Showing posts with label orlando. Show all posts
Showing posts with label orlando. Show all posts

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Fast Five Travel Notes: The memorable meals of 2014

When I travel, I love trying regional cuisine. I stay away from chain restaurants and look for the gems. I look for recommendations from hotel staff, other guests and on-line blogs too.

Here are a few of the great treats I enjoyed on the road this year:

1. Fish Chowder from the Fairmont Southampton, in Bermuda. It was a thin, spicy fish soup, topped with a float of sherry. It had lots of flavour and with a cocktail and a slice of crusty bread, it was perfect.




2.  Lobster roll, a spicy lobster caesar and chilled lobster tails were fabulous at Rock Lobster restaurant on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario. They had several locations and have been featured on the TV show "You Gotta Eat Here"



3. Absolutely everything at Giada's at the Cromwell in Las Vegas, was fabulous. I can't wait to go back!










4.  Hemingways Restaurant in Orlando Florida delivered a memorable and gorgeous meal.  It was fresh, flavourful and easy on the calorie count. I loved every bite.









5. Cheeseburger from Tastee's. They are just so damn good. I probably ate 50 this year!












Honourable Mention:  Best $12 hot dog ever, was at the Toronto Blue Jay's game. We were having fun and geez, when you're at the ball park, you NEED to have ball park food. And seriously, where else are you getting a $12 hot dog?



Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Top 3 Hammocks

People like different things from a vacation. I like my hammock time. When life starts stressing me, I start strategizing ways to get back to a hammock.

Things I look for in a hammock are comfort, location, proximity to water, and beverage accessibility.

My top 3 hammocks are:

1. At the Hyatt Grand Cypress in Orlando Florida. First of all, there were 3 hammocks available. Never did I have to wait for a chance to sit and relax. It was also a fabric hammock which is certainly more comfortable than a rope hammock. It was a glorious rich purple colour. It was near the man-made lake and had some sun shelter. It was also near the kids' area which included a rock wall. Though I did have some concerns about wrecking my bliss with the sound of screaming kids, that never did happen. One morning I even did some parenting from the hammock and cheered for my son on the rock wall while I relaxed. There is a pool bar and waitress service in the area should you wish to have a beverage. Each hammock also had its own side table perfect to keep your belongings and/or beverage nearby. What puts this hammock over the top is that in the evening, you can see the Disneyworld fireworks in the distance. What could be more perfect than that?


Ocean Club (east) Turks and Caicos Islands
2. At the Ocean Club in the Turks and Caicos. I loved my hammock time here. For a long time the photo of me and this hammock served as my Facebook profile picture. However, it's not my all time favourite anymore. It was a rope hammock, at the edge of the beach restaurant/bar, and next to the ocean. It was under a palm tree in the caribbean, which makes it pretty damn perfect. However, you kind of felt on display to the diners and folks sitting at the patio tables 20 feet or so away. While you could hear the lounge music, which was very soothing, you could also hear other people's conversations and kids yelling and splashing in the pool. BUT, it is located at a near perfect resort, at the edge of one of the world's top beaches (Grace Bay) and I loved my time there.

3. At the Sheraton Waikiki Beach in Honolulu Hawaii. It was the least comfortable of the hammocks, but its location was amazing. It was mere steps away from the ocean, it was tied to a palm tree and it was available when I wanted it. While it lacked beverage service, it made up for it in the view. You could see Diamond Head in the distance.

Do you have a favourite hammock? Please leave the locations in the comment box. I'm always on the lookout for new destinations.

Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, Orlando. Best hammock ever!

Sheraton Waikiki Beach, Honolulu


Friday, May 2, 2014

2 Weeks in Florida for $1000! Seriously.

What a great bargain if you can go this time of year!

Westjet is offering a variety of packages ranging from 5 days, to 14. Some are Disney, some are just off site. This particular bargain sure caught my eye.


Both of these packages, as pictured, include roundtrip Westjet flights, from Winnipeg, plus hotel accommodations and all taxes.

See why it's a bargain?

Both hotels are rated well on Trip Advisor and are convenient to many attractions. The Holiday Inn is a deluxe hotel, while the Carib Cove is more of a resort area and is closer to golfing.

The Holiday Inn has some great Kids' Suites that include a queen sized bed for Mom and Dad, and bunk beds for the kids. Doesn't this room look great?  If you choose the package on May 21st, you can purchase the package with the Kids' suite for 14 nights at $799 plus taxes.

Bargains found at redtag.ca or can be purchased through westjetvacations.com