"Miami"

by Will Smith


Welcome to Miami 
Bienvenido a Miami

Virgin Miami Vice served poolside: $8.00

Mani-Pedi at Lapis Spa: $119.00

Dinner for two at Hakkasan Cantonese restaurant: $204.00

(Sha Cha Chilean seabass--Black pepper rib-eye beef--Steamed Canadian crab with sticky rice)

100% Egyptian Cotton duvet cover and matching pillow shams:  $90.00

Swarovski Crystal encrusted flip-flops:  $168.00

50 minute therapeutic deep tissue massage at Lapis Spa:  $150

Lapis Ritual Water Journey: $40

4 day getaway with my husband:  PRICELESS

It was truly a fantastic, romantic, luxurious, weekend getaway.  Mike won this trip with his company and it was so fun for us to have the chance to get away together and get into the warm weather and really relax.  (A huge thanks to my mom and dad for babysitting Melia.)  

Mike's company gave us an allotted amount of money that we could charge to our room for food and drink.  Well the per diem was quite high and seeing as how we don't drink alcohol, there was NO WAY we were going to spend it all on food and beverage alone!  Because of this, we were given permission to spend it on anything we could charge to the room.  Therefore, we went hog-wild!  (As you can see from the above photos.)  We bought relatively practical things: stuffed animals and toys for the kids, Super Mario Bros bandaids, Ray-Ban sunglasses, the most adorable swimming suit for Melia (although it probably won't fit 'til she's about 5), and other things, but we still hadn't made a dent in our allotment.  We then bought all of the above and ended up with $3 left at the end of the vacation.  Now usually I would not post how much money we spent, but I had to because it AMAZES me how much money people waste on alcohol!  There were actually people who had burnt through their entire per diem the first night (ALL on drinks)!  First of all how can anyone drink that much?  And second of all look at all the other things they could've spent that money on!  (Not to mention thirdly everything at that hotel was insanely expensive and they would've had to pay for the next 3 days expenses out of their own pockets!)  I'm just saying, if the horrible health effects, loss of self control, hangovers, vomiting, and utter idiocy aren't enough reason not to drink, just look at how much money you'd save or get to spend on other things!

This trip was so needed.  The Fontainebleau Hotel was absolutely amazing.  The hotel was built in 1954 but underwent a one-billion dollar renovation in 2006 and re-opened in 2008.  I love its classic beauty and elegance along with all the modern decor.  We're not the only ones who loved the Fontainebleau.  Neil Young sings a song about it entitled Fontainebleau.  The hotel was featured in movies such as Goldfinger, Scarface, and The Bodyguard, and the Fontainebleau was even the hotel at which Frank Sinatra filmed his TV special welcoming Elvis Presley back from his two year military service in Germany.  While we were there, Jay Z and Beyonce were both staying in the hotel too.  Crazy huh?  On Saturday night the lobby was absolutely packed with people waiting to get to see them walk through the doors but it was 1 AM when we got done with our dinner and we were not about to wait up just to catch a glimpse!

This was our ocean-view hotel room (complete with a Mac).  

This was one of my favorite parts of the hotel.  It's just a hallway but I loved the way it was decorated.

Here are the cabanas out at the pool at night.  Isn't it beautiful?  (I am usually not too great with taking night pictures because I can't hold the camera steady enough, but I thought I did pretty good on this one!)

Our first day there we arrived at the hotel around 8AM and got into our room around 10.  We laid down for a little nap and woke up at 5:30PM.  WOW, that was a MUCH needed nap; I am sure anyone who has ever had a newborn would understand!  That first night was the rewards banquet.  Here we are at the banquet with Mike's coworker and friend, Greg, and his wife Julie.  We spent a lot of time on this trip with them and it was so much fun!  Julie and I had a blast together and laughed so much!  Our favorite part of the trip was going into the public bathroom at the hotel the night Jay Z and Beyonce were arriving; but that's a story you'll have to ask me about later!

The second day we spent the whole day at the spa.  That's the day I had my manicure and pedicure and then Mike and I both got massages and spent the rest of the day using the spa's other luxuries.  It was one of the most relaxing days I've ever had.  It was the perfect rainy day to spend in the spa.  

The third day (and really our last day there because the fourth day was pretty much all travel), we were able to spend the day at the pool and beach.  It was an absolutely beautiful day!  Here's a view of the pool and ocean from our room.

After sleeping in late, we decided to get lunch at the cafe and take it out for a picnic on the beach.  After eating about half of our lunches (it was a lot of food) I wanted to get a picture of us together.  I asked someone else to take our picture and we took a couple sitting down and then I wanted to get some with the ocean in the background.  Mike and I were getting our picture taken when all of the sudden about 30 seagulls started swarming our lunch.  I honestly saw a seagull fly away with my entire sandwich!  Mike ran to grab the food and the seagulls were so mad and were seriously dive-bombing him!  It was scary (I really hate birds) but it was insanely funny too!

While I enjoyed the sun, the waves, and the great photo ops, Mike enjoyed reading, and even showed off a little of his rock-skipping skills.  (He really is the rock-skipping king!)

It truly was a fabulous getaway.  I did not want to come home, but it was wonderful to get back to my angel baby!