Tag Archives: Play 9

Los Cabos – Day 4 and 5

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This day seemed pretty jam packed, but productively fun. Slept at 4am the previous night, and got up at 8:30am to go for a boat ride in San Lucas. We took pre-arranged transportation, and got to the San Lucas Marina around 10am (honestly I wring would have been cheaper though).

Boat ride was 3 hours. We saw a whale and her child whale (called a caff). They emerged from the water several times, and the caff did several summer salts, which was pretty sick. We also stopped on some beach to snorkel. Unfortunately didn’t see too many sea creatures (brought my face snorkel mask). Lunch was provided also (which we thought the chicken was from Costco, which is totally fine).

The boat ride ended around 1pm. After exiting the marina, notice there are a lot of chill spots to drink around the marina area. Would want to day drink around the area next time (and apparently Senor Frog is an excellent place to check out that is around there).

One place we did go check out around the marina was The Office. Would definitely go back there and the area (the area also had a mall).

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2023/02/06/the-office/

Around 4pm we headed back to the resort. We chilled by the beach, and then watched the sunset from the other infinity pool that they had (which we had not done yet).

After chilling in the room for a bit (ordered some room service so I could try the tuna shashimi appetizer, which was great), we had reservations at the resort restaurant Pergola, but this time for dinner (it is a full pledge Italian restaurant at night). Basically sampled a bunch of pasta dishes (got the fettuccini carbonara with salmon, and for apps got the bruschetta, some and some eggplant dish. Tried other people’s dishes like the steak. For desert, tried the tiramisu, cannoli, and some other tart thing. The two aforementioned were pretty good. Next time I would want to try and get the lasagna).

After dinner, we headed to the bar and played Play 9 (did a whole game with 9 rounds). Only came in second. This ended the night.

For the 5th and last day, finally got up to try dinner at Villa Belenas. It was Buffett style, and honestly, could not complain about the food. The eggs, chicken and drinks were all great.

After, chilled by the pool for a bit with everyone, then took an Uber to the airport. At the airport, security was not bad, but unfortunately the lounge (called VIP) had a super long line, so ended up chilling at a bar near the gate.

And that concludes the trip. Honestly, such as relaxing trip.

Europe 2022 – Madrid Day 3

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Last day in Madrid, and we definitely checked out a good amount.

Started of with lunch at a crepe place called Prep La Crepe. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2022/07/28/prep-la-crepe/

After, we headed north to the El Viso area where the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is. The stadium is the home of the soccer “club” Real (which means royalty). Apparently they are a pretty good team (although there is not one single good player in the team. Also, apparently “team”‘in soccer is called “club”). When we went to the stadium, it is still under construction, so entrance fees were discounted. It should be done in 1.5 years (and it sort of looks like an Apple Watch from the top).

After the stadium, we took the metro back to our Airbnb to drop off things really quickly (gotta say it is pretty clean. Has the cleanliness of Toronto subway, but looks more like the Tube trains in London… even the sign has the same colors).

then headed to the Royal Palace of Madrid. This palace is apparently the largest functional palace in Europe. Has over 3000 rooms, and 1.4 million square feet. We learned that the previous monarch abdicated in 2014 because of fraud charges (he is now in the UAE), and someone names Felipe took over. We found the outside and inside of the palace pretty impressive. Unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures of most of the rooms, but some highlights include a room made out of porcelain, the “crown” room that had Juan Carlos’ signed abdication, and ceiling painting that seemed to hang out of the crown moldings. The dining room was also impressive (seats 50 people).

After the palace, quickly stopped by the Almudena Cathedral. It was fairly large, but looked pretty modern (stain glass windows had modern fonts).

After the cathedral we walked back to our AirBnb. Along the way we did make some stops. First was for an affogoto. Details can be found here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2022/07/28/freddo-freddo/

We then made a quick stop at Plaza Mayor, which is basically a very large square full of eateries (mainly tapas with jaman). Then we stopped by the taco bel near our place, and tried out the fried with cheese and ground beef. Very similar to the US.

Before dinner, took a test at the AirBnb, and I learned how to lay Play 9. It’s a really fun game.

For dinner, we went to a place one of my direct reports recommended (he grew up in Madrid). Went to a place called Casa Mingo. Details here:

http://food.johnmatienzo.com/2022/07/28/casa-mingo/

We then walked back. We were at a part of Gran via street that had really upper class buildings. One that stood out is a hotel called RIU. Reminded me of a Fairmont. One thing they had, but was closed when we got there is a rooftop bar. Next time.

We ended the night playing Play 9.