Monday, January 11, 2010

Another 48 Hours

No, this isn't a post about the classic 1990 film. It's a running diary of the forty-eight hours I just spent in Puerto Rico for a good friend's wedding. Since most of you that follow the OC know me, you'll enjoy the recap of the wedding weekend; for those of you who don't, I think the description of Old San Juan will be reason enough to read on. And for those who've already been to Puerto Rico and don't know me, you're shit out of luck.

Friday

5:30am - Wake up.

5:31am - Fall back asleep.

5:50am - Wake up (again). This time for good. Take a shower, finish packing, and make a LARGE pot of coffee. Clean the snow off of the car (yes, more snow), and depart for Philadelphia International.

9:00am - Board plane.

10:30am - Still sitting on tarmac.

4:00pm - Arrive in Old San Juan. Pretty eventless airplane ride except for the guy dipping cheese crackers in his water. That's a new one to me. Check into hotel. Cool boutique place close to everything. No TV, though. Going through withdrawal.

5:00pm - Meet up with the (soon-to-be) bride and groom and take a spur of the moment walking tour of Old San Juan. End up eating dinner at what we thought was a pretty authentic latin restaurant; turns out we ate at the Puerto Rican version of Friday's. My bad. Did have a money mojito and discovered the local beer of choice.

7:00pm - Connect with other friends in town for the wedding. Finish mojitos #2, 3, 4, 5, with some more Medalla Lights mixed in for good measure. Officially drunk. Put a Biggie song on the jukebox. If he was still alive, he'd be the Bono of hip-hop. Everybody's nodding their head to 'Juicy.'

10:00pm - Move to next bar. On the way, a drug addict/prostitute offers me sex. I resist. Getting better and better at salsa dancing as the night goes on.

3:00am - Basically a professional dancer. Time to get some rest.

Saturday

10:30am - Up and on our way to breakfast. Ate at a place Rachel Ray visited on her show, $40 a Day. Decent grub, but more importantly, cheap. And an excellent cup of coffee. I'm pretty sure a tourist can survive strictly on coffee, mojitos, and Medalla Lights in Puerto Rico.

12pm - At the beach. Wow. Twenty-four hours ago I was cursing Al Gore's name, now I'm swimming in 82 degree water hanging out with the groom's family. With the ceremony not till 6pm, we enjoyed the delights of a $16 burger at the beach bar while enjoying a truly spectacular day.

6pm - At the church, rocking my guayabera shirt. Beautiful girls all around (including mine) and also a few homeless people to add some character. Besides the ceremony starting an hour late and being completely in Spanish, I'd say it went pretty well.

8pm - Party time! From the church, we all walked down (probably 75 people in all) to the waterfront where the reception was being held. The streets in Old San Juan are extremely narrow, so our mass migration brought traffic pretty much to a standstill. People in their cars seemed really appreciative of the delay.


11pm - After filling my face with ceviche', paella, steak, and potatoes, I proceeded to get locked into a bathroom which I had to kick open Macgyver-style. After freeing myself, I showed my soon-to-be-bride the art of Spanish seduction.

2:30am - On the rooftop of our hotel, hanging out in the hot tub. Best friend 'Turbo' brings back a beautiful Italian bella, who just happens to date a European soccer player. I still think he had a shot, until he asked her if she liked pizza. Crash and burn. Time to go to sleep.

Sunday

11am - Dressed and ready to maximize beach weather. Attempt to purchase a coffee and pastry at the bakery up the street. Fail. Language barrier too much to overcome.

12:30pm - In the Caribbean for the final time til July 18th (honeymoon, holla). Even better day than Saturday. Wondering how difficult it would be to open a daquiri business in the islands.

2:30pm - Sitting in a cab to the airport with a couple from Minnesota. Classic accents.

4:30pm - Check the score of the Ravens game. Make a comment to a man in a Tom Brady jersey with a tribal calf tattoo and Crocs on. I win.

9:30pm - Back at home. Smooth flight and car ride. Easily a 60 degree difference in temperature, but only a three-hour flight. How is that possible?

10:30pm - Sleeping in bed, dreaming of mojitos, sangria, and Medalla Lights dancing in my head.

1 comment:

  1. You failed to mention that the very next night, the hot Italian chick, without being more than slightly forced :), hung out with JMosk and I for my last hour on the island. Also got the authentic double cheek kiss, but I think there was still potential for more.

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