Que Padre! (How cool!) This is a favorite saying of mine. Another good one is "Eso es Mexico!" meaning "That's Mexico". This is used whenever something breaks or does not go as planned. An example is I can't use my spellcheck here because my blog spellcheck is in Spanish while I'm here.
Oscar is still our favorite bartender in Playa Del Carmen. We call his bar 'Oscar's bar', but it's really called Las Deliciosas and is located on 5th past Constituyentes. The other favorite bartender was on Cozumel, at a little whole-in-the-wall fish-n-chips cafe. His name is Freddie. It is in the central park of San Miguel. Great fried red snapper and crunchy fries . . . the diet is out the window.
Favorite dinner place is La Parrilla. We like the food, the service, and the view of 5th Ave. The best part is the almost continuous Mariachi band standing on the street facing the restaurant. We love the chicken tacos.
Pizza . . . Bar Dello Sport located on 5th and 32nd. Thin crust pizza prepared by Chef Simone, an Italian. As we sat and ate pizza, and drank beer and wine we listened to two tables of Italians waving their arms and talking.
Best live music is a tough one because we couldn't possibly hear 1/3 of the bands here. That being said, for our tastes, we love FAH Restaurante Bar. On 5th, between 8 and 10th. It is completely open air. They pull canvas across the patio when it rains (which is frequently) . . . though that can turn into a circus show in-and-of-itself, especially when the canvas collects the rain and it sags heavy over the guest's heads. 
A waiter takes a folded up chair and pushes up on the canvas to get the water to pour off in massive waterfalls. The whole time this is going on the band continues to play under their meager shelter. Early in the evening they have a one man show with guitar. Later they bring in the full band with a 5-10 minute break. The cervesas are extremely cold. Speaking of cold, the other night I was so visibly cold the owner gave me her satin jacket to ward off the chill in the air. That night we were trapped there for awhile because the downpour wouldn't let up. We would have been soaked, and we had umbrellas. The food's okay, but their menu is hilarious . . . I took a photo. It means "Being fat isn't a sin".
A waiter takes a folded up chair and pushes up on the canvas to get the water to pour off in massive waterfalls. The whole time this is going on the band continues to play under their meager shelter. Early in the evening they have a one man show with guitar. Later they bring in the full band with a 5-10 minute break. The cervesas are extremely cold. Speaking of cold, the other night I was so visibly cold the owner gave me her satin jacket to ward off the chill in the air. That night we were trapped there for awhile because the downpour wouldn't let up. We would have been soaked, and we had umbrellas. The food's okay, but their menu is hilarious . . . I took a photo. It means "Being fat isn't a sin".Joe and I love to check out the hotels wherever we go. The choices of where to stay here is only exceeded by the number of places to eat! Unbelievable variety. If you like massive decadent hotels you will find lots to choose from. If you like it so cheap you have creepy crawly visitors, you'll find it here. For us we still like Playa Palms, our little condo complex the most. The rooms are spacious and have kitchenettes, and balconies or porches. The staff is so friendly and helpful. We have this amazing lady cleaning our room who makes a different design with our towels every day. I have taken photos of them all.
When I wake up the staff is cleaning around the pool and when I go to bed they are still cleaning. The narrow space where the 39 rooms face each other has a winding little swimming pool going right up to the edge of the sand. The beach in front of Playa Palms has so many palm trees and umbrellas it's hard to find a sunny spot. Hammocks are everywhere. If you like camping this is your place because it has the sounds of camping. For example my neighbor just now came out and asked me if he could hook his e-book reader to my computer to charge it. I loaned him my Nook charger. Two couples from the neighboring porch are smoking cigars, playing Rolling Stones, and laughing in that goofy way people do when they are just starting to unwind. They got here this afternoon.
The owners have all been here this week for their annual gathering. We weaseled our way into their party . . . it's an art. One owner showed me his room on the top floor at the very front of the hotel. It is gorgeous, partly because they have such a nice balcony. One by one they are changing all of the windows with triple pane glass to block out the noise.
Wine opened: Twisted Oak Petite Syrah . . . Smooth with heavy plum/berry notes
Well, I'll write later, Heidi
