Travel Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Life is My Oyster

Brunchin’ in Las Vegas

August 16, 2015Oyster 1 Comment

If you’ve been to Vegas, you know there are endless possibilities for brunch. But when it comes to Brunchin’ in Las Vegas, this local has a favorite! I’ve tried most of the usual spots. But there’s one that keeps me coming back for more. DW Bistro! Sure they’ve got their pros and cons, but in my book the pros outweigh the cons by a long shot!

Shots for everyone! Bottomless Mimosas! Staying ’til closing time.

The con for me is that I am not the only local who seems to love this place… well, duh! So the wait times are crazy long! But that just reinforces how freakin’ good it is! Everyone wants to eat here, so much so, that many times I will bump into a friendly face! Another con is how crowded and loud it is, but I guess that comes with the territory when you are eating at the brunch place.

But enough about waiting to eat! Let’s talk about the food!

When it comes to breakfast, I am always torn between sweet and savory. Do I want the Pastry Basket or the Eggs Benedict? Luckily, on this particular visit my friend had a sweet tooth and I opted for a savory dish… and then we ended up eating each others dishes 😉 So I had the best of both worlds.

DW Bistro – Chilaquiles

Savory: Chilaquiles. Hands down my favorite dish on the brunch menu! It’s made up of white corn tortilla, chicken, cheddar cheese, two eggs, lime infused sour cream, queso fresco, and other good stuff. It. Is. Good.

DW Bistro – Challah French Toast

Sweet: Challah French Toast. You can get this one with strawberries or bananas. It comes drizzled in syrup. It is heaven on Challah!

And then there’s the bottomless mimosas (for those who prefer savory, I hear their Bloody Mary is delicious). They do not skimp on the bottomless part! My glass was never empty, and it wasn’t from a lack of drinking.

On this particular day, a fellow diner was in a celebratory mood and decided to buy shots for the entire restaurant. Two shots for each and every patron, to be exact. On retrospect, I probably should have declined this patron’s generosity… but then again, cheers!

Great brunch! And if you’re ever there for lunch, try the DW Spanish Chorizo with Shrimp, so good!

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Montana – Missoula & Yellowstone

August 5, 2015Oyster 15 Comments

So you know how I’ve mentioned my bucket list? Well, Montana? Not in it either! Just like Indy, never thought I’d go there. I’d heard nice things. I’ve seen the No Reservations episode, it looked beautiful. And my uncle, who is a truck driver and has been to almost every corner of the country, once said he’d seen the most beautiful sunset in Montana. Still, I never even bothered to imagine it.

But one day, while discussing my boyfriend’s upcoming birthday, I mentioned I would take him to Portland, Oregon. Why? because we enjoy watching Portlandia, duh! And then I dropped the hint that he also wanted to visit Montana some day. And BAM! Two tickets to Missoula from a dear friend!

Montana is beautiful! I can’t tell you about the sunsets though. I was too busy looking at all the amazing countryside! True to my obsessive self, I wanted to see every corner of the state in our mere three days. But no! This new and improved traveler managed to settle on a few points of interest and focus on those. And so it was that I found myself in Missoula and Yellowstone in one weekend.

Now, let me tell you something about my guy… he doesn’t like to plan. He’s the wing-it type of traveler. And you see, I’m quite the opposite. A travel contrast, if you will. I plan the sh!t out of my trips! Yea, sure, leave some room for spontaneity. But there are some things I need to know before I go. Namely: do I have a place to stay? I don’t really like the idea of roaming around in a foreign place, in the middle of the night, and not knowing where I will lay my head. Well guess what? that’s exactly what we found ourselves doing after a long day of flying, driving, and walking around Yellowstone.

No vacancy, read the signs. I went down the list of nearby hotels in Yelp and one by one they shut me down. I kept seeing myself being a random Bear’s dinner while sleeping in our crummy old rental. It turned out just fine. I threw caution to the wind and let myself see where this little adventure took us… not very far, as it turns out. Destination: Days Inn. Hey, at least there were comfy beds! It’s always an adventure with him, and although it might be quite a contrast from my plan-everything-kinda-gal, it certainly gives me the opportunity to learn a new, possibly more fun, way of doing things.

If you find yourself in West Yellowstone, Montana, for breakfast try The Running Bear Pancake House. The breakfast was delicious!

But did I mention how beautiful Montana is? After a series of beach and urban trips, it was nice to go to the small towns and Yellowstone National Park. Man those geysers are a sight to be seen!

And then there’s the wildlife… I’m a scary cat, I know it. I have no desire to be bear food or be gored by bison. But my guy had other plans. He was all about the wildlife. We spotted some Elk, Deer, Bison, and a Bunny. But of course, no trip is complete without spotting a bear! He was dying to see a bear, and he got to talking with a park employee who clued us in on the perfect trail to spot one. So he buys some bear mace and so we go on our completely delusional mission to see a bear.

The trail was desolate, and I believe this is what let the fear set in. To make sure we were completely ready to battle a bear, my guy decides to test the bear mace… you know, so that he’s not fumbling with it in front of the bear. So funny how we were so fearful of the bear, when we should’ve been a bit more concerned about the imminent threat that a man with bear mace can be! Yup, he maced us! I think it’s hilarious! But of course, not so funny in the moment, when you are choking and it feels like your nostrils, throat, and eyes are burning! No bears were spotted. But that moment was one for the books. Have you ever been maced? Any wild encounters with wildlife? do share!

Missoula is a small town, with all the small town charm! The people were very friendly and the scenery breathtaking! A beautiful river runs through it (hint hint: have you seen the movie?). There are beautiful trails for hiking and biking. And if you ever find yourself in Missoula, make sure you go to the Big Dipper Ice Cream Shop. The line forms around the block right after dinner time!

My Travel Personality

July 7, 2015Oyster 11 Comments

I call it “Putting it All in Perspective.” What does that mean? Map it!

I usually start off with the place I will visit. It’s weird. My destination almost always just falls on my lap. Either I have to go there for work, a destination family/friend’s event, or plain old my-friend-wants-to-go-there. I don’t mind it one bit though! I get to travel!

I’ve got a decent been-there-done-that list. But no matter how much I travel, being able to know where I am when I get there always seems to be my main concern. So I study the map closely for weeks before my take-off. I like to know how far I will be from my points of interest, and that I will know how to get back to my hotel. It’s funny though, I still get lost, but getting lost is part of the fun. But I never leave without my map!

Next, it’s food! I love to eat, and being able to try foreign cuisines is one of my priorities when I travel. I always make a mental list of the food that I need to find in each place I visit. In Rio? Feijoada; Argentina? Asado; Spain? Paella. Sometimes the countries in my bucket list are there primarily for the food experience!

Then there’s obviously the sightseeing! One down-side from my travel personality is my eagerness to see everything. I get in this mindset that I have to leave this place feeling like I don’t have to come back. It backfires because I end up exhausted in the first hours of arriving. Then I spend the rest of the vacation with a sore body, grouchy, and tired. But it’s worth it! It was only recently, during my trip to Indy, was when I finally relaxed and reminded myself that I can (and should) leave room for a comeback. How do you deal with the anxiety of seeing everything?

Finally, there are certain rules I seem to travel-by: 1) Don’t eat food I can find anywhere else (like food chains); 2) Don’t shop at stores you can find back home; and, 3) Walk! I don’t really go for tours. I prefer to discover the city by walking and taking public transportation. Every once in a while I’ll buy a tour if it seems worth it.

So far it’s been fun, and I hope to see more of the world and continue putting it all in perspective!

Indy

July 2, 2015Oyster 1 Comment

I’ve got a travel bucket list. My top five changes periodically though. A new movie, or maybe even eating a dish from a foreign country, divert my attention and shuffle my queue. Indy was never in my list. Like, never. I heard about Indy, but it never even occurred to me to visit. But I recently did, and it was awesome!

Don’t get me wrong, the moment I found out of the possibility to visit Indy I became surprisingly excited! It turned out to be a gem of a city. I went for a friend’s wedding, which was held in Bloomington, but we had to have our detour in Indianapolis. We only had a day and a half to check out the city, but I think we did it right, and I left room for a comeback!

For lunch we went to the City Market. It is located right across the street from the courthouse, and it looked like it was a place for locals to have a quick bite in the middle of a busy day. We opted for savory crepes at 3 Days in Paris, delicious!

While making small talk with the guys at 3 Days in Paris, we were told to try Milktooth. And it turns out that’s the place to be on a Saturday/Sunday brunch. It’s a cute place. We can file it under the Hipster Eatery folder, and it was good! The menu is seasonal, and the stuff I had was good. Sorry, too hungry to take pictures, but here’s the coffee I had:

For other good places to eat I suggest checking out Fountain Square, which is where Milktooth is (or nearby). There they had a few places I was dying to try but had no time. If you go to Bluebeard, let me know how you like it. In Broad Ripple we ate some Ice Cream at Nicey Treat. They had this really good chocolate with chili flavor that was sweet and spicy. And of course, I visited the classic St. Elmo’s and had their spectacular-nasal-clearing Shrimp Cocktail. Very good!

Bloomington is a beautiful college town! The wedding took place on-campus at IU. When I heard it was going to take place on-campus I was like what?!?! But as soon as I walked towards the ceremony and reception area it became very clear why. It was absolutely green and beautiful.

Nap-town was a great time! I hope to come back some time and take a bigger bite of the food scene. I leave you with this city collage:

Manhattan Beach

June 21, 2015Oyster Leave a Comment

As Summer kicks in full gear in Las Vegas, I decided to seek cooler winds. Indeed, it was a cool 64 degrees Fahrenheit in Manhattan Beach, meanwhile in Vegas it was over 100.

It was my first time in Manhattan Beach, and my first time using Airbnb! I loved both!

The weather was perfect: cool enough to feel comfortable, and warm enough for a few hours to soak in the sun. The Pacific beaches tend to be cold, so having the sun out is a must if you are going to venture into the water. The area was cute, with tons of cute stores to check out. Walking is a bit of a workout because you are either walking up hill or walking down hill. My legs were soar after just one day!

The cozy beach studio was adorable, and walking distance to the beach. We didn’t really have much interaction with the landlord, which was ok with me. As a first timer on Airbnb, I don’t have very many tips for a seamless experience. I do advice to do your research and make sure to check out the reviews. I had a great experience, but I wouldn’t take that for granted in the future. I do plan on using it again 🙂

Due to the nature of the short trip, I could not get a good taste of the food down there. I did have a good dinner at The Strand House, but I am not sure I would recommend it. It’s a cute place, but my pork-chop was a bit hard to cut. They did have some delicious donuts though:

Living in Las Vegas, it seems weekends in California are a no-brainer, but I don’t seem do it as much as I’d like to (note to self: more weekends in Cali!).