We have returned from paradise...

... and it is so cruel to be back!

Well, not so for me. I'm still on vacation. But M. went off to work with perhaps less than total enthusiasm this morning.

Anyways, we had an amazing time. The resort, the El Dorado Royale was located just outside Cancun. We wanted a simple experience, we weren't really there to see Mexico but to just relax and be in one place. So, that's what we did. We stayed at our all-inclusive resort, we lay out on the beach and by the pool, we drank tropical drinks and enjoyed trying out the resort's restaurants and walking away without paying more than a dollar to tip our waiter. All-inclusives are wonderful like that.

Here are some highlights from our trip:









The view from our balcony of the resort, looking left.














A view from the huts we were mostly lucky enough to grab on the beach.

Bougainvillea, I think.

Yep, I celebrated my birthday in style! The resort staff had been well trained in the art of food presentation. Everything was beautifully and artistically arranged and decorated.















Another flower picture... no idea what this one is but it was pretty.














Hanging at the swing bar - M. and I found this bar to be the most fun to people watch at night. There sure were some characters!





All in all, a vacation well spent. In theory, this would be the part of the post where I announce my intention to get back into my kitchen and get cooking. I would actually love to do that, but I'm off to Florida today. Yes, today. Yes, we got back from Mexico last night. I'm turning into a travelling jetsetter. Actually, this is not exactly a fun trip. My father is currently overseas for a year on a diplomatic posting, and my mother is living alone in Florida. A few days after his departure in early July, our family dog was diagnosed with lung cancer. She's in a bad way, and I don't feel my mom should have to cope with putting her down alone. So I'm off to Florida to help her through that.

It may seem odd to some, but my family values pets tremendously. Despite our travelling lifestyle, and my father's job moving us from continent to continent every couple years, our pets always came with us. In our tiny travelling nuclear family, our pets played an important and stable role. This dog, Trekka, joined our family in Cuba. She was a stray that followed my mom and our family dog at the time home from a walk. She's had a good eleven years with our family visiting Bolivia, Venezuela and now Florida in that time. And so, I feel it important to visit her one last time and help my mother cope with being without a dog for the first time in 30 odd years.

I will of course take the camera, and hopefully have a chance to take over my mother's kitchen to try out some recipes. So.... stay tuned!