December 2, 2009

The Lay Over in San Juan

In route to our final destination to Grenada the Exclusive Remedies Studio production crew stopped to take in the sites of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. With an eight hour lay over, you had many options of things to get into. On a previous trip with my family, I had the opportunity to visit El Yunque, the only rainforest in the United States National Forest System. However, this time I suggested seeing Old San Juan. However, if you're not comfortable leaving the airport and taking the possible risk of missing your flight, there is a Casino at the airport.

We took a ten minute taxi drive into Old San Juan and started on our quest for food. We quickly spotted a Starbucks and used that as our reference point to find our whereabouts in the area. 



After roaming the streets, reading menus, and considering all of the recommendations we heard from the locals, a nice lady stepped out from one restaurant and showed us their lunch menu. We were quick to notice the music and how nicely the restaurant was decorated. Before we knew it, we were seated and having a bite to eat at the Parrot Club.

So what should you eat? Ask anyone that loves Puerto Rican food and they will say, "if you go to Puerto Rico you must east mofongo." So of course, I had the monfongo with chicken; and for dessert, Andre insisted we try his tres leches cake. It was delightful.

We really appreciated the free trollies that ran every  fifteen minutes  making it quite easy to get around and see almost anything in a short time frame.  We stopped to view the Castillo de San Cristobal which can be seen in the picture below.

Hours later, we made our way back to the airport to check-in for our final flight. Needless to say, if you have a lay over in Puerto Rico,  you can find many things to do. We used this article to help us with ideas before we arrived.  Visit our blog frequently to learn about what's new with Exclusive Remedies Studio.

Exclusive Remedies Studio returns from Grenada



GRENADA


The Exclusive Remedies Studio production crew has finally returned from the Travel Industry's Best Kept Secret Contest video shoot in Grenada. Over the summer, E.R.S. launched a contest for individual luxury properties to enter and win a video shoot. Out of 250 eligible properties, a little known Grenadian luxury resort by the name of Maca Bana Villas, caught the attention of our panel.

For most Americans, a trip to the Caribbean means visiting the Islands of the Bahamas, the US Virgin Islands, or others like St. Martin or St. Kitts. However, with the November 2008 announcement of American Airlines offering flights to Grenada, there is much to be discovered about the country.

Most Americans associate Grenada, the smallest independent country in the Western Hemisphere, with either the renown St. George's School of Medicine or the 1983 US Invasion called Operation Urgent Fury. Even prior to our departure, anyone who inquired about the shoot alluded to safety concerns and the stability of the country.  On our flight we met several American vacationers and a group of professional divers eager to visit Grenada for the very first time as well.

So if you have never considered visiting Grenada, we can assure you and anyone else who plans to visit, we were greeted with smiling faces, warm hearts, and first class service. Stay tuned, as you will learn more about Maca Bana.