Top 10 things to do for New Year’s Eve in the Riviera Maya
So what are you doing for New Years. Well the Riviera Maya is the place to be and since we have moved here, New Years has never been an issue as there are soooo many things to do and see. There is something for everyone and we have listed some of our personal choices as to what we think people may want to do.
1. Dinner at Cocina 38 with their Prix Fixe Menu for the evening. Very seldom can you go wrong with the great creations of Chef Juan Diego and his team. Located at 5th and 38th, this is out of the regular party zone and off the beaten track a bit. Their wine and food paring selections for the evening will make your meal a New Years Eve dinner to remember.
2. Beach parties to bring in the new year can be found at Zenzi, Cocomaya and Fusion
3. BMP Festival starts Dec 31 and runs until January 9, 2011. This DJ fest is in its 3rd year and proves over and over again that it produces a great show and great DJ talent
4. People watching right in our front reception all night long. For 4 years now we have had some of the greatest little get togethers watching all the people going out for New Years. The entertainment is some of the best, you don’t have to go anywhere and everyone has a great time.
5. Dirty Martini Lounge New Years Eve party with special host Greco and his great staff! People travel from Texas, Holland, Canada and other worldwide locations just to hang with the best on new Years Eve. Since Greco moved to Playa del Carmen over 15 years ago, he has been the main New Years attraction in the city. You will have to come and join him at his bar the Dirty Martini to find out why. You wont be disappointed and you can combine this with the previous fun thing to do as the Dirty Martini is located on the property of the hotel.
6. Take a walk on the beach and get away from it all! This is why you took a vacation right so start the new year off as you intented, relaxed, happy and free of stress.
7. Hang out at 12 and 1st with hundreds of other people who want to bring in the new year together. It is fun, busy and crazy and makes you feel like you in a warm Times Square in New York. No coats required just yourself and want to have a good time.
8. Have Dinner at one of the many restaurants located at the Gran Velas or Mayakoba. These large resorts are open to the public and offer a very different dining experience for the visitor. Their Chefs table is price fixe menu and put together by their in house chefs. Reservations needed in advance and we can book this for you. Just ask our receptionists to help with the arrangements
9. Join the many people who live here in a celebration in from of the municipal building in the heart of Playa del Carmen. Throughout the year there are many cultural and musical events in the zocalo located on 20th ave between 8th and 10th street, and New Years Eve will prove to be one of those great nights put on by the city!
10. Bring in the new year with friends, and it really wont matter where you are. You could three of the above suggestions throughout the evening, or just have a glass of champagne somewhere, as the most important part for you is who you share the new year with.
We wish everyone the best for the holidays and hope you stop by to say hi on the 31st. No matter what you do or where you end up, know that you will always have a place at Hotel Tropical Casablanca in the new year. Everyday feels like New years eve when you are on vacation and staying with friends.
Riviera Maya travel app-SKYPE!
Yes Skype has an app but it has a trick to it as I have found out that the Iphone and Ipad are not created equal. If you are not aware of Skype as a program, it is a telecommunications program that is used by millions of users to communicate via your computer either free of charge, if you do skype user to skpye user or a small fee for skype to land lines. We have been using it for years and have found it predictable, useful and economical.
When i first bought my iphone I wanted to find an app for longdistance calls. I tried and tried to use skype but could not seem to get it to work. then a little birdie told me how to use it. The only way you can download and use the Skype app is via a WIFI connection. If you attempt to download or use skype using your 3G or Edge connection, you will not be permitted to use it. Once I tried this trick, i was home free! Skype was accessible once I used this little trick.
It makes sense considering that your iphone is a phone…why would any cellphone supplier want you to be able to save on long distance calls.
BUT the IPAD IS NOT A PHONE!!! So you can download skype on your 3g system, or edge or home wifi and you can use skype with no limitations. There is a built in microphone and speakers and it is truly the coolest thing ever!!! When you are travelling it will make sense to use a wifi connection. After testing it at home today, I am going to say I am impressed. Your savings on long distance phone calls while way may just pay for your ipad!
This freebie is a must have and I will encourage you to get a skype account, upload the app as described above depending on your smart device and talk away!
Beach Book INTERVIEW! Oprah and Jonathan Franzen discussing FREEDOM
There is a long story behind this book and the relationship between Jonathan Frazen and Oprah. I watched this video this week and decided that this would be a much better overview of the book ‘Freedom’ than I could ever give. It is also very interesting to see what the author thinks and says about their book. Mr. Franzen does a great job of speaking about his intentions, thoughts, writing and the book in this interview.
As a backgrounder, in 1991 Mr. Frazen wrote a great novel, The Corrections, which became an Oprah Pick when it was released. Mr. Frazen declined to be on Oprah’s show as he is not a media guy and once you watch the video he does go into his inability to understand the need for marketing and media. He is a writer and is not comfortable with self promotion or media coverage. Back in 1991, Oprah freaked out, to put it lightly, when she heard that her Oprah Pick author would not come on the show. There was more media coverage for the book based on this professional faux pax then there was for the book. No…one….says…..NO….to……OPRAH.! Or at least no one but Jonathan Frazen.
Fast forward to 2010. Mr. Frazen releases another book, Freedom, which took him 9 years to write. He is awarded by Time Magazine, the award and label “the Great American Novelist”, is read by Obama himself while on vacation and again Oprah has him as her Oprah Pick….and this time Jonathan did not say NO to Oprah. But he does deal with her very well in this interview. the interview becomes more interesting when you know this background information and Oprah really does ham it up a bit.
You will see the interesting relationship 9 years later between Oprah and Mr. Frazen. He is a brilliant writer and I have enjoyed all of his novels. He is media ackward, but he does a great job in this interview. His books are tough and sometimes dark, lengthy and thought provoking. He does deserve the title, the GREAT American Novelist and has earned his status as a great writer.
Hold Please!!!
We all dislike it when we are put on hold, and we apologize for our ‘on hold’ status on the blog. We are taking a breather, re-assessing, deciding what is the best content for our readers, and YES, we are building a plan….and plans take a bit of time.
There is this great thought out there that when you live in paradise, plans are not needed, things just happen, work flows, words flow and in some cases, beer flows.
To make all of our lives easier, as we do want to make life simpler, we find that plans are the way to go….and you have the chance, if you wish, to put ideas in our heads and help us format those plans if you wish. WE are open to hearing from you what you would like us to report on , speak about, update you on or just ramble on about. We write for YOU! And would love to hear what you would like us to inform you about!
Put a comment on the blog, send us a message, email us at info@tropicalcasablanca.com or on our facebook page you can send us a message or comment. We are even getting better on Twitter @tropcasablanca tweet us!
This is all about YOU so let us know.
Cool App for Video Calls while on vacation! TANGO App
Here is a very cool app for smart phones! Tango enables mobile phone user to have video calls and can be used over all smart phones. That is right an Iphone user can conduct a video call with an Android user over 3G! The calls are of good quality and you can see who you are talking to!!
Tango lets you use two cameras to show yourself and your surroundings. It also works well on phones with only a rear camera, such as iPhone 3GS or Motorola Droid, briefly show somebody something around you during an audio call instead of face-to-face chat. When you are sitting on the beach and want to show your friends what a great time you are having on the Riviera Maya, is there a better way to do it?
