Traveling this week...

I'm taking a whirlwind tour of Florida...and not the good parts like South Beach or Key West. Today I stopped in Pensacola before heading to Tallahassee. There are several great things about traveling for work though...

#1. Rental car with GPS...this was a new experience. I've never had a rental car before and then I rented a Garmin too. I love Ms. Garmin, my British navigating Nanny. She hasn't gotten me lost yet. Even with road work, she pleasantly says "Recalculating Route" in that nice British accent...very efficient and official sounding. This lady definitely knows where she's going!

#2. HOTELS!!!! This should probably go first on the list, but I don't feel like copy/pasting tonight. I big squishy heart hotels! I love walking into a clean room (don't at home so much) and turning on every light and the tv. I love hotel beds...I know, that's a little weird. I love the glamour of hotels. Of course, it is a Monday night and I am in Tallahassee, so glamour may be a little over the top, but you get the idea. I COULD be doing something really cool!

#3. Hours of actual work. Now this particular trip entails me visiting P'cola, Tallahassee, Tampa/Lakeland and Jacksonville and being home on Thursday night. I have about 3 meetings per day all lasting between 30 minutes and an hour then I'm driving. So that's what, 3 to 4 hours of work and then 4 hours of listening to XM radio (another cool rental car perk) and eating convenience store junk...Yay me!!

#4. Cozy little restaurants. I like to fancy myself the female version of Guy Fieri. I am in love with Diners Drive Ins and Dives on Food Network so when I go to a new city, I like to try the local cuisine. Tonight I had Chez Pierre...a French restaurant with a Southern twist. It was pretty great, especially the tiramisu (yes i know that's actually Italian). I like to research places and then go to dinner all by myself. Most people don't like to eat out by themselves, but there is something pretty awesome about enjoying a meal alone....it's like your own little secret.

Anyway, that's my travel happies! What do you like about traveling, work or play? Know of any good restaurants in Tampa or Jacksonville that I should try?