I’m more than ready to get back to normal, though, and I’m going to continue on with my Walt Disney World trip reports. I have about 3 or 4 more entries planned. Bear with me.

Today I’m revisiting the 2 days we spent at EPCOT on Mon, 11/28 and Sat, 12/3.

You know you’ve arrived at EPCOT when you see the park’s icon, Spaceship Earth.

The first area of the park that you come across is Future World. I have to admit that a lot of the rides & attractions in Future World are either boring or SUPER outdated. But we gave (almost) everything a chance and found a few that were particularly memorable…

Like Test Track. My favorite EPCOT ride. It’s a vehicle simulation ride that ends in a high-speed drive around the exterior track. SO AWESOME.

Living with the Land is a boat ride through the Land pavilion’s greenhouse where you can see the various crops grown on site. Look at that 9 pound lemon! I have really distinct memories of going on this ride when I was 10 with my parents so I love this ride for the nostalgia factor.

Over at the Innoventions pavilion, we went to Club Cool to sample Coca-Cola products from around the world. Free of charge!

Krest Ginger Ale from Mozambique (much stronger ginger taste than I’ve found here in the US) and Lift Apple from Mexico were the stand-outs to me. Stay away from the Beverly (Italy). Trust me. It is TERRIBLE.

Innoventions also features various interactive exhibits and rides, one of which is a video game playground where we created a game starring… ourselves.

Here we are on screen. LOL. We had to perform a series of actions (running, jumping, dancing) that were then inserted into the game. HILARITY. We got such a kick out of this.

Spaceship Earth (aka the ride inside the giant golf ball) was a pleasant surprise. The ride itself is ok at best (it takes you back in time to track advancements in human communication) but the end is pretty entertaining. The ride is equipped with interactive touch screens where you answer various questions and somewhere along the way your image is captured. Then your future is revealed to you in a series of images. Ours were HIGHLY AMUSING. Well, technically, it was Rob’s future because my picture didn’t get taken for some reason. It ended up being MUCH better this way.

OH MAN. This was THE BEST. We could NOT stop laughing.

After we had our fill of Future World, we made our way to the World Showcase, which is my favorite part of EPCOT. I LOVE to travel so this part of the park is right up my alley. Plus, there’s such a wealth of dining options. There’s only 2 rides in the World Showcase (in Mexico and Norway) so we did lots of exploring. Just taking in the sights, checking out the food & drink offerings, and browsing in the shops (that actually sell non-Disney merchandise!). Some of my favorite pics…

The Canada pavilion is so beautiful.

We had dinner at the signature restaurant in Canada, Le Cellier Steakhouse, where we had the BEST service. From start to finish, it was a great experience — all our courses were timed perfectly and everything we needed was anticipated. I wish I could remember our server’s name because he was outstanding. I also discovered pina colada rooibos tea here and I’ve been looking for some ever since.

Hopping over to the UK!

I’m a sucker for France. The view on the bridge as you approach the pavilion is so gorgeous.

On our first day at EPCOT, we had lunch at Les Chefs de France where we had yummy onion soup and we also got to see…

Remy! He goes by really fast so I only got this blurry shot of him. Grrr.

Making silly faces in Morocco.

My favorite pavilion — Japan! It’s so peaceful. It also doesn’t hurt that there’s a sizable Mituskoshi store where you can find all kinds of Japanese items — from toys (Domo and Hello Kitty!) to candy to kitchen accessories (chopsticks, delicate plates and teapot sets, etc).

From the World Showcase looking across the lagoon to Spaceship earth.

Ciao!

Germany is easily my second favorite pavilion. It’s so picturesque. And I just love the energy here. Because of the lack of rides in the World Showcase, many adult guests participate in drinking around the world where you have to consume an alcoholic beverage in each country before moving to the next one. That means 10 different drinks! As you can imagine, Germany has a variety of beers to choose from so the crowd is really spirited and happy. LOL. Because I don’t drink, I was drawn instead to…

Karamell Kuche! It’s a Werther’s store that’s packed with not only packaged treats but FRESHLY MADE goodies. It’s like heaven. Seriously. We went a little crazy in there and bought fresh caramel corn (sinful), a caramel & chocolate-covered strawberry, caramel roll with marshmallow cream (AH-MAY-ZING), and a chocolate with sea salt. It was all FANTASTIC. I want to go baaaaack.

Couldn’t resist taking a picture in front of the Christmas tree!

And of course another picture in front of Spaceship Earth for good measure.

Even though we had almost 2 full days in EPCOT, there’s still so much we could have done. I would have loved to check out other restaurants in the World Showcase (Via Napoli in Italy, Biergarten in Germany). And I wish we had time to sign up for the segway tour around the park. I guess these are things that will go on my list for “next time” (whenever that will be).

EPCOT Rides/Attractions Count:
Spaceship Earth – 1
Ellen’s Energy Adventure – 1
Mission: SPACE – 1 (green/mild version)
Test Track – 3
The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 1
Turtle Talk with Crush – 1
Living with the Land – 1
Journey Into Imagination with Figment – 1
Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros – 1
Maelstrom – 1
O Canada! – 1
Impressions de France – 1

For more pics from our time at EPCOT, check our Flickr here and here.

I LOVED Animal Kingdom.

There will be a ridiculous amount of photos in this entry.

Like Hollywood Studios, this park doesn’t have a huge number of rides or attractions but there is such an INCREDIBLE level of theming and detail that it more than makes up for that deficit.

I pretty much walked around in a constant state of awe. Like with my jaw to the floor. It’s AH-MAY-ZING.

We made a beeline to Asia to hit Expedition Everest first thing in the morning.

I had a feeling I would LOVE this ride…

And I did! It’s a roller coaster but it doesn’t throw you around like some older coasters do. It’s a very smooth ride. The ride vehicles even go forward AND backward! So exhilarating. It catapulted to my Top 3 rides EVER (for the record – Space Mountain at Disneyland, Forbidden Journey at Wizarding World of Harry Potter and now Expedition Everest).

GAWD. THIS PARK. It’s just gorgeous.

We made our way to Dinoland to ride DINOSAUR.

Hated it. It uses the same ride vehicle and track layout as Indiana Jones at Disneyland but it is NOT nearly as fun or exciting. Not to mention that the “storyline” is also pretty lame. Oh well.

Each of the Disney parks has its own “icon” — and at Animal Kingdom, it’s the Tree of Life.

Again, so much detail. Look at the animal carvings on the bark!

We even found Simba as we were admiring the tree.

Over in Africa, we experienced the Kilimanjaro Safaris where we toured the savanna to see various African animals.

The trip through the safari is aided by a guide who points out the animals as you approach them. And in between scouting for animals, they’re also keeping up with the ride’s storyline that has you trying to save a baby elephant from poachers. It’s pretty cheesy, I have to admit. But luckily, we had a really great guide who embraced the “cheese.” Heh.

I was amazed at how close we were to the animals.

The next land we visited was Camp Minnie Mickey (kind of a lazy name, or is it just me?) to watch The Festival of the Lion King, which is a 30-minute stage show featuring singing and dancing (it’s more of a variety show versus a retelling of the story).

It was entertaining but sadly, none of my pictures turned out. Too much movement!

Another reason for visiting Camp Minnie Mickey was that I wanted to see all the character Christmas trees. They’re sprinkled throughout the land — and they’re so cute! A few of my favorites included Minnie, Pluto and Chip & Dale…

Stitch, Pocahontas, Meeko, Mickey, Donald Duck, Goofy and a few other characters had trees as well.

While there, we also got to see…

Thumper and Chip & Dale! Love these guys. I REALLY wanted to get a picture taken with Thumper but I was feeling really awkward and self-conscious that day so I passed. UGH. I regret it.

After the fuzzy animals, we went to see real animals along the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and Maharajah Jungle Trek.

By this point in the trip we’d been at WDW for 5 days and had gone the entire time without having some sort of Asian food or rice. Hey, we’re Filipino, rice is a thing! So luckily I had the foresight to book our lunch at Yak and Yeti, which serves Asian-inspired cuisine.

OH MAN. THE FOOD TOTALLY HIT THE SPOT.

We had rice with our meals! SO NOMMY. AND THE DESSERT! Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons drizzled with a honey vanilla glaze. INSANELY GOOD.

We walked off our lunch by exploring Asia. Seriously, this land is like candy for the eyes — it’s so visually interesting.

I mean, the detail on that truck! It’s just an ice cream stand!

I wanted to get another ride in on Expedition Everest so we headed in that direction. Like the rest of Asia, this ride is so gorgeous…

I can’t remember why we were posing like that. I think we were supposed to be scared. We just look crazy. LOL.

To cap off our time at the Animal Kingdom, we decided to take in a couple of shows. Flights of Wonder was an amazing show featuring exotic birds but sadly, Finding Nemo – The Musical was SUPER disappointing. And I’m pretty easy to please! The singing was fine but the acting made me cringe. It was so bad that I was actually happy when my boss started sending me text messages during the show. We took that opportunity to leave early so I could take care of some work. CRAZY, I KNOW.

We missed Rafiki’s Planet Watch (an area of the park with a petting zoo and a peek behind the scenes) and Kali River Rapids (no interest in getting drenched) but otherwise we covered the park pretty well. Looking back I would have loved to have another half day here. Hindsight and all that.

After leaving the park, we headed to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner at their signature restaurant Jiko.

It was pretty dark in the restaurant but it was a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of the park.

From start to finish, this was probably one of the best meals we had at WDW. The menu is inspired by African, Indian & Mediterranean cuisine so flavors are bold and unique. Everything was scrumptious.

Sharing a pic of our dessert because it’s my favorite part of any meal. Here we had coconut bread pudding (front) and chocolate/coffee mousse (back).

And a parting shot of the lobby of the Lodge. I loved that all the parks and resorts were dressed up for the holidays. It was such a great time to visit!

AK Rides/Attractions Count:
Expedition Everest – 2
DINOSAUR – 1
Pangani Forest Exploration Trail – 1
Festival of the Lion King – 1
Kilimanjaro Safaris – 1
Maharajah Jungle Trek – 1
Flights of Wonder – 1
Primeval Whirl – 1
Finding Nemo: The Musical – left early

For more pics from our day at Animal Kingdom, check our Flickr here.

I’m good at making New Year’s resolutions buuuut not so good at keeping them so I’m not going to bother this year. Instead, my “theme” for 2012 will be to use what I have and try to rein in any extraneous purchases (unless I have a gift card ). The goal is to save more money that we can use on the house, to travel or to keep for a “rainy day.”

So that’s the plan for 2012.

Now let’s go back to 2011 again to continue on with my Florida trip report — this time I’ll get started with our time (10 nights!) at Walt Disney World. Specifically Disney’s Hollywood Studios which we visited on Mon, 12/5.

Again, this will be a pic heavy entry. I think all of my planned WDW entries are going to be.

I’m starting with DHS because it’s my least favorite of the 4 main Disney theme parks. While it’s nicely themed (come on, it’s Disney), it doesn’t have the same charm and depth that the other 3 do. At least to me. The park is supposed to evoke Hollywood in the 1930s/1940s and while it may look the part, it also feels a little thrown together. Like all the pieces make sense individually but not so much together. I DON’T KNOW. AM I EVEN MAKING SENSE?! There’s also significantly less rides and attractions in this park so it feels lacking in that way too. But we still managed to have a great time.

The main entrance…

Instead of Main Street, we walked down Hollywood Boulevard and saw the park’s icon…

Mickey’s Sorceror Hat! YAY.

We arrived right before the official park opening in order to join the HORDES of people heading to Toy Story Mania in Pixar Place. This was INSANE. I think 99% of people in the park were headed there too. I wish I had a picture of the crowd because it was RIDICULOUS. But once it hit 9am, the Disney cast members led the entire mass of humanity over to the ride in a (fairly) orderly line. I knew that Rob & I wanted to get on the ride at least twice that day but I wavered over riding first and then getting a Fastpass or vice versa. If you get there at park opening, my recommendation is to RIDE FIRST. The Fastpass line gets long immediately because people are cramming multiple tickets into the machine. The standby line is still walk-on at this point.

We were in such a rush to get on the ride that I didn’t even get a chance to really admire Pixar Place until later in the day. It’s amazing how much it resembles Pixar’s headquarters in Emeryville, CA (I used to live right by it!).

Next we headed to Sunset Boulevard and…

Tower of Terror!

Of all the rides that are duplicated in Disneyland & Walt Disney World, I FAR preferred Tower of Terror at WDW (all the other rides are the same or are better at Disneyland, in my opinion). Tower of Terror had an amazing “pre-show” before the drop sequence where the doors open and the entire ride vehicle moves forward into the hallway. SO COOL. I’m pretty sure there are more drops too. LOVED IT.

Other rides/attractions we checked off our list that morning…

Star Tours (after which Rob found this Boba Fett hat to try on, hehe)…

The Great Movie Ride (this was kinda lame, I’ll be honest)…

The Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream exhibit (awe-inspiring — really enjoyed seeing memorabilia from Disney’s life and models/artifacts from the parks)…

Rock n Roller Coaster (AWESOME dark coaster with 3 inversions — so fun)…

And before breaking for lunch, we managed to catch the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (sufficiently entertaining and surprisingly funny).

I LOVE FOOD. And believe it or not, the dining options at WDW are far better than traditional theme park food. I mean, WDW definitely has its fair share of burgers and hot dogs but they also have a lot of varied selections in both their quick service and table service restaurants. So I did a lot of planning when it came to the dining throughout our trip. And I found that 50′s Prime Time Cafe at DHS serves comfort food, specifically fried chicken. So OF COURSE I made a reservation.

AND OMG IT WAS SO NOMMY AND FANTASTIC AND SERIOUSLY SOME OF THE BEST FRIED CHICKEN EVEEERRRRR. A++++

I’m drooling just thinking about it right now.

No, really.

After that amazing lunch, we set out to conquer the rest of the park.

You’d think that a park with a Hollywood theme would have a solid Studio Backlot Tour. But aside from the water and pyrotechnic demonstrations, there just wasn’t much else to see. I guess it’s because the park is no longer a full time television and motion picture production facility so there’s really no “behind the scenes” areas or cool props/artifacts to showcase.

We wandered over to the Animation Courtyard (love this Sorceror Mickey topiary)…

But by this point in the day, our energy level was low (it didn’t help that it was HOT) so we didn’t even feel like participating in the Animation Academy, which is one of our favorite attractions here in CA! We decided to catch the last showing of the Beauty and the Beast musical to sit and recharge. It was excellent!

Sadly we missed a few of the other stage shows (the Lights Motors Action stunt show, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and the American Idol Experience). They’re scheduled very close together making it difficult to run around the park to see all of them. That just means we have to make another trip to WDW. Hehe.

Before we left the park, though, there was one very important attraction we needed to see. The Osborne Lights!

PHENOMENAL.

The lights are a seasonal display on the Streets of America and they dance along to holiday music. It’s SO beautiful.

Dinner was at Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club Resort…

Where Rob & I both had the New York Strip Steak. Yummers.

Exploring the Yacht Club before calling it a day. Even Disney’s resorts are attractions to themselves.

I MISS WDW SO SO MUCH.

DHS Rides/Attractions Count:
Toy Story Midway Mania – 2
Tower of Terror – 1
Star Tours – 1
The Great Movie Ride – 1
Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular – 1
Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream – 1
Studio Backlot Tour – 1
Rock n Roller Coaster – 1
Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage – 1

For more pics from our day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, check our Flickr here.

Now to FINALLY get started on my Florida trip report! YAY.

I’m going to start with our visit to Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure. Where we visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on Thurs, 12/1. !!!

WARNING: PIC HEAVY ENTRY! (Feel free to click each pic for bigger).

Walking up to the entrance…

I PRETTY MUCH STOPPED IN MY TRACKS.

The Hogwarts Express! SQUEE!

Then Hogsmeade. It’s so detailed! STUNNING.

And finally…

HOGWARTS. As we were walking up to the castle, I suddenly felt so overwhelmed. Everything looked absolutely perfect and I couldn’t believe we were actually there!

We went on all 3 rides in the Wizarding World, the best of which was Forbidden Journey. It’s not a roller coaster but it’s definitely a thrill ride — the ride spins, twists, and drops you every which way as you soar through Hogwarts with the trio. It’s AH-MAY-ZING. Probably in my Top 3 rides EVER.

It even features a fan-freaking-tastic queue where you see…

The Mirror of Erised…

Professor Sprout’s greenhouse…

the House Points…

the Sorting Hat…

Dumbledore’s office…

And finally the Defense of the Dark Arts classroom with the trio!

After the rides, we explored Hogsmeade and came across…

Ollivander’s (there’s a “show” where you can see a muggle select a wand but because of the store’s looooow capacity, the line is ridiculously long)…

Dervish and Banges…

Zonko’s…

Honeydukes! All the stores are themed impeccably but they’re not designed to hold many people at all (I believe this was something that J.K. Rowling insisted on to be realistic to her vision). We visited during an off-peak time and it was STILL crowded inside the stores (the rides were all walk-ons, though). I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like in the summer.

For lunch, we ate at the Three Broomsticks so we could try butterbeer! YUM. I got frozen and Rob got regular… I made the better choice. Hehe. The frozen butterbeer is FAR better. But it’s VERY sweet so I couldn’t finish it. This is the best picture I have of the butterbeer (frozen is in front in the souvenir cup)…

Eventually we made our way around the park to visit the other “islands” — Seuss Landing, Jurassic Park, Marvel Super Hero Island (The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a MUST-DO ride), etc.

Islands of Adventure is such a picturesque park.

I can’t wait until the Wizarding World makes its way to Hollywood! I LOVED it. There were so many times where I’d stop, look around and find myself absolutely stunned and speechless. The Harry Potter series means a lot to me and it was incredible to have such an immersive experience. I can’t explain it. If you’re a fan, I highly recommend a visit. It won’t be one you’ll soon forget.

Ride count (for my reference):
Forbidden Journey (WWoHP) – 2
Dragon Challenge (WWoHP)- 1
Flight of the Hippogriff (WWoHP) – 1
The Cat in the Hat (Seuss Landing) – 1
The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley (Seuss Landing) – 1
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (Marvel) – 1

For more pics from Islands of Adventure & WWoHP, check our Flickr here.

Anyway, I’m currently weeding through all our pictures and hopefully I’ll get around to sharing some of them here with a trip recap.

To ease into it, I’ll start with Miami Beach…

Ok, I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t love Miami Beach. That’s not to say we had a bad time. I just don’t think we really gave it a fair shake. We only had 2 full days at the end of our trip there (I planned it that way so we could relax and take it easy after conquering the theme parks in Orlando) and I did very minimal research as far as sight-seeing. So we pretty much only saw the 2-3 mile area around our hotel, which included the beach, Ocean Drive, Collins Ave and Lincoln Rd. It didn’t help that we missed Disney like crazy. Seriously! Rob even admitted that maybe we should have stayed in Orlando for the entire 2 weeks.

The one thing I DID research was the food. So while we didn’t really see anything major besides the gorgeous art deco hotels and the beach, we were VERY well fed. We had AH-MAY-ZING Cuban food at Puerto Sagua, NOM-MY crab claws at Joe’s Stone Crab and DELICIOUS burgers at Shake Shack.

In any case, I’m glad we took the time to visit. Even though we only took ONE picture of ourselves the entire time we were there. OOPS.

Here it is…

Next I’ll post some pics and thoughts about The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! (Preview: SO GREAT).

I have a lot of TV to talk about but I’m going through vacation withdrawals so I thought I’d post some pics and write up some thoughts from our recent anniversary trip (click pics for bigger)…

Whistler, September 28 – 29

Driving on the Lion’s Gate Bridge through Vancouver heading towards Whistler. We had FABULOUS weather our entire stay (cool but with the sun shining). And to think I was worried it would rain!

After we reached the halfway point, we decided to stop at Tim Horton’s to pick up coffee and a snack. Weeelll, we decided to use a credit card for payment since we hadn’t picked up the local currency yet. Unfortunately, they only took Mastercard, which OF COURSE, is the only type of card we don’t have. EEEKKK. I think the employees felt sorry for us, though, since we had already ordered and were about to leave to find an ATM with our tails between our legs… and they proceeded to GIVE US our coffee and food FOR FREE. I have never felt so simultaneously embarrassed and grateful all at the same time. SONICEOMG.

Getting closer! You can see the mountains!

Arriving at Whistler Village and being welcomed by the Inukshuk.

Before it got too dark, we took a stroll around the Village and found the Olympics rings. I’m a HUGE Olympics junkie so this was so exciting for me.

So I pride myself on doing thorough research when making vacation plans. But I totally messed up in Whistler. The entire reason we made the extra trip there was to take the Peak 2 Peak gondola up to see Whistler & Blackcomb Mountains. I somehow missed the fact that the gondola was closing for the end of the season a mere 3 days before we arrived. ARGH. So yeah. That’s why the above pic is completely empty. We were there and didn’t even get to go up on the mountains. EPIC FAIL. I was so pissed at myself. Oh well. Gives us another reason to go back? I guess?

Instead we did some more wandering around the Village. We went back to Olympic Plaza, tried the coffee at Blenz and admired the mountains from afar.

The views on the Sea to Sky Highway back to Vancouver were so beautiful.

Vancouver, September 29 – October 1

I love walking along Robson Street. It’s so vibrant and has such great energy. It has the feel of a big city without losing its intimacy.

We had such a fantastic time biking along the Seawall last year that we did it again. Sadly, Rob injured his foot while biking (he used the wrong part of his foot to pedal) so we had to take it easy the next few days. Regardless, biking the Seawall is probably my #1 favorite thing to do in Vancouver besides eat.

Speaking of eating, our beloved Japadog was closed! Waaahhhh.

But we more than made up for it with nommy meals at Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar and Hapa Izakaya among others.

No Joshua Jackson sighting but we did see this notice for Fringe filming as we walked from Chinatown back towards Downtown. So cool!

All in all, we didn’t do much but still had a FANTASTIC trip. It reinforced my love of the city and I can’t wait to go back again. Next time I’d really like to explore the Kitsilano and Granville neighborhoods, possibly visit Victoria, and actually go to Whistler when the gondola is open (d’oh!).

Now I’m finalizing our plans for our next trip to Orlando & Miami, which is just over 6 weeks away. I’m totally counting down the days…

My absolute favorite is MOVE. But EAT is a very close second. It also makes me supremely HUNGRY. They’re only a minute each so… no excuses. Watch them!

I LOVE to travel so these videos give me a serious case of wanderlust. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds or the time to travel often. FAIL. My ultimate dream is to go on a Round the World trip. Someday…

For now, though, Rob and I have 2 trips planned before the end of the year. First off, we’re heading to Vancouver at the end of the month for a belated third year anniversary trip. We loved it so much last year (see my trip report here and here) that we really wanted to spend more time there. And this time we’re going to spend a day in Whistler! Then after Thanksgiving, we’re taking a longer trip to Florida where we’ll spend 10 days at Disney World (with a side trip to Universal Studios for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) and 3 days in Miami.

So much to look forward to… CAN’T. WAIT.

Last week I took a few extra days off so I could tag-along with Rob on his business trip to Minneapolis. I only had 2 full days there but I made the most of my time away…

We landed late on Saturday night (only had time to brave the cold and eat dinner) so we woke up early on Sunday to explore downtown. It was a beautiful day (and unusually warm for this time of year) so we walked down to the river to see…

… the Stone Arch Bridge. It’s gorgeous.

The bridge has pedestrian and cycling lanes so we walked a bit to check out the view of the Mill District…

… the Mississippi River…

… and the view of the downtown skyline.

For brunch we went to Hell’s Kitchen (so good!) where they have the most amazing homemade peanut butter (and marmalade). I bought a small jar of peanut butter to take home with me and LIKE AN IDIOT, I put it in my carry-on luggage. I did not know TSA considers it a liquid so they took it away from me at security. Waahhhh. Luckily, Rob was staying an extra day and bought me another one. Phew. So remember kids, peanut butter is a liquid (even though it’s totally not).

After stuffing ourselves, we walked down to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.

It was nice to be outside in the cool, crisp air. Especially since Orange County was experiencing heat in the upper 80s.

Of course we had to see the famous Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture. Iconic.

For dinner we went to 112 Eatery where I had tres leches cake for the first time. OMG. It was incredibly rich and decadent. So good.

The following day was Monday and Rob had to work (hahahaha) so I was on my own. In Minneapolis there’s no tax on clothing or shoes so I decided to do a little retail therapy.

I started downtown and since the weather was cooler than the previous day, I took advantage of the Skyway system. This California girl loved the Skyways. They’re basically an above-ground, enclosed pedestrian walking path that connects various office towers, hotels, and shops. I didn’t have to go outside once! Ok, except to take this picture.

I even found this awesome bakery Cocoa & Fig. Their chocolate chip cookies were TODIEFOR. They even had macarons!

After lunch I took a trip out to the Mall of America. It was such an inexpensive (only $2!) and easy trip on the light rail from downtown.

I wasn’t originally planning to go to MoA but I figured that at least now I could say I’ve been there. It’s your normal suburban mall but amplified by about… a million. Not to mention that there’s a freaking amusement park in the middle of it all.

Craziness, right?

My 2 days went by in a flash. If I had more time, I would have loved to walk around the Uptown area, see the Lakes or even visit St. Paul. I guess there’s always next time.

Woke up to rain. But we made the best of it!

After breakfast, we headed to North Vancouver to visit Grouse Mountain.

Crossing Lions Gate Bridge from downtown.

The Skyride that goes up the mountain to the Chalet. LOVED the ride. It’s exhilarating to see the world at your feet.

At the top (not to be confused with the peak – you have to take another chairlift up there, which we didn’t). Unfortunately the visibility was TERRIBLE so we decided just to take a short hike to see the 2 orphaned bears that live on the mountain.

We were walking and I didn’t realize how deep the snow was and I… TOTALLY FELL DOWN. How embarrassing.

After getting lost on the way, we found the bears!

Heading back down the mountain.

It was still raining but we decided to go to the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge anyway. (There’s another suspension bridge in North Vancouver that’s supposed to be higher and longer — Capilano — but they charge admission there and we’re cheap!).

So exciting! The bridge is a little narrow but I actually liked being able to just glance to the side and see the creek down below.

We headed back downtown (where it wasn’t raining – go figure!) and set out to see more of the sights, like…

Gastown steam clock.

Love the street lamps here.

A closer view of Canada Place.

The Olympics cauldron! Too bad we had to see it in this state. They’re making it a permanent fixture in this plaza and it was still under construction.

After all that walking, we got settled back at the hotel, watched the Lakers lose to the Thunder (grrr!) and treated ourselves to yummy Indian food from Rangoli.

Sunday, April 25.

Our last day.

Didn’t have anything planned except for brunch at Cafe Medina. We arrived just before opening so we were seated right away. Thank goodness because seats were filled quickly and a long line formed outside (in the rain!).

Blurry pic of the inside.

Brunch was AH-MAY-ZING. We ordered these mini waffles as appetizers and they were SO. GOOD. For entrees, we tried the fricassé (fried eggs with short ribs, potatoes, arugula) and the cassoulet (fried eggs, baked beans, bacon, and andouille sausage).

Seriously, GO HERE. I swear it’s yummers.

And so ends a fantastic trip.

More pics on the Flickr here.

We don’t have any other trips planned this year except for a local trip down to San Diego in July for Comic-Con! Rob and I have passes for all 4 days and YES, I’ve already arranged for the time off. Can’t wait.

Thursday, April 22.

It was an early morning. I think I woke up around 6 am. I DON’T WAKE UP THIS EARLY ON WEEKDAYS.

When we arrived at LAX, we found out our 9:30 am United flight was delayed. Typical, I thought. Our last 4 United flights were all delayed so what’s new. Luckily it was only delayed about 15 minutes. That’s nothing compared to our past delays! Maybe United likes me again.

After a quick 3 hour flight, we arrived in Vancouver! We picked up our rental car, got lost on the way to the freeway, but still managed to get to our hotel downtown within half an hour.

It was a gorgeous day so we decided to walk through Yaletown towards False Creek and take the Aquabus to…

…Granville Island where we checked out the Public Market, indulged in a nutella crepe, did some window shopping and found these little guys…

The Vancouver Olympics mascots. I love them! My favorite is Mukmuk on the very left. Isn’t he cute?

We headed back across the creek for a walk along the seawall and I was so excited to see…

BC Place! Home of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

The Olympic Village! Which housed the athletes. YAY. I’m such an Olympics junkie.

Aaaannnndddd… that’s pretty much it for our first day. LOL. Except for watching the Lakers lose to OKC in game 3 but let’s not think about that.

Friday, April 23.

We woke up to a dark, overcast day. But it wasn’t raining (yet)! So after picking up coffee and donut holes (breakfast of champions!) from the Tim Hortons next door, we drove to Stanley Park to…

… rent bikes and bike along the seawall (I think it’s around 5 miles?)!

The start of our bike ride.

I was treated to my first and only sight of blooming cherry blossoms while in Vancouver. LOVE.

There was some sort of filming going on at the Vancouver Rowing Club (couldn’t help but hear the director barking out “Action!”). But we didn’t stick around long enough to figure out what it was.

The view of downtown Vancouver across Coal Harbour.

Totem poles.

Canada Place! The main press/broadcast center for the Olympics.

Lions Gate Bridge — connecting downtown with North Vancouver across the Burrard Inlet.

A beautiful garden area.

And finally, Lost Lagoon marked the end of our bike ride. SO FUN!

We finished just in time for lunch (mmm, Japanese ramen) and after freshening up at our hotel, we decided to spend the rest of our afternoon walking around downtown along Georgia and Robson Streets. In the rain!

Just a few blocks away from our hotel was the Vancouver Art Gallery.

We didn’t go inside but instead admired the beautiful hand-painted mural by Michael Lin hanging on the exterior facade.

I was also excited to see that the…

Olympics Countdown Clock was still there!

We headed down Robson Street for shopping (Roots!) and also to find the Japadog stand. You see, when I was planning our trip, I happened to watch the episode of No Reservations where Anthony Bourdain is in Vancouver and he has a Japadog. So I wanted one too. Of course.

The menu. It’s basically different types of hot dogs (beef, bratwurst, etc) that are topped with various Japanese toppings. I ordered the basic Terimayo dog, which had Japanese mayo, seaweed, onions, and teriyaki sauce. I know, I know. It sounds totally weird but it’s YUMMERS! Really.

Luckily there was no line. Awesome! We ran back to our hotel to enjoy our Japadogs, rest our tired feet, and get out of the rain.

We ended the day with even MORE Japanese food for dinner at Guu with Garlic, an izakaya in the West End. SO GOOD!

UGH. I WANT TO GO BACK.