Sandra "middle child" G.'s Profile

I've been to a lot of yoga studios. While my favourite one is still the YYoga giant, there are a lot of great smaller ones in Vancouver. Yoga West is the first that's been review-worthy.

You're greeted with a storefront, and the studio room at the back is carpeted and looks like a normal room except that it's quite big (not as big as some of the huge studios though). There is a smaller meditation room (which I'd love to check out someday) and Yoga West specializes in a very specific type of yoga: Kundalini Yoga.

The "instructor" is more of a facilitator - he admitted that being new to the class, I would learn more from my classmates than from him, and as far as poses this is true. But he was great -- he looks like a guru from India but spoke perfect English and his voice was commanding yet gentle. The Kundalini Yoga poses start and finish off much similar to regular yoga but the exercises in between use some pretty hard core aerobic-like movements and breath work. Even the simplest of movements are hard to keep up for a good 5 minutes. Oh! And the chanting! There is some chanting, and some time spent on meditation, which I really enjoyed because I like to practice thinking about nothing - it's difficult! Normally the chanting isn't my thing but 3/4 of the way into the class we did a great mantra to music that symbolized (I asked about this) the transition from darkness to light.

The savasana was AMAZING because gongs were used and not the high pitch mousey gong - two big earthy gongs. They were facing each other a slight bit, which caused the sounds to ripple off of each other and cause a sound wave that came over us all like an airplane flying directly overhead. It was awesome. Then more songs.

If you want to amp up your spiritual experience while getting a great 1.5 hour workout, try this place out. Mats are not required as the provided blankets serve as mats. Bring water too!

I bought an Ethical Deal to eat here and it was well worth it. They are only open a few days a week (I made the mistake of coming in on a weekday for lunch) so call ahead to make reservations, especially if it's a weekend. The place has about 20 seats. The Homemade Lemonade ($3) was really fresh and sugarless, and the Raw Pizza ($9) was tasty and much more substantial than it looked. If you haven't ever had raw vegan cuisine, then be aware that things like "pizza" and "burger" are not like the traditional foods and will almost always be deconstructed and composed of vegetable substances.

The topper that got my stomach smiling was the Double Layered Mousse for dessert ($9) which had a layer of berry mousse topped with a layer of raw cacao. I was super impressed that most of the desserts (and food) were sugar, gluten, and dairy free because of the cleanse I'm on right now. For vegans, vegetarians, or just health nuts alike, Indigo Food won't disappoint. Free parking nearby is a bonus too.

Pizzeria Farina, nestled in between the Cobalt Hotel and Georgia St. viaduct on the North side of Main Street, is a small, quaint little place with a mere 15-20 seats at most. They don't take reservations but they do take-out (which I'd recommend on weekends) and it's made to order, so if you're lucky to get a seat on the weekend, it's not too bad of a wait. However, the place closes when the dough runs out, which can be as soon as 8-8:30pm on a Friday night, from what I read on their Twitter feed.

Pizzeria Farina has a decent selection and they offer a good helping of extra toppings with oregano and chili-infused olive oils on the tables as sides. I got the Funghi ($15), which had a good helping of mushrooms and arugula. But something key was missing that I personally need on a Napoletan-style pizza: Tomato sauce. Without the sauce, this pizza was definitely lacking an umph. The oregano olive oil didn't do much, and I found the chili oil useless except to set my tongue on fire. The cheese was good, but the mushrooms were just chopped and sort of thrown on there, whereas on previous pizzas they've been sauteed first. The dough was kind of blah, though it looked like it was baked right. Pizzerina Farina doesn't have a wood-fired oven, which I know is a key for this kind of pizza. It lacked a bit in flavour, which you could make up for with the oils, but to me, a good dough still has to stand on its own. We got the Margherita ($12) for breakfast the next day, which was a bit better because it had sauce and mozzarella, which I also think is a good ingredient for Napoletan pizza.

If you're new to the whole Napoletan pizza trend, I'd recommend this place as a hip place to eat at, but go early. And they aren't licensed, so you're limited to water and their Italian sodas they have in stock. Nicli and Verace Pizzeria are still my top picks, but there are still more I must venture to.

This is the second authentic Napoletan pizzeria Leo and I have been to. The location is great, though it's a tricky place for parking on game nights. The decor is great - a bit of European flavour - and when we went in the place was PACKED with two big parties going on.

With a reservation, we were able to be seated within 10 minutes, even though there was only one server working the whole restaurant, the other tending to the big parties.

I had the Campania pizza ($17.25) with Pomodoro sauce, ricotta cheese, roasted onions, peppers, zucchini and eggplant, topped with grana padano and extra virgin olive oil. Leo had the Diavola ($16.25) with Pomodoro sauce, spicy genoa salami, capicollo, roasted red onion and peppers topped with fresh basil, grana padano, and extra virgin olive oil.

Despite us getting our water (sparkled instead of flat) and wine about 15 minutes later, the pizzas didn't come out very long after. The dough is just what we expected, but Leo prefers the burnt wood-oven flavour a bit more - I enjoyed my vegetable party quite a lot, though I prefer mozzarella over the ricotta. Still, I love how there are more pizza varieties here than the other place we've been to.

I saved room for dessert, so went for the Tartufo ($7.50), a Chocolate hazelnut gelato with vanilla gelato centre rolled in cocoa powder. LOVE chocolate hazelnut ice cream. Leo went for two scoops of the Lime and Raspberry flavoured fresh, sugar-free sorbetto ($5.50) and both desserts came with a strawberry syrupy jam. Our server warned that some people found the sorbetto a bit brazen on the tongue, but we really enjoyed the tartness of the flavour.

Our stomachs were happy and we'll definitely be checking out some of the other Napoletan pizzerias around town, but so far this one's at the top of the list. Re-heating instructions even come on the box if you take out your leftovers.

Tip: Definitely make reservations on weekends or game nights or you'll be waiting (and standing) for your table.

My review is based on the daytime snorkeling trip, so it looks like everyone on the booze cruise had a WAY better time than I had on this trip.

I've been to Thailand and have had the experience of swimming in near-clear waters with colourful fish, equipment and flippers included, for $5. At $45, the snorkeling trip to Turtle Canyon just didn't measure up. And this was the cheapest trip I found online!

The ride out was fine, and I liked the Caribbean tunes they were playing. When we got to Turtle Canyon - where another catamaran had stopped to take their trip - I dived in with a foamy only to see a school of brown fish. The water was deep, and I'm sure there were more fish down below but the ones we could see were just brown. The occasional purple, but mostly brown, small, and uninteresting.

Our guys spotted a few turtles, and I was lucky to have ventured off looking for more fish and ended up in the area where a huge turtle was hanging out. I came face to face with it, and that was the highlight of my snorkeling. I could see some people trying to touch it, which is probably annoying. After about a minute it dived down. And that was it. Pretty disappointing for a place called Turtle Canyon. We did pass by some dolphins as we sailed, but they didn't have their heads above water.

Drinks are cheap, but the sandwich lunch they give you is just cold cuts and cheese on bread. Choice of chips and cookies.

I thought we might stop once more to snorkel, but that 15-30 minutes was it. The rest of the tour was just a big sail in a circle. It wasn't sunny out, so I could only get so many good shots of the island.

The guys on the tour are great, but for the 'Honolulu' price I paid I wouldn't snorkel here again.

I got the ethicalDeal for Organic Connections Cafe in White Rock, for $30 worth of food for $15.

Organic Connections Cafe is mostly raw vegan, but they say vegetarian too probably because of a few exceptions. The atmosphere was quaint and home-like and I was lucky that there were some live musical acts to accompany the sunshine on the weekend I went. My boyfriend and I got there at an odd time of 3:30pm but by the time we left the place was full.

I started off with the Warm Red Quinoa Bowl ($12) with curried quinoa and a nice helping of steamed vegetables - just what I wanted after  a brunch full of carbs. Tons of kale, and a bit overspiced but I still liked it. My boyfriend got the Pizza and Salad ($15) which was a deconstructed pizza with a buckwheat & sunflower crust, tomato basil sauce that couldn't be seen, creamy cashew cheese, black olive tapenade, alfalfa, fresh tomato, and brazil nut parmesan. That would have been real tasty if not for the alfalfa sprouts. He considered this to be an appetizer.

Organic Connections also has a great selection of smoothie drinks and vegan desserts as well - if I hadn't been full off the curry bowl, I would have gotten one of the cheesecakes. For $7 I got the White Rock Sunset Smoothie made of house-made almond milk, banana, dates, and strawberries. Mmm mmm good.

We were lucky to have a great atmosphere at this place and although it took about 25 minutes to get our food, the beachside view couldn't be beat and the healthy food reminded me of why I became vegetarian. If not for the good deal I got, this review would have probably been 3 stars but for what we paid it was a great meal and experience.

The first time I stayed at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani was in 2002, and I got a really nice oceanview room fully paid for. When I was recently searching for cheaper hotels along Waikiki Beach, SPK was on the higher end at $125 CDN per night (+ $12+tax room charges upon arrival) but my memories of it the first time were so fond that I decided to return again with my boyfriend.

The standard room this time around was much smaller and we didn't get a spectacular view, but if you plan on doing more than staying in your hotel, it would suffice. While this is no Las Vegas themed room, the resort charge came with some freebies that make this hotel worth 4 stars rather than 3:

- Wireless Internet Access - great for checking email and social media via my iPad
- Self parking for one vehicle
- Unlimited local & 1-800 calls
- Up to 1 hour of long-distance calls per day
- Two bottles of water per day (brought in during cleaning)
- Children 12 & under eat free at Pikake Terrace for breakfast & dinner buffet only
- Big Kahuna Beach Service on Waikiki Beach
- Two non-alcoholic drinks

The buffet is less extravagant than I remember, and if you want your towels changed, the linens will be changed as well. I like hotels that automatically change towels if you leave them on the floor, and only change linens if you put the card on the bed as an option.

I didn't take part in the parking, buffet, beach service, or non-alcoholic drinks, but the service was great upon check-in and check out. I will likely try out another part of the island next time in Hawaii, but for a first-time spot on Waikiki Beach, SPK is very reasonable and upgrades are available. You can also splurge at the more modern Sheraton Waikiki which is about an 8 minute walk on the strip.

My boyfriend and I went to Rumfire on our last day in Waikiki before leaving to go home. One deciding factor in going there was the discount coupon that we found in our hotel magazine - and I remembered that it was inside the Sheraton Waikiki, where we had sailed from the day before to go snorkeling. So I thought it would be a good choice for lunch.

The view of the beach from Rumfire is unbeatable. I have no idea why others didn't choose to eat on the patio rather than inside. The drink menu is substantially more extensive, and there are a few vegetarian food options available, but I opted for the Tacos with "Pier 38 Fish" Mahi Mahi ($16) and shared the Chips & Salsa ($6). Loved the sauce on the tacos. I'm told my fish tacos were better than the beef ones, which looked like pulled pork instead of braised beef.

My virgin margarita tasted like lemon syrup - but go figure when you don't drink alcohol on Waikiki.

Without the discount, I'm not sure if I would return, but it was still one of most unforgettable vacation lunches I'll ever have.

My boyfriend and I decided to do a standard luau in Honolulu as it was our first time visiting together. We got the standard Hawaiian Buffet package ($82 USD), including (straight from the website):

Arts & Crafts Demonstrations
Games of Skill & Daring
Shower of Flowers
Hukilau
Royal Court Procession
Imu Ceremony
Hawaiian Revue
Shell Lei Greeting
Mai Tai Greeting + two drink tickets
Wing Seating
Buffet Menu

All sounds like a lot, don't it? The registration process was super easy, but what they don't tell you is the transportation process - about 45 min. wait for a 48-passenger bus, and about a 30-40 minute ride West. Our tour guide, Flo, was pretty entertaining both ways, thank god for that. They get to know the kids and people who are celebrating special occasions so that they have candidates to bring on stage later on.

As soon as you arrive at the Paradise Cove area, they give you the shell lei and get you drinking alcohol right away (they also have juice as an option). Why? So you can withstand all the events that are going on. The Arts & Crafts, Games (including canoeing), Shower of Flowers (I didn't see), and Hukilau are all optional but most adults without kids would just line up at the bar to use their two free drink tickets (not valid for more non-alcoholic drinks - must pay extra). They also have booths and a gift shop where you can spend more money. The Royal Court Procession and Imu Ceremony are part of the show, though it was at the perfect time of night to have one, when the sun was still out. It's a good hour and a half before they seat you for dinner and then you have your helping of a good selection of meats, seafood, salad, and dessert.

The meal alone is not worth the price, but the entire package was quite reasonable for the transportation and the night show. The live band is amazing.  I found some of the men in the crowd impatient, as the show lasted a good hour and a half long as well. That's why they want you to keep drinking. Unless you took your own transportation, you had to wait until everything was over.

I wish they would cut down on the rehearsed shpeals and cheese factor a bit, but I suppose if it didn't feel like a big luau production, it would just be eating and dancing like you might see at some hotel luau shows. Still, since most reviews of the other shows on the island claim that Paradise Cove had the best views (the sunset was beautiful) I'm glad we got this one.

The person who said it's wise to review a place after going there twice has the right idea. While it's difficult to do that when you're on vacation, I've got to base this on my sole experience at Taormina vs. others who might not understand what a place like this has to go through being the only high-end Sicilian restaurant on the Waikiki Strip.

My boyfriend and I discovered Taormina while walking on Lewers St. for the first time. The next day, we thought back to this restaurant, and it's too bad we didn't think of making reservations. We arrived an hour earlier than we planned to feast, assuming that we would have to wait, and we did. Even when we checked in, we had to wait another half-hour more, but that's what you get when you don't get a reservation. I'm glad we were even able to get a table, and I had a great view of the kitchen where I was.

After munching on our choice of one of 3 types of bread, we started off with 4 kinds of Antipasti: Eggplant, Mozzarella & Tomato, Prosciutto & cheese, and King Salmon which was off the menu. I only sampled the former two, but the eggplant was the highlight for me. For my main, I had the Giardinella ($16), which was a risotto with 10 kinds of vegetables. That satisfied my appetite, and I even got to taste my boyfriend's Lobster Spaghetti, which was on special. I ended off with the Cannoli ($9), as I hadn't tried one before. There were two kinds: traditional, and one that had a filling that tasted of pecan and pistachio. Even the ice cream was nutty. A perfect end to a great meal.

Though none of the dishes came out super fast, we were treated well and the ambiance and simple decor of Taormina made me feel like we were dining somewhere special than the usual crowded or in and out restaurants on the strip. There was a family with a young child who fell out of her booster seat, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were tourists. So many are drawn to the place after walking by the window, and those who can't stand the wait are better off dining somewhere kid-friendly or where they can get their fast burger and fries.