We are back from paradise! Even though we sat on the beach for 4 days straight the trip went by at warp speed, and in the blink of an eye we were back home to a fallen tree, a sink pipe leak, power outage overnight, an urgent care visit and two wild toddlers (who we missed!). Reality. But let's get back to talking about paradise...
When we planned out our trip we strategically chose to vacation during the school/work week so we didn't lose any weekend time with our kiddos. So on Monday morning we dropped the kids off at daycare and then headed straight to the airport. Ms. Jamie took it from there and had a great time with the kids, allowing us to sneak away care-free. She's the best.
MONDAY
We arrived to Turks & Caicos late in the afternoon and a quick cab ride later we were welcomed with cold towels and rum punch at Seven Stars Resort. The resort was so beautiful and the location was perfect. We could walk or bike to tons of restaurants, the grocery store,
other resorts, etc. Our suite was gorgeous too and since we had a little
kitchen, we took the advice of others and made a quick bike ride to the
grocery store to stock up on snacks and booze after settling in.
Even though the grocery store was a
football field away, we almost died trying to ride our bikes on the
opposite side of the road. There are no traffic lights on the island and
only roundabouts, so it took a little bit to adjust. But we made it!
For dinner we went to Buguloos, a beautiful beach-side restaurant where we both devoured our first conch dishes of the trip. After dinner each night we had cocktails and cozied up next to the fire at The Deck, Seven Stars beach-side lounge.
TUESDAY
On Tuesday we slept in before heading to breakfast at Seven and then down to the beach for the day. The saltwater pool at the resort was really pretty but we never spent anytime there because we couldn't peel ourselves away from the unbelievable ocean view. We spent the entire day on the beach -- me reading under the umbrella in a comfy beach lounger and Matt laying in the sun...which later that evening he would realize he forgot to apply sunscreen...to his FACE. He was burnt to a crisp and spent the rest of the trip in a t-shirt under the umbrella. Lesson learned, Matt. Although he does something like this every summer so actually the lesson is never learned.
For dinner we walked to Coco Bistro. This restaurant is very popular and books up fast so by the time I thought to make reservations a few weeks ago there was only a 5:30 pm reservation available...and I totally understand why. The palm grove ambiance and the food were both incredible. Matt ordered the seared tuna and I ordered the salmon. We both ate every last bite. After dinner we walked across the parking lot to Cocovan, an airstream lounge created by the Coco Bistro owners. We had another cocktail and ordered churros for dessert which were the best churros I've ever had in my life. The deep-fried fritters were coated in cinnamon sugar and served with a dark chocolate dipping sauce and vanilla ice cream. After dessert we returned to the resort to lounge at The Deck.
WEDNESDAY
Happy Valentine's Day to us! We slept in, ate breakfast at Seven and spent the gorgeous day laying on the beach where I plowed through The Woman in Cabin 10, which I loved.
For lunch we didn't want to leave our view so we ate at The Deck! This beachside restaurant offers a gorgeous beach view, comfortable lounge seating, the service is excellent, the ambiance is perfect and the food was absolutely delicious. We loved the fish tacos! We spent a lot of time here throughout the trip and got to know and love all the bartenders. They were all so great and took amazing care of us.
We walked to Coyaba for dinner. Hands down, our favorite dinner of the trip. The ambiance of this restaurant is so romantic, the service was excellent and the food was the best. We both ordered specials of the day. Matt ordered ravioli stuffed with the perfect trio of crab, conch and lobster. I ordered the fish of the day special which was mahi mahi! The presentation was amazing and the taste was even better. It came with slow roasted capers, stuffed zucchini and rice. This place deserves all of the awards. I can't wait to come back here.
After dinner we stopped at Infiniti for late night cocktails and dessert. This place is so chic and they had beautiful live music. In fact, I'd say this was the best ambiance we experienced. We sat there long enough to want dessert so we ordered the Chocolate Gourmandize which was basically the most exquisite lava cake with shaved banana, chocolate salt and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was spectacular.
THURSDAY
We slept in, ate breakfast at Seven and parked it on the beach. That afternoon we took a short bike ride before deciding it was too hot to go any further and came back to the beach.
For our last dinner of the trip we decided to stay on property and go to Seven. Matt ordered the duck and I ordered the lobster salad. Both were delicious. After dinner we claimed our favorite sofa in front of the fire at The Deck for cocktails.
FRIDAY
Since it was our last day we tried not to sleep in too late. We grabbed our very last delicious breakfast from Seven and squeezed in a few hours of beach time before packing up and checking out.
Our flight wasn't until late afternoon so we decided to grab lunch at Da Conch Shack to see what the heck all the hype was about! Well folks, I'm here to tell ya that this place truly is a gem. Don't leave the island without stopping for one last bite of conch here.
It was hard to say goodbye to the island but we promised to come back. This trip was exactly what Matt and I needed and we felt very grateful to have had the opportunity to take this trip, to know our kids were being loved on hard by Ms. Jamie while we were away, and for ALL the laughs and the moments that Matt and I shared uninterrupted.
*{not sponsored, just good advice} I would be remiss not to mention how wonderful our travel advisor, Christine Serio, was in helping us design this dream trip and keep us organized. I found her highly recommended in a local mommy Facebook group and she was excellent to work with -- very responsive, helped us pick our destination, select our resort, etc. If you're looking to book a trip, I highly recommend her. It's no cost to use her and she has tons of connections and travel knowledge.
