This past weekend, I’ve had the pleasure of entertaining two of my best girlfriends, who were visiting me for the weekend from Manhattan. I knew that I had to up the ante for these two well-traveled, discerning gals. So here’s a little sample of our itinerary:
1. Shopping in Downtown Naples; after all, what’s girl-time without a little retail therapy? We booked a night in a deluxe room at the Inn on Fifth (full-length feature forthcoming, but in the meantime, you can also catch our recent family lunch at the Inn’s restaurant, Avenue 5).
2. Walks on the beach, downtown 5th avenue is just a hop, skip, and a jump to the Naples Pier… in the mornings, you could literally grab your coffee and go for walks on the beach. The best part: our hotel was literally minutes to the beach! I of course, discovered this little hidden gem rather haphazardly one day when I was driving around aimlessly in downtown Naples while the little Nuke was napping in the car.
3. Brunch at Ritz Carlton (you’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear me say it again), hands down Gumdo Limbo has one of the best beach-side dining in town! I love the laid-back vibes of the place amidst a backdrop of luxury and attention to detail.
4. Farmers Market at the Promenade in Bonita Bay. We usually go to the Marquesa Plaza (corner of Pine Ridge and Livingston Road), but this one is just as good! Plus I love DeRomo’s Gourmet Market at the Promenade!!! (They have the best coffee, lox bagels, and fresh pastries! Not to mention a fantastic selection of gourmet groceries).
5. Jogging on the beach (highly recommend… but do make sure to go either early in the morning or late at night); it’s a fantastic jog near 3rd street south and 5th avenue, with lovely houses and sidewalks lined with palm trees (not to mention that divine ocean breeze!!!).
6. Dinner on 5th avenue (we went with Bha! Bha! The Persian Bistro that truly delivers all of the accolades it has received to date).
Some additional highlights that I had on the agenda, but we didn’t get around to do:
7. Yoga in the gardens. My yoga studio of choice is Bala Vinyasa Yoga, and there’s nothing more rejuvenating than Sunday morning yoga at the Naples Botanical Garden.
8. Outlet shopping at Miromar, last seen here… because a girl likes her deals!!!
9. Cruising at the Waterside Shops (see here), for both a sample of luxe and great ambience. In all my time here, I still think that Waterside is by far the prettiest outdoor mall there is in town. Plus, who could pass up Sip & Shop Sundays?!!
10. Paddle-boarding on Vanderbilt Beach (this was a new one for me, though I did learn to Paddle-board for the first time in Turks and Caicos). But the girls at BV Yoga said that it’s a must try!
11. A taste of arts and culture at the beautiful Artis-Naples.
12. A trip to the zoo!!!
13. More beach time (because one could never get enough of those).
14. A little bit of mother nature time at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Okay… so perhaps we didn’t get to cover everything after the sun went down. Though there is always next time! The best part is that I got to spend some one-on-one quality time with my leading ladies, which, let’s face it, is really what any girl would want at the end of the day.
