Traveling Home From Costa Rica

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Packing for Costa Rica

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 1

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 2

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 3

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 4 - Surfing

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 5 - Monkeys!

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 6 - Last Day

Traveling Home from Costa Rica

On our last morning in Costa Rica, we awoke to a gift. A huge, bright, hard-to-miss rainbow was right outside our villa. As I was slowly rolling out of bed, my fiance flew through the sliding doors and said "Grab a camera, get out here right now!" Can't refuse that...

If that's not a good sign on the morning you're traveling internationally, I don't know what is!

We had a quick breakfast at the restaurant before getting picked up by our driver to head back to San Jose for our flight. I went with the Caletas Breakfast, which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado, and farmer's cheese. There was also beans and rice and plantains, but I skipped on those.

We said our final goodbyes to what had been our home over the past 8 days and finally met our driver out front for the drive to SJ.

The drive away from Villas Caletas was just as gorgeous as the drive there... but, naturally, it was bittersweet as well. We found ourselves already missing our new-found paradise, and knowing our one and only honeymoon was coming to an end was not the happiest of thoughts. To combat the sadness that can accompany the ending of such a trip, we spent a while talking about all of the exciting things to come - great things that are happening in my husband's career and with my consulting business, and the overall excitement to be married and live as a married couple. 

We arrived quite early to the airport in San Jose. We weren't sure what to expect on our way out of the country, so we wanted to be prepared. In the end, this translated to one last indulgent meal (nachos for me - with fake cheese, which was simultaneously delicious and disgusting - somebody please explain that to me) and some pre-flight cocktails. Two of them. Each.

Travel from San Jose to Houston was uneventful -- but the customs line was 2 hours long, so we were a little worried about potentially missing our flight. It all ended up working out. After finally getting through, the customs agent offered my husband a bit of newlywed advice: always make sure your home has at least two bathrooms. Hah... Okay then. Thanks for that.

 

We also ran across a true miracle: Someone taller than my husband! It was a momentous occasion so we had to snap a picture.

 

We arrived back home around 1am Chicago time, ready to see our pup!

Villas Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 3

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Packing for Costa Rica

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 1

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 2

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 3

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 4 - Surfing

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 5 - Monkeys!

Villa Caletas, Costa Rica Pt 6 - Last Day

Traveling Home from Costa Rica

The day we were scheduled to go zip lining, we got up extra early and tried to dress in preparation for the adventure. We made our way over to the breakfast area at around 6:45. Our ride for zip lining was supposed to show up around 8, so we wanted to make sure we were in and out of the restaurant and back to our villa, where our ride would be getting us.

Little did we know, the restaurant didn't open until 7. Apparently that is a "hard" rule, though the open-air environment made it hard to believe. We ended up lounging around for about fifteen minutes before we were seated.

The first people at breakfast? We'll take it!

I broke tradition from the previous day and ordered the "Caletas Breakfast." It included two eggs any style, tortillas, avocado, rice and beans, fried farmer's cheese, and fried plantains. Truly delicious, and definitely a breakfast worthy of some serious zip lining adventures to come!

Fresh squeezed orange juice. I so rarely have truly fresh orange juice, so this was a total treat and I found it extremely refreshing!

After breakfast, we quickly headed back to our villa, where our ride picked us up to take us to Los Suenos. About twenty minutes later, we were at the site of our ziplining adventure.

After outfitting us in our ziplining gear, the staff loaded us onto what I can only describe as a big truck. The wheels on this thing were almost as tall as me. It took about twenty minutes of a seriously bumpy ride to get us to the top of the 'mountain' we would be zip lining down.

And then the fun began! After a bit of instruction, we were off! It was so neat to be hanging from a wire over the rainforest, and I found myself constantly in awe of the wildlife around me!

 

My husband was brave and went down one of the lines backward and upside down. Gotta love him. Also, proof that giants can zip line!

After surviving zip lining, we headed back to the resort, where a cute towel-animal puppy was waiting for us! We changed out of sweaty clothes, regrouped, and were off again.

We then proceeded to the restaurant, where we celebrated our survival with... you guessed it... drinks. My husband had fallen in love with a boozy, girly drink called the Caletas Dream. Yes, that big red flower was in his drink, not mine!

He was feeling the need for some serious nourishment, so he went with a vegetarian salad option and had them add chicken. They seemed a bit confused by the request (he was ordering from a vegetarian menu, but adding meat), but they ended up getting it right.

I wasn't particularly hungry after the big breakfast, so I ordered gazpacho. It ended up being a huge bowl, complete with avocado cream on top. Winning! It was delicious and the perfect cool dish to compliment a warm morning.

As we were about half way through our meals, a little.. uh... friend showed up. I can't remember if it was an iguana or a lizard, but apparently, the villa staff had named her Rosita, and she was a regular at the place. 

My husband was not amused. In fact, he was scared enough that he had to raise his feet up so they weren't on the floor, and eat his salad in his lap. Aren't you supposed to protect ME?!

After lunch, we wandered around the resort for a while in the sunshine. At the bottom of this sunset-viewing amphitheater, there was an open-air gym with a gorgeous ocean view. We decided to try it out and did a mini weight lifting routine, plus abs.

After the workout, we continued walking around the grounds for a bit until the sky finally opened up. It is their "wet season" in Costa Rica, which means that it rains somewhat frequently. In reality, that tended to be from about 3-4, and we tried to time it right to be done sunning by that time. It was also a great time to shower and relax and get ready for dinner!

When we headed back to the restaurant, we both decided to try to continue ordering new things instead of going with what we already knew we loved. My husband had a mahi mahi and I tried an eggplant parmesan (I was starving and something that mimicked italian food was ideal).

After the meal, my husband was feeling tired. It was only around 6:30 or 7, and we had planned to meet another couple for a drink later, so he decided to order a cappuccino. They sure do cappuccinos right at Villa Caletas. His cup overfloweth.

After dinner, we headed back to our room and relaxed. At some point while he was running up to the resort for an errand during the first two days, my husband had met another couple who was staying at the resort. They had invited us to partake in some duty-free liquor and fab conversation.

Obviously, it was a no-brainer. A little bit of Maker's Mark in our villa, a few hours of talking, and we called it a night!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Do you like to make friends on vacation or stick to the people you're traveling with? In general, prefer to spend time with my travel partner(s), but am occasionally up for a drink with another couple.

Packing For New York

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My new anthem on packing for a trip is this...
"Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication." -Leonardo Da Vinci

I always pack super far in advance. I find that, if I don't, I spend far too much time daydreaming or worrying about what I will ultimately pack. So, for my Thursday afternoon trip, wanna know when I packed? Sunday.

Granted, since then, I have altered the contents of my suitcase a few times. Add a blazer here. Swap out a pair of gold flats there. But mostly, here's my go-to city-traveling swag. (Why did I say "swag?" Because I've been watching too much Parks and Rec. So, there).

• 1 black blazer (Banana Republic - I also have an awesome one that's actually from Victoria's Secret, but my BR jacket is already quite broken in so I prefer it for the long haul)
• Pants: Skinny blue jeans, Skinny black jeans (Gap) Skinny black slacks (Ann Taylor), Black leggings
• 3 tank tops (BR, F21, etc)
• 3 loose over-shirts (commmmmmmfy)
• 3 kind of dressy tops
• 1 comfortable but form fitting black dress (va va voom?)
• Clothes for running (or sleeping if I don't use them on a run): 1 pair of shorts, 2 pairs of running pants, 2 running tops, 2 sports bras, heart rate monitor, etc.
• Shoes: Sperry Topsiders, Super shiny gold "flats," Running shoes
• A few headpieces

Some basic, completely unscientific theories behind my packing:

Always bring a blazer. Seriously. A blazer instantly classes up even a t shirt and jeans, and a basic black blazer will go with just about anything you own. If you're trying to pack tightly, instead of packing a few different jackets and cardigans, go for a black blazer.

Get the skinny. I try to pack skinny legged jeans when I travel. They just feel a bit dressier and (probably more importantly) easier to manage. For example, if it starts raining, wide leg and boot cut jeans will get drenched up to your knees. Skinny pants rarely touch the ground, so it keeps you more dry and clean!

Comfort is Queen. Because I'm expecting to be walking around a lot, I wanted to pack some comfy shoes, and Sperrys are the go-to choice. But, I also wanted to make sure I had some cute stuff for a fancy dinner. I'm also packing a pair of shiny gold "flats" that are pretty dressy, and have just enough of a heel to give that satisfying clicketyclack as you walk.

The Weekend I Walked All Over Chicago

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Note: As usual with my weekend posts, this is super image-heavy. I know a lot of you like that, anyway (wait, she writes words with those posts? whoa).

First of all, I'm going to straight up dub this image the "image of the weekend" because it depicts my new favorite meal. Two egg whites, one while egg over easy, top with cilantro and feta, drizzle with sriracha, and break the yolk. I have no words...

I had a surprisingly active weekend, which warranted excessive egg consumption. On Friday, I kicked it off with Barre Burn at the gym. Because of doing two days of Pilates and one day of Bodypump leading up to this class, it was much harder than usual. My muscles were pissed.

Then, on Saturday, I hit the gym to try out a new TRX class. Basically, you are hanging from ropes attached to the ceiling and using bodyweight to "do work" on your body. Will post a more substantive review later, but I really enjoyed it.

As I was leaving the gym, I got a text from my fiance saying he wanted to take the dog on a long walk. I convinced him to wait for me, and we ended up going on a walk for about an hour at a pretty brisk pace. 

On our walk, I found this sticker randomly plastered to some wooden fences. I spent the next few minutes analyzing the message. Savior Self. Say it out loud = Save Yourself. You need the Savior to Save Yourself. I don't know, I like it.

When we got home, we chilled out for a bit and then started getting ready for our evening plans. We were having a few couples over for dinner before going to an awesome show, so I whipped together a few pizzas (two regular crust, one cauliflower crust). The cauliflower crust started out like this...

Cauliflower "rice," shredded mozzarella, oregano, and an egg. Much healthier than your typical crust...

I also made funfetti dip, which, let's be honest, is the most amazing thing ever. Pair it with Nilla Wafers? Pretty good. Pair it with apple slices? Even better!

After dinner and drinks, we headed to El Cheapo Cabaret. It's basically like Cirque du Soleil except it's BYOB and in a warehouse in West Town. It was pretty mind blowing. I have some crazy pictures of people mid-air that I'm going to post this week.

On Sunday, we walked like 9 miles total. In the morning, we walked to church. We tried out a new one that looked interesting and had a very convenient time slot. Let's just say we probably won't be going back to that one, but we did learn a bit about what we really want. Nevertheless, it provided an excuse to walk 30 minutes to church and 30 minutes back.

Except that on our way back, we decided to take a detour and stop at J. Patrick's for lunch. I had chicken and beef tacos and a bloody mary... but then we made friends with the bartender slash general manager and ended up helping him taste some new beers that his liquor rep had brought in to try to get him to use as summer beers.

New friends, free beers? What's not to love?

Because of beer tasting, we needed a small cat nap after J Patrick's to recuperate. Then... yep, you guessed it. More walking!

This time, instead of walking west, we walked east and hung out downtown for a bit. We walked along the river and let me just say that my honeys (honeyboy and honeygirl, yes I sometimes call them that) were looking mighty smiley. I love that.

And now, I'll leave you with this picture of the happiest dog ever.

Questions:

• Do you live somewhere where you can walk a lot? Living in Chicago, I walk just about everywhere, unless it's nasty out and raining (umm, today). 
• How do you do "active rest" days? Or do you? We've been trying to walk a lot, especially on days that aren't designated workout days.

Gratitude:

Dear Chicago,

Thanks for having such wonderful weather that I could walk almost 20 miles over the weekend and not have frozen a single bodypart or finger. Please keep getting warmer, because I truly like you more that way.

Love, Carly