Urban Camping according to urban dictionary.com is

“setting up camp in an urban location, be it a rooftop, a derelict building, a doorway or other urban space.  

So I guess my definition should really be Glamban Camping, making it the urban equivalent to  “Glamping” (glam camping).

Out door camping has never held much allure for me, why go to the bathroom in the woods when there is a perfectly good bathroom in your home or a hotel?  Why deal with mosquitos when you can open a screened window or turn on the a/c?  I know that many will disagree with me, citing how wonderful it is to be one with nature and all that.  Good for you!  And i mean that with no disrespect at all, I admire your willingness to endure minor annoyances in order to be outside and close with nature.  And that you find something so magical in it that its worth it.  In all honesty its just something that I don’t understand and can’t relate to.  I would love to go for a long hike outside, but then at dusk when the bugs and bats come out, and its hard to see any snakes or other animals about, I prefer to cosy up in my own bed or a hotel room.  Hence my version of Glamban Camping.

So on a recent weekend away with my husband, i packed the car for a fun weekend of Glamban Camping, and here is what I packed for food.  In future posts I will go over travel essentials, what to have in your overnight/ weekend bags/ checklists for travel etcetera.  However as far as food,  maybe there will be something in this list that will appeal to you for your next weekend away.  Because we were driving, it was easy to pack this much, but in a future post I will show what I would bring for a weekend of travel by air.  I have a large cooler that has a detachable roller base, and put all the perishable items in this, and upon arriving in the hotel room unpacked them into the fridge.

 

Mini Portable espresso maker

Ground coffee

half and half

12 pack of carbonated water, (along with a large bottle each 1.5 liters)

2 bottles of prosecco and one bottle of wine

2 champagne glasses

corkscrew

Carrot sticks

Hummus

goat cheese

Brie cheese

French bread

proscuitto

turkey slices

crackers

strawberries

4 instant oatmeal cups.

Bananas

A bag of dark chocolate truffles

napkins

plastic cutlery

paper plates

 

Why did I bother to pack all of this?  Well, we arrived about 9 pm to the hotel, and I met my husband after he was at a trade convention for the week, and I had driven about 2 and half hours to get to him.  I knew we would be exhausted.  So when we arrived at the hotel all we wanted to do was relax and not have to go out to find a restaurant for dinner or make any more effort than we needed to!  I was able to give him a glass of prosecco and make a really nice sandwich for him, with some carrot sticks and humus on the side.  And we finished it off with a couple of dark chocolate truffles before collapsing into a deep sleep.  Why was this better than just going out to dinner? Well we were able to eat right away and not wait for room service, and also saved a lot of money by having bought things at the supermarket instead of ordering from a restaurant.

Ok, so let me preface the next part by saying that nothing makes me happier than a good cup of coffee in the morning, and I can be a bit of a coffee snob- there, I admit it. The next morning, I made a couple cups of espresso each, complete with fresh half and half for me.  This, served in the mugs from the hotel saved us from the generic hotel coffee, and let us each have as much as we wanted without having to order room service or find a local Starbucks for our second cup.  In the microwave I heated up water for our oatmeal, again having a healthier breakfast and not paying for a breakfast out. (I could have heated up water in the coffee maker from the hotel if there was not microwave.)

All the while we were drinking our preferred brand of sparkling water, and relaxing!  We were able to have a really luxurious weekend with lots of good food, and save a lot just by some simple planning.  And nothing went to waste, whatever we didn’t have over the weekend, I put back in the cooler and just brought home to eat the next week.

So next time you are away for business or just for the weekend, a little planning can not only save you a lot of time and money, but also make your day a little happier with some of your favorite things.

Please comment below with any of your thoughts or ideas for other items or things to include on a romantic hotel weekend away.

Still trying to figure out hyperlinks, but I found a similar coffee maker here

Delonghi EMK6 Alicia Electric Moka Espresso Coffee Maker

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00009W5F0/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_98cCCbHX4JNB3