Monday, November 9, 2009

every once in awhile

You know how sometimes it’s just nice to have a little fun?  Let it all go and just sample a few 100 different types of wines?  Well, that’s what I did this past weekend and it was a lot of fun!  Every once in awhile that is . . .

Prior to the wine tasting event I made sure to get a good chunk of school work done and it served as a very good motivator.  There’s nothing like having good things to look forward to, whether it’s a wine tasting, seeing my family, or getting to go on a long bike ride, to make me get things done in order to fully enjoy the occasion.  I still have tons of school work to do mind you, but I still made progress at least! 

Saturday afternoon we headed over to the Hilton and made it to the Lee’s Wine Experience around 5pm.  We also decided to get a room there so we wouldn’t have to worry about driving home.  There were about 1,000 wines for sampling!  They gave quite the pour just for a sampling too!  Of course we couldn’t make it to every table, or else risk alcohol poisoning, but we did make it to quite a few.  Here Chris was sampling the Hilltop J. Lohr Cab . . .

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IMG_5346 We both were feeling it by about the third sample since we haven’t been drinking all too much lately with biking and its detriment to performance.  The only bad thing about a big tasting like that is it’s very hard to judge just how much you’ve had.  At each table I made sure to have a tiny sip and if I didn’t like it into the tub it went.  I feel bad wasting, but you can’t drink everything.  Guys were walking around with giant garbage cans full of wine that people had dumped after tasting.

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There were so many people there and they didn’t have too many munchies to go around.  As the crackers and cheese were re-stocked, everyone swooped down like vultures and you had to elbow your way to get anything!  Well, it wasn’t that dramatic, but when you have a room full of people that have been drinking and need some carbohydrates, watch out!  :)

IMG00036-20091107-1905 (2) It was a lot of fun and we found several wines that we really enjoyed, the best one being a Pinot Noir from Chile called Ritual.  Recently, I’ve lost my faith in Pinots because they all are just lacking and taste like dull, dead trees to me.  This one was perfectly balanced and interesting with subtle oak and bright berries.  We want to order some of this for Thanksgiving.  Another really interesting wine was Bodega Norton Reserve Malbec and I always love the Twomey Merlot.

Towards the end of the tasting you could tell everyone was a little less subdued, people were dancing, laughing and everyone wanted to talk up a storm!  It is so interesting to me how powerful alcohol is, myself included (that’s another post).

IMG_5372 After the tasting we went to dinner at a place called the Grand Lux Cafe It was really yummy, but I could barely eat even 1/2 of my dish.  Chris got the big burger since we only really get those every once in awhile.

I got the yellow tomato pasta pomodoro with chicken meatballs, it was delish.  I’m a big pasta lover as you know!

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IMG_5367 We didn’t have dessert but grabbed some gelato while walking around.  It is fun to play tourist even though we live here! 

I think I could count how many times I went to the strip as a kid on one hand.

And look they had kabocha on display!!!  I wanted to steal it and take it home to bake :)

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I feel so old saying this but by 11 o’clock it was waaaay past our bed time and we were tuckered!  I can hardly stay up past 9pm anymore.  The next day I didn’t feel too bad, but definitely not chipper, but you know what, every once in awhile . . . it’s just fun :)

What’s something you like to do or indulge in every once in awhile? 

    

14 comments:

Susan - Nurse on the Run said...

What a crazy wine tasting! How fun though...and a great way to find a new favorite!

I've eaten at a Grand Lux Cafe before...they're owned by the same people who run the Cheesecake Factory, so it's no wonder they have gigantic portions. So tasty, though!

lynn said...

i get tired early too. in fact, i can't believe i'm up past 11:30 right now! look at me!

MelindaRD said...

I still can't believe they put in a second grand lux when they built the Palazzo. I like the location of the new one better than the first (in the Venetian) since there is an excessive amount of traffic at the original.

I never got to make it to the Lee's wine tasting, btu it looks like so much fun. I am glad you got the chance to experience it.

As for something that I like to splurge on on occassion I would say a fondue meal- starting with cheese fondue and ending with choc fondue. It is so much food and so rich, but I like to gorge on that every so often. Thank goodness for fruits and veggies to be dipped in both, otherwise it would just be a messy glob of cheese! (and choc).

Shannon said...

I'm not a wine drinker, but I love to indulge when it comes to chocolate and desserts! I also love to treat myself to the theater. I love musicals and that's a big treat for me!

Don't feel bad about the early bed time. I'm in bed between 9 and 9:30 every night!

Astra Libris said...

Sounds like SO much fun! I'm so excited to hear about the new pinot - you're right, it's so hard to find a truly good pinot! I'm going to look for the Ritual pinot now - thank you for the tip! :-)

I'm so glad you got to attend such a beautiful, fun, relaxing event! You deserve it, girl! :-)

P.S. I love the photo of you with the squash!! TOO AWESOME!! :-)

Gina; The Candid RD said...

Wine tasting ALWAYS does me in! I can drink beer all day, but one hour of wine always gets me. Either way, it looks like you had a lot of fun, and good for you for getting your work done and enjoying a little fun. I agree with you that it's important to have something to look forward to. It's what gets me through the week, really. The chicken meatballs look REALLY good too :)

LAst night Nick and I indulged in Christmas Ale from a Cleveland brewery. We look forward to it all year long and we found it at our grocery store last night!!! You should have seen us, we looked like little kids in a candy store when we found it!

Naomi(Onefitfoodie) said...

woww looks amazinggg...love wine and wine tastings are even better!

those chicken meatballs look fantastic too!!

MelissaNibbles said...

I use work to distract me from whatever plans I have later on in the evening too. It keeps me from staring at the clock waiting to leave :)

The dinner looks fabulous and you looked absolutely beautiful. What a fun night!

Kelly said...

Oh my gosh, so jealous of your amazing wine tasting! That sounds so fun and that pasta looks delicious.

You are right about the foam roller, it is supposed to hurt- that means it is loosening up your muscles. It gets better though. Thanks for reminding me too I have been slacking on the foam roller a bit :)

Whitney @ Lettuce Love said...

Looks like a ton of fun! I have always wanted to go to a wine tasting -- yum :)

Anonymous said...

The wine tasting looks like so much fun. I might have to tag along with you guys next year.
When I indulge, I will usually go for some sort of dessert..usually chocolate!

Angie said...

What a fun night- I love wine tastings!!

And, I agree- 11 PM is late to me too!

Emily said...

Looks like such a fun event! I definitely appreciate it when wine is paired with some kind of appetizer. :-) I think indulging once in a while is necessary for sanity.

I like indulging in really good dark chocolate..soo good.

Being Healthier said...

oh what a great post! you look adorable and wow, over 1000 wines?!? my goodness girl, I would be unintentionally drunk from all the aroma! haha have a great friday!