Honeymoon in Puerto Rico

Those of you who know Mark and I, know that I am basically the luckiest girl in the world. At the risk of bragging too much, he is the handsome-ist, funniest, smartest and sweetest guy around. I am very well aware that I married "up" and got the good end of things in this deal.  Mark may always have a full belly in our house, but that is basically it, since I am a surly old stinker most of the time.  I took the lead role in planning the wedding and Mark took the reigns in planning our honeymoon.  Mark is the travel coordinator in our duo.  He always manages to find the most fantastic spots for us that combine all of our favorite things, food, drinks, sun, and crazy old hippies.  What more could I ask for?  On this trip we traveled to Old San Juan and to a little Island off Puerto Rico, called Vieques.  It was the most relaxing and delightful trip we've taken yet.  I can't wait to jet set back there for a long weekend sometime soon.

On our first night, we flew from National to San Juan and stayed at the Ritz right near the airport.  We certainly aren't Ritz people by nature (or birth), but we decided to treat ourselves on the first night and it was well worth it.  We had a delicious meal at BLT Steak and topped it off with a fun dessert courtesy of the chef.  Very sweet.

The next morning we hopped into the worlds tiniest plane and puddle jumped over to the Vieques.  As it is everywhere I go, my first order of business was lunch.  At our beautiful hotel, I got the fresh grouper tacos.  They were lightly fried, super tender and flavorful.  Really the perfect island lunch (not to be confused with an island ruler, mom).

That night, we head over to Belly Buttons, where chef Waldo was preparing his famous paella.

Watching Waldo work was a really fun experience.  He let us test taste and have a lot of fun with the whole evening.

I want to get myself a giant pan and try this one time at our house with our grill!  Mark is frightened!

When our meal arrived, it was totally delicious.  I love the fluffy rice and the crunchy parts that were stuck to the bottom!  All of the seafood was perfectly cooked and a cold Medalla on the side was total bliss.

Then when we got back to the hotel, my sweet new hubbo had arranged a bottle of champagne for dessert!  See...I told you he was the best.

The next day, we head over to Tin Box to try their amazing bloody and blood-less Mary.  Mark got the Bloodless Mary, which was like a garden in a glass, in a good way.  It was fresh and refreshing with an acidic kick.  He loved it!

I got good old Bloody Mary, which was made with chipotle and little pieces of their house cured bacon.  It was unique and really flavorful.  I loved it.

The specialty of the house was the homemade bacon, which was amazing.  Very flavorful pork with a sweet glaze.  Thick cut and decadent.  It was a real treat.

We went to Next Course, a super beautiful restaurant a bit inland from the beach and up in the hilly areas.  We ate dinner surrounded by avocado, mango, and starfruit trees.  It was so perfect that I didn't even remember to take pictures, because I was enjoying the moment so much.  I did snap a quick pic of my tasty cocktail.  It was a coconut, rum, and pineapple creation with fresh nutmeg on top.  Divine. 

And I got one of the fresh ceviche that we'd been wanting to get all week.  It super fresh, with lots of hunks of fish and tasty veggies.  The chips were super crispy and perfect.  Loved it!

Everyone kept telling us that the "restaurant" at the "airport" was really one of the best on the island and we had to try it.  Calling it a restaurant and an airport is a stretch.  In Vieques, it is basically a tiny runway right on the water and the restaurant is an amazing little bar right outside.  You can get an ice cold beer to take the edge off the tiny plane ride and you can also get an amazing breakfast or lunch.  I got the conch fritters.  They were super flavorful and cooked wonderfully with a great crunch on the outside and a creamy inside.  The spicy peanut sauce on the side sealed the deal on it being one of my favorite dishes on the island.  Mark got the roast beef sandwich, and loved it so much that he wouldn't put it down to be photographed.

We made it back across the water in our tiny plane and spent the next few days in old San Juan.  We went for dinner at el Jiberto.  I got the oven baked grouper with Mofungo.  It was super tender and delicious.

Mark got the whole, crispy fried red snapper and didn't life his head up from his plate until it was picked clean.  I've never been prouder.  We we walked home, Mark was the happiest I've ever seen it.  It was great.

We took a little lunch date to beat the heat at Cafe St. Germaine.  It was everything you imagine an old-World cafe in old San Juan should be.  The lunch was a price-fix deal with a light salad to start.

 For the main course, they served the most amazing grouper sandwiches.  Fresh fish, spicy slaw, and an amazing sauce that made it a contender for our favorite meal in Old San Juan.

Mark got a basil mojito and couldn't have been happier.

Our last morning in Old San Juan, we went to a little coffee shop and I got the sweet potato crepes with smoked salmon filling and rosemary syrup.  It was decadent and amazing.

Mark had the Mallorca with ham and cheese.  It was super fun.  Sweet bread with the sandwich and powdered sugar on top.  An island specialty that was really fun and totally worked.  The salty, sweet combo was the perfect breakfast treat.