My Mexican Getaway

I’m baaaaack!

And I missed blogging! Sadly there was no wireless access on the resort, and the one computadora in the biblioteca came with a hefty fee. Thanks but no thanks.

Looking back now, the trip was a whirlwind. My plan was to blog last night while it was all fresh in my mind, but then my Internet at home wasn’t working. Now it’s almost the end of the workday and still no update. My sincerest apologies, loyal readers!

So here’s what you missed…

The flight on Thursday was early. ABS and I got picked up at our apartment at 5 am. Gross. But the car was super-comfy and we got to Newark without hitting any traffic. We flew direct on Continental, which I would recommend. They have Direct TV at every seat and have outlets—perfect for bloggies who need to stay connected.

Once we landed in Cancun, the customs process took a while. Sadly they took the Granny Smith apple I had packed and was totally craving. Boo!

Next stop: Our resort! We stayed at the Iberostar Playa Paraiso, which was really nice.

After we dropped our luggage in the room, our first stop was to the lunch buffet. It was fantastic staying at an all-inclusive resort. We didn’t have to take out our wallets the whole trip!

After eating and exploring, I got into my bathing suit for a nice poolside nap while we waited for the two other couples we were traveling with to arrive (they were on a separate flight that got in about three hours after ours).

Once they arrived, the weather started to get chilly, so we bundled up and us girls—there were three couples total—went for a walk on the beach, strawberry daquiris in hand.

Dinner the first night was at the resort’s steakhouse. Us spoiled New Yorkers were pretty disappointed, but we made the best of it. And everyone looked nice!

Although we had planned to go out after dinner, we were all exhausted from the traveling. Instead we all passed out, ready for a long day ahead…

Friday!

I was the early-riser in the group. Despite wanting to sleep in, I scheduled a 7 am wake-up call so I could lace up and head out for a run. Hate to break habit! Plus I love running when I travel. It’s a great way to explore!

Unfortunately, the brick roads around the resort were incredibly bumpy, so I ended up checking out the gym, which was really nice. I snagged a treadmill and did 4 miles-worth of interval running. This was probably only the fifth time in my entire life I have run on a treadmill. I hate it. I will run in heat, rain, snow, etc., but I will rarely resort to this terrible machine.

But hey, I cranked up the speed and broke a major sweat! Great way to start my day.

After a quick rinse, I met the group for the breakfast buffet. Omelettes and bacon and Nutella toast, oh my (yum!).

Something weird about the resort: Seeing these weird “quarries” all over the place…

We headed to the beach for a while, which was awesome. It was sunny, beautiful and relaxing. We jumped the waves, I lost my bottoms a few times, and we drank many more strawberry daquiris. I can honestly say that I didn’t think about work once this entire day. It was blissful.

After getting lunch at the buffet (again), it was time to relocate to the pool, which the boys enjoyed.

We drank daquiris, rode around the lazy river, then went back to the room to get ready for the wedding!

Lesson I learned on this trip: TRY ON YOUR DRESS BEFORE YOU PACK IT. Or, pack back-up options.

After I got myself all done up (or as done-up as I wanted to be for a beach wedding), I went to put on my dress. Keep in mind, I had just worn this wonderful dress back in August for a wedding, and it fit flawlessly.

So I go to zip it up and…TOO BIG. I was kind of shocked because I don’t weigh myself and don’t really keep track of my size beyond knowing that my stuff fits. I was pretty surprised that I was literally swimming in this dressed.

Instead of being excited that I’ve visibly lost weight, I was freaked out because it was strapless, falling down, and I had no back-up options. Oh well!

So we get to the wedding, looking fabulous (sort of) and guess what happens?

Someone else is wearing my dress. Not in another color. Not a different cut. The exact same dress.

Except that hers fit her.

You can imagine how thrilled I was at this. Not at all. I think ABS was waiting for me to scream or cry, but I didn’t. I just sulked for a bit then made some jokes about it. Needless to say people got a kick out of “the two girls wearing the same dress.” We were asked to pose for photos (not for my camera) and were, go figure, seated at the same table.

Still, we had a good time at the wedding. The beach was beautiful and the couple is going to have wonderful wedding photos to look back at.

All the tourists on the beach got a kick out of the wedding going on right next to their lounge chairs. Though some tourists didn’t even notice the wedding was going on…

After the ceremony, there was a cocktail reception on the beach. It got dark FAST!

My poor dress. I had to keep hiking it up every two seconds.

Saturday!

The day began with another 7 am wakeup call and a trip to the gym. I was tired (and feeling the effects of all the celebratory champagne from the night before), so I stuck to a fast 2.5 miles on the treadmill and did some easy strength work.

I went to the buffet on my way back from breakfast then met up with everyone and took a long nap on the beach. Unfortunately, our last full day in Mexico was pretty cloudy. Bummer.

The boys hit up the wave pool…

While the girls were lazy in lounge chairs. Delightful!

We didn’t have a dinner reservation until 9 pm that night, so eventually we all went back to our rooms, ordered some mediocre room service and gleefully discovered that one of three English-speaking channels on TV was playing The Notebook. Can you believe ABS had never seen it?! I cried for the millionth time, then decided it was time to shower and get ready for pre-dinner drinks.

I seriously got addicted to strawberry daquiris on this trip (not really, Mom). Even though the guys weren’t drinking them, they did make for pretty pictures, which everyone enjoyed.

For our last supper, we had dinner at the resort’s Hibachi restaurant. It was definitely the best meal we had there. The fried rice was great, and I liked the udon noodles, too. Mmmm carbs are good no matter what country you’re in!

Afterward, we had some fun prancing around the “campus” before going to the “club,” Galaxy. It had a Star Wars theme. So weird.

We stayed up way too late and had to be up way too early the next day. Oh well. It’s vacation!

Sunday = Our last day.

Sad face.

ABS and I woke up really early so we had time to pack, check out and grab breakfast before getting on the shuttle to the airport.

The Cancun airport is pretty bad. They search EVERYONE. Like you go through security then nearly every single person gets taken aside for his/her entire bag to be searched. Needless to say it’s quite a long process.

Once on board, I was delighted with my TV options. I had never seen the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” episode when Khloe and Lamar get married. Man. It was fantastic. I can’t believe I cried so much. Then I watched some SoapNet, fell asleep for a while, and, before long, we touched down in Newark.

Although I was heartbroken about leaving vacation, you know what was great about coming home? I got to come home with ABS. We didn’t have to go to separate apartments.

Instead, we took a cab home together, then he went to pick up dinner and I went to the grocery store. We also got a new TV which arrived while we were away. It was nice to set it all up (well, ABS set it up…I took a long, hot shower) and go to bed with a clean apartment. I’m excited to continue decorating and getting settled. We’re hoping to have a housewarming party sometime in December. NYC bloggers, you’re invited!

I set my alarm for nice and early this morning so I could squeeze in a 7-mile run in Central Park before what I knew was going to be an incredibly busy day at work. The weather was beautiful and I enjoyed having that time to myself before the insanity began.

One full work-week, then a few quick days before Thanksgiving. The holidays are busy, but so much fun!

Fun things happening this week:

• Dinner with Michaela, my sister-in-law, tomorrow. She’s in NYC (from Boston) for work and we’re going out to dinner!
• Waiting for my Thanksgiving outfit to come in the mail. It’s going to be awesome. No secrets…Just await the photo with baited breath. It’s going to be awesome. That needed to be said twice.
• Seeing Elf on Broadway on Friday night. Holiday time!!! I’m sure it won’t compare to the film, but it’s going to be fun I’m sure.

Phew. There’s my recap. I missed catching up on all my favorite blogs while I was away. So shoot me a message, friends, and let me know how your weekend went.

TELL ME: Do you have any trips or vacations coming up, including holiday travel? I love getting new travel tips and advice, so share anything you’ve got!