best. week. ever.

by 34 Comments

AMIGAS!!!!! I don’t even know where to begin. Wow. Even though I was only in Mexico for a week, I’m having a seriously hard time re-entering the real world. Taking the week off from blogging was so. weird. It was nice to have a break from all forms of technology, but I wish I would’ve been able to keep you all up to date with what I was doing. And when I say I was broken off from all forms of technology, I mean it. Liz and I didn’t even know the time at any point in the day 😛 But that’s what vacation should be, right?!

Before I give the deets on my vacation, let me begin by saying that I literally had the best week of my life. We relaxed. We ate. We met so many people. We danced our butts of. And I couldn’t have asked for a better person to spend it with!

The resort itself was out of this world. I knew that we were going to a nice resort, but it was way beyond my expectations. We stayed at the Riu Palace Mexico in Riviera Maya (Playacar), and it was gorgeous:

the view from our room.

the hotel gym - I made it here 3 times!

The beach was so incredibly beautiful. Sometimes resorts have little rinky-dink beaches, but this was the real deal:

We spent pretty much the entire day on the beach. Despite my efforts to avoid sunburn (I went through TWO bottles of sunscreen), I seem to have missed a spot 😛

One of the things that Liz and I were worried about is that our resort is kind of known for being mostly older people.That did turn out to be true, but it didn’t matter because we had access to 4 (maybe 5?) other Riu resorts, which had tons of younger people. Not to mention we all shared the same beach. We made a lot of friends and had some good times :) But the most fun we had was definitely found in Playa Del Carmen:

We went to a few different bars/clubs, and they were all insanely fun. The Blue Parrot was a good one; it was right on the beach, and they had crazy cool fire shows:

The entertainment in Mexico (in town and at our resort) was all around superb:

But the highlight of our entire trip was probably Coco Bongo:

Coco Bongo is basically a huge show/disco/club with performances (mostly celebrity impersonations) and a ton of audience interaction. I’d compare it to a modern day version of Moulin Rouge. We heard from a lot of people at the resort that it was a must-see, so we went on Thursday night. The resort actually set us up with tickets and a table inside so we didn’t have to wait in line. We didn’t know exactly what to expect, but what we got was literally thee most fun night of our lives. We met up with some of our friends from the resort, and the night was filled with laughing and dancing.

Other trip highlights were a day at the spa (no photos of that, woops!) and our snorkeling excursion! That was an all-day event, and we went to three different snorkeling spots. The first was an underground cave:

I thought snorkeling in a cave would be scary, but it wasn’t at all! Instead, it was beautiful and one of the most exciting things I’ve ever experienced.

We also snorkeled out to a coral reef, but I wasn’t allowed to take to my camera to that spot :/ We went pretty far out into a lagoon and saw tons of tropical fish and a 5-6 foot baracuda. Not gonna lie - I could’ve done without seeing that =)

The last spot was another lagoon, which was basically like a big open cave:

There was a small cliff jump (which we didn’t do) and a zip line:

Oh, and did I forget to mention that all of the food was to die?! I managed to practice “moderation” for the first few days, but that kind of fell by the wayside towards the second half of the week 😛 I just couldn’t resist all of the delicious eats! There were 4 dinner restaurants, 2 lunch restaurants, and a buffet that was pretty much in a league of it’s own. Liz and I pretty much owned that joint. Here are just a few of my filled-to-the-brim plates:

all-you-can-eat sushi. does it get any better?

we went to town with dessert :X

We only ate at two of the restaurants: Miyagi (Japanese) and Krystal (fushion cuisine). This wasn’t your typical hotel restaurant food…it was legit fine dining. Miyagi was probably my favorite. Liz and I shared pretty much all of the following:

some of the best sushi I've ever had (which, was all-you-can-eat a few nights later at the buffet!)

bangin' shrimp dish.

salmon dish.

 

fried ice cream.

 

banana spring rolls.

At Krystal we started with some tapas, which I wasn’t too impressed with:

But this pumpkin soup with a seared scallop was hands down one of the best dished I’ve ever had:

entree: lamb atop a vegetable compote.

dessert: a passion fruit...tart? It was so-so.

We ended our eating fest with a bang on our last night when we ordered room service at 4am. I’m just the picture of health right now, aren’t I? 😛

Okay, maybe we didn’t finish all of that food. But it was free….can you really blame us?

I can officially say I feel stuffed just looking at all of the food I consumed over the past week! I don’t think I would’ve had it any other way =) But I will say that I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to my healthy eating schedule.

…But getting back to my normal work/life schedule? Not so much :/ I feel like I was in a dream world for a week and now I need to snap back into reality. I’m sure I’ll be re-adjusted in a few days or so.

Hope you all enjoyed reliving my vacation with me! I missed you all so much, and thanks for the sweet comments you left me while I was gone :) I’m off to do a million-and-one things on this Monday, so I better get going. Adios! xoxo G

Comments

  1. says

    hello! I’m new to your blog but I love all of your posts. I too have a health and fitness site, hope you can check it out sometime. I just wanted to tell you that I love your photos. Looks like you guys had a lot of fun. I love your black and white heart bikini, I’ve been looking for a bikini with a fold down bottom like that. Where did you get it?

    Reply

  4. says

    I love playa del carmen. The blue parrot is the best! I haven’t been there in years but really, really enjoyed it! I love your bathing suits- especially the one with ruffles- so cute!

    Reply

  8. says

    OMG!!! first of all, i’ve missed you! second of all…DANG what an unforgettable trip! you and liz are both absolutely gorgeous ladies, and it looks like you had a lotta fun! wow that food looks awesome too, haha you know my eyes gravitated towards that! but really, i’d kill to be at that beach right about now :) welcome home!

    Reply

  9. says

    girl I MISSED YOU! and DONT you feel bad at all for indulging-thats what vacation is FOR! seriously!! no shame!! you look like you had a blast! YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL!! ahhh i am so jelous of your tropical tan i know you got goin on now! ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI? that is like music to my ears!

    Reply

  11. says

    Wow, I’m SO jealous! Your trip looks absolutely gorgeous, I’m glad you had such a great time!! That resort is absolutely beautiful. I love the bathing suit in the first pic, by the way! And don’t worry about indulging- it’s vacation, and you can always get back on track now :)

    Reply

  12. says

    wow - wow - WOW! SO happy you had an amazing time and a great break. It sure is gorgeous - as are you, girl! Great photos, and hey - how many times are you going to go to Mexico?! I think you would have felt like you didn’t live it to its’ fullest extent if you practiced moderation all week long, because the food looks divine.
    Glad you’re back to the blogging world - good luck getting back to the “real world” tomorrow - I dread it after just an extra day off - I can’t imagine what a week in Mexico would do to me! haha.
    Have a great night :)
    Jess

    Reply

  14. says

    Holy crap that looks AWESOME!!! Super cute swimsuits, amazing scenery, and the nightlife looks so fun :) And LOL to the awkward sunburn - I totally do that all the time, too.

    Reply

  15. says

    Hey, thanks for the comment on my blog! It’s nice to meet you :). I love love love your food philosophy! I’m looking forward to reading more.
    Vacay looks like it was a blast, by the way! It makes me want to visit someplace warm!

    Reply

  18. says

    First off, YAY for finding your blog!! You’re already in my G-Reader!
    Secondly, your Mexico trip looked AMAZING!!! And the resort = o.m.g! I’m envious! hehe (in a good way) Ahh I want vacation nowww! Oh and all you can eat sushi->BOMB! I love buffets! Check my blog out if you have the time girlie. 😀
    XOX

    Reply

  19. says

    i really missed you rposts while you were away but HOLY CRAPPPp your trip looks amazzzinggg!! i am INCREDIBLY jealous of everything about it. you look phenomenal in those pictures, the food looks FAB, and the beach..ahhh so lucky! good luck gettin back in the swing of things.. i know i wouldn’t want to at all.

    xoxxoox
    shelley

    Reply

  20. says

    OH MY GOD!!!! what an amazing trip! So glad you had fun with Liz. You two really seemed to enjoy every minute of your vaca. I love that resort- it’s incredibly beautiful!!
    Amazing food too! Hope getting back into the swing of things here isn’t too tough. Have a happy Tuesday!

    Reply

  21. says

    Can I say “I’m so jealous” 100 times?! Your trip looks amazing! And the food does as well. But you took great pictures. Well, haha I am jealous. It’s March, you just went to fab Mexico and I just took my midterms! Can’t wait to graduate to do this too :)

    Reply

  23. says

    I am so FREAKIN’ EXCITED now! I hope I come back saying the same thing you did. :) Thanks for the pointers on the places to hit up too!

    Reply

  25. says

    Ahh I loved this recap so so much!!!! Isn’t Playa Del Carmen beautiful!? I went to Cancun as a high school grad gift and adored it soooo much!!! We stayed at the Aberostar Tucan all inclusive and it connected with other resorts tool! We also did the Zip-lining and snorkeling like you girls!! Soooo fun.

    PS! You have the cutest little body and FLAWLESS skin!! You’re so gorgy :)

    Love the gorgeous pictures and all that amazing buffet food! I remember loving big time on all the fresh fruit and I also went to the resort’s sushi place too! SO FUN!!!!

    Reply

  26. says

    Your trip really looked awesome! I cannot imagine a better way to just chill out and enjoy time with a friend and just discover all of the beautiful creation. I really enjoyed reading this post. It was almost like a short story. I’ve been M.I.A. myself for the past 2 weeks because of my own Spring Break and a trip for my husband’s work, but on the post I just added I told everybody to check out your pictures because the beaches are just gorgeous! :) My husband and I are planning a 2nd cruise this Summer, we went to the Virgin Islands for our Honeymoon,and this cruise happens to go to 4 ports in Mexico! So hopefully my trip will be as awesome as yours, although I’ll be on a boat more than land, haha.

    Reply

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