Thursday, October 21, 2010

Florida Vacation Highlights!

Some details from the much anticipated Naples, Florida vacation with the girls... Vanessa and Jennifer to be exact. Trip was fantastic! Weather was perfect, beach was sensational, much needed relaxation was key, and food and drinks were flowing!

In addition to the above mentioned relaxation, we accomplished a ton. A few beach visits, pampered at the spa, fruity cocktails, a day trip to Miami/Southbeach, alligators in the everglades...



Miami for 1 day and night was all we needed- great people watching on Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue. Ended the night with dinner at Lario's owned by Gloria Estefan and partied it up at Mango's down the road courtesy of Shawn (above).


Some of our great finds.... Riverwalk dock restaurant at Tin City for scrumptious lunch and cocktails (cherry rum lemonade was the bomb!), the beach bar at La Playa served up some seriously strong cocktails and some kobe beef sliders, and Yabba Island Grill for some delightful seafood ended the trip on our last night. Super food to nosh on and some of the yummiest cocktails ever.
6 full days was simply perfect. More pics to be posted next weekend. But up next, continuation of the vacation with Emily visiting Park City starting tomorrow!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Park City Wine School

I have been meaning to try the Fox Park City School of Wine for quite some time. It is a 45 min- 1 hour course at an amazingly beautiful resort at Deer Valley where a group of 20 or less get to sample 5 wines (depending on the "theme" of the night) and spend some time learning about the "5 S's"- Sight, Smell, Sip, and Savour. For me, BIG focus on the sip and savour! :) And it's fun. You get stars for answering questions and detention for other "mis-haps". Ok, more "cute" than so much "fun" for that part of the class.

This Friday we made it. First ever Park City School of Wine experience. The theme was Wines of the Pacific Northwest- Oregon and Washington wines. We tried a Pinot Blanc, a dry Riesling (BIG surprise), a Pinot Noir (my fave), and 2 Cabs. Before each taste, we talk about the details and after each taste, share thoughts. Kinda interesting- not super long and drawn out, so well worth the time. At the end, everyone grades each wine. Mine were C, B, A, B, and B respectively.

My fave of the night (go figure) was the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2009 Whole Cluster Pinot Noir. What did I learn? They don't just use the grapes- they put the whole cluster of grapes- stems, leaves, and all- into the vat. Really good. It received 87 pts with Wine Spectator (who really cares as long as it tastes yummy, but good to know for you wine snobs out there) and the best part- it's only $15.99! Bad news? Went to 2 PC liquor stores yesterday and they were both out of stock. Boo hoo. Next time.

Up next... a wonderful surprise. The Dry Riesling. Now, like most wine connoisseurs, we only drank Riesling as wine-virgins (or in Germany because you just must) along with White Zinfandel, Boone's Farm, and/or the infamous boxed wines. Well, THIS dry Riesling was just that- very dry and very good. Totally unexpected. Give it a try. Chehalem 2007 Dry Riesling. $19.99 a bottle.

A fun, and educational, way to spend a pre-dinner Friday night for only $20. School is on "holiday" (or teacher conferences as we were told) for the month of November, but back in December and January. We will be back for sure. For now, go buy some wine and enjoy!

Saturday, October 2, 2010

More Mom & Grandma Visit Fun

I posted a few pictures the other day, but here is more detail about what we did in amazing PARK CITY last weekend...

Friday, I picked them up at the airport and we went to a great restaurant that Shane introduced me to- Au Natural in Salt Lake City. We had some yummy healthy, natural food and then went to Tai Pan Trading Company so I could pick up some Halloween decor for the condo. Once we got to PC, we hung out for a bit, watched a movie, and trekked down to good ol' Main Street where we shopped and had a BBQ dinner at Bandits. Fun!

Saturday was a busy day. We hit some major spots starting with watching the Nordic skiers practice jumps into the water (while wearing skis) off the ski jumps at Olympic Park. Next up was Park City Mountain Resort where we took the 1 hour chair lift ride to the top. Saw the double-black-diamond runs. Wow. Can easily say I will NEVER ski those. Then came a drive through The Canyons, Deer Valley and then made our way to Sundance Resort. While there, we did alot of walking of the grounds, a little more shopping, and ended with a great dinner at The Foundry Grill that was final with a shared banana split! Great and (no pun intended) filling day!

Sunday we made our way to Main Street again for the last day of Park Silly Festival- a Sunday street fair with arts, food, and fun. We shopped a tad more- and then parked ourselves outside at Doogan's Bar Grill to eat our last meal for the weekend and do some people watching. Super way to end the visit.

Very nice time with Mom and Grandma... packed tons into 48 hours! Loved the opportunity to share my lovely Park City with them... Who is up next? Oh- that would be Emily in October. More fun to come...