24 Hours in Old San Juan

For Lavender Linda and Captain von Trapp

A few weeks ago we were taking a cruise that 

departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.  We

decided to arrive a day before the cruise so we

could spend some time in Old San Juan.

We stayed at the boutique hotel in Old San Juan

called the Casablanca Hotel.  When I was on the

cruise a few days later I had breakfast with a chef

from the Ritz Carlton in San Juan, when I told her

where I had stayed while in town she looked at me

and exclaimed, "that's where you stayed?  That's a 

great hotel, it's a boutique hotel, it's a really cool

place!"  Yep, my travel street cred went up a few

notches...

You've got to love a hotel that plays Casablanca 

in the lobby 24 hours a day.

By this time we were very hungry since we hadn't

eaten since we arrived at the airport in the wee

hours of the morning.  Walking along a street a

woman walked across the street to give me a 

postcard and tell me that the cafe she worked at

was having happy hour.  I asked her how long

happy hour was and she said until 7pm.  I said,

"That's more like Happy Day!"  I looked at Mr.

Wonderful and said, "Well, we are on vacation, 

let's go to happy hour!"  The place was called the 

Blessed Cafe and it was owned by a Jamaican

Rastafarian who wanted all his guests to have

a wonderful experience.  It was a small place

with a bar and another room with a few tables

and all the decor was related to Bob Marley

and the Wailers.  We ordered  a few drinks and

settled back in vacation mode.

Our taxi driver who drove us in from the airport

told us not to miss trying mofongo while in town.

It was on the menu so of course we had to try it.

It is mashed plantains with a pork mixture on top.

It was delicious!

After the Blessed Cafe we walked off our

lunch and popped into antique stores and 

small artisan boutiques.

We headed back to our hotel for a siesta.

The room was small since the building is old

but everything was very nice.  We had upgraded 

to a room with a balcony thinking we would have

one overlooking a quaint street but the balcony is

really just the walkway to your room, don't bother

getting this upgrade because...

...upstairs is a lovely rooftop terrace with large

soaking tubs.  Bring your favorite beverage and

enjoy stargazing while soaking in your tub.

When we awoke from our siesta, we were hungry 

again and it was time to hit the streets.  I wanted to see

the big church and hiked up the hill but the church was

locked up but just across the square I spotted a little tapas

place called Rosa de Triana.  Our plan was to stop into a

few places for a small dish and a drink.

We sat in the cozy courtyard filled with plants 

and fairy lights.  The cafe is known for it's 

Sangria so we had to sample it.  Since there

were no cruise ships in port, the town was quiet 

and we dined with all locals.  It was the type of

place where you nod and say buenas noches to

your fellow diners.

We ordered two tapas plates and the servings 

were so large we knew our plan for visiting a few

places that evening was going to have to become 

Plan B.  So we lingered over our food and drinks

and fell into slow down vacation mode.  At the end

of the meal the waitress served us complimentary

glasses of a local apple liqueur that was delicious.

I wish I had brought a bottle home with us.

Leaving the restaurant we walked down the street 

and through San Juan gate and walked along the

Paseo de la Princesa, the old city walls are on one 

side of the walkway and San Juan Bay is on the other.

It was an enjoyable stroll and we came upon an area 

filled with food vendors and artists selling jewelry.

The food and drinks looked great but we were far too

full to sample anything but we did pick up some cookies 

to eat in bed once we got back to our room.

We watched a bit of Casablanca in the lobby back at

the hotel and then headed up to bed.  I would suggest

to anyone who will be staying at the Casablanca to

bring along a DVD of the movie or download it to one

of your devices and bring along an HDMI cord so you 

can watch the movie in bed.

Mr. Wonderful was up at the crack of dawn

and ready to find a cafe for a coffee.  For myself,

I prefer to laze around in bed when I get the chance

and since all we had to do that day was eat something

and head to the ship, I opted for waking up slowly.

Opening the wooden shutters and looking out these

windows I felt like I could be meeting Papa Hemingway

for lunch.

When I finally got myself moving we hunted around 

for a new restaurant called Melt.  I saw a photo of

their food on instagram and wanted to go there.  When

we finally found it there was no Hemingway but we did 

sit next to the owner of the hotel in which it is located

and got a lesson in Puerto Rican history and politics.

Then it was time to head to the ship to set sail

for parts unknown.

A great 24 hours!