Sunday, December 27, 2015
Puerto Rico - Eating our way through Old San Juan
What to do on our first morning in San Juan? Why, join a food tour, of course! We've discovered over the years that food tours are one of the best ways to introduce oneself to a new town. You learn right away what to eat, where to eat it, and if the tour guide is any good, something about the history and culture of the town where you're eating it.
We booked through Flavors of San Juan Food and Culture Tours and were given the enigmatic instructions to meet at 10am "in front of the bank with the giraffe-cat statute."
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| Turns out the giraffe-cat is this whimsical creation of a local artist. |
Our guide Kathy was there with a group of other travelers and, after a quick round of introductions (together we came from Seattle, Colorado, New York, Utah, Chicago and Mumbai), we were on our way.
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| Kathy gave us a quick overview of the town's geography and history. Founded in 1521, San Juan is the second-oldest European settlement in the Americas and the oldest in US jurisdiction. |
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| First stop: Rum bar in a leafy restaurant at the base of the old city walls. |
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| On the left: A 19th century recipe for eggplant and chicken with cinnamon, brown sugar and mint. On the right: Ham and cheese croquettes. |
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| Climbing back up to the top of the city wall for our next stop. |
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| Artisanal popsicles! Will this be the next fad in America? |
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| I got a coconut popsicle. Good flavor and not too sweet. Melted very quickly. |
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| View from the Plaza de las Palomas |
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| Tiny house! Only 7 feet wide and 15 feet deep. The round openings above the window are called "bulls eyes" and are meant to let the hot air near the ceiling escape. |
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| La Capilla de Cristo de la Salud It's a tiny 17th Century chapel perched on the city wall. |
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| Alcapurrio (fried plantain paste filled with pork) |
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| Ceviche |
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| San Juan's cathedral |
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| What looks like a hairy tree trunk that Jim Henson might have invented is actually a type of tree that sends down root starts from the branches. |
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| Rosa de Triana (the bright yellow building in the middle). It was a jail in the 17th century and now houses a charming restaurant and patio. |
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| We made mofongo, a traditional Puerto Rican dish made from mashed fried plantains with butter and garlic. |
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| Justin, mashing his plantains |
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| Once the plantains were mashed, we added shredded chicken. It was delicious. |
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| The Puerto Ricans do rice and beans better than anyone else I've encountered in the Caribbean and/or Central America. The beans have a delicious, light flavor. |
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| The pina colada was invented in Puerto Rico in the 1960s (we know the guy who did it, but there's a dispute as to where he did it -- either the Hilton or some other place). We asked for ours to be sans alcohol. |
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| Our last stop was at La Vaca Brava. They served a cheese flan. I'm not normally a fan of flan, but this was terrific. |
Three hours later, we parted ways with "full stomachs and happy hearts" (as the Puerto Rican saying apparently goes). What a great way to begin to discover San Juan!
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Welcome to Puerto Rico!
Welcome to Puerto Rico! It's a land that looks and feels and speaks like it's a different country, but which doesn't require a passport or bottled water.
We landed around 1:30pm, after a red-eye from Seattle . . .
. . . and easily found the condo tower where we'll be staying for the next few days.
We keyed in our passcode and startled the maid, who was still in the midst of cleaning the place. She reminded us in very rapid Spanish that the condo wouldn't be ready for another couple of hours, so we just dropped off our bags and walked into Old San Juan in search of lunch.
On the way, we saw palm trees and ocean . . .
We ordered quickly -- and then ordered again, when we were informed that the things we'd ordered the first time had run out -- and enjoyed the sun and food and the anticipation of getting out of our cold-weather clothes and into something more suitable for heat and humidity.
I snapped a quick shot of my chicken sandwich, managing to capture our guidebook for ambiance, and Justin looking happy across the table.
Little did I know that Justin was going to return the favor by taking super-flattering photos of Amanda and me from his side of the table.
After lunch, we walked sweatily back to the condo. When we got there, we were delighted not only by the view but also the glorious air conditioning.
We took some time to settle in and shower, and then it was time for dinner. Amanda had heard of a place from one of her friends, so we went downstairs to see if the concierge could call us a cab. Apparently easier said than done, because there was an "electric party" downtown (where, according to the concierge, everyone went to dance and do drugs) and the convergence of party-goers meant that this entire section of town was gridlocked.
Given that we were reaching mission-critical hunger status, we considered walking -- but when it began to pour rain, we changed our minds and sat down to research plans B through G.
This hostess was much friendlier than the last, and we soon found ourselves sitting at a communal table in the back of the dining room. We scanned the menu, ordered a handful of plates, and went to work.
The food was surprisingly good, especially for a random find on a rainy night. We left happy and full, and went back to an early bedtime. More fun tomorrow!
We landed around 1:30pm, after a red-eye from Seattle . . .
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| The sleep mask I gave myself (I mean, that Santa gave me) came in super handy! I love how the lady behind me is giving Justin the "Neiborhood Watch" look as he takes this picture. |
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| It was the tallest building around |
On the way, we saw palm trees and ocean . . .
. . . large government buildings that had quotes from the Gettysburg Address and other important American documents, but all in Spanish . . .
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| Government buildings! |
. . . and a handful of nondescript monuments to something or other that felt kind of pointless (hence no photo).
By the time we got into town, we were hungry enough that we sat down at the first appealing restaurant we could find with a shady terrace and decent menu.
By the time we got into town, we were hungry enough that we sat down at the first appealing restaurant we could find with a shady terrace and decent menu.
We ordered quickly -- and then ordered again, when we were informed that the things we'd ordered the first time had run out -- and enjoyed the sun and food and the anticipation of getting out of our cold-weather clothes and into something more suitable for heat and humidity.
I snapped a quick shot of my chicken sandwich, managing to capture our guidebook for ambiance, and Justin looking happy across the table.
Little did I know that Justin was going to return the favor by taking super-flattering photos of Amanda and me from his side of the table.
After lunch, we walked sweatily back to the condo. When we got there, we were delighted not only by the view but also the glorious air conditioning.
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| The windows of the living area look north to the Atlantic |
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| The bedroom has a more easterly view. |
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| And the shower has a great shot of the fashionable newer neighborhoods and hotel district. |
Given that we were reaching mission-critical hunger status, we considered walking -- but when it began to pour rain, we changed our minds and sat down to research plans B through G.
Our patience (and/or rain-strandedness) paid off, and we eventually found a taxi willing to take us to our restaurant. Sadly, the restaurant wasn't so eager to see us -- the too-busy-to-help hostess waived me off with a curt "come back in a couple of hours" before turning back to her iPhone.
Our taxi driver took pity on our plight and offered to drive us to one of the hip restaurant neighborhoods, where we'd be sure to find something decent. We accepted and soon found ourselves in front of a little gastropub with strong Yelp ratings.
This hostess was much friendlier than the last, and we soon found ourselves sitting at a communal table in the back of the dining room. We scanned the menu, ordered a handful of plates, and went to work.
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| Cheesy croquettes |
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| House salad |
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| Pork adobo on little corn cakes |
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| Seared scallops with sweet corn, watercress and black grits |
Friday, December 25, 2015
Another round of Christmas, plus travel!
By shifting all of our Christmas activities to Christmas Eve, we freed up the actual Christmas Day for more Christmas activities!
First a tasty breakfast of waffles, eggs, bacon and avocados . . .
. . . followed by a blustery ferry ride to Bainbridge Island . . .
. . . where we enjoyed a festive turkey feast with Justin's family and an ancient neighbor lady who began her teaching career in a one-room school in Iowa and was extremely impressed with my job ("oh, wow, CONGRATULATIONS, you were just in the right place at the right time, weren't you!", repeated 18 times).
The return ferry trip offered more opportunities for selfie stick practice.
And then it was time to leave on vacation! We had a red eye flight from Seattle to San Juan, Puerto Rico, that left at 10:30pm, and in between all the above-described activities I frantically managed to throw enough things into suitcases to feel like I wouldn't be totally unprepared for the adventure. When the packing list list for a trip includes "beach towel" and "tuxedo", you know you're doing something right!
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Christmas morning and Star Wars and Christmas Eve dinner (in that order)
Christmas Eve dawned grey and chilly, and we went downstairs to get a head start on celebrating Christmas itself with a leisurely, hours-long gift exchange (how can you tell none of us has kids?).
We started with the stockings, which I (on behalf of Santa) had filled with travel-related goodies.
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| A sleeping mask and earplugs for during the flight, eye drops and altoids to freshen up at the end, and a water-proof smartphone case to facilitate excursions into nature. |
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| Ready for a nap! |
Then we divvied up the packages under the tree . . .
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| I'm not a frequent user of mugs, but this one picks up on an inside joke regarding this parody |
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| Justin got a few great books from Amanda. |
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| I gave Amanda a selfie-stick, in homage to the hordes of Chinese tourists we saw last summer. This was the inaugural selfie! |
Once filled with quinoa and tofu, we left the warmth of the Christmas living room and went in search of Star Wars.
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| Second selfie of the day! |
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| Raclette! |
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| Potatoes, raclette cheese, zucchini, squash, little smokies and, of course, cornichons. |
We waited up talking about all sorts of things until Justin had returned from Bainbridge. Then we turned in for the night, looking for our next official Christmas day.
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