Being as I’m not much of a skier, this trip was definitely an experience. We flew in/out of Denver International Airport (DIA) and had booked Epic Mountain Express (which provides daily shuttles from DIA to Breckenridge area). We just missed a snowstorm for the area, which was great for skiing, but it also meant that we had to bundle up as soon as we landed.
Since we were staying in East Vail, we luckily wound up being the first to be dropped off. Vail has it’s own (free) transportation within the town, which made it even nicer to not needing a car. The downside is that the Winter Schedule wasn’t running; buses to/from Vail Center was minimal (trying to figure out bus times is not my forte).
I highly recommend booking dinner reservations, as places fill up quickly! We had dinner at El Segundo, which had a nice flair on the average Mexican food. On top of the chips and salsa we ordered, I had the Grateful Veg bowl for my entree (thank goodness we had a condo, this dish gave me leftovers for a few days).
Day 1 | Saturday, December 11, 2021
outfit: I Could Be Sage Green sweater | similar skinny jeans | similar blanket scarf | Sorel boots
I grabbed a Nutty Irishman at Loaded Joe’s, before wandering around town. It was my chance to take everything in and play in the snow (well, somewhat. Hard to make a snowball when you’r dealing with powder).
After coffee and my short river hike, I walked around the shops in Vail Village. Majority of the stores offer tons of ski equipment and clothes (some offer ski equipment rentals), which caused everything to look the same for me. Vail wound up having a Kris Kringle Market on December 11-12, from 11:00 – 16:00, so it was nice to check out all the different booths that were set up. Fortunately, by the time lunch rolled around, it was a nice break for us to meet up at The Red Lion for beef stew. It wound up being incredibly crowded, due to locals driving in for the day to ski in fresh snow. Later that afternoon, we walked from Vail Village to Lionshead, in hopes to take the Gondola up to Adventure Ridge. Unfortunately, their website did not specify that Adventure Ridge didn’t open until 23 December; so instead we sauntered around the area and grabbed drinks at Garfinkel’s, before heading to dinner.
We booked Almresi via Open Table, and we discovered that they had recently redone their menu (OpenTable had the correct version, their website did not at the time). This turned out to be an amazing twist on fondue.
Day 2 | Sunday, December 12, 2021
Sunday started off the day similar to Saturday, with the exception of being dressed in more ski related clothing. While he skied, I grabbed a Milky Way (latte) at Loaded Joe’s, before we met up to head towards the Vail Golf Club to do some Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.
Loved being able to take advantage of both of these activities while the golf course was covered in snow. Discovering that the restaurant was not open (website had it listed as “closed” along with hours of operation from 11:00 – 15:00; slightly confusing). Even though we were able to get 50% off the 2nd activity day of, it was tough partaking in both of these activities without lunch.
I will say, I worked up quite a sweat with these. I had to ditch both my scarf and half of my parka (don’t worry, there’s a place to store items), so thank goodness North Face makes their Parkas functional to do so! I’m so glad I wore some workout attire to this one (although I may pass on wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt next time). Around 3pm or so, we took the bus back to the village and grabbed nachos at the Red Lion, and I had trouble finding chips in the mountain of toppings! After such a late lunch, we headed back to the condo to unwind a bit, before heading back into town and decided to forgo our dinner reservation and try to burn off some of the nachos.
Fortunately, we were able to pick up some snacks that evening at The Market at Vail and head back to relax in the condo. There were so many Christmas Lights around this town as well, and we even got to see part of the figure skaters on the Solaris Ice Skating ring there!
Day 3 | Monday, December 13, 2021
This wound up being our last day in Vail (for now). So that morning, I took full advantage of any knick-knacks of sorts that I’d be taking home with me. We decided to meet up for lunch at Up The Creek, which has some of THE best Chicken Tortilla Soup I’ve had. This restaurant not only has a great view of Gore Creek year round, but seems to be in a tucked-away spot (which I’m sure will be packed during the summer). Their drink menu is also pretty impressive, ranging from great summer drinks to hot drinks that are sure to wet your palate.
Once he was done skiing that afternoon, we stopped at 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirit Company which was nice being able to sit back and enjoy a lower key place. Plus, it was nice to be in a place that honored the area’s history (10th Mountain Division, US Army, WWII). Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at Vendetta’s, which was absolutely amazing! So glad we had reservations there, as this two-story restaurant utilizes their top floor for walk-ins (and mainly pizza). Their lower floor has an amazing menu of pastas, and still has me drooling to this day. This short trip was such a nice change for us; it was definitely a great Christmas trip for us, but also a good start to learn what we needed to for our next trip.
Final Thoughts
Vail was a wonderful town, and I hope you’ve had fun exploring with me! I’m definitely excited to go back. I wish we were able to ride the Gondola, but sadly it hadn’t opened when we visited. Leaving something for next time!
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