Date Night in Guatemala

Sometimes when the scenery is as exotic as this, it makes more sense not to get dolled up for date night. Have you ever tried walking on cobblestones in the dark while wearing heels? Sprained ankle waiting to happen. I almost full out face-planted several times in the streets of Antigua because of the uneven sidewalks, but I digress…

Back to the exploring scenery thing.

Date night while travelling in Central America consisted of workout clothes, sweaty hair in a bun, and no makeup. On this particular night in Antigua it also consisted of our last hike together, a troupe of clowns, sushi, and sangria.

My husband for some reason always wants to work out together so we decided to walk through those picturesque cobblestone streets then hike up to Cerro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross) which overlooks the city. We saved up our appetite to splurge on sushi afterwards, which we figured was totally worth it as it was M’s last night in Central America. 

The middle of the woods is always an appropriate time to strike a pose, right?

Overlooking the city of Antigua

I love his freckles

So about those clowns…

When we were getting ready to walk back down the hill we noticed a bus full of clowns had arrived. What the heck were 20+ grown ass adults in costumes, wigs, and facepaint doing at the top of this hill and why hadn’t I seen them on the way up? AND WHERE WERE THE CHILDREN? There were no kids around! Naturally I had to go find out what was what.

I greeted one of the clowns and he started speaking to me in Spanish. Realizing he mistook me for a local (I mean, look at that tan) I replied, “I’m from Canada, and I must ask, what is up with all of these clown costumes?” 

The look of confusion that quickly crossed his face was something I’d started getting used to when we left Honduras. It dissipated quickly though, and he called two friends over to tell me about how they were Patch Adams volunteer clowns. How unexpected! They were on a trip to Guatemala to visit children’s hospitals and orphanages. 

“Jean Pierre! There’s a Canadian here, you have to come meet her!” the first clown called out (for some reason he thought we would know each other). 



Sadly M wanted nothing to do with the clowns and went roaming with the camera elsewhere, so I have no photographic proof of being surrounded by a group of them hugging and kissing me. It somehow started because of the French-Canadians tradition of bisous (kissing twice on the cheeks) and kind of went from there. The only picture I snapped of them was from when I first noticed the group hanging about.

All in all it was an out-of-the-box date night and a memory that’s pretty sweet to look back upon. You never know what to expect when travelling, right?

Linking up with A Compass Rose.

PS: The Lifestyle Project is going through a redesign this week and there are a few kinks here and there. Don't worry, we're working on it!

Monday Morning Confess Sesh

Due to some very sweet comments on last month's confession post, I've decided to come back for round two. In no particular order, I confess:

• Last week I binge read The Fault in Our Stars. I totally got sucked into the hype and borrowed my sister-in-law's copy. The book absolutely lives up to its reputation and had me completely wrapped up in the story!  In fact, if this were not a confessions post, I wouldn't admit that I had to stop reading on three separate occasions because I was crying so hard the words on the page were swimming in front of me. Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think?
• I've been watching House Hunters and Property Brothers wayyy too much, especially for someone that doesn't have close to enough money to buy a property of her own. Also, on PB, do the buyers not know what show they're on? How are they always surprised that the first house is way over budget? And why do they always doubt what a paint job, new counters, and new floors can do?
• I've gained back any weight I lost in Central America and more. Why do I love to eat all the things I should not be eating?

• I really hate sticker decals on the back windshields of minivans and SUVs (if you have these I'm probably about to offend you). Look at what you're driving – obviously you have a family. Duh. But thanks for spelling it out that you’re married with three kids, two dogs, a cat, and (gasp!) enjoy playing soccer. Never would’ve guessed
• I drink probably more than my fair share of wine. This is especially due to the fact that we received a coupon for $100 off a case (that’s 12 bottles!) and now there’s always wine on tap
• I was absolutely baffled the first time I saw a drive-thru with suction tubes at the bank! What the wha? We don’t have this in Canada. Apparently you just put your documents in there and it gets sucked up to the teller inside the building

via

• I’m terrified every time an automatic toilet flushes itself. It scares the shit out of me would be the appropriate expression. Why can't those things wait an extra 30 seconds?
• I found a tick that was trying to burrow its way into my stomach this morning! So gross! They seem to be everywhere in TN
• I told my friends I would rather skip out of movie night than watch a horror film and this is the reaction I got:

Confessions are only fun when they go both ways! Now I want to hear from you. Share your Monday morning confessions with me in the comments below.

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Our Travel Wedding Rings Part II

Click here for a refresher of Part I: To Ring or Not to Ring

Before we left for Central America, my husband and I decided we were going to leave our wedding rings at home and pick up some cute and locally made bands on the road. He'd already lost his first wedding band on our honeymoon in Jamaica and we weren't looking to repeat that mistake again!

We tucked away our gold and diamonds once we arrived in the States and continued to Honduras bare-fingered. We spent a whole month in Utila and since it was such a small island there weren't many artisans with rings to choose from, especially unique pieces.

I was hoping to pick up rings towards the beginning of our trip as I like the idea of wearing jewellery to acknowledge we're married. Call it the romantic or sentimentalist in me, but I think wearing wedding bands is a sweet and subtle way of saying you're spoken for, saying, “Yes I'm married!!!” without bringing it up all the time or screaming it in anyone's face like my excessive exclamation points suggest. A ring on that conspicuous fourth finger is definitely something people notice, even if they don't comment. Also, considering how travellers are some of the best at partying and all that comes with it, I have to be honest that didn't hate the idea of people knowing we're together and it's serious, so yes you can stop hitting on my husband now thankyouverymuch.