Tag Archives: Travel

5 Things to Try This Month – August 2018

Summer is a popular wedding season. It’s no surprise that my best friend is choosing August to have her wedding. After a few weeks of searching for the prefect dress to wear to her big day, I finally found mine.

Below are a couple of other things I plan on doing in August.


New Beauty Product

I am currently running low on my existing eye cream. I’ve been hearing some nice things about Estee Lauder’s new eye cream, Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex Synchronized Recovery. This product contains hyaluronic acid and Estee Lauder’s ChronoluxCB ingredient to help promote skin’s natural repair process. The price for this new eye cream is relatively inexpensive compared to other high-end skin care products I’ve been using; therefore, it’s worth it to me to give it a shot for experimental reasons.
EsteenLauder_EyeCream

(Estee Lauder Eye Cream)


Dress for Friend’s Wedding

My dear friend’s wedding is less than two weeks away. I finally found the perfect dress (Self-portrait Embroidered Mesh Dress) for me to attend her wedding. I just ordered it and can’t wait to receive it, soon I hope!
Self-Portrait Embroidered Mesh Dress

(My New Dress for My Friend’s Wedding)


Gel Nails

After last month’s girly light pink and iris gel nail color, it’s time to go back to my favorite red glitter nail color. Since we are still in the Summer season, my gel nail artist added golden seashells and sea stars to the finish look.
5Things_August2018_GelNails

(picture of the red gel nails)


Baking for Fun

The other day I came across a baking recipe for the Almond-Orange Pound Cake from Williams Sonoma web site. The idea of a dessert with both almond and orange seems very refreshing for the hot season. I plan on trying out the recipe this weekend!
Almond-Orange Pound Cake


Wine and Cheese Party

I got invited to a Wine and Cheese Party for this weekend. The event is hosted by some friends at their home. Although they told me I don’t have to bring anything, but I plan on brining a bottle of my favorite Long Shadows red wine. The question will be which red wine to bring!

5Things_August2018_LongShadowsWine(Long Shadows Red Wine – Feather Cabernet Sauvignon)


Spago Restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas

While I was on my business trip to a Deep Learning conference in Las Vegas last month I ate at the new Spago restaurant in the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. (The Spago restaurant was in their soft opening when I ate there and they were officially opened on Thursday, June 7.)

The Spago restaurant is owned by the celebrity chef, Wolfgang Puck, who has many restaurants including five Spago restaurants (in Beverly Hills, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Maui, Singapore). The Spago restaurant in Las Vegas used to be at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace, and it’s now re-opened in the Bellagio hotel in June.

The Spago restaurant serves California cuisine, which means it offers fresh ingredients and all-natural meats, and the food is prepared in different cooking styles.

The décor of the new Spago restaurant in the Bellagio is simple and yet has a modernized look and feel. It is located by the Fountains of Bellagio. If you sit at their patio, you will get the close-up view of the fountain show every 30 minutes.

During this Las Vegas trip, I ate at Spago twice; dinner with colleagues on Monday and lunch with a friend on Tuesday. I guess this shows how much I enjoyed their food!

For dinner, my two colleagues and I sat at the patio. We shared Smoked Salmon Pizza, Sweet Corn Agnolotti, Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms, English Pea Soup, Seared Alaskan Halibut, Grilled Prime New York Steak, and Roasted Colorado Lamb Rack. Each dish was delicious. After a day of work, a couple of Dirty Martinis with Gray Goose Vodka, delicious food, and great company were just what I needed!
Smoked Salmon Pizza
(Smoked Salmon Pizza)


Seared Alaskan Halibut
(Seared Alaskan Halibut)


Roasted Colorado Lamb Rack
(Roasted Colorado Lamb Rack)


The next day, I met a friend for lunch and we went to Spago. The menu for lunch is slightly different than previous night’s dinner, but I was glad that they offered the same Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms as the previous night. This pasta dish brings out the best flavor of mushrooms, and it has became my new favorite at the Spago restaurant.

Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms(Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms)

For lunch at the Spago, my friend and I shared Half-Dozen Kusshi & Beausoliel Oysters, Caesar Salad, Tuna Tartare (served in Sesame-Miso cones), Fettuccine with Wild Mushrooms, and Grilled Double R Ranch Filet Mignon. We also had assorted treats for dessert.

Half-Dozen Kusshi & Beausoliel Oysters

(Half-Dozen Kusshi & Beausoliel Oysters)


Tuna Tartare (served in Sesame-Miso cones

(Tuna Tartare – served in Sesame-Miso cones)


Grilled Double R Ranch Filet Mignon
(Grilled Double R Ranch Filet Mignon)


My overall experience at the Spago restaurant in the Bellagio hotel was great! The service on both visits at the restaurant was equally great. I like the fact that they are open for lunch while most fine dinning restaurants at the Bellagio hotel don’t open until dinner.

Next time you visit the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas and are looking for a place for dinning, I recommend that you try the Spago restaurant!
Desserts at Spago Restaurant
(Desserts)


The featured image of the Spago Restaurant’s patio was from the restaurant’s Web site.)

New Year’s Eve in Barcelona, Spain

My family and I just returned from our Christmas holiday trip to Las Vegas. We are now planning for the New Year’s Eve. As I look back on what I did for last year’s holidays, I can’t help but think about my last year’s trip to Spain. It was my first time going to Spain and celebrating the New Year’s holiday in Europe. It was a great trip.

To celebrate the New Year’s Eve, my friend and I went to the New Year’s Eve party in the lounge at the W Hotel in Barcelona, where we stayed for the Barcelona trip. There were several memorable things from the celebration party: drinking tons of Cava, eating twelve grapes at midnight, and watching the fireworks from our hotel.

Drinking Cava
Cava is the Spanish sparkling wine made in the traditional method of the French sparkling wine Champagne. I don’t usually drink Champagne in the States because it’s too bubbly for me, but during my Spain trip (Barcelona, Majorca, Madrid, and Toledo), I drank a lot of cava just for fun. Since the Spain trip, I’ve become more used to drinking Champagne.

Eating Twelve Grapes
Eating a grape at each bell strike (total of 12) by midnight of the New Year’s Eve is a Spanish tradition since 1909. During the New Year’s Eve party at the W Hotel in Barcelona, each guest received a bag of twelve grapes. We were supposed to eat and swallow all twelve grapes by the midnight for good luck and prosperity for the upcoming year. Based on my personal experience, eating all twelve grapes within twelve seconds is a very difficult task. Our local friends told us that for the little kids, they usually gave them chocolates instead of grapes, so they can finish them on time.

Watching the Fireworks
One of the perks of staying and parting at the W Hotel in Barcelona is the close up view of the fireworks. While we were busy counting down and swallowing grapes, we had no problem finding a perfect spot at the balcony for the fireworks. I have to say welcoming the New Year in a foreign country was definitely a fun experience!

This year, instead of traveling oversea during the New Year’s Eve, I am spending the time with my family and my two nieces in Irvine, California. It won’t be as crowded as last year, but it will be just as memorable as any other New Year’s Eve!

5 Things to Try This Month – June 2017

June is the beginning of Summer, which is the perfect time for many kinds of outdoor activities (despite the heat and humidity). The activities I am referring to can be anything from hiking to wedding receptions.  I am not a big fan of physical exercise, so hiking is out of question for me. The best I could do in terms of exercise is walking or an indoor exercise class.

Below are some of this things I’d like to try for June, which includes some commitments to keeping myself healthy. 


Indulgent on National Doughnut Day

June 2nd is the National Doughnut Day! My family loves to eat sweets; we used to buy two dozen  doughnuts and finish them in three days (and we were lucky enough to maintain our weights)! We haven’t done this for a while, because this was very unhealthy. But for the National Doughnut Day, I plan to buy a dozen of assorted doughnuts to indulge my sweet tooth.


Get Into Shape for Summer

For years, my family-care physician has been telling me to get into a weekly exercise routine for personal wellness. I’ve been putting it off until now. My goal for this Summer is to try the Pure Barre (small movements to build toned body muscles) classes whenever I can. After my feast on the National Doughnut Day, I think I would really need to work it off!

x-pure-barre


Concert for Reminiscing  the Old Times

This month, the New Kids On The Block, Paula Abdul, and Boyz II Men will be performing in the Key Arena, in Seattle, Washington. My friend is a big fan of the New Kids On the Block group, so she asked me to go with her to watch the concert. It has been a while since I watched any concert. I am looking forward to the performance.
June2017Concert


Picking a New Pair of Shades for This Summer

Sunglasses is a wardrobe essential in the warm seasons. Picking up a perfect one that fits to my face and my style is not an easy thing. For this month, it will be my mission to find a new pair of shades to add to my Summer wardrobe. Chloe – Carlina Round Sunglasses.

Chloe Carlina Round Sunglasses


New Luggage for Domestic Traveling

When I travel domestically within the U.S. I prefer to use the medium size of luggage (about 26 inches in length). Since I fly frequently throughout the year, it takes a toll on my current go-to medium luggage. 

It’s time for me to get a new go-to luggage, and I just ordered the Rimowa Salsa Deluxe Multiwheel in Red. I’ve heard that Rimowa luggages are very durable and I love the red color. I think it will be much easier to spot the luggage on the baggage carousal at the airport. I can’t wait to start to use mine!

Rimowa Salsa Deluxe Multiwheel Luggage


The Picasso Restaurant at the Bellagio Hotel In Las Vegas

The first fine dinning experience I had in Las Vegas was at the Picasso restaurant (French cuisine) in the Bellagio hotel, back in year 2005. I was there celebrating our best friend’s engagement. My memory of the restaurant was upscale decoration, fancy food, and great  wine!

It has been a long time since my last visit to the Picasso restaurant, because there were too many great restaurant options on the Vegas Strip, and the Picasso restaurant was closed sometime during last year for renovation. But I finally had the chance to eat there during  my recent trip to Las Vegas!

As I walked into the Picasso restaurant by the award-winning chief, Julian Serrano, I recognized the newly renovated interior. It looked different than what I remembered, but the restaurant was still unique and colorful. And the Picasso paintings were all over the walls just as they used to be.


I’ve dined at most restaurants in the Bellagio property many times, such as the Prime Steakhouse, Le Cirque,  and Todd English’s Olives. I’ve also sat at the tables right by the window, where I could enjoy the closer view of the Fountain of Bellagio. But for this time at Picasso, we preferred to sit at the table a slightly away from the window, so I could sat back and get a bigger view of the fountain via the window frames throughout the night.

My friend and I ordered the prix fixe menu ($118 per person). We got to choose from the menu for each part of the three-course meal and a dessert in the end.

I ordered Poached Oysters, Roasted Langoustine, Roasted Milk-Fed Veal Chop. And my friend ordered Crème of Butternut Squash, Sautéed Filet of Scottish Salmon, and Sautéed Filet of Black Bass. (The pictures are presented below in the order of the list.)

Poached Oysters

Roasted Langoustine


Roasted Milk-fed Veal Chop

Crème of Butternut Squash

Sautéed Filet of Scottish Salmon


Sautéed Filet of Black Bass

My friend and I were craving for different food on the night we went to Picasso (as you could tell from the items we ordered). But all of our dishes were delicious.

I love to sample a variety of foods. I was very satisfied with my choices. The Poached Oysters (garnished with Osetra Cariar) were slightly warmer than the regular chilled oysters, but they were delicious.

The Roasted Langoustine was prepared exactly to my liking. The other restaurant that makes a great langoustine is Joel Robuchon in MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. And the Roasted Milk-Fed Veal Chop is the perfect main course. It was tender and flavorful.

I tried a bit of my friend’s dishes; they were also very tasty.

I’d say no fancy meal is completed without a nice drink. I ordered a Hemingway Daiquiri cocktail drink. It is made of Bacardi Light, Luxardo Maraschino Cherries, Fresh Grapefruit Juice, and Fresh Lime Juice. The drink tasted different than other Hemingway Daiquiris I’ve had in the past, but it was definitely very good.

Hemingway Daiquiri

After we finished our delicious three-course meal, we were pretty stuffed. When it came to ordering the desserts in the end, I got to make the choices for both of us, because my friend wasn’t as into desserts and I was.

For desserts, we ordered Chocolate Bread Pudding and Pineapple Tart. My friend only had a few bites of each dessert, and I basically ate all of the them. (When it comes to desserts, I just couldn’t resist the temptation of the delicious sweets sitting right in front of me! )

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Pineapple Tart

Our overall experience of the Picasso restaurant in the Bellagio hotel was great! The services was outstanding, food was unique, and the ambience was perfect.

I’d say for a fancy restaurant like the Picasso in the Bellagio Hotel, the price we paid for our meal was well spent.

 

 

5 Things to Try This Month – May 2017

May is the perfect time to embrace the Spring season! Among many things I planned to do in May, are: a family trip to Universal Studios Hollywood with my nieces, improve  my makeup techniques, and indulge myself for endless crepe desserts.

Listed below are my five things to try list for May. Hope it will inspire you to enjoy the season of Spring.


Improve My Makeup Techniques

During the first weekend of May, Nordstrom in Bellevue, Washington is hosting an event to promote the beauty brand, Charlotte Tilbury. It is created by the famous celebrity makeup artist, Charlotte Tilbury. Before the promoting event weekend, one of the celebrity makeup artist, Kate, from Charlotte Tilbury, was giving a master makeup class on May 4th. I attended the session and had a great time learning the makeup brand’s new products.


Indulge in Layers of Crepes

I love to eat desserts and my recent sweet obsession is the Mille Crêpes cake from Lady M Confections bakery. Each Mille Crêpes cake is made of more than twenty thin layers of crepes and filled with light pastry cream between each layer. My favorite flavor from Lady M is the Green Tea Mille Crêpes cake. To satisfy my sweet tooth, I ordered the Mille Crêpes in Green Tea and Strawberries (seasonal)  to share with my family!


Break In the Summer Sandals

After the record rain in the Seattle area this winter, we finally got some long-awaited sunshine, This is the perfect time to break in your summer shoes. Try something with 3-D flowers, like Charlotte Olympia – Tara Embellished Metallic Leather Sandals.

Charlotte Olympia Tara Embellished Metallic Leather Sandals


Family Trip to the Universal Studios Hollywood

I don’t usually go to theme parks, but when I do, it’s always with my nieces. In the beginning of May, we went to the Universal Studios in Hollywood, CA. Our first stop at the theme park was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. To avoid the long line, we arrived to the theme park right at 8:00 am when it was first open. We had the luxury of riding the rides (twice) before the crowds came in. I also took the photo right in front of the Hogwarts Express train with a cast member.


Expand My Reading Topics

I learned some basic Blackjack strategies in the past, but it was all based on the memorization of the Blackjack strategy cards. Every now and then I would play a few hands of Blackjack game in Vegas for fun (but I would only play it when I am with my experienced friends).  This month, I plan to go to Vegas with some family friends and I though it might be interesting to read up on the famous “Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One” book, by Edward O. Thorp. I am only half way through reading the book, but I am already fascinated with the explanations on the game strategies. I don’t plan to play a lot of Blackjack while I am in Vegas, but it would be great to understand what I am doing when I play!

Beat The Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One


Harvest by Roy Ellamar Restaurant at Bellagio Las Vegas

Last year July, I ate at the Harvest by Roy Ellamar restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. The Harvest by Roy Ellamar restaurant was the new additional to the Bellagio property. It replaced the Sensi restaurant (Italian, Asian, American and Seafood fusion), at the location by the Bellagio Spa Tower.

It has been too long since I dined at the Sensi restaurant (in Year 2009), so my memory of the dinning experience at the restaurant is limited to good service and some pictures of my meal. It was good, but wasn’t good enough for me to have the urge to go back there again.

During my first visit to the new Harvest by Roy Ellamar restaurants in July 2016, my friend and I shared a bone-in ribeye steak and pork chop for the main entre, crushed potatoes, creamed spinach, and sautéed spinach for side dishes.

(Picture of the Bone-in Ribeye steak)

(Picture of the Pork Chop)

(Picture of the Sides: Crushed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach, and Sautéed Spinach)

The sautéed spinach wasn’t on the menu. But my friend and I were craving for it, so we asked our waiter to put in a special request for it.

And as always, our craving was much bigger than the amount we could actually eat! I walked into the Harvest by Roy Ellamar restaurant with an open mind for trying the new restaurant and ended up with a fully satisfied tummy. The food and the service at the Harvest by Roy Ellamar were great! Especially the bone-in ribeye steak we had.

During the past holiday season, I came across the picture of the ribeye steak I ate at the Harvest by Roy Ellamar restaurant, and it made me crave for the same ribeye steak I had.

A few months later, I finally got the chance to go back to the Harvest by Roy Ellamar restaurant. My friend and I shared the bone-in ribeye I’d been longing for and the Harvest rotisserie chicken. We limited our sides to just crushed potatoes and brussels sprouts. (We learned our lesson from last time; three sides was too much!)

(Picture of the Harvest Rotisserie Chicken)


(Picture of the Brussels Sprouts)


My second dinning experience at Harvest by Roy Ellamar was as great as the first one! The bone-in ribeye steak tasted even better than I remembered (given that it was very good on my first visit already). The Rotisserie Chicken was surprisingly flavorful and tender.  Both the crushed potatoes and the brussels sprouts complemented the ribeye steak and the rotisserie chicken perfectly.

I have to say the two dinning experience at Harvest by Roy Ellamar were equally great! I will definitely include this restaurant in my Top Ten Restaurants in Las Vegas Strip list!

Spain Trip – Barcelona Day Two

My first day in Barcelona, Spain, went very well. The next day (Day Two) I woke up at the break of dawn and enjoyed the view of the Barcelona coast.

From our hotel room window, I saw the first shred of sunlight hitting the buildings by the coast, and the light from the lamps reflecting in the water.  The natural and artificial light combination created a peaceful and beautiful view. To me, this is a perfect view I wouldn’t mind to wake up to everyday!


(Picture of the view from our hotel room.)

Since we were on vacation, my friend and I decided to take it easy by taking our time to get ready. Instead of eating in the restaurant on the W Hotel Barcelona property, we wanted to adventure out of the hotel to look for a breakfast place.

After about a 10-minute walk from our W Barcelona property, we found a restaurant, “Amarre 69”, which was opened for breakfast. Both of us ordered Americano coffee and breakfast with sausage and egg.



(Picture of the Americano coffee and the breakfast at “Amarre 69” restaurant.)

The Americano coffee was the perfect espresso drink. Not only did it smell very good, it also tasted very delicious. And the bacon in my breakfast was especially good. I don’t usually eat bacon in the States, but the bacon I had during my Spain trip was more like fried thick prosciutto (which happens to be one of my favorites).

After we finished the breakfast, we headed over to Park Güell in Carmel Hill. Park Güell was designed by Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect whose great work includes Sagrada Família. (Stay tuned for blog posts on Park Güell and Sagrada Família.)

After we left the park, we were starving. We found a restaurant off the Internet which opens earlier than most places in Barcelona. The restaurant was called “Restaurant 7 Portes”.

At the “Restaurant 7 Portes”, my friend and I had glasses of wine, Catalan flat bread, Jamón (ham), and paella. We ordered two kinds of paella; one with meat and seafood and one with black squid ink.

Everything we had in the “Restaurant 7 Portes” was great and the bill was unexpectedly inexpensive. After the dinner we walked back to our W Barcelona hotel. The walk was nice; we got the night view of Barcelona and the W Barcelona.


More on the Barcelona Trip – See Day One

Spain Trip – Barcelona Day One

It has been over a month since I returned home from a Winter Holiday Trip to Spain. I now finally have the time to recapture the memorable Spain trip.

Just an hour before I left home to head over to Sea-Tac airport, I was still scrambling to get the last minute of my job work done. It wasn’t until my friend and I were on the way to the airport that I started to wind down and realized I was going on the vacation – a trip to Spain. The exciting feeling of the anticipation finally flew into my mind.

The first destination of our Spain trip was Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona on December 28, 2016; a sunny lovely day. For someone coming from Seattle like me, a pretty sunny day in December is always a gift. (See below, view from our flight.)

My friend and I checked into our room at the W Hotel in Barcelona. Thanks to my friend’s connections, we got a room with the pretty view of the coast. (See below) For me, the view of the coast in some way is nicer than the full ocean view. This is especially true when it comes to dawn.

Right after we got into our room, we were exhausted from our international flights. We unpacked our luggage, took turns taking showers, and took a short nap. We knew that in Spain, people usually eat dinner around 9:00pm or 10:00pm. And we planned to meet my friend’s friends from Barcelona at 9:00pm. It will be our first real meal in Spain.

The good thing about having friends from the local area when you travel is that you don’t have to worry too much about planning where you eat or where to go for sightseeing. The local experts will provide you more information than any tour guide books you prepare.

My friend’s friends from Barcelona showed us the famous La Rambla. The north of La Rambla has more nice cafés and retaurants, whereas the south of La Rambla has more street vendors and street cafes.

We also walked by Casa Batllo (by Gaudi). The architecture was decorated for the Winter Holiday. (See below for Casa Batllo)


While we walked along the La Rambla, most restaurants were packed, so we ended up in Piscolabis Rambla restaurant. My friend and I had the first taste of tapas in Barcelona. (I had many tapas in the States, but the experience was kind of different than the tapas I had in the States, mainly because I was eating it in Spain. The Jamón was great.)

(Our first tapas in Barcelona)


During dinner, I was enjoying the friendly company, the tapas, and the wine. I was also unwinding from the 14 hours of flights (include a short layover), and embracing the fact I was in Spain for vacation – my first trip to Europe.

After the dinner, all of us went to the local bar in Dreta de l’Eixample. The bar had some interesting décor, including paintings. It also played American popular songs. For a tourist like me, new to Barcelona, listening to the familiar songs (from back home) in a laid-back bar, makes me wonder if I am really in Spain, far away from home!

After we left the bar in Dreta de l’Eixample, my friend and I went back to our W Hotel in Barcelona and checked out the lounge, Eclipse, on the top floor of our hotel. Each of us had a cocktail drink; I had one of my old time favorites, rum and coke. And my friend tried the bar’s signature drink.

The Elicpse lounge was much smaller than we expected, but we had a great time nevertheless.

Our conclusion for the first day in Barcelona was that food and wine were surprisingly inexpensive there. My friend and I love to drink wine and we definitely were in the right place!


More on the Barcelona Trip – see Day Two

The Two Jackets I Packed for My Spain Trip

While my friend and I were planning our two week Spain trip, we knew we wanted to do a lot of sightseeing in Barcelona, Palma de Majorca, and Madrid. Since our hotels were in the central area in Barcelona and Madrid, we were close to most of the places we wanted to visit and we knew we would walk around a lot.

My main concern was how to keep warm while we walked around for hours in Spain during December and January. I am the type of person who feels cold very easily. I wanted to make sure I brought some jackets that would keep me warm.

Also, we had a short layover in Frankfurt, Germany. Frankfurt was even colder than Spain. If we missed our connect flight from Frankfurt to Barcelona, we might be stuck in Frankfurt.

Packing Winter clothing for the trip added some weight to my already quite full luggage. To avoid having my luggage go overweight but still pack something versatile and stylish, I picked two jackets to bring for the Spain  trip: a down jacket and leather jacket. (See below)


Canada Goose Montebello Down Jacket

(Picture taken in front of the Palace in Madrid. I was wearing a Canada Goose Montebello dawn jacket, True Religion skinny jeans, and UGG short boots.)MadridPalace


Bernardo Leather Jacket

This leather jacket in wine color is versatile and stylish. I wore it mainly in Barcelona. It went well with sweaters and jeans. It was also perfect with short dress with knee-high suede boots.

(Picture taken at Park Guel in Barcelona. I was wearing the leather jacket, cashmere sweater, and True Religion skinny jeans.)

ParkGuell_Barcelona


If you plan to visit Europe during Winter, I highly recommend that you invest in a nice and warm down jacket and a leather jacket. The nice thing about these two silhouettes are that they are versatile and will upgrade your travel attires instantly.