My friend Cortney and I headed to
Galena, Illinois, just
before the holidays this past year. She had been there before, but it was my
first trip.
As we headed there, I was surprised to see the dramatic
change in the Illinois landscape. What had started as flat farm land had turned
into rolling hills, some of them high enough to be considered small ski
mountains.
Our home for the long weekend would be the
Goldmoor Inn and
we were impressed from the start.
It looked like an English castle, with 18 suites inside, as
well as three cottages and two cabins on the property for those looking for
real privacy.
Although we were on a girls’ getaway, I could also certainly see
it as the perfect place for a romantic trip.
The 23 acres the
Goldmoor is on are right on the Mississippi
River, which offers fantastic views all year round, from every spot.
We were shown into our suite and first went through a common
area, which was welcoming with a fireplace and couches.
Our suite was quite big. It had a separate kitchen with a
small table, and a large room with a pull-out couch, Jacuzzi, and king-sized
bed.
The bathroom was also quite big and had one of my favorite amenities, a
towel warming rack
.
We left the Goldmoor to head to Indulge Spa. I had found a deal
on
Groupon and thought a pedicure would get me in the mood for a relaxing
weekend. It definitely did.
We talked about Galena and all the things that were going on
for the Christmas season we were visiting during.
While we chatted we sipped drinks from the Martini Flights
Green Street Tavern offered.
I picked a sweeter grouping than Cortney did, and
we both enjoyed our choices.
Desoto House was also getting ready for a Christmas event
and had cakes and trees on display so we spent a few minutes looking at those
before we left.
We went back to our suite at the Goldmoor Inn and got ready
for our dinner in
their dining room. It was quite elegant and the food was just
as inviting as the décor.
One of the owners of the Goldmoor, Slobo Radin, showed us to
our table and welcomed us to the Inn.
We started with some freshly made bread and butter, along
with some pickled vegetables.
Goldmoor's Chef Carlos Valdez came to speak with us and tell us about
his views on finding fresh, local ingredients whenever possible.
For an appetizer, we had the very tasty Trio Bruschetta. It
was a selection of three toppings, roasted eggplant hummus, basil pesto, and
tomatoes and garlic in olive oil, served with warm, grilled pita bread.
We also really enjoyed the cheese stuffed mushrooms we had
ordered
I saw one of my favorites on the menu, Beef Wellington, and
was happy to hear Chef Valdez was willing to make it well-done for me. Many
chefs insist it will ruin the dish, but the good ones know that you won’t enjoy
something if it’s not made the temperature you like.
It was delicious. It was also served with a rich scalloped
potato cake.
Cortney savored the Double Seared Pork Chop with an apple
cider brandy sauce, roasted apples, and a fig & apricot chutney, with a
salad on the side instead of the potatoes.
We finished with a selection of scrumptious house-made
desserts before heading back to our suite.
It had been a long day and we had an even longer one coming
up, exploring
Galena/Jo County.
. 
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