So this is primarily a post about Eataly, Chicago, but I have to mention from the get-go that I have also been to Eataly, Las Vegas many times, and it is just as amazing, though with a much smaller dry goods grocery section and no produce. The Las Vegas outpost is more of a grab and go food place, or stay and drink a glass of wine under a beautiful glass-ceilinged canopy, than a place you would go and get…
One of our anniversary trip stops took us to the Copal Tree Lodge in Punta Gorda, Belize for a week in February of 2019. Punta Gorda is about as far south as you can get in Belize before Honduras, and is pretty rustic compared to other, more toursity places in Belize. You have to take a small plane that makes several stops at towns along the way either via Maya Island Air or Tropic Air. Punta Gorda is the…
HOT TAKE My husband and I typically go on a trip to someplace warm in February. February is the coldest, snowiest month of the year in Chicago, and so it’s a great time to get away. It also happens to be our anniversary month! This year, our anniversary trip took us to Guatemala, our fifth time in Central America, where we spent two nights in Antigua and five nights at Lake Atitlan. We absolutely love visiting Central American countries because…
This is more of a nostalgia post, rather than a wine post, because I visited this winery and wine region with my now-husband (who proposed to me during this trip!) back in 2015. This winery and this trip are so special to me for so many more reasons besides the fact that we got engaged while we were here in northern Spain. We chose coming to Rioja, Spain for this trip because I was just starting to teach my…
Bavette’s Steakhouse and & Bar is located in the relatively newly renovated Park MGM Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Park MGM used to be the Monte Carlo Hotel and got a much needed, massive facelift between 2016-2018, including adding a bright and airy Eataly out front. I love staying at the Park MGM because it is new, fresh, mid-range price, and the casino is non-smoking. It is also in a very good, pretty central location on the…
HOT TAKE Let’s get this out of the way: I friggin’ love Walt Disney World! We used to come here as kids almost every year when my Dad was in Orlando for a work convention and so my childhood memories are full of the Mouse. In fact, Minnie Mouse was my imaginary friend when I was a child. Like many families, as we got older, we stopped going to Disney after a while. After about 20 years, my brother and…