Who doesn’t love a good Taco Tuesday? While we were in Arizona, we decided to have Tuesday evening dinner at the Barrio Queen. A cute and colorful restaurant with kick ass day of the dead decor. I instantly loved the vibe. We were told about the hundreds of different types of tequila they offered and were happy that the Taco Tuesday specials were so awesome. We had delicious margaritas and shots of smooth tequila. We also ordered some guacamole that was made table side. It really was the best guacamole I’ve ever had in my life. It was very different as they added cranberries to it. I was a bit weary, but yum! It was fresh and delicious. Our tacos were authentic and delectable. The service was great, the food was so freakin good and the prices were moderate.
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Catamaran Cruise to Cayo Blanco
By therdizzle in Cuba, Travel 2 Comments Tags: beaches, beautiful beaches, Catamaran, Cayo Blanco, Cuba, Cuba beach, travel
My second time to Cuba, i really wanted to show Chris the beautiful island of Cayo Blanco so we booked a tour.
We boarded the giant catamaran and grabbed a cocktail. We laid out at the front of the catamaran to sunbathe while taking in the beautiful view.
There was a short stop in the middle of the seas to do some snorkeling. The waters were calm and you were able to see a few fish, but a couple people on our tour were stung by jellyfish so we quickly got out of the water and back on to the catamaran.
Our next stop was over to Cayo Blanco for lunch. I’d been there last almost 7 years ago and it was an untouched paradise. I brought Chris hoping to show him what I saw. When we arrived, it was completely different. They’ve commercialized it more. Many other catamarans stopped at Cayo Blanco at the same time as us. It seems that there’s a steady rotation of tourists coming in a few hours at a time. They’ve built a new undercover area where they offer a buffet lunch. They funnel everyone from the catamarans to this area to stand in line for lunch (which takes up a bit of your time on the island), then you take time to eat. In Cuba, unless your eating authentic Cuban food, the day to day food at the resorts aren’t always the best. The buffet food here was pretty good. They had a variety of options. There were bars set up on the beach which is also a new addition. Even with all these changes the beach itself is simply stunning. Chris hadn’t seen it before and having nothing to compare it to, he was blown away by it. It really is unreal. The downside to it is that I feel that the tour doesn’t leave you enough time to explore the beach. When you’re at a beach so beautiful you want to be there for more than just a few hours (especially when most of the time gets eaten up by standing in line and having lunch). It was time to leave before you know it.
Our next stop was to a barge for a dolphin attraction. Cameras and phones are not permitted in this area. They have us go down to where we meet a dophin. In this case we met adorable Oscar. Oscar gave us kisses, high fives and had a number of other interactions with us. It was pretty cool. For a few extra dollars, you have the option of swimming with Oscar. Chris opted to do this and wouldn’t stop talking about it for weeks afterward. It was a highlight for him.
Following the dolphin attraction we all boarded the catamaran one last time to head back to the pier. The captain and the rest of the staff on the boat were so awesome. The cocktails were flowing and they had every last one of us dancing.
The whole day was so much fun.
The Mob Museum
By therdizzle in Events and Exhibits, Las Vegas, Travel 1 Comment Tags: Las Vegas, las vegas mob museum, mob, mob museum, mobsters, museums
When we were in downtown Las Vegas, we popped into the mob museum. Three floors of awesomeness. I wish we were able to spend more time there, but we had a plane to catch. A big highlight for me was the courtroom on the 2nd floor. So cool. You think you’re walking in to just watch a video, but instead you get an unique interactive experience. I don’t want to give away too much, but it was a pleasant surprise. Other interesting parts throughout the museum were the electric chair and the blood stained wall from the St. Valentine’s massacre. My husband’s favorite part was the tommy gun that you could shoot. I loved reading the true stories behind mobsters that we’ve seen in many movies such as Casino. I had a great time. I would love to go back and explore it further.
The Holy Crab
By therdizzle in Eateries Tags: crab boil, holy crab, vancouver restaurant
For one of our date nights this past summer, we made our way over to try out the Holy Crab. Excited about the new-ish restaurant that opened in the area that offered “louisiana seafood boil” options, we were ready for a down and dirty seafood meal. I’ve always heard about the restaurants where they dump the seafood on the table for you to dig into, but I hadn’t seen or experienced it in downtown Vancouver before. I welcomed a new kind of dining experience happily. The restaurant offers a casual vibe and decor. I loved the chalkboard walls with instructions for de-shelling your seafood. There were throw away paper tablecloths and meals were offered in parchment paper. You’re presented with plastic gloves and for camera happy people like myself, they offer selfie sticks to make it easier to take photos in all your messiness. We ordered beers, bisque, lobster rolls, corn and some crab legs. We thought it would be plenty (especially for the prices), but we were a bit disappointed when we received three crab legs for the very high price. We made our way through and ended up ordering lobster as we were still starving. The service was awesome, the food was delicious and it was a fun vibe that made for a great, albeit messy, date night. I wouldn’t recommend it for a first date, but it was awesome. The downside is that I didn’t think the prices matched the vibe. I found it to be too expensive for the casual atmosphere offered.
Helicopter Ride to the Grand Canyon
By therdizzle in Las Vegas, The Great Outdoors, Travel Tags: adventure, bucket list, grand canyon, helicopter, Las Vegas, pappillon
During our trip to Las Vegas, my husband and I booked a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon with Pappillon.
The tour began pretty early in the morning. Pappillon arranged shuttle pick-up from our hotel to the airport for us. After a pretty long ride, we arrived at the airport. Following our check in, we were directed to a corner nook to watch a short safety video. We had some time to kill after that so we wandered around their gift shop and grabbed some coffee while we waited. Our call time seemed to come fairly quickly and we were introduced to our pilot Brandon.
We were taken outside and shown these beautiful red helicopters. Chris and I paid an extra free to be in the front so we hopped in next to our pilot. Brandon was knowledgeable, friendly and outgoing. He even played the theme music from Top Gun while we were flying through the sky. Chris really got a kick out of that.
Paying the extra fee for the front seats were well worth it. We got the best views of everything around us and it did seem at times that the passengers in the back were struggling to get good pics. We were taken down to the floor of the grand canyon to explore and have a bit of a picnic. I was in complete awe when we got out of the helicopter. One of the seven natural wonders of the world, this was one I’ve always wanted to check off the bucket list. To sit down and picnic and toast champagne with my husband while taking it all in was a once in a lifetime experience that i will never forget for as long as I live. Incredible.
The picnic provided was super cute – a little sandwich, apples, chips, cookies and a glass of champagne.
Although this tour is a bit on the pricey side, this is sooo worth it. I can’t stress enough how amazing it was.
Afternoon Tea at Notch 8
By therdizzle in Eateries 3 Comments Tags: afternoon tea, notch 8, notch 8 afternoon tea, tea room, vancouver
Notch 8 has these wonderful themed Afternoon Teas. I’d heard about past ones such as Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale Themed Tea and Game On Board Game Themed Tea. When I heard that the next one was “Silver Screen Hollywood” (ahhh-maa-zing!) , I jumped at the chance to check it out. Once I arrived, I was led into this “tea room” at the back of Notch 8 that I never knew was there. It was decorated super cute with old hollywood movie posters up, retro popcorn machines and a screen playing black and white movies. I was seated at a lovely decorated table and greeted by the waiter while I waited for my friend to arrive. The menu was already on the table and everything on it sounded delicious. My friend arrived and we chose our teas. Not long after, our waiter brought out an impressive three tiered stand filled with beautiful mini sandwiches and h’orderves, fresh baked scones and adorable old hollywood themed desserts. I ‘d like to think that I’m a bit of a “high tea” connoisseur as my mom and I have been going to high teas all over Vancouver together for years, but I haven’t experienced one quite like this. Notch 8 really get into their themes and it’s just awesome! Our waiter was telling us about ideas for future themes and I can’t wait to check out future afternoon teas with them. As far as the food goes, it was yummy and I loved the creativity of the items provided, but I will say that although it was the most expensive high tea I’ve ever attended, it wasn’t the most delicious I’ve had. It was still quite yummy and the experience was great so I would recommend it. I’m hoping to take my mom to one in the near future.
Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai
By therdizzle in Thailand, Travel 2 Comments Tags: chiang mai, festivals, lantern festival, thai festivals, thailand, travel, yi peng
This past year I was lucky enough to cross the Yi Peng Festival off my bucket list. For those who are unfamiliar, Yi Peng is a festival that takes place in Chiang Mai, Thailand in November each year. We ventured away from our hotel and headed over to the area where the festival is held around 5 p.m. As soon as we pulled up there were crowds everywhere, people selling lanterns, vendors selling trinkets, and tons of street food. There was a sectioned off area that resembled a carnival of sorts for children. We wandered around sampling eats and purchasing our lanterns. Yi Peng coincides with Loy Krathong which is another festival in Thailand where locals set off candlelit decorated baskets into the river. We also picked out a floral basket to light up and release into the water during this time. It was a lively scene and you could feel the excitement in the air. At around 7 p.m. thousands of people gathered on to Nawarat bridge to light their lanterns and release it into the sky, releasing with it all the negativity from the past year and making their wishes for the future. Right before 7 p.m. there were just the odd few lanterns being lit and released. Some people were letting their lanterns go way too quickly and the lit lanterns were falling into the crowds as people pushed them back into the sky – the crowds cheering as the lanterns made their way to take-off. As 7 o’clock hit, people began to release their lanterns into the sky. Lanterns were also falling into trees and burning, falling straight into the river and the ones that were being let go in the middle of the bridge rather than the edge of it were making their way right into people. It was quite scary at times, with lanterns coming from every which way there were several moments were lanterns were heading straight into me. I also left the event with a slight burn on my forehead from a lantern that burned into a tree above me. The ash fell straight from above onto my forehead…ouch. Chris and I took a bit of a break in the middle to have some dinner and drinks as it seemed to be straight chaos and we wanted to get out of it. When we left the pub, the sight before us was unbelievably beautiful. It had gotten even darker and the lanterns completely filled the night sky. The river was loaded with illuminating floral baskets. It was so stunning. One of the most gorgeous sights I’ve ever seen. Chris and I went to the edge of the bridge and lit our lanterns one by one, made our wishes and released them into the sky. We watched as they slowly floated above us and joined the thousands of others. We wandered the streets afterwards taking photos and videos (none of which do the experience any justice), talking to people and just taking it all in. The night ended with a gorgeous display of fireworks. I felt like I was in a dream. I feel so blessed to have had this experience in my lifetime. It’s one I will definitely always look back on as being one of my fondest memories.
Absolute Spa at the Century Plaza Hotel
By therdizzle in Beauty and Pampering 1 Comment Tags: absolute spa, massage, pampering, spa, Vancouver spa
I booked a spa day for myself and two of my girlfriends at the lovely Absolute Spa at the Century Plaza Hotel. We were booked in a room for three which was a unique experience. After we arrived, we were taken on a quick tour of the spa then were asked to change and meet in the relaxation area. Our RMTs greeted us promptly then we were taken upstairs to the room for three. I’ve had treatments done in a “couple room” at spas before, but this was my first time in a room for three. We had a good giggle about it at first, but it was pretty awesome to spend the afternoon at the spa with two of my best girlfriends from start to finish. My massage was heavenly. I’ve had plenty of massages in my lifetime, some great and some pretty mediocre. The massage I received here left me relaxed with my knots well worked out. I was a happy girl. Following the massage we were led into a room to have a light lunch that was included in our service price. We were served a delicious chicken salad. I was told on the phone that we would be getting a “snack” so this was much more than I was expecting. It was such a perfect, relaxing day with my girlfriends. I left feeling very pampered. The service we received went above and beyond and I will be back.
St. Mark’s Summit
By therdizzle in The Great Outdoors Tags: beautiful bc, hike, st. mark's summit, vancouver
What better way to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday than exploring beautiful British Columbia. My husband Chris and I woke up early on Canada Day to drive over to Cypress Mountain to do the hike to St. Mark’s Summit.
Now I wouldn’t call us hikers really, but we were determined to try this one out after hearing how beautiful the view was.
We got out of our house pretty early with backpacks full of water, snacks and a pre-packed lunch. The drive to our destination was about 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver. When we arrived there were groups of people looking at maps all working toward the same goal as us, but we all seemed equally confused as to where the trail started. Finally, after asking a group of people in the parking lot, we learned that we (and the other group of people we were speaking with) were on the wrong side and we headed over to start the trail. I really wish the start of the trail was clearly marked. Getting started was confusing. However, the helpful people we met told us that we needed to start on the Howe Sound Crest trail and it would eventually leads us to St. Mark’s Summit.
We began our hike in high spirits stopping to take photographs of ponds and prettiness. As we ventured further in, the incline began. Not too fun,but it was expected. What was surprising to me was after we were a fair bit of the way in, there were sections covered in blankets of snow. Perhaps about half of the trail in different sections was this way. I wasn’t expecting that on July 1. It was good lesson for me. Again, as we aren’t avid hikers, we were wearing runners and when we got to the snow sections it was quite slippery. Everyone was falling. As we got closer to the top it became much more steep and there was much much more snow. It was very difficult without the correct shoes on.
When we finally arrived at the top it was gorgeous! I do wish it was a little less crowded as it was hard to take photographs of that stunning view or get close to the front as there were people everywhere. We found a nice spot and sat down and had lunch and enjoyed the beautiful view as cute little chipmunks ran around us. It was so fantastic.
After spending about 45 minutes at the top, we started on our way back down the mountain. Dreadful. The way down the mountain in the snow made us both miserable. There was a lot of sliding, falling and cursing. I have to say that there was sense of camaraderie with all the hikers as several people would fall or be trying to balance in the snow. It was comical and fun. On the other hand there was a section that I was extremely worried and nervous about. There was a creek covered in snow and you had to cross in the snow to get to the other side, but there were sink holes and when you looked down into the sink holes you could see the far fall down to the creek. I felt such fear crossing this area. On our way back there was gentleman crossing with his poles right before us and as he crossed more of the snow fell after him to reveal more holes. My husband and I slowly made our way across, but I was scared. My shoes were slipping in the snow and I just kept thinking that if my shoes slip there I go right into the sink hole and into the creek. I think they should consider making a little bridge over the creek.
My husband and I were hating it towards the end with our shoes covered in mud and filled with creek and swamp water and our hands and butts frozen from sliding down the mountain in the snow. My husband, although he was super sweet and helped me up each time, made a little game of counting my falls. The final count was 13 hard falls in the snow. The number is so high it almost sounds like an exaggeration. But alas it’s not lol. I have a giant bruise on my butt to prove it.
As we got closer to the end, we started to turn into our happy selves again. We ended as we started, snapping pictures and full of smiles. As we made our way through the parking lot we felt amazing to have finished it, but we were just so focused on getting home that perhaps it didn’t hit us right away.
Once we were home and all cleaned up, we both chatted about how amazing we felt to have accomplished it. We both agreed that it was actually a lot of fun. I feel like it’s normal for (some) people to hate the work out while you’re doing it, but love it afterwards. Maybe this can be compared to that feeling?
Would i recommend it? Yes. But I would say to keep these tips in mind:
- Look into what the conditions are like and if there’s snow on the ground I would say make sure you have proper shoes.
- Take tons of water and lunch. We were starving by the time we got to the top and it was such a reward to sit and chow down on lunch while enjoying the view.
- Take your camera. The view is just breathtaking.
- Make sure you take your bug spray.
It is beautiful, a great work-out and fun with the right company. It’s worth it. St. Mark’s Summit is such a local gem.
West Oak
By therdizzle in Eateries Tags: cocktails, dining, vancouver restaurant, west oak, yaletown
My girlfriends and I started off our girls night out at West Oak in Yaletown. I walked in to meet my friends at a dimly lit restaurant with a sexy ambience. I loved the vibe. Service was great. Our waiter was attentive, personable and witty. We never went long without our cocktails being replenished. The Rosé Sangria was refreshing and delicious. My girls and I shared the Chinois Prawns. Yum! Easily my fave dish of the night. For dinner I ordered the lobster linguine. I was pleasantly surprised. I often like to order lobster pasta, but a lot of restaurants are quite cheap with the amount of lobster they put into the dishes. This wasn’t the case at West Oak. The linguine was delicious with hefty chunks of lobster throughout the dish. Lastly, we ordered the fresh baked cookies for dessert. Prior to coming here, I kept hearing how amazing the cookies were and how I could not leave without trying them. Although we were pretty full, we ordered them. Perhaps my expectations were too high because although they were very good, I didn’t think they lived up to the hype. I’ve had better. The great food and atmosphere contributed to a fun night with great company. I will definitely be back.