Vancouver and Seattle Photo Diary

Just came back from a week-long trip in Vancouver; one of the most beautiful cities I've had the pleasure of stepping foot in.  I wish I could say the same for the folk living there, but too many unpleasant and unfriendly encounters have forced me to say otherwise.  However!  The small-town feel of the city, the beauty of each and every random street we passed, and the surprising cleanliness of their downtown completely made up for the negative experiences.  If you haven't been to Vancouver yet, I'd recommend putting it on your bucket list!  

I found the perks in traveling by plane during the day- beautiful landscapes!

Gloomy Vancouver mornings from the balcony overlooking Quilchena Park.

Much needed cup of joe in the morning-- for warming and waking purposes.

Behind the scenes of my morning coffee photoshoot (lol)

Pretty much leaves I never get to see in SoCal.  Vancouver locals think I'm crazy taking pictures of trees and leaves but seriously!? Everything is so beautiful here!

Vancouver downtown.  Lots less populated than DTLA, and far prettier and cleaner!

Entering Vancouver's Gastown.  Note the famous Steam Clock to the right!  We huddled next to it for a good minute; the steam was keeping us warm in the freezing weather.

Just another street- but so picturesque.  Beauty around every corner, almost

A typical day in Vancouver outfit-- dressing up like a bear.  Layer upon layer, topped with a 10-lb jacket and complete with Hunter Boots & Welly socks.  

Think The Beatles.

Nero's Brussels waffle-- a must try! Crispy Belgian waffle with caramel drizzle, crushed hazelnuts, and vanilla ice cream.  Amazing!  Their liege waffle with nutella & strawberries was equally delicious.  

Stepping on a mini hill of leaves, which is why my ankle looks slightly broken and legs uneven.  But couldn't pass up the opportunity of stepping in a pile of fallen autumn leaves! 

Our first stop in Seattle- 8oz Burger Bar.

Mini sliders with fig butter and arugula.

Banh mi burger.

2nd stop at Pike Place Market

3rd stop at the first Starbucks ever that originated in 1971 in Downtown Seattle, Washington.  

The only discerning differences I found were the old-school logo and hand-written menu boards.  But I'm not quite sure what I was expecting…??

Warming up our bodies from the CRAZY Seattle winds.  The weather in Seattle was 10 degrees warmer than Vancouver, but the brutal winds made us feel as if it were even colder than it was in Vancouver by far!

Stopping by Seattle's famous Space Needle before heading back to Vancouver from our day-trip!

Secret garden in Queen Elizabeth Park- back in Vancouver.

Lunch at the amazing Burgoo Bistro.  The BEST bistro food I've ever had!  Crispy Mac & Cheese right out of the oven.

Probably the most delicious dish I tried this trip--Beef bourguignon.  All the pieces of beef just melt in your mouth, with veggies that do the same! Little bites of perfection omg.

It's hard to see what's in this panini but just take my word for it--it was bomb!! Sausage, roasted peppers, and melty cheese, sandwiched between two perfect slices of baguette.  Served with your choice of soup; we tried crab bisque, tomato basil, and Southwest corn chowder.  All were delicious!

Macarons and afternoon coffee at Faubourg Bakery.  It was a pretty authentic French Bakery, going by their macarons and servers with heavy French accents.  Super cute and yummy desserts. 

Late night dessert at Cheesecake, etc.  They ONLY serve cheesecake on their menu, and only open after 7pm.  Talk about fancy! 

Ending our trip with a green tea coffee latte right before our flight back to America.  Overall a very pleasant and relaxing trip, I can't wait to go back!! 

Austin, Texas 2013

Boyfriend and I took a last minute trip to Austin, Texas two weeks ago to scope out the area for a possible Griffon expansion.  All I have to say is, Texan weather... is something else.  I arrived at 12:40am in a crewneck sweater, shorts, and flip flops, thinking that I might actually be cold getting off the plane (it was almost 1am!).  Oh how wrong I was.  I stepped off the plane into the tunnel that brings you to the airport and I was hit with a wave of HUMID heat (84 degrees).  Good thing I was prepared with a cropped tank underneath- I ripped off my sweater first thing once I freed my hands from my luggage.  All things said, Austin is a lovely city and much more developed than I had imagined.  It's a mini San Francisco with less traffic, and tons more heat.  Oh and extra-large food portions to boot.

Proof of my crewneck, shorts & flip flops ensemble.  That had proven not to be light enough upon arrival.

At the tiny Long Beach Airport.  This was my first time walking onto the main airport strip and taking portable stairs up to the plane.  Pretty cute!

Our first stop- highly rated bratwurst stand in the middle of downtown Austin.  It was 1am on a Wednesday and the area was absolutely packed.  Did I mention it was humid? 

My spicy pork italian sausage with sauerkraut, grilled onions, curry ketchup and mustard.

Oh, just a regular night in Austin.  I saw him again two days later.

I found a stowaway in my suit case!

Of course we had to try some authentic Texan BBQ.  First thing we did when we woke up (1pm Texas time; still stuck on that California time.) Day 2 lunch at Rudy's BBQ-- "extra juicy" brisket, baby back ribs, creamed corn, potato salad, white toast, cherry limeade and root beer.  

Our next stop at the beautiful Domain.  It's a shopping center very similar to that of the Americana or the Grove back in LA.  

We got a little overheated walking around so we found refuge at The Steeping Room.  Cute and cozy cafe that focuses mostly on their exotic teas.  Iced matcha mojteato and almond pear cake to share.

Hey, coming to Texas can't be ALL business can it? Pictured- some awesome Madewell finds in Austin, pretty much the best Madewell I've ever been to. 

Dinner at Lucy's.  Definitely an authentic Texan experience of giant portions and hearty food.  It's too bad the lighting didn't allow a better picture but you just have to trust me that it was delicious.  A giant bucket of fried chicken, deep fried deviled eggs, house potato salad, amazing freshly baked mac and cheese, and calf fries (baby cow balls, recommended by Mike) for four.  The calf fries were....interesting.... they had a very soft and strange texture.  Let's just say I probably wouldn't order it again 0:)

As if dinner were not rich enough already, we had to try their pies!  We got a slice of sweet tea pie and a slice of lime pie.  The lime was amazing! A little less sweet than key lime; best I ever had.  And the sweet tea was nice and refreshing, like nothing I've ever tasted before.  

Day 3 brunch at Magnolia's.  Brunch = 2pm Texan time for us (still haven't adjusted to the two hour time change apparently.)  I ordered super spicy breakfast tacos, fettucini alfredo for bf, and a blueberry double stack for Mike. 

Ducked into coffee bean halfway through our day to hide from the heat.  Yay for iced coffee and free wifi!

Day 3 dinner at a Thai restaurant after a day of exploring work spaces in Lakeway (the Newport Beach of Texas, they say.)  This was actually super legit Thai food!  The 4 stars on yelp were not unwarranted.  My pad thai & boyfriend's Panang curry with heart-shaped rice.

Day 4 lunch, back at The Domain.  So far, mine & Jeff's favorite place of Austin.  We can't ever go too long without sushi, so we found a sushi restaurant inside The Domain :) 

While Jeff was getting a haircut, I hopped into the nail salon next door to get my poor naked nails done.  Comped margaritas and wine- by far the fanciest nail salon I've ever seen! And much more decently priced, if I were to compare this to a place in the OC.

Took an after photo of my nails as we were walking through a mall in Austin that I can't remember the name of.  It's supposedly a pretty big and fancy mall over there; I think it's really similar to the Brea Mall over here.

Midnight wandering over to Epoch Coffee; a cafe open 24 hours! (with free wifi! What I love most about Austin... free wifi everywhere.)  I'd love to have this back home.  We cooled off with pomegranate lime iced tea and an ice blended vanilla latte. Yes, we had to cool off at midnight over there.  It's crazy.

A slice of their Olivia pizza.  Thin crust with pesto, eggplant, artichoke, garlic and feta cheese.  & while I'm halfway through de-oliving my slice. 

Last day in Austin!  Catching lunch before our 4pm flight, at Mighty Fine Burgers.  It looks so simple, but it was an amazing burger!  Even better than In-n-Out I might add.  I got mine with cheese, half regular and half grilled onions, lettuce, mayo, mustard and ketchup.  Mmmmm

On our flight back home.  This is how I spent the 2.5 hours- cranberry juice and reading on the iPad after my kindle died on me.  All the while being pretty excited to return home back to the land of perfect weather!