Over the holidays, hubs and I splurged on our first official night away from bubs. It was the perfect time to do so, as we knew that we had help at home for young Nuke (aka my folks), and we were also close enough distance-wise that we could always turn around should anything (God forbid) happen.
I recall the feeling of sheer exaltation I felt upon arrival – a glass of welcoming champagne in hand, sun-hat and glasses shed immediately… sitting on the balcony of our hotel room whilst soaking in the glorious breeze and sunshine.
Ah, the peace and quiet! Rejoice at last.
That’s the beauty of these lovely, well curated escapes, isn’t it – the ability to get away from it all, just you and your partner, even if it's for one day. The remainder of the time spent at the Ritz Naples was plain lovely... exactly what we needed, really, as newbie parents.
Hubby and I shed our layers of stress and worry with every step we took, and carried our kindles with us to the beach, where we admired a beautiful sunset together and enjoyed some delicious sea-side grub (lobster tacos anyone?) at the hotel’s Gumbo Limbo on the sand. We then indulged in his and her massages at the hotel spa (decadence at the extreme), followed by a quiet, romantic dinner at the hotel restaurant Lemonía, overlooking the tranquil Tiburón Golf Club.
In short, we got to do exactly what we've been meaning to do for a long time, which was to focus on each other (and yes, renew the romance as well, which is oh-so-key in any partner relationship).
The best part?
After dinner, we took what remained of our bottle of Pinot Noir outdoors, and cuddled up next to a fire pit on the hotel’s Bella Vista terrace and gazed upon stars.
“There’s the big dipper.”
I recall my love pointing to the sky, announcing his discovery triumphantly to me as I gamely observed by his side. (He may or may not have been using a stargazing app, just saying). Needless to say, that moment will stick with me forever, as it was just so uniquely perfect to us, and something we would have never gotten to savor back in our native Manhattan.
After all, who needs to count dollars when they can be counting stars?
Oh and yes, true confessions of a novice mommy – I missed my little munchkin so much I had to go back and pick him up the very next day so that he could hang out with us by the pool.
That’s the thing about motherhood I suppose, even though you can't wait to escape from all that fussing and chaos, you also learn to truly miss your baby when you’re way!
