Was keen on making something after having not ventured into the kitchen for a while as I was unwell, and found this simple recipe for baking a cake in the good ol' rice cooker. This is excellent for those without an oven, as it tasted as good as a properly-baked cake!

Think this one is a keeper, though next time I would add some cinnamon to the apples for a bit of that extra "oomph", and perhaps reduce the sugar for the apples to 2, instead of 3 tablespoons as called for by the recipe.

Recipe can be found here.

This was my second time visiting Bali, but the first proper one where I got to visit more food places and saw some tourist sights (as the last one was with the firm, and we only had 1 day of free time).

A list of the places we visited, and some pictures! (Of lower quality, as I was lazy to lug around my Fuji)

We started our first day with a late lunch at Potato Head, which was just a 5 minutes walk from our hotel, followed by exploring the shops around the Seminyak area.

The unmistakable interior of Potato Head

Our choice of dinner for the night was at the famous Ku De Ta. A gripe about Ku De Ta though: they were sticklers for what you could order depending on where you were situated. For instance, if you sat on the second floor of the restaurant, you could only order the 5 course set dinner, and at the al-fresco restaurant tables, only the ala-carte menu. We asked for the ala-carte menu (and repeated this a number of times) but were nonetheless brought to the second floor by the reception staff. When we asked for the ala-carte menu, we were told by another wait staff that we were seated at the set dinner area and had to go back to reception to get a new table if we insisted on dining ala-carte!

Finally, when this was all sorted out and we were seated at the al fresco tables, we saw the wait staff bringing dishes which did not appear on the menu. When asked, we were told that these were items on the "bar food" menu and that we could not order any items from it unless we moved to the bar area! So we had no choice but to only order items from the ala-carte menu and later requested to move to the bar area for the sole purpose of ordering items from the bar menu. Food-wise, the appetisers from the ala-carte menu were rather well-done, but the bar food turned out to look better than it actually tasted.

For the remaining days in Bali, we booked a driver to take us to the more far flung places. Day 2 was spent in Ubud where we visited the art market, temple, and the rice fields, and of course to taste the famous Dirty Duck. For dinner we had local street food (albeit in the comforts of a restaurant) in the form of Hujan Locale. All the dishes we ordered were bursting with flavour, but in particular, I would highly recommend the fish curry!

The 'art' at the art market. To be fair, there were art pieces being sold (not photographed) though the same designs can be found at different shops.

My very skinny dirty duck

On Day 3, we decided to start the day easy with a massage / manicure / pedicure. We tried Amo Spa, which was a short walk from our hotel. While I am personally not sure about the quality of the massage (my friends said it was just ok), the mani / pedi weren't too bad, and came with a short hand, foot and shoulder massage. Cost-wise, it is on the pricey side compared to the other places in Bali, but the interior was modern and clean, and they used new tools for each new customer, and will open the sealed packet of tools in front of you. So I would recommend this if you place a premium on hygiene. (We initially tried to book a place at BodyWorks but it didn't have enough space for all of us and the attitude of the counter staff left more to be desired). 

We then rushed to Revolver Coffee a few doors down which is said to serve the best coffee in Bali, and packed breakfast. (It is a very small space, so you need to look carefully or you'll blink and miss it.) I had decaf coffee, but consistent with my friends who had the regular coffees, we felt that it wasn't that great as it was very acidic with a slightly sour aftertaste. The breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado and cheese was, however, pretty awesome. 

The afternoon was spent lounging around the beach in Nusa Dua, and a short visit to the Uluwatu Temple nearby. 





We watched the sunset at the famous Rock Bar (go early at 4 -5 to get a table, as reservations are only  open to hotel patrons). The views were great, but the food was frankly overpriced, and we spent more on 4 servings of bar food and 5 drinks than on each of our meals at Potato Head and Ku De Ta!



We then proceeded for a seafood dinner at Jimbaran, which I suppose is one of the touristy things one must do in Bali, but the food was nothing to shout about. 

On our final day in Bali, some of us headed to The Library, a cafe in Seminyak with a really cool vibe and interior, then regrouped for breakfast at Biku. (They serve both local food and Western brunch, and the high tea menu looks extremely value for money). I had the mee soto, which was very comforting. The remainder of our afternoon was spent at Tanah Lot (where you can walk to the temple only when it is low tide), and finally at Shelter Cafe to while the rest of afternoon away before our flight back.



Overall, it was a very relaxing trip. Pity that there was too much good food, and too few mealtimes!

The Ancient Agora of Athens, literally "gathering place" of the Ancient Greeks

Inside the Church of the Holy Apostles, one of the few intact structures in the Agora

View from Mars Hill, where the Apostle Paul preached to the Greeks

A shot of the Parthenon which was not under restoration and covered by scaffolding. Sadly, most of it was either taken away by the Brits, or have been destroyed. The surviving sculptures can be found in the Acropolis Museum.

The Greek flag on the Acropolis. Back when the Nazis first occupied Greece, they had ordered a guard to take down the Greek flag. He calmly did so, wrapped the Greek flag around himself, and jumped to his death.

What's left of the Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Tom of the Unknown Soldier

The changing of guard ceremony, which takes place every hour. (For best views, stand behind the white line and patiently wait for the procession to start! Ignore the tourists trying to get close up shots with the poor guards on duty as they will be made to move behind the white line before the ceremony begins, by which time, you would already be in prime position)

The tiny Cycladic-styled neighbourhood of Anafiotika, nestled away from the bustle of Athens in the historic Plaka area

The mask of Agamemnon, who commanded the Greek Army in the Trojan wars according to mythology

And last but not least, nothing completes a vacation like having good local food!

For this leg of the trip, we decided to do a guided tour with a local tour company, as the various sights are located rather far apart from one another, and transportation between nearest towns would have to be by way of regional buses, which are not very frequent. Given the tight schedule, we thought it more efficient to go with a tour group. Cost-wise, it did not cost significantly more than if we were to have done it on our own.

After some research, we went with the 3 day classical tour by Fantasy Travel which would capture the main historical sights on the mainland, but the tour itself was run by one G.O Tours. The leg room on the bus was a bit on the tight side, and there was the usual touristic stop each day (where they drop you off for a quick 'demonstration' or short introduction into the local produce sold there). Otherwise, the tour was informative, and the accommodation and meals provided (breakfast and dinner) were adequate.

Pictures!

The Corinth Canal

The theatre of Epidaurus

Historical value? Pfft. Just want to get my tan on.

The archeological site at Mycenae, where the ancient Mycenae civilisation lived before 12th century BC

The ruins at Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games

Ancient greek art at the Museum at Delphi

The Temple at Delphi, where Alexander the Great is said to have visited the Oracle for a prophecy

So this was our 10 days self-planned itinerary

• Day 1 - Fly into Athens, and transfer to an internal flight to Santorini. Spend the afternoon / night in Santorini.
• Day 2 - Morning in Santorini. Take the high speed ferry to Mykonos. 
• Day 3 - Explore Mykonos / Delos
• Day 4 - Morning in Mykonos. Take the slow ferry to Athens. Night in Athens
• Days 5 - 7 - 3 days tour to Mycenae, Epidaurus, Nathplion, Olympia and Delphi.
• Days 8 - 10 - Athens

Views at Oia, where you can catch the sunset

An alternative mode of transport - donkeys!

Want a pet (stuffed) donkey?

Signature Santorini Style

Wonder how much it costs to dine there?

Along the less touristy streets of Oia

Sea view from our balcony

The old town in Mykonos

Fishing

Little Venice

Old man enjoying the views from the base of the postcard-worthy windmill

Mykonos-styled housing - white walls, blue railings / windows dressed with luxuriant bougainvillea

Many dogs and cats suntanning on cobblestoned streets

Delos - the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis