Monday, March 6, 2017

Last day in Arizona. Well… you cannot be on vacation forever… Wait a minute… I am on vacation forever since I no longer have to go back to an office! :)))

Today was the best of both worlds, under warm and sunny skies: a cultural visit in the morning, a walk in the desert in the afternoon, and a nice stroll (including dinner) in Historic Scottsdale in the evening.

What a treat it was to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West (franklloydwright.org)! This architectural site is now a National Historic Landmark. What a place! You can only visit the premises via a guided tour and reservations are HIGLY recommended! Groups of about 20 people are taken through buildings and gardens, where everything bears the mark of the famous architect. Taliesin Wes is still a vibrant architecture school, with a  student/apprentice fee of about $40,000 plus (quite a jump from the $600 required when the school was first created!). Tank you, Katrina, for suggesting it!

We said our goodbyes to the desert by going to the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and did a couple of trails, including an interesting and very easy interpretative trail, the Bajada Nature trail. No visitor centre, but nice and clean facilities.

Arizona Pick and Choose

Then, a last stroll in old Scottsdale, with a stop at the public library – believe it or not, it was mentioned in TripAdvisor! – and went for dinner at the Italian Grotto, a super busy place. Too bad the local Mexican food did not quite agree with us…

Now to my most dreaded activity… packing!

We have really enjoyed our trip to Arizona. We have seen friends and lovely places. We have discovered so many new things and tasted new flavours. Really amazing! Since this trip was jammed with activities every day, I am thinking of a far niente beach house for the next! :)))

Thank you for being with us while we travelled. Your company was always appreciated!