Pregnancy Adventure V: A Babymoon
Well, this adventure did not go as planned, but as always Bianca, Peanut and I had fun.
Bianca's grandma had won a night in a suite at the downtown Providence Marriot and gave it to us because she "would never use it." With Bianca's birthday on Wednesday, she got both weekends as official "birthday weekends." Bianca called it a babymoon, but that sounds kind of girly so we will stick to the Pregnancy Adventure moniker. With our lodgings planned we decided to have a fancy dinner for Bianca's birthday at the best restaurant in Providence, Al Forno. This place has received RAVE reviews from everyone, from fancy haute cuisine types to our favorite food critic The Phantom Gourmet. After that we would go to the Providence Place Mall, hit the Baby Gap, the Apple Store (for a new case for Bianca, she is so hard on her electronics), buy her a pair of comfy flip flops, and a window shopping excursion to really nice, but fabulously overpriced cutlery store called On the Edge Cutlery. After that we'd veg out in the hotel room and enjoy the relaxing benefits of a California King sized bed.
Unfortunately fate had different ideas. We were seated at Al Forno, which is Italian for "in the oven", in about five minutes. The building is a rehabbed mill building with a wall of windows. The rustic charms and the hardwood fire aroma was more than enticing for both of us. But as we sat at the table we realized that the combination of a record high and the heat being on in the building, that we were literally AL FORNO. My guess was the restaurant was around 85-90 degrees inside, as I was sweating without moving in a tee shirt and button down. Not wanting the QTPi and Peanut to suffer we tried to find a different place to sit but everything was ROASTING hot. Eventually we just left.
Wandering with a pregnant woman around dinner time on the first nice day of the year in a bustling downtown is not a fun prospect. I was super worried that she was going to get really hungry, so we fanned out. One restaurant had a wait of 45 minutes, the Fat People Factory had a 15 minute wait to put your name in, and the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, had a wait of three and a half hours! My Dad rightfully told me that a wait of over two hours really means "we have no idea." In three and a half hours Bianca and I could drive to New York City and eat at one of the four three star Michelin restaurants, Jean Georges. We aren't THAT fancy, but seriously 3 1/2 hours! That is insane.
The belly clock was booming, not just ticking, and we were forced to go cheap and fast, hitting a Johnny Rockets in the mall. Not exactly Al Forno. After that we went to visit the the cutlery store only to find that, shocking given their ridiculous prices, went out of business. A swing by the Gap confirmed that the night was a bust as they had nothing maternity. The Apple store was okay, but it was super crowded. Broken and beaten we went back to the hotel. Unfortunately Bianca forgot her pregnancy pillow and had a difficult time falling asleep. The bed was huge though so we made a pillow fort for her and her belly.
Sunday, however, was a turn in our fortune. We had a breakfast buffet at the hotel, which was surprisingly delicious, especially for Mom and Baby. On the way home we took a detour visiting an outdoor shopping center next to the Patriot's stadium called Patriot Place. They had a bunch of stores and even more restaurants, but the highlight, for me, was a trip to the outdoor store, the Bass Pro Shop. They have an indoor pond with turtles and fish. Out back is a nature hike on land they own. In the interior, in addition to a pond, they have perhaps thousands of stuffed animals in action poses, a massive boat hanging from the ceiling, and a life sized humpback whale model.
It was there were this fine photo was taken:
Funny thing is Bianca asked me what this weird suit was for. I explained that it was an imitation Ghillie Suit. When I said that a store clerk mentioned that they had REAL ones in another part of the store, but they were expensive. Bianca eventually found her new flip flops, although, ironically she found them in Fitchburg. After all of the crazy running around we decided to come home, open the windows in the Sun Room, and bring up the lawn chairs for a nap. It was glorious and a taste of spring that will make the next snow storm all that more difficult to bear. Spring in New England is a cruel mistress.
In the end it was a crazy weekend, but it was a lot of fun. The weather was spectacular and makes me want to break out the grill and turn on the Red Sox. Almost...
Bianca's grandma had won a night in a suite at the downtown Providence Marriot and gave it to us because she "would never use it." With Bianca's birthday on Wednesday, she got both weekends as official "birthday weekends." Bianca called it a babymoon, but that sounds kind of girly so we will stick to the Pregnancy Adventure moniker. With our lodgings planned we decided to have a fancy dinner for Bianca's birthday at the best restaurant in Providence, Al Forno. This place has received RAVE reviews from everyone, from fancy haute cuisine types to our favorite food critic The Phantom Gourmet. After that we would go to the Providence Place Mall, hit the Baby Gap, the Apple Store (for a new case for Bianca, she is so hard on her electronics), buy her a pair of comfy flip flops, and a window shopping excursion to really nice, but fabulously overpriced cutlery store called On the Edge Cutlery. After that we'd veg out in the hotel room and enjoy the relaxing benefits of a California King sized bed.
Unfortunately fate had different ideas. We were seated at Al Forno, which is Italian for "in the oven", in about five minutes. The building is a rehabbed mill building with a wall of windows. The rustic charms and the hardwood fire aroma was more than enticing for both of us. But as we sat at the table we realized that the combination of a record high and the heat being on in the building, that we were literally AL FORNO. My guess was the restaurant was around 85-90 degrees inside, as I was sweating without moving in a tee shirt and button down. Not wanting the QTPi and Peanut to suffer we tried to find a different place to sit but everything was ROASTING hot. Eventually we just left.
Wandering with a pregnant woman around dinner time on the first nice day of the year in a bustling downtown is not a fun prospect. I was super worried that she was going to get really hungry, so we fanned out. One restaurant had a wait of 45 minutes, the Fat People Factory had a 15 minute wait to put your name in, and the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, had a wait of three and a half hours! My Dad rightfully told me that a wait of over two hours really means "we have no idea." In three and a half hours Bianca and I could drive to New York City and eat at one of the four three star Michelin restaurants, Jean Georges. We aren't THAT fancy, but seriously 3 1/2 hours! That is insane.
The belly clock was booming, not just ticking, and we were forced to go cheap and fast, hitting a Johnny Rockets in the mall. Not exactly Al Forno. After that we went to visit the the cutlery store only to find that, shocking given their ridiculous prices, went out of business. A swing by the Gap confirmed that the night was a bust as they had nothing maternity. The Apple store was okay, but it was super crowded. Broken and beaten we went back to the hotel. Unfortunately Bianca forgot her pregnancy pillow and had a difficult time falling asleep. The bed was huge though so we made a pillow fort for her and her belly.
Sunday, however, was a turn in our fortune. We had a breakfast buffet at the hotel, which was surprisingly delicious, especially for Mom and Baby. On the way home we took a detour visiting an outdoor shopping center next to the Patriot's stadium called Patriot Place. They had a bunch of stores and even more restaurants, but the highlight, for me, was a trip to the outdoor store, the Bass Pro Shop. They have an indoor pond with turtles and fish. Out back is a nature hike on land they own. In the interior, in addition to a pond, they have perhaps thousands of stuffed animals in action poses, a massive boat hanging from the ceiling, and a life sized humpback whale model.
It was there were this fine photo was taken:
Funny thing is Bianca asked me what this weird suit was for. I explained that it was an imitation Ghillie Suit. When I said that a store clerk mentioned that they had REAL ones in another part of the store, but they were expensive. Bianca eventually found her new flip flops, although, ironically she found them in Fitchburg. After all of the crazy running around we decided to come home, open the windows in the Sun Room, and bring up the lawn chairs for a nap. It was glorious and a taste of spring that will make the next snow storm all that more difficult to bear. Spring in New England is a cruel mistress.
In the end it was a crazy weekend, but it was a lot of fun. The weather was spectacular and makes me want to break out the grill and turn on the Red Sox. Almost...