Yoga Food & Travel Rotating Header Image

December, 2009:

The Tea House in Vancouver

After our ROCKIN’ workshop last week in Port Moody, BC, we had the opportunity to hangout afterwards with a few of the students from the workshop and with the studio directors of Newport Yoga, Chris and Karen. A late comer to our after-workshop soiree was Francois, the new head chef at the Tea House in Stanley Park.

As you might have guessed, it didn’t take long for us to figure out when we would make our Stanley Park brunch debut…. I will cut to the chase here, it was BY FAR the best brunch we have ever had!!!

Francois had let the staff know that we were coming, so immediately as soon as we walked in, we were welcomed as if we were showing up to Sunday brunch at a friends house – which it turns out, we were:)

Francois came out to go over the menu with us and then to keep us happy until our main dishes came out, he sent out a few of his favorite dishes for us all to share. Every step of the way, our palettes danced to the tune of perfection! If you have ever had the opportunity to be in the presence of a brilliant artist who loves what they do, you will know, their brilliance is palpable… and in this case, it was beyond measure!

The photos below will help to tell the story where words end… when your imagination ceases to fill in the blanks… make the beautiful walk out to the Tea House and experience the magic for yourself!

If you make it out, please say hi to Mona, the general manager, and let her know that you are a friend of mine – you never know it might work – you may just find yourself at the best table enjoying an amazing treat sent out “compliments of the chef”:))

So how do you guys like traveling?

Yes, now that we’ve done one full circle and gone back to LA for a few days, this is by far the most common question we get. One that makes us think more about what we are doing and why we are doing it.

We gave up our house, car, and just about all of our possessions in LA and got on the road on August 13th, 2009, and we were back in LA on November 16th, 2009. Almost exactly 3 months. How did these three months go? Let’s see:

– We went to 5 different countries (Canada, Switzerland, France, Turkey, Italy) and many cities.

– Taught at about 11 different studios, met hundreds of great people.

– Ate at probably 50 different restaurants. Even shared meals with an undercover narcotics “carabinieri” in Milan.

– Had many incredibly memorable experiences.

None of these sound bad, right? Well, it’s been an amazing 3 months on the road. We’ve loved (just about) every minute of it. 😉

OK, now the second most common question: What are the challenges?

– Not being able to have a consistent shampoo and conditioner. This is actually quite challenging. We have been trying to find really common brands that work for us, hoping to be able to find the same one all over the world, but it’s pretty much impossible. And since we have only two suitcases with us, we only have so much room and we can only carry essentials. And of course a bad hair day is never an option!

– I miss my black Manduka! They are so heavy that we couldn’t carry our Mandukas with us (Marc graciously let me use his when we were in LA. Thanks Marc!), so we’ve been trying to find the perfect travel mat. No success yet. If you have ideas, we would love to hear.

– This whole weight issue of checked-in bags. We were in many different climates, so we had to take a variety of clothes with us. Some airlines are a little too strict about going over 50lbs for each bag, which I don’t really understand. One time one airline was checking us in for an Air Canada flight and they said it was because of the total weight, fuel consumption, etc. But since I only have 1 bag that’s a couple of pounds over 50 and not 2 bags with 50 pounds each, which I am allowed, you would think 52<100. Apparently not in their procedure manual! If it is Air Canada folks actually checking us in, they seem to be better at math.

– And we miss all of you guys! Where ever you are….