Who says reminiscing has to be reserved for Fridays, right? Flashback Saturday anyone? Today is my birthday, so try and let it slide… While I huff and puff my heavily candled (28!!) vegan birthday cake, I hope you’ll enjoy reading about our tropical luna de miel.
Kyle and I got married on Saturday, August 28th.
On Monday the 30th we headed off to Kauai for the most relaxing week of vacation ever. Our trip started at 4 am (Pacific time), and we didn’t arrive in Hawaii until 5 pm (Island time). In case you were wondering those 16 hours of travel included 3 layovers, but who’s counting.
I had shiny bling to keep me occupied (and Vanity Fair).
I wore a heart shirt on purpose because I’m that cheesy. 🙂
Here we are in the Enterprise van, so excited to finally be in Hawaii!
We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa. As if being a newlywed in Hawaii wasn’t perfect enough, this hotel took it above and beyond my wildest dreams. It was truly the kind of setting that makes you feel like you are in heaven.
We got lei-ed upon arrival…
And when we got to the room, we had champagne on ice with a sweet note of congratulations!
We popped it right away and enjoyed the bubbly on our porch (which happened to open up right onto the hotel’s beach front property).
I mean seriously, does life get better than this? I don’t see how it could…
Since it was dinner time (in some time zone) we ordered room service – also to enjoy on the porch.
Fluffy rolls.
My Mahi Mahi
Kyle’s Salmon
Cheers!
The Hyatt’s room service was awesome. They were completely willing to do dairy-free (aka butter free) preparations of the fish, veggies, rice, whatever. Anything and everything we needed they were able to accommodate. We actually ended up ordering room service a few times throughout the week because it was so easy and delicious.
Now, since I know I’ll get questions about my diet and being vegan on the honeymoon…
As much as I’d like to say wait and see…I’d rather explain things up front than repeatedly answer the same question in the comments section.
As I’ve said many times, I don’t like labels. I’d prefer not to be defined by how I eat, and although “vegan” is the closest way to describe my diet, it’s not quite right. There are loop holes, caveats, and exceptions that sound far more complicated when written out. But as I’ve mentioned before, my GI system is what drives all my dietary decisions. I’m lactose intolerant, so being dairy free will never change. Eating fish, however, is a different story. Since returning to the West Coast, fish is something I’ve found myself being more open to (with very specific requirements). On the East Coast, I had zero interest, but now that I’m closer to sustainable sources of fresh, responsibly caught fish, I’ve decided to order it if I want it. As you’ll see in the coming posts, I only had it a few times on the island. Aside from that, I ate the same as I always have on our honeymoon with ease. Ya dig?
The next day we slept in and brunched at the hotel.
Ilima Terrace has a brunch buffet which is pretty expensive. Although the view is hard to beat (seriously, a swan?), I’m not sure the price was worth it (in terms of the food). For the record, this was the only negative thing we had to say about the hotel. As a whole, the hotel’s services were exceptional from arrival to departure, and this pricey meal was only a blip on the radar.
Veggie omelet
Taters, bacon, apple, pear, and a baked tortilla dish.
Unpictured: two carafes of coffee
Definitely soaked up the views and made brunch a long lasting affair…
Followed by some swimming in the salt water pool.
And tropical drinks.
And ring admiring. 😉
Blang blang.
While poolside, I browsed The Dock’s menu and vegan-ized one of the salads.
Greens with grilled tofu, mango, strawberries, avocado, cucumber, slivered almonds, sesame seeds, and a soy dressing on the side.
Not too shabby for a highly substituted order!
For dinner, we enjoyed yet another Hyatt restaurant.
Tidepools is a restaurant of open air thatched huts surrounded by waterfalls and koi-filled lagoons, so you are literally eating on the water.
Nothing sets the mood like bread and wine.
If that sounded sarcastic (or sacrilege), it definitely wasn’t meant to be. Carbs and vino are among my favorite things in life.
Kyle’s shrimp, fish, and fried crab ball.
My Ono.
And that’s about as specific as I can be (it’s hard to remember exact orders from August).
I do remember clearing my plate and I do remember that I got a side of udon noodles as well.
Never one to fall behind in courses, Kyle ordered dessert.
It was chocolate filled with more chocolate. Warm on the inside with ice cream on top…
Clearly he hated it. 😉 And that concludes day 1 of our heavenly honeymoon…
For the married ladies, where did you honeymoon? And for the unwed misses, where is your dream honeymoon location?
hungry hungry hippie 