rico recap and stuff

had a very nice weekend and past few days.  friday night, my friend heather came to philly to hang out.  heather was one of my closest high school friends, but we haven’t seen each other since 97 or 98.  we went to continental and imbibed many overpriced, girly drinks, ate some yummy food, and got caught up.  naturally we stayed up until four in the am because we had so much to talk about.  so we had a little slumber party and then brunch in the morning.  it was so awesome to see her!  we’ll have to do it more often.  and of course we have our 10 year reunion coming up…scary…but i can’t wait.

late saturday afternoon, i headed out to york for andi’s baby shower.  LONG drive, but totally worth it, of course.  andi is such a glowing, beautiful, and thin pregnant woman…we should all look like her when we’re expecting!  it was great to see her and damon, as always.

sunday, mark, walter, and i went and got coffee at out usual place, and then played in the park for a while.  monday, i got on my bicycle for the first time this year.  or should i say mark’s bike…my bike is bulky and has flat tires right now, so mark adjusted his seat and i have hijacked his ride.  don’t tell him, but he’s so not getting it back.  it’s so lightweight and such a smooth ride.  i took it out again last night, and although my ass really hurt from riding on monday, i rode through the pain and got some great exercise.  ride or die!!!

so i never talked about puerto rico:

when we arrived, it started pouring rain.  also, the ride from the airport to the resort was not a pretty one–the rio grande area is a bit depressed.  so the resort was kind of a sight for sore eyes.  it’s humongous and very beautiful…i can see how some folks never leave the property for their whole vacation.  we had a bite to eat in the main restaurant overlooking the garden, and then headed to the room.  they gave us a junior suite, which was very nice.  mark napped and i took a bath.  we took a late night walk around the property and listened to the tree frogs who seemed to be talking to us…"coqui!  coqui!"  ordered room service sandwiches, and slept.

next morning, breakfast on the balcony, and then straight to the beach.  we decided to splurge on a cabana for the day, partially because i’m under strict orders from my dermatologist not to get any sun on my face.  let me tell you…it was worth every penny.  we felt so spoiled!  there were fluffy white towels laid out and folded, a cooler full of water and soda, and a basket of snacks.  an attendant came over immediately to see if we wanted anything else, and checked back frequently.  oh, cabana boy!!

it was a PERFECT beach day.  i read a great book…totally silly, but an awesome summer beach book: social crimes by jane stanton hitchcock.  we listened to our ipods (kt tunstall on repeat!  love her!), bodysurfed in the ocean, and swam in the pool.  lunch at the tiki bar.  more loafing and swimming and frozen margaritas.  dinner on the resort, but only because the two cute little places in town we wanted to try were closed.  it’s a slower time of year for them now, so a lot of places were only open a few days during the week.

next day, more beach, but it was slightly overcast, so we hopped in the car and took a drive with the intention of getting some lunch.  we ended up getting slightly lost and majorly caught in traffic.  driving pretty much anymore in puerto rico is a nightmare.  there are far too many cars for the roads to handle.  case in point: based on mileage, the ride from the airport should have taken 15-20 minutes, but it always takes at least 45 minutes to an hour.  anyway, we came across a fun mexican place eventually and gorged on mole enchiladeas as it began to POUR outside.  later, we took a sunset stroll on the beach, and chilled in the suite that night.

thursday, we got up early and headed over to el yunque, the rainforest, conveniently right by our resort.  we hiked down to la mina falls, where i promptly jumped in the water to cool off.  let me tell you…there is absolutely nothing like a good hike followed by a refreshing dip in a gorgeous natural pool and waterfall.  that worked up a major appetite, so we went over to the kiosks at luquillo beach.  it’s basically a long outdoor strip mall with gift shops and little cafes.  every storefront is numbered, and some seemed pretty dirty.  mark had heard good things about #2, though, la parilla, and we were surprised to see that it was actually a really nice restaurant…very clean and inviting.  food and drinks and service were wonderful, but when we got the bill, we realized that the lobster tail & mofongo special we had ordered was..get this…$60!  ok, i’m willing to pay for good food, and no, we did not ask the price before we ordered, but if you’re gonna charge me $60 for just a TAIL and some mashed up plantains, the name of your restaurant better be le cirque and that better be some rare-ass south african lobster.  shiiiit.  anyway, we didn’t let it ruin our experience.  the meal was awesome, and there was this adorable little kitty hanging around us who totally became my bff after i fed her some seafood.  i named her l’il chupacabra.  she almost jumped into my lap!  i wanted to catnap her.

that’s the thing about puerto rico…stray cats everywhere!  we noticed a few on the resort when we were in the pool–they hang out in the bushes.  and in old san juan, they were all over the street and down on the rocks near the water.  los gatos de playa.

anyway, we spent some more time on the beach and in the pool and hot tub before dinner at the bamboo lounge.  it’s this great restaurant/bar up in the forest that provides a free shuttle from the westin.  more good fish and plantains and rice and wine and mojitos!  oh, and the best dessert ever.

next morning, we bid an early farewell to the westin, and headed to old san juan for some shopping and sightseeing.  it’s very cool, reminded me a bit of old nice.  there are forts and cathedrals and museums to explore.  we didn’t have nearly enough time to see everything, but we enjoyed ourselves.  had lunch at a cute tapas place, and then on our way back to the car, got absolutely soaked in the rain.  it was fun, though. 

our flight back to dc was fine, however we were dismayed to learn upon arrival that our connection to newark had been canceled.  after tracking down our luggage, we decided to just rent a car and drive to philly, and then up to jersey the next morning to pick up walter.  the drive from dc to philly should have taken 2 hours, 2.5 tops.  there must have been an accident on 95, because it took about 4 hours to get home.  oy vey.  at least i got to sleep a little.  poor mark had to drive.

but anywhoo…all in all, our trip to puerto rico was probably the most romantic and relaxing vacation we’ve ever taken.  next time we want to see vieques and swim in the bioluminescent bay.

check out the photo album.

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