| Baseball obsessed and Tea Plantations  Tanya's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Well Howdy! It's another Monday. I'll be out and about most of the day and then back just in time to watch the ball game this evening. As you may have noticed I'm a little bit baseball obsessed! During the baseball season much of my scheduling is planned as much around being able to catch as many Yankees games as possible. And clearly since I am constantly super busy, that's not always an easy task or one that I always succeed at. But I do my best to squeeze in everything that I both need to and want to. One of them being having the time to do my share of cheering and yelling at the TV as I watch these games! So, when I say that my weekend was scheduled mostly around watching the Dodgers play the Yankees, you understand that I'm a bit of an addict. I am also as you know a Traveling addict - hence being Travelin' Tanya. I watched and cheered and boo'd at the TV for all 3 games. We lost the first 2 games and then won Sunday's battle. With all of that being said, the annual MLB All Star game is right around the corner. So I have been on the lookout for our tickets, as I piece together the many parts to the upcoming July trip to Texas that will lead into our visiting vacation in New Hampshire, New York and Virginia. Back to the weekend, I wanted to share with you that prior to getting back for game on Saturday, Dominic and I had gone for lunch at a Vegetarian Vietnamese Restaurant -Nhan Duc Hanh which we had spotted during a previous visit to the pretty yummy Vietnamese Bakery - Dong Hung Vien in Westminister. The food was fresh, tasty and chock full of veggies that were so vibrantly colored...  Basil Eggplant Tofu (c)travelincousins.com  Mixed Veggies and Tofu (c)travelincousins.com  Spring Rolls (c)travelincousins.com The Bok Choy in my Mixed Veggies and Tofu dish was some of the best! I'm actually quite surprised that I can enjoy Bok Choy once again. I'm not sure if you recall that back in 2018 during my trip to China, Cosette and I were traveling in a group and had most of our schedule all planned out for us, including the meals. And while China might be home to some amazing vegan restaurants - sadly we did not get to try ANY of them. Prior to going on the trip, I had thought that we would be able to venture off and have a go at finding some great Vegan Dumpling Restaurant or the likes, but sadly with the tight time constraints and the language barrier, it was rather impossible. So we were "stuck" with the restaurant offerings that were with our group and that meant almost every meal consisting of BOK CHOY. Not the most interesting veggie out there and one that we quickly got quite tired of! LOL All in all we really had a great trip. Here are a few pictures and BLOGS from our visit.  A Day in Bejing (c)travelincousins.com  Gardens (c) travelincousins.com  Floral Sculpture (c) travelincousins.com  Shanghai (c) travelincousins.com  West Lake (c) travelincousins.com  Memories of China (c) travelincousins.com  Longjing (c)travelincousins.com  Longjiang (c) travelincousins.com One of the most serene and picturesque visits was to the Longjing Tea Plantation. Longjing Tea or dragon well tea, a type of green tea of over 1200 years old growing in the surrounding area of the world famous West Lake in Hangzhou, is the "No. 1 among the Top 10 Famous Tea in China" The education there all about the tea process was something quite amazing. I honestly don't think there was a single person from our tour who did not leave without bringing home some of the most flavorful, good for you and freshest tea that you can find!  Longjiang Green Tea (c) travelincousins.com Of course being home and while always on the go in my day to day life, I'm always looking for the healthiest, flavorful and most refreshing option and that goto is usually a thirst quenching Iced Tea - as Elisa has noted that Iced Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world!! My general rule on the iced tea that I will grab and take on the go with me is going to be both organic and tasty. Here are a few of my faves: The Republic of Tea - I like the Hibiscus! Guayaki Yerba Mate - Enlighten Mint is my go to for an extra energy boost! Seven Teas - Morocan Mint Subtle Tea - we love supporting Small Businesses! And to make at home: Tea Forte has some of the most delicious blends! Now before I sign off, I want to show you one more goregous tea plantation that I've been so fortunate to visit on multiple occasions - Chá Gorreana factory on São Miguel Island in the Azores, which also happens to be the oldest tea plantation in Europe!  Exploring the plantation at Cha Gorreana, Azores (c)travelincousins.com  Dominic and Cosette exploring the plantation at Cha Gorreana (c)travelincousins.com  Standing out in front of Cha Gorreana (c)travelincousins.com Travel creates such amazing memories and Tea makes them taste better! Ciao 4 Now, Travelin' Tanya | National Iced Tea Day - History & Tea Health Facts  Elisa's Daily Scoop CURRENTLY IN: LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK Happy Monday!! I hope you all had a great weekend! Here in New York, the weather has been a mix of dreary rain or absolutely gorgeous sunshine. This past weekend was a mix of both with Saturday being a near-perfect day and yesterday bringing us lots of wet showers. As a result, my weekend was a "mix" of spending lots of time outdoors on Saturday and staying predominantly inside yesterday.  (c) travelincousins.com Saturday, Kelsey and I decided to go into Garden City to one of our favorite hangouts - The French Workshop, for which we've enjoyed since it first opened in 2018!! It was the perfect day for a refreshing iced tea! Our latest fave tea pick is "Paris" which is a blend of premium black tea leaves and exotic tropical fruit flavors.  At the French Workshop having our "Paris" Iced Tea on Saturday (c)travelincousins.com How ironic is it that I was planning to talk about enjoying the beginning of Summer with a tall, cool iced tea and today, June 10th just happens to be National Iced Tea Day!!  The history of iced tea can be traced back to the 1870's but it really put itself on the map as a popular beverage in 1904, which is attributed to the World's Fair that same year. Held in St. Louis, Missouri from April 30 to December 1, 1904, "the heat of the summer months was so sweltering that iced tea was being served with fair goers drinking it en masse," according to daysoftheyear.com. Fun Facts About Iced Tea
So, now that we know a bit about the history - I had wondered what the health benefits are to this refreshing beverage. Well, first, let's take a look at what tea actually is - according to Brittanica.com, "Tea is a beverage produced by seeping in freshly boiled water the young leaves and leaf buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis." The Camellia sinensis plant, a shrub native to East Asia and as crazy as it may seem, due to the many flavor varietals, most tea is derived from this one plant.  (credit: American Scientist And to all those tea toters our there, YES, tea is quite healthy. Tea leaves contain beneficial compounds, such as phytonutrients, and small amounts of micronutrients like phosphorous, magnesium, copper, and zinc thereby boosting your immunity Benefits include:
On that note, I'm going to bid you adieu until next time! -Travelin' Elisa  |
