Longboat Key, Florida - Day 2

For my birthday, I wanted to get out of town. I've always wanted to stay in Anna Maria Island about one hour south of Tampa. Florida's gulf islands were recently featured on Traveller Magazine and they are becoming more popular. I couldn't find a place in Anna maria but I found one in Longboat Key. This is just a few miles south and it has the same beautiful sand. I'm so happy that we found this place. We want to make it a family tradition. A weekend at the beach. The hotels in the area are not sophisticated and the area has more private condominiums than resorts. Since the snowbirds are not here yet, we felt like it was our own private beach. 

We went to the beach right after breakfast and walked back for lunch. My mom and my sister made my favorite lasagna the day before and it was amazing. This was a big surprise for me. 

After lunch, we returned to the beach. Emma didn't want to nap and I thought that it was going to be a difficult afternoon. Emma wanted to get back and play in the water as soon as we got back. I had extra clothes just in case and we had fun seeing her so happy. I didn't even try to put her bathing suit on again. 

This was definitely one of my best birthdays. I can't wait to return to this beautiful place. The following day we had to be out of the hotel by 11:00 AM. We went towards St. Armands Circle. This used to be one of my favorite places a few years ago. I got lunch for Emma but unfortunately we were not hungry and we decided to drive back and let Emma sleep in the car. Life with kids is planned around their naps. A kid without a nap is not a happy kid except when they are at the beach.

Sunset from Longboat Key, Florida

Last Friday, it was the first time that I watched a sunset from the beach in over 2 years. It was hard to go because Emma is usually eating dinner by 6:00 PM and in bed by 8:00 PM. That night, she ate dinner early that and we headed to the beach. This sunset was special because it was the last sunset before turning 33. I felt like it was a good bye to a good and also difficult year. 

Emma loved the sand and even the cold water. She started to eat the sand and after the air started to feel a little cool we took her out of the water and dressed her with dry clothes. She enjoyed every second. We left right after the sun came down. We had a hotel for 2 nights to celebrate my birthday. Our hotel was right across the street and we couldn't wait to spend the following day on this beautiful beach. 

Weekend in Orlando

A couple of weeks ago, we decide to spend the weekend I'm Orlando. I had to use my hotels.com account and Orlando is just a short drive away. We decided to stay in the Downtown Disney area since we didn't have plans to visit the theme parks. Emma is obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse so I wanted to give her a "Disney experience" without the long lines or the summer heat. I decided that the best was to find a character dining restaurant. At the same time, it was Andre's birthday and it was. A good excuse to over pay for a breakfast. 

I tried to get reservations with Chef Mickey, the restaurant where Mickey Mouse is. Apparently there is only one Mickey and you need to book several months in advance. We found a reservation at the Cape May Cafe located in one of Disney's hotels. The characters at the Cape May Cafe were Minnie Mouse, Donald and Goofy. I have to say that the food was really good! I wasn't expecting good food with this experience and I was surprised. I can easily say that it is probably the best breakfast buffet that I've ever been to. 

Emma was a little scared at first. I really thought that she would run towards Minnie instead if hiding from her. She did give kisses to all of the characters and we took their pictures several times. It was hard to get a good one. We had to seat in a room with poor lighting. I told the host that it was Andre's birthday. We sang happy birthday and he got a cupcake with a candle and a card signed by Minnie, Goofy and Donald. It was really nice. 

The rest of the weekend we spent it at our hotel pool, taking naps with Emma, and walking around Downtown Disney. There are many things to see and do there. My favorite is just to walk around, eat something, have a Ghiradelli ice cream for dessert and shop at the biggest Disney store (The world of Disney). I used to go to Bongos, Gloria Estefan's restaurant, a long time ago. They have a live band and the food is good. I haven't been since 2010 so I hope that it is still as good as I remember. There is also a permanent Cirque du Soleil show, "La Nouba", that is worth watching if you are ever in Orlando. I have seen other Cirque du Soleil shows and  La Nouba is still my favorite. 

We had a great time in Orlando. It felt like a nice vacation. Next time, I want to stay at a Disney hotel. We loved the Beach Club Resort. This hotel has a beautiful pool, a beach, movies outside, bike rentals, restaurants with characters, transportation to the theme parks and everything was just picture perfect. I will keep an eye for Florida resident specials during low season. I'm sure that we will be back many weekends to Orlando. It never gets old. 

Day Trip to Tarpon Springs, Fl

Last Saturday, my family insisted that we visited Tarpon Springs. They love going to this small town north of Tampa to spend the afternoon walking or at the beach. I used to visit this place often many years ago. I found an old post from 2011 where I mention that I want to go to Tarpon Springs more often. I never made it in the past 3 years because Andre said that he had never been to that beach and we had not been to the town together. 

We first made an improvised stop at the beach to let the kids be free before sitting them down to have dinner. They loved it. The water was calm and warm. We stayed for a couple of hours and then we drove to the Greek side of town. 

We walked around Dodecanese Boulevard looking at the shops and restaurants. A friend of mine dated a greek guy who loved to take us to a restaurant in town. At first, I couldn't remember where we used to eat. As soon as I walked into the bakery, I remember that was the place he loved. The name of the restaurant is Hellas and everything that we had was delicious. My parents and my sisters had not seen the flaming cheese so I quietly asked the waiter to get us some. It is delicious and fun when the whole place screams "OPA". We all enjoyed this night out.

Unfortunately, I was too full for dessert. I'm sure that we will be back to this place many times. Emma stayed up late and she was at her best behavior. This night showed me that she is not a little baby and that we can start having a semi "normal" life again.

First Beach Day of the Summer

Going to the beach with Emma reminds me that the best things in life are the most simple. She had a great time chasing the seagulls, touching the water, playing with the sand. She was too excited to nap or eat her lunch. I will take her more often. The only reason with don't do it is because we like to take a tent and it requires at least 4 people to put it together.  If we don't take a tent, we can't last in the heat and the sun.

We saw a family yesterday that had it all figured out. They used a wagon to carry the child and everything else that they needed. Their tent was a foldable one that was easy to assemble and they had a small umbrella to put near the water where the kid was making sand castles. We have a lot to learn and since we live less than an hour away from the beach I'm sure that we will learn fast. I took a few pictures of Emma yesterday that I love. Here are some of my favorites:

Weekend Cruise to Nassau Day 1

What does a girl do when her husband can't come on a cruise? She calls a friend (me), and asks her to come. When my friend asked me if I wanted to take her husband's place in a 2 night cruise to Bahamas I said YES. I only had one request: I had to come with Emma. At the time, I had never spent a night away from her. Also, this was the perfect opportunity to start taking long weekend trips with Emma. Emma and I were lucky that my friend had reserved a balcony stateroom in the MSC Divina and we had plenty of room for the 3 of us. Since we went to bed early, it was nice to have a good view from our room. 

We flew from Tampa to Miami on Friday afternoon and the cruise sailed for Bahamas Saturday at around 7:00 PM; just before sunset. As the cruise departed, there was a live latin band playing salsa, merengue and reggaeton. Emma was enjoying the music and she was running around the deck. I was running behind her, trying to eat a slice of pizza as my dinner and enjoying the music. The good thing about her new found energy is that she is sleeping the whole night.  

Sunset over South Beach's skyline

We all went to bed early and our plan was to disembark in Nassau as early as possible.