travel zen on friday: vancouver stanley park

Girl in a Wetsuit at Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada.

canadian shopping haul (aka i love maple)

(Vancouver, Canada).  I didn't really expect to buy anything on my trip to Vancouver other than maple candy.  I know they are basically glorified sugar cubes, but I have a soft spot in my heart for them.  It's very difficult to find maple candy in Los Angeles (other than at specialty stores around Christmas) and have you noticed how expensive real maple syrup is lately?

Anyways, so there I was roaming around for something uniquely Canadian to purchase.  For the first day or so, I failed miserably.  Most of the retail shops I saw were the same as those in Los Angeles.  Actually for the most part, being in Vancouver was a bit like being in the financial district of San Francisco or Seattle... It really didn't feel like I was out of the U.S.

But ultimately I saw a few items that caught my eye.  What were they?

restaurant review: manhattan beach post

Manhattan Beach Post

Mr. Sazy Rock and I recently had dinner with a friend and business associate at MB Post to talk shop. I have eaten there a few times for brunch but never for dinner. So, I was pleased to finally try the evening fare.

The Scene 

travel zen on friday - hobart

Hobart

Do you know where this picture was taken?

hotel review: l'hermitage hotel in vancouver

The front of the hotel with funny fat cupid face.

(Vancouver, Canada).  During a recent trip to Vancouver - my very first to Canada (yay!) - I had the pleasure of staying at the L'Hermitage Hotel in downtown Vancouver.   I had researched a fair bit on tripadvisor and booking.com and other sites, and decided on this boutique hotel because of the rave reviews and the central location.  (I also considered the St. Regis and the Fairmont Waterfront but they were a bit more expensive even with off-season rates.  Coincidentally my workplace booked me into the Fairmont Waterfront after my personal trip in Vancouver so I will be reviewing that hotel in the near future.)

This will obviously be a good review, but what did I especially like about L'Hermitage?

how to take the subway from the vancouver airport to downtown vancouver

One of the views from the subway.

Using the subway is a cheap, fast and efficient way to get from the Vancouver airport (YVR) to downtown. When I arrived in Vancouver on a weekday, Mr. Sazy Rock and I paid 9 Canadian Dollars (CAD) per person for a one way ticket into downtown. On the way back to YVR from downtown on a weekend, he and I paid 2.75 CAD per person for a one way ticket. It took us about 30 minutes for a one way trip. In comparison, as of this writing, a taxi to downtown would cost at least $31 plus tip one way. It is cheap and easy to take the subway (especially if you're a solo traveler or traveling with another person with minimal luggage), so why not use it?

Below is a guide on taking the subway in pictures:

random musing: beware of the glassware/mugs in hotel rooms

I've read so many articles throughout the years of how the cleaning staff in hotels don't thoroughly clean the hotel rooms between guests.  And I have yet to read an article that confirms that they clean (if ever) the glasses (water or wine) or the coffee mugs that are in the hotel rooms.  It gives me the creeps just to think about it...

So how do I deal with this (other than bringing my own glassware which defeats my constant goal of light packing)?

restaurant review: maude in los angeles

The unassuming entrance.

I am lucky that Mr. Sazy Rock's job (and my work with him) require us to be up to date with food trends, restaurants and all other manners of deliciousness. When Curtis Stone opened his restaurant in Los Angeles, which he called Maude, Mr. SR and I were traveling. We were pleased to have finally secured a reservation. 

restaurant review: chi spacca

(Los Angeles, CA).  The very first time I tried Chi SPACCA, I was only with one other person so we were unable to try the enormous slabs of beef whose amazing aromas mocked us throughout our meal.  Don't get me wrong - our Tomahawk Porkchop (42 ounces) and the vegetable sides we got were delicious, but I had my eye on the prize(s) - the steak and the beef and bone marrow pie - but they were simply too big for a table of 2.

I was determined to return with a larger group of people.  I decided 6 was the perfect number so I invited 2 other couples (who love meat) to join us and we tried the restaurant again!

How was it?

travel zen on tuesday: monkey in ubud

Monkey blissfully eating a treat in Ubud, Indonesia.  But remember, monkeys may appear cute, but they are not that sweet..

48 hours eating and drinking in downtown vancouver, canada

Vancouver.

Vancouver has a great reputation for eating and dining. On a recent work related trip, Mr. Sazy Rock and I took the opportunity to test whether that reputation had merit. I thought that it's a fun eating city. I did gain five pounds in a span of 48 hours. But, I did it so you don't have to.

Top Restaurants

longchamp le pliage bags - perfect for travellers!

For many years I would look at the Longchamp's Le Pliage bags at airports and ponder whether I should invest in one for my trips.  I would ask the nice sales clerk to show me a bag, fold it up, and unfurl it again.  Then I would look at the price tag (about $145 - yikes!) and walk away.  

And yet each time, the bags would "call" out to me.  I had many friends who loved them for travel.  In fact, one travel companion always hid a few Longchamp bags in the compartments of her luggage in case she shopped too much on her trip and needed to break out the Longchamp bags for the journey home.  So about 10 years ago, I took the dive and got a Longchamp Le Pliage tote at duty free on my way back from Taiwan.  

So, was it worth it?

restaurant review: carson kitchen in las vegas

Carson Kitchen.

Recently, the powers that be have been revitalizing downtown Las Vegas. As part of that effort, many entrepreneurs have opened up shop in town. Carson Kitchen, helmed by celebrity chef Kerry Simon, was one of them. Located in an old motel within walking distance off Fremont Street, Mr. Sazy Rock and I decided to set up a business lunch there. These are my thoughts:

favorite "cheap" meals in italy

(Italy).  Italy is not really known as a budget travel location, but there are still some amazing and affordable places to eat amazingly well.  And since the house wine (vino de casa) at all Italian restaurants are super good and cheap, there's really no need to spend a lot of money on fancy wines (unless you are a wine connoisseur).

Below is a list of my favorite "cheap" options, in no particular order...

travel zen on tuesday - goa, india

Where is this place?

restaurant review: chambar in vancouver, canada

Chambar Restaurant.

Chambar Restaurant (pronounced sham bar) in Vancouver has been receiving a lot of praise for the food and the drinks. In addition, as we ate and drank around the city, several bartenders and restaurant proprietors have told us that Vancouver's craft cocktail scene first started at Chambar. Their website has also cheekily referred to the dining experience there as "civilized debauchery." So, on our recent trip to the city, Mr. Sazy Rock and I were very excited to check it out. 

On to the review:

book review: tokyo on foot

My next major international trip won't happen until September 2015 but since I'm a planner I have already started researching for my itinerary.  I'm planning to revisit Tokyo and Kyoto - and this time I will be with my husband (and not my mom), so the trip will be distinctively different (i.e., I can actually experience the nightlife in Japan)! 

As part of my research, I stumbled upon a delightful book - Tokyo on Foot - written by a French graphic artist who lived in Tokyo for 6 months because his girlfriend was posted there temporarily for her job.  During this time, Florent Chavouet, wandered the city on foot while sketching everything he observed.  The book isn't really a travel guide but more of a graphic memoir.  There are some cute maps in the book but I'm not sure it will be that useful for a tourist.  The book does however provide a quirky view of the artist's experience in Tokyo.

video: happy new year!

Fireworks off the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Wishing you all a happy new year!!!