Inspiring Travel and Wellness. Join me for adventures above and below the ocean, exploring nature, luxury travel experiences, spa and wellness activities.
There is so much beauty in the desert. Some of it is hidden away, just out of sight. The Desert Botanical Garden is one of those hidden gems. Located in the very heart of metro Phoenix. This tranquil garden showcasing the desert beauty. In addition to daily tours (recommended for October through May), there are evening events for enjoyment year round.
Continue reading “Desert Botanical Garden | Flowering Jewel located in the heart of Phoenix, Arizona”Last night I attended the Taste Chandler’s Culinary Festival in Downtown Chandler. Single ticket was $35 and Couples admission was $50. All tickets included 12 drink tickets, redeemable for 12 drinks! Chandler was smart to offer free bottles of water. You can eat and drink for 5 hours, which was a great value for the price. We visited both lounges and 
went back to the Vintage 95 Wine Lounge a few times sampling the different wines. 12 tickets went a long way with the generous pours in the lounge! Chandler did a good job organizing the event, with hand wash stations, plenty of rubbish bins, and music.
This is a great opportunity for restaurants to showcase their food. Some of them achieved this goal, while 
others saved me time and money to ever visit their establishment. This is a tasting event, about a tenth the size of Taste of Chicago, but a similar concept. Each vendor brings small plate portion or a small single serving. This allows you to sample a little bit from everyone.
Places now added to my “skip it” list:
If you are going to do one thing, then do it well:
Superstars:
preparing and serving food in an outdoor festival, they were did a great job with the delicious salmon and white fish sushi with crunch rolls. They brought a portable refrigerated case, hand-made everything right there by their best sushi chef, and customized each plate with preferences. It was by far the
BEST dish served at the festival, and it is not nearly as good as what they serve in the restaurant. Seriously, they are that good!
The temperature is starting to cool off and people around metro-Phoenix can finally venture outside with less fear of catching fire, or at least it feels that hot all summer long here. Today a friend and I took my dogs out for a walk along Tempe Town Lake, the man-made lake in the middle of bustling University town Tempe.
The park around the Lake is home to many festivals and concerts, so be sure to check out upcoming events here.
I prefer to plan my own event at the Lake. Bring a picnic basket for a fun family activity during the day, or romantic get-a-way in the evening. There are plenty of bike paths, walkways, shade trees, and benches. The dogs love to walk around the lake with me. There are mountain views to the north of the lake and the park is well kept and clean.
The main attraction is the lake, and there are quite a few activities to enjoy on the water. Today we watched people sailing, kayaking, fishing, and on paddle boards. There is a boat rental office on the south side of the lake for small boats, hydro bikes, and kayaks.
Lake or land, the sunset is worth hanging around to watch.
Quiessence is one of my favorite restaurants in the Phoenix area and the choice for my Birthday dinner. The menu changes daily featuring fresh, local ingredients. The best dining option is in the Tasting Menu that is a 5 course chef’s choice (you do not order any specific food, but you can specify Vegetarian and/or food allergies). An optional wine pairing is available, and highly recommended (if you like delicious wine).
My Birthday Tasting dinner included a chilled vegetarian starter, bread (do not eat too much of the bread, pace yourself!), meat & cheese appetizer (not quite fast enough with the camera), yellow squash salad with yogurt dressing, perfectly fluffy gnocchi pasta, salmon and fingerling potatoes, lamb with stuffed mini bell peppers, and desert course (complete with birthday candle).
Quiessence is only open for dinner. There is limited patio dinning and plenty of window side tables to enjoy the beautiful surrounding area on The Farm. For a more romantic experience try to plan your dinner before sunset. Be sure to make reservations. Open Table is my favorite on-line reservation system and the mobile app is really easy to use.
Arizona Restaurant Week is a great opportunity to try a three course meal at a much reduced fixed price to try out the scrumptious food from Quiessence!
Le Chocolat du Bouchard is a delightful, little, neighborhood chocolate & coffee shop located in Downtown Naperville (Chicago suburb in Illinois). They have a variety of chocolate everything!
The decor is charming, the entire store is inviting you to come in and enjoy a slice of chocolate cake with your coffee and a lazy afternoon.
The girls enjoyed picking out a special chocolate from the case.
The espresso is top quality, great with a dash of chocolate or delicious on its own. The service is consistently good.
If you are hard-core, then try a slice of cake with your coffee. They offer gluten-free, milk or dark chocolate, and many flavor options to choose from.
Yum!
June 2014 Update – Chocolate Shop Expansion!
They have added an extra room with more chocolate related gifts, chocolate bar, and this gorgeous chocolate apothecary for even more selection of chocolate goodies!
Chocolate gifts
