Old San Juan

A few days in beautiful Old San Juan. There is a striking resemblance between Old San Juan and New Orleans, apparently due to Spanish settlement in both cities—San Juan from 1508 by Ponce de León and New Orleans from 1763 to 1803 when France gave up control of Louisiana to Spain to pay a war debt. The influence is most apparent in the architecture.

We rented a cozy little two bedroom apartment right in the heart of it all.

Old San Juan is famous for its blue cobblestone streets. The original cobblestones were cast from iron slag, which is the waste from iron smelting. They were brought as ballast in the bottoms of European merchant ships in the 1800s.

Plaza del Quento Centenario

Completed in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's landing in the Americas—surrounded by restored buildings from the Spanish colonial era in the 16th and 17th centuries.

La Bombonera—a favorite childhood place and memory for Diana—famous for its Mallorcas; a buttery bread that is grilled and sprinkled with powdered sugar and filled with your choice of ham, egg, and cheese. Not to mention, fresh squeezed orange juice and flavorful coffee. Delicious!

Exploring the streets.

Discovering a new brew on the way back to Aguadilla…