Hello everyone and a big greetings from Orlando! Now FIRST and FOREMOST before I go doing my recap or chat at my vacation, today is a very special day - it is my travelin' partner in crime Travelin' Elisa's BIRTHDAY!!!! Now everyone all at once on the count of 3 wish Elisa a BIG HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY! As for us, yesterday was a LONG travel day and after such a short nights sleep the night before, I was ready for a bit of a sleep in. Today is going to be all about Disney Springs, shopping and then later we have 2 more guests who will be arriving to join in on the Disney fun!! And the day before was Cosette's birthday and we attempted to go kick off the Disney fun with a trip tp Downtown Disney. You catch how I said "attempted"? Well Cosette wanted to bring Goldie along with us for the day and guess what - no pets allowed on Disney property. So that was a BUST. We loaded up the vehicle and then went to go get ice cream at Hug Life, then we still needed to pick up lunch for our "picnic" at the beach... The kids all had fun at the beach, running from waves and building sand castles. After leaving the beach the day was yet to be over and we were on our way to the Irvine Spectrum for some shopping therapy. Then home for cake with friends and the fam bam and finally a late dinner and gifts. We eventually go to bed that night at 1:30a and need to wake up at 3am yesterday for another long day... Once we made it to Orlando we made a bee-line for the Vegan Hot Dog Cart - it was totally worth it! Now off to Disney Springs we go. See y'all tomorrow, -Travelin Tanya | Happy Friday Guys!! And Happy Birthday to me!! As you guys know I’m not a huge birthday enthusiast, but, in spite of this there has been and will continue to be some celebratory activity over here! I will not lie - a real birthday present would have been to be in Disney World right now with Tanya and gang. She was in transit most of the day flying from SoCal to Orlando with a stopover in Charlotte, North Carolina. Of course, if you read her Scoop today, you know all the details of her travel adventures yesterday! I actually started my birthday festivities last night with a visit to Astoria in the great borough of Queens with the first of a few scheduled dinner celebrations. I took a number of photos and some videos. Sometimes our videos do not show in the emailed version of The Daily Scoop. If this is the case, just click on our title and it will re-route you to the website where you will be able to view them all! Vlogging on the way to Astoria A friend of mine had mentioned to me a few months ago that there was a predominantly vegan restaurant in Astoria that she had wanted to try. So, when I was making my dinner plans with my aunt (a life-long Astoria resident and fellow October birthday celebrant), I immediately thought I would take the occasion to visit Number 5 Restaurant for our dining excursion. Situated on a corner, this restaurant makes an aesthetic statement on both sides of the building with its eclectic and Soho Manhattan feel. With colorful, graffiti clad exterior walls on one side to the outdoor patio with private “bubble” seating, this place was not what I expected and so much more! Vlogging in front of Number 5 Restaurant The restaurant has a wonderful outdoor seating area with plastic protective bubbles encircling each table. We opted to sit inside, which was a great choice considering the warm and cozy interior atmosphere. Dark walls and floors were accented with oversized floral images painted on the walls, creating a fashion chic meets funky vibe! Having read through the menu prior to arriving, I knew that narrowing down my eating options was going to be a challenge. From a variety of starters that include Grilled Brussel Sprouts and Buffalo Cauliflower flatbread to BBQ Seitan Salad and Vegan Mushroom Zuchhini Ravioli, the choices are diverse and creativeat Number 5. However, I did manage to make a selection, comforting myself that I would be back again to try more menu items!! Everything was dee-lish! The zucchini "noodles" were a very unique take on pasta dishes and I quite enjoyed the ravioli. I must say that the vegan ricotta and parmesan used in these dishes was magnificent! Ultimately, my absolute favorite was the Raspberry Chocolate cake! O-M-G!! So good and a perfect way to end the meal!! Tonight I have yet another birthday celebration - this time it is with my beautiful daughters! We will be ordering in Asian food and my dear Gianna baked me a vegan lemon cake, which I cannot wait to devour! That's all for me - see ya back here tomorrow!! -Travelin' Elisa xoxo |