Before I finish up with the few remaining travel entries, I want to recap on 2011 which was a very good year. It started off pretty rocky with 6.5 weeks of radiation therapy followed by a staph infection that put me up in the hospital for five days. Luckily it wasn't MRSA so after three weeks of antibiotics via IV, I was healthy again and I stayed away from the hospital until December. Right before the end of the year, I had reconstructive surgery to repair the damage from the staph infection and had another tissue expander inserted before getting a permanent saline implant.
In July I went back to work full-time and it took about two months to get back to the working grind. By October, I was ready to go on vacation having worked in the office for only three months. Hubs and I took our first international trip together to Europe.
Once we got back to San Diego, we had two weeks to recover from jet lag before Hub's work trip to Singapore. I spent the week exploring the city and what the fine dining scene had to offer. It was at Waku Ghin where I literally broke the bank on the most I've ever spent on a tasting.
When I thought our travel was coming to an end, I had to hop on another plane to Chicago after coming back from Singapore. While I was in Chicago, I had another satisfying meal at Alinea. Hubs ended up going to Ohio once I returned from Chicago. 2011 was epic food-wise as I was able to do more than I had ever done since I started this blog two years ago. Here's a recap:
* Broke the top 3 of the World's Best Restaurants list by dining at El Celler de Can Roca #2.
* Dined at an Adria establishment, Tickets in Barcelona.
* Dined at Alinea for the third time.
* Dined at two Robuchon restaurants in Monaco and Singapore.
* Had authentic Italian cuisine in Italy.
* Had authentic Spanish tapas and paella in Spain.
* Completed Jose Andres trifecta of hidden restaurants within a restaurant, e by Jose Andres in Las Vegas.
* Dined at my first pop-up in San Diego, Relate Restaurant.
* Spent the most on a dinner tasting at Waku Ghin in Singapore, $450 per person w/o wine pairing.
* Cities visited: Honolulu, Hawaii; Las Vegas, Nevada; Pismo Beach, CA; Chicago, IL, Napa, CA; Barcelona, Spain; Girona, Spain; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Florence, Italy; Pisa, Italy; Rome, Italy; Naples, Italy; Amalfi Coast, Italy; Messina, Sicily; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; Marseille, France; Singapore, Singapore.
PLANS for 2012: Use all 31 days of vacation
* A week in Las Vegas
* A trip to the east coast, possibly New York; Philadelphia, PA; Atlantic City, NJ
* One international trip to Asia toward the end of the year: Tokyo, Japan
* Dinner at The French Laundry or Per Se.
* Dinner at Eleven Madison Park in New York.
* A long weekend trip to an island: Hawaii, Tahiti or Maldives
* A weekend cruise to Mexico.
Cheers to a new year and new adventures!
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