Gav and the Singing Basque Man

Here's one of the guys that sang for me. Who or what are Basque people? Check it out for yourself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_people

More Firsts! Meeting Basque People on My Birthday!

I started off my birthday weekend with a family party at my house. In addition to the fantabulous food (beef stroganoff, squash, and salad) my mom so lovingly made, we played the game, "Left, Right, Center." And the winner of all the money?... Monisa, the other birthday girl, lucky dog. Well despite my bad luck, it was so entertaining to watch my family act like they were about to win the lottery every time the last dollar headed their way. My poor neighbors had to hear all the loud commotion spilling from my garage/dance floor/party hall. I'm sure I'll get a strongly worded letter from the association for it. So worth it though!

And...I can't forget to give a shout out to the family for making me laugh while they dressed up in the Mexican fiesta garb I had left over from Kimi's party! You guys crack me up! I'll always remember this birthday.

So onto Saturday night on my birthday weekend...

While at a party at Kimi's brother's house...

Kimi: Oh what's this?
John: It's Basque cheese. It's soooo good!
Kimi: Oh Marlene is Basque!
John: Impossible! There are no Basques, they are extinct.

And thus began the conversation about my Basque lineage and the decision to have my birthday dinner with my friends at a Basque-French restaurant in Chino, California. We had a family style dinner complete with chicken, beef, salad, lentil soup and yes, french fries. Oh my goodness, the food was so good. We chowed down faster than the Basque people could corral some sheep into the fold. The restaurant is quaint and looks a bit like you've stepped into a time warp with the wood-panel walls and all, but who cares when there's plenty of good food and great service.

The highlights of the night?... no, not hanging out in the Regal Begal looking lounge, but rather getting serenaded by two Basque men in the unique Euskara (official Basque) language. And, in honor of my request to not give me the usual bday gifts, I got a coffee mug from each of my friends accompanied by a unique story. Rita, Jason, Gav, Kimi, Rod, Chris, Shyla, and tall guy really out did themselves. It was a laughter filled night to remember!

And for the grand finale...
On Sunday morning, my mom, dad and I went to breakfast and at night I headed to the Carrie Underwood concert with Kristi. I have to say, Carrie Underwood is such a talented performer. My favorite part?... no not watching the two drunk girls with bad hair swaying and belting out every song... it was when Carrie sang her version of "Paradise City." Man! She rocked the house. I also have to mention the opening act, Little Big Town. Their powerful county/blues vocals blew us away.

All in all, this was the best birthday ever. Two big thumbs up!

Be sure to try the family style dinner at the Basque place sometime!

Centro Basco
(909) 628-9014
13432 Central Ave, Chino, CA
Get Directions

Just an old pic of White Water Rafting

I finally got some of the pics that Kimi sent. I almost forgot all the fun things I actually did this summer.

At the Ruins in Cancun and Bad Hair

Lucky for me (and you) this pic was taken from far away. Think about it people. I was in Cancun, a VERY humid place, I have naturally curly hair, AND I pretty much had run outta mouse by the fourth day I was there. For the last portion of the trip, my hair could be described as big, big, big, and outta control. I tried tying it down, and did my best, but boy I looked hideous! You should try finding a decent bottle of mouse in the tiny, dusty pharmacias of Mexico; nearly impossible! As I was feverishly hunting down some sort of hair control product, I did happen upon a can of the Loreal FX Studio Invisi spray, Extra Fuerte for 55 pesos (5 dollars and 50 cents). For those of you not fortunate to have experienced this product, let me just say that it is officially the worst hair product known to modern man. It did work for a few hours on the day of the wedding, but by the reception time, I was a mess. Ah well, when it comes to hair like mine, it's live and learn my friends, live and learn.

Tortillas y Iguanas

Here's more firsts.

Gotta love iguanas that love tortillas! After Cozumel and the Mayan Riviera, we went to Cancun for a tour of the Mayan ruins, some crazy zip lining through the jungle, and repelling into the cenotes (caves). By this portion of the trip, the four of us friends met up with Rita and Jason. This of course created a problem for our tour guide Tristan because when we are all together, we can't stop laughing. Poor Tristan, he never had a chance of getting in his ecological lecture on stalactite and stalagmite formations in the Mexican caves. No lecture for us! We were too busy pretending we were pirates looking for treasure and acting like we were in the Little Mermaid movie.

After all the zip-lining and such, we also went to a zoo and got to hold baby alligators, wrap snakes around our necks, and feed monkeys. The only part I hated about this was the crazy mosquitos. Come on people, I don't care what bug spray you buy, there are no survivors after visiting the wild animal zoo in Mexico. I'm happy I did it, but I don't recommend it. Every time I get sick now, I think I have West Nile. Muy scary!

Laughter on the Beach

This is just us cracking up at something on the beach. No idea what was funny.

Wedding in Mexico

Here's another first! After deep sea fishing in Cozumel, we headed to the Mayan Riviera, to stay at a posh resort for Shelia and Kris's wedding. Yes, this is my first wedding in Mexico so I'm counting it. Not only was the local perfecto, the wedding itself was simple and beautiful.

If you don't mind the very odd employees that don't know how to translate the word "no" into the spanish term, "no" then you'd be just fine here. The place is huge and absolutely beautiful! If you're going to the Mayan Riviera and want a big all inclusive resort to stay at, I recommend it. Two big thumbs up!

Barceló Maya Palace
Barceló Premium
Discover the opulence of Barceló’s newest project on the Yucatan Peninsula in the dazzling Mayan Riviera, located on the most impressive beach in the area. The hotel was newly opened in..

Dinner in Cozumel Anyone?

Cozumel!


Um, let's see mis amigos, since I’ve been slacking so much, I’m having to go back into mi cabeza to remember the details of my rather amazing summer. Here’s two more things to add to my list of firsts: visiting Cozumel and deep-sea fishing.

After arriving for the fist time ever in Cozumel, via a big ferryboat complete with a live Mexican/American Rock/oldies band, we checked into an old, somewhat questionable hotel for three lazy days of R & R.

All I have to say is Aye Carumba! Next time, we need to phone ahead and warn that tiny little Mexican island before we get there since I think we ate every last big of tasty Mexican cuisine we could find. I’ll have to consider sending a donation to the island now that we’ve depleted their food supply.

Other than eating and more eating, I went fishing all day on a chartered boat in the crystal waters off the coast of Cozumel with two amazing tour guides and four of the greatest friends a girl can have. I have to admit; I was worried when Cathy and Kimi both got seasick on the way to out to sea. That’s okay though because after Cathy caught the first big tuna fish, and the tour guide cut it up right on the boat and made quesadillas and the freshest ceviche we’ve ever had, all was right with the world.

While on the boat I caught a big tuna fish myself. It was actually kind of tough because I have the arm muscles of a gold fish lacking oxygen. I still did it, yeah me! Even better was watching Kimi reeling in her big tuna that got half eaten by a shark. Half shark eaten fish? - Two thumbs up!

Barak, our very interesting and well-traveled tour guide/owner cut up our fish (and a half) and handed it to us in a plastic bag. Lucky, for us, Barak is friends with the owner of a restaurant of a place called Kinta. After going back to the hotel, taking a nap, and getting all prettied up, grabbed our bag of freshly caught fish and walked through the town square for a nice dinner.

As for the restaurant; what a complete surprise it turned out to be! Hidden in one of the dark side streets of Cozumel is the hippest restaurant anyone could ever find. We handed the owner, Kris, our fresh fish and he cooked it up for us. Suh-weet! We also ordered tons of different dishes and deserts too. O mis amigos, believe you me, when I say that each dish was better than the next.

If you go to Cozumel, you HAVE to go eat at Kinta. I'm sure I will find my way back there someday.

Kinta
Address: Ave 5 entre Calle 2 & 4, Cozumel, Mexico
Phone: 987 869 0544

Also be sure to take the zip-lining tours through the jungle. It's so much fun slamming into the tour guide when you haven't figured out the braking system yet. Two thumbs up!

http://www.cancunandrivieramaya.com/HiddenWorlds.htm