Mallorca, Spain

We got to our room and died for about 3.5 hours. We knew we should not nap and waste daylight in such a gorgeous spot, but the body needs sleep.

Oh my, beautiful! 

I've never loved a heart more

We woke up refreshed and ready to explore a bit. The funny thing about staying in a nice resort is that sometimes it is just a little too fancy for you. The restaurants on campus (can't take the girl out of college administration) were just a bit highbrow for us. They were also having a "fashion show" so a ton of people were around all dolled up and we looked like refugees. We were told that the country club down the hill from the resort had food so we had the hotel golf cart drop us off there. The hotel campus was massive so you were driven in golf carts most of the time. This was actually kind of fun. It also helped keep the place beautiful because all cars were parked at the bottom of the hill. I love cars, but they can be unsightly.

Anyway, we get down to the country club only for them to tell us that they are closed. BAH!! A note about customer service in Spain: it does not exist. End of note. No, really, they do not have the notion of superior customer service. All visitors seem to notice it. They're very dismissive if something goes wrong and take no ownership. Across the board this is the attitude. It is something to which one must adjust.

Traveling is wonderful, but it can sometimes bring out parts of yourself that you were previously unaware of such as a die-hard belief that how "we" (Americans) do something is always the 100% right way. I actually think if more people traveled there would be less conflict as you just learn to adjust and adapt. While you may still think superior customer service is the correct method, you learn that backing employees over customers has some advantages, too. I also firmly believe that you travel to have new experiences so you have to fight expecting things to be "normal" when you're in a new place. Our continued time in Europe has beaten me down enough that I no longer order iced tea (it won't be brewed) and I expect to pay for my bottled still water. It doesn't even really cross my radar that I could ask for free tap water because that isn't the norm where I'm visiting and I don't want to push my norms onto them. I guess it is a respect thing. Whoops, tangent. I always wonder why blogging takes me so long. Now I know.

Ready to explore! 

Ok, all of my customer service discussion was to make the point that the woman working at the country club really went above and beyond to help us out. She gave us some ideas of where to eat in the nearby town since we weren't into the fancy, expensive food at the resort. She told us that a local pizza place was well-known for being just incredible so we settled on going there. We trekked back up the hill to retrieve our car keys (the golf carts were all helping other guests) so that we could head into town. We ran into a manager while waiting on our car and he made the mistake of asking Jackson how things were going. Most people say, "fine" and move on, right? Not old Honest Abe here. Jackson told him about being taken the country club for it to be closed, having to trek back, having to wait forever for our car to be brought around, how they charged us for the night we missed even though we called to cancel and Hyatt generally is flexible about such things. I mean I think he even complained about climate change. I'm unsure. This manager was so anxious to get the hell-o away from this grumpy American Jackson that he gave us free breakfast vouchers for the duration of our stay. WHAT!!!! That was worth like 150 euros (roughly $165). I told you the resort was pricey.

We finally got our vehicle and headed into town. Jackson walked me through parallel parking (sometimes this guy's patience is downright saintly) on a tiny side road and we wandered into the village. It was another happening place. It turns out that Germans love to vacation here so everything really catered to them. Since we cannot make a trip to Europe without my being mistaken for a German person, I felt right at home. We strolled around and then settled in for dinner at the pizza joint.

We went to order and realized that our menus were in German! Come again? It turns out the server glanced at me, assumed we were Germans and just seated us with those menus. Hilarious. We got it straightened out and they had English menus, too.

Jackson got truffles on his side because he is fancy. I got fungus (mushroom) and ham because I know what I like.

BREWED ICED TEA?
WE. HAVE. ARRIVED.

A pizza lover's dream

The woman from the country club did not lead us astray. That pizza was phenomenal. We wandered around town walking off dinner for a bit before returning to the hotel for an excellent evening of sleep!

We woke up the next day feeling human again. Naturally this meant we needed to stroll down for our free breakfast at the resort's restaurant. 

Views.

The little village could not be cuter

Jackson was chipper

...because the room had a Nespresso machine

Now let's stroll to breakfast...

Checking out where we'd spend the afternoon

We had a really nice breakfast near the pools then headed back up to the room to change so we could lounge all day. We found ourselves exploring the property first, though, as it was just gorgeous around every turn.

Literally extending an olive branch

Waiting on me to go to the pool...

We spent a few hours at the pool and then, magically, Jackson announced that we should hit the spa since we'd saved money on dining. I didn't care about the reason for his temporary insanity I just knew that I needed to act fast. I called and got us booked in for a couple's massage within the hour. The spa was just down from our room and it was just as gorgeous as one would expect. Jackson filling out the paperwork was a real treat: "Did you know they can make you skinnier with a massage?! I am checking that option." I just nodded. We got changed and they took us to relaxation rooms to wait for our treatments.

The views from the relaxation rooms were insane

I decided to just move in there

It was so zen

I have to preface this video by saying that I have never laughed harder in my life than when Jackson came into our massage room and showed me that his paper underwear fit "just a little funny." I HONESTLY THOUGHT THEY WERE GOING TO KICK US OUT BECAUSE MY ROAR OF LAUGHTER COULD BE HEARD ON THE MOON. I COULD NOT BREATHE. He'd put his little panties on backwards and just had his manhood all over the place. I am 100% sure the masseuse would have just carried on, but I had him fix himself up. Our masseuses came in and I still could not control myself. I had to really focus to stop laughing and enjoy my massage. I overcame the odds, though. It was a wonderful treatment. I could hear Jackson's occasional grunt and would tear up as I held in my laughter, but otherwise it was lovely.  

Once we'd recovered from the spa we headed back into another part of town for dinner. We stopped off at a renowned overlook first.

Not a bad view!

Jackson soaking it in

Date night!

We find that Italian is done quite well in Europe and is also a pretty safe bet for us so we had that style of food again. We were not disappointed.

Fried dough!

Delicious homemade pasta

Brownie with ice cream? YES, PLEASE! 

The next morning was sadly our last one. We were bummed to not get to spend more time at this lovely resort, but we think we'll be back. We had another free breakfast before spending a little more time soaking up the pools before it was time to get to the airport.

There were a ton of stairs

In my happy place!

Upon checkout we again asked them to reconsider charging us for the night we missed due to our travel issues and they refused, but said they would call Hyatt corporate to see if anything could be done. I was convinced that no changes would be made but about halfway to the airport we got an e-mail from Hyatt corporate saying they were refunding the unused night. Victory! It made our experience just that much better and sealed the fact that we'd return to this property. 

Now, onward to Switzerland! 

"I need a wheelchair!"

MacK saying goodbye from Aunt Kathy's

Jackson had to work in Orlando on Thursday morning so he headed there and I took care of things here in Naples. I ran MacKenzie up to Aunt Kathy's and finished getting us all organized for the trip. Jackson got home to Naples, picked me up and we headed over to the Miami airport which is about 1.75 hours away. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 22:35 which meant we'd had a full day before it was time to go.

We went early enough to be able to have dinner at Chuy's then hang out in the sky lounge until our flight. All was well, we'd had dinner, returned our rental car (it is way cheaper to rent a car and return it to the airport than to park when you're leaving for an extended period) and our flight was loading. All of the sudden, Jackson did not feel well. He was shaky and cold. 

We are now in a crowded gate area and Jackson is full on melting down. He does not feel well. He cannot take this flight. We go up to the counter to see what they can do for us and the airline calls the paramedics. WHAT?! I'm attributing this to a language barrier since it was an air carrier from Spain, Iberia Air. 

The paramedics come and take his vitals. They proclaim that they cannot help him as he has early stages of the flu. They continue to throw up their hands unable to help. Jackson then says, "get away from me then!" to these medical professionals who now all look at me with pity. I accept it. One asks me if he is always like this (grumpy) and I say, "yes, this is his general disposition." Said paramedic then rubs my back. I'd normally hate this. In this moment I'm taking all the support I can get.

I turn back to the airline folks and tell them that we cannot fly if he's sick and contagious. I ask what they can do for us. They sputter. Some run away. Finally they give us a 1-800 number to call and then move on. People are trying to get on an international flight which means the boarding area is mass chaos. The paramedics give us one last piece of advice which was, "do not go to the hospitals in Miami. We have an outbreak of dengue fever and all of our hospitals are currently cesspools. If he needs fluids, and he may, you need to get out of Miami before seeking medical care." 

Let's pause. Yes, Miami is in the United States. No, it did not feel like it at that point. Also, if these good folks think this girl was returning to an ER in a major city without dying first, they were wrong. It was nice to have no options, though. Ugh. 

We decide to head for a hotel for the evening because Jackson doesn't feel up to renting another car to get back to Naples at this point. Jackson and I started walking for the main terminal and he is just shuffling. Suddenly I hear him say, "I NEED A WHEELCHAIR!" 

Let's pause. Yes, my husband with the onset of the flu has now decided he cannot walk. Heaven. It's me. HELP!

A kind, tiny Spanish woman finds a wheelchair and agrees to get him back to the main terminal. After losing control of his chair and slamming him into a few walls (I mean I cannot even type this without laughing at the mind image), we make it. He is able to somehow muster the strength to walk to the lobby of the airport hotel.

Listen, this is Miami. The airport hotel is not the new Westin found in Denver. We're basically checking into my dorm room at IU from 2002. No updates. 2002. I pay the astronomical $200 nightly rate and we head to our room. Jackson gets in the shower and I start manning the phones trying to figure out our flight options. 

At this point I have no idea how long this flu will last. If we'll need to get a car in middle of the night to seek additional medical care. Nothing. Iberia Airlines customer service sucks. It will cost more to replace our tickets than to just let them go. I cannot take any additional stress so I just hang up without changing our tickets or making any decisions. This turns out to be a wonderful thing. 

Jackson takes his hot shower then settles into bed after taking some ibuprofen that I always carry with me when we travel. We picked up a water somewhere. It had to have been a Good Samaritan who hooked us up with that. Thanks, Lord. Finally, he's snoring. Nurse Jenna crawls into bed (our room had two beds because it was a dorm room from 2002) and only mildly wonders what kind of critters are sleeping with her in this place. I finally fall asleep and people check in next door. It is now like 03:00 and suddenly these people are loudly trying to get into our room via the connecting doors. I panic. Jackson is out cold and we're about to get robbed in Miami. Suddenly Jackson is up and calling the front desk. Security comes up. The idiots next door say they were trying to lock the door, not open it. They're lying. Security tells them to chill. Jackson goes back to bed. My nerves are now officially shot and I wait for morning.

Snug as a bug.

Morning comes and Jackson showers again. He is alive. He feels better. Not 100% better, but better enough to travel. He decided to head down to the Iberia counters in the airport to see what he can get arranged. I sit in the room stunned that this guy is just back in action like nothing happened.

Am I annoyed? Yes. Am I grateful? Yes. Am I still a little annoyed? Oh, I answered that already.

In the miracle of all miracles our flight actually never took off the night before as they needed a part and the repair shops were closed for the night. Since I did not make a change to our flight the night before we got treated just like everyone else and rescheduled for a new flight. We got checked into our dorm hotel around 01:30 and folks on the canceled flight got checked in around 05:00. We paid and they had vouchers, but otherwise we got the better deal really. We slept while they waited to see if they could take off. 

Iberia put us on a new flight leaving at 17:00 which meant we'd lose an entire day of vacation, but would still get to our trip. We hung out in the dorm until checkout time then went through the airport to get some lunch. We eventually boarded our flight and continued this long journey to Spain.

He's back! 

We ended up in a two seater row so that was great and pretty comfortable. We landed in Madrid which has to be the largest, fanciest airport in the world and spent a few hours in a club lounge before catching our final 1.5 hour flight over to Mallorca. It was in the club lounge that I realized that my wasp sting from my tennis lesson the other night had engulfed my entire knee and most of my leg. My skin was red and hot to the touch. Did I call a medic? No. I just rolled a cold water bottle down my leg and kept moving. Women vs. men isn't even a contest, friends. 

Mallorca (Majorca) is one of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. We had hotel points to cash in with Hyatt and they have a super fancy property on the island. We landed, rented our car and made the roughly hour long drive from the airport to our resort. I've never been more tired. I was trying every trick in the book to not fall asleep at the wheel. We eventually made it and the resort was beyond our expectations. It was gorgeous. And it had showers and a bed. This meant it was a true paradise. We were so excited to just get to our room, albeit a day late, and start actually enjoying this vacation. Let's be real, I needed a vacation just from the transit experience!

August

August in South Florida is something through which you just survive. It isn't pretty. It isn't fun. It is just HOT. 

We spent a lot of time inside in the AC or at the pool/beach cooling off.

Pool day

Acted like tourists and went for sunset

Jackson made homemade pesto and it was amazing

The world's cutest beggar

"helping" the cable repair guy

Beach day

We're officially summer travelers for the duration of our stint living in Florida. 

Newport, Rhode Island

Saturday morning we decided to head over to Newport, Rhode Island instead of going to Martha's Vineyard as we'd originally planned. Since we were not obsessed with Cape Cod we feared MV would be similar and we'd waste big money on the ferries over and back for the day. I'm glad we made this decision because Newport ended up being one of the loves of my life. 

"The Starbucks where Pilgrims got coffee" 

The charm of Newport cannot be overstated. This Starbucks used to be an apothecary and they had photos of how the area looked once upon a time. I loved it. I kept saying that it felt like Paul Revere must have vacationed here. It turns out that Paul did spend time in Newport while in the military but it wasn't vacation. Ehh, I was close!

Jackson anchoring down in Newport!

Can you feel the charm?

During the late 19th century, Newport, Rhode Island, became the place for American high society to be and be seen during the summer. Many of the palatial summer “cottages” were saved from the wrecking ball thanks to The Preservation Society of Newport County (PSNC). We were such fans of the places that we became members of the PSNC. Sure, we only joined because I did the math and a two-person membership was cheaper once you calculated all of the associated perks than two single tickets, but we are now members nonetheless and I feel fancy for it. I've already added it to my LinkedIn profile. (I'm not kidding which makes it more hilarious.)

The most well-known home is called "The Breakers," Cornelius Vanderbilt II’s 138,000-square-foot cottage. It has 70 rooms, including a 2,400-square foot dining room and 27 fireplaces. It sits on 13-acres and stretches to the historic Cliff Walk.

If this house reminds you of the Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina (the largest private house in America) that is because the same architect, Richard Morris Hunt, designed it for Cornelius' relative, George Washington Vanderbilt. I tried to follow the Vanderbilt family tree but they had so many heirs I gave up. The Biltmore's build was started first and that home is substantially larger. The Breakers was just a summer cottage after all. ;) Having toured both, though, they do feel quite similar. The two homeowners might have been brothers or cousins but they certainly shared a fondness for over-the-top homes.

Welcome to The Breakers

A view of the side of The Breakers

I imagine many parties took place on this back patio

This photo from the edge of the backyard gives you
more of a feel for its size

Petefish.

They are huge fans of this ceiling in the grand hall

The dining room

The dining room's fireplace was amazing

The bedroom were purposefully understated

Cornelius' room
(they slept separately back then)

This marble tub weighs over 500 pounds

The homes were meant to be fancy and not always practical. The tub was marble so it was very cold at all times. The servants would have to fill it four times before it would be warm enough for an entire bath. 

Louis Vuitton was popular even then!

Interestingly, the Louis Vuitton brand started as high-end luggage. The founder, Louis Vuitton, made trunks and created his now famous monogram as a pattern so that he could protect it via trademark. He was one of the first to create flat-topped trunks that could be stacked. He also made these trunks waterproof and with the best locks of the day. The trunk shown above was likely used on many trips to Europe by boat and trips to New York City by train. These trunks were made by hand and are now collectibles. That trunk is said to be worth about $65,000 today. Wild! The Vanderbilt family liked their high-end goods.

The terrace view. Our favorite spot!

A stained glass ceiling!

The kitchen was massive, too!

The homeowners never did any cooking, but their French chefs had the best of everything. I think they said there was a staff of around 65 people used just to keep the house running like a well-oiled machine. It was amazing to see how much and how little things had changed since 1895!

The next house we saw was one of Jackson's favorites, Marble House. Marble House was actually built before The Breakers by Cornelius II's younger brother, William Kissam Vanderbilt. He gave it to his wife Alva for her 39th birthday. The cost to build it? $307 million in today's dollars. Alva must not have been impressed as she divorced him three years later. Marble House was also designed by Richard Morris Hunt. When I'm on Jeopardy! one day and need to know architects let's hope they ask about Vanderbilt homes.

The house is actually four levels, not two as it appears

It has an ample backyard, too.

The Marble House's backyard view wasn't bad!

the Gothic library

The bedrooms here were more ornate! 

Jackson loved the marble used all throughout the home. I thought it made it feel cold and more like a museum. We enjoyed the tour, though. 

We decided to take a drive around the area and see what else was around besides these massive homes. Yeah, there were just more massive homes owned by private individuals. The views were amazing, though.

Rhode Island showing off

We finally took a break, miraculously found parking, and wandered into the shopping district to have dinner. Jackson had lobster nachos that he really liked. I had the worst crab cake ever. Bummer! 

At least the company was good!

We decided to stick around Newport to see the sunset so we drove out to Brenton Point State Park and made use of our SUV as a fun place to sit. It was an absolutely stunning day weather-wise and we were so pleased at how it actually cools down at night unlike Florida!

Sunset from the back of the Jeep!

The next morning we went back to Newport as we wanted to see some additional houses. The PSNC owns ten homes so there were plenty to still visit.

First, breakfast on a patio. Our favorite!

We got to town early to try to beat the crowds and it worked. We were able to have breakfast and get to the next house we wanted to see, Rosecliff, just as it opened for the day.

Rosecliff

Petefish.

The ballroom

a gold piano because why not?!

They loved their dogs at this place
so it was naturally one of my favorites

Understated decor. ;)

The library

YES! Dogs in paintings are the best!

These folks shared a bedroom but didn't share a bed

Rosecliff had a massive backyard with ocean views, too!

By this tour Jackson had gotten really fancy and felt this home was cheaply built and finished by comparison. Brides don't seem to mind as a wedding at this place goes for about $50,000 just to rent it. They can have 230 guests at roughly $500 per head yet the place is booked years in advance. I cannot even imagine spending that much on a wedding, but I'd love an invite!

Jackson on the Cliff Walk

We wore our gym clothes so that right after touring Rosecliff we could go to the Cliff Walk and put in a few miles. Listen, the walk it pretty and all, but some of the hedges trap you in so much that you're just on a small sidewalk with no view. I think they need to address this. We walked for a few miles before deciding heading back to do more home tours. Yes, we toured these mansions in our used gym clothes. Whoops!

Next we toured The Elms which was my second favorite place. The Breakers was both of our top favorites.

This sunroom was amazing and I'd have spent
hours reading there daily if it were mine

Another dog lover!

Quite the dining room

A chair made for her dog to sit in! YES!

Notice the ornate toilet!

This home was just stunning. It had a sunken garden in the backyard that was just gorgeous. It was not on the ocean, though. This fact knocked it out of Jackson's favorites.

The best pulled pork nachos EVER!

We decided to finally get a late lunch/early dinner in town. We decided to forget seafood and went for BBQ. It was a great decision. The restaurant had awesome people watching and the food was amazing. We had a few more hours before our sunset sail so we decided to go back to The Breakers for another tour. It was now Sunday evening so we thought the crowds may have died down and they had. It was great. 

Note: all of the four tours we did were done via self-guided audio tours. We stopped at a few of the other mansions (remember there are 10 total) and they had actual guide lead tours. That's a no for me. I don't like to go at someone else's pace so we skipped those. On our return to The Breakers I got the audio tour again and Jackson passed. He told them he wanted to look around on his own. Everyone was shocked and I pretended he was a stranger.

The dining room at The Breakers was just stunning

Soaking it in with no guide!!!

I was really into the tour at this point

Just a couple of PSNC members hanging out on the grounds

We really enjoyed being able to just hang out in the lovely backyard and enjoy the cool evening.

Membership has it privileges 

The sunset sail ended up being just amazing. The views of Newport from the water were incredible and the temperature was perfect.

House on the Rock

You too can summer at the House on the Rock for $10,000 per week with a three year waiting list!

The Pell Bridge

The bridge looks pretty from here but it was very high and $4 to cross each way. Ugh!

Couldn't have asked for a better evening!

A local brew, a sailboat and a sunset makes for
a very happy Jackson

Hammersmith Farm

Hammersmith Farm is a Victorian mansion that was the childhood home of  Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, and the site of the reception for her 1953 wedding to then U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy. During his presidency, it was referred to as the "Summer White House". The home was a museum for a bit but is now a private residence again.

Jackie's "doll house"

I obviously wasn't around for JFK and Jackie's era, but I did learn to love her on their tour when they said that her favorite dog got arthritis and couldn't climb the stairs in her four story tall doll house so she had an elevator installed. Any girl who looks out for her dogs cannot be all bad.

Jackson and the wild German lady!

There was a woman from Germany who now lived in Connecticut on our boat. She managed to insult American education, the entire state of Iowa and who knows what else. We met a lovely couple on the boat from Iowa and really enjoyed them. The German lady would come by and just heckle us from time to time. This is a perfect fit for Jackson's personality so I think she added to the tour for him. I just kind of ignored her and tried to learn about Newport.

The next morning we slept in and were kind of bums. We knew we had a long evening of travel home so we were not in a huge hurry. We eventually checked out of the hotel and headed over to Newport again. We intended to do more exploring in the New England area but I loved Newport so much that we just decided to go there three days in a row!

Clam chowder on a hot day? Yes, please.

We'd heard about a restaurant in the shipyard called Belle's Cafe that was supposed to be great. We headed there first for an early lunch. They had tables right by the boats so Jackson was a happy guy.

Twin lobster rolls!!

While it was a very warm day, I had heard their clam chowder was awesome so I dove right in. It was excellent. Jackson was super pleased with his twin lobster rolls so it was a success.

He's never not looking at sailboats

On the boat tour we learned about the Castle Hill Inn where there are adirondack chairs on the lawn that are free to the public. We love a good free place with a view so we headed on over. While it was technically free, you had to tip the valet and one beer and an arnold palmer cost us $12. It was still lovely and we sat there relaxing for a good long time.

Enjoying a gorgeous Monday afternoon

It was a little windy, but the Arnold Palmer was great!

Watching the sailboats

We got news that our flight was delayed so we stopped for another tour this time of The Breakers stables. It was really cool to see where they kept all the horses and carriages.

A quick tour of the stables

Then we went for another walk on a different part of the Cliff Walk. It was a nice way to end the trip.

Jackson on the Cliff Walk again

VIEWS!

We knew traffic could be spotty around rush hour so we headed to the airport a little early. Our flight ended up only being delayed a couple of hours so we made it back to Orlando and drove about halfway to Aunt Kathy's place before calling it a night at a hotel. The next morning we got MacKenzie and headed home to plug in and get back to work.

I cannot recommend Newport highly enough. It was LOVELY.