Top 10 things to do for New Year’s Eve in the Riviera Maya
So what are you doing for New Years. Well the Riviera Maya is the place to be and since we have moved here, New Years has never been an issue as there are soooo many things to do and see. There is something for everyone and we have listed some of our personal choices as to what we think people may want to do.
1. Dinner at Cocina 38 with their Prix Fixe Menu for the evening. Very seldom can you go wrong with the great creations of Chef Juan Diego and his team. Located at 5th and 38th, this is out of the regular party zone and off the beaten track a bit. Their wine and food paring selections for the evening will make your meal a New Years Eve dinner to remember.
2. Beach parties to bring in the new year can be found at Zenzi, Cocomaya and Fusion
3. BMP Festival starts Dec 31 and runs until January 9, 2011. This DJ fest is in its 3rd year and proves over and over again that it produces a great show and great DJ talent
4. People watching right in our front reception all night long. For 4 years now we have had some of the greatest little get togethers watching all the people going out for New Years. The entertainment is some of the best, you don’t have to go anywhere and everyone has a great time.
5. Dirty Martini Lounge New Years Eve party with special host Greco and his great staff! People travel from Texas, Holland, Canada and other worldwide locations just to hang with the best on new Years Eve. Since Greco moved to Playa del Carmen over 15 years ago, he has been the main New Years attraction in the city. You will have to come and join him at his bar the Dirty Martini to find out why. You wont be disappointed and you can combine this with the previous fun thing to do as the Dirty Martini is located on the property of the hotel.
6. Take a walk on the beach and get away from it all! This is why you took a vacation right so start the new year off as you intented, relaxed, happy and free of stress.
7. Hang out at 12 and 1st with hundreds of other people who want to bring in the new year together. It is fun, busy and crazy and makes you feel like you in a warm Times Square in New York. No coats required just yourself and want to have a good time.
8. Have Dinner at one of the many restaurants located at the Gran Velas or Mayakoba. These large resorts are open to the public and offer a very different dining experience for the visitor. Their Chefs table is price fixe menu and put together by their in house chefs. Reservations needed in advance and we can book this for you. Just ask our receptionists to help with the arrangements
9. Join the many people who live here in a celebration in from of the municipal building in the heart of Playa del Carmen. Throughout the year there are many cultural and musical events in the zocalo located on 20th ave between 8th and 10th street, and New Years Eve will prove to be one of those great nights put on by the city!
10. Bring in the new year with friends, and it really wont matter where you are. You could three of the above suggestions throughout the evening, or just have a glass of champagne somewhere, as the most important part for you is who you share the new year with.
We wish everyone the best for the holidays and hope you stop by to say hi on the 31st. No matter what you do or where you end up, know that you will always have a place at Hotel Tropical Casablanca in the new year. Everyday feels like New years eve when you are on vacation and staying with friends.
Riviera Maya travel app-SKYPE!
Yes Skype has an app but it has a trick to it as I have found out that the Iphone and Ipad are not created equal. If you are not aware of Skype as a program, it is a telecommunications program that is used by millions of users to communicate via your computer either free of charge, if you do skype user to skpye user or a small fee for skype to land lines. We have been using it for years and have found it predictable, useful and economical.
When i first bought my iphone I wanted to find an app for longdistance calls. I tried and tried to use skype but could not seem to get it to work. then a little birdie told me how to use it. The only way you can download and use the Skype app is via a WIFI connection. If you attempt to download or use skype using your 3G or Edge connection, you will not be permitted to use it. Once I tried this trick, i was home free! Skype was accessible once I used this little trick.
It makes sense considering that your iphone is a phone…why would any cellphone supplier want you to be able to save on long distance calls.
BUT the IPAD IS NOT A PHONE!!! So you can download skype on your 3g system, or edge or home wifi and you can use skype with no limitations. There is a built in microphone and speakers and it is truly the coolest thing ever!!! When you are travelling it will make sense to use a wifi connection. After testing it at home today, I am going to say I am impressed. Your savings on long distance phone calls while way may just pay for your ipad!
This freebie is a must have and I will encourage you to get a skype account, upload the app as described above depending on your smart device and talk away!
Beach Book INTERVIEW! Oprah and Jonathan Franzen discussing FREEDOM
There is a long story behind this book and the relationship between Jonathan Frazen and Oprah. I watched this video this week and decided that this would be a much better overview of the book ‘Freedom’ than I could ever give. It is also very interesting to see what the author thinks and says about their book. Mr. Franzen does a great job of speaking about his intentions, thoughts, writing and the book in this interview.
As a backgrounder, in 1991 Mr. Frazen wrote a great novel, The Corrections, which became an Oprah Pick when it was released. Mr. Frazen declined to be on Oprah’s show as he is not a media guy and once you watch the video he does go into his inability to understand the need for marketing and media. He is a writer and is not comfortable with self promotion or media coverage. Back in 1991, Oprah freaked out, to put it lightly, when she heard that her Oprah Pick author would not come on the show. There was more media coverage for the book based on this professional faux pax then there was for the book. No…one….says…..NO….to……OPRAH.! Or at least no one but Jonathan Frazen.
Fast forward to 2010. Mr. Frazen releases another book, Freedom, which took him 9 years to write. He is awarded by Time Magazine, the award and label “the Great American Novelist”, is read by Obama himself while on vacation and again Oprah has him as her Oprah Pick….and this time Jonathan did not say NO to Oprah. But he does deal with her very well in this interview. the interview becomes more interesting when you know this background information and Oprah really does ham it up a bit.
You will see the interesting relationship 9 years later between Oprah and Mr. Frazen. He is a brilliant writer and I have enjoyed all of his novels. He is media ackward, but he does a great job in this interview. His books are tough and sometimes dark, lengthy and thought provoking. He does deserve the title, the GREAT American Novelist and has earned his status as a great writer.
Hold Please!!!
We all dislike it when we are put on hold, and we apologize for our ‘on hold’ status on the blog. We are taking a breather, re-assessing, deciding what is the best content for our readers, and YES, we are building a plan….and plans take a bit of time.
There is this great thought out there that when you live in paradise, plans are not needed, things just happen, work flows, words flow and in some cases, beer flows.
To make all of our lives easier, as we do want to make life simpler, we find that plans are the way to go….and you have the chance, if you wish, to put ideas in our heads and help us format those plans if you wish. WE are open to hearing from you what you would like us to report on , speak about, update you on or just ramble on about. We write for YOU! And would love to hear what you would like us to inform you about!
Put a comment on the blog, send us a message, email us at info@tropicalcasablanca.com or on our facebook page you can send us a message or comment. We are even getting better on Twitter @tropcasablanca tweet us!
This is all about YOU so let us know.
Cool App for Video Calls while on vacation! TANGO App
Here is a very cool app for smart phones! Tango enables mobile phone user to have video calls and can be used over all smart phones. That is right an Iphone user can conduct a video call with an Android user over 3G! The calls are of good quality and you can see who you are talking to!!
Tango lets you use two cameras to show yourself and your surroundings. It also works well on phones with only a rear camera, such as iPhone 3GS or Motorola Droid, briefly show somebody something around you during an audio call instead of face-to-face chat. When you are sitting on the beach and want to show your friends what a great time you are having on the Riviera Maya, is there a better way to do it?
Beach Book review-The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo
Finally I read it, and I am sure I was reader number 40, 000,001 who has picked up this overwhelmingly successful series of books. Did I like it, sure, it was a great, fun read and reminded me of Dan Brown, John Grisham, and the likes of these types of authors. I have to admit, I read it cover to cover in a day. It was a great book, but made for an even better day of reading, blocking out the world, resting and chilling….if I was on vacation, sitting on the beach, soaking up some rays, I would say this book made the perfect day!
The story line as most of you know is a bit gruesome, so if you have a sensitive stomach, or find it hard to read about radical lifestyles, unethical actions, blood, some gore and deranged minds, this might not be the book for you. the mystery is done extremely well, there are some surprises, some very big surprises and the interaction of the modern techniques for sovling crimes combined with some ancient stories is great. Character development is fabulous and you really feel that you know the characters in the book…
I can see why this has been such a hit on the reading lists and why each book has done so well. some death with mystery, with sex and romance. It has it all and would engage any reader in its twists and turns.
The Swedish movie has been created, the Hollywood version is being filmed as we speak. It will be interesting how this all looks on film, if it will be another Silence of the Lambs or an Angel and Demons.
The writer who is unfortunately no longer with us, was a magazine editor himself, there is some mirroring here between his actual life and the story he created. Though I hope that Martin vanger does not exist in real life and i hope that the Vanger family does not exist.
Enjoy this great beach read if you have not read it….it truly is a wonderful vacation book to take with you on your next holiday to the Riviera Maya with my copy and I am sure others floating around town!
10 things we can not live without in Playa del Carmen
I just read an online article about the top 10 things Americans can not live without even though there is a global recession. I wont even bother to repeat the ‘things’ that were mentioned, as they were just things. What this article did do though is inspire me to think what are the top 10 things we can not live without in the Mayan Riviera. You may be surprised, though for any resident, they will just nod their head and chuckle. It is funny how priorities change and your idea of ‘must have’ items change.
1. Chiles — A day without chiles or a salsa of some kind is like a day without sunshine. There are so many chiles to try and so many chile salsas to eat, that really a day does not go by without some sort of Chile infusion. It could be through tacos, candy, a drink, a beer, a martini, a juice, pizza. Chiles literally go on and in everything (you add these as you like them, no one is forcing anyone to have chiles) It is not until you go elsewhere that you realize how many chiles ones eats in a day, in some shape or form.
2. The Sun–You will hear it on facebook, twitter, blogs and in conversations. If we get a tropical shower (which can last from 2 minutes to 2 hours) we all shut down. Rain, though needed, is not something we like, and when the sun disappears for longer than 5 minutes behind a cloud we get cranky.
3. Tomatoes. This is somewhat like the chile deal. The mexican diet has tomatoes as a staple, including cilantro and onions. Pico de Gallo, fresh tomato salsa, is a staple in households with it being eaten once a day. It is fresh, delicious and wonderful.
4. Friends. This can be visitors, residents and tourists. We like friends and our day really is surrounding our friends. A day does not go by without a quick chat on the street, a wave in the car, or a quiet walk somewhere with a good friend or visitor.
5. Outside–Never will you see anyone staying inside all day long. Our lives are external, either on the beach, in the jungle, walking on the street or sitting on a deck. closed doors and windows, whether it be in the car or in the house, is not how we live. Ocean breezes are what we love, and ocean breezes is what we look for…
6. Tacos–we may not eat them every day but we love, love, love tacos. Tacos Pastor, fish tacos, shrimp tacos, veggie tacos, chicken tacos, you name the taco….it is a necessary part of exisitance, not live but existance.
7. An Event. Everyone works, but everyone plays, and an event could be really about anything; a party as some one is leaving, a party as some one is arriving, a dinner to celebrate a birthday, an outing to see a cultural event, the list goes on and on. Life is tough when you need to go to events, and I would say if all events were cancelled, we would be lost. It becomes a part of your routine, and it is a part of what we do. Riviera Maya without an event, hmmmmm I dont think so….cant see it, and if it did happen, I think people would move.
8. Flip Flops–I dont think I need to expand. Life without flip flops, geez then that would not be life.
9. Bathing suit–Again i dont think that i need to expand on this one at all, a bathing top we could go without, but a bathing suit…yikes…then what would we do….
10. Fresh Fruit–Papaya, Melon, limes, pineapple, pitahya (dragon fruit) mangos, bananas, watermelon……oh life would not be worth living without these delicious, fresh, wonderful, fruits either eaten fresh and whole or in a juice…life without our fruit….hmmmm
So we are not looking for a life that demands a car, a cell phone, a smart phone (though i know many who may go into convulsions if they did not have their Blackberrys and social media) big houses, etc. Our needs are simple, easy and local. Which is why we are here….and not anywhere else.
