Around the World with LG
LG... Life's Good
Photo Blog: Playa del Carmen
After a heavy year of non-stop travel, Angel and I finally have some time to ourselves for a well needed break. Our destination of choice? Mexico's incredible Playa del Carmen, located just under an hour south of Cancun.
I've been instagramming like crazy over the past week because this place is just so beautiful! If you're looking for a vacation destination, or even a temporary home to get back online, then why not join over 60 other American poker players who moved here since Black Friday? Imagine having all of this in your backyard!
We spent a month here last year also, so I'm starting to feel like a local. If you are contemplating a move, hit me up in the comments below and I'd be more than happy help you out.
That's it for this week, thanks for stopping by. I'm sure I'll have plenty more next week!
LG xx
Three Weeks in Paradise
Since Black Friday, so many US poker players have been on the move, with a handful making their way to Mexico's Mayan Riviera. Most North Americans know it for Spring Break's ultimate destination: Can Cun; but just 45 minutes south is a little beachside town known as Playa del Carmen (which Chad Holloway wrote all about on PokerNews recently).
That's where I spent three weeks with my boy, just livin' the dream by the crystal clear blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A good friend of Angel's, JC Alvarado, has lived her for two years and Shaun Deeb just joined him a few months ago. Those guys left for Europe during WSOPE and EPT San Remo, so Angel and I snapped up Shaun's empty penthouse by the beach. Seriously, it was heaven on earth.
On our first weekend, Angel took me down to Tulum for my early birthday spoiling. We stayed at the Ana y Jose Hotel and Spa. Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing!!! I'm going to let the pictures do the talking.
Tulum's main feature is the ancient Mayan Ruins. I just loved visiting this place. The energy was incredible, and obviously so was the setting!
For two of the weeks there I was going to school learning Spanish. I absolutely loved being "back at school" and that's given me an extra urge to study again. But first I have to nail this language which is going to take a loooooong time. I was expecting to be studying with mostly northern american's, but surprisingly of the 15 or so people that I met, only two were American! There was such a range of cultures, from Irish to German to Swiss to Aussie.
I felt like a bit of a local after three weeks living in Playa del Carmen, and while I obviously haven't tried everything, I of course came away with some of my top places of what I did try. Here they are:
• Best Place for Breakfast: Green Box has the best bagels I think I've ever tasted and yummy freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. It's an awesome little shack sitting on the corner of Calle 38 Norte and 5ta Avenida.
• Best Place for Lunch: Fri-Das on 5ta Avenida near the corner of Calle Corazon. Everything we had there was amazing.
• Best Place for Dinner: Byblos on Calle 14 Norte and 5ta Avenida. Surprisingly this was right out the front of my Spanish school and I had no idea! I never gave the place any credit as it looks really basic, but when JC arrived back in town he took us to his all-time fav restaurant in town which he goes to religiously, and just as he promised, the food was incredible. Seriously, incredible.
• Best School to Learn Spanish: IMAC at International House - located on the corner of Calle 14 Norte and 5ta Avenida - stunning location!
• Best Facial: There's a little spa tucked away in the middle of two central resorts just off 5ta Avenida - Mosquito Blue and La Tortuga Hotel & Spa. There's just a couple of spa rooms and it feels like they're hidden inside a little secret garden. Most importantly, the facial was awesome, and that's coming from a well experienced opinion!
• Best Hang Out: Canibal Royal at Grand Coco Bay, it was our "local hangout" and is clearly on my list for the obv reasons displayed in the photo below 
Next time you're planning a holiday, or perhaps if you're looking for a new poker-playing-home, then I highly recommend Playa del Carmen. Incredible place!
LG xx
