Girls' Trip to Puerto Rico

In February, I tagged along with a friend from work and her friend and headed to Puerto Rico for her 30th birthday. It was the same weekend as the big snowstorm hit New York City. We felt so lucky to have escaped the snow and to be lying in the sun by the pool.

We stayed at the El San Juan, which is kind of like a docked cruise ship. It has everything you need all under one (pricey) roof -- casino, restaurants, lounges, bars and allegedly the most popular club in PR, Brava. The hotel was beautiful and new with giant chandeliers and modern furniture with a Spanish flair. The three of us shared a room with super comfortable beds (which is kinda unusual) and had a great time.

However, journeying outside the immediate area of the El San Juan was not recommended. It was pretty seedy around the hotel. We were able to take cabs around to Old San Juan and other places. The first night we went to a beautiful restaurant on the beach called Pamela's where we celebrated Lisa's birthday in style. After that we headed to the rooftop bar.

We spent a couple of days by the beautiful pool trying not to get burned and at night we had Puerto Rican food, which is super heavy. One night we had Mofongos and lots of rice and beans and plantains. Everything was kind of heavy and salty.

We tried out several different kinds of bars and even went to the famous Brava, a booming techno club. My favorite part wasn't close to the hotel at all and I think it was called La Placita something. We had a lot of fun at a bar there.

All in all a great time. The flight was delayed on the way home while they removed an iguana from the runway. It was strange!