Despite my pleas to stay until June, Geo (the voice of reason in the Schwartz household) insisted that we packed up our dirty laundry and return home.
I highly, highly recommend mid-winter vacations to warmer climates. Last February we traveled to Florida for a week and this year it was Puerto Rico. I can't even describe how good it feels to get out of the gray, cold weather and to run around in the green grass in your bare feet.
So, on to the trip...
We had a fabulous time. We're both a slightly on the geeky side so as preparation for our island vacation we spent one childless day paging through every tour book that we could find in Borders. We settled on the trusty ol' Foders guide and threw down our dough.
We read through the descriptions of places to see, things to do and, of course, the delicious dining that HAD to be experienced. We looked and looked and studied and paged until our heads were spinning and our eyes were blurry with possibilities. We laid out a detailed plan that included daily activities and the places we would eat. This itinerary was based on Que Pasa! magazine and Foder's Puerto Rico travel guide.
We had a lot of fun, but there were many (many, many) hours spend driving around in the car looking for the places that we wanted to go to. Soph wasn't happy with the backseat and there were a few days when the only thing that saved our sanity was giving up and spending a few hours on the nearest beach. I'd recommend using other guides to inform your trip to the western part of the island.
Our favorite activity was the Zoo and our lunch at Ricomini Bakery. The Zoologico de Puerto Rico is the only zoo in PR and Soph had a blast. There was a great variety of animals but our favorite part was the bird exhibit. We had a chance to walk into the netted area with the birds and get an up close look at their colorful feathers. They were beautiful.
After the zoo we tested our luck and found the Ricomini Bakery. They are known for their Brazo Gitano which translates to Gypsy Arm. It is a giant (like...the size of an arm) jelly roll that is filled with delicious creams, fruits and cheeses. They are delicious! I did a search and found several recipes so if you'd like to try your hand at a filled sponge cake open another tab and Google it.
On Sunday we packed up and enjoyed a slow morning in the 79 degree weather. The drive from the west to east coast was scenic and, because Sophia slept most of it, was the perfect way to end a beautiful trip.
Good bye, Puerto Rico,
Good bye, warm, sugary sand beaches,
Good bye, lighthouse,
Good bye, 80 degree weather....
Hello, Pennsylvania,
Hello, blustery wind,
Hello, cold, cold, cold 8 degree weather....
2 comments:
so glad you're back!! And glad to hear you had a fabulous time. I just paged through your pics on Flickr, and the trip looks wonderful. Although, I also wish you would have stayed until June, it would have given me a little more time to finish Soph's Christmas gift ;-)! And finally - you are looking quite round in the tummy, I can't believe that date is coming so quickly! xoxo
looks like it was just what was needed before battening down for the winter and the baby
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