Wednesday dawned somewhat overcast, but it didn’t dampen our spirit or sense of adventure. We checked out of the hotel, loaded the bags in the car, then did a short walk for coffee. The hotel had recommended Pinkies, a cafe and coffee shop a few blocks away. We got almost to it, turned around thinking we’d missed it, asked a local for directions, and finally found it. A very cool, hip place with limited seating (maybe 10 or 12 people, tops?). The menu looked good, but Daughter had somewhere else in mind for breakfast.

Once back to the car and on our way, we attempted to locate the box office to pick up our tickets to the evening’s show. We didn’t realize there was a matinee performance, so traffic was horrible (easy compared to Atlanta, but still bad for the area!) We elected to bypass picking up our tickets until later in the day, and we set off for Musa for brunch. I had an omelette stuffed with meat and cheese, and Daughter had Tres Leches French toast. Neither of us finished our meal. Delicious, but definitely more than we could eat!

After brunch we headed to Old San Juan which we will call home for the next three nights. We had a few hours to kill before we could check into our AirBnB. We drove around a bit, somewhat on purpose, somewhat trying to find a place to park close to our intended location. The streets are one way with parking one side of the road. We were headed down one street and came upon a cargo van which was blocking a portion of the driving lane. Knowing I couldn’t possibly pass the van, I attempted to back up from whence I’d come to the cross street and turn down a different street. I backed up far enough to realize the cross street was one-way that dead-ended into the street we were on. There was no way to go but forward, and I now had another car coming up behind me. The voice in the passenger seat advised I would need to ‘jump the curb’ and keep going. Uh, we’re in a compact car and you want me to do what? Needless to say, I jumped my first curb, managed to get around the van without damage to anything moving or stationary, and we found a place to park.

We set off on a path to who knows where, and explored a portion of Old San Juan until it was time to check in to our flat. There are a lot of statues throughout Old San Juan which make exploring that much more fun.

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After exploring Paseo De La Princessa and the surrounding area (perhaps including a refreshing beverage), we started walking back toward the center of town. We walked through the cathedral where Ponce De Leon is buried and explored many of the streets.

We got the OK to check in about 2PM, and shortly after made our way up to our 4th floor flat. I was grateful the stairs were what I consider “European flights” where you have 6 or 7 stairs that make a U -turn so it doesn’t quite feel like a full flight of 12 or 13 stairs. We defintely enjoyed the view from our rooftop patio!

As much as we tried to rest a bit and unwind before getting ready, excitement was building. The reason we came to Puerto Rico was a few hours away. We Uber’d to the theater, picked up our tickets and took a short walk to Lote 23. The fun think about letting the younger generation pick locations for food is you try places you would likely never go on your own. I enjoyed an incredible poke bowl made to order, and Daughter had a ‘pastelillo con carne y alcapurria con jueyes’ (per her Instagram account.) She shared a bite, and it was delicious! Lote 23 is a bit like a food truck gathering spot, but all of the kitchens are permanent. The choices were varied and multiple, and it was a fun spot to people watch. My pashmina provided adequate cover mid-meal as a rain shower blew over.

A short walk back to the theater, a shorter wait in line, and we were soon “in the room where it happened.” The show was more relaxed than what we’d seen in San Francisco. There was more ‘give and take’ between the characters, and the rap/hip-hop sections were more spoken than the rapid fire we were used to. Potentially due to the number of non-English speakers in the audience? It didn’t matter to us, the subtle and not so subtle differences were noted and greatly appreciated. And kudos and God bless Lin Manuel-Miranda for doing every performance. He’d performed a matinee earlier in the day. I don’t know how he managed to do a second show (although we are very glad he did!) His stamina was amazing, and the audience clearly appreciated it. As the spotlight hit him on his stage entrance, there was a spontaneous standing ovation for about 30 seconds. The cast has gotten to know where the applause will be longer than usual, and they held poses and notes as needed. I wondered several times if the applause and admiration from the audience ever gets old. It sure didn’t feel like it did. We got home and were really unable to speak as our brains and hearts attempted to process the evening. In days, weeks, and months to come we’ll likely find more words.