For Lavender Linda and Captain von Trapp
A few weeks ago we were taking a cruise that
departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico. We
decided to arrive a day before the cruise so we
could spend some time in Old San Juan.
We stayed at the boutique hotel in Old San Juan
called the Casablanca Hotel. When I was on the
cruise a few days later I had breakfast with a chef
from the Ritz Carlton in San Juan, when I told her
where I had stayed while in town she looked at me
and exclaimed, "that's where you stayed? That's a
great hotel, it's a boutique hotel, it's a really cool
place!" Yep, my travel street cred went up a few
notches...
You've got to love a hotel that plays Casablanca
in the lobby 24 hours a day.
By this time we were very hungry since we hadn't
eaten since we arrived at the airport in the wee
hours of the morning. Walking along a street a
woman walked across the street to give me a
postcard and tell me that the cafe she worked at
was having happy hour. I asked her how long
happy hour was and she said until 7pm. I said,
"That's more like Happy Day!" I looked at Mr.
Wonderful and said, "Well, we are on vacation,
let's go to happy hour!" The place was called the
Blessed Cafe and it was owned by a Jamaican
Rastafarian who wanted all his guests to have
a wonderful experience. It was a small place
with a bar and another room with a few tables
and all the decor was related to Bob Marley
and the Wailers. We ordered a few drinks and
settled back in vacation mode.
Our taxi driver who drove us in from the airport
told us not to miss trying mofongo while in town.
It was on the menu so of course we had to try it.
It is mashed plantains with a pork mixture on top.
It was delicious!
After the Blessed Cafe we walked off our
lunch and popped into antique stores and
small artisan boutiques.
We headed back to our hotel for a siesta.
The room was small since the building is old
but everything was very nice. We had upgraded
to a room with a balcony thinking we would have
one overlooking a quaint street but the balcony is
really just the walkway to your room, don't bother
getting this upgrade because...
...upstairs is a lovely rooftop terrace with large
soaking tubs. Bring your favorite beverage and
enjoy stargazing while soaking in your tub.
When we awoke from our siesta, we were hungry
again and it was time to hit the streets. I wanted to see
the big church and hiked up the hill but the church was
locked up but just across the square I spotted a little tapas
place called Rosa de Triana. Our plan was to stop into a
few places for a small dish and a drink.
We sat in the cozy courtyard filled with plants
and fairy lights. The cafe is known for it's
Sangria so we had to sample it. Since there
were no cruise ships in port, the town was quiet
and we dined with all locals. It was the type of
place where you nod and say buenas noches to
your fellow diners.
We ordered two tapas plates and the servings
were so large we knew our plan for visiting a few
places that evening was going to have to become
Plan B. So we lingered over our food and drinks
and fell into slow down vacation mode. At the end
of the meal the waitress served us complimentary
glasses of a local apple liqueur that was delicious.
I wish I had brought a bottle home with us.
Leaving the restaurant we walked down the street
and through San Juan gate and walked along the
Paseo de la Princesa, the old city walls are on one
side of the walkway and San Juan Bay is on the other.
It was an enjoyable stroll and we came upon an area
filled with food vendors and artists selling jewelry.
The food and drinks looked great but we were far too
full to sample anything but we did pick up some cookies
to eat in bed once we got back to our room.
We watched a bit of Casablanca in the lobby back at
the hotel and then headed up to bed. I would suggest
to anyone who will be staying at the Casablanca to
bring along a DVD of the movie or download it to one
of your devices and bring along an HDMI cord so you
can watch the movie in bed.
Mr. Wonderful was up at the crack of dawn
and ready to find a cafe for a coffee. For myself,
I prefer to laze around in bed when I get the chance
and since all we had to do that day was eat something
and head to the ship, I opted for waking up slowly.
Opening the wooden shutters and looking out these
windows I felt like I could be meeting Papa Hemingway
for lunch.
When I finally got myself moving we hunted around
for a new restaurant called Melt. I saw a photo of
their food on instagram and wanted to go there. When
we finally found it there was no Hemingway but we did
sit next to the owner of the hotel in which it is located
and got a lesson in Puerto Rican history and politics.
Then it was time to head to the ship to set sail
for parts unknown.
A great 24 hours!
