Naples Florida

Naples Florida

Be sure to scroll to the bottom for a good laugh….

If you have not taken a vacation (that isn’t going home to see family or traveling to a friends wedding) this is your permission to book one asap!! We are about to celebrate 2 years since our wedding at the end of this month and we realized we had not taken a real vacation since our honeymoon.

I did earn a trip last year as a beachbody coach to Riviera Mya with my team but Ryan couldn’t get the time off. So it wasn’t a vacation together. And aside from business trips, holidays or friends weddings we had not had a REAL VACATION and felt long overdo.

So a couple months ago Ryan came home and said I NEED A VACATION! He is also the planner when it comes to our trips so he had free rain to plan whatever kind of trip he wanted. As I said for our lavish honeymoon….Im just here for the ride!

Our first stop was 1 night in Atlanta Georgia. We both enjoy sports and would like to attend as many different stadiums as we can so the Washington Nationals were playing a game in Atlanta and we followed them there. Our hotel had this cool bridge connecting to the stadium (which I was thankful for since the game didn’t end until 11:40pm). We had thee coolest seats too. Centerfield on the wall. Our cup holders were insulated so your drinks stayed cold all night. Also the NATs kicked ass and by the 5th inning we were up 14-0. We ended up winning 14-5.

The next morning we got in a hotel workout, then took a tour of the stadium. I highly recommend visiting this stadium and def take a tour. Here are a few pics.

The tour is about 90 minutes but we had to bounce after an hour in order to catch our flight to Florida. We still saw majority of the tour and all the cool parts. Our recommendation is do not go on game day or if you must, go as early as possible so you can access areas that may become off limits (press box, field, etc). Look out Florida here we come.

We stayed at the gorgeous Naples Ritz Carlton. We were treated like royalty, enjoyed lots of R&R time, loved the sunsets, I got too much sun, and we enjoyed local food and adventures. We arrived around 4pm. We checked into our room and then explored the resort. We decided on casual dinner on the water at Gumbo Limbo and got to watch the sunset.

The next morning we hit the gym (which was one of the better hotel gyms we have found and we love to travel). Then we hit up their amazing SPA for a couples massage. The cool thing is you get a spa pass for an entire day. So you can use the COLD/ HOT baths, the sauna, the mineral pool, check out the cafe etc. So first we got the massages but I wanted to head to the main pool and get some sun. I tend to burn which is one reason I wanted to start the trip with a massage. No one wants someone rubbing their sun burnt skin!

The massage was awesome. The time of year we went was off season which meant a quiet pool! It was hot and this girl who NEVER goes in the water went in on a float for over an hour! After that we headed back to the spa to soak in the mineral pool. I think they said it had 98 minerals. Im all for anything that boosts health so in we went. That water was even warmer than the main pool both felt like bath water. I decided to head back and shower for dinner. Ryan took advantage of the cold pool/hot pool baths!

As it turned out, this week was Restaurant Week in Naples! So a couple nights we took advantage. Since we were celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary early we headed to Trulucks.  I had their swordfish steak and it just may be the best one I have ever had. They sprinkled rose pedals on our table and gifted us a dessert for our anniversary. Extremely sweet of them. I highly recommend their strawberry shortcake!

The fabulous thing about Naples is 5th avenue. Its full of restaurants (fancy and casual) and shops galore! So we decided to walk from one end of it to the other. The uber is about a 20 minute ride away from our hotel which is the only negative. It was brightly lit, it had a theatre, and adorable lights.

The next day, post gym, we had brunch at the restaurant on the resort called Terrazza. Our waitress was named Kelly and she was the sweetest. After learning about our anniversary she gifted us a silver Ritz Carlton picture frame so we can come back and take the same photo year after year!!!!! I mean how thoughtful is that!!!?????  We enjoyed the breakfast buffet, the homemade omelette station, endless coffee and outside dinning. Then it was time to hit the pool again.

 

 

 

Since Sunday was our last full day in Naples we took full advantage. We rented a car from Hertz (which was located right on the resort) and drove about an hour away to Speedys Airboat Tours. We made reservations but it was off season. During their busy season I recommend making reservations a few days in advance. It was so much fun!

We then checked out a few things in Marco Island (we also stayed there). Post tour we found the cutest brunch spot called Doreens Cup Of Joe. I mean with a name like that I was already game. Their homemade donut holes are sinful, the staff friendly, the decor adorable and their food amazing! I WILL BE BACK!

 

Then we drove to Naples Pier. We found on street parking a few blocks away. We walked the beach to the pier and then walked to the end of the pier. It was full of kids, fisher men, couples all enjoying the sunshine, the ocean and fresh air. To our surprise at the end of the pier were two dolphins. They loved all the fish and bait from the fisherman. Def go check it out.

We then headed back to the hotel. I got in a few more hours of sun while Ryan finished some work. We then got ready and headed back to 5th avenue for our last night. We ate at  Ocean Prime. Again taking advantage of restaurant week. They gifted us Champaign (my poor hubby had to drink both glasses since I don’t drink) but their food was fab. Def try their carrot cake. We loved Naples and plan to return.

Thank you to Naples and The Ritz for making our trip extra special!

But WAIT…… I mentioned I worked out at the hotel gym daily. If you follow me you know I video my workouts and then share them with you daily on Instagram or Facebook. Well I guess the sweetest woman who worked the front desk at the gym did not like how it made these men act. So the next few days she let me workout inside the Pilates Studio (which was big by the way). To see the other days workouts check my social media above.

Try this lower body workout and hope these men make ya laugh!

 

Click to workout with me?