'Naptown: Annapolis, MD

I took a nice long weekend up to Maryland, Virginia and DC a couple of weeks ago, and my god I didn't think you could fit so much into a weekend!

First stop on the trip was Annapolis, MD, where my bf considers "home." I'd been hearing since the day we started dating how much better the crab cakes are in Maryland so there was a lot of anticipation and suspense leading up to the trip.

My boyfriend was the master tour guide this weekend and made the most of our 18 hours in the town. We stayed at the Marriott Annapolis Waterfront, probably one of the best places to stay if you really want to see everything Annapolis has to offer (one of the nearby bed and breakfasts would also be an excellent choice). From there, you can pretty much walk anywhere and one of the prime watering holes, Pusser's, is located within the hotel.

This is how we spent our time in Annapolis:

McGarvey's Saloon & Oyster Bar, 8 Market Space: bf worked as a bus boy and bar back here. Supposedly great any time of day for food and late night for drinking. I had my first vegetable crab soup here which was good. We also had the steamed shrimp which is a long time fav of the boy, but shrimp really isn't my thing.

Pusser's Happy Hour: live music, on the water, great crowd and $6 for two beers!

Villa Azur, Miami Beach

Unfortunately for Villa Azur, I think the fine dining snob in me was stirred up by my experience at Pied a Terre the other week (which was absolutely phenomenal!). Living in Miami there is no shortage of high-end restaurants but what you end up becoming accustomed to is the horrible service that goes along with your $40 entree. Pied a Terre reminded me of what it's like to actually have decent service, actually probably some of the best I've had.

This last weekend we decided to try Villa Azur, one of the restaurants on our notorious "list." The restaurant is located in the Palm Court building, where the Miami Beach Parking Authority formerly held their offices. Built in 1926 and renovated in the 80's, the last time I was in this building I must say it was a dump. With Villa Azur, they did a complete remodel of the interior which is very impressive - light and airy yet warm and comforting, the type of atmosphere I could come back to over and over again.

Entryway: Before and After*

Newport, RI

The Inn at Castle Hill, Newport, RI

We recently attended a wedding in Newport, RI just as the town was awakening in preparation for the busy tourist season which gets it's official start Memorial Day weekend. With a large group of rowdy South Floridians it's impossible not to have fun, but it also cuts out a lot of the sightseeing. I look forward to going back again for a real visit as we hardly had the chance to scratch the surface of everything to do and see here.

Dinning

• Annie's - 176 Bellevue Ave: great hole in the wall breakfast spot if you want something quick. Bring some cash as it is cash only.
• Benjamin's - 254 Thames St, make your way to the 2nd floor: this ended up being our go to spot for breakfast during our visit as well as watering hole one of the nights. Decent food and most impressively, three cocktails in highball glasses will cost you $16, a steal for us South Floridians!
• 22 Bowen's - Bowen's Warf: It's hard to accommodate a group of nearly 20 people, but Bowen's handled us impressively well and there was not one person at our table who did not rave about their meal. I had the grilled yellowfin tuna (the tuna steaks here are huge!) with sweet red chili glaze, pan fried singapore noodles & fried lotus chips with a side of the truffled lobster mac 'n cheese, yum!