Vida en Puerto Rico! - Dia Numero Uno!

Vacations are wonderful, right?  Well, I've just had two of them, and life couldn't be better!  

The first was to visit family in New York City & New Jersey.  I try to get down a few times a year, but it's even more special in the summer when we can hang out at the pool or the beach, take in a show (or two) in NYC, and just enjoy the great weather.  That's exactly what I did -- solo, this time because hubby was visiting his siblings in CT & RI.  I think it's good to take separate vacations from time to time, don't you?

After two days of laundry and catching up with chores around the house, we repacked and headed for what was probably one of the biggest vacations we've ever had by ourselves.  No kids, no parents, and we did all the planning.  That seems odd, but most of our vacations when the kids were younger were ones that other people planned for us (big family gatherings) or just visiting with family.

Moments before I drenched
him with my coffee!

Puerto Rico!  I'm not sure how this came about or why we decided to go there, but I'm sure glad we did!  We had an early flight from Rochester -- 5:30am, and that went without a hitch.  But catching breakfast in Baltimore didn't turn out too well, with me spilling my coffee all over the table and, consequently, on Dick.  He eventually forgave me, and luckily had a change of clothes in his backpack.

In the taxi, we spot Calle "San Jorge" (St George!)

Arriving in San Juan, we grabbed a taxi and headed to the CasaBlanca Hotel in Old San Juan.  This is a very cool boutique hotel in a very old building.  Luckily, it has been updated with air conditioning and an elevator.  The hotel was also in a great location, making getting around the city very doable.  We were early to check-in, so we left our bags and started out to find something to eat and explore the city a bit.  

Lunch at Cuevo del Mar (Cave of the Sea) was fabulous!  Naturally, we started with drinks.  We both ordered something tropical -- my go-to was alway Rum Punch (el ponche de ron!)  We shared Calamari with Sweet Chili sauce and each had the crab stew.  It was so delicious!  We then hopped on the free trolley that taxied visitors around the city.  We were anxious to check into the hotel, so we didn't get off at any of the sites.  We enjoyed the ride and got a good preview of what was to come!

We checked in and fell in love with our room!  It was on the fourth floor and oh, so very charming.  It was small, with the king size bed taking up most of the space, but adequate for our three nights.

So charming, right?

I saw an advertisement for dinner with flamenco dancers and decided to make a reservation.  Unfortunately, it was Tuesday and the dancers only perform on the weekend.  

Barrachina's was a bit more upscale dining, and delectable!  They claim to be the location where the first pina colada was invented, but we learned the next day that there was a counter-claim to that honor! We both tried the pina colada (but, of course!).  It was icier and thinner than expected, but very good.  The ones I make at home are much creamier.  With dinner I ordered wine (a Malbec) and Dick ordered a typical PR beer.  Much to his chagrin, the typical PR beer is reminiscent of Coor's Light.  (Not that there's anything wrong with Coor's Light, but Dick usually likes heartier beers and stouts.)

Dinner began with an appetizer of Spanish Sausage (Chorizos al Jerez).  It was tasty sausage bites sautéed with onions and sherry and served with fried plantains.  It was scrumptious! For the main meal, I ordered coconut shrimp scampi, but unfortunately, the coconut flavor was scarce.  The waiter had recommended it, and because I love all things coconut, I decided to try it.  It was tasty, but not what I was expecting.  Dick ordered his first Mofongo, the signature dish of Puerto Rico.  Mofongo is basically mashed plantains with butter and garlic and pork fat.  It is typically served with a protein of some kind - Dick got his with shrimp.  I tried a bite of the Mofongo and it was "okay," but seemed a bit dry.  Although potatoes are common in PR, plantains seemed to be the most popular starch element for every meal.

Decidedly and contentedly full, we ordered dessert to go.  I tried the Coconut Flan and Dick had a sweet cake, for which I don't remember the exact name.  We ate those a bit later in our comfy bed.  I thought it would be a bit difficult to sleep with this guy staring down at us, but we were so tired from our travels!  We said buenos noches to our friend and were out in a blink.

I'm going to call it a night now (so to speak) and write more about our adventures tomorrow.  Although we were only there for one week, it felt like much more.  I would definitely go back again -- if there weren't so many other places we need to see in this world!

Our daughter wanted more pictures of PR.
We gave her one more.