Puerto Rico… Up Next is Puerto Rico from July 27-August 2 2007. A trip for our one year anniversary!

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So we got up the next morning bright and early at 730 in order to meet Mom and V for the complimentary “made-to-order” breakfast that was provided by the hotel. We didn’t expect much… Figuring on juice and toast and dry cereal, Dave and I weren’t really sure why we hadn’t just had a bit more sleep… But we made our way downstairs, even more amazed at the lovely atrium in the full daylight sunlight spilled abundant rays from the skyscape to the tiled bridge and trees below. We met with Mom and V quickly enough in the slowly filling restaurant, and were quickly surprised at the aromatic breakfast trays passing around us as we got into line to have our first breakfast at the hotel. Breakfast was not sparse as we had expected, but plentiful, with made to order eggs, omelets (complete with any “stuffing” you’d want), bacon, sausage, pancakes, bagels, cinnamon buns, toast, juices, teas, coffee, and fried potatoes. It was delicious! Yummy! If I had had any delusions about losing weight in Puerto Rico due to lack of food, I was terribly mistaken… I think I may have actually gained 7 pounds! As a bonus, the breakfast was so filling, we had no need for food until dinner time, thus saving us spending money!

Shortly after breakfast, we took a walk on the private beach. We played in the sand, took pictures, and basically just took in the grand vista and prospect of the ocean. It was relaxing, inspiriting, and spiritually enlightening. The hotel was perfect, the beach even better, and the idea of spending nearly a week in paradise was intoxicating. We walked back through the pool area with no real idea as to what to do next when we came upon a young man who offered us a free dinner and a return weekend stay for only an hour of our time… We didn’t have other plans, and a free dinner sounded good to me, so off we went. We found ourselves in a time-share speech, of which we listened little, and found some aggressive salesman trying to get us to buy a timeshare… We are in no position to be purchasing a time-share, and so… we pushed them off, saying we’d return after we had eaten lunch… And when we back, luckily they were gone. We had a free dinner and a free trip back! Yay! Ok, so we wasted our first morning in Puerto Rico with a bunch of salesman who were sweaty, slick, and a bit gross, but now we had a free dinner to use that night at the romantic Italian restaurant across the street, Oregano. That afternoon, Dave and I were still tired so we decided to take a little nap…. When we woke, it was time to get ready for the manager’s reception and our romantic dinner a deux.

Ok, so at the manager’s reception we got a little… buzzed… yes, again! The drinks were FREE, let me remind you! And then off we went to dinner. There was a bit of a mishap at dinner, but since it was free, it was ok…We were seated in a booth, with a candle on it… And nice waiter who didn’t speak much English came to wait on us… he took our order.. We ordered more drinks (free dinner, remember!?) and we ordered an appetizer. The appetizer was delicious… And sometime later (almost an hour!) we found that our waiter had cut himself and was being questioned by security… Interesting, but that our order had gotten lost in the shuffle. We re-ordered with a new server, and waited nearly another hour before our food was brought out to us (all this time, we were drinking remember!)… So by the time the food came, and the fact that we had only had a little something to nibble on since breakfast, we were pretty happy and awful hungry. We ate, and the pesto was delicious! Of course, I had ordered a side salad, and they had brought me chicken with a salad on the side, and no pesto pasta with my “pesto chicken” dinner. They remedied this reasonably quickly… And we ate our meals. We also had dessert (we are on vacation remember, the time for indulgence)… chocolate cake. Yum. It was also delicious. The food at Oregano was great, if the service slow… And it certainly a night to remember. We took a quick walk along the beach before bed, and then we found sleep easy. It was late after all, being nearly midnight.

After our first manager’s reception, very buzzed and pretty hungry, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner at about 730-800. Mom and Vicente came with us, and we were surprised to find that the food was typically American with some traditional Puerto Rican dishes that we could try… Dave and I were not up for trying anything new, and he had a club sandwich. I had a chicken sandwich and a cup of potato soup which was truly fabulous! In my buzzed state, I spilled water all over the table and myself… and was completely humiliated… But it was a good time, regardless. After that, we were starting to get tired, but we were invited to go into San Juan for the “bachelor, bachelorette” party… They had hired taxis to take us to San Juan to go to some clubs and to take us back…

We decided, hey, we’re on vacation… Who needs sleep! So we went… and when we got to the club that had been recommended to us… it was 11… To our surprise, they were still serving dinner… and there was still a line for dinner… And that they wouldn’t open as a club until 2 AM!… And then would be open til 5 or 6 AM! Well the party had planned to be on its way back to Dorado a little after 2, so that was out! Instead, we walked around San Juan looking for an open club. We found one, but they were getting ready to close and instead suggested a sister club called Raven…. So over to Raven we went…

This was an extraordinary club experience… We walk into this darkened bar, with a club-like purple glow… Very sophisticated crowd, all sitting around talking and drinking… And then we enter this empty side room which was aglow with candles and a huge-lava-esque purple lamp on the ceiling… With couches and a round pillow cushion (like a bed) in the center of the room… We all piled on the bed and couches lined with plenty of pillows and talked and drank some more. Dave and I were exhausted at this point, and could barely keep our eyes open… We had been up for almost 24 hours, after all. Drowsing, we enjoyed ourselves, but weren’t exactly the life of the party. We were glad to get back to the hotel around 330 AM, 24 hours after we had gotten up, and grateful to get into our beds for some much needed sleep.

When we finally got to the hotel, Mom came rushing out of the hotel to meet us… We were just in time for the manager’s reception she said… What was the manager’s reception? In a short time, we were about to find out… After surviving the maze that was the Embassy Suites parking lot, we walked into the hotel, and were… dumbstruck. It was beautiful, and far grander than even the pictures had indicated…. In the center of the hotel was an atrium, with trees and pond, and a bridge… it was grand to say the least. We quickly checked in… took our things upstairs, cleaned up a bit, and headed down to meet Mom and Vicente at this so called “manager’s reception”, where we figured we’d have a selection of a glass of wine or beer and maybe some chips. What we found was a lot more exciting than that! The “Manager’s Reception” was basically an open bar… from 530-730 every night! The first night, taken aback and excited about the idea of free drinks, Dave and I hit the Manager’s Reception hard, having Mai-tais, Long-Island Iced teas, Sex-on-the-Beaches, and some other fun fruity drinks. Considering we hadn’t eaten anything but cookies and cheeze-its since five that morning, we were buzzing pretty quick! And having a great time, sitting around the pool area, talking, and relaxing… Celebrating our first day of vacation… and celebrating our first real vacation together.