Saturday, November 27, 2010

Riviera Maya Vacation - Part Four

Have I mentioned that I miss this place already?.............When not on the beach or eating.....hehehe......we would lounge around in the hotel lobby.......uh....there are several lobbies.....we mostly hung out in our lobby, the Colonial Lobby. Live music and lots of drinks.....and watching the people go by...........its a nice way to end the day every day.

I forgot a few of the towel sculptures in the previous post......so here they are.......can you guess what they are?

Last year, vendors would set up in the resort lobby once or twice a week...........This year, they were set up just about every other day.........which is a good thing except most of the vendors never seem to remember that just saw you before and asked you to buy something. Nobody likes to be pressured into buying anything............trust me, these vendors are tame in comparison to the vendors on the beach in Jamaica........arrgghhh!.

One particular vendor hand painted beach scenes on ceramic tiles..................I said "hand" painted..............

...........his work is phenomenal.............did I buy one?.......NO. I generally do not buy something that I might be able to do my own self..............but this guy was great to speak with and watch.......he was amazingly fast.

He hardly ever used a brush.........he mostly used his fingers and a rag.


Here is a short video for you to watch of the man doing his art.......




All sorts of souvenirs lined the breezeways that connected the buffet and restaurants to the lobby area.

The was another painter who did things a bit different.....he uses spray paint and dries his work with flames.

I didn't buy one of these either............but I did buy a souvenir which I will show you in a future post.

To the average person I suppose this kind of art is pretty darned good........and it is........but for me, I just do not get all that excited by spray painted art. Sure, it is done well, but I have gone through many years of sign painting where I would incorporate the use of spray paints for certain visual effects on lettering.....................oh well.

Somewhere on that table is the souvenir that I bought........yes I negotiated the price :) ........and I did wait until the night before we left for home.

Supernurse wanted a margarita glass..........we bought one.......and she proceeded to break the darn thing as soon as we sat down in the lobby for some drinks........go figure. I felt bad about it but she refused my offer to get her another one because she said she would "break that one too".

Speaking of artwork, there is quite a bit of artwork to take notice of at this resort..........No, not like a museum..........but you can look up and see some impressive architecture.

Okay........so back to the room............more towel art........

Sadly, there were pictures on the wall in the room.........this is one of them. Now imagine yourself.......laying in your bed..........when you first lay down and seeing this when you first wake up............Yikes!..............No matter where you moved in the room, it seemed that the eyes followed you............not only that, but this woman had what appeared to be a very thin line beard!...............and the two birds looked as if they had lice and some other avian disease! Yikes!

Oh well..........there you go.........I managed to come up with something to complain about.....hehehe.

Stay tuned.........I have some great pictures and videos from the vacation to share with everyone.

Until next time..........

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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Riviera Maya Vacation - Part Three

When in Mexico and it happens to be Sunday......well......of course you want to wear your football team hat and jersey........and I did. I watched the game between the Patriots and the Ravens on the big screen in the Sports bar. There were some Patriots fans and some Steelers fans.......and at least one Bears fan and one pain in the ass Packers fan. The Packers fan somehow managed to get the bartender to change the channel on the big screen to the Packers game........which the majority of people did NOT want to see.........it was halftime and I wasn't gonna stand for that. I went to the bartender and had him change it back to the Ravens game. Four tv screens and one big screen projection tv..........the game to see should be on the big screen......right? Well.......the Packers fan wasn't very happy that the bartender changed it back to the Ravens game and he got really vocal about it. Let's just say that "we had words".......and I went to my seat which was in front of where the Packers fan was sitting..........and I did the appropriate thing..........I turned my cap around and wore it so that the Packers fan had to look at the Ravens logo......hehehe. The Ravens ended up losing the game.......but it was a good game..........the Patriots fans in the Sports Bar were very happy........the Steelers fans?.....well........who cares about them?...hehehe.

When you are not on the beach or in one of the pools, or not in the Sports Bar, you need to walk around and take notice and absorb some of the really cool and unusual things to see while at the Grand Palladium resort. For example, at the front entrance of the Colonial Lobby is a waterfall located in a small lake which is loaded with ducks, swans, and flamingos.

Also......near the buffet restaurant and the shops, there is a fenced off area that contains crocodiles.

I don't know why but flamingos always stand on one leg.

And they always peck at themselves.


There is one thing that I would bet that most visitors might not take notice of while here.

The crop of blue agave located next to the church.......yes......the church....located in an area behind the Sports Bar.

Blue agave.............you know what blue agave is?

.......well.........it just so happens that TEQUILA is made from blue agave.

Stay tuned......there is more to come.

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Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Riviera Maya Vacation Part - Two

First off, I apologize for taking so long to post stuff about the vacation. I have more than a few reasons..........uh....err.....excuses......I have been busy tending to other things and when I wasn't busy tending to other things I was in a funk. I suppose the downside to taking a vacation and going somewhere as wonderful as the Grand Palladium resort in Mexico is that it all comes to an end and you must go home. Baltimore is not paradise..........but there is no place like home..........hmmm........home IS where the heart is. Rather than ramble on about that I will cut to the chase and get posting about that vacation.........after all.........maybe it helps to get out of the funk............we shall see.........

As before, every day was spent on the beach.......we would wake up, go to breakfast, and hit the beach. We would leave our room a mess and return to the room to find everything cleaned up and taken care of. Each day we were greeted by some form of towel art on the bed.

A mermaid with rose petals............

I really liked the rooms at the Grand Palladium.......plenty of space.

I have written before about the outdoors.......the beautiful grounds......the landscaping.....the water embedded into the design..........

.........the seemingly endless maze of covered wooden walkways throughout the property.

Notice how clean?

These walkways are great............keeps you in the shade when the sun is out.......and keeps you dry when it rains..........and they lead to every place you need to get to in the resort.

The only downside.....for me......is that it hurts to walk so much......for me, that is...........but I managed to beat a path all over the place..........I do not walk THAT much at home........but I consider this part of the vacation a cardio workout........a natural stress test treadmill.........and it sure beats the stress test at the cardiology clinic.

I have more stuff to write yet.....stay tuned.......I have some special videos that I will share as well.


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