Ann Taylor – Page 2 – Danntaylor.com

Europe Day 7: Patience is a virtue

Posted on May 30, 2014Author Ann Taylor

After a fabulous, fun-filled week in Europe, it was finally Friday – our last full day in Paris. Our plan was to hit the Catacombes de Paris in the morning, pick up food for picnic lunch at Au Bon Marche, picnic in the Jardin du Luxembourg, visit the Musée d’Orsay in the afternoon, and then conclude with a sunset dinner cruise along the Seine. Well, you know what they say about plans…

Careful research on Trip Advisor showed that we should arrive at the Catacombs very early (around 9am), because the line builds up quickly and if you get there after the 10am opening time, you could be waiting for quite a while. There had been a mini-meltdown the night before when the late nights and early mornings caught up with me, and I just couldn’t stomach another pre-7am wakeup call. Dan was generous enough to suggest that we sleep until 8:15 (a total luxury!) and that the line at the Catacombs couldn’t be that long, could it? Famous last words – when we arrived at 11am, the line wrapped around the block. We got in line and estimated that we’d probably be waiting for about an hour, but decided that was no big deal. Flash forward FOUR HOURS, and we were finally near the front of the line. Apparently, they only allow 200 people to be in the Catacombs at any one time, so we were in a one in/one out situation. Had we known in advance that the wait would be so long, we might have decided to pass on the Catacombs on this trip, but once we hit the two-hour mark, we were committed. As you can see from the picture below, Dan was very patient. Knowing that we were waiting because I had wanted to sleep in drove me to keep my mouth shut about the wait and avoid complaining about anything.

Patient Dan, finally nearing the front of the line.

We hadn’t had lunch yet, because we had expected to finish up with the Catacombs by early afternoon and then have our super-Parisian picnic. (This will come into play later on.) We were finally able to enter the Catacombs shortly after 3pm, so we grabbed our audio guides and descended 130 steps into subterranean Paris. The self-guided tour lasted about an hour, and while I don’t know if it was worth a four-hour wait, it was very interesting and neat. The Catacombs were originally quarries where limestone was mined for the buildings of Paris. In the late 1700s, overflowing cemeteries led to a sanitation crisis in the city, and it was ordered that all the church cemeteries be emptied and the bones moved to an ossuary in these old underground quarries. The Catacombs were consecrated, and church by church, the bones were moved under strict religious guidelines and ritual. The ossuary today holds more than 6 million skeletons, moved in two batches: first in the late 1700s and then again around 1850-1860. It’s basically a mass grave, and is sacred ground, and many famous people have taken the Catacombs tour over the years, including Charles X (1787) and Emperor Francis I of Austria (1814).

Just a few of the 6 million skeletons buried in the Catacombs.

Like I said, maybe not worth a four-hour wait, but we definitely enjoyed our visit. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning more about Paris’s history or is interested in urban development/architecture. We left the site around 4pm, now very late for lunch, and had to scratch the Musée d’Orsay from our list. The Musée closes at 6pm, and we did not have time to eat, get there, and see much of the art before then. Despite the fact that we have had our itinerary set for weeks, we decided to throw caution to the wind and rearrange it a little bit. Instead of the Musée d’Orsay, we would grab a late lunch and then walk over to the Champs-Élysées for some sightseeing there (originally the plan for Saturday morning). We made our way to Au Bon Marche, only to find that they were sold out of pre-made sandwiches…much like Thursday at the French Open, there aren’t many quick lunch options to be found (by us, anyway) if it isn’t lunchtime. Seeing another mini-meltdown emerging, Dan quickly navigated us to a cafe, where we ordered iced tea, Diet Coke and a cheese plate. The world seemed a little brighter with food, and then we were able to continue to wander around St. Germain, picking up two of the most delicious pain au chocolats, and settling for a minute to eat them in the Tuileries Gardens.

Seeing blue sky for the first time in Paris - at the Tuileries.

We then walked along the Champs- Élysées, and at first I was confused to see that it was full of trees and not fancy stores. Then, we realized that part of it was a tree-lined boulevard, and the part closer to the Arc de Triomphe was the shopping area. We didn’t do much shopping, but it was definitely a scene to see, and we snapped an obligatory street sign photo. Ironically, the only places we went in were McDonald’s (for a convenient bathroom stop) and Sephora. My French must be slipping, because a sales associate came up and said something, to which I replied “Non, merci “(no, thank you). The sales associates at US Sephora stores typically start an interaction by asking if they can help you with anything, but apparently all this poor girl had said was “bonjour, madame.” Oops. Just goes to show that knowing and reading French are VERY different from hearing it spoken!

Window shopping along the Champs-Elysees.

We were excited about our dinner cruise, but were prepared for it to be a little cheesy and touristy. In fact, it was very nice. Our boat, Bateau le Calife, was on the smaller side, so it felt more like an intimate restaurant. The service was great, and the food was – once again – pretty delicious. The best part by far, though, were the views. Our departure point was near the Louvre, and around 8:30pm we set off heading east along the Seine, past Notre Dame and Île St. Louis before turning around and heading back west to just past the Eiffel Tower (which I have, for some unknown reason, been referring to as “The Statue of Liberty” all week). It was a lovely evening. The sun, which had been flirting with us at the French Open the day before, finally appeared for a gorgeous sunset, and we had such a relaxing time on the water. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Paris! We saw lots of people with bottles of wine and snacks lounging along the sides of the Seine, so we’re putting that on our agenda for next time.

We are very sad to be ending our vacation tomorrow. Our flight is in the early evening, so we do have time to squeeze in one last event with a trip to the Musée d’Orsay before heading to Orly Airport. It will be nice to return to our own apartment, but we will certainly miss this city!

Europe Day 6: The French Open

Posted on May 29, 2014Author Ann Taylor

I apologize for the delay with some of these blog postings. We have been going to bed so late at night in Paris (dinners take nearly three hours!) and getting up pretty early, so I’ve postponed writing in favor of a few extra minutes of sleep. I wrote these last few posts on the plane ride home yesterday, and they should all be posted soon.

On Thursday, we took a break from the typical tourist attractions in Paris and headed to Roland-Garros for Round Two of the French Open tennis tournament. I don’t know a thing about tennis, but when I first started reading my Paris guidebook, it mentioned special events for each month. I saw that the French Open would begin during our visit, mentioned to Dan that it might be fun to see that, and voilà – he figured out how to get us tickets. It was truly one of the most memorable experiences of the trip.

In the morning, we managed to squeeze in an extra hour of sleep. It is really tough keeping local hours at night, staying out for very leisurely dinners, and keeping tourist hours in the daytime, getting up early and being out and about all day long. It’s worth it to see so much, though. At any rate, we planned to get to the French Open at Roland-Garros Stadium around noon. You buy tickets for a specific day in a specific court without knowing who will be playing yet, but you are able to stay and see all four matches on your court for that day. We got lucky and found out that Rafael Nadal would be playing a match at 1pm in our assigned court – the main one, Court Philippe Chatrier. The matches start at 11am, but we decided to try and arrive around noon instead, to catch a few more zzz’s in the morning.

Our hotel is in the western part of Paris, at the top of a large park called the Bois de Boulogne. This park is enormous (more than 2000 acres) and very much like Central Park in New York. Roland-Garros is located at the southern edge of the Bois de Boulogne, so I thought it would be nice to walk through the park to the stadium. Dan and I both commented that there seemed to be an inordinate number of people out jogging and walking their dogs for a Thursday morning, but the weather had finally cleared and we were able to enjoy a nice long stroll. (I say long, because it took nearly an hour and a half of walking to get to our destination. We have definitely worked off all the calories from our pain au chocolat this week!) We even saw some wildlife along the way, in the form of ducks and bunnies.

Upon arrival at Roland-Garros, we picked up our tickets, ventured inside and marveled at the spectacle of it all. There are four main “show courts” and about 16 side courts that were all filled with ongoing matches and spectators. Our tickets got us into the main court, Philippe Chatrier, and all the side courts. As I mentioned before, we got lucky that Rafael Nadal was scheduled to play on our court, and we were very excited to experience this quintessential French sporting event. We had just enough time to wander around before settling into our seats and catching the tail end of the 11am match between Jelena Jankovic and Kurumi Nara.

Now, I spent much of our flight to London and our train ride to Paris trying to sleep, but what I really should have been doing was reading “Tennis for Dummies.” I had no idea how the point system worked, when to be quiet, how to keep track of who was serving, etc. Dan was very patient and explained it all to me, and over the course of Nadal’s match, I caught on to the basics. By the end, I knew all about holding and breaking the serve, deuce, match point, and all those other tennis-y things. Nadal played an Austrian who was quite a lively character and kept us all entertained with his exaggerated groans and temper fits when things didn’t go his way. Nadal won in straight sets and it was very exciting to see the best player in the world. Ladies, I’m sorry I didn’t get a picture of him changing his shirt in between each set. The crowd got quite a kick out of that!

The match started at 1pm and we didn’t want to miss any of it, so by the time we left our court to go and find some lunch, it was past 3:30. Concession stands were everywhere, selling ham and cheese baguettes, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and more. The French may enjoy very late dinners, but they do not seem to be big on late lunches. All of the ham and cheese baguettes were sold out at each stand we went to. Eventually Dan got a cheeseburger and I got a hot dog. Can’t watch sports without a hotdog, right? We also found it amusing that they sold non-alcoholic beer. To keep the crowd in check, there is no booze, but I guess they figured that people still wanted to feel like they were having a beer.

The next match scheduled for our court featured a Frenchman named Richard Gasquet, so we decided to return to our seats rather than trying our luck at one of the side courts. It was so much fun to watch the crowd cheer for a fellow Frenchman at the French Open, and he was much more evenly paired with his opponent than Nadal had been. He ended up winning in straight sets, but the first set needed a tie-breaker and took a full hour to play! After that ended, we still had a little bit of time before we needed to head to dinner, so we wandered around the stadium some more, caught a bit of a women’s doubles match, and took in the sights. It was a fantastic day, and I am really glad that we had it on our itinerary.

In between matches at Court Philippe Chatrier.

Dinner on Thursday night was at a spot called L’Estrepade in the Latin Quarter. We figured we’d pick a neighborhood that we hadn’t explored yet and eat there, so that if we wanted to grab a drink after dinner, there would be places to do that. (Once our trip started, we realized that dinner would end after 11pm every night, so there were actually no post-dinner drinks anywhere.) We found L’Estrepade on Trip Advisor, and like everything else, it was delicious. Dan was adventurous and tried the roast duck breast, and he was even able to order his own food in French! He added in one or two extra syllables here and there, but our waitress got the gist of it. I had the steak, and we both had pretty good desserts, but I think we liked our appetizers the best. Dan had a fascinating egg with cheese and chorizo sauce, and I had a very light crab salad. Definitely different from what we’d been having thus far on the trip and very yummy!

After dinner, we wandered past the Pantheon and the University of Paris on our way to the Metro to head back to our hotel. All of our days have been long, but it feels like we are really taking advantage of our time here. Tomorrow we are off to the Catacombes, the Musee d’Orsay, and a dinner cruise along the Seine to cap off our vacation week!

The end of another fabulous day in Paris.

Europe Day 5: Paris by Foot

Posted on May 28, 2014Author Ann Taylor

Hi everyone! Ann Taylor here. We split this trip’s blogging responsibilities in half, so it’s up to me to take you through the second half of our trip. I’ll apologize in advance for not being quite as detailed as Dan. 🙂

On Wednesday morning, we got up bright and early to head to Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame for a 9am tour of Gothic Paris. Dan mentioned Context Tours earlier this week, and today we had a private tour of Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, and the Conciergerie, given by an art history professor from the American University in Paris. The tour of Notre Dame was extremely detailed and interesting, and we learned lots of neat facts about the decor, sculptures, and history of the cathedral. We have never had a private tour of something before, so it was really nice to have that personalized attention. I particularly admired the famous rose windows of Notre Dame and was definitely looking forward to seeing more lovely stained glass at Sainte-Chapelle later on.

Our tour of Notre Dame did not involve a climb to the top, but we came back for that later. With our guide, we moved along to Sainte-Chapelle, a lovely little two-story chapel commissioned by Louis IX around 1240 to house his relics of the Passion of Christ — a collection of items including pieces of Christ’s cross and his crown of thorns. (Apparently the crown of thorns is still houses in Notre Dame today and is brought out for adoration on the first Friday of each month and Good Friday.) Sainte-Chapelle is definitely a grand exhibit of Gothic architecture and art, and the famous stained glass windows alone are worth the visit. I was really impressed to find out that they are all pretty much original to the chapel. Thirteenth century stained glass is not something we see every day in New York. After Sainte-Chapelle, we swung through the Conciergerie, formerly part of a royal palace but best known as a prison during the time of the French Revolution. Some 2800 prisoners, including Marie Antoinette, were held there pending trial and execution by La Guillotine. While we admired the Gothic architecture, we also saw recreations of what the place would have looked like as a prison, the various types of rooms that prisoners could have had depending on their ability to pay for extra comforts like beds, blankets, and writing desks, and a special room recreating Marie Antoinette’s stay there. It was fascinating and creepy, all at the same time.

After our tour, it was time for lunch at Au Bourgnat, a lovely little bistrot on Ile de la Cite. The food was excellent, and I continued to help Dan avoid death by nuts, although most of the time I have no idea what waiters are saying to us. My high school French has come in pretty handy thus far, and as long as I keep repeating “pas de noix!” I think we’ll be all set. Fortified by lunch, we returned to Notre Dame. Our morning tour did not include a visit up to the top, but seriously…if I came all this way, I’m definitely climbing to the top to see the gargoyles. Four hundred twenty-two steps later, we emerged at the very top of the South Tower and had stunning panoramic views of Paris. The rain held off (thankfully — more on that later) and we had fun picking out landmarks and admiring the view.

A gargoyle friend with Sacre Coeur in the background, highlighted by the day's few rays of sunshine.

After that, we starting walking north and ended outside the Louvre, where we took a quick “we were here” photo and then moved on towards Montmartre in the northern part of Paris. It was quite a hike, and we took a few wrong side streets here and there, but part of the fun of being in Paris is just wandering in different neighborhoods to see what you can see. On our way, we stumbled across a car on fire in the Place de la Concorde and waited around while the firetruck arrived and saved the day. We finally made it up to Montmartre and got to visit Basilica de Sacre Coeur, which is a stunning white basilica on top of a hill. The guidebooks all liken it to the Spanish Steps in Rome, where you can get stunning views of the city. Far off in the distance, we saw Notre Dame, where we had been just a bit earlier. At this point, I was wishing for a FitBit or something to figure out how far we had walked! Daily Mass was being said at Sacre Coeur, so we didn’t intrude for long, but it was well worth the visit.

From there, we had dinner reservations at Sacree Fleur, a delicious steak-focused place just a few streets away. The owner/waiter was super nice, and incredibly patient with my amateur French. He refused to speak English with me and taught me some new French phrases. Dan and I started with an assorted cheese plate, since we realized we had been in Paris for more than 24 hours without having any delicious French cheeses, and then had beef filets with frites and salad for main courses. Everything was absolutely amazing. The filets came with a trip of three sauces and I think we both agreed that the shallot sauce was by far the best.

Dessert was a molten lava cake for Dan and an apple tart en flambé for me. I had seen the table next to me order a desert that the waiter set on fire, so of course I had to order that as well. It was quite yummy, and from what I saw, Dan was pretty pleased with his chocolate cake as well.

After that, we just headed back to our hotel to get some good rest before our day at the French Open on Thursday. Our dinners in Paris have been lovely and memorable, but we’ve had to get used to European dinners that take 3+ hours. We’ve definitely been up later than normal this week and had some very full days, but it’s all so worth it. I did underdress for this trip in terms of warmth though, since it has been much colder than I expected and I only brought a couple of blazers. Thankfully I packed several scarves, which seems to be the accessoire de ce moment here in Paris, so I fit right in. I do not know how French and British ladies straighten their hair, though. It has been so dreary and rainy that my hair has been a big frizz ball every day. Oh well. I think the weather will be a bit warmer in the next day or two, and hopefully we’ll see the sun. Tomorrow we are off to Roland-Garros for Round Two of the French Open, and we should be able to see Rafael Nadal. A demain!

Day 6: Last Day

Posted on June 1, 2013Author Ann Taylor

It’s finally that time…our vacation week is wrapping up. Cue the tears. 🙁 We have had the most amazing time in Kauai, and it is crazy how quickly a week can fly by. I feel like we have accomplished and experienced a lot, and we’ll have plenty of great memories and stories to remind us of this visit.

Today was a low-key, relaxing day. No sense coming back from vacation exhausted and in need of another vacation! We slept in, enjoyed a coffee service in our room, and then spent the rest of the day down by the pool at our hotel. It was a very warm, sunny day, just perfect for trying to get a bit of a tan and snoozing on a lounge chair. Today was probably the most typical “tropical vacation” day that we’ve had so far. Dan isn’t much for just sitting around, but he was very patient and humored me today. It probably helped that we’re still in the US, so his iPhone was working just fine down by the pool, allowing him to surf the internet while I napped. We had lunch at the pool-side cafe and then went out on Hanalei Bay in a two-person kayak to get in a little activity. Nothing like two people in one kayak battling the trade winds to really test a marriage, haha. 🙂 Thankfully we all returned in one piece so that we could enjoy one last pool-side cocktail before cleaning up for dinner.

DSCN3362 — Pre-dinner, in the hotel lobby

For dinner, we returned to the Hanalei Dolphin, one of our favorite spots this week. Their assortment of freshly caught fish is quite extensive, and they prepare it simply to really let the flavors of the fish shine. So good! We made one last stop at Lappert’s Ice Cream for some Kona coffee ice cream before returning to the St. Regis to catch the tail end of the sunset. All in all, a really great day. There was a wedding here this evening, which was fun to observe. I hope that couple ends up being as happy as we have been! Now it’s time to pack up, and this time tomorrow we’ll be en route from Honolulu to JFK. Now, time to start planning the next trip… 🙂

DSCN3373 — Farewell, Kauai! See you again soon!

Day 5: Discovering puka dogs

Posted on May 31, 2013Author Ann Taylor

Aloha again! The plan for today was to do a little more exploring on the south side of Kauai. After getting a little extra sleep this morning, we set out to hike the Maha’ulepu Heritage Trail in Poi’pu. This four-mile roundtrip hike from the Grand Hyatt Resort to Maha’ulepu Beach is billed as “easy” according to the reviewers on TripAdvisor.com, so we had high hopes of completing it quickly and enjoying some beach time. It turns out that “easy” is in the eye of the beholder. While the trail itself was certainly less vertical than our hike along the Na Pali coast earlier this week, it was very rocky and poorly marked. We had to do a lot of doubling back, and probably turned our four mile hike into about five miles or so. The views we got were stunning, though. The south side of Kauai is very different from the north side (at least in the spot where we were), and we saw lots of low cliffs and rocky outcroppings that afforded beautiful views of the Pacific. The water was so blue and the waves so mesmerizing that I tripped over rocks and tree roots several times when I looked at the views more often than where I was going. Oops. We had a written trail guide that highlighted certain spots along the way as sacred grounds or excellent examples of limestone erosion, but honestly we mostly just enjoyed the views and tried to stay on the trail. At the end, Maha’ulepu Beach was nearly deserted and so peaceful. We took it all in for a bit and then retraced our steps, eager for some lunch.

Lunch in Poi’pu consisted of puka dogs, Hawaiian hot dogs. According to a friend’s recommendation, the best place to go was a little place called Puka Dog, which has been featured on the Travel Channel. They have a short menu of puka dog options and toppings, and fresh-squeezed lemonade. As in, you watch them squeeze your lemon right then and there when you order it. That’s about as fresh as it gets. I love a good hot dog, but I wasn’t sure what to expect with this fancy puka dog nonsense. Mango relish? Lemon garlic sauce? Whatever happened to just good old-fashioned ketchup? The lemon garlic sauce is a must-have, apparently, so I got that with ketchup, and Dan got the spice lemon garlic sauce with pineapple relish and some kind of Hawaiian mustard. Based on the crickets you could hear chirping while we wolfed down our orders, I’d say we were both pretty happy.

two — Getting set to enjoy his first puka dog.

Part of what makes a good hot dog great is the bun, and the bread used by Puka Dog was delicious. The lemonade was also a nice touch after our hike. It’s also a good thing this place was so casual and we could eat at a picnic table outside, because we were filthy with red Hawaiian dirt and sand after this particular hike. The trail was very dusty.

Since we got a late start to the day and since Poi’pu is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our hotel, after lunch we went straight back to the St. Regis to get cleaned up for dinner. It’s become a tradition to have a dressier “date night” dinner on each of our vacations, so this time around we had made a reservation at the Kauai Grill, a member of the Jean-Georges family of restaurants that was conveniently located right in our hotel. We had a delicious five-course tasting menu with a wine pairing and thoroughly enjoyed every bite. We also got to witness a beautiful sunset, since the restaurant has a huge wall of windows that overlooks Hanalei Bay and the Pacific.

three — My favorite menu item: salmon sashimi over crispy rice. The crispy rice was fantastic. All sashimi should be served this way!

All in all, it was a really nice way to start to wrap up our trip. We still have a full day tomorrow before we fly back to NYC on Saturday, but it’s crazy to think that the trip is slowly coming to a close. You can’t drive two minutes here without coming across a realty company, and I completely understand why. It’s probably a good thing we’re leaving soon, or else I’d end up being the proud owner of some little beach house or condo here before too long. 🙂

DSCN3350 — Thoroughly enjoying every part of our trip!

Day 4: Luau Time!

Posted on May 30, 2013Author Ann Taylor

After two days of very active adventures, we opted for the typical tourist route and just went sightseeing today. We started things off with a drive down to Waimea, on the southwestern-ish side of the island. After getting fortified with some delicious lunch at Island Taco, we headed up into the Waimea Canyon — the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” There is a 17-mile road that takes you up to 4,000 feet along the canyon’s rim, with three lookout points stationed along the way to show you the grandeur of this amazing site. Everything I read beforehand recommended going early in the day, since the clouds and fog can obscure the views later on. Well, it just didn’t seem right to get up at 6am on vacation, so we threw caution to the winds and arrived at the canyon around 1:30pm and figured we’d just see what we could see.

one — Braving the elements to visit Waimea Canyon

What we saw was nothing short of fantastic. The views weren’t as clear as they could be, and there was a good deal of fog, but in my opinion it just added a cool, mystical quality that made the whole experience so fascinating. You would have no idea you were in Hawaii, with the overcast skies, lush green canyon, and swirling mists. It was more like being in the woods of the Pacific Northwest or something like that. Beaches and sunshine were completely forgotten. At the second lookout point (after a minor detour when we started walking down the wrong path), we actually got to watch the fog roll in and completely engulf the canyon valley, until we could see nothing but a big white cloud. Our pictures of that didn’t quite turn out — who wants a picture of just a big white cloud? — but we’ll always remember how cool it felt to be there.

We took just under two hours in the canyon itself, driving to the various lookout points and then back down again, and after that we went to the Kauai Coffee Company plantation in Kalaheo. We got to sample all of their different coffees and went on a guided tour of the facilities — much like visiting a wine vineyard. It was really interesting, and our guide, Chuck, was quite knowledgeable. I don’t think it’s enough to make me trade in my beloved Diet Coke for coffee, but I have enjoyed getting to try some new types of coffee on this trip. Fittingly enough, in honor of the ever-present chickens everywhere, Kauai Coffee has introduced a new blend that they call Rooster Alarm. I’m sure the coffee is better than being awakened by an actual rooster!

Our day of sightseeing and driving around ended in Kapa’a, at a traditional Hawaiian luau. The Smith Family Garden Luau was an absolute blast. When we arrived, we were greeted and invited to wander around the beautiful garden property until dinner time. This property was enough to rival any botanical garden, with amazing plants and free-roaming peacocks. We didn’t spend much time wandering the gardens though, because we wanted to watch the imu ceremony, where they dig the roast pig out of the fire pit. After learning about how the pig is traditionally prepared and grabbing a cocktail while enjoying traditional Hawaiian music, it was time to sit down and eat. Dan and I weren’t entirely sure what to expect from a luau dinner, but it was absolutely delicious. The roast pork was so tasty, and the other meats and side dishes were just as good.

After dinner, we all walked down to their outdoor theater for the luau show, complete with tributes to each of the cultures that influenced the early development of Hawaii: Tahiti, China, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Samoa. The dancers were all very accomplished, but I think our favorite was the traditional Samoan fire-dancer. All my baton-twirling friends, take note: I thought this guy’s tricks with his flaming knife/stick were one of the most impressive things I’d ever seen. Until he added a second flaming knife/stick. Two! With fire at each end! I held my breath for a while, but he made it through in one piece, without burning anything. Wow.

four — Some of the traditional dancers at the luau show

It was such a nice day, exploring Kauai away from the beach. There is so much here, for such a small island, and I’m glad that we are getting to experience different facets of what Hawaii has to offer. Tomorrow, we’re back to hiking, but on the South Shore this time. Thanks for following along, and for all of your suggestions! We are trying to fit in as much as possible!

Day 3: Surf’s up!

Posted on May 29, 2013Author Ann Taylor

The plan for our third full day in Kauai was to surf. Or, attempt to surf. Thanks to some recommendations, we had booked a lesson with Hawaiian Surfing Adventures in Hanalei, and after a good night’s sleep and a hefty breakfast (where we saw not one but two rainbows!), we were ready to ride the waves. Or, attempt to ride the waves. Whatever. We set out for our lesson in a downpour, but by the time we reached the company’s office about 15 minutes later, the sun was on its way out. We figured that boded well for our day in the water. Our surfing instructor, Daniel, told us that there was a location change, since the water in Hanalei Bay was too calm. Instead, we were bound for a small hidden beach called Rock Quarry on the northeast corner of the island. A third student joined us, and away we went.

first — No idea what was in store for us...

I will preface all of this by saying that we had a wonderful time. However, surfing is hard. The boards are huge and heavy, the waves are relentless, and you will swallow a few dozen gallons of seawater. Also, I have two words of advice for anyone who is considering trying their hand at surfing: rash guards. Seriously, board rash is no joke. We were wearing long-sleeved rash guard tops provided by Hawaiian Surfing Adventures, but I should have considered my legs. After a couple of hours of surfing, my new best friend is a bottle of aloe vera gel. Please be smarter than me if you plan to surf!

Dan turned out to be a natural surfer. He caught on really quickly and not only figured out how to get up on his board pretty early in the morning, but he was doing fancy stuff like steering so that he didn’t run into me. Even our instructor complimented him on how well he was doing. What was I doing while Dan was showing off, you ask? Well, the word that best describes my surfing experience today was “wipeout.” I was too busy trying to paddle out beyond the breaking waves and/or ducking to keep from getting whacked in the head with my surfboard when it inevitably got away from me each time a wave crashed down. These waves were enormous…probably a little more challenging than the novice surfer would need. Even so, Dan and the other guy that was with us seemed to do ok. I think I looked like all Three Stooges rolled into one. I did manage to get up one time, and had a couple of decent runs on one knee, but otherwise it was all I could do to just maintain control of my surfboard. Despite all that, it was a blast. I haven’t been that active in the water for that long of a time since I was little, and it was definitely a “one with nature” kind of experience. Our original plan was to grab lunch in town right after our lesson, but we were so exhausted and bedraggled-looking that we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up first.

After we got our legs back, we went back to Hanalei for lunch at L&L Hawaiian BBQ and a little souvenir shopping and leisure time. Very little, it turns out, because you can browse through everything in Hanalei in about 30 minutes. We killed some more time with shaved ice, coffee, and an emergency trip to the grocery store for that much-needed aloe vera gel before driving down to Kapa’a for dinner at Hukilau Lanai. This restaurant came highly recommended on TripAdvisor, and we couldn’t wait to give it a try. We had a perfect table outside on the lanai (covered patio), and the fish we had was some of the best on this trip. We were intrigued by one of their appetizer specials, a “candied ahi.” This sounded odd but was easily one of my favorite dishes of all time. The ahi tuna was cubed and tossed in a mixture of cajun seasoning, coffee and brown sugar, then seared to caramelize/blacken that seasoning crust. It was served over an amazing coconut rice, and all of the flavors worked so well together. For our entrees, we had the mixed grill: shrimp and two types of fish, both of which were yummy.

third — Candied ahi: goodness in a bowl!

We have found that after filling our days with physical activities (hiking and surfing thus far), we are pretty pooped in the evenings. Tomorrow’s agenda calls for driving up to Waimea Canyon, touring a local coffee plantation, and dining at an evening luau. All things that should help us regain our energy for Thursday’s hiking and snorkeling!

fourth — Post-dinner. Note our sun-burned hands and wrists, thanks to rash guard sleeves that kept slipping up.

Day 2: The Na Pali Coast

Posted on May 28, 2013Author Ann Taylor

Today we channeled our inner outdoor enthusiasts and went on a hike along the beautiful Na Pali coastline. The Kalalau Trail runs along the Na Pali coast on the north shore of Kauai and is broken down into 4, 8, and 22-mile roundtrip hikes. Given that our hiking experience is limited to hiking up the stairs in NYC’s subway stations, we chose the 4-mile option. After a big breakfast at the hotel, we hit up a local grocery store for sandwiches and drinks, and set out on our journey, liberally coated in sunscreen and mosquito repellent. (We ended up not seeing any mosquitoes, but better safe than sorry!) We took a lovely drive around Hanalei Bay to Ke’e Beach, where the trail began. The plan was to hike two miles in to Hanakapiai Beach, enjoy a picnic lunch, and then make the two mile return trip.

the beginning — All fresh, at the very beginning of the hike. Dan's BC shirt got lots of comments from other alums on the trail.

Since we selected the shortest portion of the trail, we anticipated a nice leisurely trek along the coast, but it was definitely more strenuous that we had imagined. The views were stunning and the weather was gorgeous, but we definitely had to work for it. Hauling ourselves up steep, rocky terrain, fording streams, trying not to plummet over the edge of the cliff…these are all things we did today. We were really proud of ourselves until we saw first graders scampering up and down like it was nothing, BAREFOOT. It was totally worth it, though. The views we got of the wide Pacific Ocean and the truly majestic Na Pali cliffs are worth making that trek every day. Despite the sore muscles and sweaty faces, there was something so peaceful and invigorating about the surroundings.

the midpoint — About halfway to our destination you could start to see the Na Pali cliffs in the background.

We were ready for our sandwiches and Gatorade by the time we reached the Hanakapiai Beach, and then we took a quick stroll down to the water itself before starting our return trip. Originally, I had planned for us to continue hiking from that point up to the Hanakapiai Falls — an amazing waterfall that we’ve heard is so beautiful — to complete the 8-mile roundtrip hike, but we didn’t start out early enough in the day to guarantee that we’d be done by nightfall. And let’s be honest — four miles was really plenty for us city folk. I have some dear friends who completed the 22-mile hike and camped on the beach during their trip to Kauai, but they are much more in tune with nature than Dan and I are!

the warning — They are really serious about their water safety -- to the point of keeping a tally of the number of deaths at Hanakapiai Beach.

After safely making our way back to our hotel and cleaning up, we went to dinner at the highly recommended Hanalei Dolphin. Everything there lived up to favorable reviews. I had some delicious ahi, and Dan’s uku was yummy as well. It’s so nice to be eating amazing fish that’s caught fresh every day. Of course, being the Southerner that I am, we also had to order the fried shrimp appetizer, which we certainly enjoyed. On the way home for dinner, we stopped at Lappert’s Ice Cream for some Kona coffee ice cream and raspberry sorbet. We’re visiting a coffee plantation later this week. Since Hawaii is the only US state to grow coffee, we’re trying to take advantage of that in various forms while we’re here. It was probably the best coffee ice cream I’ve ever had.

the dinner — Happy with our delicious fish dinner

To cap off our day, we relaxed on the couch with a movie. After hiking up and down a mountain for 3+ hours today, the couch was looking awfully inviting. And what better to watch in Hawaii than a movie about hockey? Miracle, about the 1980 US Olympic hockey team, was a great inspiration for tomorrow’s attempt at surfing. Do you believe in miracles? Because it will probably take one for me to be able to get up on a surf board by the time our lesson is over. We’ll be sure to give a full report tomorrow!

Day 1: Aloha, y’all!

Posted on May 27, 2013Author Ann Taylor

Greetings from Hawaii! Dan was nice enough to keep a daily blog of our honeymoon in Italy last year, so now it’s my turn to document our travels. We’re spending this week in Hawaii (Kauai, to be exact) in celebration of our one-year anniversary, and so far it has been complete paradise. I’m thinking about visiting the University of Hawaii on our way back through Honolulu to see if they need another admissions counselor…

We arrived yesterday evening after a long day of travel from NYC. We had a smooth flight from New York to Honolulu — the longest flight either of us had ever been on — and then a quick hop from Honolulu to the Kauai airport in Lihue. That second flight was only about 25 minutes from wheels up to wheels down, and I was so impressed that they managed to do a beverage service in that time. The staff on Hawaiian Airlines couldn’t have been nicer, and even though it was a really long day, it seemed to pass pretty quickly. Thanks to the six hour time difference, we were starting to fade by the time we finally arrived at our hotel, but we rallied when we were welcomed so warmly by the staff of the St. Regis Princeville. Having stayed in St. Regis hotels before in Rome and Puerto Rico, I’ve grown very fond of their bath products and bedding. Just the place to go when you want to really relax!

Paradise — A lovely view to wake up to each morning

Due to the long travel day yesterday, we kept today pretty simple. After falling into bed last night and sleeping for twelve hours, we had an easy lunch at the pool-side restaurant and then spent the afternoon catching some much-needed sunshine by the pool and on the beach. We got caught in a few rain showers, but it seems like they each only lasted for about three minutes. The rain was actually refreshing and helped keep the heat of the sun at bay. Well, at least Dan appreciated that. I was perfectly happy to bake in the sun — the 80 degree temperatures here are a lot better than the 45 degrees that it was in New York when we left on Saturday!

Rooster — There are chickens roaming around everywhere!

After our time at the pool, we hit the nearby town of Hanalei for dinner. Bar Acuda came highly recommended by the staff at our hotel, and we were ready to enjoy some tapas. Since the whole dinner menu is tapas-style, we got to try several different things. The honeycomb, apple and goat cheese plate and seared ono with purple mashed potatoes and a fennel cream sauce were my favorites. We didn’t take pictures of all the food like on our honeymoon, but I’ll try to remember for next time. Everything was delicious, and the restaurant was packed. We didn’t plan far enough ahead to make a reservation, but we arrived right when they opened and were able to secure seats at the bar. So glad we did! After dinner, we hit up Kauai Mini Golf for some friendly competition. Both of us grew up playing mini golf (or pirate putt-putt, as the Reeds call it, after the Pirate’s Cove mini golf in Gulf Shores) so it’s something we like to try and do together on vacations. Dan still hasn’t learned the art of letting the girl win, but that’s ok. I’m not the one who knocked my ball into the water twice tonight, even if I didn’t manage to win.

We have a lot planned for the rest of the week — hiking, surfing, snorkeling, sightseeing, and eating. However, if there is one thing we have learned so far, it is to BEWARE OF THE OCEAN. Everyone, from Geri who handled our rental car at Avis to Caleb who set us up in our hotel room, has been quick to warn us about swimming in the water. I like to think that we are both pretty knowledgeable about the open water, having grown up making frequent trips to Cape Cod or Gulf Shores, but apparently the Pacific is different. Geri, bless her heart, greeted us by saying, “If you go to a beach and you see signs telling you that people have died there, be really careful about swimming. Never turn your back on the ocean or a wave can catch you off guard and you’ll get caught in the current. Be careful around rocks, because a wave can catch you and slam you into the rocks.” Let’s hope she never applies for a job at the state tourism department. You can all rest assured that we will be extra careful in the water. 🙂

That’s it for tonight. Our plan for tomorrow is to hike part of the Na Pali coast, so we should have some great pictures then. Dan has fallen asleep as I’ve written this, so I guess that’s my cue to sign off. We’re excited to be here and explore what Hawaii has to offer!