travel Archives - bishop&holland

Couples Weekend in New Orleans

January 12, 2022

couple standing in front of new orleans hotel

Happy New Year! On the spur of the moment, Caleb and I planned a quick weekend getaway to New Orleans. We both graduated from Baylor and the Bears were playing in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day, so we decided to make a weekend of it. Neither of us have spent any time in New Orleans and we had the best time! It’s a quick 1 hr flight from Dallas and we made the most of our short time there.

We joke about it, because we basically ate and drank our way through the city! The food in New Orleans is amazing and very unique. We got a lot of recommendations for places to eat, so keep scrolling for the whole list. I’ll note the ones that we had a chance to try! We went to the game, spent a little bit of time on Bourbon street in the French Quarter and then a cold front came through, so we spent a lot of time enjoying the brand new Four Seasons New Orleans! The hotel is gorgeous!

Where to Stay

The Four Seasons New Orleans just opened in August and it is beautiful! It’s near the river, but also a quick walk to the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. We stayed in the King River room and there was loads of space, a great view and a beautiful bathroom with stand alone tub! The hotel restaurants are also amazing and came highly recommended from a lot of you. The pool is heated and they have a great hotel bar. The spa will open soon. Highly recommend a visit!

Restaurant/Bar Recommendations

Mr. B’s: We loved this spot for lunch and then stopped by the Carousel Bar after!
Chemin de le Mar: We had brunch here – food was amazing and the decor was beautiful.
Miss River: Highly recommend!
Commander’s Palace: My favorite entree from the trip!
Carousel Bar: Such a fun bar.
Chandelier Bar: This is in the lobby of the hotel at Four Seasons and it’s a great spot to grab a drink before dinner at Miss River!

These came highly recommended, too!

Jack Rose
Johnny Sanchez
Brennan’s
Willie Mae’s Scotch House
Compére Lapin
Galatoire’s
Peche

What I Packed:

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine

Vail Trip

December 7, 2021

We just got back from Vail, our favorite winter weather destination! A ski trip to Vail right after Thanksgiving has become a favorite winter tradition and this year did not disappoint. Vail Village is the most charming little village and it truly is magical during the Holidays. We enjoyed a lot of time outside (the weather was warm for Vail!) and added some fun new activities now that the boys are older.

Stay

We’ve stayed at Four Seasons Vail the last three years and we highly recommend it! The rooms have been recently renovated, as well as updates throughout the hotel. Remedy Bar has the best view of the mountain, skiing from the resort is so easy (hello, heated boots!) and Four Seasons Vail think of every last detail, like a humidifier in each room, children’s sized robes and their Ski Concierge is the best! You can see more details from our previous trips here and here.

Eat

The Remedy Bar: This bar at the Four Seasons has the best view and the food and drinks are great. The world famous haute chocolate is a must have!
Flame: The is the steak house on-site at Four Seasons Vail. We had such a great dinner here! The Dover sole was amazing and our husbands raved about the Wagyu Tomahawk.
Room service: We did in-room dining every morning for breakfast and it was our favorite way to wake up. I’m usually the first one up, so I placed our order on the Four Seasons app and it arrived shortly after. It was so nice to have a leisurely morning before heading out for the day.
Fall Line Kitchen and Cocktails: This is a new favorite lunch spot for us. We had lunch here years ago, forgot about it and stumbled upon it again this trip. It was one of our favorite après ski lunches!
Slope Room: This restaurant has recently opened and we enjoyed a light lunch here after sledding
El Segundo: A Mexican restaurant that is located near the gondola and great after skiing!
Mountain Standard: We visit for lunch and dinner every trip!
La Nonna: The best Italian food ever. We always have a wonderful time here.
Pazzo’s pizza: Our go-to for delivery after skiing! Pizza in the room by the fire and then down to the hot tub to relax!

Do

Ski: This is obvious, but we usually ski two days while we are there. This is the first year that the boys have done two full days of ski school and they learned so much!
Sledding: There wasn’t as much snow this year as last year at this time, but they boys’ said that sledding was much more fun this year and they went faster 🙂
Pirate Ship Park: The boys favorite park ever!
Shopping: Vail is so charming! We walked around one afternoon and checked out all the shops. Browsing through Gorsuch is always a must do.
Ice skating: This was a highlight. The boys loved it and did so well! We took the Four Seasons complimentary shuttle to Lionshead Village (a few minutes drive) to the Alderhof ice rink- so charming!
Swim: We went to the heated pool/hot tub most nights we were there! The boys looked forward to it and it relaxed us all after a long day of play.

What we Wore:

Cheers,

Stia, Jean and Katherine

Turks & Caicos

August 24, 2021

At the end of July, I had the opportunity to head to Turks & Caicos to celebrate my friend Jordan being cancer free! She has had a year full of treatments and surgery and asked for a girls’ trip to look forward to at the end of her treatments. We were all on board for it!

We had so much fun celebrating Jordan! There were nine of us there to make it special for her and we all had the best time. A lot of you were reaching out to me on Instagram for dinner recommendations, and also what we did while we were there, so we wanted to include it in a post for you!

We stayed at the Ritz in Turks & Caicos, it’s such a beautiful resort! It recently opened (in June) and we highly suggest a visit if you are planning a trip to Turks. We mainly stayed at the resort and just relaxed at the beach and pool most days. There are kayaks and paddle boards available for use and we tried both. You can also rent sail boats and take a catamaran out for a snorkel trip or sunset cruise. We did the sunset cruise one evening and it was so much fun. One day we chartered a boat through Kenard Cruises. It was such a fun experience,- the island and water are so beautiful! The water is so warm and crystal clear.

For meals, we ate every breakfast and lunch at the resort- the food was so delicious! For dinner, we went to BLT, Coco Bistro and Opus. They were all delicious, but my favorite had to be Coco Bistro! I’m still thinking about the Blackened Mahi in Thai Red Curry sauce!

It was a wonderful trip; so much fun to reconnect with old friends and find so much joy celebrating our dear friend Jordan.