Charlotte, NC:

My last few birthdays have just been the best. This year I turned 43 and my honey planned a weekend filled with everything thing that I like and love. Friday evening I arrived home to balloons, my cake, gifts and a bottle of Champagne to pop! Then we were off!

Our first outing was breakfast. We were scheduled to dine at a new spot BUT the space was really small and the seat we were left with was just too close to other patrons so we had to select another spot. There was plenty to choose from in this area. We trotted across the street to the flying biscuit. We went there years ago for my birthday and it was just ok then but this time, it was fantastic! I had a grits bowl topped with chicken sausage, onions, tomatoes, scrambled eggs, and white cheddar cheese. It was perfectly filling. We enjoyed the morning time and were off to our next adventure.

About an hour past Charlotte, you literally enter vineyard land. I never knew there were so many vineyards this close to the Queen City. We hit the highway and made our way to Raffaldini Vineyards for a tour and a wine tasting. The wines here are stated to put you in the mind of those that come from Italy. We learned about the area and why there were so many vineyards in the surrounding area producing wine. The owners are from New York with roots from Northern Italy. One of the owners was a Wallstreet Banker and this is how the winery was funded. Cool fact!

The sky was the perfect shade of blue and clouds looked like you could reach out and touch them. It was an immaculate view and my only regret is not spending more time enjoying the sight.

Most places in the south, produce muscadine wine but not here. The majority of their wine is dry which I love. There were a few sweet wines but the bulk were dry. The winery produces about 7,000 bottles of wine each year. They usually harvest in the fall and if you are interested in returning for the harvest season, the doors are open. We did manage to catch a glimpse of a few grapes already growing and will soon over time become bottled for enjoyment.

The fermenting and bottling processes don't take place in the building we were in - it's completely separate so unlike Chateau Elan where you were able to see the actual bottling process, we didn't get the opportunity to do so here. We still learned a great deal about the vineyard and the entire process from harvest to bottle.

After doing his normal spill of telling people that I am a sommelier (he does this everywhere we go and wine is present, it's just his thing to do so I always expect it and sure enough, he tells this woman I am a sommelier) then I have to spend the next 10 minutes explaining that I am not and why. SMH..

We tasted 8 wines and recorded our favorites along with notes from the instructor cause who speaks Italian? Not us! Thomas and I spent time swapping wines after our first sip b/c he likes them sweet but I don't.

If you are not interested in a tour but just a visit, you can purchase flights of wine and there is an outside tent that is fairly large with plenty of tables in case you have a larger size party. There is also a balcony area in which you can reserve seating and so we took the opportunity to spend some time there to over look the grounds. I had a full glass of the Sangiovese wine which I absolutely loved from the tasting but took home a bottle of the Mezzogiorno (which means Mid-Day) wine. It's 2 days later and I am sipping it while I write this.

We spent a few hours enjoy just enjoying the view and then it was time to head back to Charlotte. We landed at the Omni Hotel downtown. We arrived 30 mins early and our room was not ready. We dropped off our bags and was given access to the pool area. Here the pool is on the 2nd floor (not rooftop) but still super nice. There was plenty of seating, the pool was not crowded and they had plenty of large televisions for entertainment.

We sat at the bar and had cocktails. Thomas ordered the shrimp tostada things and they were absolutely delicious! I didn't get a chance to take pictures...the survival rate for these was just not there!

Room was ready slightly before 4:00 pm. We headed up and took a rest before heading off to dinner.

The things I love most about this hotel:

-Location - it was connected to our dinner spot so definitely convenient

-Key controlled elevators

-Valet

-Multiple bar/dining options

-Pool

-Great staff

-Clean rooms - also I loved the layout

-Spacious couch

-Desk area

-Comfy bed

-Multiple USB/Charging outlets

-Prompt housekeeping

Resting turned into nap time. We were almost late for dinner - well I was actually late. I should have never laid down. Thomas went ahead and got our table. I followed a few minutes after a beauty revamp.

We landed at Eddie V's. A second visit for me and his first. Let's just start with the service. Our waiter was literally the best. He was super honest about the menu and was extremely attentive. We left with his card and a 'please let me know if you ever need anything when you return'. He was literally unmatched.

Now the food...I've been to a lot of places but then I haven't...if that makes sense. I'm putting EV's up there with Steak 48. The best steak I ever had was at Steak 48 in Chicago. The last time I was at EV's, I had a steak but after I had some of the seafood tower, I was too full to enjoy it. This time, I decided to go for their lamb chops. Let me tell you.... has to be the best in the game!! Super tender and bursting with flavor. I got them medium well and they were perfect. It's going to be hard to top those. I honestly won't even bother ordering them at the other spots I frequent because these can't be matched. Absolutely delicious.

Thomas had the Ribeye - 22 oz of it. He couldn't eat it all so leftovers it was.

We then went out on a limb and tried the Crab Fried Rice! Lord who did this and why!! I've never tasted rice so good. He shared a secret on how it's made but I am keeping that to myself. We both loved it and Thomas would not share the rest with me when we got back home. I'm still salty about that.

After this perfect dinner, we were headed to a cigar bar but went back to the room to change. Now why did we do that....the streets did not see us again. I thought the night was young but it was actually 43 so off to sleep I went.

Up the next day - checkout is at 11:00 and we did a little shopping before deciding on lunch. This one was on me to pick so I opted to go back to 800 Degrees - Woodfire Kitchen in South Park. We visited before and enjoyed it so I said why not.

The front part of the restaurant was packed so we decided to sit in the lounge which has a full service bar and plenty more seating. This worked for us vs sitting outside. We never went to this section before and it was an actual treat. The decor, the bar, the seating availability was just great. The lighting is low and reminiscent of a speakeasy but it was the perfect place to have our last lunch.

This place has a variety of options so if you want something like a salad, a sandwich, chicken or pizza, this is the spot to have choices.

For my mid-day cocktail, I had a Paloma. Made well and with just the right amount of tang.

For lunch, I also had the roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes and what I would call a simple salad. I paired my chicken with the Peruvian green sauce. I promise, there is nothing this sauce couldn't make better. Thomas had the cauliflower pepperoni pizza which was also a great order form the menu. Happy, happy. Joy, Joy.

And that did it...I'm off to another year.