Café Con Monica

Travel Days: Caribbean Cruise – Costa Maya, Mexico

Sharing Day 5 of our 7 Day Norwegian Western Caribbean Cruise. You can find Days 1-4 along with my other travel posts here!

Like I mentioned before we knew there were two stops we would not be doing any excursions. Harvest Caye & Costa Maya. So we planned to make another beach day of it.

About this stop

  • There are plenty of excursion options here just like in Cozumel since they are very close. So if you don’t get to do something at one stop it will likely be offered at the other
  • The port has a big shopping and dining area that has pools too
  • You can take a short ride on their shuttles to the beach strip if you want to walk the board walk and shop, eat or find a spot on the beach
  • If you go to the beach boardwalk area note that in order to sit in the chairs on the sand in most of the spots you need to buy a drink from the place that’s right by it.

We didn’t really have a plan so we walked the main area of the port but it was just too crowded for us so we decided to take the shuttle to the boardwalk area and walk around. We did some light shopping and then found a spot on the beach with comfy seats and an umbrella for AJS and then bought two drinks and relaxed.

I actually took the main photo for my blog (on the right) on the beach in Costa Maya!

After we got enough sun, relaxation and shopping we took a taxi back to the port to wander some more. We checked out the views and just people watched for a bit. Also, took the chance to use the wifi and check in with our families.

One day I won’t be so ridiculous at being photographed. One day.

Overall we had a fun time just relaxing and exploring. The only thing I will mention was that the beach had recently had a ton of seaweed wash up and it was sitting rotting in the sun and it smelled AWFUL. I promise I am not being dramatic is was pretty bad.

And, of course, the animal towels in our room that night!

Have you been on this cruise? Did you do an excursion?

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Show Us Your Books & Book Goals Update: February

It’s that time again! Linking up with Jana Says & Life According to Steph for Show us your Books!

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But first I want to share my Book Goals update for January!

  • 1/25: Books I didn’t choose for myself
  • 1/12: Non-Fiction Books
  • Posted 7 bookish photos on Instagram & 3 Bookish blog posts
  • #Unreadshelfproject2019 – I DNF the book I picked up off my shelf for January so I gave it away

Now let’s talk about what I read in January!

The Wife Between Us ⭐⭐⭐⭐ You can see my whole review of the book here. The evening after that review was posted I hosted my first Girly Book Club meeting and the overall opinion on the book was that there were simply too many twists and it felt forced. The first big plot twists makes you gasp and then the end makes you think “Seriously? Can this get more ridiculous?”

Six of Crows ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I have seen this book everywhere! I was so ready for it to be available from the library that I almost simply bought it. Almost! I didn’t know about the Grishaverse before I got it but you don’t necessarily have to, though it can be helpful. I may have developed a slight crush on Kaz Brekker. If you like YA, magic, the threat of destruction and a fun group of characters you will like this book.

Dividing Eden & Eden Conquered ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Luckily I got these books from the library back to back because I don’t think I could have waited for the second book to be ready without just buying it. The rivalry that comes up between these siblings drew me in. You aren’t always sure who the bad guys are and who you want to win.

Tower of Dawn (⭐⭐⭐) & Kingdom of Ash ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I could have done without Tower of Dawn or at least could have done without 668 pages of Chaol. I get it, there were definitely parts that made sense but I just think it was a lot of fluff. Kingdom of Ash on the other hand. It took a bit but then when it picked up I didn’t want to put it down. That is saying a lot since it is a 900+ page book. I was ready for the series to end so I am glad that this was it.

Verity ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I haven’t had a 5 star book in a while. I will admit that I think this book ended up being perfectly timed because I had read Wife Between Us the week before and been underwhelmed so this book comes along with Colleen Hoover quality writing but a crazy pants character and some twists that make you literally “WTF”. That being said I read the book in one day and then text all my book club friends and told them it was on Kindle unlimited and they needed to read it. READ IT.

Some notable mentions and a DNF…

  • Seven Days of Us – This was actually a good read, just not main reviews worthy. I liked it enough, found it through the SUYB link up and wanted to check it out. I genuinely disliked the younger sister.
  • I’d Rather Be Reading – This was my Non fiction choice! I am doing a separate review of it next week though so stay tuned for that!
  • DNF: The Darkest Star – I got this book from a bookship box last year and I immediately dropped it on the bookshelf and left it there. So with trying the #Unreadshelfproject I picked it as my January read. Started…got 1/4 way through and was like egh it just did nothing for me. I only got that far because I was really trying to get through a book off my shelf.

What have you been reading? Have you read any of these?? I can’t wait to see all the books this month!

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Austin Eats: Cinco

I love food. If you have been following me for awhile then you know that. Combine my love of food and exploring where I live and BAM we got a post about great places to eat in Austin!

You can see my other Austin Eats posts here.

This week I am sharing two more great places we have tried!

Thai food is my jam. If you let me, I will eat Thai food almost daily ( and I did when I lived there) Therefore, I am on a quest to find the best Thai food in Austin. Chicago had so many great options and I had my favorites so I need to find one here!

Titaya’s Thai Cuisine

Top right to bottom: Hung Lay Bun, Som Tum, Pad Kra Prao w/chicken

I heard about this place when getting my nails done my first month in Austin. The girl was from Thailand and recommended Titayas as a good Thai place that was actually owned by Thai people. Any place that has a good Papaya salad (Som Tum) makes me a happy camper and this place did not disappoint! The wait wasn’t too bad and it smelled wonderful the whole time we waited!

Lucy’s Fried Chicken

Left to right: Fried Chicken Boudin Balls, Fried chicken, Smoked Potato salad and Lucha, Diablo and Texan Oysters

You ever just have a craving for fried chicken? That is how we ended up at Lucys. I have quite a few places saved in Austin so whenever I have a craving I check to see if I have a place saved that has it first! We liked the vibe at Lucys, the fried chicken was super crispy and not oily which is great. I wasn’t a huge fan of the oysters but AJS liked them. I prefer my oysters with just some horseradish and lemon.

So there you have two new Austin places to try!! If you are ever in the area feel free to reach out and I can give you some recommendations for places to visit and foods to eat!!

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