All posts tagged: gluten free

Gluten free options abound along Surrey’s Spice Trail

Published by theporkgirl

When my friend Linda, aka Lindork, asked if I would like to join her for a hosted trip by Discover Surrey for a culinary adventure along The Spice Trail, I expected to be taking more photos of food for her than actually tasting much of it. As a Celiac, I was hopeful that maybe one of our daily restaurant stops would have a gluten-free option, but I never expected the abundance of choices presented to me during our three-day tour. Surrey’s Spice Trail is a new marketing initiative aimed at inspiring a tasting adventure through Greater Vancouver’s most culturally diverse restaurant scene. Their interactive map features profiles on a diverse range of ethnic restaurants in a variety of price points, from hole in the wall joints hidden strip malls to fine dining restaurants with chic decor. You can watch the Lindork Does Life YouTube video to see everywhere we went and everything we ate along the Surrey Spice Trail in Surrey,BC. (I was very excited to get the gluten free shout out.) Here are a …

A Weekend in Porto

Published by theporkgirl

Summer has been a whirlwind and it all started when jumped on a plane to cross the Atlantic Ocean so I could meet up with Helen, my lovely friend from London, for a weekend in Porto, Portugal. I arrived at the airport jet-lagged and so out of it that I left the airport, was standing on the platform for the metro, and realized I had forgotten to pick up my suitcase. Thankfully I still had my boarding pass, as I had to show proof I was on the flight and be checked in with the police before a security staff member could escort me back to my bag. I had time for a quick nap in our suite at the Magnolia Hostel before Helen arrived. I woke up to a text telling me they couldn’t find our reservation. After a series of messages and finally a call, she figured out she was at the wrong hostel, but just a quick eight minute walk away. (Her error made me feel less silly about my bag blunder – …

Weekend in NYC – La Gran Manzana

Published by theporkgirl

Over the Labour Day Weekend, The Spaniard and I jetted off (that sounds far more glamorous than the red-eye flight we took from Edmonton to Montreal, and then on to La Guardia), for a weekend in New York City. Both of us had been there once, but for each, it felt like a lifetime ago. While I am normally the one in charge of planning vacations and trip, this was entirely The Spaniard’s choice. You see, he wanted to go to the US Open. Since I force him to watch ice hockey – it is only fair I agree to watch some of his favourite sports as well (like our trip to San Antonio to watch an NBA game). Arriving at La Guardia Friday morning and checking into our AirB&B in Astoria Queens by 11:30 a.m. meant we had almost four full days. Although we were jet lagged from an overnight flight – here are 10 things that kept us busy in the five boroughs: 1. 12 hours of tennis at US Open Months after …

A weekend in Halifax – 10 things to keep you busy

Published by theporkgirl

When I learned that WestJet was offering direct flights from Edmonton to Halifax, I jumped at the chance to spend the Victoria Day Weekend there. The Spaniard had never been to Atlantic Canada yet, and with just a few days, we managed to squeeze in an action-packed city break on the east coast of Canada. We relied on public transit (only $3.50 each), from the airport to Halifax, walked a ridiculous number of kilometers around the city, and rented a car for one day ($70 including gas) so that we could explore the South Shore (and take an obligatory headstand photo). A post shared by Sharman Hnatiuk (@theporkgirl) on May 20, 2017 at 3:02pm PDT While it feels like we did 101 things on our trip, here are 10 things we did that could keep you busy during a weekend in Halifax. 1. Fuel up at Breakfast & Brunch We made the most of our trip to Halifax which required lots of energy to get us through the day. That means starting things off with a …

A Celiac in San Sebastián

Published by theporkgirl

When I returned home from my two-week whirlwind trip to Europe I was repeatedly asked what my favourite part was. Easy – it was the 24 hours I had in San Sebastián with The Spaniard. San Sebastián, or Donostia in Basque, is a coastal city just 20 km from the French border is famous for the culinary scene featuring a high concentration of Michelin Star restaurants. After saying goodbye to my Belgium friends in France I took three trains over 7.5 hours to get to San Sebastián where I met up with The Spaniard, who had to drive 200km from his hometown of Santander. We dropped our bags at our Air B&B apartment in the old town and our host provided us with a map and his recommendations of restaurants to visit. On my first two visits to The Spaniard’s hometown I had been in many places where pinchos, or a small snack, was available on plates on the bar; however, San Sebastián was a whole new experience. Walking along the pedestrian streets in the old town – everywhere we …