Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts
San Francisco. California. Golden Gate Bridge. These have been my dreams for as long as I can remember and I was lucky enough to be able to go in September!
It is always daunting when going on holiday as to whether there will be anything for a vegan to eat and also, not knowing what obstacles you will be presented with. We flew with Virgin Atlantic and I was extremely pleased with their vegan meal option for the long haul flight. They provided a meal of rosemary mashed potato with olives and stew, a bread roll with vegan butter, dried apple pieces and a raspberry puree jelly plus a mixed bean panini towards the end of the flight.
We stayed at the Stanford Court Hotel on California Street which is on the corner of California and Powell. This is a perfect hotel for anyone visiting the city as you have the cable car lines right outside the door and are central to all landmarks and places of interest. We had a beautiful Standard King Room overlooking the cable cars and looking out to the bay. The hotel was extremely accommodating and made amazing vegan banana pancakes for me one morning and a vegan toasted sandwich one evening (we only ate at the hotel a couple of times as we like to be out and about exploring and finding new eateries everyday).
As we stayed in San Francisco for just over a week it gave us plenty of time to venture out and try new restaurants. A favourite place we visited for both breakfast and lunch was The Plant Cafe. They have multiple restaurants all over San Francisco and an amazing array of various food options and delicious smoothies. Recommendation: Avocado on Toast with toasted garlic and Plant Burger.
A locals coffee haven close to the Ferry Building is Philz Coffee. This is a coffeehouse chain where each cup is brewed one at a time to the customers individual taste. They have a huge menu from light to medium to dark roasts plus tea and decaf alternatives. One reason I love the this coffee store is that they sell Pepples Donut Farm Donuts - all 100% organic and vegan! On a weekend you can find Pepples Donuts at the market in the Ferry Building however if you want the fix everyday and can't wait for the weekend then Philz is the place to go. Recommendation: Sooo Good coffee and Coffee Iced donut
If you are looking for the old 50's style American diner then take a seat in a booth at Lori's Diner. This diner has amazing artwork, old jukebox machines and even a vintage car! You can find the first and original Lori's on Mason which is a 24 hour diner serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with added rock 'n' roll and nostalgia. Recommendation: The Veggie Chop Top without cheese and a Root Beer
Part way through the week we got a little tired and wanted to try something not too far from the hotel. Directly across the street is the Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar; a tiki bar with an asian menu inside the Fairmont Hotel. As this is a restaurant in the Fairmont the prices reflect the location however the menu and cocktails are amazing and with indoor rain and live music you definitely have to experience this once in your life. Recommendation: Fresh Rice Paper Spring Rolls and Tonga Chow Mein with tofu
Hidden away near Chinatown and towards Fishermans Wharf is Pena Pachamama. This is a brilliant little restaurant serving traditional Bolivian and raw organic food with the entire menu being vegan and gluten free. On weekends there is amazing live music and dancing along with delicious food and great service. Recommendation: Vegan Albodingas
Besides the food there is so much to see and do in San Francisco and we tried to do everything! We saw the sea lions at Fishermans Wharf, shopped at Pier 39, walked across Golden Gate Bride, rode the Cable Cars (multiple times), toured Alcatraz, explored Golden Gate Park, watched Sumo Wrestlers at Japantown, watched a Giants Game at AT&T Park and took pictures of the famous Lombard Street. We did find it surprisingly difficult to find vegan food in San Francisco, which was stressful and upsetting at times, however I assume this may be because we didn't go too far from downtown.
We had a great time and can definitely tick this off our bucket list!
Let me know if you have been to San Francisco or have any recommendations of places to visit for the next Being Vegan post!
I don't know about you but when the sun is out is makes me want to get outside and see the sights. Whether you are walking, driving or flying you need a playlist of songs to keep you entertained and distracted.
Now we have the benefits of using apps like Spotify or Amazon Prime Music there are endless possibilities of playlists you can create with new music or old favourites. Obviously the Monica in us all loves creating lists and I thought I would share with you the playlist I will be listening to this Spring. This list includes a lot of Country Music with emotional lyrics - perfect for those sporadic solos or duets in the car!
Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood
Beautiful Drug - Zac Brown Band
Weed Instead of Roses - Ashley Monroe
Mr. Mom - Lonestar
Made In England - The Shires
High Time - Kacey Musgraves
Pull Me Back - Leah Turner
Me and Your Cigarettes - Miranda Lambert
Working On a Tan - Brad Paisley
Brave - Sara Bareilles
Beachin' - Jake Owen
Hard Way Home - Brandi Carlile
Merry Go 'Round - Kacey Musgraves
Lonely Tonight - Blake Shelton feat. Ashley Monroe
Just A Fool - Christina Aguilera & Blake Shelton
Somewhere in My Car - Keith Urban
Diamond Rings And Old Barstools - Tim McGraw feat. Catherine Dunn
Little Toy Guns - Carrie Underwood
If you have any recommendations for a Travel Playlist or tracks you think should be on the next one feel free to leave comments below.
2015 saw my life change in many ways and led me on an exciting path to 2016 and my future. I thought I would recap what happened in 2015 and share some exciting prospects for what may be coming in the near future!
2015
Last year saw me finish University and graduate with a First Class Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Service Sector Management. After working hard for two of the three years (no one tries in their first year) at University I pushed through and achieved an amazing First! I would definitely recommend this course to anyone wishing to pursue a career in the service sector as you gain all skills for general business management, entrepreneurship and you can focus your studying to one specific area you are interested in. For me I focused on Hotel Management and wrote my dissertation on Customer Engagement for Small Businesses. This really helped to lay the foundations of knowledge towards my future career plans and I was able to work and gain experience in-between attending lessons.
During my last year of University I also reached my first year blog birthday. This was a huge achievement for myself as I was trying to enhance my blog as well as starting and finishing my third year of studying and writing my dissertation.
After finishing University (gosh how often can I say University in this post) I decided to leave the job I was in and return to my previous place of work after it was sold and under new management. This saw me take a step up the career ladder and in the right direction to one day being a Hotel Manager (oh a girl can dream.....and succeed).
2015 was also the year I became vegan! This was a big decision but also easy decision for me to make. Like many other bloggers I love watching YouTube videos and have done for about 7 years now. One of my favourite YouTubers and someone I found in 2015 is Kalel - a fellow vegan. I had already given up milk because of research about how we get milk and didn't really eat a lot of meat; then after watching this video by Kalel and then this video and then this video I decided to give up animal products all together. There are a lot of videos out there and documentaries that explain and show the truth behind what many of us don't want to know happens e.g. factory farms. After watching videos and reading more information it was obvious to me that I shouldn't eat any animal products and to me this makes me a lot happier. I don't preach being vegan to anyone as this is a personal choice but I would recommend everyone to watch a few videos just to become a little less naive as to where their animal products come from.
Finally, 2015 also saw the 3 year anniversary of myself and my boyfriend. We have been saving for a while now and the end of 2015 saw us discuss our savings and see a mortgage advisor...eeek! We are young at the minute but won't be young forever and living with parents is definitely something we don't want to do anymore. After both getting a bit of a promotion we are now in the place to take the next step and move in together - it really can't some soon enough!
2016
So obviously the first exciting prospect for 2016 is that we will buy a house! This is such an exciting thought and watch out for homeware and home decor posts on the blog. I am always browsing Rightmove everyday (it has become part of my routine) and can't wait to start viewing houses in the next month or two.
We haven't been on holiday for a while and always spoke about going to America as our big dream. Neither of us have been to America and we want the first time to be together (so soppy) so.... 2016 looks like the year we might just be going! I have been browsing the sales on British Airways and Virgin Atlantic and the West Coast could be on the cards. This would be an achievement for both of us and adds to the exciting plans!
To round off 2016 I would love to get more active in general by joining Yoga and also more active blogging now I don't have to write any reports for University! In general 2016 will see more focus more on me being healthy and happy and achieving a lot of life goals.
Leave me comments on what your 2016 looks like and if you have any requests for blog posts! xx
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