|
And just as the sun is setting, the city's pulse is rising. It doesn't take long to discover that San Juan comes to life at twilight. Locals often start the night off at any one of the city's dining hotspots. A popular area is the South Fortaleza Restaurant district, known as SoFo. Restaurants like El Caudillo Marisqueria, Restaurante El Paso and El Siglo XX offer authentic Puerto Rican cuisine certain to satisfy the palate. And for tastes of a different flavor, establishments like La Piccola Fontana (Italian), Cobia (seafood) and Trois Cent Onze (French) are noted for their delectable delights. To experience "la cucina criolla", or native Puerto Rican cuisine, don't skip over Ajili Mojili. Don't worry; the servers will explain the menu to you if the foreign items are a bit confusing. San Juan's nightlife is positively hypnotic. With the frenetic beat of salsa music in the air, and the seductive resonation of the slot machines, this city's evenings are never dull. Nightclubs in the Ritz and the San Juan Grand attract a cosmopolitan crowd who prefer to alternate dancing and dice. Mellow jazz bars like the Carli Café Concierto and the Café Tabac provide great music and great company. On the weekends, locals flock to large hotels like the Wyndham El San Juan, Condado Plaza and Marriott for extravagant salsa and meringue parties driven by the rhythms of brassy, swinging bands. For the theater crowd, Old San Juan's Teatro Tapia offers plays and ballet, and The Centro de Belles Artes Luis A. Ferre hosts classical performances. And with a Bacardi Rum Plant that produces 100,000 gallons of rum a day just across the San Juan Bay, daiquiri's are never in short supply. Those who make it to the wee hours of dawn can get an early jump on the day with breakfast at La Bombonera (a local breakfast institution complete with high-test coffee and clanking dishes)! On days off, you'll be able to explore one of the most diverse topographies on the planet. Within several hours (Puerto Rico is a compact place - roughly three times the size of Rhode Island), you will find rugged mountains, a tropical rain forest, deserts, beaches, caves, oceans and rivers. Two highlights are the Caribbean National Forest (less than an hour east of San Juan), home to the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. national forest system, and Rio Camuy Caves Park, one of the largest cave networks and underground rivers in the world. Given Puerto Rico's 300+ miles of coastline, there's unlimited opportunities for sailing, surfing, sunbathing, scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing, canoeing and kayaking. And within easy sailing or flying range are dozens of other Caribbean Islands, both lively and desolate - whatever floats your boat. For more information on life in San Juan and Puerto Rico, go to:
www.PuertoRico.com
www.frommers.com/destinations/sanjuan/
|
