Chronicle of My Florida Fall Escape

I went to Florida just before Thanksgiving last year. It was my second time and as the cliche goes, it's sweeter the second time around. It's because every time I visit a place for the first time I have this "see all, do all" attitude. I have to see everything and do everything. I spend a hell lot of time in Googling things, reading Trip Advisor and watching Travel Channel episodes. I have a day to day itinerary of all the tourist spots and restaurants I want to go to. It's pretty exhausting but it's absolutely rewarding. It's also the best way to get exhausted. Really. Anyway when I visit a place for the second time, it's mostly for pure fun and relaxation. 

First stop in Florida is Jacksonville. I stopped for a night to meet with a friend. 

That's me with Nina (the one in hot pink) with two of her friends. They call themselves Asian barbies. Haha! They're so hilarious. =)

We went to Pancitan Atbp., a Filipino restaurant along Beach Blvd. We feasted on authentic Filipino delicacies. 

Pork sisig. I stopped eating pork since May of 2012 but there's always an exemption to every rule. Pork sisig was too good to pass up.

I left hastily after lunch because I want to be able to walk around St. Augustine before it gets dark.

Photo: cityprofile.com

Aerial view of Castillo de San Marcos. The best view of the fort. Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the US. It's built mainly to protect the city of St. Augustine from pirate raids of the British during the war.

Inside the masonry

The view from the top of the wall was breathtaking.

I of course needed to do a little bit of camwhoring while enjoying the view.

ME..ME..and more of ME..

I also walked around downtown and saw a great deal of Spanish influence in the architecture of the city.

I fought the urge to sit in a bar and have drink. I went back to the car and started driving to Miami. Woot woot!


The only thing I did in advance in Miami is book a hotel. Other than that, I had no plan of what to do, what to see or where to eat. It turned out to be the best plan ever.

One of the many mojitos

I used Cuban mojitos to keep myself hydrated under the heat of Miami sun. I was lightheaded all the time but that didn't matter because I was having too much fun.

I ate tons of sinfully delicious meals.

Seafood Paella from Cafe Carlyle

Tuna tartare from Cafe Cardozo

This was probably the healthiest meal I ate during the course of my Miami getaway. Grilled chicken breast with pesto and organic brown rice from Juice and Java.

I also met with old friends who recently moved to Miami.

We took tons of  pictures endlessly.

We wandered along South Beach aimlessly. Super Fun!

I was sad to leave Miami. But all good things must come to an end. So until next time Miami!

I made one last stop in Florida before I started the long and miserable drive back to Wisconsin. I went to Honeymoon Island in Dunedin Florida. I was so excited to go because I've read about this place before in Travel + Leisure and Travel Channel.

Honeymoon Island is one of Florida's State Parks. There's tons of fun activities to do in the park but it's a really popular wedding venue among other things.

I saw two beach weddings on different parts of the island when I was there. Both weddings were intimate and oh so romantic!

There's just one thing that visitors should beware when visiting the park.

This caution sign was displayed by the state park entrance. I was surprised to see it because the articles I've read before about Honeymoon Island never mentioned rattle snakes. I had to double check if I have my insurance cards in my purse before I got out of the car.

I still had fun walking along the beach despite the rattle snake scare. The weather was perfect, the beach was so beautiful and the atmosphere was so tranquil and romantic.

Can't help but snap a photo of this guy watching the sunset.  Postcard perfect scene.

I waited for the sun to set before I left the park. Before I left paradise.

Food Porn Action in New York City (part 1)

While everybody is busy working out to shred unwanted fats and achieve the perfect body for summer, I chose to defy the rules of society and packed on pounds. It was a four day feast in sugarland and calorie paradise. I don't regret it at all. I don't mind the extra five pounds. I don't mind my maxed-out credit cards. Oh well, not until the bill comes.

My first stop as soon as I got in NYC was a Krystal's Cafe 81, a little Filipino Restaurant in East Village. 

Photo credit: Google Images

Last time I was in New York, I had to go all the way to Queens to get a taste of some delicious Pinoy delicacies.

We finished up the Sizzling Sisig in seconds. Sisig is a staple in any drinking session in the Philippines. It's made up of pork's head and liver. It's broiled, fried with onions then served in a sizzling plate topped with raw egg, pork cracklings and chili. It's an appetizer best paired with beer but I ate it with rice. Hell, I eat everything with rice.

Peter tried Red Horse Beer. The only beer I like. He didn't care much about it though.

I also ordered Sinigang na Hipon for the main course. It's a shrimp dish boiled in sour broth with vegetables. The server brought it in a big bowl and two servings of rice in a separate plate to our table. With it also comes two small individual bowls and plates for both of us. While I immediately rolled my sleeves up and get down to business, Peter was more concerned about how much dishes are we using. I rolled my eyes in disbelief. He must have felt sorry for the dishwasher.

Since I don't come to New York very often, I didn't pass up the opportunity to visit Laduree. For those who aren't familiar with it, it's a popular macaron shop in Paris. They opened their first and only North American location in the Upper East Side last year.

Gazillions of macarons are displayed in the store window. I had to wait in line to even get into the store. Peter thought it was ridiculous to wait in line to get pastries. Not until he finished off most of my macarons.

I got two boxes. One with all the fifteen flavors and one with just salted caramels and pistachios.

I also bought financiers and madeleines. I overheard one guy asking one of the associates if they make it there fresh everyday. The lady said that everything is made in Paris and delivered to New York everyday.

We went to Sarabeth's Kitchen next. They have several locations all over Manhattan but we visited the one right next to Central Park.

Photo credit: sarabethspc.com

It was sunny and breezy so we sat outside.

Central Park Summer: vodka, watermelon liqour, sierra mist and grenadine

The cocktail menu was my favorite. They have an awesome list of drink concoction. I love their champagne cocktails too. I ordered Central Park Summer and Watermelon Crush (vodka, watermelon liqour, pineapple juice and OJ) for starters. Yes that's right. For starters.

Cream of tomato soup topped with cheddar chives and basil oil.

Peter had the Flat Iron Steak Frites served with bernaise sauce and french fries. He paired it with some local tap beers.

I had the Pan Roasted Salmon served with fingerling potatoes, crispy leeks and sundried tomato vinagrette. Oh so yummy!

We also shared the Creme Brulee for dessert. I don't have pictures because we finished the whole thing before we could take pictures.

We were bloated by the end of it. But we didn't stop there.

Last hurrah in Oahu

We really made the most out of our brief stay in Oahu. It was an exhausting vacation. But the exhaustion wouldn't match the happiness we felt all throughout our stay. So here's our last hurrah in the island.

There's nothing better than a good cup of coffee to jumpstart another adventure filled day. I liked how almost all the  restaurants and stores in the island provides a Chinese and Japanese translation as opposed to Spanish translations in other states in the mainland. [Hawaii has the highest percentage of Asian residents.]

After coffee, we headed to the Seaside Bar and Grill for breakfast. They offer the best breakfast deal in the island. Imagine getting 2 pancakes, 2 strips of bacon and 2 eggs for $3.95! However, I wasn't contented with the deal. Instead, I ordered the Bombucha breakfast. For $10, I got rice [Yes! I'm Asian. I eat rice three times a day.], 2 strips of bacon, Portuguese sausage, 2 sausage links, a slice of spam, breakfast potatoes and 2 slices of french toast. Was that a deal or what?

Define gluttony.

After breakfast we didn't waste any more time. We drove over to Devil's Head National Monument. This was our second attempt to climbed the summit. The trail was .7 mile long but it's harder than it seems since the trail was unpaved and uneven. It lead through a dark narrow tunnel which lead to a 271 steps of steep stairway. Just when we almost thought the hike was over, we saw another narrow tunnel which lead to a 52 step spiral staircase. It took us around 1 1/2 hour to get to the top.

view from Devil's head

But once we got the summit, the heat and exhaustion was worth it because of these gorgeous views! =)

view from the other side of Devil's Head 

We drove to Byodo-In Temple afterwards. It was a very serene temple. It was so quiet and peaceful that it would be a perfect spot for meditation.

Peter contemplates as to why he wasn't born Asian. True story.

The temple is a replica of the original 950 year old Byodo-In Temple in Uji, Japan. The mountain backdrop, lush Japanese garden and koi pond helps create a very solemn atmosphere in the temple.

Byodo-In Temple replica in Oahu

It was past lunch time when we left the temple. It was our last day in Oahu and I promised myself that I would check out Max's Restaurant before I leave. Max's is a popular Filipino food chain which serves authentic Filipino delicacies.  And so we did. It was a true blue Filipino feast as we tried our hardest to finish of a huge order of crabmeat fried rice [a portion for 4 people], crispy pata and sinigang na hipon. I also ordered sago't gulaman for drinks and Peter loved it. And even though we were really full, I still forced myself to order a halo-halo to go. Damn. That was a bad habit. I liked taking things to go for later consumption even though I know I won't have room for it in the next 5 hours. I gotta get rid of this next time. Yeah. Next time. 

Germaine's Luau dancers

And for the finale, we joined the Luau at Germaine's. We found it this time and we arrived on time. 

For those who aren't familiar with this, Luau is a Hawaiian feast which features native Hawaiian delicacies such as poi and Kalua pig. Aside from the food, there are cultural presentations that showcases the rich culture and history of Hawaii. 

We were there early so we had plenty of time to walk around and take goofy pictures. We were given  food stubs and drink coupons upon admission. We didn't wait too long. We immediately headed down to the bar to get some drinks. Mai Tai for starters. We also didn't wait long for the program to start. It started of with a a prayer then we were ushered down the backyard to get the Kalua pig from the imu [underground oven]. We proceeded to the buffet table to get our dinner. I was still full from lunch at Max's so I didn't really have an appetite for food. [Yeah! I know! It doesn't sound like me.] I just got a little bit of Kalua pig, rice and some fruits which I didn't even finish. I didn't get the poi because it looked so gross. I got another round of Mai Tai instead. The host came back on stage while the guests were in the middle of having dinner. He announced that the show was about to start. 

The show took us on a musical journey that features Hawaiian customs, and traditional dances. It was also interactive as they encouraged the audience to join them on stage for some Hula lessons. It was a good show though there were cheesy segments. 

We left for Maui the morning after. =)