Taking a break from the bitter winter cold, Bruce and I went to Phoenix with friends for a bit of golf (for them) and relaxing (for me). We stayed at The Sanctuary, a gorgeous resort on Camelback Mountain, surrounded by hills and desert. The rooms are actually built into the mountainside. They were extremely comfortable and well appointed-it was a dream to stay there.

Use of the gym, gym classes (including yoga and pilates on the reformer) and hikes are included in your room rate so it's a great place to get energized. The whole spa area is part of a private club and people who are not guests of The Sanctuary can enjoy the facilities for a membership fee. Consequently we met a lot of people from the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. I became friends with an artist from the area, Beth Ames Schwartz, who does very interesting, unusual paintings, which have a wonderful spiritual feeling about them. She also told us about her brother, Bruce Ames, a bio-chemist who is doing major research in the area of aging and when I came back to Toronto I found an article in the Globe & Mail quoting him on the topic.

Eating in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area is exceptional. In the past couple of years the restaurant scene has changed dramatically and all for the better. The restaurant at The Sanctuary, one of the favourites in the valley, called Elements boasts incredible views that look out over the valley and the mountains, and on a moonlit night, it is very romantic.

Our favourite restaurant in the area was Noca, whose chef, Christopher Curtis, was at Circa 1900. The food is original, interesting and not terribly expensive. They run a series of Sunday night suppers-for $35 you get an appetizer, a main, dessert and lots of add-ons. And best of all, they offer several special wines at $5 a glass for that night only. They served macaroni and cheese for the first course but it wasn't a macaroni and cheese as you might expect. It was made with several different types of cheese (including a blue!), then topped with crispy shallot rings and served with a side salad. The dish was so well balanced, that even I, who heartily dislike blue cheese, loved it! For the main, we had the fish of the day. Another Sunday might be barbecue or Southern Fried Chicken-the point is the have fun. And don't miss out on the donut holes for dessert!

We also loved Cowboy Ciao, which is modern American cuisine. They served a Stetson Chopped Salad of smoked salmon, arugula, chopped tomatoes, pearl couscous, black currents, pumpkin seeds and Asiago cheese, which may sound strange but worked together beautifully. Their signature dish is what they call an Exotic Mushroom Panfry: many different kinds of mushrooms in a spicy ancho chilli cream sauce, spooned over polenta and topped with grilled Portobello mushrooms, avocado, tomato and cheese. It was very rich, but you'll find yourself scraping the plate.

We also ate at the Mission (3815 N. Brown Ave., 480-636-5005), an interesting south-western restaurant worth a try for some different flavours. And Pizzeria Bianco is one of the hot spots for pizza and good side dishes, but you always have to line up there. One place that I liked for lunch was Pure Food. Andrew Weil, the American guru of healthy eating, is the consultant and everything is organic, green, local, sustainable-it's a restaurant, you can definitely feel good about eating at. Some of the dishes are very good and some of the dishes tend more to palettes unsullied by fat.

For Bruce and I, the beauty of the area, the restaurant scene, many golf courses (if that is your desire), and a strong artistic community make the Phoenix/Scottsdale area well worth a visit.