As we continue the holiday week, I hope you enjoy this encore blog from January 4, 2017.
Over the holidays, I enjoyed a wonderful and very interesting vacation with my family - we decided to spend a week visiting London and France. As you may know, I love to travel and now it's a whole new experience seeing places with my grandchildren, Jude and Truman. Over the next few days, I will share photos of some of the sites we saw during our journey.
Please enjoy this first post about our trip to London.
Jude and Truman are always so excited to travel. These Rimowa multi-wheel titanium suitcases made perfect rides for them when moving through the crowded airports. http://www.rimowa.com/
Here is Kevin sitting in a business class seat aboard the Virgin Atlantic plane – the seats turn into long fully flat beds.
Jude and Truman had their own seats, but loved visiting their mommy. Here they are crunching Alexis during a nap.
This is the bar on the plane – the children enjoyed some tea with honey. At four and five years of age, they are excellent travelers.
One of our first stops was the Guards Memorial, also known as the Guards Division War Memorial. It has five life-size bronze figures representing the Foot Guards Regiments – Grenadiers, Coldstream, Scots, Welsh and Irish. It commemorates the war dead from the Guards Division during World War I and all the members of the Household Division who died in World War II and other conflicts since 1918.
There are five wreaths at the foot of the memorial – one in front of each of the bronze statues.
This one reads in Latin, “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit”, meaning “No one provokes me with impunity”.
Both Jude and Truman were very interested in looking at the memorial wreaths and learning about the monument.
This is the fourth wreath in front of the bronze Welsh soldier. The Guards Memorial was designed by H. Chalton Bradshaw.
Each has the Flanders poppies, Papaver rhoeas, in the decorations. After the First World War, the poppy was adopted as an international symbol of Remembrance.
Life Guards have stood guard at Horse Guards, the official entrance to St. James and Buckingham Palace, since the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660. There are two main groups of guards – those without horses are called foot guards.
Guards on horseback are part of the Household Cavalry. These poor guys remain still even in the most frigid weather- and it was very cold- in the low 30s while we were in London.
The helmet does not look very warm.
Here I am with one of the Queen’s Guards. The Life Guards, although not the oldest, is the most senior regiment of the British Army. They were formed by Prince Charles, later King Charles II, when he was exiled at the end of the civil war from loyal followers who traveled with him to Holland.
And here is my beautiful daughter, Alexis, standing next to the Guard, who did not move one bit while we were taking these quick snaps.
This is the Old Admiralty House at London’s Whitehall, built by Thomas Ripley in the 1720s. Its rear facade looks out over the Horse Guards Parade and Changing of the Guard.
The Life Guards who always ride black horses, wear long red cloaks with blue collars during inclement weather.
During the Changing of the Guard, the Old Guard forms up on the North side of the enclosure in Horse Guards. When the New Guard arrives the trumpeters of both the Old and New Guard sound a Royal Salute. When both Guards have formed, the Corporal Major, and the sentries of the first relief of the New Guard leave for the Guard Room. When the Old Guard departs the trumpeters again sound a Royal Salute. The entire change takes about 45-minutes.
These are the Blues and Royals, or Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons, part of the Household Cavalry. During poor weather, they wear long blue cloaks with red collars. Except for the Trumpeters who ride greys, the Blues and Royals ride black horses.
Here are Kevin, Jude and Truman at the Horse Guards Building. Look closely and you can see the London Eye in the background.
This is the London planetree, Platanus × acerifolia, a large deciduous tree that can grow to more than 100-feet tall, with a trunk 10-feet or more in circumference. The bark is usually pale grey-green, smooth and exfoliating. It shares many visual similarities with the American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis.
Here is the ubiquitous taxi of London. In the United Kingdom, these are called hackneys or hackney carriages.
Here are Jude, Truman and their nanny, Beverly. We were all so interested in the wildlife in London, especially the birds.
This is a pair of Ruddy Shelducks. The male has an orange-brown body, black rump and tail, a creamy buff head and neck, blackish collar around the base of the neck, and the wings are white with black flight feathers. Females are similar but have a whiter face and lack the black collar around the neck.
The Eurasian coot, also known as coot, is found in Europe, Asia, Australia and parts of Africa. The Eurasian coot is largely black except for the white frontal shield on its head. As a swimming species, the coot has partial webbing on its long, lobed, strong feet. It’s a noisy bird with a wide repertoire of crackling or trumpeting calls, often at night.
The Duck Island Cottage was built in 1841 as the home of the bird keeper in St. James’s Park. It also had a club room for the Ornithological Society of London, which once helped to look after the park’s ducks and geese. Over the years, Duck Island Cottage has served many uses and is currently used for offices of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust.
Just to the side of the cottage is a shed – I found the wall of the shed very interesting.
Here was another Changing of the Guard. During autumn and winter months the Queen’s foot guards may change into their grey great coats, which are much warmer. The British Royal Guard uniform includes the bearskin cap first worn in the 19th century at the famous Waterloo battle where the British Army defeated Napoleon’s French Imperial Guards. They wore bearskins because they looked taller and more intimidating. Nowadays they are worn as a symbol of victory and are used for ceremonial duties and for guarding royal residents.
They are all lined up perfectly. And bearskin caps are not light – each one weighs about 1.5 pounds.
The Guard provides a full Military Band consisting of no fewer than 35-musicians, often from one of the Guards regiments. It plays music to entertain the New and Old Guard as well as the watching crowds.
The Changing of the Guard is definitely something everyone should try to see when they go to London.
Here is one of London’s iconic cherry red double-decker buses. The most recognized was the Routemaster, which was first introduced in 1956. Most double-deckers have been retired, replaced by the articulated bus, but a few more modern versions of the double-decker can still be spotted on certain routes.
We passed some construction sites, where we noticed building facades were kept completely intact, leaving the interiors to be rebuilt.
The London Eye is Europe’s tallest ferris wheel, with one of the highest public viewing points in London. The structure is 443-feet tall and the wheel has a diameter of 394-feet. https://www.londoneye.com
It was very, very crowded – visitors wait for hours in the cold to take a ride on the Eye.
Here is another view of the pod on the London Eye. Each of the capsules represents a London borough and holds up to 25-people.
The London Eye was designed by the architects Frank Anatole, Nic Bailey, Steve Chilton, Malcolm Cook, Mark Sparrowhawk, and the husband-and-wife team of Julia Barfield and David Marks. The rim of the Eye is supported by tensioned steel cables. The wheel was constructed in sections which were floated up the Thames on barges and then assembled.
The lighting was redone with LED lighting in 2006 to allow for digital control.
It is also known as the Millennium Wheel, and has 32-sealed and air-conditioned ovoidal passenger capsules that are attached to the external circumference of the wheel and rotated by electric motors. For superstitious reasons, they are numbered one through 33.
The Eye provides some of the most stunning views of London. The wheel rotates at about 10-inches per second, so that one revolution takes about 30-minutes – slow enough to allow passengers to walk on and off the moving capsules at ground level.
Look how pretty the views are despite the fog. On the right is Big Ben, the nickname for the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of Westminster Palace. The tower is officially known as Elizabeth Tower.
For lunch, we went to ROKA, London’s award winning Japanese restaurant, serving contemporary Japanese robatayaki cuisine. https://www.rokarestaurant.com
We enjoyed a lovely salmon teriyaki. It was a perfect lunch to end our busy first morning in London. Tomorrow, I will share more photos from our trip. Be sure to also check my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 for more of my photos.
I hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas. Here's a blog that was originally posted on January 22, 2022. It includes photos from my trip to the Dominican Republic, enjoy.
Here in the Northeast, it's bitter cold. Temperatures are expected to hit 30-degrees Fahrenheit at my Bedford, New York farm today - very different from the weather on the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic, where I recently spent a glorious week with friends.
If you follow me on Instagram @MarthaStewart48, you may remember my trip to the Dominican Republic over the holidays. Most of our time was spent in La Romana, at the beautiful resort complex of Casa de Campo, about 70-miles from the historic city of Santo Domingo. We went fishing, enjoyed delicious meals, and relaxed on the most pristine beaches. We also visited the village of Altos de Chavon, home to the Altos de Chavon Cultural Center Foundation, a non-profit educational and cultural entity dedicated to maintaining an arts community within the Dominican Republic. It was a fantastic trip with perfect weather every day.
Enjoy my photos.
My friend, Dominique Bluhdorn, owns the most gorgeous home called La Favorita. Look at the breathtaking views.
Dominique’s house has many seating arrangements in many different scenic locations such as this covered loggia, which is a covered space running along the length of a structure similar to a porch, but with columns or arches on the open side.
This is the formal living room — where we did not sit once.
And here is her swimming pool – also with such delightful views.
These are the steps to the beach and to the swimming pavillion at the end of the pier.
And these are the sitting arrangements on the way to the hot tub, where I went every single day at 7am.
This is the swimming pavilion, with its thatched roof – it’s definitely a favorite place to sit and relax. Dominique’s home is within the boundaries of Casa de Campo Resort and Villas – a seven-thousand acre hotel, resort, and residential community on the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. The exclusive retreat was built by Dominique’s father, industrialist, Charles Bluhdorn.
Here is one of the dinner dishes we enjoyed – cooked wahoo fish with butter, capers, herbs, and lime. Wahoo is a scombrid fish found worldwide in tropical and subtropical seas – it’s in the same family as mackarel and tuna.
Here is my plate along with rice, avocado, and traditional Dominican Republic empanaditas, or bite-sized empanadas.
And of course… Martha’s Chard, my new wine from 19 Crimes. It was unanimously everyone’s favorite wine at dinner. Look out for it – it will be in stores near you very soon.
For breakfast the next morning, we had house eggs poached with broiled tomato, potato balls, cauliflower, onions, and herbs.
Here are two poached eggs with scallions – perfectly cooked.
The sunrises and sunsets were absolutely amazing. This photo was taken at 7:25am.
We saw some beautiful marine animals. This is a star fish, or sea star. They come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. They also all have spines covering their upper surfaces…
… And soft undersides. When looking at the underside of a live sea star, one can see its tube feet wiggling.
For another meal, we shared a platter of grilled meats and chicken. Dominican cuisine is made up of Spanish, indigenous Taíno, Middle-Eastern, and African influences. And the largest, most important meal of the day is lunch.
Here is a platter of lobster, grilled to perfection.
And here are the Island tamales, known in the Dominican Republic as pasteles en hoja – often stuffed with meats.
We had salads with every meal – fresh, ripe tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, pickled onions, and more.
Here’s my first helping – it may, or may not have been, my last. Everything was so flavorful.
On another day, I went to Puntacana and visited its Ecological Foundation, a project of the Puna Cana Resort and Club. I learned about their composting process. The garden is completely farmed using organic waste and soil from a worm-composting shed. The processed compost at the bottom is then sent back to the resort’s kitchens as well as other local restaurants, and a weekly local farmers’ market.
Here I am with Jake Kheel – sustainability innovator and Vice President of Grupo Puntacana Foundation.
The beaches stretched for miles and miles.
Here I am on the fishing boat – I wonder what we’ll catch.
I learned some great techniques from fishing with Kevin Fox.
And look, we caught a nice sized wahoo.
Casa de Campo is also home to Altos de Chavón a one-of-a-kind 16th century replica Mediterranean village. This project was conceived by Bluhdorn and the Italian architect, Roberto Copa. Dominique is the current president of the Altos de Chavón Cultural Center Foundation.
The entire village is located atop the Chavón River. The project began in 1976 when the construction of a nearby road and bridge crossing the river was blasted through a mountain of stone. The stones were used to create the village and celebrates the artisans of the Dominican Republic.
Much of Altos de Chavon is made from coral block and terra cotta. This giant fish sculpture is part of a fountain – it looks like it has been here for centuries.
Each stone was hand cut, each wooden door frame was handcrafted, and each wrought-iron detail hand-forged. The village was finally completed and inaugurated in 1982.
Another attraction in Altos de Chavon is this five-thousand seat amphitheater. It is mainly used for music concerts and other performances. The amphitheater is so beautiful and carved all from stone. The term “amphitheater” derives from the ancient Greek words meaning “on both sides” or “around” and “place for viewing”.
It was a such a wonderful get-away. I hope to return again sometime soon.
It's Christmas Eve. If you're traveling to see loved ones today, please be careful and safe. Here's another fun holiday memory - a festive party at my farm. This blog was originally posted on Dec. 21, 2019. Enjoy!
I love this time of year when everyone gathers together to celebrate the holidays.
Recently, I hosted my annual holiday party at my Bedford, New York farm. More than 200-guests wandered in and out of three buildings, each with a different and festive theme. My Winter House was where my friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin, and his talented team from PS Tailored Events, prepared and served a variety of delicious and savory dishes. Fancy sweets and eggnog were served in my Summer House, and the little Tenant House offered an array of beautiful and whimsical holiday cookies. Friends, family, and neighbors also enjoyed music from a jazz guitarist and photos with Santa! It was a cold late autumn day, but everyone had a most wonderful time!
Enjoy these photos.
Here I am with Douglas Friedman and Kevin Sharkey on this day of merriment and good cheer. See more fun selfies of the three of us by @DouglasFriedman on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48. And you can always find fun photos on Kevin’s Instagram page @seenbysharkey.
My home was filled with all kinds of trees. Here is a collection of bottle brush trees on the green marble table in my foyer – a woodland scene under my great falcon weathervane.
I love how the sun came through the window in this photo taken by @seenbysharkey.
My Green Room was decorated with gold and shades of green. On the right is one of two Chinese foo dogs given to me by Kevin. They’re perfect for this parlor.
I published this recipe for my special eggnog in my first book, “Entertaining” in 1982. It’s made with plenty of bourbon, cognac, dark rum, heavy cream – and this year, 96 eggs for 200 people.
All the eggs used for my eggnog came right from my hens here at the farm. A single eggnog recipe, by the way, calls for a dozen eggs, which can serve about 26-guests. My eggnog is always so popular – it is so rich it needs no accompaniment.
I used Marti Autentico Rum “Dorado” – a delicious quality rum with a lovely rich taste. https://www.martirum.com/
Guests arriving at my Winter House saw Moises, from PS Tailored Events, and these delicious fresh oysters on the terrace parterre – a perfect first stop at the party.
The oysters are from Norm Bloom – we ordered hundreds of delicious oysters, served on the half shell with cocktail sauce and mignonette. http://www.coppsislandoysters.com
My Winter House is where Chef Pierre Schaedelin @pstailoredevents and I prepared and served all our glorious savory foods. We pushed my kitchen counters together on one side, so we could serve the food buffet-style – it’s a wonderful solution for large gatherings.
Our shrimp and salmon came from True North, @truenorthseafood. We served the shrimp on cake stands in circular layers. http://www.truenorthseafood.com
These are mini blinis – traditional Russian pancakes, which are best served with a dab of creme fraiche and a spoonful of caviar. I published the recipe in “Martha Stewart’s Hors D’oeuvres: The Creation and Presentation of Fabulous Finger Food” in 1984.
We also had two hams from my friend, Pat LaFrieda. This is a 20-pound smoked ham. http://www.lafrieda.com
The ham was served with homemade biscuits, scones, horseradish sauce I made from horseradish grown here at the farm, and homemade mustard sauces.
The smoked chicken was displayed so nicely on this large platter. I smoked four four-pound chickens using my delicious smoked chicken recipe from my first hors d’oeuvres book. Everyone thought it was duck and every tidbit disappeared. This photo was taken just before the guests started eating.
For sweets, I made these gorgeous palmiers, also known as pig’s ears, palm hearts, or elephant ears. These are French pastries made in a palm leaf shape or a butterfly shape. My guests loved these so much, they were gone before I got to even taste one myself.
We also made a beautiful croquembouche – a French dessert consisting of choux pastry puffs filled with creme patissiere piled into a cone and bound with threads and threads of caramel. We topped ours with orchid flowers because we didn’t make enough puffs.
Also in my Brown Room – my precious Drabware manger set, which I made years ago. While Drabware tones vary from light coffee to dark olive, it took me a while to get this perfect hue – I love it. I fired and glazed all the pieces myself and then embellished it with palm trees imported from Germany.
Outside, Empress Qin, Emperor Han, Bete Noire, and Creme Brulee stand guard – picture perfect.
Here is a fun snapshot of television correspondent and Editor-at-Large at Ballantine Bantam Dell, Alina Cho @thealinacho, Douglas @DouglasFriedman, Sarah Carey @sarahcarey1, and Kevin @seenbysharkey outside on my terrace parterre.
And here he is, the jolly ol’ man himself – Santa Claus. Santa, played by Fernando Ferrari, wished everyone a Merry Christmas as they walked from house to house.
My Summer House was where guests could sit and share holiday stories and plans while eating sweets and sipping eggnog. It was decorated in lots of pink and silver.
The trees were decked in silver with silver ornaments – I love how everything glistens.
Alexis’s famous Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies went so fast. Her recipe is in my book, “Entertaining.” Unlike traditional recipes, this batter produces flat and crisp cookies. They are my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Another lit nativity scene sits on a side table in my Summer House. I got this one from Brazil.
Anduin Havens, her daughter, Harper, and her husband Cedric, stopped for this photo with Santa.
And here are my neighbors, Laura Blau, and her husband, Michael Citro.
All the outdoor decorations glimmered in the early evening light. My holiday party was from 3pm to 6pm, so everyone could enjoy the farm’s festive lights.
Guests were told not to miss the “Cookie House” – Alexis’s little Tenant House was filled with more sweet treats. We made about 2500-cookies in all. Molly Wenk @moll_doll23 and Jessie Damuck @jessdamuck baked cookies for four days. Many of the recipes are from my books and my web site at MarthaStewart.com. In this house, they were surrounded by whimsical woodland animals and miniature figurines – the children loved this house the best.
Because my grandchildren stay here when they visit, I love decorating the space for them with lots of stuffed toys.
Even the napkins had a woodland theme. The delicate machine embroidered napkins are from Coral & Tusk @coralandtusk in Brooklyn, New York.
And of course, there were candy canes – all our hard candies came from Hammond’s. http://www.hammondscandies.com/
And outside, my beautiful Christmas tree with 1000 lights. Everyone had such a great time at the party. Happy holidays to all of you.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
