We arrived at the Honolulu International Airport yesterday around 4pm. The eight-hour plane ride wasn’t easy, but we passed the time between sleeping, watching Wall-e and sleeping. The time difference is five hours, so staying up till 3am actually worked out. Now when we sleep in till 1pm back in Texas, I’ll just say we’re on “Hawaii time”. We took a group shuttle with Mark’s immediate family and my future Sister-in-law’s family to the Sheraton Princess in Waikiki. It’s such a great hotel with lots of activities and music by the community pool. There are no entry doors, reminding you that the weather is always perfect in Hawaii.

Waikiki Beach from the 26th floor of The Sheraton

We walked up Kuhio Avenue to find dinner. I love that nearly all the restaurants have their menus displayed outside. It makes it so easy to see what our options are before getting a table. Mark pointed out a little Italian place called Bene Pesce and a friendly waitress showed us the menu. I asked if there was anything vegetarian and she said “Yeah, we even have vegan options”. Decision made.

Bene Pesce in Waikiki

Bene Pesce’s Vegan Salad

This salad was just what I needed, fresh and tasty with the perfect dressing for only $10. After dinner we walked around the area to see what other restaurants we may want to try. We found several promising options including falafel, veggie dogs and Vietnamese. We walked through a couple of shopping centers and purchased nearly all the souvenirs I was looking for, including vintage Hawaiian postcards, an adorable t-shirt for my nephew Dylan and sandals for my Dad. Now all we need is a Waikiki magnet for my Mom. We picked up a few groceries at Food Pantry on the corner of Kuhio Avenue & Walina Street. It was recommended by our waitress as the best place for groceries nearby. They have so many vegan groceries there (Amy’s Frozen Meals, Annie’s Snacks ect), but at a much higher price, plus we don’t have a microwave in our room. I did pick up a Endangered Species Chocolate bar as a treat.

The sun had set by the time we got back to the hotel and we were exhausted from a long travel day. I bundled up in my complimentary robe, adorned myself with a fresh flower lay (the smell is amazing) and munched on some vegan chocolate. All in all a wonderful first day in paradise.

xo angie