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.

As a light snow came down this morning, I was reminded of the snow storm that blew in the day our youngest was born. This time of year is often like that. The following year on her 1st birthday it was 33 degrees and the hottest day of the summer!

When you have three kids 25+ birthday celebrations over the years are a blur. I never really considered myself a successful birthday party Mom. I always focused too much on the food and not enough on the activities or logistics.

I would say that now, I think we finally have the formula right. D and I cook the requested menu and dessert for the birthday dinner. And what is really fun is how the Wee Ones contribute to the event.

They joined us Saturday evening so that they could help make chocolate trifle but also so that J1 and J2 could have one last evening out before their new baby arrives later this month.

The youngest was put on chocolate pudding duty with Poppa and the eldest on whipped cream with me. The latter doesn’t care for chocolate (if you can believe it) even though she did enjoy chocolate Easter eggs recently.

The requested menu was Meatballs in Bolognaise Sauce and Carbonara pasta. The latter being D’s specialty. Good thing we cooked Keto the last time we all were together.

As the Wee Ones helped Poppa put the candles on the trifle, one of them said “Rainbow-my favourite colour”!

These two have a very special bond. The Wee One organizes the time when we share what we love the most about the birthday person (the key factor why birthdays are always a breeze these days…). She said that Boo “lives in her heart”. No matter how great the food or fabulous the presents, it is this sharing time that is always the most special gift of all.

I think that the Wee Ones were surprised when they successfully blew out all the candles in one breath!

Kath’s quote: “I’ll love you forever, I’ll like you for always, as long as I am living, my baby you’ll be”. Robert Munsch

Love never fails.

This was the day that the other half of my family arrived on the island. Unfortunately, as I wrote in my journal that day, Sister #3, Brother #3 and his wife were already two hours late. 

So instead of heading to the ferry dock we changed our plan and went to church instead.

We took in an 8 am church service at Guadalope Church across from Mango. We almost tried the church café but opted instead for Mango.

D couldn’t resist the pablano chilies.

I had Mango quesadillas. They were stuffed with potato, bacon, onion and cheese. I could only eat two triangles and took the rest home.

We have enjoyed watching the growth of Mango over the years. When we first started going, we would stand in line down the sidewalk to get into their little seating area. D orders the same thing, each and every time we visit.

I enjoyed a nap in the hammock and then a long stare at the ocean’s blues and then we were off to the ferry.

It was a busy day in town.

We met our DIL’s parents D and V who we also expected that day and then on the very next ferry my siblings and a new friend Rena arrived.

We walked Sister #3 and Rena to their Air BnB which I was very impressed with. Check out this gorgeous kitchen!

Mango Margs and Fish Tacos at Bally Hoo were in order-a long standing tradition for many of us.

Later that same day, we met Matteo at his fabulous pizza restaurant-Pizza and A…More. Check out the adventure with this link. Pizza and A …More.

Kath’s quote: “Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity”.-Voltaire

Love never fails