Spend a winter weekend in Phoenix, Arizona

A surprisingly good experience, I'd definitely come back! ☀️ The temperature was perfect this season, a bit like a combination of California and Texas: not by the sea, but much greener than neighboring Nevada. Some places even had the illusion of better infrastructure in LA (very sunny), and the airport was new. However, the whole city was very white, especially Old Town Scottsdale, where every restaurant on an entire street was packed with white people. 🌵 The main attractions in the city are Papago Park and the Desert Botanical Garden. The botanical garden is fantastic and definitely worth a visit, but the only drawback is the lack of plant diversity; we probably saw hundreds of cacti along the way. But that's probably due to the desert environment (pp. 1-8). 🦈 Taking the kids to see fish at OSea Aquarium: A great place to kill time with kids, they loved it. It's definitely not as big as Monterey Bay, but it's quite large and well-made. They even put a shark tank in the restroom and called it America's Best Restroom (p9, the trade-off being no mirrors!). It feels like an old-fashioned and simple marketing method. 🛍️Scottsdale Fashion Square: A huge mall with everything from H&M to luxury brands (p12). Not too crowded on Black Friday, you can easily spend half a day with kids. The upscale dining area averages $80+ per person. Élephante from Santa Monica even has a branch here. 🍽️I didn't research the food options in detail; it was all predominantly white cuisine. We went to The Mission - Old Town Scottsdale, a Mexican restaurant converted from an old church (p13-15). The food was okay (I recommend the Duck Epanadas), but it was dimly lit and noisy, not very kid-friendly. Luckily, the kids didn't mind, as long as it was edible. We also went to a Chinese restaurant in the Meza area. The ingredients and flavors might be a bit rough, but the prices were incredibly reasonable—$12.99 for a classic stir-fried eggplant, potatoes, and green peppers dish.