Thursday, November 25, 2021

PR Day 4: Beach and Parque Luis Munoz Marin

Sunday, November 7, 2021:
We woke up and got a ride down to Alambique for brunch.
It's this cute little open-air, outdoor cafe that overlooks Isle Verde Beach.
There was a wait when we arrived, so we walked along the beach while we waited for them to call us.
It took an hour to get our food, but it was delicious!
After our beach brunch we went to Parque Luis Munoz Marin.
It cost $2 each to enter the park and they used to have an aerial tram and water featured, that were shut down for COVID, so it was just a quiet park with not much for us to do other than walk around.

They did have a neat walkway built up in the trees, that and the neat dog park were really the only excitement the park offered us. 
They did have the neatest little dog park, with tunnels and hills for the dogs and a water feature to keep them hydrated, plus benches under the trees to relax while your dog plays.  I wish we had a dog park like this close to where we live. 
After the park, we got a ride home and changed into our suits and caught another ride over to Playita del Condado.  It's a calm beach in a cove with food vendors. 
We did eat some a delicious chicken skewer and enjoyed a virgin pina colada on the beach before we played in the cove.  The water is surrounded by huge rocks, so it was more like a huge ocean swimming pool.  It was relaxing.  We didn't take photos at the beach, but it was very crowded there.
After we got out of the water, we walked down through town. 
We came across these 3 giant wise men.







We saw some cool buildings, I thought this old castle looked really cool.
In the evening, we stopped at the pizza place nearby and picked up a pizza for dinner.  Then we walked home and spent the rest of the evening relaxing and watching a movie.

PR Day 3: Paseo de la Princesa

November 6, 2021:
After we explored Casa Blanca, we walked through town to the see Paseo de la Princesa, a tree-lined promenade built in 1853. 
Along the way, we came across this notice that San Juan is still under a COVID set curfew between 12am to 5am.  If you are caught out of your home during these hours you could face a $5000 fee or 6 months in jail.

Raices Fountain.






San Juan Gate, the main entrance to the city.  If you were a dignitary arriving to the city between the 1500s to the 1800s, you would enter through this gate.  The Latin inscription above the gate reads "Blessed are they who come in the name of the Lord".  The placard in front of the gate said that after being greeted by city officials, travelers would proceed to the Cathedral of San Juan to give thanks for their safe journey.



After we walked along Paseo de la Princesa, we decided to get a ride over to the T-Mobile district.
Even though the T-Mobile district is an outdoor mall area, you are required to wear a mask there.

We thought it was a shopping mall, but really it was mostly all restaurants and a stage area for music.
They did have a theater, so we decided to see the movie Red Notice.
The cost of the movie tickets was the same as in the states, but when we went to get popcorn and a drink, we were surprised to buy a large popcorn and drink for only $6.05!  
That's so much cheaper!  
The theater had living room seating, so the comfy recliners made watching the movie so much more relaxing.  Red Notice was entertaining for sure!

PR Day 3: Casa Blanca

November 6, 2021:
We started our third day in Puerto Rico by going to see Casa Blanca. We actually had tried to go the day before, but it had been closed for a private event.  
Casa Blanca was originally built in 1521 for Ponce de Leon and his family.
Apparently, the first building was made out of wood and burnt to the ground  in 1523.  After the fire, the house was reconstructed out of adobe in 1524.
It was home to the Ponce de Leon family for 250 years, after which time it became military barracks for almost 200 years, then to the Government of Puerto Rico in 1967.  By 1971 the process of restoration began and it opened to the public as a museum in 1974. 
If these walls could talk, I imagine they would have so many stories to tell of their nearly 500 year history and all that has transpired within them.
If you are ever in Old San Juan, you should definitely add Casa Blanca to your must-see list.
It has such a simple elegance and I am in love with Casa Blanca! 
The entrance.
The garage.

There are multiple buildings on the Casa Blanca estate, 
but you can only tour inside of the main house.
The entrance to the main house.

The living room.
Views from the living room.


I love the old stone floors.
Some kind of access to basement storage.
Imagine opening these doors in the morning to this view, just gorgeous!

One of the bedrooms.
The prayer room.
Another bedroom.
A stray cat taking refuge at Casa Blanca.
The views from the living room porch.

The dining room.

My absolute favorite room was the kitchen!  
It's so simple, yet so elegant.  I am in love with the blue tile backsplash!









This is the only room upstairs that is open to view, the rest are closed to the public.




The gardens and grounds at Casa Blanca are beautiful as well!












The fountains in the garden are so peaceful.  I could sit and relax there for hours.