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 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... ~ 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.

travel often

have love, will travel

Not all those who wander are lost. (JRR Tolkien)


When I chose my word last year, I knew I was in for a lot of surprises. Explore, after all, is a big word & it made me feel like a child... at once sad to be leaving home for the first time & excited to be going out there on my own. It made me nervous, hopeful, excited, brave & adventurous. It made me feel how each human being on this planet should feel ~ alive.

Explore pushed me further out of my comfort zone & kicked my sorry excuses out of the window. It got me off my thinking chair & into the world. It got me to stop dreaming & start doing. The Holstee manifesto could not have said it any better

This is your life. Do what you love. Do it often.

And so I did, big time :) I started 2011 with a colorful visit to my hometown, swam with whale sharks, surfed Bali for a month; traveled with my yoga mat & spent intensive weeks on it with some of the most amazing spirits and the best teachers in the world. I went on spontaneous trips with unexpected company & that showed me I could fall in love with another part of the universe.

My word made me open to new connections & rethink about old ones. It made me appreciate the love I have in my life every 5 seconds. I'm deeply grateful & blessed to be taking part of the universe's abundance. All the traveling is certainly not because of a million bucks in my bank account (though it wouldn't hurt to have that as well!). I could easily say that many friends have pockets deeper than mine (they choose to spend that differently & I could only hope, passionately). No. Money can only take you so far. I say love takes you the farthest you need to go.

There has got to be passion or else traveling & transiting for 24 hours straight between 4 different terminals with your surfboard will drive you insane. It's got to be mad love or why else endure a 2 day stopover in between countries, barely enough time for you to unpack & switch bags. It may be exciting to travel to go from one beautiful place to the next but it's also exhausting at the same time. To the point of losing your voice for 8 straight days, or to the miserable point of getting pneumonia. Exploring does come with a price, but a price I'm willing to pay all in the name of love.

I read somewhere that in order to be an explorer of the world, one must notice the stories around you. To use all your senses in your investigations. You have to notice your own story unfold... see where these journeys are really taking you. And mine have taken me to realize what the best part of traveling is.

Coming home.

THANK YOU 2011. You've been such an amazing ride. :)

postcards from bali ::: surf's up!

~ scenes from kuta, legian & seminyak ~

After over a week of paddling, wave catching & playing in the water, I am totally surfed out! Not to mention bruised, sore, bronzed & extremely happy :) There's no stoke like paddling out on a clear sunny day, sliding down some glassy waves, wiping out on fierce ones, waiting on your board in between sets & taking off on long sweet rides.

Until recently, I have never really surfed solo. I had been afraid, in need & want of someone to paddle out with me. The first time I went on my own was wildly nerve wracking & exhilarating. It was a complete act of trusting myself & trusting nature. Each time I go out there is an act of complete letting go. After all how can you truly play with fear & control in your heart? You simply can't.

The cool thing is, you're never really alone. It doesn't matter where you're from or what board you're on, the lineup is teeming with like-hearted people filled with the same desire to play. There's always someone to share the stoke with. :)

One of my favorites from this week was letting a huge wave go, watching as it closed out from behind... and as the sea spray caught the afternoon light, a full rainbow stretched across the water. It was only for a few magical moments but my smile stayed on long after that.

Peace, love & good vibes. ♥

postcards from bali

- scenes from Ubud -

Bali is home to me in so many ways. Whether it's sleeping & waking up to the sound of waterfalls and the sight of lush jungles in the middle of the island; walking along rice fields while the sun & cool breeze play with your skin; enjoying flavorful spices & aromas from one meal to the next; or breezing through the temple-laden streets on a motorbike, what makes Bali so different are things which are already so familiar. Welcoming me like a dear old friend.

No matter how many travelers pass through Ubud (some staying to become part-time residents), there's always something untouched about the place. It's a place where I can retreat into myself without having to cut my ties to the world. It's where you can move amongst it's gentle people and get to know them without getting in their way. It's where a yoga teacher is blissfully content to be a student, taking classes every single day, gorging on sumptuous delicacies and after, a book & a bed to come home to.

my heart wanders

What would happen if one day you decided to follow your heart?

In the book My Heart Wanders Pia Jane Bijkerk shows us all the places where her wandering heart took her. Upon leaving a comfortable home in Sydney, she sets herself up in Paris then later finds a home in a houseboat in Amsterdam. Filled with beautiful images of her travels, this book is an inspirational memoir that awakens that voice inside of us. I can't wait to have my own copy, pick it up & hold it close to my heart!

Hers is a story that mirrors those whose spirits are filled with wanderlust. Exactly where would it take us, the very minute we follow that voice within that tells us to leave the comforts of our home, to take a risk & live the life of our dreams?

A dear friend shared something really beautiful last night. There are no wrong turns. What an amazing way to see things, to take responsibility for our own actions & trust that grace is indeed with us every step of the way. My heart has led me here, to a magical life on an island filled with skies that awaken the soul, surrounded by an ocean of free spirits who live their lives with truth & passion. And yet my heart continues to speak, of other islands where waves call out to play & far away lands where words are spoken differently. It's like opening a door to your heart & finding other doors that lead to other places.

But it's not always easy, noh? It's painful when you realize that some journeys are meant to be traveled alone... when we have to leave things, places & people behind because otherwise we betray our own soul. It's rarely ever easy especially when we struggle to hold on & find ways to maybe, just maybe we can move on without letting go. This is why stories like Pia's inspire us greatly, why stories of so many other courageous & beautiful beings out there resonate deeply in our hearts. This where the truth lies... and following it is the only way we can ever be free.

There is a need inside of us that far outweigh the outcome. How can we ever rest & be true to ourselves if we don't listen?

the wanderer

Not for lack of longing
Not for fear of being alone
Essence from a star wandering
Exploring a life to call my own
Across this strange planet I pass,
Moving as a traveler of fate,
Please, for a moment to wait I ask
'Til the sun I kissed yesterday rises late

Han Cha-hyeon

happiness is

when we let the beauty of what we love be what we do (Rumi)
happiness stops being the destination.

possibilities

untitled by marcio nakamura

the most amazing thing about traveling is the way your life expands right in front of you. the way possibilities seem to grow each day in ways that were never presented to you before. it's surprising how the idea of reinventing yourself or following a long forgotten dream seems so easy. that the simple act of placing yourself in a strange land gives you a new badge of courage to dream beyond life as you know it.

this is how travel lures me out of my shell. it makes me think of other possibilities, like becoming a traveling yoga teacher, learning to speak a new language or more than once, being with someone else. not too long ago i've decided that this seed of unrest and dissatisfaction is not due to the lingering doubt of my marriage. i look around and i see how everything is perfectly as it should be. so i've chosen to observe this seed and to use my better judgment and my recent experiences before riding on the next wave of energy that would lead me to another karmic attraction. simply because i've been there and there isn't where the answer lies. it has got to be in me.

what makes me smile though is meeting someone who's also on the same path as i am. someone who's in fact further down the road, who's devoted his life pursuing his love for yoga. i admire this devotion that mirrors my own. i admire his courageous life and as i write this i realize i too have this courage. anybody who's ever followed his and her heart's calling has it and it's such a beautiful thing. it inspires me because they exist - that real testosterone driven men love yoga & live for it. it just makes me happy.

i do wonder what it feels to have a partner who's also on the same path. i used to wish for one. maybe i still do... but i have learned that everything is exactly as it should be and life is complete. so i open myself to grace. maybe i'm still not seeing the bigger picture. maybe the way that my husband loves me and accepts me for who i am and what i do is being on the same path somehow. all i know is that the more i open myself to grace, my will becomes aligned with that of the universe. and for today, that is all i need to know.