Wedding Blog

Thanks for your support regarding my sickness, guys! I went to the doctor yesterday and was given Cipro (an antibiotic). They seem to think that I have E. Coli. YAY. Such a joy. I am pretty much living off of Gatorade and saltine crackers. This is an annoying diet when regular food actually looks kinda tasty (kinda). Usually I eat this stuff when I’m nauseous and can’t stand the idea of a regular meal.

But alas, we are done talking about The Sick. Today, we are going to talk about the good stuff.

Our honeymoon was at the Royal Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. We got a really good deal on an all-inclusive package, so we had some money left over in our honeymoon budget for some extra activities. Mostly, however, we just laid around. After all, I am convinced that the point of the honeymoon is to relax. And relax we did, especially with such great scenery. Here’s the view from our room:

We got a room with a “Partial Ocean View.” We did this because we wanted the partial ocean view, but also because we got free WiFi in our room this way. We had our iPhones, so we turned them on airplane mode and used the WiFi through the hotel. Although it’s an all-inclusive, the hotel actually charges for internet time in their business area (which sucks, admittedly), so we saved ourselves some dough by doing it this way.

The first thing I did when we arrived at the hotel was jump in our hammock:

I really, really loved that hammock. I kind of want one, but it probably wouldn’t be the same without the Carribbean Ocean in our backyard.

For the most part, this is where we hung out, reading all day:

That’s me!

I avoid the sun like the plague, as you can see from my hat and my position in the shade.

Here’s a sampling of the food:

Pretty, yes? Overall, we weren’t that thrilled with the food at our resort. We both love Mexican food, and it seemed like the resort catered to Americans who are afraid of foreign food. There were six restaurants to choose from: Pelicanos (we went there for breakfast), Spice (the buffet), Maria Marie’s (French-Mexican fusion), Asiana (”Asian” food), Tapas and Pinxos (tapas), and the Royal Chef’s Plate (a five course, pre fixe menu).

We were completely unimpressed with the buffet, which was bland American food. Same with Asiana–bad sushi. Like Mr. Cream Puff said, “I wouldn’t trust a Chinese restaurant to make a burrito, so I’m not all that surprised that sushi isn’t that great.”  We didn’t get a chance to try Marie’s or the Chef’s Plate (that’s what getting sick on the 3rd day will do to you), but we heard from another couple that the Chef’s Plate was good. If you’re going to the Royal, check out the menus for the length of your stay – they’ll tell you what they’re serving each night, and you can make reservations. The one Mexican place included in our package was at the hotel across the street. I believe it was called “Maria’s,” and it was great. I wish they had more authentic Mexican food. Even the Mexican food at Maria’s was kind of upscale, shi-shi Mexican food.  Gimme some nachos or a burrito and I’m a happy camper.  The place we stayed in Cabo a few years ago had killer enchiladas.

Pelicanos was good, though. After we figured that out, we stopped going to the buffet all together. Mr. Cream Puff also enjoyed the ability to order room service 24 hours a day. Very exciting.

Right near our resort was Fifth Avenue in Playa del Carmen, which is a fun shopping area with a lot going on. This was really fun to explore for a couple of nights.

I also have something to admit: we heard through another couple we met that the $33 massages on Fifth Avenue were really, really awesome. They sounded kinda sketchy to us, but we decided to check it out anyway because we didn’t want to pay over $100 for a massage at our hotel. Holy. Crap. Seriously people. That was one of the best massages ever! Highly recommended if you’re in Playa del Carmen. Look for the sign that says “$33 massages.”

The rest of Fifth Avenue is kinda touristy, but pretty fun. Kitschy souvenirs:

Cute monkeys named Ricky Martin:

And really expensive Haagen Daaz ice cream I just had to have:

And (of course) later really regretted, as ice cream + e. coli = very bad. The next day was spent watching the Olympics in our hotel room. Our bed was soooo comfortable, by the way. There is something to be said about snuggling in under a big comforter with the air conditioning on full blast.

But mostly, our days were spent by the beach.

We were also serenaded by a totally awesome mariachi band:

We loved these guys.

Okay, so that’s it for our hotel experience. Next up: our excursions horse back riding, zip-lining, swimming in cenotes and exploring Tulum.