Beach Tales

Our first day at Dreams La Romana started with a delightful breakfast of eggs, fresh pineapple, and a croissant filled with chocolate.  Yum!  We were scheduled to meet with a rep for orientation and to confirm our return transportation to the airport, so we had breakfast at the buffet.  Breakfast was definitely the meal that the buffet did properly.

The rep didn't show, so we ended up talking with a representative from VIP Tours.  He was pretty straight to the point, and went over several excursion options.  We decided to sign up for the Santo Domingo tour as that had the most history to offer.  I really couldn't think about paying to go to another beach when the one we were at was beautiful.

blue skies + white sand + clear water = perfection

The water was so clear that I could still see my toes when shoulder deep!

Once breakfast was over and all necessary business had been attended to, we headed to the beach.  The weather was perfect.  I was good about applying some sunscreen, but Jtl opted to skip it and ended up with quite the sunburn.  We spent several hours relaxing in the sun and took advantage of the beach wait service for a couple of drinks and bottles of water.  The biggest complaint I had that day was the bees.  They were everywhere.  Luckily, they weren't quick to sting.

This guy was recruiting people to play beach volleyball.  I passed. 

Cute little guy

That evening got off to a bit of a rough start as we were informed that we would not be allowed to dine at the French a la carte restaurant because Jtl was wearing flip flops.  Apparently trucker hats and tank tops are acceptable, but leather flip flops are never allowed for men.  This was a bit ridiculous, but led to a bit of fun for me as I teased him about his running shoes with his pants at dinner the rest of the week.

Dinner at Seaside

Since we couldn't eat at the restaurant we had planned to, we decided to give Seaside a try.  It was a lovely location, and I was pleased to dine outside.  If there were one thing that I would change it would be ordering a glass of red wine prior to being seated at our table.  The staff is trained to assist women with their chairs, and I ended up with red wine on my white dress when they bumped the chair into me.  Ugh.  I was so frustrated.  Thankfully, the housekeeping staff took it and was able to get the stain out.

BOO!!!

The next day started much like the previous one, but this time I was headed to the beach by myself  while Jtl stayed out of the sun.  I was able to read quite a bit of the John Grisham book that I had with me and just enjoyed a bit of quiet by myself.

We spent the afternoon eating lousy lunch at the buffet (still hadn't realized that Seaside served lunch too!), and then just relaxed a bit.

hahahaha!!!

Dinner that night was at Portofino (the Italian a la carte restaurant).  This meal was amazing.  I had a cup of minestrone soup and chicken parmesan.  The menu said that the chicken would be served with gnocchi, but it came with tortellini instead.  It was good, but I would have gone with the tenderloin were it not for the gnocchi.  Jtl did order the tenderloin, and it was perfect.  For dessert we enjoyed tiramisu.  Yum!

After dinner hours were spent watching the Olympics in the lobby.  It was another wonderful day in paradise.