Life is what you make of things. If you just sit around like a bump on a log......well.......would you write a blog and tell everybody about your experience? Somehow I don't think so..........then again...........you can pretty much find anything on the internet.........hehehe. Me?........I try real hard to look at the bright side of things as best as I can............even though something always rears its ugly little head and enters the picture and attempts to ruin everything. In spite of all of that, I practice the "moving forward" excuse for just about everything...........you know the "moving forward" deal, don't you? You will hear every politician that happens to be a Democrat, utter those two words EVERY time you see them on tv. Also, it is practically Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's daily mantra..............you know the deal.......Dixon is going through a trial for improper use of gift cards. In her "struggle" to deal with the issue, she has said repeatedly that she is "moving forward". Let's put it this way............if you are "moving forward" and have a "plan"...........you will be fine........hehehe. As I write this, the jury is still out on Dixon........you would think it was a murder trial and not a theft trial..........jeez!
Okay.......so enough about that already.........while in Mexico, the weather was about to turn for us. What started out as some pretty good skies........gradually morphed into a threatening tropical storm Ida........and weather reports were scarce................oh well.........since we were "moving forward", then that weather system would have to keep "moving forward" its own self and keep its track to the east of Quintana Roo.
I would be remiss if I had not mentioned the staff at the Grand Palladium Resort. Everybody that I encountered was friendly, smiling, helpful, and skilled at their jobs. This is a huge part of your vacation experience and the folks at the Grand Palladium do it right. Captain Morgan posed with the bartender at the Hemingway Bar.Sorry, I cannot remember his name......I should have written notes.............needless to say, he was fantastic.
The staff in the discotheque were all great as well...........I managed to get a few of my trademark "action photos" out of them.
Did I mention how short these people are?..........hehehe
Hey.........is that my Sprite?
I fell terrible that I cannot tell you their names........I guess that means that you will just have to go there yourselves and ask them.
There's Ricardo with one of the other entertainment managers.
I told him "raise your hands up and look upward"........and he did exactly that............see?........the staff just about does everything you ask of them.........hehehe.
I don't quite know what this gal's job was, but I believe that she is some sort of supervisor of the entertainment staff.
She follows orders too......hehehe.
And Francisco..............what can I say about him that I haven't already, except that he was the very best bartender I have ever encountered on vacation. Not only does he deserve a raise, but he deserves a promotion too...............apparently he deserved the kiss as well.........hehehe.
I didn't take pictures of every one of the staff that I encountered while at the resort........I should have.........but these are the pictures of those that paid me to take their pictures...........hehehehe......just kidding...........for some reason I didn't take very many pictures on this vacation compared to others.......maybe it was the weather.
As resorts go, there will be towel art on your bed. And we had our share of towel art. I never met our housekeeper/maid, but I did leave a tip every day for her......she did a pretty good job as far as I could tell.It's not a dinosaur.........it was an anteater.
Yep........a swan.
Huh?...............ahhhh........it was a robe and slippers.
A sting ray.
It is a nice touch.
Stay tuned for Part Seven.....much more to show and tell.
Every year during football season it becomes a challenge to watch a Ravens game while we are out of the country. On a cruise ship, we managed to get to watch a game but not a Ravens game. In Aruba, we had to leave our resort and head for a Fridays restaurant to find a screen with our Ravens on it. This time............we were in Mexico and the Grand Palladium Resort just so happened to have a "Sport Bar" with several tv screens and one huge screen hooked up to a satellite dish............ahhhhhhh........there was hope! It was a good sign of things when we saw a picture hanging on the wall that just so happened to show the Ravens vs Steelers...........yep.....there was hope that we would be able to watch the game on Sunday.The question is.......HOW can we make sure we get the game on that big screen?........the answer was.........become good friends with the bartender......hehehe.
How important is it to encounter resort staff that actually appear to be happy that you are there?.........it is very important. It makes for a totally enjoyable time and I must say that 99% of the staff at this resort did a great job and were very hospitable. In particular, the bartender at the "Sport Bar". His name is Francisco and he went out of his way to make our time there a memorable one.
Here is Francisco and my buddy Captain Morgan..........Francisco kept the beer and the tequila flowing and he would also entertain us with assorted card tricks. Francisco also would mix drinks that we had never heard of and offer them to us to try. He would bust out a huge grin when he made a "michelita" (Sp?) which was beer with tabasco, pepper, etc....etc.............whoa!
The "Sport Bar" was a large room with lots of tv screens and sports memorabilia all over the place. There is also ping pong, pool tables, foosball, and internet available. One bar and a snack bar which served typical "sport" snacks...........like chicken wings and popcorn.
I couldn't help but notice this menu.............how could anyone order a "dry anis"?
As I mentioned, Francisco was very adept at card tricks and he spent alot of time focusing his attention our way..........of course, it wasn't very busy so he could spend the time.
Looks good doesn't it?
As I said before..............make a friend, get the Ravens Game on the big screen......hehehe. Sadly, the Ravens lost........oh well.
Captain Morgan presented a Ravens souvenir towel to Francisco so that it can be framed and hung on the wall of the "Sport Bar". Me and Captain Morgan signed the towel. Captain Morgan just could not let it stand that the "Sport Bar" had a framed Steelers Terrible Towel hanging on the wall.........and he offered them his towel.
Okay........so there is the photo op....................
............and here is the bigger picture........hehehe.
This is Ricardo. He is one of the managers of the entertainment staff......."People Of Palladium". Ricardo was great and he also went out of his way, even interrupting his own meal, to entertain and socialize with us. Aside from his skills at his job, Ricardo also enjoyed performing card tricks and other assorted bar tricks.
Okay..........so you have four shot glasses full of beer and Ricardo has one full glass of beer and one half full glass of beer. The challenge is that Ricardo bets you that he can drink all of his beer before you can.............and you will be up to the challenge because it ain't nothing to down four shots of beer real fast. The problem is........there is one catch.............Ricardo tells you that there is only one rule..................which is that he cannot touch any of your glasses and you cannot touch any of his glasses.............and that sounds really reasonable...........so.........let's get this thing started.
Guess who won?..............................Ricardo. So how does he do it? Hmmmmmm..........if you really want to know..........stay tuned.
Stay Tuned, folks.........Part Six is coming.........more beach!
I absolutely love being away on vacation. I would be completely happy if the only thing to do was just sit on the beach............but for some reason everybody likes to eat as if they hadn't seen food for months and months. Indulgence at a high level.
If you are on a cruise, there will be plenty of food and plenty of drinks. If you are at an all-inclusive resort, such as the Grand Palladium, there is plenty of food and plenty of drinks. The difference?.............aside from being on solid ground as opposed to floating at sea..........you will be paying for the drinks on the cruise. All-inclusive resorts take eating to a higher level in that you are tended to by the staff at every turn. Furthermore, there are far more options to choose from.
There is always a buffet.........and the Grand Palladium Resort has more than one of those. There is a different theme for each night........Mexican.......Caribbean.........French.......American.......Italian..........Spanish........etc. If you can't find something that you like at the buffet, then there must be something wrong with you and you need a doctor to check it out. The buffet offers breakfast........lunch......and dinner.....every day.
As buffets go, I would not say that this was the very best that I have encountered.........but there was plenty of food.....plenty of options.....and plenty of space to move around. On a scale of one to ten, I would give it a seven. If you compare these pictures to those that I posted about the buffet at the Iberostar Bavaro Resort.......well........just visually you can see what a ten looks like.
This resort is kid friendly.............and thus.........there is PIZZA!
Very clean.
This was the first time I had ever seen uncooked lasagna noodles used as a food decoration.
The decor was rather minimal.......and not at all over the top.
I am not a very big dessert person, but the desserts here looked fantastic and well done. Supernurse seemed to enjoy the desserts........hehehe.
If a buffet does nothing for you, there are several different ala carte restaurants on the premises. One night we chose the Ribs And More ala carte. Another night we chose the Italian ala carte. Both were very good and the service was excellent. The ala carte restaurants are part of the all-inclusive package........you already paid for it.
Very.....very......nice presentation.
Enough about the food already. Sure......I probably could write alot more about it but I woulld be just echoing stuff that others have already written in various reviews on TripAdvisor and the Palladium Addicts website. I recommend both sites.
Stay tuned folks!
Part Five is coming next and there is so much more to tell you.
So there I was......................at the beach................and there is nothing better that I can think of doing other than being right there..................and absorbing everything............the sun......the scent........the sound of the waves reaching the shore..........my eyes being filled with so many things to stimulate my brain...............the taste of the air..............the sand.................the sky.............and the assorted people from all walks of life. The bold.......the shy......the pleasant........the arrogant.............the beautiful and the ugly............all of these people were here.......right there on the beach...........and while I was there looking at all of them........they were there looking at me too.......................well....................I guess I stood out just a little............they couldn't miss me with the long ponytail, the ravens shirt, and those hideous sunglasses.
When we first hit the beach, I was a bit surprized to see as many people there as I did. For weeks and weeks I had been checking out the assorted pictures of the beach that were posted on the Palladium Addicts website........and from what I saw, it never looked to me that there were ever very many people on this beach or even at this resort for whatever reason.......particularly in November. I had even been frequently checking the four webcams that are on the website. The pool cams and the beach cam............same thing...........hardly any people to see. On this day.......different story. This day I am there in person to see things with my own eyes and I like it.
We positioned ourselves right about dead center of the entire coastline of the resort....located right up front where we could be seen easily by friends or family that might happen to be checking the webcam from that Palladium Addicts website. Right away, Supernurse and SmileyNurse began their mission to soak up the sun and relax. Me?...........think of me as the "eye-witness".........hehehe. Wouldn't you want to do this everyday?..........Look at how calm the water is............simply fantabulous..............I felt like the camera being used in a Corona commercial.
While some people just relaxed on the beach, others joined the Palladium staff for water aerobics.
At he farthest point here in this picture is the area where the turtles lay eggs.
People of all shapes and sizes...............roaming about..........and having the time of their lives.
Sometimes you have to try to look away............but it is like when you are driving on the highway and there is an accident up ahead and you just gotta turn your head and look at it.............arrrrgghhhhh!............hehehehe.
The lifeguard tower is where the beach webcam is located. The sign marks the ideal spot to wave at the camera. This was our view to the south from our spot on the beach.
A picture worth a thousand words.............and yet none of those words can even describe being there. There was trouble brewing to the south and we didn't know it at the time...........as beautiful a sight the clouds are as they dump a curtain of water to our south.
There is more to tell and more pictures to show you. Stay tuned for Part Four!
Life is what you make of things. If you just sit around like a bump on a log......well.......would you write a blog and tell everybody about your experience? Somehow I don't think so..........then again...........you can pretty much find anything on the internet.........hehehe. Me?........I try real hard to look at the bright side of things as best as I can............even though something always rears its ugly little head and enters the picture and attempts to ruin everything. In spite of all of that, I practice the "moving forward" excuse for just about everything...........you know the "moving forward" deal, don't you? You will hear every politician that happens to be a Democrat, utter those two words EVERY time you see them on tv. Also, it is practically Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's daily mantra..............you know the deal.......Dixon is going through a trial for improper use of gift cards. In her "struggle" to deal with the issue, she has said repeatedly that she is "moving forward". Let's put it this way............if you are "moving forward" and have a "plan"...........you will be fine........hehehe. As I write this, the jury is still out on Dixon........you would think it was a murder trial and not a theft trial..........jeez!
I would be remiss if I had not mentioned the staff at the Grand Palladium Resort. Everybody that I encountered was friendly, smiling, helpful, and skilled at their jobs. This is a huge part of your vacation experience and the folks at the Grand Palladium do it right. Captain Morgan posed with the bartender at the Hemingway Bar. Sorry, I cannot remember his name......I should have written notes.............needless to say, he was fantastic.
The staff in the discotheque were all great as well...........I managed to get a few of my trademark "action photos" out of them.
Did I mention how short these people are?..........hehehe
Hey.........is that my Sprite?
I fell terrible that I cannot tell you their names........I guess that means that you will just have to go there yourselves and ask them.
There's Ricardo with one of the other entertainment managers.
I told him "raise your hands up and look upward"........and he did exactly that............see?........the staff just about does everything you ask of them.........hehehe.
I don't quite know what this gal's job was, but I believe that she is some sort of supervisor of the entertainment staff.
She follows orders too......hehehe.
And Francisco..............what can I say about him that I haven't already, except that he was the very best bartender I have ever encountered on vacation. Not only does he deserve a raise, but he deserves a promotion too...............apparently he deserved the kiss as well.........hehehe.
As resorts go, there will be towel art on your bed. And we had our share of towel art. I never met our housekeeper/maid, but I did leave a tip every day for her......she did a pretty good job as far as I could tell. It's not a dinosaur.........it was an anteater.
Yep........a swan.
Huh?...............ahhhh........it was a robe and slippers.
A sting ray.
It is a nice touch.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sGjlAwiUaA-ZKdeOjneKA8JvqclZVJewoi9xjYvYRHWkE7GdZBAzaxM3Kbg0BJDH1unLAoEzCHgPBg1wkA4O6EwiJItrTTm4ttx_OxnZy--Z-hQDFQJnJMzy9njybaL1Z4m5nCvertwW06n0UcChvX=s0-d)
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