Cancun 2007
I've now been home for about a week and have finally slept well and become semi-organized again. The vacation in Cancun was outstanding and it all sort of runs together so I'll describe the events more thematically than chronologically.
The Resort Barcelo Tucancun weighs in at about 3.5 stars and we had an enjoyable stay. We had an all-inclusive package so the meals and drinks were included along with our lodging. There were a number of buffet areas to eat as well as nicer restaurants that required reservations. Most days, I ate lots of fresh fruit and delicious salsa that was very picante. Two of the better dinners we had were at the seafood restaurant and the Mexican restaurant.
The view from our oceanside room couldn't be beat; waking up everyday to turquoise water, white sand, palms, and a healthy dose of sunshine was amazing. We spent a lot of time poolside and also enjoyed wading in the sea. The waves were incredibly powerful and the lifeguards were constantly whistling and herding people into safer areas.
Our balcony
The view of the sea from the balcony
The hotel
The City It goes without saying that Cancun is a highly touristy area and many people spoke English although I was able to use a good amount of Spanish (though my vocabulary is not very Mexican, I quickly learned). I was reminded of the Vegas strip because so many large resorts and hotels were being rebuilt after Hurricane Wilma struck two years ago. The mild weather and seeing places like Jimmy Buffet's restaurant, the Hard Rock Cafe, etc also added to the parallel. The hotels were all on a strip that was surrounded on one side by the sea and on the other by a natural lagoon, clearly a difference from the desert!
The flea market was like another world, with one or two clerks posted at each shop entrance, haggling passers-by to enter. They all spoke English but when it came to bartering, I used as much Spanish as possible and asked for a discount for using it. Austin got a t-shirt, I got some flowy pants to wear over my swimsuit, and a few other assorted kitschy tourist items.
We also went to La Isla, an open air type mall (reminded me of what are now called "lifestyle centers" or something similar). A number of the shops were easily found in the U.S., some offered Mexican souvenirs, and there was also a big aquarium. The real find was the Trio Gallery where Austin and I spent hours looking around. The art was interesting; even the pieces that we didn't care for were still fascinating. We ended up buying three 8" squares of wood painted in oil. Austin and I both had birthday money that we earmarked for Mexican art and we were not disappointed.
Austin's Art
My Art
Our Art
The Hut We had a good conversation with one of the gallery owners who was able to give us a restaurant recommendation, La Palapa Belga (The Belgian Hut). The restaurant was located behind a somewhat dodgy hotel with the waters of the lagoon slapping up against it. It was truly a hut and the chef hails from Belgium, hence it's name. We had a rich appetizer of scallops and asparagus in Hollandaise sauce and for dinner I had mussels while Austin had duck breast in black cherry sauce. Dessert was chocolate mousse. The atmosphere and the food were outstanding and it was a perfect, romantic way to pass our last night in Cancun.
The Ceremony Last but not least, the whole reason that we were in Cancun was to celebrate Sean and Angie's nuptials. They have vacationed there nearly every January for the past several years so the location had special meaning to them. In addition, a casual beach ceremony suits Sean and Angie's personalities to a T. Since the legalities were already processed, their close friend and former roommate, Jim, was able to officiate. Jim tailored the ceremony to the couple and we laughed most of the way through while the waves crashed in and the wind blew. It was exactly what Sean and Angie wanted and it was truly a pleasure to be in attendance and celebrate a unique, spunky, and happy couple.
Etiquetes de comentaris: cancun, travel
This Bird Has Flown
Off to Mexico at 2:20am CST, woo hoo! Updates next week-- chau!
Friday Dinner
On Friday, as promised, I made Austin dinner that I had called a "Cultural Journey" because the recipes were loosely based on Argentinian and Indian cuisine. Everything lived up to the "make again" challenge and the only thing that went wrong was that the flatbread wasn't entirely flat. I was happy that the dough turned out and rose since I'm not a very experienced baker but I think it actually rose too much (or wasn't punched down enough?). It was sort of like a medium to thick crust pizza. The toppings, however, were lovely, and I roasted my own pepper instead of buying a jar of the pre-done ones.
Flatbread
The Dal Soup was also good. Originally, I wanted the flatbread done first to munch on for a bit and then move on to the soup but they sort of got done at the same time. We topped it with chopped cilantro and sour cream.
Even though I've been keeping busy over break, it's nice to have the time to do some cooking. The next thing I want to try is a Tarte au Citron.
What I've Been Up To
It's taken me awhile to post the NYE dinner info because I've been working on some career-related stuff (bo-ring!). I had to take a test and have been studying for that and finally took it yesterday. I have one more to go so there is more studying to be done, in addition to preparing my materials for spring semester. We will be in Mexico during my last few days off and will return the night before the first day of class so I'm going to have to get a lot wrapped up in the next week or so.
I've also had the plan of culling more junk from closets and storage areas; so far the only success I've had was to get rid of our fake tree but, in terms of volume, it was helpful and it got a new home with children to love it. Or something.
Today I'm going to be a "stay at home non-mom" (thanks, Bad Z, for that awesome term) and clean and organize. Things always get a little scary when both Austin and I are busy with big projects.
Normally on Fridays, we do something lazy for dinner because we are both tired but since I got a test out of the way and just got a new
Cooking Light magazine, I am inspired to make something nice. I think we are going to celebrate the fact that there is no holiday falling on the weekend for the first time since November. So many things in this issue look good so I told Austin that it will be a Cultural Journey. Right now I'm thinking the
Argentine Black Bean Flatbread with Chimichurri Drizzle and the
Chunky Red Dal Soup.
New Year's Eve
For New Year's Eve, we decided to stay in and do some cooking; on the menu was
Salmon and Rice Wrapped in Puff Pastry with Dill Sauce, roasted asparagus, and
Bittersweet Chocolate Soufflé with Earl Grey Custard.
As I had posted before, I had to make my own crème fraîche for the dill sauce and it seemed to turn out just fine. I realized, however, that the salmon recipe simply called for plain rice cooked with a bit of leek and not risotto (as was in my head for some reason). Upon reading the reviews, we decided we needed to make risotto or the dish might be too bland. We based ours loosely off of
Alton Brown's recipe and it was really, really good. I loved the taste of the white wine in it.
With the risotto ready, it was time to assemble our salmon and rice packets; this was when disaster struck. Basically, we sucked at handling the puff pastry and if you are my Flickr friend, you can see a photo of when paper towels and pastry combine. I fought it for awhile but finally conceded that we would just have to do the salmon and risotto separately :-(
It was actually just fine but since I had had high hopes for the pastry, well, I was kinda bummed. The sauce was good but with the potency of the risotto, it was kinda lost.
My spirits were raised with the dessert, though. Cooking the Earl Grey custard was thrilling because anytime I can cook with tea, it's always enjoyable. The problem was that I had used tea bags, as the recipe recommended. Of course tea bags are filled with tea
dust and not tea
leaves so Austin found ourselves in a bit of a pinch when we were trying to strain the cream. We ended up using a wonderful little device that Bad Z had given me for my birthday to make loose tea right in the mug.
The soufflé itself wasn't bad to make and we were especially appreciative of the Cuisinart food processor that we got for our wedding when it came to chopping the chocolate.
The finished product was amazing and the flavor for the tea really came through, delighting me. Austin, not so much the tea drinker, said he would have preferred something that had a more coffee-like flavor but he thoroughly enjoyed the dessert.
Then we stayed up until midnight, sipping champagne (note the small "c"); I love bubbly. It was a perfect end to 2006.
