theDIBB

theDIBB (https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/index.php)
-   General Trip Reports (https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=158)
-   -   Transylvania to Pennsylvania and beyond! Day 4 – Scottsdale (https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1140234)

BONZO 6 Aug 19 08:56 PM

Transylvania to Pennsylvania and beyond! Day 4 – Scottsdale
 
Friday 12th July 2019

Cast list (the usual):

Me: Shaun, Intrepid Traveller

Her: Alison, Slightly less intrepid traveler, but planner supreme and finds the good deals!

Trip Report Index HERE

We were both awake very early this morning although as usual Alison was first out of the blocks at about 4am and had wandered downstairs to the 24 hour Starbucks (in the hotel!) for a coffee.



After she came back to the room to make sure that I was actually awake we used the time to completely unpack (very unusual for us) and then showered and relaxed for a while before heading down to the lounge for breakfast.

The lounge was quite busy with a lot of family groups, not something we’ve come across before but I guess that goes with the territory when it’s a resort hotel. The hot breakfast options today was scrambled eggs and breakfast sliders which tasted a bit like McDonald’s breakfast muffins and were delicious.



Also on offer were all the usual continental offerings (cereal, pastries, toast, bagels, cold meats, cheeses, fruit, vegetables etc).









You could eat inside or out (around the ornamental pond with huge Koi carp in, but it was so hot - even at 6.30am!)






We went back to our room and decided to have a chilled (or not so chilled given the temperature!) day down by the pool after all the travelling we’d done, just a bit of down time really. We settled on the adults only pool which was nice and quiet and after grabbing a couple of towels we settled down in the peace and quiet, mainly in the shade even though it was initially a little overcast although very warm.




Time passed blissfully in-between swimming, reading, crosswords and planning things for the rest of the trip even though it wasn’t going to be our normal full-on commando style.









Personally, I can only do this for a few hours before I get itchy feet and feel the need to go off and explore. The temperature was rising significantly and after a bit of discussion we agreed to go and check out Scottsdale Old Town.


Well, that was the plan!


We checked the maps and thought we'd park in the fashion district but signs were few and far between. We were obviously close and there can’t be much else around surely? After a couple of double backs and swear words we were in the multi storey car park, but no signage to show which way the shops were located!


After much faffing about we found our way in and pulled into the much needed restroom for me – it’s an age thing! For us shops are shops – neither of us get a buzz from window shopping so we decided to catch the free Old Town Trolley bus to Old Town proper.


After dodging the traffic on multiple zebra crossings we found ourselves at the Old Town Trolley stop – only to find a large notice to say it wasn’t in use and the new stop was back where we’d come from. Oh well, we made our way back across the roads and the bus turned up shortly after. Funnily enough we were the only people on the free bus and had a bit of a laugh with the lady driver as we drove round the streets.


So, finally at Scottsdale Old Town – not quite as I’d expected from the glossy leaflets, more of a collection of new age healing artefacts and tourist shops, I had expected a bit more to be honest. We looked around for a while but not much here to hold our attention before we were approached by a young couple who were filming.
They asked our opinion on gun crime for a short they were doing and wanted our perspective. Alison normally has an opinion on such things so I let her lead the way and our views were broadly similar.








We took the bus back to where we had parked and went into Creamistry, an ice cream shop of the future! Made to order liquid nitrogen ice cream. I didn’t notice too much of a difference to ordinary ice cream but the production of it was pure theater.








We drove home ok, showered and took a quick visit to the lounge for a couple of soft drinks before setting out to Habanero's Mexican Grill which was a ‘mom and ‘pop style casual place (almost more of a café really). The food was superb and really popular with the locals. I had a Parrillada - a combination of grilled steak, blackened chicken, chorizo, & carnitas. Served with rice, refried beans or black beans, choice of flour, wheat, or corn tortillas, guacamole and sour cream on the side – really, really very good. Alison had blackened shrimp burritos, also delicious.






Together with sodas it came to $28 with tip. Excellent value!

We drove back to the hotel and had a coffee and cake in the lounge before calling it a night.

Melbatb 7 Aug 19 02:23 AM

I can’t do too long round the pool either. It looks hot!

Scottsdale sounds a bit of a disappointment! Though your food choices look delicious!


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:03 AM.

Powered by vBulletin - Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.