This was the trip that never happened last fall thanks to a missed Delta flight. So, we added an extra two days during the rebooking process, thinking that we would take a train to Bruges for an overnight, partly because once we mentioned we were going to Brussels, people asked if we were going to Bruges. Every time. So, yes, we are going to Bruges. :)

Rebooking the Brussels hotel turned into a bigger hassle than originally expected and while we managed not to lose any money in the process, it means we are only staying one night at Le Meridian and the rest of the time in a small B&B nearby. This is partially due to overall cost and partially due to the fact that the B&B looked very charming and included breakfast.

I have a ton of places highlighted on my map, mostly having to do with beer and chocolate, so if anyone has any suggestions about not-to-miss restaurants or museums, we’d love to hear it!

I really like having late afternoon flights home because even though we get home late (usually around 11pm), it means we have a few hours of exploring time on the day we leave.

In this case, we used the extra time to go back to El Yunque and get some fantastic views of the coast and rainforest. While the temperature was about the same (around 77F), the lack of all the rain and mist made a world of difference in the panoramic views.

the rainforest view taken from the valet area of our resort | view large

coastal view from the Yokahu Tower in El Yunque | view large

Before dropping the car off, we also drove down to Old San Juan to get a glimpse of the fort and explore the one way streets.

Fort San Cristóbal | view large

To be perfectly honest, our stay at the Wyndham Rio Mar was a mixed bag. We are not resort people but knowing this we rented a car and therefore didn’t spend a lot of time at the actual hotel.

The only real hassle we had was with the views from our room(s). We arrived on Friday night around 9:30pm and they gave us room #1036 which is right outside the (squeaky) elevators with a balcony directly adjacent to the main pedestrian walkway out to the pools and beach. Additionally, the balconies aren’t staggered properly, so water was dripping right onto our chairs and table outside.  The worst part, however, was that we had paid extra for an ocean view room and while I generally like palm trees, as you can see below, this balcony does not have an ocean view.

view from room #1036

We complained right away and they promised to move us into a different room the next day, which finally happened following several delays at 8:30pm. Room #4130 was a lot quieter and had a better view, but I would still argue that this doesn’t really qualify as an ocean view room. Why this resort planted wind-breaking palm trees in front of all their ocean view rooms, I’ll never know. At least this balcony didn’t drip!

view from room #4130

The good stuff:

• Room were very large and cleaned well daily.
• Toiletries were Bath and Body Works in generous 2 oz containers: the standard shampoo, conditioner and body wash plus lotion and even a tube of  aloe (this came in handy).
• Grounds and beach are very nice and private.

The not so good stuff:

• Self-parking was $15 a day (valet was $20) and to leave, you have your ticket validated by the valet guy. Not a huge deal, but inconvenient, why not just issue a reusable card to hotel guests?
• Drinks and food prices were high, not necessarily outrageous, but we got around this by eating off property and picking up a bottle of rum and fruit juice at the supermarket to make our own drinks. The one set of drinks we had at the bar on the first night were good.
• Adult pool is right next to the kids pool, so you will still hear the yelling, crying, etc., and lounge chairs were three deep around the pool so you would be awfully familiar with the folks around you. (Renting your own cabana for more privacy would run you $150 per day!)
• No free internet, so the six available public computers were nearly always taken and running an old version on Internet Explorer, so it took a while to check email.
• Fridge was an additional $10 per day, but we just got ice down the hall to make our drinks.

I can’t say I wouldn’t recommend this hotel as we got a reasonable price and the location just north of El Yunque is fantastic. But definitely rent a car and see the island instead of spending your entire time (and budget) at the hotel.

As previously mentioned, due to weather we rescheduled our snorkeling trip to Culebra for a day later and thankfully, the weather cooperated. Not only is the snorkeling better when it’s not windy and raining but I get motion sickness on boats in rough seas. I took a Dramamine for the ride over, and even though others around me weren’t feeling so hot, I handled the 90 minute ride just fine. Getting through the city streets to the ferry terminal was a little confusing, and for some reason the ticket lady wouldn’t sell us return tickets, but we got on the ferry with no issue.

Things to note: the nearby parking lot is $5.35 to park all day and the ferry left 15 minutes early, so be sure to give yourself enough time! The ferry ride is $4.50 round trip, per person.

our ferry boat – the Culebra II

leaving Fajardo

Once we arrived on Culebra there were a host of companies and cabs waiting to take folks all over the island, so it can be a little chaotic. Our reservations were with Taz from Aquatic Adventures for a day of snorkeling and he picked us up by boat right by the dock.

Thirty minutes later, we were anchored and in the water for some fish sightseeing!

this purple fan coral was everywhere

a blue tang

flamingo tongue – they like to hang out on the fan coral

We snorkeled in two spots, Lana’s Cove and Punta Soldado with sandwiches and drinks in between. We were in the water for well over an hour and saw a ton of corals, tangs, pufferfish, clown fish, tetras and all sizes of yellowtail snapper. Sadly, no rays or turtles.

Lana’s Cove

We would definitely take a trip back to Culebra and, perhaps, snorkel and/or kayak off one of the other beaches. I thought the $50 per person price tag for the boat trip was a good value and Taz and Amy made great hosts.

The weather was supposed to be unpredictable on Sunday, so we rescheduled our planned snorkeling trip via email to Monday and headed down to the Humacao Nature Preserve instead. Supposedly, this place doesn’t get a lot of visitors and I can testify that it was almost completely empty on a Sunday afternoon. In fact, about an hour went by when we didn’t see see anyone else and with views like the ones below, we couldn’t have asked for a more lovely afternoon hike.

We even witnessed an iguana digging out his nest and one sunning himself on a pier.

Since we were so far south already, Eric suggested we drive into the lower part of El Yunque to see if there were any good waterfalls we could get to.

the view from a very twisty road

Rio Cubuy waterfall

Eric had to cross below the waterfall to get the above shot, but there were locals swimming below the falls and jumping into the water, so clearly it wasn’t too dangerous.

We ended the day with a trip to the Loquillo Kiosks where I got to try some lovely fish ceviche at the Ceviche Hut (#38). The owner is originally from Peru and he came over to us at the end of the meal to see if we’d ever tried ceviche before. We told him about our great experience at La Mar in Miraflores and shared some other highlights from our trip to Peru last fall. Tasty food and friendly owners, highly recommended by us!

fish ceviche!

One of the main reasons we decided to stay on the northeast side of the island was to be close to the El Yunque and all the waterfalls. So, on our first full day, we packed up the camera and headed south into the rainforest. It was lush, green, absolutely beautiful…

waterfall on Juan Diego River

…and pouring!

Eric and I both agreed that we had never been more wet on a hike, ever. Eric was also lamenting his decision not to bring a tripod. Amazingly, many of the shots came out anyway, but he’s had lots of practice!

La Mina Falls – some folks just weren’t wet enough on the trail

Coco Falls - a brief moment when no one is standing in front of it!

Thankfully, this meant that we didn’t have a lot of company as many tour buses didn’t bother coming out.

One thing to note: entrance into the actual park is free BUT they charge you $4 per person to enter the visitor’s center which is the only place you can get a printed map of the park. Inside, there are some large panels with park history and information and also tables set up to sell you stuff. I am guessing one of those items is a poncho since every other person on the trail was wearing a branded clear plastic bag. Most of the trails are clearly marked, so my advice would be to do a little research before you leave about what you want to see and skip the “Interpretive Center”.

Riesling has taken to “killing” various toys which she then presents to me for both breakfast and dinner. I can only imagine that this is her idea of a trade. :) These antics are ramped up significantly when, say, beef stew is added to her ordinary kibble. We decided to capture it on video for your enjoyment… how can this not make you smile?

Like much of the Eastern US, we’ve been getting more than our fair share of snow this winter and although it’s fun to play in (and get snow days), we have decided enough is enough and we booked a trip to Puerto Rico next week. From snow and cold to sand and sunshine!

Most of this has melted by now, but it’s supposed to snow again tomorrow.

As some of you probably know, finding reasonably-priced accommodations in Europe can be quite a challenge. Luckily, between Eric’s Starwood points and a good deal spotted months in advance, we kept the cost to $135 (~94 Euros) per night over three hotels.

Our first night in Vienna was at our favorite hotel of the three, Le Meridian. Not only did they have a complimentary mini-bar (but only one beer for two people?) and ridiculously comfy bed, but the concierge was very helpful and the location (near Karlsplatz) was right in the thick of things. It didn’t hurt that we found a cozy wine bar two blocks away.

you can see the view of the city from our room here

The best part of the bathroom was the deep claw foot tub. The worst part was the heated floors that we never figured out how to turn off. There was quite a lot of “hot-footing” while teeth-brushing! Other features included a towel warming rack, open shower with wedge drain and frosted glass walls.

not quite sure about the “stripper pole” by the tub

Our room at the Art Hotel William in Bratislava was huge – meaning Eric didn’t have to wedge himself in the corner to get a full shot of the room. The striped wood paneling details, striped tile bathroom and decor were very attractive. The location was fine, as the Old Town of Bratislava isn’t terribly large, we were able to easily walk anywhere we wanted to go. The big downside was the street noise (i.e. barking dogs, loud talkers) as we had a room overlooking the cobblestones versus one of the the interior rooms. Additionally, some idiot starting shouting around 2am which echoed off the buildings and rudely woke us both up.

ballroom dancing optional

the zebra bathroom

Vienna is apparently the land of free mini bar items because our second hotel,  Steigenberger Hotel Wein , also had a daily restocked mini bar with orange and apple juices, Römerquelle still and sparkling (prickelnd) and two Gösser beers. This room was (by far) the most cramped of our stay but the bed was comfortable, the shower had good water pressure and there was a cubby-area for our bags and a place to hang our nice clothes, so overall a good experience.  We also enjoyed a glass of wine at the hotel lounge during our stay and we found both the atmosphere and prices agreeable. The breakfast special of a latte and croissant with nutella (yum!), honey and jam was also good. The location of the hotel is also excellent, a half block from a subway stop and within a few blocks of the major shopping district and Christmas markets.

individual down comforters was a nice touch

Generally, we preferred both the concierge and the bath products at the Meridian property but the complimentary mini fridge was better stocked at the Steigenburger. We would stay at any of these properties again.

We didn’t have much planned for Saturday, so we took advantage of that luxury and slept in.  After walking around town a bit we took a tram up to Stammersdorf to experience some authentic heurigers (a Austrian wine tavern where wine-growers serve the most recent year’s wine). There are plenty of districts in Vienna with heurigers but we read in several spots that the one furthest out was going to give us the best experience. Considering that almost no one spoke any English, I think we got our wish. Thankfully, Eric was on point with his German, so we managed to get our point across with little trouble.

come on in and drink some wine!

After receiving the first round, it became clear that we were never going to make it to all the places I had mapped out…

Above is a photo of the mugs of wine we were served at Heuriger Wieninger. The heurigen (or new wine) was light, slightly spritzy and very easy to drink. In fact, many of the older folks (so, pretty much everyone else in the tavern at 3pm) ordered new wine spritzers. Eventually, I also ordered a spinach and cheese pastry to add something else to my belly. The atmosphere was relaxed and casual, not unlike a pub, but the only thing on the menu was their own wine. Eric’s note: Leandra also ordered a red wine, which came out in a standard wine glass along with a decanter. Turns out everything they serve is large…

I convinced Eric to try one more place before heading back into Vienna, so we visited Haus Schmidt Heuriger closer to the tram stop. Here we tried the rotwein (red) and weißer (white) and once again, a mere 2 Euros got us 0.25L of wine each. For those slow at metrics that would be 1/3 of a bottle!

I wanted these wine glasses but we couldn’t figure out how to ask about buying them (in our limited German) and frankly, weren’t sure they would even survive the trip home.

On the journey out of town, we were surprised at how urban Vienna stayed a good half hour from the city center. Stammersdorf is the last stop on Tram 31, and this scene was more of what we expected… quiet streets, colorful houses and private courtyards.

We thought the wine was better at the first place, but didn’t try the heurigen at the second place, so it’s difficult to fairly compare the two. Ultimately it was nice to escape the bustle of the city for an afternoon and experience something uniquely Austrian.