Purple Cafe

For the past two years Ty and I have made it tradition to go out for a "fancy" dinner around Christmastime.  This year we decided to try out the Purple Cafe in Bellevue, since its both close and not extremely expensive.  We started with an appetizer..the Baked Brie.  Oh my goodness, it was truly amazing!!  The brie was great with apricot and walnuts, and the grapes and crackers were perfectly complimented.  For our main courses, Ty ordered a pan roasted free range chicken marsala. which looked delightful-I tried some of the potatoes, which were perfection.  I ordered the gorgonzola and pear pizza.  I surprisingly liked it...gorgonzola is one of my least favorite cheeses, but this pizza wasn't all that bad.  However, after a few slices, the cheese did get a bit overpowering and Tyler had to help me out.  In addition we had a side of greens...they were good, but a bit to salty. All in all it was  great experience and a perfect date!  We felt so classy (:

The Athenian Cafe-Seattle

It was such a great winter break this year.  Both Tyler and I got to come home to Seattle for at least 2 weeks!!  Not a single day was wasted!!  We spent the break relaxing, exploring, eating and doing puzzles!  A few days after Christmas we decided to head down to pike place market to do some exploring, reminiscing and good old eating.  When walking through the market, Tyler stopped at this restaurant called the Athenian.  I hadn't heard of it before, but apparently Tom Hanks went there during the movie "Sleepless in Seattle", so we justified that we had to eat there.  Not only did it have great food and a great atmosphere, but the view of the Seattle waterfront was amazing!

Tyler ordered a good old portion of fish and chips.  I think he was missing England...  They looked great and he said that they tasted even better.  He also got an Athenian side salad that had blue cheese on it..ewww, however I did try some and it wasn't all that bad!  I on the other hand ordered a yummy veggie wrap, which contained sprouts, avocado, hummus, veggies and came with a side of coleslaw!

The food was wonderful and the view of Seattle was fantastic and after our meal we continued to walk around the market and stop in some of our favorite stores such as Beechers cheese shop and the tea store and spice stores too.  We love Seattle and were happy to be home and together for the holidays!

Last day in Virginia

Our second to last day together and we decided...hey we aren't doing anything so we might as well go to the mall (:  So we walked around a little, got hungry and went to the food court.  We found a bubble tea place and decided to order the most abnormal flavor we could find.  We ordered a buko pandan flavor.  Which was pretty much AMAZING!!  It came out green and a little creepy looking but it was sweet and tasted like red bean and coconut.  So good, we almost had to order a second.  We also got some pho, I had veggie and Ty got beef.  We were both able to polish our plates of pho!

On the day I was flying home we chose to visit a breakfast restaurant called Citrus.  Neither of us before we got there, but this place was one of the restaurants that Guy Fieri from Diners Drive in's and Dives!  As soon as we walked in we were welcomed by caring waiters and waitresses and colorful decorations all around the room.

Tyler decided on the Country Chicken Benidict...I think...It was such a long time ago from now in January when I'm blogging!  I think that that he really enjoyed it.  I on the other hand got the Citrus pancake because it was featured on the menu.  It was  delicious, pancakes topped with bananas, pineapples and an amazingly sweet orange glaze on the side.  We came out stuffed and happy!  Such a great end to my time in Virginia!

Beautiful Colonial Williamsburg

On our way back to home base we stopped by Colonial Williamsburg.  I had been looking at the College of William and Mary and we wanted to check out the town.  It was beautiful and it had a bunch of cute little stores for shopping and souvenirs, we even found a peanut store that was giving out a multitude of peanut samples!!  I love this town and if I had the means, and had not have chosen Cal Poly, then I probably would have gone here.  If only I had looked into east coast schools... Anyway, enough of my personal thoughts.   We stopped for lunch at a restaurant called Trellis.  It looked really fancy from the outside but in reality it was actually pretty cheap.  I ordered a fruit salad that came with a citrus-like sorbet.  Tyler had a mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich.  Tyler also ordered a nice cold mug of root beer.  It was perfect for the heat!

A Mediterranean fantasy

Since we never got to celebrate our 2 year anniversary due to the 3000 miles that separate us, I booked us a table for dinner at a popular restaurant in DC called "Zaytinya".  They serve small plates or Tapas and the food is a mixture of Lebanese, Greek and Turkish cuisine.  And we love the Mediterranean cuisine so it was a nice treat!  We ordered a mushroom couscous (couscous, garlic, mushroom and peas), the Turlu Turlu (veggies, eggplant, squash, chickpeas, cumin and coriander) and the Bamya (okra, chickpeas and tomatoes).    First we were served with never-ending pita bread and oil and balsamic vinegar (: then we were given our main dishes.  Surprisingly it was more than enough for the two of us.  We were very pleased with this meal! I loved the mushroom couscous and I think that Ty preferred the Bamya.  But it was all together an amazing experience.

Oil and Vinegar with trademark Z

Our food-sorry for the bad lighting!

The next morning we got up and went out for a hearty breakfast...and I sinned against my vegan gods because my stomach talked louder than my brain.  The restaurant was called Bread and Chocolate and it was located on King Street in Alexandria, VA.  We arrived having high expectations but we were a little let down.  Don't get me wrong, the food was amazing, but the waitress didn't refill our water/coffee, and the place was a little empty, so obviously not popular.  Tyler ordered the "Big Breakfast" which came with a basket of bread, potatoes, eggs bacon and sausage...in my opinion it wasn't really that "big".  I ordered my breakfast with the name of the restaurant in mind.  I got something both bread...and chocolatey (:  I had the chocolate banana french toast!!  It was absolutely amazing but I couldn't even eat it all because it was so sweet and filling.  I was happy with my decision, but at the same time regretted it because of how un-vegan it was ):   Anyway I liked this place, but Tyler wasn't to hot on it. So you could either love it or hate it.

DC Cupcakes!!

On Thursday we woke up at the crack of dawn in order to drive up north to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  We stopped for breakfast in Germantown, Maryland, but unfortunately Tyler had to take care of some work business, so we had to forgo Gettysburg ):  Luckily we did get a good breakfast!!  We stopped at the Bakery Cafe, it seemed like a Panera, but breakfast style!  I had steel cut oatmeal with all the works (berries, nuts and granola).  My breakfast also came with a piece of crispy bread covered in sugar... but I wasn't complaining (:

 Tyler ordered a sort of scramble with avocados, plenty of cheese and veggies, potatoes and toast.  We also took advantage of the coffee that they had by trying all of the different roasts!  After breakfast we took a 2 hour drive to Quantico, for Ty to get his work done.  It was a very pretty base!  We came back to DC and took the metro into the city.  Got off at Foggy Bottom station and walked into Georgetown.  As we were walking we were sweating buckets, it was so unbelievably hot!! So, as soon as we saw a bubble tea shop, we just couldn't resist stopping by and getting one of our most favorite drinks, a taro bubble smoothie! (:

As we continued along "M Street" we hit the place we were looking for...GEORGETOWN CUPCAKE..aka DC cupcakes.  Its a hit show from our favorite TV network TLC!!!  I was so pumped that we got to go here!! The cupcakes were literally the most delicious baked good I have ever tasted!! I got the vegan carrot (thank god they cater to us vegans), Tyler got a salted caramel (:  Both were amazing a smooth.  We even had to go back to get a third (peanut butter).   The cashier must have thought we were crazy!!  But it was definitely worth it.  We highly recommend this place if you are in the area!  (:

A Day in DC

Arlington Cemetery 

First official day in Washington DC!  Since driving in DC would be a nightmare, we opted to take the metro system.  We parked at the Kings Street Station and just made our way from there.  Interestingly enough this Metro system was much different from the ones that we have previously experienced in Europe.  It was less crowded, the ticketing system was a little odd, and the metro wasn't as far underground as those in England and France.  Our first stop of the day was Arlington Cemetery.  Ty had been wanting to see this site, but unfortunately it wasn't all that amazing.  Just a lot of graves.  Its a very important place, but just not much to see.  In addition it was like a million degrees and we were sweating buckets and were extremely grouchy.  

After Arlington, we walked across the Potomac River and into DC.  The first thing that we saw was the Lincoln Memorial.  It was pretty magnificent, and it overlooked the Washington Monument, or as I like to cal it, the big obelisk.  We also got to see the WWII memorial.  Next stop was the National Museum of American History.  It was cool to get to see some of the clothes and props that famous people once wore.  In addition we got to see a food exhibit (how fitting).  The museum also hosted the Star Spangled Banner.  We couldn't take any photos, but it was HUGE and very magnificent, even though it was torn and tattered,

 After the American History Museum we visited the Natural history museum, which was one of my favorites just because of all the animals and biology (:  Then we walked a little further and went to the National Archives.  Last time in DC I didn't have the time to go here, but I was very happy that we made it this trip.  The museum housed the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  The Declaration of independence was really faded, but it was so cool to see all of the signatures!  We also were lucky to see an exhibit which held autographs from famous people around the world.  Ty and I were most interested in the signature by Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun on a wedding certificate of marriage...kind of creepy!

Fits my Vegan personality 

After our long and tiring trip around the museums we decided to head for dinner at Union Station.  I had come to Union Station for pizza with my orchestra 1.5 years ago, and I remembered that there were some pretty good restaurants there.  We hopped on the metro and arrived in Union Station, starving.  The first place that truly fought our attention was a restaurant called Roti (mediterranean cuisine).  I had hummus, falafel, some rice, tomatoes and cucumbers and pita bread, whereas Ty got chicken, rice, hummus, vegetables and the pita bread.  This food was fantastic and definitely filled a hole.  A plus was that the bread had just come out of the oven, so it was nice and warm!

Pizza in Alexandria

Finally we made it up to the DC area!!  Tyler and I had planned out a little road trip..stopping by the US Marine Corp Museum in Quantico (super cool) and ending up in Alexandria.  We stayed in the Hilton at Marks Center, and it was beautiful.  The front desk lady asked us which floor we wanted to stay on, and we choose the highest....the 30th floor!!  We were also pleasantly surprised with the fact that we got our own private rooftop balcony overlooking DC.  Amazing room and amazing view, we were happy campers.

Old Town Alexandria

 After we had checked into the hotel and were feeling EXTREMELY hungry, we ventured into town.  Alexandria is hands down one of the most beautiful cities in America.  Tyler and I loved walking around that town.  We ended up finding a pizza place called RedRocks Pizza that looked very welcoming.  Not only was it welcoming with a nice atmosphere, but they had a pizza option with no cheese! (100% vegan).  So naturally I had that one, and added mushrooms, and olives.  Ty had a "confit" which consisted of eggplant, olives, goats cheese and oregano.  Both were amazing, and accompanied with a ginger ale and iced tea (:   Not only was this a great date place, but a great experience and a tummy filler!

Hannahs Vegan Pizza

Ty's Confit

Whole foods? Slow foods

Ok, so this is going to be a really short post, but I just have to rant a little about the terrible service that we had yesterday.  Both of us, being health nuts, wanted to go to Whole Foods in Virginia Beach for lunch.  The little cafe (The Porch) looked green and hip, so we got a good feel at first.  Also it was packed, all the tables were taken, so we knew it would be amazing food.  Tyler ordered a Southwest Spring Vegetable sandwhich with sweet potato fries, and I ordered a veggie burger with grilled mushrooms and onions and a side salad.    The food was good, the veggie burger was by far the best I had ever tasted, but it took over an hour for the food to come out.  And this restaurant was supposed to have semi-fast food since it was a cafe....I would never recommend anyone to try this place because of the ultra slow service.  In addition, the waitress/cashier/bartender was crap.  She wasn't very attentive and it took her 20 minutes of us standing at the desk before she finally saw us and took our order.  Never go to this cafe. ever...

A day in Norfolk

On Sunday we had a fun packed and super busy day planned in Norfolk, Virginia.  Since I LOVE animals and am hoping to work in conservation, we HAD to go to the zoo.  This zoo was actually a lot prettier and bigger than I had imagined.  There were animals from all over the world to see.  I especially liked the tiger and rhino's.  Although we didn't get a great look at the rhino, we still saw him soaking up the sun.  Tyler and I also had to take a selfie with a few of the goats.  They were so placid and happy being showered with affection.  I know that Ty would love to have one as a pet(:

 Next stop in Norfolk was the Naval history museum.  But, first we were starving after walking around the zoo so we stopped by a restaurant called the 219 Bistro, on Granby street in downtown Norfolk.  It was pretty fancy, actually a lot fancier than I had expected and wanted, but thats alright.  Since Ty loves his breakfast food and that was an option here, he decided to get the Crab Benedict!!  It consisted of poached eggs, crab, english muffins, hollandaise sauce and some fries...I happily ate those fries (:  I on the other hand had something a lot lighter, a salad topped with grapes, oranges and a yummy dressing.  

After the lunch, we went to the USS Wisconsin in the Naval museum.  The ship was huge, but not as old fashioned as the ships we saw in Portsmouth last summer!  It was cool getting to see the ships decks, but we...especially Tyler...really wanted to see the inside of the ship.  In addition it was super hot and humid, so we both needed an escape.  After searching and searching we finally found a way into the inside of the ship and got to see the sleeping quarters of the sailors.  This was a very fun and TIRING day, but well worth it!

Thai in Virginia

Virginia Aquarium

Finally we were reunited again!! Tyler is currently stationed in Virginia, so I just had to come visit him this summer!!  Im here for 9 days so we have a lot of time to explore both the scenery, attractions and FOOD!  The first day we got up bright and early and headed to the Virginia aquarium.  There were plenty of animals to see (:  We especially liked the sharks and turtles.  After the aquarium we headed out for lunch and found this place called Arroy Thai. It looked like crap from the outside but inside the decor was nice.  

Hannahs salad and peanut sauce

Tyler and his Tom Yum

Tyler ordered his Pad Thai as usual...it was actually really good and the portion size was big too!  It also came with an appetizer of Tom Yum soup, which also did not fail in a taste test.  I on the other hand had a curry.  It was a little bit to spicy, even with the rice.  At 2 stars it was a scorcher!  My appetizer was a salad, and the sauce that accompanied it was PEANUT SAUCE!  So, in conclusion, this thai restaurant was cheap, quick service, big portions but sketch from the outside.

Curry

Pad Thai (egg-free)

The next day guess what...we had thai food again for lunch!! For the second day in a row.  This time we went to a Thai place that looked a little nicer from the outside.  It was called Tida thai.

 Tyler ordered a thai iced tea and it came out presented beautifully with a decorative rose shaped straw cover.  The drink was good too (:  This time Tyler and I decided to order different dishes, and stayed away from the curry and pad thai.  So he had a siracha dish, that had chestnuts, bean sprouts and lots of veggies.  I also had a signature dish, a "healthy ginger", even though it definitely wasn't that healthy due to the fact that it was drowning in rich sauce.    Mine had veggies, ginger and mushrooms.  I love mushrooms and these gave the dish a perfect flare!  Also we got some salads as appetizers.  These salads were unique because the lettuce was ice cold, a nice difference from the hot, and humid outdoors!

Later that same day we went to the beach.  The atlantic ocean is much different from the pacific.  We both think its a lot warmer and nicer than the ocean back home.  But, its nice for both of us to relax and get to enjoy the sun and warmth (:

Had to have a little cigar and grapeade to accompany our beach adventure