My Zoetrope: vacation

Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Portland, Maine Sights

Portland Head Light house. I think I dug the rocks and the ocean more than the actual light house, but whatevs! It was pretty!

Silly's! So fun (and yummy!)

Nik was beyond happy that they had Moxie there and Moxie shakes. I had never heard of the stuff before, but it holds a special place in his heart.

Sitting on top of a Ferry, waiting to depart to Peak's Island.

Someone loves buoys! Peak's Island.

Peak's Island. This place is so gorgeous. We hiked to the other side of the island, and it was so quiet that we were whispering! It was really isolated there, walking alongside the road that ran along the ocean. It was fun to oogle at all the huge, gorgeous homes alongside the coast and really peaceful to stroll along with no other signs of other people.

At the ferry docks, back in Portland.

We went to the sand-sculpting contest at Crescent Beach. The turtle was my favorite.

Silly phone pics walking along the beach.

A few more pictures are here on Flickr

Monday, September 20, 2010

Portland, Maine Food!

Hello! Nik and I went to Portland, Maine this past weekend, for a mini vacation before all the fall/holiday business starts up. It is SO pretty there! I, of course, ate all sorts of yummy vegan food and walked on lots of beaches and lusted over lots of cute shops and gourmet food places. It was a super-fun trip! Here is some of the food we ate:

Silly's! I loved this place so much. It's really super-bright and colorful and eclectic inside, and in the backyard, where we ate. I got the Fuffalo Burger (falafel burger with buffalo sauce slathered on it) with sweet potato fries and a Peanut-butter soy shake. Holy yum!

We went to the Pepper Club for dinner the first night, and I was a bit disappointed with my meal there, overall. I got the tempeh cakes with jasmine rice, a citrusy sauce, and roasted veggies. I didn't really dig the sauce too much, so it kinda ruined the rest of the meal. Dessert was a chocolate-coconut mousse, that was super-pretty, but REALLY rich. I couldn't finish it! I know!

The Green Elephant was probably my favorite meal in Portland. It is a really cute little place, and we had to wait to be seated, but they were nice about it and gave us a little buzzing coaster so we could wander around and it would alert us when the table was ready. Nik and I shared the Oyster Mushroom Tempura for an appetizer and it was to DIE for. Seriously, so so good. Fresh out of the fryer, so it was nice and crispy and the mushrooms were amazing. Really great batter too.

Nik had the Green Tea Noodle soup, with soy filet in it. It was a great comfort meal with a really awesome broth.

I had really wanted to try their local tofu and local tempeh, so I chose the steamed veggies with peanut sauce that came with both the tofu and tempeh. The homemade tofu totally blew me away. It was really creamy, yet still firm. I could have just eaten a whole meal of just the tofu. I usually buy the homemade tofu from my local asian market, but this was nothing like that! Totally inspired me to try making my own. I think I will save that for VeganMoFo!

We were both really full, but had to share a slice of the Pumpkin cheesecake anyways. Mmmm!

Possibly the best tofu scramble I have had, at Local Sprouts.

Annnnnd, I got a whoopie pie to go from there too!

More pictures tomorrow of Portland itself!

xoxo

Friday, August 6, 2010

Vamos!

Happy Friday! I've had travel on the brain lately, so I was looking back over some sketches that I did while I was in Peru. Trying to "recapture the moment" or something like that! I was inspired a whole lot there by all the bright colors and fun patterns, and it got me thinking about other inspiring places that I would want to visit in the future.

I'm all about going to India, and their BEAUTIFUL spice markets. I don't even care what the spices are, they are just so pretty to look at!

(image from Matthieu Photography)

Brazil's Carnival is a must-go trip someday. Check out this craaaaazy float from from the School of Samba!

(image from here)

And I think Tokyo is probably the next big trip that I want to take in the next few years. Bring on the sensory overload!

(image from starrex on flickr)

Where do you want to go?? Show me pictures!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Peru!

Viva El Peru!

Hello!! I'm back! Well, I actually arrived back home last tuesday, but I've been processing this A M A Z I N G trip I just went on. Seriously, unbelievable. If you ever have an opportunity to visit Peru, GO! Absolutely gorgeous country with super-friendly people and yummy food.

The Inca Trail was everything I hoped it would be, and more; Hard, challenging, rewarding, meditative, solitary, fun, and adventure-filled. I had a great group (there were five of us, Kristin, Nate, our new friend Rodrigo from Brazil, our amazing tour guide Brian, and myself) and it was a crazy-awesome experience. The altitude tended to kick my butt, especially on day two, on the climb to the summit, but I handled it alright. It was amazing hiking through different climate zones and noting the changes in the atmosphere and flora. Day three on the hike was probably my favorite, as we descended into the cloud forest. Of course, Machu Picchu was downright amazing and breathtaking, especially watch it fade in and out from a distance.

Magical horse all by him/herself.

Nate and I at the top of the Summit!

Yes, those are yellow crocs on Kristin's bag, and yes, they did come in handy!

Machu Picchu!

I was afraid the Llama was going to kick or spit at me

Going into the Jungle was quite the time, flying down the mountain on a mountain bike in the pouring rain, with the edge of the cliff a mere few feet away. Despite never really riding a mountain bike in my lifetime, I managed to make it to the place we were staying in one piece (seriously! I thought I was going to die!!) The jungle was super-relaxing (um, well, after the bike ride) and I really enjoyed the hikes and the lodge itself. We saw monkeys, birds, strange pig/squirrelly animals, otter-like animals, frogs and frog's eggs, a snake, and a zillion butterflies. I didn't really get bitten by mosquitos either!

GORGEOUS landscapes everywhere. I loved this patchwork.

This is where we slept in the Amazon Jungle!

Pretty butterflies!

Cusco is such a pretty city. Beautiful parks and markets and friendly people and lots of sunshine. We became pretty addicted to visiting all the different markets and I just LOVE all the beautiful patterns and colors that were everywhere.

Cusco

Nate, Kristin, and I being dorks.

Mwuah.

Eating vegan turned out to be pretty easy. The best food of the trip was had on the Incan trail and in the Jungle, actually. Three course meals, seriously! Both tour companies that we went with did a fantastic job making vegan meals for me (Peru Discovery and Inca Trail Reservations), and I would highly recommend both of them. As for restaurants, I enjoyed El Encuentro in Cusco (yummy meal pictured below is from there, fresh mixed fruit juice, homemade chips and guacamole, and a humongo sammich with the best avocado and tangiest olives ever). Both of my travel-mates are omni, so at non-veggie restaurants I was able to get a cheeseless pizza or some rockin' quinoa dish pretty easily. I loved all the fresh juices that were everywhere! The avocados and all the fresh fruits (omg mango) tasted so much better than in the states! Vegan food on the airplane (TACA airlines) was a complete failure on the way there (omelet or french toast, boooo), but they surprised me on the way back with a yummy pasta/veggie dish that didn't actually contain any cheese.