A Cloudy Day at Playa del Carmen

Last night, we went to what ended up being our favorite restaurant of the trip so far.  There are four reservations-required restaurants at the resort – Oriental, Mediterranean, Mexican, and a grill – and we all agreed that the grill was by far the best one. 

We started off with delicious bread…

And then I went with the tomato soup as an appetizer.  The little pots the soups came in were so cute!

For dinner, I got the top sirloin with steamed broccoli.  Broccoli isn’t my favorite, but this meal was definitely right up my alley.

The steak was cooked absolutely perfectly, and I loved every single bite of it!

For dessert, we each had a little sampler platter of the desserts at the buffet.  The chocolate truffle was my favorite, but the layer cake came in at a close second.  The cupcake was no bueno – you win some, you lose some.  I guess I’m lucky that I’ve only like 95% of the desserts here.  If I liked all of them, I think I’d be in even bigger trouble!

This morning, on our last day in Mexico, we woke up to clouds and rain – and thus, sad faces.  It was kind of nice to be able to sleep in and just rest, but we were really looking forward to one more day in the sun!   We went to the buffet for breakfast, and I got French toast with bacon, fruit, and two Mexican tea cookies for dessert.  The pineapple is a lot more white than the yellow pineapple I typically get in the United States, but it is so, so flavorful. 

Despite the rain, we decided to make the most of our last day here in Riviera Maya and take a taxi ten minutes north to Playa del Carmen.  We weren’t sure what to expect of Fifth Avenue, but we ended up having a great time walking around, exploring the shops, and checking out the beautiful beach. 

There was everything from high end shops to taco stands to Mexican flea markets, and we loved looking around at all the goods for sale.  I bought a couple things for my family back home, and of course this Mexican dark chocolate bar for myself. 

Leave it to me to come to Mexico and only buy dark chocolate!

My mom also got to live out her dream for a second time and hold yet another monkey!  She was so excited, and we made sure to take plenty of pictures.  Can you see the pure joy on her face?!

Once we were all shopped out, we hopped in a cab and headed back to our hotel.  You sure feel like a high roller carrying around all this cash… until you realize that it only amounts to about twelve American dollars!

Back at the hotel, we stopped by the buffet for lunch.  My stomach aches have been running rampant all week (obviously, seeing how I’ve been eating), so I tried to keep my meal reasonable.  (Keyword: tried.)  I got some chicken (delicious), flank steak (so-so), grilled vegetables, grilled cactus (loved it!!), rolls (you should see the bread displays every single day), and a little bit of Spanish rice (awwwesome). 

For dessert: a little ice cream boat with sprinkles.  I may have to give up ice cream (and dessert and bread of any kind) for the next ten years to allow my stomach to recover, but I plan on enjoying it for one more day while I’m here!

It’s raining pretty hard here now, so I’m not sure what’s on the agenda for the remainder of our last night in Mexico, but we’re not complaining… we had a beautiful week weather-wise, and it’s supposed to rain here for the next few days, so I feel bad for the people just arriving. 

Our trip has been wonderful, and one day of rain sure isn’t going to ruin that!