Emily's birthday is coming up on Tuesday (Aug 19) so I decided we should celebrate a bit early and head downtown for the night. I got a great rate on a room at the Westin through Hotwire (so far we are 2 for 2 on Hotwire) and surprised Emily with the plans. 

We ate fabulous dinner at Tony's Italian Ristorante (you know it's good when they spell it that way) and used a buy get one free coupon and an American Express gift card. That gave us a great deal on some amazing dishes:  Veal Saltimbocca (Veal filets stuffed with prosciutto ham, mozzarella cheese and sage, sauteed with mushrooms and Marsala wine sauce.) and Tony's Own Fettuccini (Our homemade pasta is topped with shrimp, scallops and surami crab blended in a rich cream sauce.) 

After dinner we headed up the street to the Westin. I was really glad that to have gotten the Westin (with Hotwire you don't know which hotel you get until after you book) because I have a relationship with the General Manager through work. My program assists with staffing for their hotel, and right now we have two of our clients working there. As we were checking in, I mentioned to him that it was Emily's birthday. Later on, we went out for a walk and when we came back we had two glasses of champagne, a dessert and a card from the front desk staff. That was characteristic of our entire stay. The staff was remarkable and the hotel was amazing. Built in 1897 it was the first hotel in Columbus to have electricity. We got a personal tour, including the ball room. If you like history and architecture, then you would love this place. 

We ate some snacks while we watched the Olympics on a sweet HD flat screen. This morning we got a late checkout at 1pm, ate lunch at P.S. Thai Tai and came home. Not quite 24 hrs away, but a wonderful getaway.  

A few pictures:

Dinner at Tony's

Emily Being Cute 

The Westin

Attached is the Southern Theatre

I always make myself look fat in these pictures