Puerto Rico: Final Recap

After our informative walk tour of Old San Juan we just wanted to relax by the pool so we headed back to our room, freshened up, changed into our swim wear and ordered some passion fruit mojitos.

While we swam, a rainbow appeared out of no where and it surprised us both because it had not rained. In fact, the last time I saw a rainbow was the day after my mom passed away. We are convinced that this was my mom’s way of wishing us a happy 10th year anniversary on our wedding anniversary day.

Our walk tour guide recommended that we go to Sofia’s Italian Steakhouse for dinner and it did not disappoint. It was SO good. I ordered a shrimp in champagne cream sauce that I wish I could dunk my whole face in. Our food was just amazing and so was our service.

After dinner, we met up with Cinthia in Old San Juan and popped in and out of several places, enjoyed some dancing and multiple passion fruit mojitos. The drink of choice this trip. We went to La Taberna Lupulo, Rivera Hermanas Café & Teatro Rest, La Sombrilla Rosa and La Factoria.

The following morning we planned for a relaxing beach day. We started with an incredible breakfast at Musa. The décor in this place was stunning and I could not stop taking pictures. I honestly don’t think we had one bad meal while we were in Puerto Rico.

After breakfast we drove to Pinones, Puerto Rico and relaxed at the beach for a few hours. Cinthia recommended that we drive to Pinones as there are so many restaurants on the side of the road and it’s all pretty much fried which translates to delicious. We had just eaten so we didn’t get food right away.

We decided to beach hop a little and went to Playa De Isla Verde and really loved the atmosphere of this beach. We stayed here much longer, relaxing and reading the books we brought with us.

When we got hungry we ventured back to Pinones and picked up some amazing food that we had to order a second time.

We went to bed early that day and woke up to the most glorious sunrise. I couldn't help but to snap a few shots as the light seeping through our room was just perfect. These pictures do it no justice.

Since we were up rather early we decided to work out at the hotel gym prior to leaving Puerto Rico. After the gym we got ready for the day and quickly packed up our suitcases. We had our last breakfast at Panaderia Espana. Another incredibly delicious meal and so well priced!

At the airport we were surprised to find that we could actually buy something at the duty free. Puerto Rico is so convenient. You don’t have to exchange money and you get to shop at the duty free. We picked up a nice bottle of scotch and got it engraved to read ‘Puerto Rico 2019 10 year anniversary.

We had such a great time in Puerto Rico and both cannot wait to go back.

Puerto Rico: Old San Juan Walk Tour

On our anniversary day we decided to do a private walk tour of Old San Juan. Old San Juan is simply stunning. Full of lush greens, colorful houses, cobbled streets and innate architecture dating back to the 16th century. At every turn I wanted to take a picture to freeze the moment in time so this post is going to be very, very picture heavy. We visited San Felipe del Morro and San Cristóbal fortresses. We learned a lot about Puerto Rico but I won’t inundate you with all the details since I'm already doing that with all the pictures. But I’ll share one something that I thought was pretty neat. No house or building on the same street is allowed to have the same colored house or building. It’s no wonder that Old San Juan is so colorful!

We started the day at Puerto Rico Café Cola’o for coffee and a light breakfast.
Our coffee was strong and our food delicious.







We had some time to spare before meeting our tour guide so we explored a bit and marveled at how big the cruise ships are. We have not done a cruise but after this experience we are a little more keen on the idea.

Our tour guide was knowledgeable and easy-going. Our first stop was to the catacombs in Parroquia San Francisco de Asís which is currently a Catholic church, built in 1876. It is considered one of the most important religious structures in Old San Juan.

We went to Bastión de las Palmas de San José which is a historical landmark in Puerto Rico and Parque Las Palomas which is a small outdoor area that many pigeons hang out. It’s a great bird watching area but if you do not like birds (thinking of my mother in law) avoid this area. Sean had me send her one of the pictures with the birds and she freaked, haha.

We went to Spicy Caribbee which was great and picked up some sauces and seasonings to take home with us.
The owner informed us that they could ship items to us once we ran out.





We went to Felisa Rincón de Gautier’s home. She was the first woman to be elected as the Mayor in San Juan. She was very popular and well loved. She helped in the 1932 campaign in which women succeeded in gaining the right to vote. She is also the one who created the head start program which is very popular here in the states.





We went to Cathedral of San Juan Bautista where it is stated that Ponce de León is buried.









Some images taken during our walk tour.











La Bombonera, the third oldest restaurant in Puerto Rico, founded in 1902.













We of course visited the fortress (but didn't go inside because by this time we were hot, hungry and tired from all the walking) and it was great to see all the people flying kites on the green open space.









Ices were highly necessary considering all the walking we did and the heat that day.





When our tour was over our guide recommended that we walk over to La Verguenza Puertorican Chinchorro.
During our walk we had to stop several times. You'll see why below :).











Not gonna lie, I shrieked when I saw this door!





When we finally reached our destination (La Verguenza Puertorican Chinchorro) we were glad that our guide recommended it as our food was delicious, the drinks great and our service wonderful.










Whew, that was a lot of work!
Happy Thursday ♥