Ok, we just returned to Pane & Vino, which I described in our last post. We got it half wrong and half right. Turns out one of the guys is married, so we were wrong on that front. The food, however, was still excellent. We switched it up and had the eggplant crostini and penne pesto, both of which were phenomenal (Margaret gave it the the best rating possible: “Tastes like Paul’s“).

And not only did they remember us from last week, but they also recollected what wine we’d ordered. The grappa came out again this time too, once we mentioned that we were newlyweds. Tonight it went down a lot smoother, probably because we had an inkling of what was coming.

Anyway, it’s 10:46 p.m. here and we’re bringing a bottle of wine to the hot tub. Life could be worse.

I shot this picture this morning from the lanai of our hotel room.

(You can view all of our photos from Hawaii at Flickr.)

As the pictures show, however, so far the Margaret and Zach Hawaiian experience has been a lot of looking and not much doing.

Margaret is, of course, here for work. As such, she’s in the office for regular business hours. And while I was hoping to have time to explore the islands immediately, a nasty mix of work has left me tied to my PowerBook (albeit it sometimes a PowerBook that finds itself at the poolside lanai).

Anyway, we left our apartment Monday at 9 a.m. EST and entered our hotel room at 4:30 a.m. EST. It was strange waking up on my own at 6 a.m. local time (11 a.m. EST). My previous experiences starting a trip with jet lag have been eastward, which just further reinforces my natural disposition to sleep it off late.

Our hotel is lovely, the other guests seem lovely, and the neighborhood is, yes, lovely. Whilst I appreciate clean space and complimentary drinks, the stale environment reminds me of how much better the experiences can be at a hostel. Of course I’m 31 now and would probably earn the moniker “The Old Guy” if I were to stay at one.

The main drag near our hotel, Kalakaua Ave., reminds me of the insipid stretches every city seems to have that I feel obliged to stroll, if only to kvetch: Times Square, Lincoln Road, Kurfürstendamm, Champs d’Ellsyes (although the history, views, and architecture make it worthwhile), Las Ramblas, the Spanish Steps, Rodeo Drive.

Exhibit A:

The area reminds me of Miami, although with less silicon and more Asians. There are also two Starbucks nearby, but as Margaret thwarted my attempt to lug our espresso machine with us, I’ll refrain from complaining about their presence.

When traveling sometimes soul just deposits itself in your lap. Other times you’ve got to search for it. Waikiki appears to be the latter, but it’s a small island so hopefully we’ll be able to have some authentic Hawaiian experiences soon.

Anyway, while hanging up our clothes, I discovered Margaret packed eight pairs of shoes, which is one fewer than the number of kimonos I packed. (Do you know how many tea services I plan on having?) I guess a combined 11 pairs of shoes is another reason why we’re not at the hostel.

This weekend we’re planning on watching some outrigger races, a movie being shown on the beach, and, yes, the AFC Championship game. It’ll be nice to put work aside for a few days. Working from a lanai that overlooks the ocean is far better than working in front of the wall of our apartment, but oh the temptations…

(And in case you are wondering, “lanai” is one of my favorite words.)

In the next few months we’re profiling all of our wedding guests. Check back to see what we write about you.

You won’t find our favorite place to eat in the restaurant section of our To do in DC page. It’s not that Margaret and I are being selfish and keeping it to ourselves. It’s Paul and Gary’s kitchen and it’s invite only.

Yeah, it’s that good. Good enough that even though you have reservations at one of DC’s nicest restaurants, when Paul calls with a last-minute invite for a casual dinner that they’re “just throwing together,” you know you’d have a better meal at their place than at the restaurant.

Unfortunately, their grilling and pastry business is still in development, so they can’t cater weddings yet (no offense to our caterer).

I met Paul when we worked together at Deloitte & Touche. He’s currently a multimedia strategist who freelances (he shot, directed, and produced the risotto video that I linked to yesterday). He’s also working on a documentary about fashion in gay weddings.

Gary is an attorney at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He’s also on the board of Compassion & Choices. I expect to pay him a visit soon. (No, I’m not about to end it all; I just remembered that I still have his bow ties. Sorry.)

If you’re talking to Paul and Gary and the conversation hits a lull…it won’t hit a lull. But you might want to ask them for their thoughts on Cake Love anyway.

*scheduled to attend