MEXICO VACATION - DAY 3

This morning, we loaded into a van with our driver Gustavo and tour guide Jose. Our first stop was at the humble home of a shaman (he calls himself a JMan) near Chichen Itza.

 He took sat us down individually to purify us and then he bonded us a family. It was...interesting.

My favorite part of this stop was this abuela shucking corn.

We continued our journey to our next destination: Chichen Itza. The Mayans used a tons of symbolism in all of the buildings in this complex. Our guide was giving us an in-depth explanation of it all. Then some in our group needed him to speed things along so he shortened it and we started taking photos.

Climbing the ruins was closed in 2007 to the public so we weren't allowed to go to the top. I was a little bummed at how commercial/touristy the area is, but it was cool to see.

 About fifteen minutes down the road, we stopped for lunch at a small Mexican restaurant. My group was afraid eating local food would upset their stomachs...so that meant more tacos and horchata for me! 

(PS my stomach was fine.)

While we were eating lunch, a cute little parade passed. I love being immersed in a culture.

The final spot on our itinerary for the day was Ek' Balam.

 It is another Mayan village in the Yucatan with ruins that we were able to climb and enjoy.

*Here we are rocking those homemade shorts I showed you from day 1.*

 The site is known for a plaster on the tomb (on the side of a palace) of a king who was buried inside.

My favorite part was climbing to the top to enjoy the view. 

The clouds were so fluffy today I thought I was gonna die.

MEXICO - DAY 2

Mexico day numero dos was filled with a trip to Delphinus in Riviera Maya (a 10 minute drive from our resort in Playa Del Carmen) to swim with dolphins.

 We were able to get in the water with trainers on the side guiding us through the process.

 The dolphins swam around us so we could use to them and vice versa.

We were able to pet,

 get and give kisses,

dance, 

take a try at being a trainer and giving them instructions,

and get a ride from the dolphins.

Dolphins are amazingly smart and beautiful creatures.

MEXICO - DAY 1

After many different trip ideas, my Czech family and I packed our bags to go to Mexico for a week. I wasn't expecting a tropical visit during my stay so I didn't pack any warm clothing and Ivanka lost a few kilos and didn't want to buy new shorts...

 so we had to get creative.

Extra material meant matching headbands!

We loaded up the car and drove 3 hours to the Munich airport

 to catch our non-stop 12 hour flight to Cancun.

 Thank goodness for business class and the reclining beds.

They also served us fancy food.

 We arrived in Mexico late. The first day was spent at the beach getting to know our villa and used to the time difference.

 We stayed at the Bayan Tree Mayakoba resort. It is fabulously fabulous!

 The resort supplied us with bikes to ride if we didn't want to wait for a golf cart to pick us up to take us around.

Today was a good day.

BABIES & JACKETS

Do you know more babies are born in the month of August than any other month? It's true. I am one of them thanks to those cold November days. So that means that there are lots of pregnant ladies around the globe right now in the middle of winter.

I was just shown the coolest jacket made by Mamaway that I want to share with you. It's like a transformer jacket.

#1 It's a normal down puffy jacket available in colors blue, cream, yellow, and pink. It comes with a hood to keep your ears warm. I'll only buy jackets with hoods from now on!

But wait, it comes with a secret zip-in panel that can be used two ways.

#2 The elastic panel can go at the bottom to be worn as a maternity jacket so it can stretch and cover the belly.

#3 Once the baby is born, you can flip the panel the other way and wear it over a baby carrier to keep you and the babe snug and warm.

The jacket is made with high quality material that is soft and super warm. It is windproof. It also come with a storage bag for easy packing and can be used to travel. The jacket has two pocket on the front and two inside pockets.

Stay warm and try out this cool maternity 3-in-1 down jacket from #mamaway whether you are pregnant now or plan to be in the future this winter. It could also make a great baby shower gift.

I was given this item at a discounted price in return for my honest opinion.

PLZEN - NAMESTI REPUBLIKY

There are some angel heads that people who visit the town square touch for luck.

 Some local company decided to dress the angel heads in tiny, colorful hats and scarves this winter.

 I wore the same outfit as the angels...how embarrassing.

Just kidding. It's adorable.

Don't worry - nobody rubbed my head for luck.

Kutná Hora

I went to a small town call Kutna Hora. There is a Sedlec Ossuary (Kostnice v Sedlci) or a small Roman Catholic chapel. This place is listed as one of the twelve World Heritage Sites in the Czech Republic.

Inside the church, it is estimated to have between 40,000 and 70,000 skeletons of people, whose bones have been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel.

 It's not a huge chapel, but all of the bones are kinda interesting.

 There is a giant coat of arms made of bones,

 skull garland lining the place, 

and a giant chandelier in the center that contains at least one of every bone in the human body.

My favorite part was this cool skull on the ground outside of the chapel.

There are other cool buildings in Kutna Hora, but this was my favorite.

MAC & CHEESE

I did this Czech kid a favor and introduced him to the American world of Kraft macaroni & cheese.

Yes, mac & cheese totally changed his life. 

You're welcome.

TACHOV TOWER

I drove to Tachov recently to check out a cool look out tower and to get a great view of the city. In Czech, it's called Rozhledna na Vysoké u Tachova. I don't speak Czech, but we can have fun and write that out. Anyway, here's the view I discovered:

Tachov is a 1 hour drive from Plzen, but the tower view was totally worth it. There isn't much else to the town. There is a super small center/square, but that's about it. Never stop exploring!