Vibes Post

Postings about vibes around the world. Starting from a coffee place in the morning, via vintage shopping to late night bar hopping, drinking and live shows.

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Hosteria Del Mar & San Juan's Old Town

Our first day in San Juan we wandered around in the beautiful old town of San Juan. The shopping wasn't so interesting but the beautiful old castles were amazing with their history and we found some nice bars and cafés.

Cafi Cultura on Calle San Francisco had good and huge ice coffees and even though we didn't feel like eating we noticed a few vegetarian really nice options on their menu. Even with tofu! 

We stayed at Hosteria Del Mar the first night, a sweet little guest house just by the water front. The staff was nice and helped us finding directions for our drive the next day and gave us tips about the local bakery Kasalta - Obama's favorite apparently! The place was nice but a bit over prized. But we dare to say that Manchego on a grilled sandwich should be trending in Europe soon. 

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SURFERS BEACH, SHACKS, DOMES & THE POOL BAR, Puerto Rico

We tried to go snorkeling on Shacks one day but there was too much sea weed and sharp rocks in the water for us to enjoy it. We went to Surfers Beach for a swim instead. Unfortunately there were evil Sea Urchins everywhere (!) so our feet were not very lucky there either. If you go, bring your bathing shoes if you got any. And surf. The place looked awesome for that purpose of course. Nearby there's a surf shop called Surf Zone where you'll find anything you need related to surf or skate.  http://surfzonepuertorico.com The next day we went to Domes for a Volcom Surf Competition. It stroke us how the whole family is included in the life style of surfing, kids, parents, teenagers, all gathered at the beach, surfing for fun or competing in different age classes. Hamburgers, smoothies and cold drinks for sale and the annoying ice cream truck came by of course, hah. The beach itself was nice with soft sand too. 

As we got hungry we decided to visit The Pool Bar in the lovely area of Puntas, Rincon. They have a brunch/lunch menu with sandwiches and salads until 4pm then they switch into sushi. The bar and kitchen are two separate businesses so all drinks are ordered in the bar. We had a nice mediterranean pesto sandwich that was served with potato or fruit salad and a few good beers in between a swim or two in the pool. Great atmosphere and sweet staff. Later the same night there was surf related party and as we left more and more people came. Pool Bar is simply a great place that seemed to attract a good crowd too. We wanna go back!

The Pool Bar Road 413 Sandy Beach, Puntas, Rincon http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g264369-d1643497-Reviews-The_Pool_Bar-Rincon_Puerto_Rico.html

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Gozalandia Waterfall in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico

If you feel like doing an exciting hike you should visit the Gozalandia jungle for a swim in the lake by the beautiful waterfall. On weekends it's often crowded so try to go on a weekday. If you dare you can swim under water into a cave and jump from the cliffs. The walk to the waterfall from the parking lot is like 10 mins but extremely slippery and exhausting on the way up, so bring training shoes or go barefoot like we did. So, don't bring your grandparents if their balance or physical condition isn't outstanding!

How to get there? It's kind of hard to find the way as there are no signs but if you drive from Rincon or Isabela you follow 111 towards San Sebastian and Moca. Just before San Sebastian there are some bigger shops like Sears and when you see the second Walgreen store, close to a stop light, you turn left on a smaller road that leads you to a bridge on you right, the bridge has white pavement and yellow guard rails, you go over the river and follow the same road for 5 minutes until you see a white metal gate on your left. Enter the gate and follow the small road, first down the steep hill then up again to a parking area (bring 5 dollar in cash). 

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The One Ten Thai (and The Beer Box)

So after a few lazy days doing nothing, we decided it was time to discover Isabelas nightlife. Conclusion: Not very much to discover. Instead, we took the car driving around with a new mixtape, and stumbled upon a really cool place - The One Ten Thai. It doesn't even have a sign, you pretty much just have to look for a nice wooden patio next to a red two floor house, with people raising their glasses, smiling. We parked our shiny car (yes, rental, no one in Isabela drives a new fancy vehicle) and walked in. A nice bartender gave us a few options and we choose a glass each of the house wine, some local Merlot. There are four areas in One Ten Thai; the bar, the restaurant, the patio, the space in front and since all the first three options were crowded, we sat in the front and watched the planes depart from the Rafael Hernandez Airport. Locals passed in and out, and apart from us it was only a group of American baseball fans that stood out. Checked the menu briefly and the pesto pizza with goat cheese seemed like our favorite, although the menu is, yes, mostly thai with some vegetarian options. 

Driving home, we decided to make a quick stop at the grocery store - and next to it, although closed, was a little hip place called The Beer Box, with adverts for craft beer tastings +looked really cosy and nice. Only place in PR with no Medalla?

So - getting here - both places are on the 110 next to the airport, One Ten Thai on the right side just before the gas station, and The Beer Box on the left right after (neighbour: Econo).

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Ocean Avenue Guesthouse

As one might guess, we are very frequent airbnb-guests, but not this time! Our dear friend from Chicago told us that his cousin were friends with the best surfer dudes in PR who also rented out rooms in their house. What we did? Called 'em up of course. 

The owner of the house, Josie, informed us that he had three options, and we choose the smallest one, a nice studio with a refurnished bathroom. J gave us excellent directions to his house in Isabela, and when we rolled up through the gate we saw.... the Caribbean Ocean in front of us. It has a huge garden, free bananas, a 6-hole golf course, a tightrope for surf balance practicing, two cats and probably new friends after having a rum drink or two on the patio.

Send us an e-mail if you want to get in touch with the most awesome landlord ever.

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Where we are now? Puerto Rico, the Carribean.

So one year has passed since NOLA. Since then we have visited the delightful city of Barcelona, among others, but we are returning there in two months and will give you updated info then. Now, where were we? In Puerto Rico, this lovely little gem that people seems to have forgotten about. Continue reading for some heads-up from over here.

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the Hi-Ho Lounge

A NoLa favorite! Good shows, crowded but friendly, weird, freaky, ugly in a good way, open-minded, good location bla bla bla. Saw Japanther play there plus Jean-Eric for SXSW pre-party. One block from Siberia.

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Siberia

More punk than anyone will ever become. At least in our country, hohoh. Quite expensive (12) but fair enough for 4 bands - Toxic Holocaust and more. Cheap wine for 5. Pool table. One bathroom only for chicks. Nice red sofa. Superrelaxed atmosphere. Good streetdrinking vibes.

Came back a week later - the place was empty. So, check their site before going. st claude 2227.

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Carousel Piano Bar & Lounge

Don't go to 214 Royal Street! It's like coming back to your high school prom or worse.

Do go if you are 38+, loves Banana Republic, old 80's hits in the shower, fake Fendibags.

The bar didn't even spin during our time there. Booh.

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Frenchmen St

Yes, we DID go to Frenchmen St. And Yes, D.b.a and Spotted Cat were our first stops. D.b.a wasn't a blast, but we loved the little catbar across the street. Saw some awesome singers in the middle of the night. Came back. Great singers & musicians again. Just like in Treme. 

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Prytania Theatre

Well, we never got this far on St Charles..... but that was due to that the Clockwork Orange wasn't showing anymore. But go see a movie here if you have to time, everyone was saying good things about the place and the cafe there seems nice. Might be worth a walk or 1.25.

5339 Prytania St.

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Abita Brewing Company

We are not beer professionals, but we tried a few of the beers from this local brewery. Purple Haze was good, and the Strawberry one must be a hit in the summer. Got them really cheap at Whole Foods on Magazine too.

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Fatoush

We only had some tastings from this place, but it was truly a delight for vegetarians, and the full menu looks awesome. It has mediterranean & persian food, smoothies, health juices, kosher & halal grill plus Pide.

Located on 2372 St Claude. Pls let us know if you've had a full meal there.

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Magazine Street

Well, really not much to say. Beautiful street in Garden District. Nice vintage shops, coffee & tasty food. Walking friendly. Handicapped - not so friendly. This is the place for gentrified hipsters.

A Vietnamese Rest served good "Pad Thai" (help us! we forgot their name!) and the Revival Outpost (pic) was a highlight as well.

Try Mona's café for good persian dishes. Yummy veggie stuff. And oh! The Rum House for good drinks when sun sets.

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Delachaise

Our new friend Megan told us Delachaise was a must-do, so we went there on our last day in the Lower Garden district - it's on the corner of St Charles and Delachaise. 

It looks really pretty on their website, but when you get there, it's lots of traffic and a drug-dealing sort of place (gas station) next to it. But no worries, we had a really good time anyways and the place is cosy inside as well, if you're not a patio-lover like us.

Wine list were huge, but no recommendations on the board, so it took us like 20 min to go through the menu. Finally settled for a Merlot from Oregon, which was reasonably priced and well temperatured. We went on a tuesday, which was smooth since the place is supposed to be packed on weekend. 

So: Go here if you love wine, patios & nice lightning.

Don't go if you are into beer and basketball. 

ps. the food looked really good as well. 

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Clever + Cork & Bottle

We just met the guys at a winetasting in City Park, so we haven't been to the actual place. But if you go there, say hi to Dean from the swedish girls. Their wine was supertasty, and they have free winetasting on thursdays at 5 pm. Clever is the bar (3700 Orleans Ave) and Cork & Bottle is the name of the company.

Ask for the red ones that are especially handpicked by Dean. They were yummy. One Cab Sav and one Merlot.

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Carmo

This little tropical gem did we stumble over at the Gambit Food Revue, where they were one of the exhibitors. It's located in the Development District (527 Julia Street), a pretty boring area with lots of not-so-nice art galleries.

Well, the food at the revue was so good we had to find the actual place. We still don't know if it was open or not when we ate there. It's was only staff hanging around, some eating, some blogging and one guy locked the door when we got our food. 

But we had cold noodle salad + rice with tropical fruits and it was totally ok, we would say good if you're vegetarian. Wouldn't go there everyday though. But the staff was friendly, it was superclean and.... that's about it!