Street Life

Took a stroll around Old Town after lunch to see more beautiful preserved buildings. I could not get enough of taking pictures of each houses and buildings. My wish is to own my very own house here someday complete with a balcony. That would be heaven!

This weekend is my birthday weekend and I am beyond excited! I cannot wait to celebrate! Happy weekend everyone!

Monte Sacro Restaurant

great interior!

 pretty cool coffee maker

I got hungry after walking around the Old Town so lunch was on my mind. We found a restaurant overlooking Plaza Bolivar with a very lovely balcony. I couldn't resist.

Food: the ceviche was really good! It had a punch! but unfortunately the shrimp with rice lacked flavour.

Drinks: a thoroughly enjoyed the well made mojito!

Service: the servers were friendly but service was slow because they only had 2 waitstaff.

Decor: Very beautiful and I loved the view from the balcony! Perfect for people watching! It was priceless!

http://www.restaurantemontesacro.com

Plaza de Santa Teresa

Old town Cartagena is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It reminded me so much of Havana except it's cleaner and well maintained. I loved the vibrant colours of each buildings, window shutters, and balconies full of flowers.

Cafe del Mar

Cafe del Mar is located in the Old Town and our first pit stop during our shuttle to the city. The view here is fantastic! The cafe was still closed when we arrived so I did not get to see their menu or enjoy the drinks they serve but I did enjoy walking around.

I spent a couple of minutes taking pictures before getting harassed by street vendors so I had to get out very quickly.

Grand Occidental

I really wanted to have a very relaxing one week holiday. I wanted a mixture of beach fun and sightseeing. I started browsing at South American destinations and Colombia never even came to my radar until my bf got an e-mail promotion for Cartagena. I researched for about 10 minutes before agreeing to visit Colombia. One of the best travel decisions I ever made!

We stayed at Grand Occidental Cartagena. It's an all inclusive resort located in Manzanillo. It's about 15 minutes from the Rafael Nunez International Airport. It's a secluded resort which was perfect for relaxation. 

The Old City Cartagena was only 30 minutes away from our resort. We had a free shuttle to and from the resort to the Old City daily. It was great way to see the city without having to pay for a taxi. One of the pluses of the resort. 

The resort is fairly new so everything was clean and in order. I liked that we had 3 swimming pools that were shallow. I could just dip in the water anytime and not feel panicked that I might drown (I can't swim!). The only downside was having to wake up super early to reserve beach loungers since everyone woke up earlier than me to take them all. It was really annoying. 

The food was amazing as well. We had a main buffet for breakfast and lunch. Lots of choices for everyone. I loved the fresh fruits and juices! 

At night, we had the main buffet, pizzeria, the grill, the mexican restaurant, and the Nativo restaurant (rotating menu every night). I got obsessed with eating empanadas and arepas. They were so delicious! Food photos coming up soon. 

The service at the resort was at times a bit slow but overall the servers/managers/bartenders were really friendly. They were very helpful and accommodating especially at breakfast. 

View from the top

 I had to wake up early for my very very early flight! The plane took off at around 6am. I was barely awake but then I woke up to this view below...

It was totally worth it!