FRIDAY ~ DAY 2 We slept very comfortably in the Royal beds. Woke up at 7:30, got ready for the day. I went over to the towel hut while Norb showered. You can have all the beach towels you want, they don't ask for your name or room number here. Around the pool ... Outside of our room ... We went to Pelicanos for breakfast ... Scrambled eggs, bacon, yogurt, OJ and coffee ... I am very picky about my eggs, they can't be too wet or have one little brown spot, if they do ... forgetaboutit! The eggs were perfecto! The only place I've ever had better eggs is a little joint in Pittsburgh called Norbie's Cafe. Once in a while Norb will get up in the morning and make me breakfast before I go off to work, and he goes off to ... whatever the heck he does all day! :roll: After breakfast we grabbed our sunscreen and headed out to our lounge chairs. You have to get up early to stake out your seat, the towel game was in full force. We all got comfortable at poolside ... Mitzy and Ditzy loved the flowers ... I just can't do anything with their hair in this tropical humidity! Soon the wonderful waitresses came around with trays of drinks. The waitress said, "Would you like S E X on the Beach?" WELL, WHO WOULDN'T?!?!?!?! Ahhh, such sweet memories ... Oh wait, that wasn't ME! ... I saw it in a movie once. We ordered Pina Coladas for everybody ... We spent the morning soaking up the sun. It's sunny and HOT! When we left Pittsburgh it was 26 degrees, so this is HEAVEN! I took a walk on the beach while Norb stayed in his lounge chair. The beach at the Royal is beautiful, no rocks, no drop offs. Look at that BLUE SKY! By the time I got back from my walk Mitzy and Ditzy were enjoying a rum & coke and a margarita! It wasn't even noon and they were already buzzed!!! We decided it would be best if we got some food into Mitzy & Ditzy, so we went to Pelicanos for lunch. Arrachera, au gratin potatos ... and MOJITOS, made with Havana Club rum! Did I mention the VIEW from our table at Pelicanos? It was sooooooo nice having breakfast and lunch looking out at the blue water. After lunch there was a cooking demonstration at the pool. The chef was chopping celery, pineapples, chicken, and walnuts, mixing in habanero sauce, and ranch dressing. It was served with tortilla chips, and boy, was it good! We had a relaxing afternoon lounging in the sunshine. We had reservations tonight at Maria Marie, one of the Royal's specialty restaurants. The past two years this has been our favorite place to eat at the Royal. We got showered and dressed for dinner. We ordered a chardonnay, and the waiter brought a bottle of Spanish wine to our table. We both ordered the stuffed avocado salad, and lobster bisque soup. Salad ... good! Soup ... just okay. I had shrimp and clams ... while Norb had the veal scallopini ... Unfortunately, we were both disappointed with the entrees. My shrimp was very rubbery, and Norb said the veal didn't taste like veal at all. The last two years we raved about the filet mignon and shrimp entree here, but it's not on the menu anymore. They have made the restaurant a lot smaller, eliminating the salad bar and the tables with all the delicious cheeses. We decided to skip dessert, and we ordered Spanish coffee, which was good. I don't think I would make a reservation for Maria Marie again. I think it's lost it's romantic atmosphere, and we didn't see any familiar faces from last year. In fact, our waiter told us he had been working there for only two weeks. We much preferred the old Maria Marie. * After dinner we walked up to Mamita's Beach Club for the RIVIERA MAYA JAZZ FESTIVAL. It was packed, people were sitting and standing all over the beach. I read in the paper there were over 10,000 people on the beach! Sorry the pictures are so dark, but we were not close to the stage. The entertainment was wonderful! Iraida Noriega aka Mexico's First Lady of Jazz, opened the show. Earl Klugh, the jazz guitarist, and sax player David Sanborn also performed. It was a great show under the stars, and it was free! On our walk back from the jazz show I saw this beautiful house decorated with Christmas lights ... this is the same house during the daylight ... It was quite a contrast, seeing the beautiful tropical flowers with all the Christmas decorations! We walked back to the hotel, then a stop in the Lobby Bar for a drink ... and finally, tired out after a wonderful day, we went back to our room ... Goodnight!
Janie! I slack off for a bit and you sneak in a trip to Playa! Awesome report as usual. The house with the Xmas lights....I took a photo of that very same house back in April! Go figure!!!! It's a cool looking house, agree? I will be checking daily now for the next reports! Luv ya!
:lol: yes I hope to see Ian as well, he owes me 100usd haha which is what... like 66.00 pounds? Regardless, I would just turn around and spend it on him and everyone else on drinks ahahaha I hope I have a good time. But I will miss mexico!! 2010 there is a return trip in mind! :wink:
