Kauai 2019

Kauai, day 1-3

stayed in Princeville/hanalei. delicious food in hanalei town. we loved the food trucks, akamai juice company (try the magic dragon), and bar acuda. cute t-shirts and bikini shops are everywhere. got some cute pants at barn 808.

we did the kipu ranch ATV adventure- the 4x4 jungle waterfall tour. we had a really fun time. this is me on the ‘raiders of the lost ark’ rope swing. if we were to go again, i’d chose the waterfall picnic tour, which is 3 hours (not 4). the key to riding in an atv as a passenger, is planting your feet flat and solid in front of you, so you can brace the bumps and swerves with your legs and abs. (this also works in a race car ;)

Kauai, day 4-7

i could feel the sinus pressure on day 4, sunday. getting a sinus infection on your vacation is a bummer. but (luckily?), it didn’t get really bad till we got home. anyway, we still got outside and saw beauty, breathed fresh air, swam, soaked up the sun, and walked in a sacred forest.

kauai is kinda like heaven. except for the demon roosters.

Pura Vida!

In Costa Rica, when you ask someone how they are doing, "Pura Vida!" is what they say. The literal translation of this is 'pure life', and they say it just like we in the states, might say 'Awesome'. 

We flew into Liberia airport and stayed in Guanacaste (northwest part of the country). Our hotel, El Mangroove, was fabulous (excellent mattress and pillows!, incredible staff, beautiful grounds).

We explored many different beaches (Flamingo, Tiburon, Nosara) and bathed in the thermal hot springs in Arenal (Check out Tabacon resort & spa, it's BEYOND!). 

There were many memorable moments of course- I mean the whole trip was so lovely!- but one in particular was when we met Emy. She and her husband, David are excellent cooks. They're both from Italy and they run this little pizza spot in Nuevo Arenal, called Los Platillos Voladores (meaning flying saucers/ UFO's). We were headed back to our car when Marc & I looked at each other and were like, 'She was adorable! We need to go back and get a photo!' And we did! 

Trip to London

Sept 17-18. Our first two days in London. Lots of walking, sightseeing, yummy food, and struggling to remember to look right, then left, when crossing. 

Sept 19, Day 3. The time change was unusually hard for some reason. We were waking up late, having lunch for breakfast and staying up till 1 or 2am. It was kinda cool, actually. Certainly not a lifestyle I could sustain back home, but perfect on vacation. Tate Modern, sightseeing, drinks at the Mondrian Hotel. We thought an evening walk around Buckingham Palace would be spectacular, but it was eerie how dark it was. While the palace was minimally light up (with loads of construction cones and gates), the surrounding gardens and The Mall were perfectly black- no lights at all. It was weird. 

Sept 20-21, Day 4 and 5. We went on a Banksy hunt, walked and wandered, found tons more fabulous street art, and grabbed a bite at The Ace Hotel. Then it was time to go home. Cheerio!

Trip to Dublin

Dublin

On Friday, we took at day trip to Howth (Hoe-th), a charming seaside fishing town, east of Central Dublin. Excellent seafood, so many colorful front doors, and lots and lots of ultramarine blue! 

The next day we went to Bray, a beachy seaside village, at the opposite end of the line from Howth. It was rainy and I wore the wrong shoes. My meshy trainers became a soggy disaster pretty quickly, but I still managed to get a few nice pics before we headed back in to Dublin. On Sunday we traveled by ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales. Then got on a train to Euston London. What a lovely way to get around! 

Dublin Food:

We ate at two noteworthy restaurants in Dublin, both were tapas places- go figure! 

Viva in Portobello neighborhood. Wonderful owners and staff, excellent food! We got to enjoy live Flamenco guitar music, which they have on Thursdays & Saturdays. It was magical. 

Salamanca, near the Temple Bar area. Very busy, kinda loud, but excellent food. We got a table in the back near the fireplace where it marginally quieter and extra romantic.