Whisked away to Whistler

Hi friends. Before the week ends, I have promised myself to post about our recent getaway to Canada. It's true what they say, Canadians are nice! Wait, is that what they say? I thought I heard that somewhere...

Over the past couple of months, The Husband and I have been lucky to travel to new places for work. Most recently Whistler, BC. I'm not a cold weather fan, but Whistler was magical, picture Narnia. It wasn't even really that cold. We were lucky. How's the skiing you may ask? I didn't even go! Though I did partake in Après-ski or rather Après- nonski. We also spent the day at the Scandinave Spa. If you ever find yourself in Whistler, you must go here. The view was amazing. We also took the peak to peak gondola (with glass bottom see below!) from Whistler Mt. to Blackcomb Mt. I thought I might pee in my pants it was so scary. And I'm not afraid of heights.

Our last night in BC we traveled back to Vancouver since we flew out early. While not as glamorous as Whistler, we ate some amazing food (they were rated one of the greatest food cities in the world) and stayed at the best hotel. We scored a great price for it on TripAdvisor. I highly recommend it!

Now, I'll let the pics speak for themselves...

Outer Boroughs - Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos

You might think I'm a bit crazy but one of the things that I miss most about the South is it's cheap Mexican restaurants [insert Las Margaritas in Raleigh, Monterrey's in Burlington and La Carreta in Lynchburg]. Y'all know those places, the kinds of restaurants where the food is served hot and quick, they have REAL queso dip that we call cheese dip, and you smell like the establishment for at least three hours after? Pure bliss. Really, we love those kinds of eateries and so far we have yet to find one in NYC. Trust me, we have looked high and low and nothing comes close to the ones down South.

However, a few weeks back The Husband and Southern in the City did stumble upon a great Mexican joint after getting lost in Queens or was it Brooklyn? (are they really that different- ha, kidding - sort of...)

Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos in Brooklyn, okay had to look that up first, is a diamond in the ruff. We first heard about this place via our favorite travel foodie writer, Anothony Bourdain where he dedicated a whole episode to eating in New York's Outer Boroughs. There is nothing fancy about this place, in fact to get to it you have to walk through a garage on the left and then around a tortilla factory to order. But, it's fast and hot and authentic. It's not quite like the Mexican restaurants at home, but it is worth a trip to Brooklyn on a Sunday afternoon for a couple double-wrapped delicious tacos.

Watch Anthony's experience at Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos below:

Nags Head 2011

It's funny how quickly you can revert back from vacation mode to worker mode. I've been back from my favorite place in the world (Nags Head) for less than 24 hours and it's as if I never left...except for the fact that I'm tan. At least I have that, right?

We had an amazing family (x2) vacation last week. The weather, though hot, was sunny and thankfully I was able to dodge the record heat in NYC. Newark, NJ at any time is gross, I can't image it at 104 degrees.

The Husband and I are beyond lucky because for a second year in a row, we were able to spend our vacation with both families. My family was down the first week and his the second so we split our trip into almost half and half with each.

We ate, drank, walked, talked, played, danced, relaxed and most of all enjoyed each others company.

Oh yeah, I spotted Beyoncé the chicken in Nags Head too. Have y'all read this story? It's pretty damn funny so I just had to get a picture. Beyoncé was $$$, so I didn't bring her home but I did purchase a cute table from here that I will share later this week.
Thanks to both our families for a great time! Cheers to some great memories...

Long Beach Island

Sometimes I forget that Manhattan is an island, an island which is less than 2.5 hours away from many beaches. Now, this southerner is a Carolina beach kind of girl. To me, there is nothing better and no place that makes me happier than OBX.

Yet, after two trips to Long Beach Island (LBI) in NJ, I'm becoming a big fan (don't worry OBX, you're still number one). Unlike other parts of the Jersey Shore, LBI is less "Snooky-like" if you know what I mean. The beach itself is beautiful and quiet. We are fortunate enough to have a great place to stay too thanks to The Husband's cousins, Carl and Julie. We spent last Saturday and Sunday relaxing by the beach, enjoying the fresh air and even a boat ride through Oyster Creek, where we grabbed cold beers and fresh crabs. Doesn't get better than that. The restaurant and boat town, reminded me a of a sleepy little place down South.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...











Thanks again to Julie and Carl for a great weekend!

What's the hold up?

I know, I know. I have been a bad blogger. I should really carve some time out a few days a week to write, but when I got back to work last week, things got crazy and sitting in front of the computer after sitting in front of the computer was not something I wanted to do. Excuses, Excuses...

We're are still adjusting to the real world. The jet lag was actually a good thing and got me out of bed and ready to start my day before the morning news shows even started. It's beginning to wear off though and I think by week's end, I'll be back to my old routine.

France and Italy. Ahhh, they feel so far away right now. If you are looking to plan a trip, I highly recommend one similar to ours. Instead of boring you with lots of stories, I'll include a list of favorites along with photos. It's more fun that way...

France
- Rosé vino - I don't know what it is, but Rosé in France is much better than Rosé in the states. But isn't most food and drink? The Husband and I had Rosé with most of our dinners and wish we'd brought a bottle or two home with us.
- Tartan - This was by far the best restaurant in Nice. They serve delicious freshly made brick oven pizzas that melt in your mouth. Seriously, nothing better. The owners don't speak French so we had fun trying to communicate.
- Farmer's Market - This isn't your mom's farmer's market. It's an everyday event (except Mondays) where artisans, farmers, etc come out and sell their treasures. This was a great place to pick up keepsakes and gifts for family.
- Pebble Beaches - You can always rent a beach chair for 20 euros a day, but I would go the free route and sit on the pebble beach instead. Though it can be a bit hard on the tush, it's much better people watching and guys, the girls are topless. Well, at least the old wrinkly ones.





Italy
- Pasta Pasta Pasta - Italian is my favorite cuisine. If I could eat pasta everyday I would and I did in Italy. Cinque Terre is were pesto originated so it comes with every pasta dish and is probably my favorite thing from the whole trip.
- Hiking - If you visit the Cinque Terre, you must hike the five towns. I warn you, it's damn hard. I had to stop several times to catch my breath and almost thought I was going to faint. But, the views! They are amazing...
- B&B - We stayed in the most quaint and beautiful Bed & Breakfast. There are not many hotels (or any) in Cinque Terre so most tourist stay in locals' homes. Ours had an lovely terrace where we ate breakfast each morning and took naps in the afternoon. Life was hard.
- Rick Steves - If you are going to travel to Italy, buy Rick Steves book. Especially if you are going to Cinque Terre. The locals love him and if you show some of them his book, you can get discounts. No kidding, we got 10% off at our B&B.






Back to more Southern in the City topics later in the week!