Park City, Utah

When someone thinks of Park City, they usually think of its world famous ski resorts or the Sundance film festival. When someone thinks of bachlorette parties, they usually think of groups of obnoxious drunk girls with tiaras, pink boas and penis necklaces. (Or is that just my friends?) Anyways, it is pretty unusual and random that someone (and that someone being one of my wildest friends) would decide to hold their bachlorette party in Utah, the land of the non-drinking Mormons. 

Park City is an old mining town that is located about 45 minutes east of Salt Lake City. There are three major ski resorts in the immediate area (Park City Mountain, the Canyons, and Deer Valley). The Sundance festival is held towards the end of January and celebs can be spotted all over Main Street during this week. We decided to go in October....neither summer, nor ski season, nor Sundance. I was picturing an abandoned town in the Wild Wild West. Thankfully, this was not the case.

We flew in from Chicago on a Thursday night. I knew the weekend was starting off well when the rental car company upgraded us from a lameo compacto car to a huge SUV. There is a shuttle from the airport to Park City for $32 (http://www.allresort.com/). Park City has a number of great hotels and lodges to stay in, however, we decided to rent a house off VRBO. We got a GREAT deal ($300 a night for a 3 bedroom house that sleeps 6-8) and the house was unbelievable. It had all of the amenities for a great ski house (fireplaces, huge kitchen and comfy family rooms, steam showers, hot tub, etc) and I would recommend this house to anyone! (FYI, if you want to rent the house during Sundance - be prepared to pay $10k for the week). You can find the house at http://www.vrbo.com/154024.

On Friday, we spent the day hiking, exploring the town, trying out bison burgers, and having a girls night in. We also went to the Align Spa on the outskirts of Park City in the afternoon. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from this but we each chose our own spa treatments and they provided a waiting room with snacks and champagne. It was a great spot for the bachlorette party! http://www.alignspa.com/

On Saturday, we spent the morning shopping on Main Street, attending a art class, eating out and hitting the nightlife of Park City. The liquor laws have eased up considerably in Park City and you no longer need to be a "member" of the bars. You can buy alcohol in the stores (although they have their own beer with 3.2% alcohol) but the bars serve up regular spirits and beer.

All in all, it was a great weekend and I plan on returning to Park City to hit up the ski areas next winter!

http://www.parkcity.org/

Polygamy Porter = Amazing name but tastes disgusting

All of the ladies in downtown Park City. The downtown area is centered around historic Main Street which is full of great shops, restaurants and bars. We grabbed lunch at the No Name Saloon at 447 Main Street and this is where I tried my first bison burger. I am not a foodie by any means and by that I mean I am not adventurous in my food choices ever. However, the bison burger was delicious, tasted very similar to a cheeseburger and is healthier for you.

http://www.nonamesaloon.net/

This is our nerdy hiking picture. Park City has amazing trails to hike on and they range from easy to more difficult. There are maps that you can get at the ski ticket windows. I can't say ours was too strenuous because we made it up as we went along. Pretty sure we were hiking up random ski trails.

http://www.parkcitymountain.com/summer/summer-activities/mountain-biking-and-hiking

 

Views of the surrounding mountains

 

View looking into Park City & the chair lift

 

Enjoying the hot tub after our hike!

 

Our house had an AMAZING view overlooking Park City!

 

Our bachlorette Colleen is one artsy girl! She went to SCAD (Savannah College of Art & Design) and even started designing her own greeting cards! On Saturday afternoon, we decided to celebrate her artistic side by taking a craft class. I am pretty much the exact opposite of artsy so I was positive that I was going to end up gluing my fingers together. 

The class was held at the Kimball art center in Park City. It was fantastic! We had our own private instructor (who was super patient with my lack of creativity) and we were allowed to bring in our own wine and snacks. We took the "Altered Art Pendant Necklace" class. The class was $50 per person (this includes Colleen's fee too) and you keep the jewelry that you create. Although they are hard to see in the picture above, we are all wearing the pendants that we made. The description of the class is below:

"Reflect your own personality by choosing from a variety of modern or vintage images that students will alter to create their own unique necklace pendant.  Sandwiched between two pieces of 2" sq. glass in a cool metal frame with suede cording, students will create a wonderful one-of-a-kind wearable piece of art that is 2-sided & reversible.  Project is ready to wear when you leave class."

http://www.kimballartcenter.org/

We chose 350 Main for dinner on Saturday night which lives up to its name considering that the address is 350 Main Street. It was voted best restaurant in Park City in 2009 and it is absolutely amazing. The menu is split into signature foods, sante foods and gluten-free. Colleen and I split ravoli and steak frites off the signature entrees and they were both delicious! They are well known for the sante entrees and the other girls ordered off this menu which is all food that is rich in antioxidants and vitamins and low in fat and calories. (And despite this, actually tastes good).

The best part about restaurants in Park City is the "brown bagging policy". While 350 Main served wine, we chose to bring our own wine and champagne. Our bachlorette loooooves Andre champagne (thats my girl!) and champagne can be expensive when you are ordering several bottles so we chose to bring our own. There is nothing more fun than a girls BYOB dinner to start out a night out! 

http://www.350main.com/menu.asp?checkLoad=[type+Function]&nProgress=1

After 350 Main, we headed to O'Shucks which is the local dive bar to get the night started. Earlier in the day, we had all bought crazy sunglasses which we proceeded to wear for the rest of the night.

We ended the night at the Downstairs.

Can you guess who this celeb is that we ran into who looks just SUPER happy to be taking a picture with Colleen? Fun Fact: his DJ name is DJ Mom Jeans.

I heart Chicago

I have been seriously thinking about my travel goals. In August after the bar exam, my best friend Hillary and I are going to travel to Australia and New Zealand to celebrate our freedom! Booking all of our different plane tickets has really gotten me thinking about where I want to go and where I have been.

And I have come to the conclusion that I still want to try to visit all of the 1000 places in the book. But sometimes, I feel like the author is missing important milestones or sites but I guess you cannot fit everything in! So I am going to document my trips to the 1000 sites and anything I would add to her list!

But since I am from Chicago, I was particularly interested to see what she thought were the top sites in Chicago. I can say that I think the author is WAY off in some of her choices. She picked the Art Institute, Charlie Trotters, Arun, Chicago Blues Scene, Superdawg, and Frank Lloyd Wright Tour. Art Institute, Blues, and FLW are definite contenders. What about Millenium Park? What about the Sears Tower? What about Oprah? What about Michigan Avenue? What about our sports teams and Wrigley Field?!

My biggest bone to pick lies with Arun which is a Thai restaurant. First of all, I have never heard of it even though I am sure it is good. Second of all, if you are going to deal with Chicago food - where is the deep dish pizza or italian beef? What about Portillos? Apparently the 1000 things to see and do before you die USA/Canada version has more options but she fails to capture the real flavor of Chicago in her choices in the original book!

Some examples I can think of off the top of my head that should have been included are Robben Island, attending the Indy 500, the Church in London, the Victoria & Alfred waterfront in Cape Town, Puerto Vallarta and all of the Chicago things I listed above!

One thing I definitely would add to her list is a celebration of St. Patricks Day in Chicago! It must start with some mimosas and a trip to the loop to see the river dyed green and the parade and drinking green beer. I would also add in attending the South Side Parade but it was canceled after this year (very disappointing). And it must end at Butch McGuires!

The Chicago river is a very BRIGHT green color! This photo was taken with the Michigan Avenue bridge.

Hillary, Libby and I at the river!

Ending the night at Butch McGuires!

Puerto Vallarta - Arriba Arriba!

Puerto Vallarta is not listed as a destination in the 1000 book so it may not be a must-see. But it is a great place for a relaxing vacation in the sun!

It has almost everything that you are looking for with a sun vacation. Great weather (sunny everyday!), good golf (not that I would know but my father/brother loved it), fun and unique stores, excellent restaurants and bars! The beach was the only sour point because there were no waves and it was crowded (i.e. obnoxious people were harassing you and trying to sell you crap all day long) but the private beaches seemed nicer.

Over Christmas break, my father rented a villa in Mismaloya which is one village south of Puerto Vallarta. It was gorgeous and we spend two weeks just relaxing by the pool and hanging out and eating. Considering this is my last year in school and my brother just graduated, this was our last three week break before we become working adults. I went with my father ("Big J"), my brother Johnny, my boyfriend Peter, my dad's girlfriend Debbie and her daughter Lauren.

One of the most happening places in PV is the Malecon which is a boardwalk with restaurants, bars, and clubs. We spent a few nights eating out here and walking around. It was our favorite place to hit the bars at night because they were close together. Other clubs (like Christies) are closer to the airport and situated by themselves. It felt very safe and cabs were easy to find. It was full of tourists but there were also a number of native families strolling on the boardwalk (especially on Friday night).

Another place we loved was Old Town PV which is also the gay area and close to the center of town. Debbie is an artist in Philadelphia so she spent one day walking around and looking at all of the galleries in Old Town. The art is bright and fun and colorful and not ridiculously expensive. There are also great restaurants and bars in this area. Our favorite bar was Andale and the music was good oldies and "wedding songs" (i.e. Shout, Twist and Shout, etc.) which made the entire family rock out on the dance floor.

I would recommend both Daiquiri Dicks and Vista Grill for dining options. Daiquiri Dicks lives up to its name and serves great frozen drinks (love the Miami Vice - half pina colada and half strawberry daquiri). It is less formal at lunchtime. Vista Grill is expensive (and somewhat overpriced) but I would say that the view is worth it! It is on the top of a mountain cliff and looks over all of Puerto Vallarta. We went there at night on Christmas Eve and the view was unbelievable.

Pictures are below!

Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is a beautiful cathedral in the center of town - not the best picture to capture its beauty but I can assure you that it is gorgeous. I love to visit different churches around the world and this is my new favorite. We went to Christmas Eve mass here and it was packed. The mass was beautiful (even in Spanish) as were the Christmas carols.

Having some technicaly difficulties here - I cant get this pictures to load facing upward! At the beach, they sculpted the entire manger scene in sand. The three wise men are above!

The view of the sunset from the roof of our villa. My brother and I always harass our old Dad for his love of sunsets but its definitely been rubbing off on me in recent years. I always try to capture sunsets for him wherever I am.

Flower by the pool

This is the view from the third floor of the villa. The rocks are called Los Arcos and are right off the coast of Mismaloya. We went snorkeling in between the rocks one afternoon. It is a private eco-reserve but it was pretty crowded with different fishing and snorkeling tours.

My favorite dinners were served on the third floor with the view of Los Arcos.

The ocean was visible from the right side of the house - and the jungle was to the left!

Big J needed some relaxation time.

Peter and I at HiLo which is a club located on the Malecon. All of the kids bar-hopped several nights while we were there. We started on at Carlos and Charlies (typical spring break Mexico style place) and moved on from there. Zoo Club was another hit - all decked out in animal fabrics and decor and played great music. (Although I might not drink there as I am pretty sure the frozen margarita at Zoo Club is what made me sick) HiLo was another hit until my little brother upset the Mexican regulars and we were "politely" asked to leave. And we ended both nights at Senor Frogs!

Apparently the male to my right is a movie star - his name is Alan Estrada but he only has two entries on IMDB so I'm thinking "movie star" is stretching it.

My little brother was not thrilled to be out at bars in Mexico with his sister....

A creepy clown at Carlos and Charlies made these for us.

One day, Peter, Lauren and I decided to go on a canopy tour i.e. ziplines. It was about $80USD and they also took us on a tequila tasting at the end of the day. I am deathly afriad of heights so I was not looking forward to this adventure but I ended up having a great time! Unfortunately, we could not bring cameras on the zipline so I do not have any pictures from this day other than the restaurant above. It was very fun and its treehouse style was Swiss family Robinson-esq. We were picked up in the town of Mismaloya and driven about 45 minutes through the jungle to the site.

The hiking between the platforms was not not exactly easy - I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who was not in decent shape or have any serious medical conditions. But the ziplines itself were fun, high, and fast. I believe there was 13 in all - the first two were the smaller "test drives". The tenth run is the longest and highest. There were two safetys on the line so there was no way you could fall off the zipline.

The guides are all young guys and are hilarious. They definitely make the day more enjoyable. There is a dvd that is taken of the trip and is available for $40. I'm sure the dvd was cute and fun but not something I would watch more than once or twice so I opted not to buy it.

http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/canopy-tour/index.html

Peter on the rock slide

Snorkeling by Los Arcos. From the beach, there are a number of men who run snorkeling tours. Our villa manager set us up with a reputable tour guide and he took us to the rocks. I believe it was around $65 USD without tip but you can haggle with any of the guides. There were a number of different fish and the water was very clear - perfect conditions!

My family on New Year's Eve!

I have never been to a bull fight before. I was so excited to see it and I dragged everyone there - the other girls HATED it and could not watch the bull. Its definitely not for the feeble minded. I was impressed by the pagentry and tradition (even if I did want them to just kill the bull and stop making it suffer!) and the boys all loved it.

The first part is what I would call the "teaser". The bullfighters force the bull to chase them around the stadium jumping behind the wall mili-seconds before the bull charges into them (i.e. the dance). They then proceed to use lances to stab the bull and continue the dance. Later they use streamed darts to stab the bull between the shoulder further weakening it. The bull is finally exhausted from chasing the matadores and is visibly suffering. The final blow is then given with a sword and they parade around the stadium dragging the bull.

You can catch the bullfight every Wednesday at 5pm at the Toros Plaza (close to the Maritime Terminal and airport).

Good-bye bull.

**Superdawg**

On a sunny Sunday spring morning, I knew the only cure for our hangovers was grease. In Chicago, greasy food is a staple whether its italian beef, deep dish pizza or hot dogs. No wonder we are the second fattest city in the US!

Superdawg is actually much further than I estimated when I dragged everyone along with me. It is in the most far northwest corner of the city and probably takes about 30 minutes from the loop to get there. But its totally worth it!! It is exactly what you imagine when you think of a classic 1950s drive-in. You can pull in, order your food and have it delivered to your car. The only thing missing is waitresses on roller skates.

The food was amazing! Between the six of us, we got hot dogs, hamburgers, onion chips (mini onion rings), french fries, milkshakes, chicken fingers - i.e. a huge disgusting feast. I recommend the cheeseburger and french fries and a vanilla milkshake!

The entry in the 1000 book also mentions Bryon's hotdogs and Gold Coast Dogs so stayed tuned for those entries!

We opted to get out of our car and sit outside at the picnic tables. Everyone here is trying to figure out what kind of superdawg they want as well as trying to figure out how to work the switch so we could order!

The hot dog's eyes blink here - somewhat scary

SuperDawg!

Kelley is really enjoying her cheesedog!

Disaster

**Table Mountain**

Table Mountain is the symbol of Cape Town. It is the most recognizable landmark and towers over the city visible at all points.

You can either hike up Table Mountain or you can choose the lazy way out and take the cableway to the top. Kelley and I knew our time was limited in Cape Town so we decided to take the cableway. Just kidding - we chose the lazy way so that we could lay out at the pool in the afternoon.


The cableway is cheap, takes only about 5 minutes and provides beautiful views. It also beats hiking 3 hours in the blazing sun. At the top of the mountain is a vistor center, restaurant and gift shop. There are a number of trails at the top to explore to get mountain, ocean and city views.


There are different trails up and down. Some girls in our law school class decided to try to hike up it, got lost and almost spent the night at the top freezing to death. Fortunately, our trusty law school professor and rescue guides were able to find them around midnight. Just another reason to take the cableway!

Our saving grace! The cable car takes about 70 people up and down every 10/15 minutes. The line wasnt too bad when we went but it does get really crowded around sunrise and sunset so plan ahead!

The city of Cape Town!

The view towards Cape Point from the top of Table Mountain

 Coast Line

City Views

Kelley and I at the top!

View of Table Mountain from our room at Backpackers!

Robben Island

On our last day in Cape Town, Loyola took a group tour to Robben Island. The tours depart from the Victoria & Alfred waterfront. Ferries leave the port several times a day. We took the 9am ferry and it was really hot already so I would not want to take one later in the day. Tickets should be purchased days in advance as always they sell out.

They can be purchased here: http://www.robben-island.org.za/

It begins with about a half hour boat ride to the island. Once you land, you are greeted by your guide. Every guide is a former prisoner and also lives on the island. The guide brings you throughout the inside of the prison and shows you Nelson Mandela's solo cell, the jail yard and other major landmarks.

Additionally, there is a 45 minute bus tour after the prison tour which was interesting but somewhat miserable because its so hot! The bus tour takes you by the leper graveyard and church, Robert Sobukwe's house, the warden's village and the lime quarry (where the prisoners worked). Also - make sure you sit on the left side of the bus because you cannot see most of the sites from the right side.

I was very surprised that this was not listed in the 1000 places to see before you die. It's definitely a must-see in Cape Town given its historical importance in the Apartheid movement.

Welcome to Robben Island!

View of the main prison

The prison yard. The prisoners were allowed only a few hours a day to exercise here. Nelson Mandela hid the manuscript for his autobiography here. At one point, the wardens found a draft of the book and took it away but Mandela had luckily saved a second draft in a different area of the courtyard.

Nelson Mandela's cell

Former prisoners

Our guide explaining their prisoner identification cards

Prisoner Cell

Leper Graveyard - we passed this on the bus tour. Before Robben Island was a political prison, the lepers were banished here. There is a leper church on the island as well.

Loyola Comparative Law Class (the sign says Robben Island but you can barely see it)

Beautiful view of Cape Town & Table Mountain from the boat ride back to the waterfront