Friday, November 7, 2008

Vacation at home!


(Spicy Salmon Tartare with Avocado relish and Bobs Love Potion (don't ask))


(Carmelized onion tart with tomato salsa and scallops in orange cream sauce with fresh herbs)



Last weekend my husband and I celebrated our 15th anniversary! We had the best time. Usually we go out of town for the weekend, but upon checking, we discovered that all of the hotels we wanted to stay at in California were booked! (go figure!) So, we decided to do something different and spend our vacation in town instead. I have heard of this concept, but have never tried it. So Bob took time off work, just as he would if we went out of town, and we spent the weekend eating at fabulous restaurants, cooking, and going places we don’t usually go to. We both agree that it was our best anniversary yet. I highly recommend taking a vacation in your own hometown.

You can’t beat the benefits:
No travel expenses!
No rental cars
Experience all that your area has to offer and you never knew
Sleep in your own bed at night. (I love my pillow)

To fascilitate in choosing restaurants, we used the eat.shop.phoenix guide. You really must get ahold of one of these books. They are wonderful.

These are some of the yummy restaurants we ate at and would definitely recommend:
Pizzeria Bianco – Phoenix
Barrio CafĂ© – Phoenix
House of Tricks – Tempe
Zinc Bistro – Kierland, Scottsdale

Being that we also love to cook, we spent the last half of the weekend heating it up in the kitchen. If you love to cook or would like to expand your culinary horizons, I have attached pictures below of some of the great cookbooks we have in the store. I am a picky buyer of cookbooks, so trust me, these are good!






2 comments:

Michael said...

Here are some tips for the traveling group on a budget:
1. Renting a car when traveling in a group of four is usually cheaper than buying travel passes – and more convenient.
2. Food, guidebooks, taxi fares can all be split between the group bringing costs down.
3. Rail passes for groups or pairs may find discount offers in some countries.
4. Some airlines offer discount rates to groups of ten or more traveling together.
5. Group package bookings that have everything included in the price will have all expenses covered so you won’t be surprised by any extra costs, apart from shopping!
6. Discount holiday packages for large groups of travelers are offered through a number of travel agencies. Sports fans may be able to travel to big events using one of these travel packages for much cheaper than organizing it on their own. Voluntourism

Mel said...

Happy Anniversary!