Shopping and Some Steak

Watching a movie... sort of.

Sunday morning Julie hit the spa for a massage whilst Owen and I caught up on the film Midnight in Paris that we missed during our snooze (see above). With Julie back we finished watching the movie and packed up to visit the shops at Bal Harbour, a short 10 minute drive South.  Since the rain clouds were rolling in this seemed like a good option, particularly for people watching.

Indeed Bal Habour was good for people watching unless you plan on selling your house to buy something. The bustling on-site restaurant, Carpaccio, is a good meal option with reasonable prices and good service.  It also provides ample entertainment for people watching. I had to opt for the carpaccio di carne with shaved parm and portobello and prosciutto stuff focaccia -- Julie was wise enough to only get the focaccia catania with sausage and spinach.  All delicious.

Giving Owen some fresh air -- and drying my shirt.

Koi ponds run up the middle of the shops.

At around 6, closing time, we dragged Julie back to a store to buy a dress that she had tried on and been debating ever since.  I (embarrassingly) grabbed a linen dress shirt, sans flowers, since it seemed to be the only shirts anyone was wearing -- probably due to the heat.  I also grabbed a funky t-shirt from a shop owned by a Morrocan with whom I had a brief chat in French.  70% of Floridians aren't born in the state which makes it a great melting pot for all cultures.

Apparently we were in a French Riviera kind of mood.

I dropped the family back at the hotel and headed over to the nearby liquor store, aka Publix grocery store, to pick up a bottle of champs and back to the Aventura mall to grab some strawberries from Godivas.  Getting back to the hotel just in time to shower and head down to the acclaimed on-site Michael Mina restaurant, Bourbon Steak.  Not having reservations in advance meant Sunday was the only opening other than 10pm on Friday or Saturday -- typically a good sign. It also meant the restaurant should be relatively quiet.  Handy for Owen.

The restaurant is worth the visit alone with some great design aspects.  There are a handful of menus; one specifically for burgers with check boxes to select what you want; the full menu; and at the time the Miami Spice (think Summer/Winter-licious) menu.  We opted to go with items from the full menu, me a 14oz New York and Julie with a 8oz filet and a side plate of truffled mac 'n cheese.  Everything was great. The mac 'n cheese was interesting as expected but seemed to use gorgonzola which neither of us can tolerate for long.  Steaks were cooked perfectly.  Order also came out with fries done with three seasonings and dips.  These were pretty rad as well as the popcorn. Overall a good experience. I'd probably try the burger menu but the steak were similar to a good steak anywhere.

Owen was a fan of the seating options at Bourbon Steak
* Julie's new dress.

After dinner we headed back to the room for the some champs and strawberries on the balcony.

Celebrating our first family trip

Next stop, Europe.

Day 3 - Ready to become a Floridian

Vacation is a hardship

Today we had a very lazy day.  I woke up and clocked a 5km loop around the property with great views of the two Raymond Floyd golf courses.  Definitely the greenest grass I've every seen. I got back in time to wake Julie and Owen up to lazily order some in-room breakfast.  Fortunately the in-room dining is fairly good and we've abused this option already at a rate of once or twice per day for full meals or snacks.

Around 4 Julie headed over to the Willow Spa having swapped her massage for a pedicure.  Apparently after all those years of ballet her feet are in constant need of care. Owen and I took the opportunity to cruise the property before a solid rain cloud rolled in and we had to duck back inside.

Stolen from Fairmont web site - my Blackberry didn't do it justice.

Later in the evening we walked over to the Waterways Shoppes about 30 mins from the hotel.  Without much research or asking the Concierge we landed in what seemed like was once a pretty happening place to ultimately an area with the majority of restaurants closed or shops out of business.  Fortunately Barrio Latino was open and absolutely packed -- always a good sign.  I scooped up some recommended Cuban fare -- basically beef, beans, rice and plantains and Julie opted for a salad.  Since we were sitting in a booth I laid Owen on the bench which seemed to work well until he woke up (which doesn't happen in the carrier).

We hiked back and started to watch Midnight in Paris until we all passed out.

Back to Blogging and Traveling + 1

Owen's an official traveler.

Its been a while.  Our last entry left us in Carmel, California -- afterwards we headed to Santa Monica and to our original stomping grounds, some eight years ago as our first trip together, at the Fairmont Miramar and in February to Boston with the Huitemas. Since then work has taken me to Prague, Budapest and scorching Dallas -- sans Julie since Owen was either en-route or too recently joined us.

Now we're back traveling as the Ringling Brothers.  Owen endured his first flight with class and style despite 3 hours of delays.  We even made the special request for the customs officer to stamp his passport.  Hopefully that'll be the last customs visit for the US as we await our Nexus application to be reviewed. 

Party time on the plane.

Note to self: car rental seats suck.

So for a prep before a potential European trip in Sept we hopped down to Florida and are hanging out just outside of Miami at the Fairmont Turnberry.  The hotel labels itself as family friendly and didn't disappoint when they even offered Diaper Genies for the room.

After arriving late on Thursday and after a morning massage we spent Friday down by the pool.  Owen's a bit young but the 180' waterside, lazy river and massive waterfall were clearly hits with the other kids.  The clientele seemed similar to our last visit to South Beach @ the Delano -- heavily Hispanic with some New Yorkers.

Jamming to Barney by the pool.

Everyone enjoying a drink.

We were able to get Owen settled after we all grabbed some poolside lunch and put on his favorite tunes -- which let us even enjoy the pool while keeping a watchful eye from about 3 feet away. Having a newborn is like selling ice cream.  Every kid and parent (of every nationality) stops by to chat.  One lady asked if we spoke English -- another even offered to call local friends to loan us baby gear, none of which we needed.  And most importantly, despite warnings of Hurricane Emily, the sky was cloudless.

After some much needed showers we headed to the Aventura Mall across the way the back the hotel and Cascata Grill for some dinner.  We figured this would be the first challenge of traveling with Owen.  But Julie brought the secret weapon -- the baby carrier.  A natural sedative, Owen was asleep in minutes and I got to feel what it's like to be pregnant.

Overall travel day + day one were huge successes without any issues. A good sign.

Cascata Grill overlooking the golf courses.