A Weekend Getaway

Some days you just have to getaway 

*sorry this is a day late, had doctors appointment that lasted a lot longer than I expected.

A few months ago hubby came home and told me he bought a hotel package for The Peppermill Resort up in Reno, which is about 2.5 hours from where we live. We kept trying to figure out when we would take advantage of this, but time kept passing by, until this last weekend. we finally were able to make the trip up. The weather was scorching hot here in the valley and we had high hopes that we might escape some of it, but that was not the case, we left in triple digit heat and it was just below that when we finally arrived at our destination. 

Ready to head out for a fun weekend get away

image via destination360.com

Taken above the city of Reno

My first impressions of The Peppermill was that of just what it now claims to be, an upscale resort, quite the departure from the strip portion of S. Virginia there in Reno which is in some areas dank and dirty and unchanged in years and just what you might expect for an older casino strip that has been around forever, and in where in spots you can begin to see that they are trying to spiff it all up and add a bit of polish to it to compete with Vegas. It seems to be designed to resemble Ceasar's Palace but with it's own unique flair. As we drove in there was columns, large stone statuary and the ever present in larger resort hotels, fountains and indoor lighting used to light the valet area. As we entered the hotel check in area, marble flooring, shades of pale rose pink, terra cotta and gold and giant screens pretty much everywhere you look with high definition screens with beautiful moving scenes and photos from all over the world. That portion was a bit of a departure, in my mind to the over all theme, but still quite beautiful in comparison to the standard art work or non stop logos found in other hotels. Our check in was swift, even for a Friday night and we quickly made our way to the elevators and up to our room, the whole way glancing at these moving artworks. 

As we entered the room, it was beautiful in shades of cream, champagne and gold. The tv was on, again beautiful images playing upon it and set to a radio station playing much to my delight Frank Sinatra. Our view? Our room overlooked over the pool area, the spa, steak house and night club. It was gorgeous... busy, but gorgeous in shades of terra cotta, rich blue from the water and deep rich reds of the seating, and as the sun was setting, the lights made everything sparkle. The view expanded far past the roof tops to make it possible to gaze upon the surrounding mountain tops.

 Once we were settled and freshened up, we went down to find something to eat. There was a lot of wonderful places to eat, but we chose to go to one of the more casual bistros there at the Peppermill by the name of Biscottis. It being nearly 9 p.m we simply wanted something light to eat, so we ordered a lovely cheese plate, a salad for myself and a sandwich and salad for hubby. As Biscottis is centered around having a wood burning pizza oven, the cheese plate came with grilled bread, the bread and turkey on my hubby's sandwich, also the shrimp on my salad were all prepared in this oven creating a wonderful flavor profile. Once eating our fill of the above, we headed out to do a little bit of sight seeing of the hotel and found the non smoking slot area as well as the Fireside Lounge ( of which I shared with you from my trip to Vegas when we went to the Peppermill Fireside Lounge there) , to partake in a cocktail before returning to the slots...we did not do very well, up by 20 and then lost the 10 invested.

Settling into our comfy room, and after snacking on a cookie we bought before returning to the room, we turned in for the night. Unfortunately sleep was hard to come by since there was not as good of air movement as we are used to here at Muse Cottage ( we sleep with standing fans aimed on us) and so it got a bit stuffy. The next morning red eyed from lack of sleep and the exposure to cigarette smoke in the bulk of the casino area, we awoke to room service and a wonderful breakfast set up for us in front of the beautiful view of  the pool. My husband had the cinnamon french toast and I had the fresh apple danish.  There was fresh coffee, real cream and fresh squeezed orange juice. After a leisurely breakfast and taking my time to get ready, we headed out for a day of adventures.

First stop was to a short portion of Virginia St. just about a mile up the street was a delightful retro dress shop by the name Dressed Like That. I had been wanting to visit Cynthia's shop for at least two years now as soon as I discovered it was in the scheme of things so very close. I was not disappointed. Greeted with a warm smile and hello and hugs exchanged, I was delighted to poke around this adorable pin up clothing store. There was something new at every turn and so much eye candy. In the end, I bought three blouses, from various brands, including Heart of Haute ( see link on side bar of web version) some Suavecita grooming spray, a pair of gloves and an Elvis wallet.  After a few photos and some goody byes, we headed out for the next portion of our day....Virginia City.

We had been there about 5 years ago and really enjoyed the fun western environment, the historic buildings and general enjoyable, easy going feeling. The drive is beautiful and a quick trip from Reno. The first time we visited we knew we wanted to take the 30 minute round trip steam train trip to Gold Hill and then back, so after a yummy lunch of grilled cheese and avocado sandwich for myself, and fish and chips for hubby, at the Mustang Ranch cafe and a stroll up and down the main street we headed out to the train depot. It was such a fun and interesting little trip, filled with amusing commentary, wonderful scenery and history of the mining area we were seeing, it is worth the 10.00 per person and is truly a must for any visitor.

 Once the ride was over, it was back to Reno and our hotel. We once again freshened up, as it was only a few degrees cooler than Reno up in the mountains, a sponge bath was much needed. We made reservations and headed to supper at Romanza . A short stroll from where the elevators were located we were greeted with a mimic of the rest of the hotel, statuary, shades of pink, gold and lush greenery. As we were actually guided to our seats it unfolded to be so much more, semi secluded high back booths in a deep salmon color, drapery, columns reaching to a faux sky filled with puffy clouds and twinkling starlight and floral arrangements all glowing by the table top candlelight, it was truly one of the most romantic restaurants that I have ever been in, lending I am guessing to the name. Italian food was the theme of the food, and the menu would make a foody swoon! Fresh house made pastas, breads, risottos and polenta offerings as well as a nice selection of appetizers, seafood and meat dishes. My husband ordered crab stuffed shrimp with the house made pasta and a creamy lemon sauce, for myself I had the panceta wrapped bay sea scallops served with a lobster asparagus risotto... and as a special treat I ordered the house Bellini that was made with peach sorbet, rum, red wine and persecco....  it was AMAZING...wonderfully refreshing on a hot day! Hubby had the Chianti and it was quite yummy as well. As it had been a very long day and we were tired we retired early to our room, enjoyed the perks of room service, ordering a bottle of sparkling wine to be delivered to our room and watched the Olympics until we turned in. 

As the sun rose on another day, and it was time to check out, we headed out, and ate breakfast at Ihop, and started out on our drive home. We did make some stops at a couple local wineries on the way home, to pick up some bottles for our wine cabinet and made it back before supper.  All in all, other than the red eyes, a cold I happen to get and lack of sleep it was a pretty good weekend getaway and I hope one day to repeat it. Now to look forward to our trip in September! 

As seen from the front of Biscottis in a near by bar.

image is via google search

Day 2

*dress in first few photos Sara USA

accessories all but shoes and pearls are vintage

Second dress is Lindy Bop 

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