Where Have I Been??

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So a lot has happened lately. In the past month, I’ve been to Rosemary Beach to get married, back to Tulum for a minimoon (which – for those who don’t know – means it was a quick trip away as newlyweds, but not the full blown “honeymoon” because we are both painfully low on PTO time J), out to San Diego and Orange County for work, to Danville (CA) for Thanksgiving, up to wine country (Sonoma), back to Atlanta for 12 hours, and then out in Northwest Arkansas/Tulsa/Oklahoma City for work.

Quite a mouthful, I know, and that doesn’t explain me being MIA on the blog for several months. My apologies for that. It’s been a busy (but very productive, very fulfilling) summer and fall at work. Then, adding in the stress related to the wedding – I just let it get away from me. I do have a lot of lessons learned though that I want to share as I reflect towards year end on personal and professional accomplishments in 2016.

Starting out, I will go ahead and do some quick and easy reviews on our trip to wine country. Then, I’ll follow up with more volumes of information and pictures from our minimoon. I know each of these will be the third time I’ve covered a spot (Wine Country, Tulum), but it’s exciting to write about because it takes me back to two of our “happy places”.

Til Next Time,

Michael

This is (Almost) 30

I’m headed back to Tulum where I will turn 30. I’m hoping a little bit of the sting of the big 3-0 is reduced by getting toes in sand and a beer in hand.

I’ll be sure to check back and document the travels and review our experiences!

Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Hotel Review: Livetulum

We struggled finding a place on Boca Paila for our final night (long story short – we extended our trip two days while we were there because we loved it so much – and the final night pretty much everywhere was sold out), so we opted for something in Tulum Centro: Livetulum. It was pretty reasonably priced and it put us closer to the main road to get back to CUN airport Sunday morning anyway.

Here’s the review:

  • Location: The location extremely convenient to the main road in/out of town. However, the hotel is situated on a fairly busy street that is fairly heavily trafficked by motorcycles and cars at all hours of the night.
  • Facilities: The facilities are surprisingly nice, considering it’s on a block that otherwise feels a little sketchy and abandoned.
  • Amenities: There aren’t too many amenities here, but I will say that having TV in the room was actually quite key for this stop (we didn’t have TV anywhere else), as we stayed here on the night of the “Fight of the Century” (Mayweather/Pacquiao), and Mexico apparently broadcast the fight for free on local television.
  • Staff: The staff was incredibly helpful. They even assisted with getting us a reservation at Cetli, which I thought was a very nice thing for them to do.
  • Rooms: The rooms are very spacious and clean (the hotel actually advertises itself more like condos than hotel rooms – which is accurate), and each have their own kitchenette and refrigerator (a huge plus that we didn’t have anywhere else). Also, our room happened to open up in the back right to the pool, where we had out own little cove for ease of access. All in all, I was pretty impressed considering I entered with average expectations.

Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Dining Review: Cetli

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Cetli – a quiet, quaint find off the main road

We spent our last night in Tulum Centro (the actual town), and Cetli was another TIG recommendation we wanted to try. It didn’t knock our socks off, but the bar had been set so incredibly high by some of our prior meals that there was no way it could really live up to the hype. Not a fair fight (coincidentally, speaking of fights, the night we dined here was the same night as “the fight of the century” between Mayweather/Pacquiao – Mexico was going NUTS for this event; it was awesome to be there and witness the fandom and general enthusiasm for boxing).

Here’s the review:

  • Pros: Quaint atmosphere, reasonably priced
  • Cons: Limited menu selection, much more “authentic” Mexican cuisine (which – truth be told – isn’t totally my thing due to my indifference towards things like black beans)
  • Must Try: Anything with mole
  • Know Before You Go: You will be given some wonderful chef’s selection appetizers prior to the meal which will be a great way to start your dining experience
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Gratis chef’s selection appetizer plate: assorted cheeses, breads, empanadas, and mushrooms

Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Dining Review: MamaMuu

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Entrance to MamaMuu

MamaMuu was a place we passed several times, but hadn’t heard anything about ahead of time. It was walking distance from our hotel, though, and one night we decided to just walk to dinner rather than cab/drive somewhere. I’m so glad we went here, as this was one of our favorite meals and the ambience was nothing short of incredible. We were actually the first people in the restaurant, and at its peak there were only three other tables dining at the same time (which I hope doesn’t sound like a deterrent, I think the lack of crowd at this spot was really due to the lack of people in this specific area since it was low season).

Here’s the review:

  • Pros: Good ambience, good cocktails, cool outdoor firepit/grill (again, a theme), wonderful staff that was very helpful with both recommendations as well as fuming the restaurant with a local remedy for bugs
  • Cons: Off the beaten path a bit (we were almost attacked by random dogs as we tried to walk back to our hotel – which prompted us to quickly retreat to hail a cab at a closer hotel)
  • Must Try: Mezcal Flight (mezcal is a local tequila-like liquor that is much more smooth and layered than what you typically think of as a tequila), anything grilled (my SO had grilled vegetables and a baked potato – both awesome; I opted for a “chicken relleno” – mushrooms/cheese wrapped up in a bacon-wrapped chicken breast – equally awesome)
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The Mezcofago Mezcal Tasting Flight, $150 Pesos

Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Dining Review: Casa Banana

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The outdoor kitchen and grill at Casa Banana

I’m a sucker for any grilled meat, so trying the Argentinian meat purveyors at Casa Banana was a no-brainer. I’ll keep this one short, as this was one of the less memorable meals (by comparison). One unique factoid about our experience here, though, was that we opted to get seated quicker by volunteering to sit blind with another couple. A cool experience, but kind of awkward. We didn’t feel pressured to include them in our meal, but having them there (speaking in another language, no less) kind of spoiled the meal.

Here’s the review:

  • Pros: Good ambience, good cocktails, cool outdoor firepit/grill (still sensing a theme?)
  • Cons: A bit on the pricey side, does not take reservations, limited beer selection
  • Must Try: Appetizer sampler (specifically – the empanadas – absolutely incredible)

Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Dining Review: Posada Margherita

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Tulum is a paradise, indeed.

Yet another TIG recommendation, Posada Margherita is another spot that will definitely not disappoint. Not sure how the dinner crowd is, but if you head in for a late lunch you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting in. They have a beach front area too where you can lounge around and take in the scenes.

Here’s the review:

  • Pros: Huge portions, lots of great add-ons, relaxed and beautiful atmosphere
  • Cons: Juices are expensive, and you may very well start to fill up on all the other add-ons before your pasta dish comes
  • Must Try: Caprese Salad – served with Burrata and some incredibly fresh tomatos/greens (see below with the chef’s sampler breads/cheese tray)
  • Know Before You Go: There is a great beach in front of the restaurant that is available for use and relaxing by guests

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Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Nightlife Highlight: Gitano

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Upon completion of our dinner the first night in Tulum, we opted to try out another Meghan Markle TIG recommendation, Gitano. Known for being a Tulum hotspot/night club type atmosphere, we didn’t expect to stay long. But since we were in the middle of the week in off-season, we actually got a prime spot by the disco ball and ended up staying for a few drinks.

Here’s the review:

  • Pros: Great atmosphere, Disco ball(!) and good music
  • Cons: A bit cliché and can be less relaxing once the whole lot of tourists descends on the only real nightclub scene on more secluded beachfront roads
  • Must Try: Jungle Fever (cocktail with mezcal, chili, lime, cilantro)
  • Know Before You Go: If you ask nicely, you can sit anywhere you like (dancefloor couches included) even if you’re only having a cocktail

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(Stardust cocktail – MEZCAL, DARK RUM, PINEAPPLE, PAPAYA, 
HOUSE COCONUT CREAM)

Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Dining Review: Casa Jaguar

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Entrance sign at Casa Jaguar

Our first night in Tulum, we took a page out of Meghan Markle’s Tig blog script, and tried Casa Jaguar. A very pleasant experience, and a wonderful welcome to Tulum, this spot embodies a lot of the elements of the style and topography indicative of Tulum. This spot is a “must” for any Tulum visitor, if only to have a drink or check out the spot.

Here’s the review:

  • Pros: Good ambience, good cocktails, cool outdoor firepit/grill, very friendly and accommodating staff
  • Cons: A bit pricey, cash only, limited beer selection
  • Must Try: Tuna Tostadas – an incredibly massive portion of tuna adorns each tostada, and they only cost ~180 Pesos ($12), a ridiculous price for such goodness
  • Know Before You Go: You can 100% get away with ordering many smaller plates rather than feeling obligated to get an entrée
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Outdoor kitchen and brick oven at Casa Jaguar

Til Next Time,

Michael

Tulum Hotel Review: Rosa del Viento

For the first three days we were in Tulum, we opted for a beachfront resort back in the more peaceful Coba Sur/Boca Paila district where a lot of the extremely pricey hotels are found. The name of our resort was Rosa del Viento.

Here’s the review:

  • Location: The location is tucked away at the Southern-most end of the traditional Boca Paila district. This means that it’s probably a solid 20-25 minute drive from 307 and the beaches exit when you near Tulum Centro. This isn’t altogether a bad thing, but you may be fooled into thinking a place like this is much closer/”walking distance” to a lot of restaurants and such – which isn’t really the case. But cabs to most places will run 50-70 Pesos (a couple bucks), so the seclusion actually is quite nice in this case.
  • Facilities: The facilities are top-notch and the resort is laid out on pristine sand. The beach area, loaded with tiki huts, cabanas, day beds, and hammocks, ensures you always have a spot to park yourself. The views (both out towards the ocean as well as back in towards the property) are incredible, and are even a bit better when you consider that this resort is fairly secluded, so you don’t feel like you’re spilling over into other neighboring resorts.
  • Amenities: There aren’t too many amenities here (it’s Tulum – you really wouldn’t want to waste your time watching TV anyway), although the resort does have a great collection of games and a huge lot of subscriptions to all sorts of international trashy gossip mags (a favorite of my significant other – let’s just say she was thrilled).
  • Staff: The staff are super friendly and accommodating. We actually had to extend our stay while we were there and the staff was very helpful in setting up our room that we had to switch to for the final night. Some of the bartenders and servers go out of their way to try and earn a solid tip (e.g. bringing you free tequila shots, etc), but not in a way that feels pushy.
  • Rooms: The rooms are great, and the fact that there was AC is a huge plus for me (about half the resorts in this specific area are more “eco-resorts” which means they only have a fan and generally do not have AC at all, let alone electricity for most of the day).
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Stunning view back into the resort from the ocean

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Incredible shot from the restaurants out onto the beach, with cabanas & daybeds

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One of the many daybeds, not a bad place to relax and soak up some sun

Til Next Time,

Michael