For my recent milestone birthday it was time to start checking off that bucket list, so Aspen, Colorado was the chosen destination!  We left at 4am the day after Christmas (after hosting the holiday!) and returned on January 2nd. While the amount of snow was at a record low, Aspen did not disappoint and we would return in a heartbeat. What were the best parts? Happy to share…

1. The People Watching – Look at her! Look at them! Check out that outfit! Ho-ly mo-ly, never before have I seen so many well-dressed – over-the-top – ‘beautiful people’.  Men in furs, children in Moncler jackets, gorgeous blonde women in cowboy hats, tall and skinny women with perfect hair, fur boots, fur vests, fur hats, metallic pants, metallic jackets, wild leggings, diva sunglasses, bling, bling, bling!  What a show!  And while this might sound off-putting to some, people were super friendly and we enjoyed meeting, eating, and drinking with new friends every day.
2. The Shopping – In one word? Luxury. Best of all, the shops are all at the base of the mountain, so I could leave Peter still skiing or at the bar while I went off on my own – starting at Gorsuch.  

Ginger regularly receive the Gorsuch catalogue (God knows how she discovered it) so I was beyond excited to finally see the real thing! The merchandise, the displays, the cashmere, the attention to detail – all even better in person.

Luxury to the max!  I did not purchase anything in Gorsuch, but did plenty of damage in other shops: the leopard ski pants in top pic, these furry must-haves!

And that’s not all!  More fun items to show in upcoming posts! 😉

3. Cloud Nine –  As we spoke to people in various places, we were told to make a 2pm lunch reservation at Cloud Nine, a small casual restaurant halfway down Ajax Mountain – “must be the 2pm time slot, that’s the fun party scene”…Sounds good! But no. 🙁  Fully booked for months…Well, supposedly the restaurant also has an outdoor bar, and the party often spills outside…maybe we can arrive without a reservation and at least get a drink?  It’s a plan. We arrive at about 1:30 on New Years Eve Day. What a scene outside!  Women with metallic swimsuit tops and ski pants, everyone in flashy ski gear – bottles and bottles of rose and Veuve Cliquot!  “Excuse me,” I ask sweetly, “We don’t have reservations, can we order drinks at the outdoor bar?”      “Maybe once all the reservations have been let in.”  That sounds like a yes to me.  We slither in.

We made it to the outdoor bar, we are drinking champagne – life is good! BUT – IT GETS BETTER!   We spot a host that remembered us from dinner in a sister restaurant.  “Any chance there is a table available from no-shows?” Peter asks.   Much to our surprise…..HE SAYS YES!   We are escorted into the restaurant which is already abuzz with happy people eating and drinking champagne!  Even our waitress was happy! I was so overcome with excitement I almost forgot we were expected to order lunch…OK!  Lunch it is!  Let’s get the seafood tower!  Great!  “How about caviar?” the waitress asks…”Caviar??” I reply in amazement. “We have one kind for $240, one for $400.”…..CAVIAR???  $400????   “What the hell, yes!  But let’s do the $240!”

Oysters, lobster, crab, tuna, shrimp – and caviar!   I am in heaven – or more literally – Cloud Nine! As we are finishing up lunch the music gets louder and louder and the crowd matches the growing volume. Within minutes the waitresses pull down room darkening shades and it feels like a nightclub in the middle of the day…I get up from our table and walk into the dark adjoining room where millennials are standing on their seats – in their ski boots – dancing and singing like mad – while others are spraying bottle after bottle of champagne in the air!  “HELP ME UP!”  I say to some young person, and there I am, on the eve of my 60th birthday, dancing on a chair and getting nailed in the face with Veuve Cliquot!  It was a BLAST.

At 3:30, the music stops, the shades go up, and it’s time to go.  Time to ski down the mountain to go…

So!  There you have my three reasons to visit Aspen. Who the heck needs snow? 🙂