Miami Beach...Week 5

Our last week here! It sure is flying by and we are loving it. Although I am really missing Joe, Cooper, and our dogs. Can't wait to get my arms around all of them!

Sunday
I woke up feeling a little better, although not great. I didn't want to waste our day though, since this is Zoe's last day off before we leave.
We took a bus tour of downtown Miami so we could see a little more of the city.

  Coconut Grove is such a pretty area of Maimi...

 There's a cute shopping area called CocoWalk.

 I loved Coral Gables!!

 We stopped at the Biltmore to explore a bit. What a gorgeous hotel.

The lobby is grand...

 and there is a huge pool!

 While waiting for the bus we walked over to a this gorgeous Catholic church...

 Back on the bus, we passed the Venetian Pool, a historic, public pool in Coral Cables.

 We drove past Miracle Mile (another shopping district).

 We stopped for a bit in Little Havana. It was so hot...we were frying on the top of the bus! Our tour guide was so funny though, he made it worth it.

 Heading back into downtown...

 We stopped at Bayside for some lunch for Zoe, and smoothie for me....

 This is the Freedom Tower in Miami. It is considered the "Ellis Island of the South" because it was used to process the Cuban refugees coming to America during the 1960's and 70's.

We headed back to South beach on the tour bus. It is such a beautiful skyline...the 3rd largest in the US, behind NYC and Chicago.

 Star Island...

 After resting a bit and cooling off in the apartment, we were back at the beach. Trying to soak in every last minute we can here!

Monday
We realized our time here was almost over and we hadn't done any "dance" photos yet. So after a long day of classes, Zoe did a quick change and put on her pointe shoes at the beach for some fun photos on one of the lifeguard towers.

Still can't get enough of this beach!

We finished with dinner and a milkshake at BurgerFi...

Tuesday
More beautiful skies on my morning walk on the sand...

 Dinner for the last time at Sriracha...

 Zoe got a new macaron frappe for dessert at Paul! I chose a chocolate almond croissant (love this bakery!)...

Wednesday
Today was my last long walk on the beach and I was trying to soak in every second of it.

 I walked down the beach for quite a while...

 then turned around and walked in the water to get back to my place.

 Another fun lifeguard tower...

 Already 91 degrees at 9:30am. With the humidity, it feels well over 100!

 After cooling off for a bit, I went out to do a little shopping and stopped at this cafe full of locals for some cafe con leche...my new addiction!

We had a great Cuban dinner at Puerto Sagua.

 We took a walk to the beach as the sun was lowering...

 and spent a glorious hour in the ocean. It was absolutely perfect!

We couldn't resist more gelato on the way home!

Thursday
Zoe's been busy with dress rehearsals (yesterday and today) so the days are a little longer for her. She did manage to get a few pictures at the studio. There is strong men's program here, so she has really enjoyed all of the pas work. She is going to miss this place so much!

(Lucy, Gavin, Zoe)

Her level 4 group:

While she's rehearsing I've been busy doing laundry and packing. There is a lot of stuff to pack after 5 weeks! We went to dinner for the last time together, since Zoe will be eating dinner at the studio the next 2 nights due to the shows. We had some delicious food at the Front Porch Cafe on Ocean Dr.

I had to get one last piece of key lime pie too! Zoe had the creme brulee...

It would be our last evening to see the beach, so we took a nice walk to the water and spent some time soaking our feet in the warm ocean. I will REALLY miss this beach (and this precious time with my girl!!)

Friday & Saturday
Show days were finally here! I was so excited to finally get to see everything she's been working on, and to see some of the dancers that she's been talking about for the last month. I couldn't really take any photos, as no cameras were allowed. I got a couple quick shots of her ballet piece with my phone, but nothing great. The dance, however, was beautiful. Her teacher for this dance was a little crazy, in a bit of the strange, creative genius kind of way. She had her issues with him, but he produced a great piece.

 I am so thankful that Zoe's friend had gone into the audience during dress rehearsal to get a few amazing shots of her contemporary piece. This dance was simply awesome!

 She looked so grown up, and has matured so much in her dancing.

 

After the first day of shows, I brought her an extra large macaron from Paul.

 On day 2 of the shows, we had a pretty big storm blow in! A fellow mom and I spent the day together, watching the shows, getting dinner and getting soaked. I was determined to bring her macarons for the last day though, and I had to bring her her favorite...

 Zoe and Lucy became instant and inseparable friends since the first day of the program. These two got so close, and Zoe will truly miss seeing her every day. Lucy lives in North Carolina, so unfortunately, not close enough to visit. It's a good thing they have social media to keep connected.

 It was a tearful goodbye. Zoe will miss this company, and all of the new friends she made while here. She felt at home, and definitely wasn't ready to leave. She is determined to come back, and even wants to train year-round here. I'm just not ready for that yet!!

Sunday
We had to rise early at 4:15am...we requested an Uber and said goodby to our temporary home. We sure did have a great time here!

 We watched the sun come up, and a few rain drops fall...

 It was a long, but smooth flight home. Zoe enjoyed the last of her macarons for a mid-morning snack. :)

Joe was waiting for us at the airport, and we picked up Cooper from my parents on the way home. It felt so good to be all together again! Zoe and I had an awesome summer, and made some great memories, but we certainly didn't feel complete without the rest of our family. Time to get back to reality!