I just got back from an amazing trip to Puerto Rico with a couple of my best friends – Jocelyn and Jennifer. We met in medical school and have pretty much been BFFs ever since. (And our weekly “friend time” is pretty much the ONLY thing I miss about medical school!) Jocelyn and I finished residency last year and Jennifer finished in June, so this trip was kind of like a graduation present to ourselves..haha! Since we are finally “real” doctors now!!! 😉 We splurged and stayed at a 5-star hotel(!!) in San Juan, the Condado Vanderbilt (highly recommend!). We went to the El Yunque rainforest, night kayaked in the bioluminescent bay (MAGICAL!), explored Old San Juan and its historical forts, lounged by the pool/beach drinking fruity frozen drinks, paddle boarded, watched the entire first season of “Stranger Things” on Netflix (ha!), and in true Kendra-travel-style went on a food tour! =)
We chose a Sunset Walk & Taste Tour and it was perfect! Walking food tours are my favorite – this one had a nice pace and a good mix of food and historical/cultural information. Our first stop was Deaverdura for some traditional Puerto Rican food. We tried the pork, rice, beans, and different fruit juices (with or without rum). I tried the soursop and it was delicious! The pork was tender and the beans had so much flavor. The tour was off to a good start =).
Our next stop was Stuffed Avocado Shop. It was kind of like the Puerto Rican version of Chipotle. You start with an avocado and then add all kinds of toppings – rice, proteins, vegetables, etc. It was really good, and Jocelyn loved it so much that we actually ate there twice! =) We tried the beef on the food tour and I tried the chipotle chicken the second time. Both were delicious!
Our third stop was Choco Bar. We had ceviche on tostones (fried plantains) and a frozen chocolate drink. I love ceviche (see these posts – here, here), but I had never tried ceviche on plantains before. YUM! And the frozen chocolate drink was the bomb dot com – like frozen hot chocolate with brownie batter around the glass! So good!
Our fourth stop was more dessert – popsicles from Senor Paleta with a killer view of the sunset! I got strawberry cheesecake and Jocelyn and Jennifer both tried the chocolate brownie. It’s so hot in Puerto Rico, ice cream is a must!
Our fifth and final stop was Club Spritz for some risotto with sausage. The depth of flavor was phenomenal, and again the view was dreamy =).
I’m not sure I’d ever really had Puerto Rican food before this trip, but I definitely enjoyed it! I think I ate more plantains in the one week I was there than my entire life combined before the trip! And so much rice!! Nothing I tried was overly spicy, but everything had really good flavor. I could totally move to Puerto Rico and be just fine ;).
Here are some highlights of other things I ate while there (non-food tour) and some scenery pictures. Puerto Rico is beautiful and pretty much the perfect vacation spot!
Beautiful sunrise from our balcony.
Bring me all the strawberry daiquiris! 😉
I didn’t realize how much seafood there would be in Puerto Rico. I ate my fair share!
We had breakfast at our hotel every morning and it was pretty much epic. These overnight oats with coconut milk, yogurt, peanut butter, banana, blueberries, and granola…yum! Although, I did almost overdose on peanut butter…didn’t realize that was possible?! Haha! Look at that thick layer of peanut butter though!
I had this toast with herb cream cheese, avocado, salmon, egg, and alfalfa TWICE! That’s right. I did a repeat. It was THAT good! The best breakfast I had all trip!
Waterfall in the rainforest!
Looks like a postcard! 
These girls have been there for me when life was good and when life wasn’t so good. We only see each other a few times a year, and we don’t talk every day. But when we get together, we pick up right where we left off. Life is better with friends and I’m thankful for mine!
P.S. – we are totally making this girls trip a yearly tradition! Where should we go next??=)
