Another glorious start to the day in paradise.

D cleaned up from the previous evening and rewarded himself by taking in another tennis game with D.

I enjoyed my leftovers from Olivia’s for breakfast. We often over order at dinner so that we can stretch a second meal out of the first one. The swarma was even better the second day.

With every walk into Centro, I find another image that I just have to record.

We walked to Playa Norte and enjoyed a great lunch at the Green Demon Beach Club.

We had a pretty walk from the beach to Hortenzia’s to pick up a couple of little things.

We love all the colours to see on the island from the businesses to the transportation.

We arrived “home” just in time for D to head back out again with Boo and the Frenchman to visit the Isla Brewing Company. Boo is the General Manager of a craft brewery in Winnipeg and often visits other breweries when on holidays.

So left on my own, all I had to was read, nap in the hammock and be mesmerized by the blues of the sea.

We cabbed it to Barlitoes for drinks and  a spectacular sunset

and then to Chilitoes for a fabulous paella to share.

Our progressive dinner continued to Bastos for their Hamburgera Especiale with two orders of our favourite hand-cut fries.

We were home for glasses of wine under the stars. Another reason we love Luna d’ Miel is the privacy it affords us. We spoke in whispers even though we did not need to.

Kath’s quote: Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly.”-M.F. K. Fisher

Love never fails.

I enjoyed an unexpected treat recently and that was checking out a new BnB in Killarney Manitoba.

We packed up some meals, snacks, wine and crafts and we were off!

The house right across from Killarney Beach has 4 bedrooms but sleeps 10.

This is a view of the house from the beach.

The first floor rooms sleep 3 each.

The two 3rd floor rooms slept 2 each. The pillows, comforters, sheets and mattresses were chosen with cozy sleeps in mind.

The bedrooms all had live plants in each; a novel touch for an Air BnB.

One full bathroom was found on each floor with more fluffy white towels than you could possibly use. Beach towels were also available.

The great room included throws to snuggle up under as we gazed at the pelicans on the lake or watched Netflix which was provided by the hosts.

Although too chilly for our use, there was a barbeque and covered deck for el fresco dining.

The well equipped kitchen overlooked the dining room with vantages of the lake just beyond.

I am quite sure that this was not their regular practice but the host also had fresh cut flowers waiting for us along with a basket of wine, nuts and chocolate!

The thing about crafting is that you can relax and chat while learning a new skill. One of my crafts was embellishing a wine glass in blues and mauves.

We spent most of our time busy creating at that dining room table, but we did find time to eat marvellous food too.

I brought a charcuterie lunch and got off super easy in the food prep department.

This amazing seared scallop dinner was lovingly prepared for us.

The next morning we were treated to Gran Marnier French Toast.

Pork tenderloin with sautéed apples and onions was served at dinner time accompanied by roasted potatoes, tomatoes and asparagus.

Of course I had to stand on a chair to get the perfect shot of dinner.

Dessert that evening were meringues filled with custard and topped with strawberries!

Killarney has some great shopping (because no girls weekend would be complete without it). These images are from Sweet Pea & Willow Florist and Gifts.

The views of both the sunrise and sunset were stunning.

What made the house a wonderful retreat were the views of the fowl on the lake. We especially loved watching pairs of the 17 pelicans that reside there. In fact we were thinking that a unique name for the home could be “Pelican View, Killarney Lakehouse”.

Of course any adventure is only as good as the people that you share it with. In this case I would say it was a 10 out of 10!

Kath’s quote: “Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasures.”-Bob Marley

Love never fails.

Sorry, there was no sunrise that morning to share a pic. Since I have thousands of Isla sunrise pics, I could have probably just posted an old pic and you would never have known the difference, right?

I always take a photo of Lolo Lorena’s when we walk by.

We had a lovely lazy morning on the patio at Luna and then we walked to the colonias to see if Sesso Loco was open for lunch. When it was not open, we had lunch at Kash Kuken. I had always wanted to go but never managed it. D had Poc Chuc and I ribs with white tortillas and all the trimmings. Delish.

We cabbed back to Luna d Miel to get ready for a family birthday party that evening. It was a good excuse to get our apartment tidied up.

We collected and arranged furniture to seat 12 on our patio. SIL S and J brought a basket of snacks including Hawkins cheesies which were a big hit. Sister #3 made guacamole and Australian D1 brought pico de gallo. I put out cheese and crackers and SIL L brought the taco chips and voila we had a party!

Boo and Australian D1 bought the guys birthday hats and balloons which made our little place fun and festive. Boo had rented a golf cart and Australian D2 took trips back and forth to Centro so nobody had to walk.

The sunset from the cart was glorious! We assembled at El Patio under the supervision of Jacob. He brought us to go-cups as we ended up almost chugging our drinks.

We had dinner all together in the very back palapa at Olivia’s. My D thought that prices were more reasonable that previous visits.

Brother #3 had the Beef Kabob,

SIL L the Moussakka,

me the Swarma (could only ate half),

and SIL’s Sis had short ribs.

I don’t remember who had this dish but it looked fantastic! Everyone was pleased with their choices. We enjoyed Olivia’s great staff. It was so lovely to sit next to Australian D1 and D2. We had a wonderful visit.

We were home for a glass of wine under the stars and then off to dream land.

Kath’s quote: “Mexican, Mediterranean, Italian, sushi, I love it all. Put it on a plate, and as long as I know what it is, I will eat it.”-Camren Bicondova

Love never fails.

D tried to connect with another D for tennis but ex pats had claimed the courts (even if they don’t show up) Mon, Wed and Friday from 9-12. Who wants to play in the hot afternoon? My D was miffed and very disappointed. While he was away, I did some writing.

It turned out to be a very lazy day for me, reading and napping in the lawn chair and hammock. D finished his first book.

D and I enjoyed our own Happy Hour and then walked to Green Verde for dinner (read more about it in this link).

Afterwards we hopped into a cab and joined the gang to meet more family at the ferry-more “D”s all the way from Australia! We all headed to Asia Caribe for drinks and D and D badly needed some food. We were home for a wine night- cap, under the stars.

The next morning we slept in as there was no sunrise. D went off to try to play tennis again after yesterday’s plans were stifled by locals reserving the court. I had a bit of sun the day prior so I laid low that day.

When D returned we both were very lazy until we ventured to La Joya to visit D and V. It was so beautiful there except that the management wouldn’t let D serve us the wine that we brought. That was a disappointment and kind of miffed us all.

We took a taxi straight to El Patio where we enjoyed an excellent dinner after which Boo and the Frenchman joined us for drinks. We met members of our entourage at Nash’s for the Jets game. We were able to hail down our PEI friends who we missed seeing the evening of our arrival.

We visited more family at Xontolo and then I came home in a cab to read in bed and D stayed with them for more drinks.

Kath’s quote: “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”-Jane Howard

Love never fails.

Have you ever attended the annual Wine Festival, here in Winnipeg? The gala dinner is an event not to be missed, see a previous post here. The public wine tastings are a hoot-you get to sample more wine than you ever dreamed. So too the Wine Down events which occur throughout this week are an opportunity to nosh while lingering over a vast array of wines.

Even though the theme country for 2019 is Spain, Italian wines were featured at the “Italian Kitchen Party” event that we attended last evening and so too some great Italian tastes. My companion for the evening and I were thrilled about this preview as we travel to Tuscany together this fall.

We started with this Italian crudité and moved onto some really exceptional appetizers. Different aracina recipes are found all over Italy. The first time I tasted these was when we visited my Sicilian friend and her husband in their little rural cottage outside of Castellammare del Golfo. Although slightly different,  we really enjoyed Chef Lindsay Platt’s version: creamy, garlicky and crunchy all in one bite! So too her meatballs were exceptional and I mean moan worthy. Bite sized and made from ground beef and panko flakes, they were first baked and then cooked in the sauce (a must if doing so in the Italian manner). They were not overly dense and absorbed the flavour of the sauce beautifully.

My friend and I decided that we could contently dine el fresco on meatballs, potato chips and a great wine in Tuscany, and I expect we will do exactly that. Can you see us perched at the table where we will be staying? We hung around the kitchen for a bit to enjoy the creamy peas and gnocchi as well as a tasty bruschetta.

Typically I go on about something and have to remind myself to mention the food but in this case it is the wine! I immediately decided to eliminate tastes of half the wine: sparklings, whites and roses as I prefer the red variety. Even so, there were half of the almost forty wines to sample.

I enjoyed the bitter almond tastes of the Bottega Valpolicella Classico as well as a northern wine dubbed Vinicola Botter Gran Passione Rosso where it was explained that bolder Italian wines are made from grapes that receive a surmaturation; merlot grapes in this instance.

I enjoyed the smoky aromas of the Carpiento Chianti Classico Riserva. I have never visited Puglia but loved the Coppi Don Antonio from there. I knew that my husband D would love the Tommasi Rafael Valpolicella Classico with its hint of cherries. I once met a man who could easily afford any wine he chose to drink and he only drank Masi wines. I was impressed with the hazelnut notes of the Masi Brolo Camporifin Oro.

When one of the wine reps discovered that we would be sojourning in Tuscany this fall, they recommended a detour after we see Firenze (Florance) to visit Castello (Castle) Nippozzano where we can sample their Chianti Rufina Riserva. That detour is definitely going on our must do list.

In the end, I declared this wine my favourite: a velvety soft blend of sangiovese and merlot grapes!

If you have a best pal to attend a tasting event this week or weekend, call them and go. It is a lovely way to daydream of vineyards in Europe and in my case, anticpated times spent together.

Kath’s quote: “Il vino fa buon sangue = Good wine makes good blood (health)“. -Italian Proverb (I for one am sticking to that promise).

Photo taken in Montecatini Alto in Tuscany on our last trip to Italy.

Love never fails.