Joe and Jamie's Blog

Ok here it is, finally posting this.

Miami Beach lived up to its reputation of having a crazy night light and HOT. Every day we were down there the temperature was above 85 degrees, no matter what time of the day. Nothing cools off Miami, not even the rain they get everyday. It was so beautiful down there, clear water and skies to enjoy, perfect beaches, tons of tourists, bars and clubs. One downfall for all this perfection is the prices. Boy was I not prepared at all for crazy markups on everyday items. I would have to say everything was generally 2 or 3 times more expensive then here at home. Not a real biggie, just an eye opener at first.

We spent most of the days on the beach or walking around taking in the sites and art deco style buildings they are also famous for. Scouting places to eat was fun since there are so many choices. There are a few main roads to go down on South Beach where everything is, Ocean Drive with all the clubs, bars, and restaurants, Lincoln Road which is the nice pedestrian mall, Collins Ave which many hotels and shops are, and Washington Ave which is even more shops and businesses. Most of our nights were spent walking up and down Ocean Drive picking out a place to eat/drink. I thought it was really cool how the whole street had tables on the sidewalk so as you walked down the street you were essentially walking through each restaurant and bombarded by hostesses asking you to look at the menus. After awhile it got to be annoying but we were pros at just ignoring them after a few days.

One part that did suck on this trip was the location of our hotel. The Fontainebleau is an awesome hotel, but its 30+ blocks from South Beach so we took a cab each day to get down there. That ate into our fun budget a bit too which ticked me off a bit at first. We never did go north of our hotel, we just kind of ran out of days really. Besides the partial nude beach up there, not sure if there was anything else we missed out on. I guess we’ll just have to go back.

Ok, back to Ocean Drive. The restaurants on there are average. They all sell about the same stuff for about the same price. Nothing really stood out. Eating down there is great because you get to watch all the different kinds of people walking by. Thousands of people walk by at night time, so you can just imagine how amusing it can get. Typically we would walk along the beach after stuffing our faces and then stroll back over and find a place to have some drinks and enjoy the Miami night life. We stopped at places like the Clevelander and Ocean’s 10. We also ate at some spectacular places like Emeril’s (yup, the bam guy), Gotham Steak, and Texas de Brazil (an awesome Brazillian steak house). I don’t think I have ever eaten in such fancy places before. All three had over the top service and the atmosphere was spectacular. If you go to Miami Beach, eat at all three places.

Our first full day there we went on a duck boat tour. I figured it was a good way to figure out where everything was. The best part of the tour was when we went into Biscayne Bay and saw all the islands. On these man made islands are all the famous people’s houses like Hulk Hogan’s house he lost in the divorce (ouch!), Puff Daddy, the Scarface house, the CSI Miami house (from the first season, they don’t even film in Miami anymore!), the Miami Vice house, Steffi Graph’s house, and some really rich guy that built a $50 million dollar mansion with only 3 bedrooms, each about 4,000 square feet, isn’t that nuts?. Back on land we learned where the Miami Ink tattoo shop was, the old boxing club that Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and George Foreman all trained in (it’s a damn bank now, don’t see how a place with that reputation would go out of business), and the regular old convention center where Muhammad Ali won his first Heavyweight Championship of the World title in 1964 and President Nixon gave his acceptance speech (blame the tour guide if I’m wrong). I’m glad we went on this tour because we would have never traveled to the Bay to see those houses, I didn’t even know they were out there! As you can tell I pretty much just booked a trip to Miami without bothering to do any research because hey, it’s Miami, how can I go wrong?

There is a bunch of pictures to choose from, but I tried to choose the best ones to show all of you. Hope you enjoy them!

As some of you may or may not know, I play soccer.  I just recently joined a co-ed soccer league at Golds Gym. The competition is pretty tough, but I ended up being on a great team. There are a lot of talented men and women on my team.

The day before vacation I had a soccer game. The soccer game was going great until the last 15 seconds of the game. I went to kick the ball down the line and heard a crack when I put my foot down. I hopped around for a minute then went to the ground because I was in a lot of pain. My team was very supportive and helpful. They stopped the game and came to my side right away. Unfortunately, I could not walk this one off. I had to be helped off the field and into Joe’s car so he could take me to the emergency room. The referee came over and said “I think we’re just going to call the game because there is 15 seconds left”.  I cannot believe the day before vacation  I injure my ankle with 15 seconds left in the game when I have never broken or sprained anything on my body ever before.

Well as it turned out, my ankle was not broken. I had a sprain. They gave me an ace bandage, crutches, and some medicine for pain. Although it was not broken, it was still really inf lammed; my ankle was 3x the size it was normally. I did not get out the emergency room until 2:00 in the morning.

The next day I had a follow up appointment with the orthopedist. He agreed with the hospital’s opinion on the sprain and gave me a walking boot that he requested I wear for 3 weeks. I did not wear the boot for more then 2 days. After the second day, I took my pain medicine and hobbled around Miami Beach.

I am very happy that my leg was not broken and that I did not need a cast!

I got to go in the pool and the beautiful blue ocean!

We also ended up wining the soccer game!

The Fontainebleau resort in Miami Beach is absolutely fabulous. It truly lived up to its four and half stars rating. Everything is very luxurious and the service is exceptional. I highly recommend this place to anyone going to Miami.

Between he beach, pools, historic bars, famous night clubs, high class restaurants, and many shops, there really isn’t much need to leave the resort! We spent most of our vacation on the beach and in the pools and it was just great, enjoyed every minute of it. When we weren’t in the water or down in the main part of Miami Beach, we went to the restaurants in the hotel. We tried most of them, there were just too many.

Gotham Steak is a great steakhouse. We got a seat right next to the kitchen, which happens to have glass walls so you can watch them prepare and cook the meals. There is also Vida which cooks more of normal home-style dishes which was nice. One restaurant we didn’t try was Scarpetta, which is supposed to be the best Italian food restaurant down there, but we just simply ran out of days to eat food. There was an outside raw bar called La Cote which we also didn’t get to try, a sandwich shop called Fresh, a Japanese food place called Blade, a Chinese restaurant called Hakkasan.

A few nights we went down the the Bleau Bar, that famous bar in the famous hotel. Now drink prices in Miami are outrageous, but hey, at least you can say you had a drink there. Most nights we left the hotel to either get dinner or walk down Ocean Drive where everyone else in Miami Beach was. We never went to the club Liv, there was always some large party going on and long lines outside with waiting people, so we went off and did other things.

We were upgraded to a room with a balcony which was cool because we spent most early mornings out there watching the massive lightening storms over the ocean. There are four towers to the hotel, the all new suite towers Trésor and Sorrento, and the original but renovated Château and Versailles. We were in the Versailles tower, tenth floor, so the balcony view was really nice. Maybe one day we can go back and afford one of those suites :). There are also a ton of conference rooms and halls. I really don’t even know how many there are but there are two floors of them, and they were packed with massive company get-aways and conferences all week. All the rooms are equipped with iMac computers which connect you to their front desk for anything you need. No more dialing the front desk, just fill out a form online of what you need and twenty minutes later its at your door, I love technology.

If I had to rate this hotel I would give it a 5 all around. It was a great experience and I would definitely stay there again if we go back to Miami. If you wish to read more on the hotel, you can visit their website at www.fontainebleau.com. They also have a hotel in Las Vegas, which we are seriously considering for vacation next year. Enjoy the photos from the hotel and the surrounding resort property.

Jamie and I chose our vacation location early this year, due to the fact that we are traveling by plane. I don’t know why I started to look here, but it’s a spot you just can’t go wrong with.

We chose to go to Miami Beach this year. Ah yes, I cannot wait to be there. If only July can come sooner. I booked the hotel and the flight together on Hotels.com last night, got a great deal. Just for booking both we got $250 off the whole order, and two of the nights were free at the hotel. Our second choice was Ocean City, Maryland, but that was more expensive than Miami, even with us driving versus flying.

We are staying at the Fontainebleau Resort. From what I have been hearing it’s a pretty snazzy place. When it comes to hotels I go for location, not really amenities. I could care less if was a shack with a leaky roof, as long as it was right there on the beautiful beach. Who actually spends enough time in the hotel to care anyway right? Hey it’s not Poughkeepsie, its warm and on the beach, the rest is just extra really. When choosing this hotel, I did notice it was rated four and a half stars, so I think we are in for a big treat. There are four actual hotels that make up the place, including a bunch of restaurants, a spa, pools, and of course the beach for the backyard. Here is a blurb on what they offer right from their website:

Following a $1 billion renovation and expansion, Fontainebleau is a spectacular blend of Miami’s glamorous golden era and stylish modern luxury – 1,504 rooms and suites, 22 oceanfront acres, 11 restaurants and nightclubs including three signature name chef restaurants, 40,000-square-foot spa, and a sophisticated poolscape with private cabanas.

I was able to snag some birdseye photos of the hotel, courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth. Now one of the hotels isn’t shown yet on the map, it was still under construction the last time the satellite took a picture. It is completed now, you can see it if you watch their video on their website. Check it out.

Today was the last day of vacation. Unfortunately it rained almost all day. We didn’t get to finish the cliff walk which stinks because I really wanted to do that. One good thing came out of the rain though. It started to pour as we were walking to the restaurant we wanted to go to, but it got so bad that we just stopped in front of the Rhode Island Quahog Company restaurant. This was honestly the best food we had while we were here. We enjoyed some more stuffed quahogs, surf and turf with stuffed lobster, stuffed shrimp. We tried their award winning, Rhode Islands’ best, New England Clam Chowder. Boy, was it good, actually the best I have ever had. I bought some cans of concentrate to bring home and make.

During the day while it was raining we visited the last mansion, the Breakers; good thing we bought the five mansion pass. The Breakers was completed in 1895 for Cornelius Vanderbilt II to replace the wooden house that was there originally that he bought very shortly before it burned. What is nice about this house is that it never changed hands out of the family so almost everything in there is original from the Vanderbilt family.

To learn more about the mansions and the Preservation Society of Newport County please visit their site here. I have to credit them for some info on the posts about the houses as well as the info I received while on the tour.

After the Breakers, we went down Belleview Avenue (where all the mansions are, pretty much the fancy pants street in Newport) to the Belcourt Castle. Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont was the first owner of Belcourt Castle. Later on Alva Erskine Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, Oliver’s wife joined him in the castle. If you remember the post on the Marble House, Alva was married to Cornelius Vanderbilt and divorced him and literally moved down the street to the Belcourt Castle. She received the Marble House after Cornelius Vanderbilt’s death and kept it store her dresses. Take a minute to let that set in…….. She kept a mansion as a storage closet. Anyway, after Oliver and Alva died, the son took over, but he sold the house and then it changed hands a few times. It was bought for $25,000, yes that’s right a whole mansion sized castle for that cheap, by the Tinney family, who still owns it today. One woman lives in the house all by herself. I can’t imagine why you need a whole mansion to yourself. Tours still go on in all the parts except her area. Because it was raining I couldn’t get many pictures of the outside, but you can view them at their website here.

The tour went well, it was great to be able to get up close to everything and not just pass through rooms like the Preservation Society tours, but since Belcourt Castle won’t sell the house to Society, the house is in shambles. All the precious architecture and fine linens and destroyed because it is not being restored. One room the floor bowed so much it was about an eight inch difference from one step to the next. Chairs were torn up and falling apart. The beautiful silk walls were torn and faded, same with the linen and cashmere curtains. There was even a puddle in one room. Ancient carpets are worn to nothing because they let everyone walk on them. Plaster ceilings had water damage or chipped paint. It’s just a huge shame that all that history is gone to waste. Over the years the family collected stuff from 33 different countries, and its all getting damaged. I think they are really dumb for not letting the Preservation Society preserve their family’s history that the care so much for.

After the tours we went souvenir shopping for everyone and ourselves. After dinner we headed home, where I am writing this post now.

You can see how bad the rain is in this picture. Good thing we weren’t waiting on line when it was that bad.

This little house on the grounds was actually a cottage for the kids to play in. It’s almost the size of a full house and four times larger than any NYC apartment.

Belcourt Castle. Doesn’t look like the castle you probably had pictured in your head, but there is something in the house that allows it to be defined as a castle.

What I want to do next is formulate a hotel review as well as the whole Newport experience. Look for those posts coming during the week.

Today was a pretty good day. We woke up early and rode the ferry to Block Island. Unfortunately there is only one ferry from Newport to Block Island and it arrives there at 11:15 and departs at 4:45, so we didn’t have much time to really enjoy everything there. The ferry ride there was very nauseating. I don’t really have sea legs and this ferry was incredibly small, so you really, really felt each wave. That plus the heat I felt sick, but as soon as I moved to the shade I felt much better. The water was very calm on the way home so I was fine. I felt bad for the people that actually got sick on the ride there in the choppy water. We also had a nice experience with a seagull on the boat. In the beginning of the ride, about twenty minutes out in the ocean, a seagull came out of no where and hovered over the top deck where we were. Well this fool across from us decided to hold up some of his bagel and let the gull eat it out of his hand. Very bad move because now it didn’t leave. He kept feeding it, and when he didn’t, it pecked him in the head. Stupid man. Eventually he got very risky and held the bagel in his mouth and let the seagull take it. I just really hope that guy knows what diseases those things carry.

When we landed Jamie and I decided to walk around a bit and find something quick to eat since we wanted to digest the food before going back on the ferry, for caution sake I guess. After sandwiches at a bagel shop, we walked down to Mansion Beach and enjoyed the very cool water. The water wasn’t actually as salty out there and was very clean. That is one thing I like about going to places like this, everyone does their part to keep things neat and clean, not like public beaches back home where everyone litters. Anyway, after the beach we walked back to town and rented bikes to ride around and see what else was left on the small island. We ran a bit short of time but were able to see most of the houses. Our first stop was North Light, the farthest point from the ferry landing. Here is a very old lighthouse that is now a museum, but it was under construction so we couldn’t go in.

After roasting in the sun all day and on the ferry, my arms are on fire and are still burning as I type this post. I have the worst burn I have experienced so far and it’s not fun, but I won’t let it ruin the day. We ate dinner back in Newport after relaxing from the bike ride. We were a little stiff from the ride so we went two buildings over to Tickets Restaurant. Their food selection was pretty good and we ordered just some basic stuff like chicken parmigiana, nothing special about the place.

For the night entertainment, we went to Newport Grand Slots to play some slots. This was fun since we both have never been to a casino or played slots before. We played $30 on the slots and actually walked away winning $25 back, which is great since we really need the money for tomorrow’s food.

Tomorrow is checkout day. We have a full day of events planned but need to take care of any water activities before we give up the hotel room. The beach across the street has been closed for the past three days and we don’t know why. It says “Water Testing” but we aren’t sure if there is really testing going on or just that the water has been very “testy” and rough lately; too rough to go in at all.

Arriving at Block Island.

Mansions Beach.

We climbed the rock wall that defined the harbor.

Leaving Block Island now.

Ain’t I sooo red?

Lighthouse near Fort Adams in Newport. Almost home!

I just liked this picture. Shows how large those oil tankers are when they are empty.

Friday we went kayaking in the morning near Fort Adams. This is the second time we went kayaking. The first time was when we were in California two summers ago. The weather broke and it was perfect out. I burnt so badly out on the water that I am a lobster. We had a lot of fun out on the water rowing with the sailboats.

After kayaking we went on a tour of the Rosecliff mansion. It was rebuilt and completed in 1902 by Hermann and Theresa Oelrichs. When they first moved it the house was a small cottage style summer home but was not big enough for them. This mansion is the best so far, even though it only cost them $2.5 million dollars. The mansion can be rented for parties and would be a great placed for wedding with the huge, elaborate ball room. The mansion overlooks the water with a nice size yard and fountain in the back.

Once we were done at Rosecliff we ate dinner at Chili’s, watched the sunset on the warf and called it a night. We wanted to get up early for the Block Island ferry.

This is the Ida Lewis lighthouse. It is named after the famous women who manned the lighthouse for 39 years.

Notice that you can see the water straight through the house.

The sunset over the water is so beautiful.

Today was a horrible day. It stormed since Wednesday night and hasn’t stopped yet. Because of this, all we did today was visit one mansion and then have dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.

We chose to see the Chateau-sur-Mer, which is French for castle on the water (see those 2 years of French did pay off I guess, didn’t have to Google that one). Chateau-sur-Mer was built as an Italianate-style villa for China trade merchant William Shepard Wetmore. It was completed in 1852 and was the largest house until Vanderbilt built the Marble House in 1888.

After we got in the car and left we went through this arch and past this house on the grounds that I am guessing was for the workers in the house. The tour guide was pretty bad so we didn’t learn much about this place.

The Chateau-sur-Mer is currently undergoing restoration by the Preservation Society of Newport County and is to be completed this year.