A Hell of a Town

I am in NYC for my monthly work trip and so far, it's been pretty good. Not only do I get to see my work buddies and show off the ever growing belly, but I also get to eat all of my NY favorites. I've only been here for 36 hours, but I have managed to squeeze in the following:

• Dinner at Hill Country with good buddy Tulay. This place serves up some stellar BBQ and is highly recommended to all you NY and DC readers. I got 3 delicious pork spare ribs that I sucked dry along with some coleslaw and the best Mac n' cheese I have ever eaten. Seriously. Go hit this place up. YUM!
  
  
  
  
• Breakfast at Zaro's Bakery. Yes. I caved and got me an everything bagel with cream cheese. Don't judge. :). I personally think this place offers to most authentic NY style bagel. Some of you may disagree...but most New Yorkers have their favorite bagel spots.
  
  
  
  
• Lunch at Pret. This place was first introduced to me by Miss Susan Backus during a trip we took to London. They have opened many a location in the states (in NY, DC and Chicago) and it has slowly become a staple in my NY lunch time diet. Favorite sandwich: the Vietnamese Baguette. SO GOOD! Matched with their organic popcorn and a fresh lemonade it is one of the best lunch meals to speak of.
  
  
  
• Dinner at Tappo. This is a pizza joint, but not your typical NY pizza joint. They serve up specialty, thin crust pizza that happens to be delicious. I got my favorite - The Shroomtown - and enjoyed every single bite. This place is a sister location to a place called Vezzo located on the east side of town. My NY Mom, Dina, introduced me to this pizza family and I will forever be in her debt.
  
  
  

So there you go. I still have 2 more days in the city and I plan to eat a little healthier for the sake of my little man. But I can't guarantee that I won't indulge in a soft pretzel from the cart while in town. :)

Day 2 - Excellence Riveria Cancun

After one of the best night’s sleep we have had in a VERY long time, we woke up to a gorgeous sunshine. Time for breakfast! We strolled over to the Barcelona restaurant and found a very enticing buffet stocked with gorgeous fruit, delicious omelets and all the pastries you could eat. DIET OVER!!

After breakfast we meandered back to our room and set up shop on our patio that resides next to the pool. It is so nice to just walk outside the room and BE at the pool! I don’t think we could vacation any other way from now on!! :)

At 1 pm, it was time to head to the Miilé spa for our Excellence Couples Massage. OMG - what an AMAZING experience for us to have on our first real day here. The first hour of the experience was what they called Marine Wellness - a circuit that lets you work directly with salt water in aqua exercises, massages with jets, and cascades, with contrast with the iced pool and make the perfect preamble to the Hammam, the arab style steam baths. We also experienced a steam room, the sauna and several sensation showers included one where a bucket of lukewarm water is dropped over your head creating a wonderful sensation.

Our next stop was the Excellence Massage - Replenish and energize your body with this exclusive blend of Swedish massage, shiatsu pressure points, body stretching, aromatherapy and lomi techniques that will help to release muscle tension and ride the body of tiredness and fatigue.

I don’t think that we have ever been more relaxed than after that massage. We both literally fell asleep - there were actual snores coming from the tables! Once we left the spa we decided the room service was in order - especially since we missed lunch at all the restaurants. Another great meal! The food at this place is really great - and you know how much we love to eat!

We are back in the room after enjoying a night of music under the stars. Tomorrow we head out for our first excursion to Chichen Itza - should be a good time. Nighty night!!

Quick note - we do not have our camera card reader so you will all have to wait on photos until we return. We do have our Flip video camera so there will be video!