Coconut trees & wine bars

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Tuesday night I was so tired. How tired was I you ask? ;) I was so tired "my get up and go just got up and went".

(sorry but I LOVE those old comedian jokes!)

But I had a grand sleep and woke feeling very refreshed yesterday. We decided breakfast on the town was on the menu so we went to this little cafe right outside our condo. Weds. morning was rather dark and threatening rain but it turned around later in the day.

The cafe had a special; 50 Pesos ($3.60 CDN) for coffee and orange juice, toast and a choice of hot cakes, eggs & bacon, or a fruit platter. Not too shabby and quite filling.

Al and I took a tour up fifth avenue. It's 40 blocks of pedestrian-only walk way, and SO much to see and hear. I wanted to meet the owners of a wine bar called, "Off the Vine". We had hoped to get to a wine and food pairing dinner last Thursday, but it didn't happen.

Off the Vine is a really cool little place. They have over 400 wines, and sell liquor as well. They do wine tastings and food pairings, which helps to give Playa a reputation as a fine dining mecca. While it's a very small place, they have a nice size patio area for dining and wine tasting. The owners are great; very fun guys. One is from Mexico, and the other, Mario is from Montreal. He's in his early 50's, and he and his wife moved here about 9 years ago. He used to be an insurance broker but once they discovered Playa, that was it. I will be writing a blog for Playa Beach Condos next week and talking about what they offer, and their wine and food tasting evenings. Mario said Tuesday night was packed on their patio; 61 French Canadians for dinner! He said it was LOUD (Manon, were you there?!!!) Mario's wife is named Manon funny enough!! Anyhoo, Tuesday night is ladies night, and it's 100 Pesos for a pasta dinner and a glass of wine $9.00. Both of the wives do most of the cooking and he indicated that on Weds night's menu it would be "maple moose". So I looked at him and said, "where the heck do you get moose around here?" Well he thought that was the funniest thing BECAUSE...drum roll please, he meant MOUSSE as in dessert not moose! NOW before you think I'm a real idiot, when Al & I were at the private beach they had venison on the menu, so I guess I had deer meat on the brain, so moose came to mind!! Al thought that was pretty darn funny too. Moose vs mousse. Off the Vine reminds me of the TV show Cheers where everyone knows your name. These guys know everybody. We look forward to going back.

Al went in to a little bakery and picked up some homemade carrot cake for the girls. While I was waiting outside, I had a great laugh over the signs in a bar window. "Never go to bad mad - stay up and fight"! And, "Do not enter this bar unless you have a sense of humour" and the last one, "If you aren't wearing knickers, smile"!! HAHAHA, boy would I love to write bar slogans for them!

After our stroll up on 5th, we had a leisurely day, including lunch at Yan's with our favorite server, Louis (see picture below). Around 5 PM mom, Lara & Ava had massages at the condo. Ava and Lara were 2 for 1 adult rate. It's a treat for them to have one while we're here. Mom tripped on the carpet in the condo and was feeling sore, so a massage was exactly what she needed. She's fine, no worries at all. I told her she needs to drink more which might keep her more upright; or in the very least won't hurt as much if she falls!

Odin the beach server always checks the trees for any coconuts ready to fall. So he knocked a few down, and cut them open, put in a straw and a cocktail umbrella just for Ava and Rory (see other pic below!) What a nice guy...

For dinner we went up to 10th avenue; one block past 5th and half the price of food. We picked up some slices of pizza, followed by handmade crepes at this place called Le Crepebana. We got a nutella and a cinnamon sugar crepe. He makes them on a big circular grill, probably 14 inches around. It was reallllly good. On the way back we noticed at that little diner where we had breakfast they had gourmet sandwiches on fresh baguette on the menu. For 40 pesos ($3.20 CDN) there was a French sandwich with brie, gouda and serrano ham, lettuce and tomato. Or smoked salmon, with camembert and avocado. Again, staying in a condo doesn't mean you really have to cook at all here. We're eating like kings so cheaply that it's almost a crime! A crime I plan to commit every day till we leave next week. (yipee)

We finished off our night by taking in the fireshow next door. What they do amazes me. We were about 20 feet away from the performers and boy could we feel the heat of the fire. They wear face masks due to the toxicity of the oil. They deserve lots of tips and we hope the audience feels the same way we do.

So that was our day Weds. Travel blog was down today so I'm late getting this out! All in all it was a quiet, relaxing, yet full of fun - we continue to enjoy every second of the beauty of this wonderful town!

"The most tangible of all visible mysteries - fire" ~

Will talk soon, off to walk the beach!

Sal - friend to all animals but mostly the Moose :)

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