Interesting enough my Dad's doctor went to school and lived here for awhile. He was a great source of information when planning this trip and actually learning a bit about the Capo Diaz family.
To start off we stayed the night at the Ramada Ponce, which is right in the middle of the town square. According to the Lonely Planet guide it's the best place to stay in town, I found that out after booking, so lucky me.
The placement of the hotel was ideal, our room was very nice (Mom, Dad, and Pop had an issue and had to change rooms.) and the most comfortable beds by far on the trip. The only down side is that the pool is super small and it shares a courtyard with a few restaurants and a casino. I just wasn't game on swimming next to people while they ate dinner.
Now as far as Continental breakfast goes, as we're accustomed to it here in the mainland States... don't expect it too many places in Puerto Rico. We had to buy breakfast every day at every hotel.
Dad's doctor actually described Ponce as being very much like our hometown of Natchez, MS, because of it's social clubs. It's an older city and gives off that feel for sure.
Throughout the town square are multiple lion statues that have been painted by local artists. The descriptions of them are in Spanish, so look them up before hand if you want to find something in English.
There's a Burger King and a Church's Chicken in the square, absolutely hilarious to me. However I do have a pact I made with myself years ago that I would eat McDonald's in every country I visited, so far so good.
Now Burger King wasn't on my list, but if you are looking for a cheap breakfast in the square go here. Like fast food across the world, it's tailored to the area. I got a breakfast sandwich that I then ordered every morning at the cafe our hotel was attached to in Isla Verde.
The only complaint our old men had was that is was impossible to get coffee without milk. So if you don't want cafe con leche you better state it when you order, anywhere on the island.
I loved all the little architectural details around the city.
That's enough of a picture dump for today, I'll talk more about Ponce on Thursday (I don't have a recipe for this week) and we'll visit the Parque de Bombas which is the old firehouse turned museum in town.
Plus a good dose of why you need to eat your weight in Puerto Rican snow cones while you're there.
