Tales from the East Coast (part 3)

Florida, the last leg in our East Coast trail. Such joy when we arrived in Tampa, we were greeted with two of the best things in the world ~ family and sunny weather!

Being in Florida meant reuniting with one of my favorite cousins and best friends, meeting her son Riley (who we couldn't stop hugging and carrying), seeing my cousin Mikey and his Special Olympic swimming medals (who won a total of 8 golds and bronzes in Greece) and seeing my uncle and getting to spend time with everyone in their new home.

We fell in love with their house the minute we walked into the living room. Inside everything was spacious, the living room and kitchen on the 2nd floor plus the bedrooms on the upper level overlooked the ocean. Shortly after we arrived, we heard shouts from my aunt and uncle. We ran to the deck and saw 2 dolphins swimming and jumping out of the water! It was such a treat! Dolphins playing in the wild, in their own backyard.

Days were spent swimming in their saltwater pool, having barbecues, jumping off the dock, eating ice cream and taking walks on the beach. But mostly spending time with family we don't see very often.

And for the first time, I truly felt I was on vacation. I was not traveling nor reading maps, I wasn't running after trains or trying out new cuisine... I was waking up to the sunrise and sleeping in again. I was making my breakfast smoothies in the kitchen. I was cooking dinner with family and watching tv (!) and I was hanging out, just blissfully hanging out.
 
It was such a wonderful and love-filled stay for which I am deeply grateful ♥ Vacations have taken on a different meaning. I've always believed that traveling is good for the soul and now I see that vacations like these are good for the heart. Thank you Universe for letting me see.

Our blissful view, every single day.

Great to be with family ♥

The new man in the clan ~ Riley ♥

Living room

Love love love ♥

Poolside afternoons

Boys' day out

Play time!

Sunrise through our bedroom window ♥

Tales from the East Coast ~ NY Eats

Food is big on my travel itinerary. I love farmer's markets and discovering local produce. I make it a point to go to the local grocery stores and seeing the difference (from the arresting smell of cardamom, cloves and cinnamon in India to the abundance of organic produce in San Francisco; countless variations of kimchi in South Korea and the dizzying choice of cheeses in Madrid). Most of all, I enjoy eating :) This affinity for food has sharpened my instinct when it comes to choosing restaurants. I spot it and I just know. 

Here's a guide to some the best eats in New York (these are not Michelin star places, don't really care about that kind of stuff, but these spots are definitely must eats!):

♥ Eataly ~ wines, cheese, antipastos, gelatos. You get the idea.
♥ Village Yokocho ~ squeeze in for Japanese and Korean comfort food in a lively setting 
♥ Bistro Les Amis ~ a cozy corner French bistro with excellent entrees 
♥ Ramen Misoya ~  the miso broth is what makes a ramen and this place has some pretty tasty ones (choose from 3 different types of miso). Great ramen minus the long wait at the more popular Ippudo.
♥ Boqueria ~ amazing tapas (highly comparable to the ones you get in Spain!) in a pretty modern setting 
♥ Saigon Kick ~ head here for a bowl of pho and sample some of their banh mis before catching a show across the street at the Comedy Cellar (prices are unbelievably cheap by NY standards)
♥ Terrace 5 at MoMa ~ have a glass of wine overlooking the museum's sculpture garden 
♥ Good Enough To Eat ~ brunch in warm and friendly surroundings, the pancakes and waffles come with strawberry butter! 
♥ Peacefood Cafe ~ great vegan food (order the dumplings!) and pastries in a cool and laid back atmosphere. 
♥ Whole Foods Market ~ when you're in a hurry or plain tired and hungry from all the walking, then there's this. An array of sushi, salads, breads, pastries and a whole lot of international cuisine. Grab a tray or two then grab a seat at their vibrant food hall. Quick and tasty!

EATALY

SoHo

East Village

Greenwich

Good Enough to Eat

Sorry for the lack of food photos, I was too hungry to remember my camera! :)

Next stop, Florida!

Tales from the East Coast (part 2)

The city so nice they named it twice. New York, New York!  

Time flew fast in NY. There were so many things to do, places to see, museums to visit, shows to watch, food to try... clearly impossible in a week! So we did the best we could and had a fantastic time.

There's something about this city that kinda made me wish I got here sooner, like 15 years sooner. It's the perfect canvass brimming with possibilities. Everything is available to anyone who's seeking... at least that's how it felt like. As the song goes there's nothing you can't do, now you're in New York...

Some of the highlights of this trip:

♥ Seeing some of my dearest girlfriends and eating our hearts out in Eataly
♥ Staying in the East Village 
♥ Exploring the Lower East Side, West Village, Soho, Nolita and the surrounding areas
♥ Having the best laughs at the Comedy Cellar (go online and make your reservations)    
♥ Seeing Van Gogh's Starry Night and Monet's Water Lilies at the MoMa (closed on Tuesdays)
♥ Broadway's The Book of Mormon (possibly the most hilarious musical to date, composed by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone )
♥ Taking the ferry to Staten Island for a good look at the Statue of Liberty (stay at the right side of the ferry to get the best views) 
♥ Taking a stroll through the High Line (a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side) 

Eating our hearts out in Eataly!

Bustling SoHo

Washington Square Park (have you seen the movie August Rush?)

Lower East Side

There she is, Ms. Liberty

The High Line, one of my favorite spots in the city!

One week in this amazing and vibrant city left me wanting. Will definitely be coming back for more! Next up, a list of some of our best eats in NY! ♥ 

Tales from the East Coast (part 1)

Two weeks ago we packed our bags and headed to the east coast. First stop, the nation's capital, DC. My aunt lives in Virginia and ever since I was little, she'd tell me stories about her life in the States and her travels around the world (I used to have a cool stamp collection because of it). I think she's one of the first few to inspire me, along with all the books she gives us, to travel and leave home. So it was kind of a milestone to finally be able to visit her and see the place I only heard about in stories.

Washington and Arlington (Virginia) are so close together that we had an easy and pleasant time visiting all the landmarks. I love Georgetown, with its picture perfect historic buildings and shops. We visited Georgetown University and that made me long for my campus days (yup, stuck on being a kolehiyala!). Some of the stuff we crammed into those two days... oh and meet Marty, he made our short stay all the sweeter! :)

The White House ~ a lot smaller than we thought it would be.

Visiting the Smithsonian and the friendly neighborhood T-Rex. 

Loving Georgetown

Georgetown University

Marty! ♥

Next stop, New York! :)

If you're going to San Francisco... ~ Now And Zen Music Fest

A wonderful surprise for my birthday weekend was a music festival at the Golden Gate Park! Every year radio Alice 97.3 throws a big end-of-summer free concert in Golden Gate's Sharon Meadow. This year their line-up featured Hedley, Tristan Prettyman, Phil Philips (yes America's newest sweetheart), Ed Sheeran, Matt Nathanson and Alanis Morissette. Needless to say I was pretty stoked. I was looking forward to seeing Philips and newest favorite Ed Sheeran. They did not disappoint. It was clear to see what the hype was all about with Philips' powerful melodic voice, while Sheeran's smooth and dreamy vocals cradled the entire crowd, women especially. Nathanson, who's now a native of San Francisco, had the crowd going with his comic antics and of course, all too familiar tunes.

The sun made me wish I had my island clothes with me! Nevertheless we all had a great time laying on the grass, munching on our picnic food, lining up forever for a popsicle (watermelon and mint, it was worth it!), catching up with my dearest friend Chica (also my travel buddy, we've been together in 3 different continents the past 3 years, how cool is that), hanging out with hometown friends who've made SF their home and simply enjoying the entire scene. I truly couldn't ask for more. ♥

Golden Gate Park's Sharon Meadow

Hillside Picnic

Golden boy Phil Philips.

Chica and the popsicle

Eya

Watching from the tree top is cool too

Peace, love and good vibes!

We're heading to the East Coast and the SF series will be back in a couple of weeks. In the meantime watch out for other travel logs! ♥

If you're going to San Francisco... ~ Farmer's Market

The mere fact that the Ferry Building gets blogged twice in this series shows how fantastic it is. Saturdays, like I previously mentioned, is the weekend farmer's market where local farmers sell their amazing organic produce (I tasted the sweetest tomatoes, scored Padron peppers) and some of the city's best food trucks show up (yummy Mexican fish tacos and tamales + sweet lavender lemonade). And it just so happened that this particular Saturday was also my birthday :) what a treat!

The Ferry Building

Jewels in the sun ~ yellow, red & PURPLE bell peppers!

Organic Broccoli

The cutest pumpkins ever!

Curried Mango salt, anyone?

The perfect day

The perfect date(s) (with my girlfriend Chica partially hidden in the background)

The perfect birthday! :)

If you're going to San Francisco... ~ Hayes Valley

Scenes from a happy Friday.

A lovely gentle Anusara class with Darcy Lyon which my travel weary body sorely needed.

The perfect french toast for brunch at La Boulange.

A walk around Hayes Valley's picturesque neighbourhood, checked some of their lovely shops.

And finally an "exciting" drive along Dolores St., a beautiful palm tree lined that goes up and down the hills of San Francisco.

Yoga Tree studio on Hayes St.

Lovely Hayes Valley

The perfect french toast at La Boulange
(check out the creamy egg custard at the bottom of the toast!) 

La Boulange

Just one of the many pretty Victorian houses on Dolores St.