Serenade of the Seas Review- Part 1- San Juan Pre-Cruise (Cont'd)

Totally exhausted from our trip, we fell asleep to the sound of the ocean. It’s amazing how important napping becomes on vacation once you get older, lol.


We enjoyed some time on the balcony before dinner. One of Wesley’s favorite things when we travel is a nice view. I've learned that it is kind of therapeutic to just sit and watch the ocean. So soothing.




 


For dinner, we visited di Parma Trattoria, which was less than a 5 minute walk to the right of the hotel. It was a balmy, beautiful evening, so the outdoor seating was perfect. The view of Ashford Ave from our table:





The service and the atmosphere were wonderful. We each had personal pizzas ($10 each) and they were insanely good. I couldn’t finish mine. I also had a champagne sangria- total yum.










The dessert of the day was a coconut crème brulee. How could we possibly pass on that? It was delicious- not too sweet. The berries on top were a nice touch.




We strolled around the area a little bit, then headed back to the hotel for the evening.


Second Day: Full day in San Juan


For those that know me…I’m an early riser. I normally get up between 4:30-5 AM at home during the week, so I’m sure you’ll find it hilarious that I thought waking up around 6:30 each morning a total luxury!


My plan was to go to La Bombonera, then walk around Old San Juan for a bit for the rest of the day. I had been there back in 2009, when my friends and I took a girls’ trip to San Juan. For some reason, Wes and I had never been there together, and I knew he would love their signature mallorcas (pastries with powdered sugar on top). Some pics as we made our way out of the hotel:










We went to the hotel entrance around 8:30 AM and asked one of the doormen for a taxi. I noticed that there were always a couple cabs waiting on Ashford Avenue, in view of the hotel entrance. It took a just couple seconds for him to wave a driver over, and he asked us where we were headed. As soon as I said La Bombonera, he exclaimed, “Oooooh yeah, La Bombonera!!! Good choice!” I said, “Yes, we want to have some mallorcas.” He said, “YES! The mallorca! Don’t forget to add some bacon, some cheese, and some egg!! HEAVEN!” He kept raving about it, lol. That got Wes a little excited to see this place.


The taxi ride was only about 10 minutes long. We were dropped off in the main square of San Juan (the streets in the old city are very narrow so sometimes drivers will drop you off within walking distance of a place- no biggie at all), and La Bombonera was just a 2-minute walk down Calle San Francisco. It was funny because we were among a couple groups of tourists that ended up walking to the same place. We all took pics of La Bombonera before we all crossed the street to enter the bakery.

I was surprised at how empty it was…but then again it was still early on a Saturday morning. The last time I was there, it was total pandemonium, in a lively, wonderful way. We had to wait for someone to seat us that time, and it was about a 10-minute wait. This time, the hostess encouraged us to choose wherever we wanted to sit.

We each had bacon and eggs, with mallorcas toasted with butter. No chewy bacon here- it’s all crisp and flavorful. The mallorcas were light and not too sweet. Breakfast there was a great start to the day.

We left the restaurant and headed to our right. We wanted to visit Spicy Caribbee, a shop on Cristo Street. I had a map from our last trip to El Morro Fort, and noticed that we could take Calle San Francisco all the way up to Calle Cristo and make a right. Some pics from along the way:

 











I forgot that the shop didn’t open until 10. I think it was about 9:30 or so, so we decided to walk around a bit. Just past the shop, we noticed San Juan Cathedral, and we could hear the mass from outside. I wasn’t dressed to go in, but the mass sounded beautiful.







We also noticed El Convento Hotel. I had always wondered where the hotel was since we would normally take a taxi right to El Morro. Very nice. Here are a few shots.









This is one of my favorite photos. The sky is just gorgeous:





Some more shots as we waited. It was a quiet, sunny, beautiful morning:




And I’m so sad to report that for all the pics of Spicy Caribbee that I took….we never went in. We waited until about 10:30 and the shop never opened! I have no idea why? I bought some souvenirs a couple shops down though. I got a nice painting and a wooden, painted recorder/flute for my godson. He’s 3 years old, and loved it!


When walking out of the shop Wes pointed out that there was a Piragua (shaved ice) cart on the corner. Last year I had a shaved ice with coconut milk in front of El Morro Fort, and fell in love right away.  At just $2 each, it's a nice, inexpensive way to cool off in the heat. I had been looking forward to finding that same cart, but hey, one was right there so why not have one now?



 
I like how the street signs are actually on the buildings:

Another view of Cristo St

It was really starting to get hot, so we decided to head back to the hotel. It was about our 3rd time in old San Juan, so we figured we would explore the Condado area a little more.


We had the taxi drop us off at the Walgreen’s, about four blocks away from La Concha. It was nice to be able to pick up some things we forgot at home. They even had a grocery section if you wanted basics, as well as microwaveable meals.


A shot of Ashford Avenue heading back toward the hotel:





At the hotel, I decided to hit the beach. I couldn’t wait to lie out in the sun. The beach in front of La Concha is beautiful. Chairs and umbrellas are available for hotel guests to use, and they’re complimentary.

Now this is how you relax on vacation :)

As you can see, clouds can roll in pretty quickly here. I think I spent about an hour and a half on the beach before it got pretty cloudy.


The rest of the day was pretty lazy, lol. We napped a bit, and went out to grab some Chinese food (about a 10 minute walk to the right of the hotel on Ashford Ave), and started packing up a bit to get ready to board the ship the next day!!