Playa del Carmen, Mexico

When you are in the Quintana Roo area, there are many places to eat, have drinks, and shop! Playa del Carmen, has a street called La Quinta (5th Ave.) where every single establishment is cooler than the other. Anything from traditional mexican food, to high en steak houses are in this area.

 

These are some of my favorite spots:

The Cigar Stores, where freshly hand rolled cigars are sold. You can see step by step how cigars are made and you can choose from a wide variety of flavors and sizes.

 

In la Quinta and La Calle de los Corazones you can find Sur Steak House, a traditional Argentinian restaurant with an amazing seasoning! The cuts of meat are amazing, the portions are generous and the mixed drinks out of this world... The staff is very nice, the prices a little higher than your more local cuisine, but it is worth it!

In this busy streets you will also find live music, from 8 men mariachi bands to elderly "marimba" players, that will entertain you for a tip, just beware of your belongings, as anywhere in latin america pick pocketers are everywhere.

You will also see a lot of rolling kiosks, that sell all sort of pastries, fruits and juices. As a person that lives in the U.S., I would advise you not to try them.. The water and health standards are not the same in that part of the continent... Always drink bottled water and avoid ice if possible, specially those giant chunks, which are clearly homemade with tab water.

What I will suggest you to do is walk pass the chapel in the middle of the park, and head towards the beach, where you will easily see a bar ON the beach, very traditional, circular bar with stools planted on the ground! But the biggest and best margaritas ever! delish! And very generous with their alcohol pours...

Grand Velas, Quintana Roo, Mexico (Playa del Carmen)

Two years ago my husband and I went to Mexico for New Years, his family decided to stay at the all inclusive Grand Velas Resort and Spa... The hotel was amazing, the grounds, giant, five restaurants in the complex.

The only problem with the "all inclusive" is that you can only drink one type of wine, anything else is extra charge... bottles... extra charge... lobster... extra charge... not mexican champagne.. extra charge... at the end of the week you have a higher extra charge bill than the cost of the whole week stay !

The quality of the food was very very good, freshly made.. which in some cases, seemed to be harvested right before preparing it, cause it took forever to come!The portions are very small, so you should over order EVERYTHING... specially when you go on a high occupancy week... and when you are at it, order cocktails double...

I have never been a fan of this giant complexes, but I will have to say, the spa was AMAZING! and it was perfect for traveling with kids, the kids corner is filled with great activities and fun stuff for them to do!

The rooms are very spacious, the are all suites, fitted with a nice expresso machine and yummy teas. All and all, the fact that you can jump in a cab and be in Playa del Carmen in ten minutes makes it so much better and enjoy amazing food and cool shopping, best part of the deal!

Wetstone Winery

As you can imagine there are tons of winery we have never heard of, or knew they existed… Wetstone Winery is one of them. Located in an old French style mansion, the winery has walls covered with ivy, amazing architectural features, like arches that provide a gateway to the breathtaking view and a gorgeous solarium where we were lucky enough to have lunch with the owner Jamie.

She and her husband have devoted their lives to promote culture in the valley, members of the film festival and harvest festivities, they provided a formidable experience that will be hard to forget!

The food was exception, home made paninis, goat cheese salad with arugula and apricots, and of course their silk wine! My personal favorite, pinot noir, needless to say we instantly became members of their wine club and now enjoy their amazing wine.

Caldwell Winery

Since our first trip to Napa a few years back, my husband and I have fallen in love with the region and it’s amazing hotels/wineries/resorts/spas… you name it!

Our most memorable visit so far has been at the Caldwell Cottage; it was my husband’s birthday weekend and through a Houston Ballet charity auction we acquire a 4 night stay at this amazing vineyard. We were not very familiar with the place or the wine they produce, but we quickly became mesmerized by it all.

Amazing breakfast, fresh eggs and french baguette

Vintage nutcracker, scale and spice jars.

For starters the cottage is located in the top of a small hill, overlooking the valley. Inside two cute bedrooms, with access to the wrapping terrace. The house is tastefully decorated, very Napa chic, tons of wood, very minimal decoration, the kitchen small, but with a gas 1940’s stove and oven, matching refrigerator and an amazing collection of vintage cast iron pots, pans and appliances! Dream come true!

John Cladwell 

The next morning to start our day of wine tastings, we visited Caldwell’s cava, met John Caldwell himself, had an amazing time talking and learning not only about his wine but how he got his grapes into the country… (you will have to ask him yourself to hear the story!) but it was unbelievable.

I imagine he talks about wine all day long, that he was more interested on asking us about oil and gas, drilling, fracking and Texas! He mentioned that 40% of his production is sold in Texas, and his most famous and common wine named Rocket Science is the “only” wine served in Nasa events! Truly an amazing guy, of course we over extended our visit for 2 hours, tasted 13 wines instead of the regular 7… and just like that my husbands’ birthday could have not started in a better way!

We would definitely go back to the winery for a tour, taste and stay! You can visit their website to become members of their wine club, and enjoy some of the most amazing ports I have ever sipped! 

http://www.caldwellvineyard.com

We are Back!

Sorry for being absent for so long... it has been a crazy year for us!

But on the bright side we had the opportunity to visit a few countries: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Greece, Puerto Rico!

Tons of fun stories to share and amazing pictures I am pretty proud of! I will share this first one with y'all... Happy holiday season!

 Floralis Generica - Palermo, Buenos Aires, Arg.

Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas

 

My family and I decided to take a cruise despite the little Italian accident... we have not been on a cruise in over 10 years and my husband hates crowds and small spaces, I was freaking out! But we were pleased to find out that our room 11502 was on the front of the ship and had a window that was on an angle and it actually gave us soooo much more room! 

 

Also we were stunned on how huge and efficient the main dinning room was! we never had to wait more than 15 minutes for our dishes, the diversity of the menu was outstanding! And the a la carte options were outstanding, our favorite was Giovanni's Table, $20 charge per person all the dishes you can eat excluding alcoholic drinks, it was really a steal. The Chops Grille was not good, at all! $30 a person and the quality of the food and service was least than poor....

Enough said, in better news the entertainment was amazing, Chicago, was very tastefully made! the costumes were incredible, and the actors amazing.. Madagascar for the kids is very good, very interactive. Oceania, the water show is excellent, inspired by Cireu du Soleil, it is very nicely done and the quality of performers is unbelievable! The surfing pools are the best thing on the boat the kids and adults love it, private lessons are worthless you get the same amount of information just going on the first day while the ship is departing!

The  ship stops in Labadee, on a private beach club, my advice: go to the beach EARLY so you can get a space infront of the sea, later on the people start getting crazy and it is no fun! the food in the island is ok, nothing outstanding...

The second stop is on Jamaica, my advice, stay on the ship, there is nothing to do or see; and the cabs are ridiculously expensive!

Last but not least Cozumel, Mexico; we loved it! took the ferry to Playa del Carmen, where we ate and did some shopping, it was a great time! the musicians on the street, the street artists and just the mexican charm was a definately win for us!

Cuenca, Ecuador

I have never been a big fan of the altitude, but since my husband and I were exploring my home country of Ecuador we decided to embark on a trip to Cuenca, 2.5 hours from Guayaquil, we drove through the cordillera to the city where the "panama" hats were born...

Our first stop was the natural reserve of Cajas, you can stop in the park and enjoy the view of beautiful lagoons, be careful though cause at over 3,000 ft above sea level, it can get tricky for people that tempt to get dizzy or light headed.

The weather is also a little cold in January, a sweater and a rain coat would be enough to keep you warm! In the same route you can find lots of bed and breakfasts were you can fish for trout, which can be cooked for you to enjoy instantly! 

In town we stayed at the Mansion Alcazar Hotel, very pretty establishment, rebuilt colonial mansion, gorgeous! internal courtyard, the patio was gorgeous! Their restaurant is superb as well, you can sit and enjoy a private dinner in their glassed pergola overlooking the moon! very romantic!

Strolling down the crowded streets of Cuenca, you will ran into beautiful architectural masterpieces on every corner! From colonial churches and cathedrals to antique mansions and municipal buildings. The  historic center of the city is heavily guarded by municipal guards, very safe for tourists, my favorite area of town is the flower market next to the Old Cathedral and the 10 de Agosto market, love to stroll around with blossoms of roses, enjoying freshly made empanadas, and enjoying this amazing town!

Most of the art pieces in the churches are original from the colonial era, everything has been preserved and restored between the Ecuadorian and Spanish government on their attempt to make Cuenca a patrimony of humanity. 

We visited a home that has been standing in the streets of Cuenca for over 200 years, it is now considered a museum, the owners still live inside and the bottom is now an antique store. Very cute and interesting, you don't see this every day! 

The interior balcony, a masterpiece in the building!

Hand carved door... breath taking!

We were lucky enough to be in town for the kids' parade to the 3 wise men, handmade costumes and typical dances were some of my favorite times of this amazing weekend! 

Inside the Old Cathedral ... I have no words to describe it's beauty!

Montanita, Ecuador

This year while we were on our New Year's break my husband and I decided to visit the town of Montanita, it is a small beach village an hour and thirty minutes away from the popular beach of Salinas, this little village is very colorful and filled with people of all nationalities! We absolutely fell in love with the laizes faire atmosphere that wraps the village! The streets are filled with crafts and handmade goods from jewelry to kids toys and clothes...

You can get all sorts of fresh seafood and other local snacks like arepas con queso (maize tortillas filled with cheese) and prensados (shaved ice with flavored syrup and condensed milk) ceviches are made in every corner and the little drink kiosks that use fresh fruit to make all sorts of margaritas, mojitos or smoothies! 

This town is a charming as they come! With many hostels for backpackers to nicer hotels it is a marvelous beach town to explore! At nights the environment is very festive, lots of street artists and street bars where to have an amazing evening!