Category: Away we go

Now that Thankgiving and an awesome surprise visit from my brother’s family is out of the way, I have officially started the obsessing planning phase of our pending family trip. While we have done endless kilometers of road tripping, a family vacation that includes air travel is something new and somewhat intimidating. And the idea of changing planes in LaGuardia after almost missing not one but both connections on my trip to Mexico in August gives me a bit of a belly ache, so I’m trying to be as prepared as possible.

Trying to see the adventure from the perspective of the kids has helped me remember that this is supposed to be a fun adventure and not something to stress over. We’ve been having fun talking about the places we’ll visit, the sights we might see, and of course the amenities on the cruise ship. I’m delighted that they’re old enough to enjoy and remember all of this, and their natural enthusiasm and wonder makes me less stressed about the details and more in touch with the sheer joy of travel.

You won’t be surprised to hear that I’ve been googling for tips about travel with kids. In all the reading I’ve done, I haven’t come across tips as unique as the ones I got in Mexico this summer from Fisher Price’s play expert Dr Kathleen Alfano. She gave us some excellent ideas for engaging kids with travel and making the experience even more memorable for them. (Is the graphic big enough for you to read them clearly? You can click on it to see a larger version.)

I particularly like the idea of sharing the planning process with the kids and letting them have a bit of say in the decision making, even if it’s as simple as “should we sit here or there” or “should we go to the beach first and then the museum” or “what would you like to make sure we do today”. I find the boys are a lot more receptive to mom’s crazy plans if they feel invested in the process. 😉 This goes hand-in-hand with tip 9 when getting kids to buy into your plans — they will feel a much greater sense of control if they have an idea of what to expect over the course of the whole vacation but also on each day if you lay out some of the highlights in advance.

Tip number 7 is a part of our regular daily routine. We often take turns describing our favourite part of a day out and sometimes it’s a bit of a surprise to hear which part of an exciting day out made the biggest impression on them. And how much do I love tip number 6, asking your children to describe how they feel or what they see in one word and then keeping track of what they say? Wouldn’t that make an awesome book, to have a photo and the one-word caption to go with it? I was already planning on letting the boys document the trip from their perspective with our Kid Tough Digital Camera . But how fun would it be to make a photo book at the end of the trip with a mixture of their photos and mine, all captioned with the one-word they used at the time to describe what they were thinking or feeling? Hmm, I wonder if I’m organized enough to actually DO this?

Speaking of travel memories, here’s another great graphic from Dr Alfano with some fun ideas for keeping those vacation memories alive:

Anyway, all that to say we are pretty darn excited right about now. Some time this week we should be getting a detailed itinerary and information about our accommodations on the Allure of the Seas. We’ve already had the globe out, tracing the path of the ship from Florida to Haiti to Jamaica to Mexico and back to Florida. I’ve got a to-do list as long as my arm and our flight information saved to several electronic devices. (Speaking of flights, on our New York to Florida leg, we couldn’t pre-book our seats so we’re hoping that the airline takes mercy on us and is able to seat at least one of us grown-ups with Lucas. I was sick with anxiety about this until a more seasoned travelling friend mentioned that it’s also in the airline’s best interest to have children seated with their parents.) Aside from those details and the actual packing, I think we’re ready to go!

Care to share any sanity-saving family travel tips? Better yet, give me something new to obsess over and tell me your WORST family travel story!

As I mentioned, Karisma Hotels operates a chain of hotels on the Mayan Riviera, including the three Azul hotels we toured. It was interesting to me how each of the three Azul hotels had completely different energy levels and vibes, right from the moment you walk into the lobby.

Azul Beach Hotel is the smallest of the three, offering a quieter and more mellow environment. I think this would be the best choice for families with wee children (say, ages five and under) and families without children. There were quite a few families with small children when we were there, and it was clear that there was plenty of kid-speed activities just for them. There’s a kids’ club with daily programming at the Azulitos play house:

The Azulitos Play House has equipment and special programs created for children from four to 12 years old. There is a play space designed by Fisher-Price® with all the latest educational toys to enhance early childhood development. Kids sing, listen to stories, and work on talking and sharing skills in playgroups.

Highlights for older children include video games and a full schedule of challenge games and activities. There is mini-yoga, handcrafts, face painting and movie time. Kids love all the beach activities, which include a treasure hunt, sandcastle building and balloon wars.

There’s a small playground on the beach, and three swimming pools, in addition to the suites with swim-up pools. Every day as we hustled from one activity to the next, I looked longingly at the craft station set up on the beach (they were painting ceramic figures) and I thought about how much my boys would have loved that particular activity. I’m pretty sure their heads may have exploded when they saw the dedicated Lego room, and the mini-trampoline, and the swing chairs, and the video game stations. And then, of course, white sand beach with rolling waves.

And everywhere, there is evidence of Karisma’s partnership with Fisher-Price, from a toy-lending library to Fisher-Price booster seats scattered throughout the restaurant. Each of the restaurants has a kids’ menu, but of course kids are welcome to choose from the regular menu, too.It truly seems that children are welcome here, and just an inconvenience or afterthought.

Here’s the the #FisherPriceMoms Canadian team (well, the half of us that could make the trip) together with Eddie and Sonya Lee. (I must admit, these overly-life-sized Little (not so much) People may have freaked Lucas right out, but many of the kids at the resort seemed fine with them.)

Azul Sensatori, the much larger hotel just down the road, has a totally different energy.

Azul Sensatori Hotel features never-before-seen suites that have a heated Jacuzzi for two in the lazy river off the terrace. There are also guaranteed family connecting suites, adults-only and premium sections, and honeymoon suites with wrap-around balconies.

This Gourmet Inclusive®, 438-suite hotel is just 20 minutes from the airport in Cancun. Special experiences foster togetherness for families, couples and groups of friends.

Available baby amenities include strollers, baby bath tubs, changing tables, baby monitors, cribs, play pens or pack n’plays, baby step stool, baby bath robes, bottle warmers & sterilizers. Azul Sensatori caters to kids and teenagers, with the Azulitos Playhouse and Extreme Breeze Teens Club. The exclusive Family & Friends Vacation Planner coordinates family reunions.

And the baby bath robes? Are adorable! Azul Sensatori has plenty of amenities for the littlest travelers, but also features a teen club with activities like DJ mixing lessons (this has Simon written all over it!) and a rock-climbing wall that Tristan would love. Here’s the play area at one of the pools:

I don’t think I told you about my (ahem) suite at Azul Beach House yet. Third after chasing the sunrise on the beach every morning and the food, my favourite thing about Azul Beach House was the bathroom in my suite. It was easily the size of my kitchen at home (which, I admit, doesn’t say much about the size of my kitchen!) It had a stand-alone jacuzzi tub and a separate shower enclosure with both a shower wand and one of those rainfall shower heads in the ceiling. (And it only took me getting zapped in the ear once by cold water from the shower wand to learn to make sure it’s aimed down before turning on the water!) It was simply too large to capture decently in a single photo, so here’s a panorama of the bathroom:

You know what I really loved, though? There was one of those iPhone charger clock radios in the bedroom, and it was attached to speakers in the bathroom. I plugged in my iPhone one day to charge it and was playing some music to cover up the sound of the silence (I’m really not used to silence anymore!) and was delighted to hear the music being piped into the bathroom speakers. Again, little touches like that really impressed me.

And speaking of water, my fears about water quality in Mexico were unfounded. My vow to use no ice cubes melted (ahem) in the first day of 45C humidity, and with all the food I ate there was no way I could avoid the fresh fruits and vegetables they tell you to avoid when traveling in Mexico. And I had no problems whatsoever.

This post has been all over the place, hasn’t it? I have at least one, maybe two more posts left in this series, but I want to make sure I can cram in as much of the awesome as possible!

It was kind of funny how many Canadian connections I came across in my trip to Mexico last week. (Eek, only last week? Seems like a dream from here!) From the New York blogger who was born in Canada to the general manager and head chef at one of the hotels we visited to the chef who just won the Hot & Spicy Food Festival competition at the Harbourfront Centre, there seemed to be lots of Canadian connections.

Before we left, I took a minute to sew a Canadian flag patch on my camera backpack, which I often use as a day bag as well. I wondered if people still do that. It was the thing to do when I was backpacking in Europe in the 1990s. It had the same effect in Mexico that it did in Europe, though — when people noticed the Canadian flag, they often mentioned it to me, from the hotel staff to people hanging out in Puerto Morelos.

I don’t know whether it was my Canadianness that endeared me to the (Canadian) general manager at the Azul Fives hotel where we had lunch one day in the Arezzo restaurant, or whether he’s just an incredibly nice guy. We were having a four course lunch (which is just what you need mid-day when it’s 47C with the humidity and you’ve just spent the morning tramping around Mayan ruins) and it was a spectacular meal. We had a choice between lobster with goat cheese pasta or marinated angus beef pasta as an entrée, and I was wavering between the two. I settled on the beef with some regret, but when the entrées came out, I was given the lobster and goat cheese instead. There was a few minutes of confusion (I didn’t want to take someone else’s entrée but would have been completely happy with either choice) and even as I protested that the goat cheese and lobster would really be quite fine, my beef entrée arrived. Mario, the general manager, who happened to be sitting at our table, said a brief word to one of the servers, and a minute later there was a half-serving of goat cheese and lobster pasta at my elbow as well. “You should try both!” he said with a smile. “Vacations are not for tough choices, they’re for indulging.” (And then they served up a dessert with not one, not two, but three variations of creme brulé. It’s okay, you can hate me.)

I thought this little exchange exemplified the attitude of all the staff at the Azul hotels we visited. From the housekeeping staff to the crews who cleared the seaweed from the beach to the wait staff and chefs to the concierges to the management – to a person, they were welcoming, friendly and seemed to really want to make sure we had the best possible experience. The idea of “gourmet inclusive” (meaning that every detail is attended to with care, from food to service) seems to be ingrained into the daily life of all the hotels. It was actually a bit of a letdown to come home to Ottawa and not be greeted with a friendly “Hola!” by everyone who passed within greeting distance.

And the food! Did I mention the food? Oh my bulging belly, the food! I may have eaten my body weight. Daily.

In addition to the Arezzo’s amazing Italian dishes, we enjoyed meals on the open-to-the-sea-breeze patio of Blue Restaurant, which has a little bit of everything and all of it looks delicious. How can you not love a lunch that looks out on this view?

And if you like dining al fresco, how about a Mayan feast on the beach for dinner? Shoes optional. 🙂

How cute are the linen napkins with the Fisher-Price Little People embroidered on them? Again, the attention to detail was so subtle and so impressive.

We enjoyed sushi and tempura one evening at the Asian-inspired Tainan, where the sushi floats by on little boats. I was hoping for a little (lot!) of spice in my meals, being in Mexico and all, but it wasn’t until the last evening’s feast (and truly, you can’t call it anything but that) on the Chil terrace that I got my wish, in the most amazing tortilla soup I’ve ever eaten.

But really, if I’m going to talk about the food at the Azul hotels (and clearly I am, at some length, too!) I have to tell you about the 12-course “Molecular” lunch at Azul Sensatori’s award-winning Le Chique restaurant, truly the dining experience of a lifetime. We’d received an itinerary a few days before the trip, and this one had caught my eye. My mother and I joked about a 12-course lunch. Seriously? How could you possibly digest a 12-course lunch? I know there have been a lot of superlatives in this post, and they’re all well-earned because there was not a bite I ate the entire trip that was not head-and-shoulders above what I would usually eat on a vacation, but the food at Le Chique is in a class by itself.

Okay, so a bit of a confession here. I am not an adventurous eater. I am not exactly closed-minded about new tastes and new foods, but I prefer the known to the unknown. At my favourite restaurants, I always order the same thing because that’s what I like. The idea behind molecular gastronomy flies in the face of that. Have you heard of it? Here’s the definition from MolecularRecipes.com:

Molecular gastronomy or molecular cuisine is the science of cooking but it is commonly used to describe a new style of cuisine in which chefs explore new culinary possibilities in the kitchen by embracing sensory and food science, borrowing tools from the science lab and ingredients from the food industry and concocting surprise after surprise for their diners.

What this means is that the menu is the strangest-sounding one you’ll ever read, and the meals are prepared with exotic and extraordinary tools like smoke, syringes, liquid nitrogen and carbon dioxide. You end up with what looks like maraschino cherries but which are actually liquid-filled creations that burst when you bite them. You have bite-sized balls that look not entirely unlike baked hummus balls but actually taste like a plate of the best nachos you’ve ever eaten. It was a truly extraordinary meal and I savoured every bite.

And really, how can you not love a culture that serves guacamole and salsa with breakfast? Really, it’s a wonder I got on the plane to come home at all. Actually, what’s a wonder is that they didn’t have to haul me onto the plane using the cargo loader after eating like that for four days!