Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Punta Cana
This picture is from a small Italian village that was recreated in Punta Cana. I loved the stone work and felt really inspired by the area.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Bavaro Princess, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic - 2010
We had our first trip to Punta Cana, DR this spring and this is a review of our trip.
See pictures here: Flickr Pictures of Trip
Service Provider: Sunwing Canada
Overall rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
Hotel: Bavaro Princess Punta Cana
Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5 stars
Excursions:
Catalina Island Excursion - 2 stars out of 5 stars
Reef Explorer Excursion - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
Detailed Review:
SUNWING
We flew Sunwing from home to Puerto Plata and then to Punta Cana. I have to saw that I was truly disappointed with the overall experience.
We were told that we had to be at the airport no later than 3 hours before our flight to check in (note: yes that is correct no later than). The rational was the amount of time to check us in and the time to go through security. This meant we had to be at the airport for 3:00 a.m.
Well we were there at 3:00 a.m. standing in line with basically our entire flight and their staff did not even arrive at the desks until after 3:05 a.m. We were processed quickly because we had upgraded to the "elite plus." We then headed upstairs to head through security only to find out that they did not begin screening people until 4:00 a.m. So we (along with the entire flight) sat on the floor in line for security to open. It felt like a real waste of time for no real reason.
Once we got onto the flight things seemed to be better....until we landed in Puerto Plata. Once we arrived there they unloaded everyone that was staying there and then they told the rest of us to get off the plane because they had to clean the plane. (Now we have been to Puerto Plata before and never heard of this happening - normally they deplane everyone in Punta Cana and clean the plane there). At this point we didn't care except for the hassle of grabbing all of our carryon and getting off the plane. We were then given little "in transit passes" and lead downstairs and left there with no instructions. Eventually, a security guard pointed at us and had us go through security but no further instructions. As we had been in the airport before we knew generally where we had to go and started guiding people on the plane upstairs but from there we had no idea. Thank goodness we come from a very friendly place because there was a lot of team work between the travelers on the plane to get everyone together and to the right gate because we were given NO information and there was nothing on the boards for our "in-transit" flight. Once we were on the flight we found out that there had been a mix-up. Our plane was suppose to pick up people headed home to Montreal and more people headed to Montreal in Punta Cana. As a result of the mix-up the Montreal people were headed to our home town and then would have be transfered to another plane to Montreal and our plane would dead-head from Punta Cana to Montreal (just me does that seem like a big mix-up?!)
Our Sunwing rep at the hotel was utterly useless and very unhelpful! We asked very specifically asked for a trip that had snorkeling only and asked about a specific trip and was told that the trip offers no snorkeling AT ALL. We booked two other trips one of which was cancelled. When we tried to call the rep to rearrange the excursion the number we were provided was out-of-service, and all other numbers had no answer (including the 24-hour emergency line). It was not until another rep from HOTEL BEDS offered to help did we get anywhere (FYI - props to the company Hotel Beds their rep was AMAZING)
As for the flight home - all of our documents said our flight left at 2:35 p.m. and boarding was at 2:05 p.m. We were picked up and dropped off at the airport around 10:00 a.m. (normal) and we did our shopping and decided to get lunch. Just after noon I went to get food with S (meet on the trip). As we were walking back to the table we were approached by our hubbies saying "our flight is leaving NOW" (yes two hours BEFORE we were scheduled) it was crazy. Again we were looking for people that we knew were suppose to be on our flight, trying to figure out how to bring our lunch to the plane. Once we were on the plane they started to do head counts as they were looking for people. Apparently there was a mix-up (are we surprised yet?) and the same scenario took place in Puerto Plata - frantic airport workers literally running around the airport yelling "sunwing flight xxx - leaving now!!"
Then the landing computer broke on our plane and we had to be diverted to another airport and spent about 90 minutes on the tarmac - the only thing we got was the a new movie for the flight home. No extra food or drink loaded on to the plane.
Hotel: Bavaro Princess Punta Cana
The hotel itself is HUGE but honestly you cannot tell just how large it is because it feels cozy and comfortable. There is a set of golf carts that moves you comfortably from the lobby to the rooms, to the beach at all times of the day if you don't want to walk.
The buffet was truly excellent with a large variety of food and several cook-to-order stations (e.g., two omelet stations, two pasta stations at night). Also, they had amazing theme nights and had fresh seafood on a regular basis.
We had a great room near the beach and pool - it had a king size bed in the elevated part of the room and had a Jacuzzi beside the bed area and at the entrance to the bathroom. The buildings have two floors and 4 rooms per floor so they are very large. The only downside to the room is that when you walk up the stairs to the room and walk to the door it is all glass. The door is basically the only window/light into the room and there is no privacy unless you close the blackout blinds.
We had a couple of issues with the room and I have to say that the staff was amazing at coming quickly and resolving any concern or questions we had.
My two negative thoughts: with the tub in the room it took nearly 45 minutes to fill it anywhere near a level that was practically and the water wasn't overally warm by this point. Also one of their a-la-carte's is really just a smaller buffet.
Excursions:
Catalina Island Excursion - 2 stars out of 5 stars
I rated the excursion fairly low because honestly it is one of the worst we have ever been on. It started with taking tours of "celebrity houses" we no one on the ship wanted to see, and it took us about an hour extra rather than heading directly to the island. Next, on the boat on the way from the dock to the island they forced people to get up and dance. Now I understand that there is usually a gentle encouragement, but this was the staff literally not leaving us alone until we stood up. Plus the *bad* music was being played so loud that the speakers were distorted and sounded much worse. This continued over the entire afternoon with terrible music being played FAR too loud to the point that no of us could even talk over lunch.
The day got much worse when we had to get back on the boat and there were some tourists who were so drunk that they were literally falling over on other guests and dumping drinks on them. The staff just brought these people more rum (remember that this is a family trip...)
Reef Explorer Excursion - 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars
This excursion was great - you are literally taken to a floating dock in the middle of a reef with a pen of nurse sharks and sting rays. There was no drinking on this excursion but it was definitely enjoyable. We got a massage, swam with the sharks and rays and had as much time to snorkel as we wanted. I highly recommend for a nice relaxing afternoon. The only thing that could have made the trip better was the option for a full day trip.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Trust, Faith and Belief
isn't it a wonder when watching TV shows or movies that you can let yourslef escape away into a world in which anything really is possible. THe person that is dying on a table can be saved in an instant , there can be love at first sight, there can be true forgivenees and love that happens over the course of seconds, minutes or days.
We sit and watch and I think the alluring thing about Television or movies for that fact is it plays into the part of our mind that is still the little child that believes that maybe just maybe there is such thing as Santa or the Easter Bunny.
I watched Grey's and House last night and was motivated by both shows for two very different reasons. I was mostly moved by House and I just love the episode where nothing much actually happened compared to the normal activities but it was right what I needed.
For those of you who didn't see the episode Cuddy wakes up in the morning to a screaming child that has a fever and she is trying to get ready for work. She has to take her daughter into the shower with her, in the bedroom with her as she gets dressed all the time looking at the clock and seeing how time is passing you by and you just wish you could do the things that you needed to do but then at the same time there is the guilty of not being able to just be with her daughter. This continues through the rest of the day. It also goes on to show the struggles that Cuddy faced in a day trying to be a mom, professional doctor, and manager with everything else she does. The moments she was on the verge of breaking down escaping to the stairwell just to try and catch a moment in the whirlwind.
It reminded me so much of my life. It was my daughter's birthday party this weekend. She spent Thursday and Friday at my parents house (at their request) and I spent all of Saturday getting ready for her party at my parents house. Once that was done it was time to come home and go to bed for her. For me it was time to work and get other things done. Sunday it was time to go to work. Thankfully C really enjoys coming to my work where she can set up a fort, play and watch movies. Although, given that we were here for 10 hours it did become difficult because at some points she was saying "mom I just want to play" which is okay but you know that she really means that "mom I want to play with you"
The moments where you don't know what you are doing, where your not sure if you are doing the right thing, the points at which you just want to quit go home and give up - those moments of life are becoming much more prelevant and confusing moving through the year it is difficult to question yourself are you doing the right thing? did you make the right decision? there is no way of knowing but thankfully along the way there are great and fabulous people that show you that they have faith in you and believe that you can accomplish what you have set out to do. You wait for those moments inbetween the branches, leaves and trees to see the light only to get too destracted by the light at some points to get tied up in the dead and dying parts of the forest. The strenght, and courage to keep moving forward is hard to find at times.
We sit and watch and I think the alluring thing about Television or movies for that fact is it plays into the part of our mind that is still the little child that believes that maybe just maybe there is such thing as Santa or the Easter Bunny.
I watched Grey's and House last night and was motivated by both shows for two very different reasons. I was mostly moved by House and I just love the episode where nothing much actually happened compared to the normal activities but it was right what I needed.
For those of you who didn't see the episode Cuddy wakes up in the morning to a screaming child that has a fever and she is trying to get ready for work. She has to take her daughter into the shower with her, in the bedroom with her as she gets dressed all the time looking at the clock and seeing how time is passing you by and you just wish you could do the things that you needed to do but then at the same time there is the guilty of not being able to just be with her daughter. This continues through the rest of the day. It also goes on to show the struggles that Cuddy faced in a day trying to be a mom, professional doctor, and manager with everything else she does. The moments she was on the verge of breaking down escaping to the stairwell just to try and catch a moment in the whirlwind.
It reminded me so much of my life. It was my daughter's birthday party this weekend. She spent Thursday and Friday at my parents house (at their request) and I spent all of Saturday getting ready for her party at my parents house. Once that was done it was time to come home and go to bed for her. For me it was time to work and get other things done. Sunday it was time to go to work. Thankfully C really enjoys coming to my work where she can set up a fort, play and watch movies. Although, given that we were here for 10 hours it did become difficult because at some points she was saying "mom I just want to play" which is okay but you know that she really means that "mom I want to play with you"
The moments where you don't know what you are doing, where your not sure if you are doing the right thing, the points at which you just want to quit go home and give up - those moments of life are becoming much more prelevant and confusing moving through the year it is difficult to question yourself are you doing the right thing? did you make the right decision? there is no way of knowing but thankfully along the way there are great and fabulous people that show you that they have faith in you and believe that you can accomplish what you have set out to do. You wait for those moments inbetween the branches, leaves and trees to see the light only to get too destracted by the light at some points to get tied up in the dead and dying parts of the forest. The strenght, and courage to keep moving forward is hard to find at times.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
and we keep marching
Well yesterday was not a complete success but given the situation I think that it was relatively positive.
I had breakfast! Fruit smoothie and cereal. Yes, that is correct world I am now eating cereal and for those who don't know I do NOT eat cereal. I have never been a big fan but I have found one that I acutally like.
Breakfast:
Fruit smoothie - 140 g frozen blueberries, 140 g peach/mango frozen, 120 g strawberries, 1 banana and water.
I buy the large bags of frozen fruit and then on the weekend I combined them into "breakfast packs" that contained my mix. I did this with all the berries and then put back in the freezer so that I don't have to measure in the morning. The day before I pull a bag out and put it in the fridge. In the morning I then just put the defrosted fruit in to my magic bullet, add a banana and water half way up and blend. Voila - my breakfast smoothie
Blueberries - 71 cal, 17.1 g carbs, 3.8 g of fiber
Strawberries - 49 cal, 12.7 g carbs, 2.9 g of fiber
Mangos/Peach - 70 cal -(not sure of the rest)
Banana - 105 cal, 26.9g carbs, 3.1 g fiber
approx 220 cal for the smoothie and then 180 Calories for the cereal.
I had lunch too all packed at home!
Then we had stew for supper with biscuits - made by myself and T :) (ok the biscuits can in a mix but I still baked them)
we have left overs for tonight. The only unfortunate thing is that I can barely feel anything from the waist down - I am just numb in my legs and my back, neck and whole body just hurts. SO instead of running I went to sleep. Which worked well until I got up to harvest my raspberries at 12:00 a.m. and stayed up for two hours. Yes, I think we have a new addiction - Farmville.
But I am positive we are moving forward and having success - just one step at a time!
I had breakfast! Fruit smoothie and cereal. Yes, that is correct world I am now eating cereal and for those who don't know I do NOT eat cereal. I have never been a big fan but I have found one that I acutally like.
Breakfast:
Fruit smoothie - 140 g frozen blueberries, 140 g peach/mango frozen, 120 g strawberries, 1 banana and water.
I buy the large bags of frozen fruit and then on the weekend I combined them into "breakfast packs" that contained my mix. I did this with all the berries and then put back in the freezer so that I don't have to measure in the morning. The day before I pull a bag out and put it in the fridge. In the morning I then just put the defrosted fruit in to my magic bullet, add a banana and water half way up and blend. Voila - my breakfast smoothie
Blueberries - 71 cal, 17.1 g carbs, 3.8 g of fiber
Strawberries - 49 cal, 12.7 g carbs, 2.9 g of fiber
Mangos/Peach - 70 cal -(not sure of the rest)
Banana - 105 cal, 26.9g carbs, 3.1 g fiber
approx 220 cal for the smoothie and then 180 Calories for the cereal.
I had lunch too all packed at home!
Then we had stew for supper with biscuits - made by myself and T :) (ok the biscuits can in a mix but I still baked them)
we have left overs for tonight. The only unfortunate thing is that I can barely feel anything from the waist down - I am just numb in my legs and my back, neck and whole body just hurts. SO instead of running I went to sleep. Which worked well until I got up to harvest my raspberries at 12:00 a.m. and stayed up for two hours. Yes, I think we have a new addiction - Farmville.
But I am positive we are moving forward and having success - just one step at a time!
Monday, January 4, 2010
To new beginnings
Well from looking at the success over the last year it is clear that there are only two ways to approach my current situation (1) be disappointed in my complete and utter failure or (2) it is a new year and a time for new beginnings.
Well let's start by facings the fact that the last year was a complete and utter failure in my goals. I set the goals specifically because they were obtainable and because I didn't want to have "resolutions" to be let down. However, I did exactly what I didn't want to do <- bad english :)
But I am choosing to take this as a new year and a new opportunity to start again. I can achieve what I want to accomplish and there is nothing to stop me except me. Take it from me if you don't already know that the hardest thing to know, acknowledge, accept and remember is that your biggest emeny in life and the one that is going to stop you from achieving your dreams is you.
I can remember as a child being told by my grade 3 elementary teacher that I was a horrible failure and would never achieve anything. I do not remember the teachers name, but I remember his face, I remember the class room and I remember his exact words to me. I can tell you that since then one of the most important things is saying "fuck you" and showing him that I can do it!
I went to a private high school and managed to get on the honor roll for at least one of the years (and that was while taking an extra class by correspondence - physics - because I couldn't fit it into my schdeule) I was told that I would not be able to accomplish it but I did. I also graduate from high school and went on to univesity and acheived an Honours Degree in Psychology with a GPA of 4.25 (so take that!) I also wrote the LSAT without studying on a whim (whole other story) and successfully made it through law school. Also, despite being told in first year that I would probably not do well in my dream job I am now working in my dream job (and hoping to be kept on). I also had a child during my law school and people said it shouldn't be done. I can go on and on about those things that I accomplished. Yet it seems that these fade away and my failures come to the foreground when I am the most in need of the support that I can achieve anything.
You see and hear so many people say that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to and when you hear that you believe it and know it is true - but then when you are tested it seems like it was all a big lie.
I need to look at this as a new beginning to my journey - but more important I cannot ignore my ultimately and horrible failure. There are reasons why I failed and did not accomplish what I had set out to achieve. Those reasons include - focusing on everything else except for my family or myself first; becoming lazy; sacrificing a lot for my dream job - and so many more reasons that I know and accept.
For so long it has felt like my life is a big box moving along on a converor belt - all I want to do is slow the belt down and throw as much I can in. I have to realize that the more I try to slow it down the faster it will move. Seems contradictory right? Especially when I am trying to live my life by the phrase "live everyday to its fullest"
How do I grab onto everything that passes by when I feel like I need to slow down to do it and then I just end up speeding up the ride?
Le Sigh> my point - I need to look forward, knowing that I am backed by failures from which I must learn lessons to not repeat those mistakes and I am back by wonderful accomplishments. I guess what I need to know and remember is that it is not about the pluses and minuses and my ultimate score - rather it is about the experiences -> good or bad it doesn't matter if I don't learn anything from them.
With that said I am planning on moving forward and learning from my mistakes and successes.
- I will be meal planning again
- Going grocery shopping regularly and a fixed number of times
- Eating breakfast, lunch and supper every day
** This means being organzied
- I must organzie my home - and this does not mean "clean" as my house is really not dirty - I must put my home together - get ride of the past that I don't need to hang onto anymore and find what is really important.
- I must find more time for exercise (swimming and running - perhaps aquasize again) and not only because I want to loose weight but because I actually like it and because my daughter needs to learn that this is a part of life.
- I must find more time for my familly and for my daughter that is time for her doing the things that she truly enjoys
- I must do the things I love: reading and cooking.
Well let's start by facings the fact that the last year was a complete and utter failure in my goals. I set the goals specifically because they were obtainable and because I didn't want to have "resolutions" to be let down. However, I did exactly what I didn't want to do <- bad english :)
But I am choosing to take this as a new year and a new opportunity to start again. I can achieve what I want to accomplish and there is nothing to stop me except me. Take it from me if you don't already know that the hardest thing to know, acknowledge, accept and remember is that your biggest emeny in life and the one that is going to stop you from achieving your dreams is you.
I can remember as a child being told by my grade 3 elementary teacher that I was a horrible failure and would never achieve anything. I do not remember the teachers name, but I remember his face, I remember the class room and I remember his exact words to me. I can tell you that since then one of the most important things is saying "fuck you" and showing him that I can do it!
I went to a private high school and managed to get on the honor roll for at least one of the years (and that was while taking an extra class by correspondence - physics - because I couldn't fit it into my schdeule) I was told that I would not be able to accomplish it but I did. I also graduate from high school and went on to univesity and acheived an Honours Degree in Psychology with a GPA of 4.25 (so take that!) I also wrote the LSAT without studying on a whim (whole other story) and successfully made it through law school. Also, despite being told in first year that I would probably not do well in my dream job I am now working in my dream job (and hoping to be kept on). I also had a child during my law school and people said it shouldn't be done. I can go on and on about those things that I accomplished. Yet it seems that these fade away and my failures come to the foreground when I am the most in need of the support that I can achieve anything.
You see and hear so many people say that you can achieve anything that you put your mind to and when you hear that you believe it and know it is true - but then when you are tested it seems like it was all a big lie.
I need to look at this as a new beginning to my journey - but more important I cannot ignore my ultimately and horrible failure. There are reasons why I failed and did not accomplish what I had set out to achieve. Those reasons include - focusing on everything else except for my family or myself first; becoming lazy; sacrificing a lot for my dream job - and so many more reasons that I know and accept.
For so long it has felt like my life is a big box moving along on a converor belt - all I want to do is slow the belt down and throw as much I can in. I have to realize that the more I try to slow it down the faster it will move. Seems contradictory right? Especially when I am trying to live my life by the phrase "live everyday to its fullest"
How do I grab onto everything that passes by when I feel like I need to slow down to do it and then I just end up speeding up the ride?
Le Sigh> my point - I need to look forward, knowing that I am backed by failures from which I must learn lessons to not repeat those mistakes and I am back by wonderful accomplishments. I guess what I need to know and remember is that it is not about the pluses and minuses and my ultimate score - rather it is about the experiences -> good or bad it doesn't matter if I don't learn anything from them.
With that said I am planning on moving forward and learning from my mistakes and successes.
- I will be meal planning again
- Going grocery shopping regularly and a fixed number of times
- Eating breakfast, lunch and supper every day
** This means being organzied
- I must organzie my home - and this does not mean "clean" as my house is really not dirty - I must put my home together - get ride of the past that I don't need to hang onto anymore and find what is really important.
- I must find more time for exercise (swimming and running - perhaps aquasize again) and not only because I want to loose weight but because I actually like it and because my daughter needs to learn that this is a part of life.
- I must find more time for my familly and for my daughter that is time for her doing the things that she truly enjoys
- I must do the things I love: reading and cooking.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)