Quarterly Travel Update: Chicago, Punta Cana and Honolulu

I can’t believe its October. Really? Where did the time go? I feel like I just wrote a quarterly travel post (yes late!) not too long ago.  But here I am – writing away.

Just so you know I didn’t go anywhere the month of July and for most of September. My abstract for a national conference was accepted as well as poster presentation but I differed. My wonderful colleague took the reins, and in a quasi warm July in Orlando she presented for the both of us (and did a fab job too!).

That leaves August – a month where one week I was in Chicago, the next I was in the Dominican Republic and the last week, I went to Hawaii (Honolulu).  Phew. Even typing that out makes me sort of tired, either that or my head cold is getting to me.

Chicago (Aug 4-7)

If you haven’t been, it’s like the cousin of New York. Great food, fun people and interesting things to see. I had the opportunity to interview Joel Gamoran, the national Sur la Table chef and host of Scraps. You’ll have to stay posted for my article that will come out soon (long over due – but I’m using this long weekend to finally get it in order). We had breakfast and talked about lots of food related things like, what does whale sperm taste like and why scraps and not bees. I had a lot of fun and my only regret is that we didn’t take a photo or a cute boomerang video to capture our time together. Next time! Note: He also has a new cooking book called, Cooking Scrappy

I managed to re check out the Art Institute while in town and eat the best burger of my life at Au Cheval. It was a great idea to start the day with it and slowly work it off with my friend Kayte Malik (founder of Dresscode – see the article I wrote about the company here). Nothing really beats the egg, thick cut bacon with a double hamburger patty. So great.

I stayed at the Chicago Athletic Association, which was an old school gentleman’s club turned into hotel a few years back. Beautiful restoration job with a roof top bar called Cindy’s and cool speakeasy called the Cherry Circle room (very Madmen). I loved that Shake Shack was connected to the hotel too (although I didn’t have a burger from there or crinkle fries which are my go-to’s).

 

Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (Aug 15-18)

I went for an interesting press trip, which turned sideways. All I can really say is that the resort was descent and the spa was beautiful (Chic Punta Cana by Royalton) . I’m glad my group was small and we all got along well.

 

Honolulu, Hawaii (Aug 31-Sept 5)

I was pleasantly surprised with Honolulu. I think its because it’s a touch on the more expensive side, it keeps the those looking for ultra cheap vacations away. It was the perfect mix of city and beach.

And the food is great – I totally forgot the huge Japanese influence there is in the city. Some great recommendations included the Koko Head café and the Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian (with my favorite Royal Hawaiian Hupia cake).

I will say that going to Honolulu in the summer time was really hot. 35 degrees and doing the Diamond Head hike was less than ideal but having the pineapple smoothie at the bottom was a wonderful refreshing end.

Dole Plantation was ok – again the heat took its toll and while the maze would have been fun, I think we lasted maybe 15 minutes before we decided it was best to head back.  And I didn’t really love Dole Whip. It kind of tasted artificial to me – it needed to have more cream and less powdered confections.

Ko’Hana Rum Distillery was a quick drive outside the city and a great break from the heat. It was interesting to learn about the Agricole technique of using sugar cane juice versus molasses to make the rum. It’s a boutique distillery, they are slowly exporting off the island. I grabbed a bottle that had honey and cocoa mixed with the rum.

On my last day I ended up finding this really great café called Heavenly across from the hotel that we stayed at (the Hyatt Centric Waikiki Beach) with locally sourced food. So yummy.

If you are interested in a City Guide on Honolulu, you will be in luck as I am curating one soon. Until next quarter.

 

ELENA:)

 

 

 

5 Minutes 5 Questions: Cupids Cronies

While modern technology has brought us a plethora of matchmaking/dating sites and applications, (where relationships can either flourish or falter depending on upon a picture or text conversation) – one thing remains… you eventually will have to meet the person to have a real relationship. (Oddly enough, I’ve had many conversations about cat fishing in the last few weeks).

Fear not the first meeting because April Davis, (founder of Cupid’s Cronies – a dating coaching/matchmaking service featured on Forbes and CBS) offers Wingmen/Wingwomen to help guide you through the whole dating process. The coaches concentrate on how to put your best foot forward and highlight your positive characteristics and qualities. The coaching has become so popular – new US locations are set to open up this year!

Here is 5 minutes/5 questions with professional matchmaker, April Davis:

1) How long have you lived in Minneapolis?

10 years.  Moved here from northern MN for job and to get my MBA.

2) How did you come up with the name for your company, Cupids Cronies?

I knew I wanted something unique and different that would stand out.  Similar to Virgin Airlines or Virgin mobile.  The name makes you think about it.  I also wanted it to be a brand and not April’s Matchmakers or something.  It’s not about me, but about what we do and who we are.

3) How did you meet your own husband?

We broke all the rules and met in a bar.  I was there with a girlfriend.  We were having a drink and discussing her plans to leave her husband.  She had been in a bad relationship and didn’t have much exposure to their financials and I had a finance background so i was trying to help her by telling her what to do in order to prepare to leave him.

There was another table with guys who were having dinner.  Two came over to talk to us (her mostly, because I was standoffish and not interested at all). They were kind of flirting and finally I said, “You guys can’t hit on her, she’s still married.” They responded, “Well, our friend over there is a divorce attorney.” So they went and got their friend and we started talking to him about her upcoming divorce.  He got a client and a wife out of the deal 😉

4) What advice would you give to new women entrepreneurs?

Surround yourself with different people and perspectives.

5) What are the top three characteristics on your Love List (characteristics or qualities you are looking for in a potential mate or your current mate)?

Humility, wisdom, and an honorable person.

Don’t forget to add Cupid’s Cronies on Twitter and Instagram: @cupidscronies!

ELENA:)

Chicago (March 30-April 2)

I love Chicago. Chicago is like the cousin of NYC. You can walk around. Not get lost. People are friendly. Interesting architecture (Frank Loyd Wright) and great food. Last spring, I went with a bunch of guys. But this time it was all about doing things i wanted to do.

Where did i stay? The Trump Tower. Yup. I have a letter from Donald himself. OK, so it might be a form letter… but i don’t care. The room was incredible and it was the size of people’s condos in Vancouver (600 sq ft) complete with a kitchen and a TV in the bathroom mirror (fantastic).

My first nights’ dinner was at Graham Elliot. So fantastic. I need to go back and try the tasting menu for sure. The popcorn sample at the beginning of the meal was so scrumptous i think that i totally ate our tables’ portion. I think that i had the crab cake. It was amazing. Bravo.

The next few days were spent eating (some more) a lot of drinking and shopping. I heart Potbelly’s sandwiches and WowBao’s hot Asian buns. They definitely take the fast casual (someone taught this terminology and I’m giving you credit) to another level. My favorite breakfast in Chicago has to be at the Old Fashioned Pancake House. The sweet pecan pancakes are spectaular. I totally recommend it.

Enough about food, more importantly I got to test out my shopping skills on a coworker. Although she wears scrubs most of the time, she managed to pick up a few things to enhance her wardrobe at JCrew (I love JCrew!) . It’s tragic that she can’t wear normal street clothes more often, she has the body type that 90% of girls would kill for. Not only does she have a great body, but she is the sweetest resident ever so you can’t even secretly hate her!

Of course, bought a few things from Anthropologie. A long blue dress, a pair of jeans and this cute equestrian hip bag thing. I can’t wait until they open here. Maybe I’ll apply for a job.

I fell in love with these butterscotch patent leather pumps (Prada) at Nordstrom’s, but a lady bought my size and they were sold out nationwide. They are the perfect height and shade. I looked everywhere for them, but there was none to be found. (A little update is that i found them online and they are making their way to Vancouver shortly. Thanks Neiman Marcus!)

One night after dinner we all went bowling (10Pin Chicago) which was interesting to see who was a closet bowler. I believe we actually got flashed at one point.

On Friday night after this wrap up dinner, we checked out the Crimson Lounge, where we found out that not everyone knows how to play spin the bottle. After the lounge we found our way Mother Hubbard’s where we made nice with a guy named John who claimed he was moving from San Fransisco but he had a Midwest accent. I don’t know how that worked out. But he managed to get us inside and bought us a round of shots. Which was not a good idea considering i needed to be sober enough to catch a flight to London later that afternoon.

Next up… why Elena should not drink alcohol and text/email.

ELENA:)