I loved the Go-Gos when I was in high school, not that I'd ever admit it to anyone. ;-)
But that's not the point.
The point is that vacation is good, but when vacation is free, it's smack-em, yack-em, googly-eyed good!!
Jay has been employed with his company for 10 years as of May. And said company takes all employees who've reached 10, 15, 20, 25-year milestones on a weekend getaway on the company tab.
This year employees and their guest of choice will be flown to Florida where they will be rewarded for their hard work and loyalty with a long weekend at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. The company covers the cost of staying at the hotel and will provide a fabulous seafood buffet one evening on a yacht that the company owns. We can sail the ocean while eating its bounty ... how's that for plush?
I don't have much in the way of details yet, which drives me bonkers since I'm already well into the plotting / planning of our October trip. I derive a sick kind of joy from vacation planning, I'm not proud but there are worse addictions to have.
I don't know what type of room we'll have and I don't know if there is only one work related event planned for the weekend or if there are a bunch of them. I don't know how much free time we'll have (the resort spa is begging me for a visit) and I assume we won't have a food budget (so many restaurants so little time). I don't even know if we're responsible for getting a rental car or if something else will be arranged.
Personally I'd rather have a rental car - we want to stop by the HRC and swipe Jay's pin collector card and get him a few souvenirs from a cafe in Florida that he hasn't been to. And I'm hoping for lots of free time for us to have some spa treatments and try some of the restaurants and maybe even take a resort sponsored excursion.
Here's the list of restaurants that the Resort has to choose from. We were particularly excited to see that Chef Morimoto will be opening a restaurant there later this Spring. If all goes well we're going to try to get a reservation there.
Old Homestead Steak House: the resort's newest restaurant, featuring fine prime beef and fresh seafood, modeled after New York's finest steakhouse.
Lucca: featuring innovative Tuscan cuisine and an award-winning wine list.
Cathedral: featuring a vast breakfast buffet and a-la-carte items.
Lobby Espresso: ideal for a rejuvenating cup of coffee, a light breakfast, or lunch on the go.
Gazebo Bar & Grill: an open-air, poolside bar serving light fare and tropical drinks.
Cappy's: serving light fare and drinks at the Boca Beach Club.
Mulligan's: located at the Golf Clubhouse, it provides light lunch fare, refreshments, and beverages between rounds (I assume they mean rounds of golf).
Cielo: by Angela Hartnell, this is a newly opened restaurant that the resort describes as a modern Italian masterpiece. This is not only pretentious but it's quite ambiguous ... what the hell is that description supposed to mean?
Morimoto: opening Spring 2008, this will be an upscale Japanese sushi bar created by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto!!!
Bar Luna: offers more than 3,400 bottles of wine and champagne in a casual setting. Casual, right. I'll be sure to bring my Jackie O wanna-be wardrobe.
Mizner's Monkey Bar: an ideal setting for cocktails, martinis, and cigars.
Initial thoughts ... we're definitely trying for Morimoto if it's open and we have free time to devote to the pursuit of food. I'm sure we'll try one of the Italian places but your guess is as good as mine as to which, especially because not all of the menus have been posted for review.
I think we may need to try Cathedral one morning if only to gauge for ourselves a "vast" breakfast buffet. Is it the length of three football fields? Will the number of breakfast selections be so varied and numerous that mental collapse is likely due to my inability to make choices in the early morning hours? I'm intrigued ... I confess.
And how could we not stop in and pay a visit to Mizner's bar? Not only does it share a name (of sorts) with that lovely little lounge at the Grand Floridian that we visited before our Chef's Table dinner at V&A last May, but any bar that's got Monkey in its name sounds like Evolutionary good times to me!
That's enough for now, I suppose. Later I will come back and tell you about the spa offerings and talk about the pool and the beach and I hope to Gawd that they give us some details before July or I may have to take matters into my own hands.
And then they will wonder who the hell this crazy woman is that poor Jay ended up married to.
EDITED TO ADD MORE STUFF...
I went back to ogle their spa facilities and thought I'd share their signature treatments with you. Although they're still on the pricey side these look like screaming bargains compared with the prices I'm seeing for spa treatments in Vegas. I think we'll just hold out until August.
Palazzo Ritual Bath
Inspired by Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon's search for the mystical fountain that could cure illness and restore youth; the Palazzo Baths envelop guests in a restorative water ritual designed to instill total well-being. Stress and tension melt away as you enjoy our aromatherapy-infused sauna, steam and inhalation facilities. A tranquil soak in a customized therapeutic bath completes your ritual. $35
Restful Sleep Ritual
This new signature lavender experience promotes relaxation and restful sleep, addressing common insomnia-related issues. After a gentle exfoliation to increase circulation throughout the body, luxuriate with an energy stone ritual using lavender and high crystal content stones. 80 minutes $230
Sevruga Caviar Facial
Developed to produce unprecedented results in treating drier and more mature skin types. The active ingredients include an extract of caviar, a rich nutrient containing vitamins, minerals and amino acids. This ultra-luxurious signature facial, which also includes a hand and foot treatment, makes skin feel silky and luminescent.80 minutes $215
Eminence Custom Organic Facial
Using a combination of fresh ingredients that are hand-mixed, these products contain only 100% pure organic fruit, vegetable and herbal extracts. This signature facial is exclusively tailored to the guest’s individual skin care needs to deep cleanse, exfoliate and hydrate the skin. Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alicia Silverstone are quoted using Eminence.50 or 80 minutes $140/205
Swe-Thai Massage
The perfect blending of East and West massage therapies, this unique signature treatment combines advanced soft tissue therapies with passive yoga-style stretching derived from the ancient healing art of Thai massage, increasing energy, blood flow and range of motion. 80 minutes $215
Cranberry Pomegranate Skin Polisher
A new Eminence body scrub, this signature treatment hydrates and refines using vitamin-rich and antioxidant-rich extracts of cranberry and pomegranate to brighten and promote youthful looking skin. 50 minutes $135
All Spa Palazzo Signature Treatments include a complimentary Palazzo Ritual Bath.
They also offer a spa package that I find very appealing and if there's enough time in our schedule and enough money in the piggy bank I may just have to go for it. Considering the number of treatments that are included with this package, the price is a steal!
Relax and Revitalize
Revitalize with this popular mix of services. Your rejuvenation begins with our signature Palazzo Ritual Bath, followed by a 50-minute Aromatherapy Massage. Complete your relaxation experience with our Customized Tropical Sugar Scrub and 50-minute Double Oxygen Facial. A revitalizing treat for you. $390
I wish we were there right now.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
You're Going Back to Disney World ... AGAIN???
That's the response we get from friends and family every time we tell them we're headed back to the Mousetrap. They just don't understand the allure ... the sprawling resorts ... the myriad dining options ... THE FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL, BABY!!!!
Hot damn, Sam ... it's a do-over!!!
This dancing banana guy pretty well sums up my feelings upon finding out that we were going to be able to go back this Fall (until about a week ago we couldn't do it, but we caught a break and that's all I'm going to say about that).
I anticipate plenty of this:
And this:
And this:
We will arrive at WDW on October 8th - we're staying at Saratoga Springs this time, which sucks a bit when you want to Food & Wine it, but you will hear no complaints from us. And besides, we're within walking distance to Downtown Disney and this gives us a chance to try some more new places over there.
You wanna see our tentative food itinerary ... until the program details for this year's festival are released, that is ...
Wednesday, October 8th - arrive by noon (we hope); try for the bazillionth time to eat frigging lunch at Earl of Sandwich. This will most likely be an afternoon by the pool kind of day and then we think we're going to have dinner at Portobello's. For anyone reading that's not overly familiar with WDW, both of these dining establishments are located in the Downtown Disney complex.
Thursday, October 9th - Epcot baby - the first of many visits to eat and drink our way around the World Showcase food kiosks. We may try to have a late dinner at California Grill (Contemporary Resort) or we may just head over to Raglan Road (Downtown Disney) - we are still undecided on this one.
Friday, October 10th - We're sleeping in and then we thought we'd trek through the wilds of Florida to try the breakfast buffet at Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge). We plan on trying for a F&W Pairing do-over at Le Cellier (Epcot), so if we are lucky enough to nab it again we won't need dinner plans. Epcot should stay open late this evening, so we plan on snacking around the world showcase late into the night.
Saturday, October 11th - The food is light today because we're going to Party for the Senseless (Epcot) tonight!!! We've talked about spending the day at Typhoon Lagoon (water park) but the jury's still out on this right now.
Sunday, October 12th - We have a lot of uncertainty today ... if someone we're really interested in is hosting Sweet Sundays (Epcot) then we might try to book that. Otherwise we want to try for the F&W Pairing at the Italian restaurant in Epcot that keeps changing its' damn name. Depending on how this all plays out we may or may not try for dinner at Citricos (Grand Floridian). This restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so if we don't get there on Sunday night our only other option will be Thursday night.
Monday, October 13th - completely open at the moment. Jay and I think that rather than paying a bunch of money to WDW to take part in their sushi / sake pairing, we're just going to go back to Kimonos (WDW Swan) and make up our own tasting again. We get a lot more sushi and a lot more variety for a lot less money. I'm sensing more F&W snacking today as well.
Tuesday, October 14th - another totally open day for now. Maybe we'll go back to Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) for dinner.
Wednesday, October 15th - pretty much open ... Lori arrives some time today and we've agreed to try Todd English's Blue Zoo (WDW Dolphin) for dinner with her. I think that will be good times indeed. We've been wanting to try this place for a while now, but just haven't quite made it there.
Thursday, October 16th - our last day ... totally open. If we haven't already made it to Citricos then this is the night for us. If we have ... then we may try to get a reservation at Wolfgang Puck's Upstairs Dining Room (Downtown Disney).
You F&W veterans will note that I've left lots of open space to accommodate the special programming ... hopefully we can fill it up with some F&W pairings and a signature dinner somewhere. But if not, I'm sure we'll find something to spend our food dollars and voracious appetites on while at WDW.
Thanks for letting me share the early food love ... look for more updates as the seasons move towards late summer and early fall.
EDIT: Booked our airfare this week for October and took care of reserving a ride to and from the resort with Florida Tours. I also renewed our Disney Dining Experience card ... 20% off food and booze at most participating bars and restaurants at WDW and then they ever-so-thoughtfully add 18% right back to the bill as a gratuity.
I actually have a problem with that ... if I want to give Hunky the Bartender an 18% tip for handing me a beer that's my choice. But I don't like being forced to give someone 18% just for popping the cap, ya know what I mean? And lest you think I'm El cheapo, think again. Since Jay and I have both worked crappy food service and customer service jobs where patrons think it's their God given right to wipe their shitty shoes on our backs we actually over tip for all but the worst service.
Anyway, the only thing left to do now is to renew our annual passes and since we purchased those through DVC I think I can wait until June to renew. And I have to make ADRs soon for those restaurants we know that we want to try. Wolfgang Puck's is out - too many thumbs down on that one.
Boy this sounds really disjointed ... note to self: don't blog after drinking too much at dinner when you've been up for 17 hours straight. ;-)
Hot damn, Sam ... it's a do-over!!!
This dancing banana guy pretty well sums up my feelings upon finding out that we were going to be able to go back this Fall (until about a week ago we couldn't do it, but we caught a break and that's all I'm going to say about that).
I anticipate plenty of this:
And this:
And this:
We will arrive at WDW on October 8th - we're staying at Saratoga Springs this time, which sucks a bit when you want to Food & Wine it, but you will hear no complaints from us. And besides, we're within walking distance to Downtown Disney and this gives us a chance to try some more new places over there.
You wanna see our tentative food itinerary ... until the program details for this year's festival are released, that is ...
Wednesday, October 8th - arrive by noon (we hope); try for the bazillionth time to eat frigging lunch at Earl of Sandwich. This will most likely be an afternoon by the pool kind of day and then we think we're going to have dinner at Portobello's. For anyone reading that's not overly familiar with WDW, both of these dining establishments are located in the Downtown Disney complex.
Thursday, October 9th - Epcot baby - the first of many visits to eat and drink our way around the World Showcase food kiosks. We may try to have a late dinner at California Grill (Contemporary Resort) or we may just head over to Raglan Road (Downtown Disney) - we are still undecided on this one.
Friday, October 10th - We're sleeping in and then we thought we'd trek through the wilds of Florida to try the breakfast buffet at Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge). We plan on trying for a F&W Pairing do-over at Le Cellier (Epcot), so if we are lucky enough to nab it again we won't need dinner plans. Epcot should stay open late this evening, so we plan on snacking around the world showcase late into the night.
Saturday, October 11th - The food is light today because we're going to Party for the Senseless (Epcot) tonight!!! We've talked about spending the day at Typhoon Lagoon (water park) but the jury's still out on this right now.
Sunday, October 12th - We have a lot of uncertainty today ... if someone we're really interested in is hosting Sweet Sundays (Epcot) then we might try to book that. Otherwise we want to try for the F&W Pairing at the Italian restaurant in Epcot that keeps changing its' damn name. Depending on how this all plays out we may or may not try for dinner at Citricos (Grand Floridian). This restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so if we don't get there on Sunday night our only other option will be Thursday night.
Monday, October 13th - completely open at the moment. Jay and I think that rather than paying a bunch of money to WDW to take part in their sushi / sake pairing, we're just going to go back to Kimonos (WDW Swan) and make up our own tasting again. We get a lot more sushi and a lot more variety for a lot less money. I'm sensing more F&W snacking today as well.
Tuesday, October 14th - another totally open day for now. Maybe we'll go back to Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge) for dinner.
Wednesday, October 15th - pretty much open ... Lori arrives some time today and we've agreed to try Todd English's Blue Zoo (WDW Dolphin) for dinner with her. I think that will be good times indeed. We've been wanting to try this place for a while now, but just haven't quite made it there.
Thursday, October 16th - our last day ... totally open. If we haven't already made it to Citricos then this is the night for us. If we have ... then we may try to get a reservation at Wolfgang Puck's Upstairs Dining Room (Downtown Disney).
You F&W veterans will note that I've left lots of open space to accommodate the special programming ... hopefully we can fill it up with some F&W pairings and a signature dinner somewhere. But if not, I'm sure we'll find something to spend our food dollars and voracious appetites on while at WDW.
Thanks for letting me share the early food love ... look for more updates as the seasons move towards late summer and early fall.
EDIT: Booked our airfare this week for October and took care of reserving a ride to and from the resort with Florida Tours. I also renewed our Disney Dining Experience card ... 20% off food and booze at most participating bars and restaurants at WDW and then they ever-so-thoughtfully add 18% right back to the bill as a gratuity.
I actually have a problem with that ... if I want to give Hunky the Bartender an 18% tip for handing me a beer that's my choice. But I don't like being forced to give someone 18% just for popping the cap, ya know what I mean? And lest you think I'm El cheapo, think again. Since Jay and I have both worked crappy food service and customer service jobs where patrons think it's their God given right to wipe their shitty shoes on our backs we actually over tip for all but the worst service.
Anyway, the only thing left to do now is to renew our annual passes and since we purchased those through DVC I think I can wait until June to renew. And I have to make ADRs soon for those restaurants we know that we want to try. Wolfgang Puck's is out - too many thumbs down on that one.
Boy this sounds really disjointed ... note to self: don't blog after drinking too much at dinner when you've been up for 17 hours straight. ;-)
Some more Vegas ...
Well, it looks like we're going with Aquaknox for our final dinner reservation. As much as we enjoy Emeril's restaurants (those that we've tried at least) we can't bring ourselves to spend that kind of money on what is essentially a steakhouse. I'm sure it's great but there are so many steakhouses here in the armpit of the Midwest that we just can't get too excited about it.
So ...we opted for Seafood! Yummy, yummy seafood. This restaurant at the Venetian looks very appealing to us and the menu also has a number of items that grabbed our attention. So Aquaknox it is!
Here's the link to their restaurant ...
http://www.aquaknox.net/
And ... I think we're going to rent a cabana at the adult pool one day at Mandalay Bay!! We can get an opium bed at Moorea Beach ... tee hee.
http://www.mandalaybay.com/thingstodo/mooreabed.aspx
Isn't it cool?
Jay asked me if it comes with a small Chinese man and an opium pipe. I asked him if it came with a dwarf guide to lead us to the greatest of all underground dwellings where the dwarf clan known as the Longbeards live.
Turns out both of us are wrong.
EDITED TO ADD: Bwaaaaahahahahahaha!!! Aquaknox has a LARDON salad on their dinner menu!!! Those of you who just read my food porn update on the DIS will know why this is so funny. **cackles to self**
EDITED TO ADD MORE: I bought our tickets to the Star Trek Experience this week ... saved about $8 by purchasing them in advance. Rather than go into all the dorkie joy with you now, I think I'll save it for when we get back. Only three more weeks to go!!
And I've been shopping like crazy lately - got some great deals through Ann Taylor and I think I've picked up four or five dresses from them and a really cute silver evening bag. I realized that all I had was black ... but shoes and bag should match and somewhere along the way I forgot to pick up a silver bag to match my silver sandals ... gasp!
The good news about all that shopping is that some of those dresses will do double duty at work and will also provide me with some nice variety for our August trip and October trip.
Wondering about August? Look for a new post soon sharing more vacation joy!!
So ...we opted for Seafood! Yummy, yummy seafood. This restaurant at the Venetian looks very appealing to us and the menu also has a number of items that grabbed our attention. So Aquaknox it is!
Here's the link to their restaurant ...
http://www.aquaknox.net/
And ... I think we're going to rent a cabana at the adult pool one day at Mandalay Bay!! We can get an opium bed at Moorea Beach ... tee hee.
http://www.mandalaybay.com/thingstodo/mooreabed.aspx
Isn't it cool?
Jay asked me if it comes with a small Chinese man and an opium pipe. I asked him if it came with a dwarf guide to lead us to the greatest of all underground dwellings where the dwarf clan known as the Longbeards live.
Turns out both of us are wrong.
EDITED TO ADD: Bwaaaaahahahahahaha!!! Aquaknox has a LARDON salad on their dinner menu!!! Those of you who just read my food porn update on the DIS will know why this is so funny. **cackles to self**
EDITED TO ADD MORE: I bought our tickets to the Star Trek Experience this week ... saved about $8 by purchasing them in advance. Rather than go into all the dorkie joy with you now, I think I'll save it for when we get back. Only three more weeks to go!!
And I've been shopping like crazy lately - got some great deals through Ann Taylor and I think I've picked up four or five dresses from them and a really cute silver evening bag. I realized that all I had was black ... but shoes and bag should match and somewhere along the way I forgot to pick up a silver bag to match my silver sandals ... gasp!
The good news about all that shopping is that some of those dresses will do double duty at work and will also provide me with some nice variety for our August trip and October trip.
Wondering about August? Look for a new post soon sharing more vacation joy!!
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Vegas Trip ...
I'm one excited middle-aged woman with a parasitic twin in her tummy!
We have all but one dining reservation nailed down for our trip. Here's a recap of our entire itinerary, including some places we don't have reservations. My dear friends, you can look forward to reviews of everything in bold.
Sunday, April 20th - The Burger Bar (Mandalay Bay)
Red Square (Mandalay Bay - reservations made)
Monday, April 21st - Isla Mexican Kitchen (Treasure Island - reservations made)
Payard Patisserie Dessert Tasting (Caesar's Palace - reservations made)
Tuesday, April 22nd - Alize' (The Palms - reservations made)
Wednesday, April 23rd - L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (MGM Grand - reservations made)
Thursday, April 24th - Undecided between Aquaknox (The Venetian) and Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse (The Venetian)
Also ... we will be going to Quark's at the Star Trek Experience (it's a geek-fest!) and we will be eating at The House of Blues, probably for breakfast one morning.
That's it for now ... I'm just so excited to have gotten the dessert tasting and the Robuchon reservations that I had to come out and share the joy!
Squeeeeeeeeee!
Edited to add ... I got a really sweet deal from Ann Taylor today on a dress I've been eyeballing for a while. Although I haven't lost more than 3 pounds since the beginning of the year, I've taken two inches off my waist and an inch off my chest - everything else is holding steady. So ... I splurged on a new dress for the trip (there are many events taking place between the end of March and the end of June that will require some additions to my closet ... woohoo!).
The dress is silk, which I'm a sucker for; and I think it will be really cute for spring and summer. Lemme see if I can get the picture to show up ... please keep in mind that I will never look anything like this model.
Pretty...
We have all but one dining reservation nailed down for our trip. Here's a recap of our entire itinerary, including some places we don't have reservations. My dear friends, you can look forward to reviews of everything in bold.
Sunday, April 20th - The Burger Bar (Mandalay Bay)
Red Square (Mandalay Bay - reservations made)
Monday, April 21st - Isla Mexican Kitchen (Treasure Island - reservations made)
Payard Patisserie Dessert Tasting (Caesar's Palace - reservations made)
Tuesday, April 22nd - Alize' (The Palms - reservations made)
Wednesday, April 23rd - L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (MGM Grand - reservations made)
Thursday, April 24th - Undecided between Aquaknox (The Venetian) and Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse (The Venetian)
Also ... we will be going to Quark's at the Star Trek Experience (it's a geek-fest!) and we will be eating at The House of Blues, probably for breakfast one morning.
That's it for now ... I'm just so excited to have gotten the dessert tasting and the Robuchon reservations that I had to come out and share the joy!
Squeeeeeeeeee!
Edited to add ... I got a really sweet deal from Ann Taylor today on a dress I've been eyeballing for a while. Although I haven't lost more than 3 pounds since the beginning of the year, I've taken two inches off my waist and an inch off my chest - everything else is holding steady. So ... I splurged on a new dress for the trip (there are many events taking place between the end of March and the end of June that will require some additions to my closet ... woohoo!).
The dress is silk, which I'm a sucker for; and I think it will be really cute for spring and summer. Lemme see if I can get the picture to show up ... please keep in mind that I will never look anything like this model.
Pretty...
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