During a recent family visit to Puerto Rico, Chris and I spent a perfect afternoon in Old San Juan.  We adore this colorful city (it's where we got married after all) and we lucked out with a perfect golden afternoon in the middle of hurricane season. Here area some of my favorite pictures: 

My friend Kim was sick of the long winter in Boston so she came down to PR for a few days while I was there. We made a weekend of it and stayed on the beach in Isla Verde at the Intercontinental Hotel. 

Playing Tour Guide!
Kim has been to PR before, for my wedding.  However, she was only there for the weekend, thus didn't really get to see much beyond the wedding events.  So I happily played tour guide for a few days and brought her to some of my favorite spots in the San Juan area. Here is what we did: 

Most of the time, we relaxed on Isla Verde beach with a pina colada in hand:)

A Message for the Intercontinental Isla Verde
The Intercontinental in Isla Verde was a good choice. The hotel is lovely, staff is nice, and the location perfect. However, there was one snafu worth mentioning.  One night Kim woke up thirsty at 3:30am. Since we ran out of bottled water and the tap water tasted terrible, she went to the lobby to purchase a bottle of water. The woman at the front desk told her that it would take room service at least 15 minutes to get her water and recommended she go outside, across and up the street to the 24 hr market. At 3:30 AM. Alone. Needless to say we were both annoyed with the front desk.  So Intercontinental, if you are reading this - stock more water in your hotel please and don't subject your patrons to potentially dangerous situations. 

Great Girls Getaway!
I often write about Puerto Rico because I visit my family there several times a year.  This was one of the few times I've stayed in San Juan as a tourist and I enjoyed it very much!  San Juan is a fantastic weekend getaway, particularly for US east coasters,  because it's a quick flight away, relatively cheap compared to other islands in the Caribbean, has nice beaches close to the airport and still offers a lively nightlife and unique culture. Plus passports are not required if you are a US citizen.  

I spent over a week in Puerto Rico this past March visiting my grandparents. We spent time catching up, running errands and seeing family and friends - including a Battle of the Bands show featuring my cousin's band, Boicot. We also had lunch with my other cousin, Diana, who had just won the Young Lion creative award and will be representing Puerto Rico in Cannes, France for the international competition (her second consecutive win!). Needless to say, I'm very proud of my talented cousins!

Chocolate + Cheddar = Food Heaven
One day my grandmother and I spent a morning in Old San Juan, stopping at the Casa Cortes Chocobar for breakfast. We chose from 10 varieties of hot chocolate that came with complimentary chocolate squares served with cheddar cheese. I was excited to indulge since cheese and chocolate are two of my favorite foods and the combo did not disappoint. In fact, it was phenomenal! 

Sunset Strolls 
March usually brings nice weather to PR, and this year was no exception. The weather was perfect and the sunsets were pure gold. My grandparents, Mawi the dog, and I often took a neighborhood stroll to watch the sun change color over the lagoon. Sometimes it's the simplest of evenings that are the best.

Toward the end of my visit, a friend of mine visited the island for a couple days to escape the frigid temperatures in Boston. Stay tuned for more on our adventure! 

In an effort to take advantage of our free time before going back to the daily grind, we booked last minute tickets to San Juan to escape the frigid Boston weather.  We enjoyed glorious weather and time with family.  PR never looked (and felt) so good.

After an amazing trip to Cuba, we traveled to Puerto Rico, excited to share stories and pictures with our family. We made our way home via Mexico City, spending the night near the international airport. Our flight left the next morning out of Toluca airport which was about an hour away from the Mexico City airport.  We thought we could take a shuttle from the airport to Toluca but it only left three times per day and the departure times were not convenient for us. So we took a taxi and while it was a lot more expensive, it got us there on time and once we left the city the drive was really beautiful. The countryside right outside of Mexico City is stunning, complete with rolling mountains, hiking trails, and lots of delicious looking restaurants.  

It was a long trip traveling back to San Juan but we were happy to be home in Puerto Rico. We spent the next couple of days catching up with my grandparents, showing them pictures of family and places from Cuba.  We also showed them pictures of what we thought were their former homes in Cuba. Turns out we took pictures of the wrong houses!  That was a little disappointing, but now we know what to look for (or not look for) the next time we go back.

The rest of our time in PR was really relaxing. One night we celebrated my birthday with my uncle, aunt and cousins. Then my parents came down from Connecticut and we spent some time catching up with them and enjoying the beach.  It was a great visit and we can't wait to go back! 

Puerto Rico is a fantastic vacation destination, offering everything from stunning beaches, awesome surfing, beautiful hikes, delicious food and lots of culture. Plus it's really easy to get to if you are traveling from the US (no passport necessary).  If you are looking for a Caribbean getaway, check out Beyond Voyage's Puerto Rico page to see our favorite spots on the island!

Chris and I are lucky to have many places we can call home. My grandparents' house in Puerto Rico is one of those places. We usually visit a few times a year to spend time with our family and enjoy the beautiful island.  This visit was special because we arrived in time to celebrate my grandmother's birthday and our friends from Cambridge were visiting with their adorable 6 month old son, Zachary.  We also got to see my cousin Diana and hear about how she won a major advertising contest with a PSA spot she wrote & directed starring Nani & Bebo.  She is going to Cannes, France this summer for the finals and our fingers are crossed that she wins!  We also got to see my cousin, Jose Daniel, play the guitar first hand which was very impressive. Hopefully his band, Boycott, will have a YouTube page soon!

After traveling for 20 days straight, it was really nice to feel at home for a week!  Below are some of the highlights from our trip. As always, it was really hard to leave and we miss everyone very much, but we look forward to coming back soon!

Puerto Rico is a great long weekend getaway for people living in the States! If you are considering visiting, check out our Puerto Rico recommendations & photo gallery.

I recently watched the movie Chasing Mavericks on a flight to Las Vegas. It's about surfer Jay Moriarity from Santa Cruz who trains to surf insanely large waves in Half Moon Bay called Mavericks. I once visited Santa Cruz with my good friends Leah & Ryan.  We spent a perfect day walking along the beach and watching the surfers while keeping warm with coffee from Verve Roasters.  I'm looking forward to going back to this corner of paradise one day with Chris. 

From one corner to another: Surfing movies always remind me of my favorite surfing spot - Rincon, Puerto Rico.  It's the only place we have ever surfed but we love it more for its beauty than its waves.  As you'll see from the pictures below, Rincon is a spectacular little corner of paradise (in fact, Rincon means corner in Spanish). If you want more information about visiting Rincon, check out Beyond Voyage's Rincon review.