Away: A Dallas Girl's Guide To Vail
Mark and I go to Vail a few times a year.
It is a great getaway in the summer from the heat and has fabulous hiking and shopping. The summer sales are awesome there for ski equipment and gear.
In the winter we come up to go skiing, and we absolutely LOVE Ski School for the kiddos! This is awesome for the parents as well because we can typically always find a good summer camp program to get some alone time ;) Vail is a great place to come with friends and family.
This trip, we have the privilege of staying at a friend's private home, but we also love staying at The Sonnenalp or The Four Seasons.
We love to get our hike on, especially on our favorite hiking trails! We usually hike up Strawberry Lane to Berry Picker, have lunch at Eagle's Nest and then ride the gondola back down. (It is free to ride down, so this is GREAT for sticking to a budget). You can also ride the gondola up but must purchase a ticket. There are a lot of fun things for kids to do at the top of Eagle's Nest Gondola.
Go to www.Vail.com for all mountain information.
Shopping:
Gorsuch: It is a high end retail shop located in Vail Village. The carry multiple different high end brands including Brunello Cucinelli and have ski gear as well. They have sales in the summer. Best time to shop for all ski gear is in July.
Eyepieces: Sunglasses galore! This place has a huge selection of Sunglasses and goggles depending on the season. They have helmets and goggles on sale in the summer.
Icebreaker: My favorite hiking layers and socks. They have sales in the summer as well.
Bruno Luca: My pink interview dress on the first season of RHOD is actually from this store. They have lots of fun hip brands and good sales! If you can’t tell, I’m all about a sale!
Sweet Basil, Kona Kompache
Restaurants:
Sweet Basil: This has been a long time favorite of ours. Yummy cocktails and food. They are open for lunch and dinner. At dinner I had Kona Kompachi, oysters and ricotta anolotti. At lunch we had an amazing hamburger and fries!
Campo de Fiori: Great Italian food. We usually start with a salad and split a pasta. Great place to order a lot of different things and share with friends so you can taste more.
Mountain Standard: This is the sister restaurant to Sweet Basil and is located underneath it. We had an amazing corned pork shank with cole slaw on top sitting on gruyere mashed potatoes. Favorite starters were the pimento cheese appetizer and the Ahi Tuna Crudo.
Yeti’s Grind: My favorite coffee shop in Vail! I LOVE the Lone Star Latte. It is coffee, chocolate, cayenne, cinnamon and milk and it is heaven in a mug!
Yoga:
In Vail Village, my favorite yoga spot is at The Vitality Center. I did a Solar Yoga class lead by Tara. It was great… Actually a lot of guys in the class, mostly locals. Go to Lululemon first! They will give you a class pass to try a class at The Vitality Center, otherwise it is $35/day fee. They do have nice shower/locker room facilities and a very well equipped gym. They offer a free class on Saturday mornings in the summer outside at 9am.
