February 2, 2018 - The Best Skyline view of Salt Lake City and London's B.Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus Tour Joins the Vegan Revolution

Groundhog Day 2018 - Phil saw his shadow and predicted
six more weeks of winter!​

Tanya's Daily Scoop
Covering the West Coast & the World
CURRENTLY TRAVELING IN: SALT LAKE CITY

The BEST skyline view of Salt Lake City

Hello. Hi. How are ya today??

Betcha you're glad it's Friday!!

I actually have to admit that I kinda sorta forgot what day it was. Ya know, I have the traveling excuse and everyday is like a holiday!

Speaking of holidays - you do realize that today is a holiday right?!

Friday, February 2nd, 2018 in United States of America is Groundhog Day.

So what will it be???

Little Phil saw his shadow and predicted
six more weeks of winter!​

And for all you ever wanted to know about Groundhog Day, check out all the very interesting  info that we posted in our full feature issue:

Groundhog Day & Punxsutawney, PA

Meanwhile your's truly is still here in Salt Lake City and having a grand 'ol time skiing at Park City Resort with the kiddos.

DID YOU KNOW:
That Park City Resort is AMERICA'S LARGEST SINGLE SKI & SNOWBOARD RESORT

Located in the heart of Park City, Utah, only a 35-minute drive from Salt Lake City, Park City is home to over 7,300 skiable acres with a variable mix of beginner, intermediate, and advanced terrain.

Overlooking Park City from Canyons (c)travelincousins.com

Just me and my gal (c)travelincousins.com

Taken from the Orange Bubble. A heater and covered chairlift that we are fully spoiled by (c)travelincousins.com

Plus skiing midweek is nothing short of fabulous!
No lines. No crowds. It's pure heaven. A real skiers delight!

But as far as today goes, we will not be hitting the slopes, since this is the day in our trip that we head out to Denver. 

It'll be another long day on the road, driving by some absolutely gorgeous scenery.   Then once we arrive in Denver we'll hit up Nooch (an all vegan store), and then most likely just hang out at our hotel until it's time to go pick up Dave from Denver International and grab us all some late night grub - at one of our Denver faves - City O City. 

Yes we know where ALL of the vegan food is and have fave restaurants and dishes around the globe!!


Back to yesterday...
​
After our day of skiing, I took the kids over to the Park City Tanger Outlets and to Cosette's favorite clothing store - American Eagle. We did a bit of shopping and then had to make our way back to SLC by 6p so that we can go check out Vegan Agenda (a new little vegan mini market with bakery case, some pre-made refrigerated deli salads and vegan soft serve with a number of different menu options of how it shall be served), we picked up a couple of Cookie Sandwiches, a Brownie, a Dillo (twinkie type of bite sized cake) and a cinnamon twist crunchy snack. 
The only thing I forgot was to take ANY pictures while in the market! 

And the only one I managed was of Dominic and his more than half eaten Oatmeal Cookie Sandwich as he played Jenga. LOL

Now before I go on, speaking of treats - check out that wonderful looking array of vegan goodies now being offered by B Bakery! ------>>>>------>>>>

I absolutely love Afternoon Tea.
I mean I really really love the tradition and experience.     I have found a number of just fabulous Vegan Afternoon Tea venues in London and other places in the UK as well as here in the USA.
And while we were visiting London back in April (2017) with Elisa and the girls, it was Elisa who pointed out this super fun tour idea.  

But as Elisa shares with you, we had inquired about if they had any vegan offerings and the answer back in April sadly was a disappointing big NO. 
Needless to say that I am rather excited about checking this out for myself upon my next visit!!!


So anyhow, after our break full of treats our friend Cody came over and we hung out for a while, then went for a little hike up to this super awesome viewpoint. 

Looking down on Salt Lake City from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail (c)travelincousins.com

Dominic, Cody and I - Cosette took the pic (c)travelincousins.com

As our hunger developed, it was finally almost time for us to go pick up Manny and for us all to head over to The Proper Burger and finally try their house-made vegan burgers!
​​
Never Prim, always Proper! 

Vegan Chili Cheese Burger - house made vegan chili, vegan cheese and red onion (c)travelincousins.com

Vegan Bollywood Burger - mango and apple chutney, curried roasted red pepper hummus, kale pesto, bell pepper, spinach and red onion (c)travelincousins.com

Great toppings and innovative combinations all stuffed between a soft and fresh bun.
​
​What more could you ask for?!

Our Gang (c)travelincousins.com

Dinner was enjoyed by all parties, both vegan and non-vegan alike.

We then bid adieu to Cody - until we see him and ski with him on Feb. 11th.

And that was our day and my Daily Scoop,
-T

Elisa's Daily Scoop
Covering Long Island & NYC Boroughs
​CURRENTLY ON LONG ISLAND

London's B.Bakery Afternoon Tea Bus Tour Joins the Vegan Revolution

Hey there!
I must say, I'm pretty happy that the end of the week is here.  It was a rough week with the kids being sick and being home.

I missed one doctor's appointment, a mani-pedi appointment and the kids missed Spirit day and the festivities of Catholic Schools week. (insert sad face)

I did get a great deal of writing done this week, which always makes me happy!! I'm really excited about the features I have in the works for you this month and the coming months!

On a lighter note..
My girls got me hooked on How to Get Away With Murder.  We've been binge watching three seasons all week on Netflix.  I have to say, Shonda Rhimes is a very talented lady!!

So for those of you who are not familiar with this television show, Annalise Keating (Oscar- and Tony-winning actress Viola Davis), a brilliant, charismatic and seductive professor of defense law, teaches a class called How to Get Away With Murder.

Annalise, also a criminal defense attorney, selects a group of students -- the best and the brightest -- to assist with cases at her firm alongside her employees, the trustworthy and discreet Frank Delfino and Bonnie Winterbottom  an associate attorney. Mysteries arise that test everyone's limits and reveal dark truths.

Now, I've been a Shonda Rhimes fan for years, having been seriously addicted to Scandal.
Have you watched Scandal - well it stars Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn (hottie!).

The show's premise is as follows: Olivia Pope, a former media consultant to the president, is ready to move on with her life and opens her own crisis-management firm, but she can't seem to shake ties with her past. Olivia's staff includes Quinn Perkins, who has a complicated history, and hacker extraordinaire Huck. As she moves forward it becomes clear that, while her staffers may specialize in cleaning up the lives of other people, they can't seem to do the same for themselves.

But, here's the really interesting thing.  Shonda Rhimes' first television success, which is still going strong since 2005, Grey's Anatomy, is the show that my kids (and their friends) are addicted to!  ​

The medical drama series focuses on a group of doctors at a hospital in Seattle, including several who began their careers at the facility as interns. One of the doctors and the show's namesake, Meredith Grey, is the daughter of a famous surgeon. She struggles to maintain relationships with her colleagues, particularly the hospital's one-time chief of surgery, Richard Webber, due to a pre-existing relationship between them -- Webber and Meredith's mother had a personal relationship when Meredith was young.​

In fact, it is this series that inspired Gianna to become a doctor!!! See, and they say television is bad for kids!!

​

Now, I promised you guys yesterday that I had some fun news for Foodie Friday - well here it is...

This past April, as you may remember, me and the girls visited London to celebrate Gianna's 13th Birthday, and our favorite cousins, Tanya and gang, joined us for the festivities.

Jubilee Bridge, London (c) travelincousins.com

A major focus of our trip was to have as many Afternoon Tea experiences as we possibly could during our nine day stay in London.

One of the most original and fun little adventures we had on our Afternoon Tea quest was B. Bakery's  Afternoon Tea Bus Tour.  ​

The London Afternoon Tea Bus Tour (c) travelincousins.com

SEATED AT "TABLE 8" ON THE AFTERNOON TEA BUS (c) travelincousins.com

(c) travelincousins.com

Essentially, this bus serves a full Afternoon Tea while driving around London past some of the most iconic sights, including past Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens,  Kensington Palace, Knotting Hill, Marble Arch, Mayfair, The Green Park, The National Gallery, Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Piccadilly, The London Eye and Trafalgar Square, to name a few.

When I originally called to book our reservation, I had inquired with them as to the menu options they had, specifically, a vegan option.  At that time, they did not offer it, but then, lo and behold, I received an email this past week entitled:

B Bakery joins The VEGAN Revolution!

(photo credit: b.bakery.com)

How cool is this!!!!!
Here is what the email states:

"We are in constant search of improvement at B Bakery - After Halal, Vegetarian, Pescaterian, Traditional and Gluten Free, we are delighted to announce that we have joined the VEGAN REVOLUTION with the launch of our VEGAN Afternoon Tea on 1st February 2018- To be enjoyed at B Bakery Covent Garden, on our London bus and boat tours or even delivered to your door! 

(photo credit: b.bakery.com)

V E G A N   M E N U

The Vegan menu features a choice of freshly cut sandwiches with vegan fillings such as Beetroot and cucumber ginger sandwich, Avocado and carrot roll, Mixed vegetables quiche, Quinoa and mint verrine, Mixed roasted veggie on ciabatta.

On the sweet side, our chefs have crafted a selection of homemade vegan cakes including a Panna cotta on coconut rocher, a Chocolate mousse verrine, a Lemon drizzle, a Seasonal Cupcake and of course a delicious scone with a selection of vegan spreads. 

I just knew that Tanya was going to be ecstatic for her next trip to London!!

I'll be continuing the vegan theme on Monday with my first February feature on Elisa's Long Island and Travelin' 25: 25 of the Best Valentine’s Gifts for the Vegan on Long Island and Online.

Groundhog Day 2018 - Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter (photo credit: express.co.uk)

Last but not least - Happy Groundhog's Day!  
Check out our full feature about this celebrated day and the little town from which it is celebrated and originates from, Punxsutawney, PA.
​Click Link for the full story:
Groundhog Day & Punxsutawney, PA

Here's wishing you a great weekend!!
-E
xoxo