Have Family Will Travel

We're back on the "road" with a sojourn in London -- including a day trip over to Paris to visit with Kim and Justin.

Having tested the travel waters in Florida we (aka Julie) had a good idea of what to pack for this trip. Fortunately Air Canada allows Owen one checked bag, a stroller, a car seat -- etc all at no fee. Logistics come in to play trying to manage 3 suitcases, the stroller, diaper bag, carry-ons and so on; so my advice -- spend the extra $25 for valet at YYZ and voila, you're in the front door in two steps (or grab a luggage cart and make the hike). Check your stroller and car seat at the gate and you stow all your carry-ons at the bottom of the stroller making airport life much easier.

Checking-in at Pearson

We took the red-eye out of Pearson (23h30) putting us in London at 11h30 although with the strong tail wind we actually arrived an hour early -- which translates to waiting in queue at the destination airport.  A few laps in the air around London and we were ready to land. Owen is a better flier than us; watching some TV and sleeping significantly more than anyone else.  The timing of the flight couldn't have been better as this is his (almost) guaranteed sleepy time.

A bevvy and a movie; Owen's content.

 

We had pre-arranged transportation via the hotel as we had quite the heap of luggage with the stroller.  After installing our car seat, Richard our driver, provided some colourful commentary on the way in.  He also showed us pictures of his newborn grandson who may end up in the Guinness book of records coming in at a towering 86cm at 12 weeks!

Checked-in at the the Arch London and all is well -- despite Owen signing (aka crying) to Richard on the drive.

I did steal the title of this post from the FS family travel blog; check it out. 

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.

Monterey County visiting -- Monterey, Pebble Beach and Carmel

So excited Julie needed to change her battery.

Friday. I tried to send Julie to the spa today but she was too excited to get going in the nice weather.  After hanging out on our balcony all morning hoping to see the deer that are known to roam the property we jumped in the car to drive down to the lodge/restaurant. Within less than a minute we were next to about 5 deer grazing on the side of the path.  These deer are accustomed to people/cars so they went about their business as we watched from mere feet away.  After snapping some pics, Bambi and friends move onto the golf course and we headed to breakfast.  With the clear sky, which has been the case every day, we had breakfast on the patio next to the pool.  I went for huevos rancheros and Julie with blueberry pancakes.

Huevos rancheros for breakfast.

We lingered for a while enjoying the t-shirt and shorts weather.  Afterwards we decided we should stay another night and Julie wanted to skip the spa and head into Monterey right away.  While Julie showered I decided to try to take a short run.  Note to self, "huff and puff" trail is not a good idea after huevos rancheros.  The trail head is immediately outside our room and climbs steadily uphill until revealing amazing views of the valley.  Looked great but made me feel pretty ill.  With a combination of walking and jogging I made it to horseshoe trail and a steady decline.  The views were amazing and my stomach hurt.

Once in Monterey we stopped at Cafe la Strada to grab some beverages for our walk down Cannery Row.  This is where they used to pack sardines like no one's business.  Today it is a mini-version of SF's fisherman's wharf.  It didn't take long to walk the 'row' and we opted to skip the Monterey Aquarium, which is supposedly pretty awesome.  From Monterey, which I'm not sure what all the hoopla is about, we headed over to Pebble Beach.

Cannery Row, Monterey

To enter the Pebble Beach community you have to pay $9.50.  This is for all the tourist who are interested in traveling the 17 mile drive, a scenic route passing by some insanely large homes and beautiful ocean-side views.  As we  were heading to Pebble Beach for lunch we could get this fee refunded.  Pebble Beach is ranked among the most costly public golf courses in America.  At $650 a round it'll put a dent in your budget.  Regardless we saw a steady flow of golfers heading up the 18th while we enjoyed amazing views over lunch.  I s'pose if you're a golfer being able to play on the same course as the 2010 US Open coupled with the amazing setting, although available at many other area courses for less, is a special event.

Players finishing the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.

View from Lodge at Pebble Beach (click to expand)

Departing the golf course we rushed on to the 17-mile route to check out the infamous lone cypress.  Apparently this cypress tree has survived on a jagged rock for over 250 years.  It's even become the logo for the Pebble Beach company.  The tree did look cool and made for some good photo opps after I hopped a fence and climbed down a hill -- but I'm glad we didn't go out of our way to see it.  Julie claims the Japanese tourists got a kick out of my antics.

The "lone cypress" at Pebble Beach

Looking down to Ron

Looking up to Julie

More lone cypress.

The 17 mile drive ended at a gate to Carmel which came in handy as we wanted to check out some of the shops while they were open.  Of course we left about 30 minutes, for good or bad, so we hurriedly checked out some shops and are still trying to track down the illusive tote Julie has been searching for.

Crossing the property we encountered even more deer grazing on the side of the path.  Driving is tricky as Carmel Valley has strict street light policies therefore the property is lit with very low lights and the path is windy with deer and turkey wandering about. Back in the room Julie grabbed a nap until we headed back to the main lodge for some late night snacks, mere seconds before the kitchen closed. Having read about chef Tim Wood (of Carmel Valley Ranch) honey-chile chicken wings in Food & Wine magazine I figured we needed to give them a try.  Also John from the prior night, who gave us a tour of the wine cellar, suggested checking out the Talbot winery down the road from the "hotel". While we didn't make the tasting at Talbot  I figured I'd give it a try at the bar and ordered the Talbott pinot noir.  Enjoyable indeed.  With the iPad in hand we tried to figure out our plan for the next 3 days.  With moderate success and the place emptying we headed back to our room.

Goodbye San Fran, Hello Pacific Coast Highway

Golden Gate Park

Thursday.  We finally got packed and walked down to grab the rental in the morning.  On the way back to the hotel Julie wanted to stop at Japanese Weekend, a locally designed maternity store.  Driving uphill I pulled over and kicked her out and told her to meet me back at the hotel a block away. Luggage and wife loaded we were off.  Ignoring the concierge's advice to hop on the interstate we drove across the entire city to get a sense of the other side of San Fran.  Reaching Golden Gate park in no time we drove around, a bit on purpose a bit not, before spotting this waterfall.


Jumping on Highway #1 in Golden Gate park we start our trek South.  Our first destination is Half Moon Bay, a short drive from San Fran, to stop for lunch at the ocean-front Ritz-Carlton. Before we can even reach Half Moon Bay we're already seeing amazing scenery with the cliffs dropping into the ocean and secluded beaches.  A bit over-dressed we descend the stairs on to an amazing beach with some decent waves.

Julie's a bit confused.

Unfortunately we missed the turn-off at the top of the cliff which would have provided an amazing view in to the cove.  Once on the beach we realized how ridiculously over-dressed we were but either way, it wasn't sun bathing weather.  As we continued down the coast we saw dozens of these small secluded beaches.

A short drive later we reached Half Moon Bay and pulled into the Ritz.  The scene was reminiscent of Cannes with the valets parking a Bentley, Aston Martin, Toyota, Mercedes. Guess which was ours.  There were some other "beaters" in the parking lot but we always seem to get lined up with the other 0.5% of the population. The hotel was hosting a small conference which made me think -- aside from the adventures of living in California, all the work-related functions would be in awesome coastal hotels.  Damn. The patio was closed for lunch despite the fire pits burning.  The view from inside was equally spectacular looking down the golf course and the food in the bistro was good as well.  I opted for the short rib sliders and Julie with the chicken club.

Amazing bread and some local oil and vinegar.

A great spot to watch the golfers.

View from the Conservatory bistro.

After lunch we walked the grounds and took the opportunity to book our next hotel for the night.  Julie decided it was worthy of capturing the moment.

Booking a room at the Carmel Valley Ranch.

We continued down the coast skipping Monterrey and going directly to the Carmel Valley Ranch. We're in love with this place.  The rooms are spacious with cathedral ceilings in all the rooms, a front sitting room, sky lights, fireplace and balconies overlooking the valley and golf course.  The main lodge is completely renovated with modern lines and I'm pretty sure we're the only people here.  Look forward to exploring the area and grounds, over 400 acres, tomorrow. We made a late trip (7pm) into Carmel to check out the shops which would be closed but we were told they are well illuminated and worth the walk about even at night.  No lies.  It was nice and you could do some decent window shopping.  They are high-end shops mixed with local shops and restaurants.  We stopped in to grab some beet & goat cheese salad before heading back to the hotel.  We checked out the main lobby a bit more and hit the hay.  A good day.

View from balcony

 Bar and wine cellar.

Oops an Extra Night in SF

Wednesday's edition is brought to you by Julie! This morning we woke up to clear skies again!  Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, we decided to head down to Union Square for some last minute shopping....and exchanges!!  (This time I checked the bum before leaving with my new pants!!!).  We stopped at Cafe de la Presse for lunch on the way. Ron opted for steak frites and I for the burger and fries.  While we ate, we were entertained by some police activity outside of the China Town gates.  As we speculated what celebrity or dignitary might be about to arrive, we were disappointed to see the "Safety Awareness Initiative" banner being hoisted as the streets were closed off. 

Mommy and Baby's Matching Boots

After lunch, we went to pick up some new boots for the baby.  We wanted to get something for the little gaffer while we were here, but given we don't know whether to go down the pink or blue aisles, we opted for shoes.  A safer bet.  We then made our way back down to the Westfield San Francisco Shopping Centre where we spent some time roaming through Bloomingdales.  Ron tried on every pair of jeans in the store while I visited the children's section (shopping for myself isn't quite as fun these days).  Another successful shopping trip found us leaving with some new jeans and an overnight bag (convenient to store all the new clothes we've bought)  and a sleeper for Rafi (the baby) with a matching "beanie"!

"Gender Neutral Outfit"

Since it was almost 3pm by the time we were done we figured we should head back to the hotel to officially reserve our room for one last night.  A last minute decision to check off one more tourist attraction (along with a reluctancy to climb any more hills) found us hopping on the famous cable car for a lift to the top of the of Powell street.  We maximized our 2 minute ride by snapping pictures of the tiny little car and Ron hanging out the side like a scene from the Full House opening credits.  Although the $5.00 fare (per person) for our brief ride was not the wisest investment we've ever made, it was definitely worth the excitement.

Not Ron, but the same pose.

Real deal.

Once back at the hotel and after getting the room situation organized we were back on the trails...destination, unknown.  We headed down the hill and found ourselves touring through the streets of China town which was a bit of a let down.  In the end we made it back to the Embarcadero to snap some night shots and be entertained by an exercise group who seemed to be following us.

Oakland Bay Bridge

Transamerican Pyramid

Later at the hotel we were back at the Top of the Mark enjoying the live music and some beverages.  After a few beers Ron came up with this solid game plan, clearly sketched on a napkin.

Our game plan for the next 5 days. Solid.