April 10 to April 14, 2019
Puerto Rico! We have been doing a girls trip for the last few years and this year, we chose to go somewhere more distant! Mom doesn't get to travel as much as she likes since Dad can be a stick in the mud so off we went with her to the Caribbean. Here are some of our adventures!
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Our flight was bright and early from GR to Philedelphia and then on we went to San Juan, Puerto Rico! We escaped the north RIGHT before another bout of snow so the warm weather was especially welcome. I had booked us a "premier" room via Expedia.com at the Serafina Beach Hotel and I realized a few days prior that this mean just a window, no balcony (there aren't many at the hotel anyway), but even though I couldn't get anyone to help me try to upgrade beforehand, it turns out that we already were booked into a room with a balcony ON THE OCEAN! Woo hoo! The view was amazing.
After we got settled in, we went to the pool to get some sun. Lazing about was part of the plan! We also hung out on the beach for a bit before going in to get cleaned up and explore for dinner. We didn't venture too far but we found a place on foot. Mom wasn't very hungry and Kara didn't care for her dish but my salad was perfect :D
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| ^Before our flights to Philly (left) and to Puerto Rico (right). |
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| ^Hotel decor :D |
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| ^Our glorious view! |
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| ^ I could stay here! ;) The beds were super comfy! |
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| ^Relax! |
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Breakfast in San Juan! We found a pretty decent place just down from our hotel and were nice and full for the day.
Though we went there to relax, we didn't want to do nothing the whole trip! We found a place to ride horses in Luquillo and headed there via Uber. We got to hang out with some cats while we waited for the horses. It was a fun ride and I talked a lot with Jose, the guide at the back of the group (my horse, Volcom, seemed fine with hanging back), and it was a fun time. We had lunch at the ranch before we went back to the hotel.
We spent some time at the pool and beach again (of course) and was well into my book by this day! After that, we got cleaned up and went to the fanciest dinner (i.e. the most expensive) of the trip. This restaurant was also called Serafina and was Italian so yay. I broke with my diet a bit for some mushroom ravioli and a yummy Moscato ;) Worth it.
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| ^Best cat. |
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| ^Horsings! |
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| ^There was a rehearsal dinner at the hotel on Thursday. Pretties! |
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| ^Yummy dins :D |
Friday, April 12, 2019
We had slept in the day before (all that travel!) so we decided to get up and out earlier on Friday. We went to Old San Juan which was much nicer looking a place than where the resorts were (less hurricane damage and such, especially). The buildings were so bright and colorful too. We had breakfast at a place we wandered by and I'm glad I brought my camera to this adventure because there was lots to photograph!
We walked from the main part of Old San Juan to El Morro where the Castillo San Felipe del Morro was located. We explored and did a lot of steps there. It was pretty hot by the time we were done and we walked back to the area we started in and found a juice place to rest at for a bit.
It was definitely pool and beach time for us when we got back. It was SUPER windy for some reason and we got chilly when the sun went behind the building so we moved to the beach. I ended up unexpectedly jumping waves with Mom before I got worn out and decided to go clean up.
That night we had booked a bioluminescence kayaking trip. It was about an hour drive but we were picked up and that was good because it was exhausting! Not quite what we expected (but still cool) but we got SOAKED and tired. The people in the kayak in front of me and Kara were terrible and annoying but otherwise, the bioluminescent plankton was pretty nifty.
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| ^After a tasty breakfast! |
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| ^I can't remember the name of this church but it sure is pretty. |
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| ^Best cat. I was a bit disappointed we didn't see more cats! |
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| ^Castillo San Felipe del Morro |
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| ^Very cool. |
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| ^Climbed on a ledge to get this one. There was an iguana. I should have photo-ed it. |
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| ^Mer and door. |
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| ^I wanted to go in the cemetery but I don't think we were allowed. |
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| ^Cool! |
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| ^So many bright colors! |
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| ^PIneapple at the juice place we stopped at. |
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| ^Dog friend. |
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| ^Relaxing again! |
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Saturday was technically our last day (because our flight out was at 3:30am on Sunday!) so we did a lot of relaxing. We found a really cool shop for breakfast. After my avocado toast, I had their honey lavender ice cream because that sounded heavenly! It was, by the way. We spent the rest of the day mostly hanging out by the pool. Kara had gotten a bit of a sunburn despite her liberal use of sunscreen the days before so we got a cabana and hung out in there. The pigeons visited us and it also kept the wind down a bit in there. I finished my book and was able to start a new one before the day was over!
I made sure to take a few more photos (especially of the hotel) before we wrapped up the day. I was hoping we'd get the best meal ever for our last but I was sadly disappointed. There just wasn't anything I really wanted and the salad was not up to snuff. So we took an Uber in the sudden pouring rain to a crepe place and I was happily satisfied with dessert.
Back at Serafina, we packed up and went to bed early for our 1am wake-up call. But what a fun trip it was!!! Relaxing AND adventurous too!
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| ^We thought this place was closed but so glad it wasn't. Such good yums! |
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| ^He's our fave. |
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| ^So many pigeons were hanging out with us at the pool everyday. I liked the one missing his toes best. We called him Stumpy. |
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| ^Hasta luego, Puerto Rico! |
