Tag Archives: vacation

kaua’i minimoon, part 2

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Had a day off today. Woohoo for 4-day weekends!

Ok, here’s part 2 of my Kaua’i recap…

Thursday, 8/14
Did a whole lot of nothing. I think we were at the pool most of the day so no pictures… not even of food. We were supremely lazy.



But here’s a bonus pic of some roosters. They are EVERYWHERE in Kaua’i. And they crow at all hours of the day, not just in the morning. So annoying!

Friday, 8/15
This was the first day we had to wake up to the sound of an alarm clock. We made reservations to do a Na Pali coast tour and we had to be at the pier by 8:30am. So painful after days of sleeping in.

We were the last ones to board so we got stuck at the very front with no shade. This boat ride is the whole reason I got so sunburned. OH! And sitting in the front was incredibly bumpy. We felt every little dip and swell. At first it was fun (like being on an amusement park ride) but after a few hours, I started feeling nauseous. Rob kept making me drink water and carbonated lime soda, which helped. At least I didn’t get sick.



We saw dolphins!



Look how gorgeous the coast is!



Guh. Soooo pretty!

I also tried snorkeling for the first time (no pictures though — we don’t have an underwater camera). It took Rob awhile to coax me to get in the water (I am a terrible swimmer and was freaked out) but when I finally got in, I really enjoyed it. 😀 I wasn’t crazy about the water filling up in my ears, though.

I’m a wimp.



After the 5 hour boat trip, we had the most amazing shave ice at JoJo’s in Waimea. YUMMY. I wish it was closer to where we stayed (it’s on the southwest-ish side of the island and we stayed in the east) cause I could have eaten that every day. I had strawberry, Rob had liliko’i (passionfruit) and we both had haupia cream on top (haupia is like a coconut gelatin/pudding).

After a quick nap, we had dinner at Gaylord’s (this was our big, expensive dinner). No pictures, sorry — I was too lazy. I read about this restaurant on Fodor’s forums and it was recommended to us by family so we tried it. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed. I had a seafood platter (scallops, fish, shrimp, and lobster) and while it was good, it really wasn’t worth the cost. Their lava flows were yummy though and the Banana Cream pie we had for dessert was solid.

Saturday, 8/16
Our last day in Kaua’i. Or so we thought.



Started out with a breakfast of malasadas. These are basically like donuts (no holes) covered with sugar. There’s a stand in front of K-Mart — they were fresh and soft and oh-so-yummy. Thumbs up. I can’t believe I forgot to take a picture of them — you can kinda see them in the very left of the pic.

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kaua’i minimoon, part 1

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I just realized that back in late 2006 when Rob and I went to Paris, I started a trip report and I never finished it. OOPS. And since I consider this blog a diary of sorts, I want to write about some of the highlights of our mini-moon in Kaua’i… with pictures, of course (that way, I don’t actually have to write very much :P)!

We didn’t do much but lay in the sun and eat (perfect vacation to me!) but we did explore the island a little so here goes…

Monday, 8/11
After breakfast at Kountry Kitchen (loco moco for Rob and strawberry and banana pancakes for me – forgot to take pictures), we went to… K-Mart and Wal-Mart. Here we are on our mini-moon and we go shopping?!? BWAH! We were actually looking for some flip flops we could trash, some cheap-o sneakers for me (we wanted to do an easy hike and I completely forgot to pack sneakers), and also HURRICANE POPCORN (only the best popcorn ever). It’s basically butter popcorn with seaweed flakes and rice crackers. Weird, I know but oh so good.



Lunch at Hamura’s Saimin. I had the wonton saimin. YUM. (Saimin is a noodle soup dish, similar to Japanese ramen).



After lunch, we visited Opaekaa Falls…



…Lydgate Beach Park (but we didn’t go in the water)…



…and the Sleeping Giant.



And we rounded out the day with drinks on the beach. I had a lava flow (pina colada with strawberry puree) and yes, it was alcoholic. 😀

Tuesday, 8/12
Beach Day!
Started off with breakfast at Eggbert’s.





We shared eggs benedict (YUM), pancakes, and a side of spam. 😀

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married and in kaua’i

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So Rob and I are married.

😀

Saturday was amazing. The whole day felt completely surreal and overwhelming. Everything came together beautifully — so much more than I ever expected. I’ll definitely share photos of the day once we get them from our friends and family.

Now we’re in Kaua’i for our “mini-moon.” It’s so nice to be able to relax! Too bad it took us *forever* to get here. Our flight was scheduled to leave LA at 4:55pm on Sunday and due to an air circulation problem on the aircraft, we didn’t actually leave until just after 10pm. UGH. Oh well, we’re here now and that’s all that matters. I don’t want to the vacation to end! 🙂

back from vegas

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I meant to post this days ago. OOPS.

I got back from Las Vegas on Sunday. And I totally sat at work on Monday doing nothing. Shhh. Don’t tell on me. I was TIRED.

I had a good time. And I’m not even that big of a Vegas person. 😀 Here’s a quick rundown of the weekend…

So my friend (and bridesmaid!) Ruby wanted to surprise her boyfriend Jason (also my good friend and colleague — I used to be his assistant and now he’s my sales rep) with a birthday trip to Vegas with friends. Rob and I arrived on Friday night (after a short delay in Oakland, of course) and after a quick change of clothes, we headed off to the Mandalay Bay to meet up with our friends to surprise the birthday boy. We were supposed to meet outside of the Orchid Lounge, which is where Ruby and Jason were having drinks. As we approached, Ruby happened to be looking in our direction and what did I do — I WAVED. OMG. I’m such a moron. Luckily, Jason was looking down and didn’t see me. Phew. Once all of us were gathered, we walked in and practically jumped all over the poor guy. 😀 After a few hours of talking and drinking (only half an Amaretto Sour for me), we went over to the Rum Jungle for more drinking (not me) and dancing (yay).

Here I am with Ruby and Jason…



And here’s the group taking shots…



Sadly, the DJ at Rum Jungle was terrible. So there was not much dancing. We finally dispersed at 3am. EEEK. It was rough getting up the next day. I am too old to be staying out that late. :/

Didn’t do much on Saturday (poor Jason had a *little* too much to drink so he was out of commission for most of the day) but I did get to check out the Wynn. I haven’t been to Vegas since it opened a few years back and wow, the lobby and the shopping esplanade are gorgeous. The casino, though, looks just like every other casino on the strip. While we were there, I dragged Rob to the Manolo Blahnik store (later I even dragged Ruby into the Jimmy Choo store at Caesar’s Palace) — all in the name of “research” for my wedding shoes. A girl can dream, right? 😀

We went to Aquanox at the Venetian for dinner. YUM-O. I had the filet mignon at a seafood restaurant. Hee. Afterwards, the guys headed off to the blackjack tables and Ruby and I took advantage of the free drink service (just cokes for me). Aaannnd that was our weekend. We hopped on a flight back to Oakland early on Sunday morning and took a nap as soon as we got home.

Good times. 🙂

In fandom news, has anyone heard/read the casting news for Prison Break season 4? WHAT THE HELL. TV Guide’s Ausiello has an interview with the executive producer if you want to read all about it. I think I might start watching again.

starbucks love

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Aww yeah. My week is OVER! Tomorrow’s a holiday at work (“Spring Friday” is our PC term for it, hehe) and I’m heading to Las Vegas for the weekend to celebrate a good friend’s birthday. Woot. I just finished packing and of course, I overpacked. Oops. What? I need options! Hee.

So I’m finally a “regular” somewhere! It only took a year but the employees at the Starbucks across the street from work finally know my name and my order. A tall nonfat peppermint mocha. 😀 When I’m standing in line and one of them sees me, they yell out my name and confirm that I’m having the mocha. Sometimes I like to freak them out and order a tall nonfat latte. Hee. And the best part is that they charge me for a tall and I always get a venti. YAYAYAY. I feel so loved. 😀 Too bad I *really* need to lay off the Starbucks cause the venti is about quadruple the calories of the tall. I should have given it up for Lent. Maybe next year…

Also, why is printing addresses on wedding invitation envelopes considered bad etiquette?! My handwriting is not pretty enough to write all the addresses. And I don’t want to pay a calligrapher (hey, I’m cheap — I have to cut corners somewhere). ARGH. Oh, wedding etiquette. I shake my fist at you.

I’m so random today.

the tree

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December is flying by waaaayyy too quickly. Starting next Thursday, I’ll be done with work for the year. I’m taking advantage of a couple of vacation days and then my company is closed the entire week between Christmas and New Year. YOU GUYS. That means I have 13 days of time off. Seriously, I’m so ridiculously happy I could cry. But first, I have to get through 3 more days and a mountain of work to complete before that time. EEEKKK. I’m not going to think about that right now. :/

Today, I’m going to head into the city for afternoon tea with my old college roommate Shirley and her friends. Should be fun! While I’m downtown, I’ll probably attempt to do some holiday shopping… if it isn’t too crowded. I have so much to do and so little time! 😛

Before I go, I want to share my Christmas tree! It’s the same gold/ivory theme as the years prior…

Mmmm. Sooo pretty.

palm springs

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So last week, I headed down to Southern CA for the second annual Girls Weekend in Palm Springs with my best friends, Carmen and Robyn. But before we made the drive down to the desert, we spent most of Friday visiting bridal salons in LA.

😀

We started off bridesmaid dress shopping… we hit Bella Bridesmaid (thumbs up — we found some pretty silk shantung dresses in lots of different styles) and Renee Strauss (thumbs down — they had TONS of dress choices but they weren’t very… stylish. Their wedding dress selection looked much better). I had an idea of what I envisioned for them prior to our appointments but I wanted to make sure they were comfortable and liked what they would be wearing. So I’m pretty sure I’m going to pick the designer, fabric and colors of the dresses and my bridesmaids will choose their own styles, be it strapless, halter, v-neck, etc. Yay, they’re going to look so pretty!

Our last stop of the day was the Monique Lhuillier salon where I wanted to show them my top 2 dress choices. They’re both very different “looks” so I was having a tough time making a decision on my own. My cousin (aka Maid of Honor) and aunt joined us for this appointment and all 4 of them unanimously voted for the same dress. I’m planning a big dress post soon and I’ll share THE DRESS then. 🙂

After all that, we finally headed down to Palm Springs for our weekend at the La Quinta Resort & Spa. We woke up on Saturday morning to a beautiful day — warm but not overly so. I think it was in the high 70s/low 80s. Definitely a welcome change from the frosty weather in the Bay Area! I hit the gym to start my day (I am *really* trying to be better at this) and then we lounged around the pool for a few hours before finally ending up at the SPA! I had a milk bath, massage, and facial. Mmmm. We ended the day having a yummy dinner at Azur, one of the resort’s restaurants.

The next day we leisurely woke up, got ready, and headed to Desert Hot Springs to visit our friend Errikka from elementary school who we’d all lost touch with until recently. I haven’t seen or talked to her since high school (more than 10 years ago!) so it was great to hear what she’s been doing since then and also to meet her husband and kids! It’s amazing how far we’ve all come since we knew each other way back when…

And that’s my very belated recap of my Palm Springs weekend. I’m already counting down the days til the next one. 😀

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

girls weekend

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I just got back from a relaxing and much-needed trip to Palm Springs with my best friends.

I’m so bummed it’s over. At least it’s a short work week (yay Thanksgiving!)

I’ll write all about it once I get back into the swing of things. 🙂

spidey 3

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OMG. It has been freaking HOT here these past few days. *fans self* I hope the weather stays nice for the next few days cause Rob and I are taking a quick trip down to Monterey/Carmel for the weekend. It’s a belated little getaway for our anniversary. 😀

Anyway, I saw Spider-Man 3 on Saturday morning. 10am showing! HEE. My friends and I are dorks. We didn’t want to deal with the crowds so we thought a morning showing would be best. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I’ll just say that I was a tad disappointed. There were too many storylines going and not enough follow through. But I was entertained and I guess that’s all I can ask for in a movie. Pirates 3 is next!

The Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix trailer played before Spidey 3 and… WOW. It looked absolutely amazing on the big screen. I am *so* excited for HP5. 😀 Which reminds me… I need to start my re-read of the books soon!

And because my old roommate Jimmy just got engaged and he keeps asking me to upload music, here’s a mish-mash of recs for y’all —

Right click, save as…
username: cookie
password: monster


Snow Patrol – You Could Be Happy (LOVE this song!)
Snow Patrol – Signal Fire (from the Spidey 3 soundtrack)
Mat Kearney – Girl America
Rogue Wave – Eyes
Timbaland – Oh Timbaland
Timbaland – Apologize

Off to watch 24!

paris day 3

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I want to go to Disneyland. I have absolutely no idea why. I just do. So just a minute ago, I took a look at the ticket prices online. HOLY MOLY. When did it get so expensive?!? $63! And that’s just for 1 day and 1 park. If you want to park hop or whatever, it’s $83 for 1 day. Oh well, I’d still love to go. Maybe when I’m in Southern CA for the holidays…

Had an okay weekend. I got a stomachache on Saturday so I spent a good part of the day in bed. Ugh. I caught up on The OC (really, really liking this season so far) and I watched The Break-Up. HATED IT. There were some funny moments and Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn were good but the whole storyline was… EH. I also went to see Borat today, which was pretty hilarious. I wouldn’t say I *liked* it, though. The highlight of my weekend was getting an iPod nano! Rob got me a 4gb red one as a belated birthday present. I’m going to use this one for the gym. 😀

More Paris…
Sun, October 15: Day 3
After our Parisian breakfast of croissants and coffee (I must have gained about 10 pounds from all the bread I ate!), we were off to Montmartre to see Sacre Coeur. (Montmartre is the northern part of the city where many artists reside). We took the Metro (we’re total pros now) and got off at Anvers. I was actually hoping the Abesses stop would be open by now (it’s been closed for renovations). That was the Metro stop featured in the movie Amelie and I just wanted to see it! Maybe next time. 😀 We walked up a hill (huffing and puffing the whole time) that took us to the bottom of the steps leading to Sacre Coeur. We took a breather by the carousel and prepared ourselves for the stairs. I guess we could have taken the funicular up but we were feeling adventurous. As we headed over to the stairs, we were approached by the men who try and stop you to tie a bracelet around your wrist. If they happen to get you, you’re tied to them and have to give them money to be released. They try to convince you to take the bracelet by saying it’s free. We walked away from them quickly (though one of them totally grabbed Rob’s arm) and started the hike up the stairs. It took us a little while (we stopped every time there was a bit of platform) but it was worth it when we arrived at the top. The basilica is absolutely gorgeous and the view from up there was wonderful. We were overlooking all of Paris! We went inside and lit a candle for my mom and walked around admiring the statues and sculptures. As we exited, I noticed that they had those machines that make impressions on coins for souvenirs. Is it just me or is that the *last* thing you’d expect to see in a church? I’ve made them before but at an amusement park!



We walked down to Place du Tertre to check out the artists’ square. There were some absolutely gorgeous watercolor paintings of the Arc and the Eiffel Tower and I was incredibly tempted to purchase one but I decided against it since they were pricey (between 25-50 Euros) and I didn’t know how the heck I was going to take it with me on the plane. We continued our walk through Montmartre and into the Pigalle area (Red Light District) on the way to the Moulin Rouge. Since it was Sunday, most of the shops were closed (so weird to me!) but we did find one sex shop that happened to be open. We went in but there was nothing exciting. LOL. Just a few more steps down was the Moulin Rouge! It was so fun to see the famous dance hall and its iconic windmill.



Our next stop for the day was the Marais. We made our way there via the Metro. As we walked up to the street level, we found ourselves at the Place de la Bastille. There’s nothing left of the prison at all so there’s nothing to see. Across the street, though, stood the Colonne de Juillet (memorial to commemorate the deaths in the street battles of 1830) and also the Opera National de Paris Bastille. The Opera completely stood out because it’s made of glass… I actually didn’t like it at all. We continued walking over to Place des Vosges. It’s a beautiful park that’s perfectly symmetrical (nine houses on each side of the square). I just loved all the parks/gardens in Paris. They’re so well-maintained, gorgeous and peaceful.



By this time, we were so hungry. We spotted a Quick fast food restaurant (like the McDonald’s of France) and ordered Supreme Cheese burgers meals. It wasn’t really a very good burger (my all time favorite fast food burger is from In-n-Out) but it came with Coke! And it didn’t cost us $5! Heh. After lunch, we walked along the Rue de Rivoli down to Ile de la Cite. We sat in the Square du Jean XIII, which is a beautiful garden behind Notre Dame. I think I love the back of Notre Dame even more than the front. The flying buttresses are spectacular. Guh.



I wanted to pick up a book to read for the plane ride home so we looked for the English bookstore Shakespeare & Co, which I knew was nearby. What a great little store! It’s TINY. It felt so homey and the employees are really friendly and give you recommendations on books and things to do in the area. I picked up The Time Traveler’s Wife, which a good friend had suggested to me. (I finished the book on the plane and didn’t like it :/).



By this time, we were absolutely exhausted from all the walking so we bought tickets for a 1 hr. sightseeing cruise on the Seine. We sat on top of the boat for a good vantage point of all the sights. The boat passed many of the monuments (D’Orsay, Conciergerie, Notre Dame, etc) but once we got to the Eiffel Tower, our camera battery died after just a few photos! GRRR. I was a bit surprised to see that the homeless population of Paris have tents set up all along the river banks. Some of them looked pretty permanent too. Looking back, though, I’m not sure why I was so shocked. Paris is a big city and all big cities have homeless problems. Still, it was a nice trip down the river and we got to rest our poor feet. After the cruise, we picked up gyros and banana/nutella crepes for dinner and headed back to the hotel for the night.

Up next: the Louvre!