The Friday Five, 1/24/24: 5 things I've been up to this week

It's been a busy week: I was in Mexico Thursday through Tuesday for a wedding, hence why there was no Friday Five last week. Came back to 4 degrees for a temperature, which I was expecting but which was not fun, and now it's up to a balmy 25-30 degrees today.

Me with my Yelpies award
Me with my Yelpies award

What I've been up to this week:
  1. Mexico trip. This was not my first time in the Cancun area—my parents and I used to go when I was little - but the last time I had been to Mexico was in 2016, for a one-day winery tour trip during Yelp Spring Break in San Diego (way on the other side of the country from Cancun!). My husband's friend was getting married in Playa del Carmen, about a 50-min. drive from the Cancun airport, and it was my first time at an all-inclusive resort, which ended up being awesome (most everything is included, including drinks and food; only bottles of wine were extra). It was an all-weekend extravaganza type of thing too, and we had a good group of people—more on that below.
  2. Tulum ruins. On Friday, to kick of wedding weekend, the bride and groom had set up transportation to and from the Tulum ruins, about an hour's drive from the resort. They also hired guides for us once we got there. I do feel like I didn't learn a ton about the ruins, but they were interesting to see; I'll have to do more research on it later.
  3. Beach wedding. The wedding was on the beach and they had perfect weather for it, on Saturday! This was my first time attending a beach wedding, and I loved that shoes were optional. The ceremony was about half an hour, and then the bride and groom took pictures with everyone, which was fun. The reception was a few hours later, in a semi-private part of the resort, and they had a mariachi band at cocktail hour, which was also fun. The food was served buffet-style and there was a lot of dancing, plus they had a photo booth. Also, the wedding theme was travel, which was super cool (the bride and groom have been to 31 countries together!); my husband and I were seated at "Gate 5: Antigua" aka table 5, and instead of a guestbook to sign, there was a globe.
  4. Going into Playa del Carmen. Playa del Carmen was where we were staying, and on Sunday, the bride and groom and our group took a 13- or 14-person taxi, I believe it was, into the town, where we had authentic Mexican food and also did some shopping. I had never been to this town before and it's a cute place, with lots of stuff to see, including a lot of American chains, like Hyatt and H&M, which surprised me. 
  5. Yelp Elite event at Park West gallery. Last night, my husband (who is also a Yelp Elite) and I went to the Badge Day kickoff party, at Park West gallery, which was 7 minutes from our house, Google Maps said. I have driven by the gallery a lot but never been inside, so I was rather curious to see it. It ended up being a great party, with free roses, a few photo walls, high-end bites to eat like brie puffs and steak bites, an open bar, AND, which I didn't know, also the Yelpies. The Yelpies are traditionally in December, but I believe their venue fell through, so imagine my surprise when I was called to the makeshift stage to receive not one, but TWO awards! (It felt like the Oscars but I didn't know I was nominated, haha)
    I got the "Yelptime Achievement Award," since I am very active on Yelp (and have been since 2013) and also a certificate for writing 100+ reviews last year. My husband and I were also able to browse the art gallery after, and they have a ton of art, including a lot of rare things by Picasso, so that was also fun. 
Playa del Carmen, Mexico
Beach view from our room!

Popular Posts

Review: Polar Pizza at Baskin-Robbins

Trip Review: Bavarian Inn Lodge, Frankenmuth, MI

Upcoming and GIVEAWAY: MJ the Musical, Oct. 23–Nov. 3, Fisher Theatre, Detroit {ends 7/8}