Alas, we have come to the last post in my 2018-2019 Mexico City trip review. This post will be a little shorter than the last few because I will just do a simple overview of the few museums we went to while on our trip. While many of the sites I reviewed in the past posts are historic and an educational experience in and of themselves. We also stumbled upon some really neat museums that I would also recommend. The first museum we went to was the National Museum, it was not far from Zócalo. The same street as the Cathedral and Temple Mayor followed down a short ways (past the street vendors) has a free museum. There is a no bag or water bottle policy, but they have security that gives you a marker for your items. They did allow me to bring my camera. There were some exhibits that were in both Spanish and English, but some were only in Spanish. There was quite a lot to see and it was much larger than I expected it to be. There were also random rooms and hallways that were empty and it took some walking around to find the next exhibition. Overall, it was a good place to get away from the crowded Zócalo streets and learn a little about a variety of topics as each room had a different theme from art to Dia de los Muertos to archaeology to China. You can also see it during the middle of the day to have a safe place to store your bag (giving your shoulders a break) while also learning at the museum. We also saw Temple Mayor, which was a fascinating place! It was another location I had learned about in my archaeology class and was excited to go see. It is in Zócalo and right beside the cathedral. Admission was not very expensive (you can keep your bags) and if you have a credit card you can pay at the self-pay kiosk and skip the long lines to pay at the counter. Once you walk through the gate there are artifacts and diagrams of the history of the Temple (all signs were in both Spanish and English). Then you were able to walk through parts of the temple. It is not covered (for visitors) in most places so if it is extremely hot or other inclement weather you may want to go on a different day. What has been preserved is well done and well explained so you can have an understanding of the religion that was practiced and their values and beliefs. To see such important features in person was really amazing. After the temple there is a very large museum that explains even more of the religion, the area, and houses more artifacts. Between the temple and the museum you could easily spend the entire day visiting Temple Mayor. We also visited the Museo Nacional de Antropologia (The National Museum of Anthropology) which I will tell you is a beautiful and *extremely* large museum. They had a free exhibit on the right side of the museum that we saw the first time we went there (as the museum was only open for another 2 hours when we arrived) that was very interesting and educational. It was on classical Greek and Roman art. The next day we came back - with a full day to spend in the museum. We again paid at a self-serve ticket kiosk and skipped the line to pay, you must have a card as cash is not accepted at the kiosks but they are far faster and easier to use. They also have a security area where you can leave all your belongings so as to not carry them around all day. Once inside we then realized how big this museum actually was. It is shaped like a horse-shoe/square with the classic pillar and waterfall near the middle. Each entrance leads to a different era of Mexico's history, which is as vast and in-depth as any European country! We only spent about 6 hours in the museum and really only saw or took in a very small portion of what the museum has to offer. To truly see it all would take close to a week. There are life-sized recreations of important archaeological finds both inside and outside (on the backside of the horse-shoe/square) and many artifacts, diagrams, life-style recreations and more. It was an absolutely stunning museum with so much to offer anyone who wants to learn more about the history, religion, way of life, and more throughout the area's past. I did see at least one restaurant within the museum, so you do not need to leave to find food. But I did not look at the prices to see how much it cost. Admission was not very expensive (for a Westerner) so I don't imagine the food would be either. Overall, it was an absolutely beautiful museum with so much to offer. If you have a day...or two...or more to kill and want to learn more about Mexico I would highly recommend this museum. That concludes the museum reviews and my reviews of our trip to Mexico City! I hope you were able to glean something useful from these blog posts and are inspired to visit Mexico someday! The country is beautiful, has put some major effort into becoming a coveted vacation place on peoples lists. There are many wonderful places in the country to explore and I hope you can cross one off your list someday. Tourism is an important life-line for many places in the world and can fuel the local economy (if done correctly and the local government also takes proper care of its resources). My next review will be of an all girls trip taken to the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado that was taken in May this year. I also have 2 big trips coming up this year that I can't wait to share with you all! Much Love, Jess
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Good day to you! It is time for yet another review of one of my travels to Mexico City. In this post I will cover Chapultepec, Castillo de Chapultepec, and Zócalo. All of these areas are relatively close to each other and fit into a similar vein as far as type of attraction. Chapultepec is a very large park in Mexico City, to give people a visual I compare it to Central Park in NYC. However, Chapultepec is much, much bigger. In the past it was not well maintained, but in recent years CDMX has spent a lot of time and money pouring resources into attractions around Mexico to clean, remodel, and make Mexico City a thriving tourist attraction. All of their hard work has paid off as Chapultepec is a beautiful park that felt very clean, well maintained, and safe. We were only there during the day, but I believe it is locked at night. We walked past several lakes, through a few museums (all free), and saw many street vendors as well as other historical sites dotted within the park. Within the park is Castillo de Chapultepec, there was a bit of a wait to get to the ticket counter, but not as long as I was imagining by the length of the line. They had an efficient system inside that moved people quickly. Once past the ticket counter you walk up a long steep hill (a very important feature to the areas history) to get to the castle. The castle and grounds are very well maintained and a beautiful sight to see! Inside are pieces from the history of the castle, art (modern and historic), and a detailed history of the area and the castle. Signs are again in both Spanish and English, which was much appreciated on our part. I found it fascinating to read about history from another culture's perspective. In the US our history almost always paints us as the heroes, but in cases where the US was in conflict with Mexico we were described as the adversary, which of course makes sense, but was also interesting to see my own country from another perspective. We spent several hours in the castle and on it's grounds. The views from the balconies are stunning! To see the surrounding park and Mexico City in the distance, it makes it apparent the importance of this geological feature to the history of the area, as well as providing lovely views you would otherwise miss. We went to Zócalo at least 3 or 4 times as there are many attractions near it as well as shopping, restaurants, and large events held there. Fun fact, the square has been in use since the time of the Aztecs! The largest Mexican flag in the country is in Zócalo. I got to see the largest and second largest Mexican flags in the same year (the second largest is in Ensenada, see blog post below for that trip review)! There are currency exchange shops all around the Zócalo square. There is also lots of shopping, street vendors, malls, and restaurants surrounding the square. Temple Mayor, The National Museum (both of which I will cover in my next blog post), and the beautiful Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, are all on the perimeter of Zócalo square. The cathedral was the largest I have ever been inside, and the most beautiful I have yet seen in person (I haven't been to Europe yet, so I'll let you know how I feel when I get there). Inside there are several separate areas dedicated to prayer, an organ the size of most people's homes, and much more. When you approach the very front of the cathedral there is a beautiful carving of a biblical scene, as you approach Police are there to ensure you remove any and all head-wear (in respect) and to protect it. Taking a walk through this cathedral is a beautiful sight even if you are not Christian or Catholic. Just outside the church grounds were ceremonies and blessings from the Aztec religion. It was fascinating to see such religious contrasts only feet apart. But the cathedral was built from pieces of the Aztec temple site next door. Overall, I would recommend visiting Chapultepec, Castillo de Chapultepec, Zócalo, and its surrounding attractions. These attractions are very well kept, are stunning pieces of history that are interesting as well as give you a feel for how times have changed and how they have not. These are places that pictures alone cannot do them justice (though I would argue that to be the case for everywhere I visited in Mexico), to truly have a feel for the spacial layout of these areas and to be able to touch and see the details of their history is something you need to experience in person. Have you been to Chapultepec, Castillo de Chapultepec, or Zócalo? What was your favorite part? Much Love, Jess Hello Again! I know, it isn't Tuesdsy. I'm preparing to move again and it's summer - my busiest time of year for going on adventures - so I'm a few days behind. But, still getting at least one blog post in this week! So, Teotihuacan is actually what inspired me to pick Mexico City as a vacation spot in the first place. When I was getting my bachelors degree at Colorado State University I had to take an entry and advanced level archaeology course. In my ANTH 141 course my professor (Dr. Fisher) studied/worked in Mexico and had been to this area many times. He recommended it to his entire class (over 100 students) as a great and safe out-of-country place to visit. We learned about Temple Mayor and Teotihuacan in class. Ever since then (2016) I kept this area in my mind. Our AirBnB host was very helpful in helping us get to Teotihuacan. He told us which bus transit center we needed to go to and where in the transit center to go. We went to Terminal Central de Autobuses del Norte, and the the desk for the bus to Teotihuacan is *the last* desk on the left side (if you are facing the entrance of the transit center). I'm serious, go all the way to far left wall and that's where it is. The tickets were about $100 Mexican dollars round-trip (so about $5 USD). The bus rise is about an hour or so long and they drop you off right in front of the entrance and pick you up at the same spot. Buying tickets for Teotihuacan feels really informal. As you walk up there is a booth for vehicles that are parking to pay at, that is also where you pay. There were a couple people standing nearby this booth who also had the ability to pay at (we paid in cash) and receive tickets from. You then take that ticket all the way across the grassy parking lot to the metal fencing entrance and show your ticket to the guard. Our host also gave us another piece of advice that I'll pass along, go in the morning. It is far less busy and you can actually enjoy the pyramids and the sights. By 11am it is pretty much completely full (even on a week day) and the pyramids are so crowded with people you would not be able to take pictures or enjoy the moment/sights at all. There is the Temple of the Sun (the big one you see walking up) and the Temple of the Moon (to the left) and the Avenue of the Dead which has many more smaller, less restored pyramids along it. However, walking up the pyramids and along the Avenue is an incredible experience. To know that this was a mecca for people as a city and for their religion, that is was always this bustling and busy (just for a slightly different reason) is amazing. Most all of the signs are in both Spanish and English. It is incredibly hot and there is no shade, so be sure to lather on the sunscreen and wear a hat! They don't have sunscreen there (at least I don't remember seeing any) but they do have hats, even ones that are made in Mexico. So it can dual as a souvenir. At the opposite end of the Avenue of the Dead there is a white, completely unmarked building that is completely open to the public. It has restrooms on the bottom level and on the upper level is a restaurant. We ate lunch there, it was pretty pricey - and by pricey I mean equivalent to US restaurant pricing, about $15-$20 USD a plate - but also tasty. In the courtyard of the Temple of the Moon there is a separate gated area that has more "underground" things to see. They have paintings on the walls that have been saved, and smaller rooms you can see. It is free to go in, and I would suggest going in and having a look around. Beside this there are a few more booths for souvenirs, some also sell bottled water (a requirement as it is *not* safe to drink the water or even ice in Mexico). This is where we filled up before hiking to the other end of the Avenue. And hiking isn't a term too far off for what it takes to get from one end to the other, there are lots of stairs, hills, and random exploring you can do along the Avenue. On our way out we stopped at a few of the stalls to grab some souvenirs, then caught our bus back to Mexico City. Overall, I would completely recommend going to Teotihuacan! It is an incredible historic site and is beautiful to be able to see and touch it. It's very affordable, can be done in a day, and is great for individuals, couples, or families. Standing in the courtyard of the Temple of the Moon is an amazing feeling, something everyone should experience. If you have any more advice or exciting experiences from Teotihuacan, leave them below! I'd love to hear about it! Much Love, Jess So, discipline is not something I am good at when it comes to blogging. Many areas of my life? Hellz yeah, but blogging seems to be an area I fail in. After a break-up, life and identity crisis and just life being life, I made a thousand excuses to not blog. So, instead of empty promises I'll simply say I'll do my best to do better in the future. On to part II of my Mexico City trip review! Xochimilco was a lot of fun! It certainly felt like a little piece of history...that had been turned into a major tourist activity. Not going to lie, it was very crowded, a bit like bumper boats, but a fun experience! We took an Uber to get from our AirBnB to the attraction. It was like a 30ish minute Uber ride. They dropped us off at one of the many local business that do the boat tours. Melanie was able to find out the price (which wasn't the one we saw online...so maybe we went to the wrong place?) and we were off. I used my credit card to pay, which I think ended up being about $50 USD a person. We had the entire boat to ourselves which was really nice. I'm so used to the US where they pack anyone and everyone into a space. Once they take you out you get to ride past homes and wildlife and then the thousands of other boats. There was a huge boat jam that we tried to navigate through, but after about 15 minutes of getting absolutely nowhere, our "Captain" decided to take a different route. They took us to a small 'reptile zoo' - I use the term very loosely as they were definitely not a real zoo nor were they up to code in any way) We didn't realize this until after we had paid and walked inside. The animals were well kept in good conditions, it simply just wasn't a certified zoo in any manner. They let us hold a baby crocodile and pet some snakes, then it was back to the boat. They also had us stop at a place that I believe some famous Mexican movie had been filmed, and they had pieces from the film onsite. Depending on how long you rent the boat for, depends on how far out they take you. I feel like most people only go for 1-2 hours so that's why it was so busy. A longer ride might be less crowded. Two cool things you can do is buy a ton of food beforehand and bring it on the boat and have a party/picnic, or buy souvenirs/food while on the water. Lots of people were celebrating birthdays or anniversaries, etc. with food and drinks from their coolers. This could be such a fun way to spend the afternoon for a special occasion. Out on the water, eating and drinking with friends on a historic route. If you're a little more brave you can buy food from little boats floating about, they also have souvenir boats scattered about. It's very busy but upbeat and fun. The city itself is dirty and impoverished, I felt really bad and wished I could have done something to make it better. But we ate lunch at a little family run Chinese restaurant in the city as city dogs roamed the streets past the shop. The dogs knew to look for traffic and waited to cross only when it was safe. Oh, and bathrooms, they aren't free! Make sure you carry some small change on you if you might need to use a "public" bathroom while away from your house/hotel/AirBnB/etc. Overall, I would suggest Xochimilco as a fun way to celebrate a special occasion. I wouldn't suggest going for shopping or meals. Honestly, if I went back I'd bring food, snacks, drinks and just spend a half day out on the boats, taking it all in. Long time no blog! I know, I know! Life has a way of doing unexpected things at unexpected times so my one blog post a week is at least two and a half months late. That's just how life rolls, however, I am in no way complaining! The last few months have been some of the best of my life, the downside is simply less time for blogging. But the boyfriend is on an emergency work call so that means blogging! Making the most of my time.
So, Mexico City. It is familiar in many ways and so completely foreign in others. If you've been to Los Angeles or parts of California it will will and feel very similar, but it is the capital of Mexico so it has all the flair and culture of Mexico. Sure there is a lot of tourism and tourist traps but there is also history, architecture, authenticity, and beauty, if you know where to look. My first day I was in complete culture shock, even having just been to Ensenada just over a month prior did not prepare me for Mexico City. In Ensenada, most people spoke a fair bit of English, this is not the case in Mexico City or the surrounding areas. Thank the maker my best friend, Melanie, who went with me, has been learning Spanish on her Duolingo app as well as with a private instructor for over a year. She is by no means fluent, but she is knowledgeable enough to order at restaurants, talk to Uber drivers, and generally communicate on a basic level to get us by. I would highly suggest either traveling to Mexico with someone who speaks a fair bit of Spanish or learn it yourself, not very many people speak English and you will need to be able to speak at least the basics to get around. You can download the Google Translate app and download the English to Spanish conversion so it will work even offline. This would get you by, but will take far more time and be more cumbersome, but could work if knowing Spanish is simply not going to happen before your trip. To have an idea of language as an issue I offer you the following scenario. Think of all the little interactions you have while traveling, now imagine not being able to understand or participate in any of them. That's what it felt like for me. I could read Spanish ever so slightly more than I could speak it, so I could read a menu or a sign and use that to order, beyond that I was lingually lost. In the midst of this is when I truly understood what Gloria meant when she said she is very intelligent in Spanish even when she has her moments of struggling in English (from Modern Family). I am a successful and intelligent person in English and in America, I am none of those things in Spanish or another culture. Once I realized this I began to embrace it and the feeling and simply accept this fact while still enjoying everything that Mexico was, while also thanking the universe Melanie was there to get us through. Phones. Verizon doesn't exist in Mexico (which is my phone service provider) and since I didn't have an unlocked phone I was unable to use mine for the entire trip. I could connect to the Wi-Fi at the AirBnB but that was it. We only had Melanie's phone for the entire trip. Only AT&T and Telcel exist in Mexico, so you will need a phone that can accept a sim card from one of those providers. You could also purchase a phone in Mexico if you needed, but Melanie's worked so we didn't feel the need to buy another phone 'just in case'. The sim card and plan are relatively inexpensive and lasted us the entire trip, we were able to purchase both at the airport before we got our Uber ride to our AirBnB. Money. The exhcnage at the Mexican airport was a good exchange rate, over 18 to 1. So I had $100 USD cash that I brought from the USA and exchanged it into Mexican pesos in Mexico. This is the best way to do it, at the airport or at a place beside Zocalo. They will need a copy of your passport, your money and then they can compete the exchange. When you are returning home make sure you exchange any leftover money while still in country! Once you come back to the states they will charge you a very high exchange fee at a bank. So, your best option is to do all exchanges in the country you are visiting. I reserved using my credit card for big ticket items or places where a line for cash (museums, etc.) was very long as there is a fee applied to every purchase made on a credit card. The fee cost is based on the cost of the purchase, so I think I paid less than $5 in fees, but I only used my card maybe 6 times. However, you can see how if every purchase was made on a card you would pay a lot of money in foreign transaction fees. Plus, most street vendors only accept cash. How did we get around? Uber. Uber works great in Mexico and is very, very cheap. When we went the exchange rate was nearly 20 Mexican pesos to 1 US Dollar, so the cost of anything was divided by 20. Our most expensive Uber ride was $16USD and it was nearly a 30 minute car ride. Once we found that we could carpool with Uber it was only a few dollars to go anywhere. We avoided taxis because we heard they can be dangerous, not only for tourist safety, but they are often bad drivers too. We saw many taxis that has been in car accidents, never repaired and still driving people around. We even saw a taxi that was so badly damaged the car alarm was permanently on, but it was still ferrying passengers! We took one bus to Teotihuacan and it was only $104 pesos round-trip. Long story short, everything is cheap in Mexico, use Uber, don't use taxis, you'll be fine! What did we see? Xochimilco, Teotihuancan, Chapultepec, Castillo de Chapultepec, Temple Mayor, Zocalo, The National Museum, The National Museum of Anthropology, the Angel of Independence and more. Our AirBnB was very close to the center of the city and we took full advantage of this. It was a 10 minute walk to the Angel, 10 minute ride to Zocalo, Chapultepec, and more. Our host was very knowledgeable of the city (and spoke English!) and was able to give us advice when we needed it. His home was very well kept, absolutely adorable, and extremely affordable, here is a link to his profile and place! If you are planning a trip to Mexico City I absolutely recommend this host! www.airbnb.com/users/show/62320045 One of my favorite things about the city is the history and architecture, living in Colorado and the western United States, our European influenced history only goes back about 200 years. In Mexico they can trace it back thousands of years, see and take pride in the ruins and remnants, and see architecture several hundred years old. These historic places are right beside brand new buildings. It is just a unique thing to behold. Sure the eastern United States looks this way (NYC comes to mind), but it is different to see this in another culture. To see how they treat and view these pieces of history. How is New Years in Mexico City? Since we were there from December 28th to January 5th. Not a huge deal. They set up a large party in the park on the main street at the Angel of Independence, but of course the entire celebration is in Spanish. We weren't entirely sure what was going on and since we aren't from the culture nor spoke enough of the language, a lot of context was lost on us. However, they had live music from what appeared to be famous singers in Mexico, and lots of celebrity and crowd interaction close to the stage. But Melanie was feeling sick that day so we hung out at a nearby mall until close to midnight, walked past the street vendors to see their wares, then came back to the festivities at about 11:30, counted down to midnight with the diverse crowd that was there from locals to Americans to Germans. If Melanie had been feeling better we would have gone to a bar, but we called it a night and went out the next night instead. Speaking of drinking, if you are into micro-brews, local brews, or fancy type drinks being available at every bar (maybe this is just a spoiled Coloradoan thing?) you won't find it in Mexico. They only really serve about 2 or 3 beers, since I'm not a big beer drinker that left me with Corona and nothing else. We tried a local margarita, it was made in a way we had never seen before with fresh fruit and pulp in the drink, but it was tasty! If not also having an extremely low alcohol content, which was disappointing. So, I was left with getting drunk off Corona, which, drunk is drunk and fun is fun so it all evens out in the end! In an attempt to not have this post go on for forever I will end this it here. I am in the middle of my TEFL certification class so that has taken up a lot of my time and reduced my blogging time. However, I'll be finishing this class in about 6 or so weeks and then I can get back into my one blog post a week and more Instagram posts. I'll also make a post about each of the places we went to with a review and some insight into the location, and if it is worthwhile. Honestly though, everywhere we went was worthwhile and I would certainly suggest! Thank you for your patience, I'll write again as soon as I am able and in the meantime, if you have any questions about Mexico, Mexico City, Spanish, or any of the places we went, leave them in the comments and I'll be happy to address them in my next post! Much Love, Jess Welcome to Ensenada! We really had a fun time in port in Ensenada, Mexico. We watched the ship dock at around 8am, which was quite an amazing process, to watch them maneuver this huge ship, which weighs over 70,000 tonnes, up against the dock. It takes 3-4 people to lift and tie the ropes, and that was just the port crew that we could see. Looking out from the ship you can see the flag of Mexico, which in Ensenada is the second largest in the country. You can see the city and residences sprawling up the surrounding mountains as they rise above the shore. Palm trees dot the areas between asphalt, concrete, and bustling city life. Buses and excursion transit begin to line up at the port in anticipation of the cruise ship emptying its passengers to explore the various attractions of the city. We disembarked from the Imagination at 8:30, past the photo ops and the lines of numerous other trips to be taken at Ensenada, wine tours, food tours, ATV and Jeep tours, kayaking and more. We found our check in for the Segway tour, of which our family were the only participants, quickly took a bathroom break and headed off with our guide to learn how to ride Segways. None of us had ever been on a Segway before, but luckily, as our instructors explained to us, they are in fact, very intuitive and easy to operate. It takes a few minutes to adjust, but once you do, it is one of the most fun and intuitive modes of transit I have ever taken. If I end up living in a city where I need to get from place to place via long walks and public transit, I am 100% buying a Segway! Our guides were extremely knowledgeable of the city and very easy to get along with, they made you feel like friends from the moment you met them. Their tour is only available through Carnival, and while this blog is not sponsored, if you ever do take a Carnival Cruise to Ensenada, I give this Segway tour a 10 out of 10, would absolutely recommend. They took us past the highlights of the city, recommendations for shopping and restaurants, where not to wander, and more. They even gave me advice for an upcoming trip I am going on later this month! Then they took us to the Riviera Museum and gave us a guided tour. It was a really beautiful place full of history, folktales, beautiful architecture, and some mystery. It starts at the bar where my Dad and I purchased authentic Mexican margaritas (which were very strong and extra delicious, also the drinking age in Mexico is 18, so drink up all you American minors! I'm 26 so I was just happy to have an authentic margarita!). After the museum we boarded our Segway's and concluded our tour. My brothers were ready to call it a day and returned to the ship, while my parents and I went into town to do some shopping. My Dad forgot that many countries barter over goods and ended up overpaying on a few things, but he got what he was looking for so it didn't bother him too much. Obviously, a store isn't really a place to barter, but street vendors are ready and willing to barter. If it isn't something you're used to, try going to garage sales in the states first, they are good places to get some practice, then you can take that new found skill and confidence overseas and fit right in. I found the culture really interesting to observe, vendors standing outside shops and stalls offering compliments and deals, "a Mexican minute to show you my shop" I was told multiple times, it all felt foreign and also familiar. Probably because Ensenada is very Americanized as many Americans retire here as the cost of living is lower but is also a stones throw from the States. On the way back to the ship we stopped at a large street market and bought some souvenirs. I also found some Horchata, which I had been looking for since I arrived. Then we went back to the ship for a very late lunch and to relax in the hot tub as we left port. This was a really great experience, a great place to dip your toes in international travel if you are just getting started and want to test yourself before you go someplace less tourist-y or close to home. Of course one day is always a whirlwind and you get but a taste of life elsewhere, but traveling is traveling, no matter how far or for how long. So enjoy every trip, whether it is to a new place in your state or a new country, you can see and learn something new everywhere you go. Thanks for tagging along in Ensenada, a slice of life and mixture of cultures nestled on the coast of Baja California between the Pacific and the mountains that surround it. Have you ever been to Ensenada? If so, leave your favorite story or part of the city in the comments below! Much Love, Jess Hello! This week I thought I would let you in on a little trip my family and I are taking. We are going on a short cruise to Ensenada, Mexico! This post will be about the upcoming trip and the next one will be an update on the trip; how things went, a review of the activities, and some stories.
We are flying into LAX in Los Angeles on Thursday (yep, on Thanksgiving) and getting on our cruise ship the same day. We are taking a Carnival cruise down to Ensenada, which is located in Baja California and is about 67 miles South from the US border. We have ridden Carnival before, and my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin recently took an 8 day Carnival cruise. They are a nice, affordable cruise line, however, the largest complaint is that there is very little variety in the menu onboard. On a short trip (4-5 days or less) this is not a big deal, but for longer trips this lack of variety can become monotonous and unappetizing. For my extended family they became very unimpressed with the menu after their 8 day trip. Our favorite cruise line we have ever taken is Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), they are casual, fun, affordable, have a good menu, shows, and are an all around great time. We enjoyed NCL even more than Royal Caribbean! However, Carnival was the only line offering a trip that left from LA and was for 4 days (so we could all return in time for work on Monday). We will spend 2 days out to sea, one day in port, and 1 day to return to Long Beach Port. While in Ensenada we are taking a Segway tour of the city, then we will have free reign to go shopping, explore, and generally peruse the city. Once we return to Long Beach Port we are taking the Catalina Express out to Catalina Island and spending the day there before we catch our flight back to DIA and home. That's a wrap on the introduction to this trip, be sure to check back in next week for an update and review of the trip! |
AuthorJessica Marie Cunningham - Intentional lifestyle blogger, aspiring author, and podcast host. All things Slow Living, Books, Writing, Art, creativity, Christianity, and personal stories. Archives
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