Exploring the streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

What a beautiful area of the city, rich in old world charm and architecture. We spent three days walking the narrow bricked streets, visiting the sights, taking in the culture and sampling the cuisine. After arriving back on the mainland from Vieques, we settled into our suite at the EL Convento Hotel. The El Convento Hotel was great for our family of five. They have a nice courtyard with a bar, restaurant and plenty of lounge seating. There is also a beautiful rooftop patio with a pool and hot tub! No need for a car around here, all that is needed is a good pair of walking shoes to get out and explore. Much the opposite of Vieques, here the streets are bustling with people, music playing, shops full and restaurants open until late into the night.

Streets of blue brick? Yes, we were wondering the same thing once we started exploring the city. As we stood in the middle of the street, staring down, a resident walked up and explained this phenomenon to us. He told us the Spanish would load their ships with bricks to use as a ballast as they sailed to Puerto Rico. The ships would dump the bricks, load their goods and sail back to Spain. The seawater/air caused a reaction with the brick and they turned blue. The piles of bricks were later used for the streets in San Juan!

Our history lesson continued on with a self guided tour of the 500 year old Cathedral de San Juan. What ornate beauty and craftsmanship these artists achieved with their hands and tools of the time.

An all day event was visiting the two forts that protected the city for centuries, Castillo San Felipe del Morro and Castillo de san Cristobal. It was pretty amazing to walk around and think of the planning and engineering it took to build these forts over a 150 year time span.

Did you know San Juan is the birthplace of the Pina Colada? Since 1963 Barrachina Restaurant has been serving up these delicious drinks for all those who stop by. Not only is the Pina Colada delicious, so is the rest of their menu! For breakfast we were turned on to a local favorite, Mallorca’s, for their fresh pastries and delicious Pan de Mallorca, a type of sweet bread. During our evenings out we visited another local favorite Deshistoria Birra & Empandas, what a fun place to sample some local cuisine. For our departing dinner we chose the El Asador. What a great experience tasting their steak, seafood and rice dishes in the privacy of our very own dinning room…..