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Lily Asian Cuisine Suhsi&Gril @ Kennet square

Lily Asian Cuisine is a great place to have fancy sushi.
They have all you can eat buffet on every Tuesday.
About $15 for lunch, $25 for dinner.

It's always clouded at Tuesday lunch time.
If it's possible you should go earlier before noon.
Because not only the restaurant, but also parking around there also will be busy at lunch time.
At Kennet square, you will find many meter parking on the street.
Don't forget to prepare quote coins when you visit Kennet square.

Their rolls are very beautiful and interesting.
I've never seen these kinds of roll sushi in Japan.

The roll in the picture is "Rainbow roll".

The roll left side is "tempura roll".

This time, I went with Japanese, American, French, Brazilian, Chinese friends.
They all liked the sushi here.

Includes tip and tax, each of us paid $19.
In the state,  it's always difficult for me to eat my fill.
However, you can definitely get more than you paid here.


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Lily Asian cuisine Suhsi&Gril
104 W. State St, Kennett Square PA 19348

TEL: 610-925-3700
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