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.