Hello from Bangalore, India!
I hope you've had an amazing week! I certainly have, and it's hard to believe how much has happened for me since I left Arizona two weeks ago! (Has it only been that long? Arizona feels like months ago...)
In a nutshell: I flew out to Manhattan on May 25; went up to Poughkeepsie the next day to see a friend from high school get married; went up to Boston two days later and spent a couple days in Boston and Cambridge with old friends; went to Cape Cod to see my best friend, Janis, for three days; then visited my mom in Pennsylvania for three days before heading up to Newark for a 24-hour journey to Bangalore! In case you're wondering, I am now 12 hours and 30 minutes ahead of you (if you're reading this from Arizona)- and slowly working through my jetlag.
Before I get into the details of this post, here's a simple and surprisingly effective weight loss tip: brisk walking over a few miles with weight (like a heavy backpack or luggage) is incredibly effective for burning fat. Now, I work hard whenever I go to the gym or to fitness classes, but dragging a 50 pound suitcase with an extra bag or two over several miles has beaten all of that, several times over- even though I didn't think of it as exercise, at the time. Unfortunately, it's really easy to be sedentary in Arizona, as most people tend to drive everywhere, and the sun can be too intense at this time of year for extended exposure. But try to get in as much walking or running outside as you can- preferably, in a natural way (that is, if you can walk instead of drive, you'll give your body the natural, extended movement it is designed for). You'll be astonished by how good you feel- and how fast the pounds drop!
Anyways, here are my top tea-inspired travel recommendations for the northeast!
1. Best of New York City: Matchamisu at Rawsome Treats
Rawsome Treats is an amazing raw vegan dessert cafe that offers a wide selection of exotic desserts, which you can order whole, or as samples of three. As a raw food chef, I am a harsh critic of anything raw, and I have to say that this place was absolutely fabulous.
The dessert that stood out the most was the matchamisu- a raw tiramisu that uses ceremonial grade matcha, in place of cacao powder. It was unlike anything I have ever experienced- one of the best desserts I have ever had. If you're in New York City, do yourself a favor and get this!
2. Best of Boston: Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum
In case you missed my video last week, I had a great time at the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum, and learned so much (if you were bored by grade school history textbooks, this experience makes everything interesting)! Boston was the most influential city for shaping American tea culture- shifting America's focus more towards herbal teas than from British-imported blacks, greens, or Oolongs. The museum tour is an incredible experience, and it has a nice tea house called Abagail's Tea Room, where you can drink unlimited tea for only $4. They also have Tavern Nights, and a variety of cool events at the site.
3. Best of Cape Cod: Dunbar Restaurant and Tea Room
Wild Rosehips
Cape Cod is a lush, popular getaway site for summer travelers. There are many beaches hiking trails, and landmarks, and plenty of adventures to be had. I found wild rosehips (one of my favorite herbs!) growing on the beach, and plenty of other medicinal plants, like nettles, grow there.
It's hard to pick just one spot on the Cape, but for this post, it would have to be the Dunbar Restaurant and Tea Room, in Provincetown. This quaint and beautiful tea house serves a variety of lovely teas in a traditional setting. It's so pretty!
4. Best Summer Travel Product by Loose Leaf Tea Market Product: Bite Me! Oil
If you follow our Instagram (@looseleafteamarket), you might have seen my post on my Loose Leaf Tea Market travel essentials (I also wrote a blog post about it here). Of these, Bite Me! Oil has been a life saver. If you spend time outdoors (or anywhere with bugs), get it. Seriously. Here's why- DEET is very toxic, but no natural bug repellant has ever worked for me in the past. See, mosquitos love me, a lot. I have painful memories of going to an outdoor yoga class in Bali, spraying myself with the natural insect repellant that the facility provided, only to suffer through an agonizing hour in which I was bitten over one hundred times while I was trying to hold poses and ignore my ferociously itchy skin. But amazingly, Bite Me! has worked very well for me! When I was in Cape Cod, we went to a couple beaches, where there are all kinds of bugs and other creatures that love to bite- and I left itch-free each time.
That's all for now! I'll be sharing much more with you (stories, experiences, reviews, and more!), so if you haven't already, follow us on Instagram (@looseleafteamarket) and on our YouTube channel to join in on my experiences!