Galvez

(Missy, this one's for you...)

John and I recently went to Galveston for the weekend and we had a blast. We were there for a wedding at the Hotel Galvez (and a lil getaway while Saige stayed with John's parents...thanks, Yaya & Papa!) . It was so gorgeous - the hotel and wedding. Adam is one of John's old buddies from waiting tables way back when and he and Tiffany attended our wedding from out of town.

The centerpieces were vases of flowers (which they took away before I could capture??) surrounded by real sanddollars and starfish. Very unique and cool...

We stayed at the reception for 3 hrs! They did have an open bar...

I basically grew up in Galveston as a kid. Every summer my dad would say, "We gotta go get the white off!" so head to the beach, we did. Then, through out highschool, I took many trips with friends. I hadn't been back to the island since Hurricane Ike and was impressed at the city...many new, shiny paint jobs. The Flagship Hotel's appearance was very sad. It is uninhabited and deserted...
 
 

 
You could see furniture and linens blowing in the wind. I have heard that Tillman Fertito just bought it and is either going to renovate or make the pier a boardwalk type with rides and novelties. It should be impressive based on Kemah and the quality of his restaurants. I'll look forward to that. Anywho...
 
John and I went out to eat at an incredible restaurant, Rudy & Paco's (thanks for the recommendation, Andrea!). While it sounds like a taco stand, it was fine dining at a small, quaint, downtown district restaurant. We were very impressed. I didn't think Galvez had any really good restaurants left (Guido's is past its prime and I was wanting romantic, fine dining). Paco greeted us upon arrival, and we realized it was his picture on the wall with so many celebrities...Katherine Zeta Jones, Tony Bennett, Al Roker, Gloria Estefan. He came by our table 3-4 times and even bussed it! Great for the guests...so warm and familial. Awful if you work there with your boss breathing down your neck. So, here's predinner...
 
 

And during...

...and post-dinner at a cool Martini bar (21) with a great Sammy-esque live jazz band. I highly recommend the Mr. Hershey and Key Lime pie martinis!!!

We wrapped up the weekend with a huge brunch at the Hotel Galvez. The weather didn't get us down! What with the food, mimosas and live pianist...it was heaven. Here was the view from our table at the Hotel Galvez' Bernardo's...

So, this post wasn't all about Saige, huh? Oops...

Blessings,

Natasha