Our First Vacation {Part 1}

Salvatore booked our vacation months ahead of time, having planned it all out - picking the place, the excursions, the flights. He used Cheap Carribean, which I have to admit, I was a little hesitant about once he told me because... well... it sounded cheap. It was, in fact, inexpensive and so so worth it. If you're looking at going away this summer, check out their amazing deals. Sal was able to reserve a 6 day, 5 night vacation to Puerta Plata, Dominican Republic - all-inclusive! He made sure the excursions we wanted to do were booked ahead of time, as well.

The only downfall was the 3-4 hour layover in Miami, Florida going and returning. It wasn't enough time to go anywhere other than the airport, and it was a long enough time to get bored sitting there.

When we finally made it to DR though, it was incredible. The word beautiful doesn't even do the island justice. Now I had traveled to St. Maartin in previous years, but Sal had never been to an island. I was happy to share this experience with him.

Funny thing was that everyone thought we were going to get engaged, that or pregnant, on this trip. While I knew the latter was out of the question [hello I just graduated from college, with no job yet - let's calm down people], I thought that an engagement could happen... before you get your hopes up though, it didn't and I was fully aware it wasn't going to happen prior to the vacation. I was fine with it though, because like I said I am only twenty-two years young.

We stayed at the Lifestyles Resort and Spa, which was so amazing - the staff was so nice and helpful, everything was in walking distance, and we don't have one complaint. We even left money out for the maid one day and though she had cleaned the room, she left the money! We had a real honest maid, I'll tell you that much. The food was delicious, each and every night! You're given a voucher when you arrive for a dinner reservation they booked for you. The one we received was for 9:30PM, so we just ate at the buffet every night, aside from one that we tried to just walk in a restaurant, and a couple was kind enough to give us there reservation to a Mexican restaurant that was so so good.

The great thing about vacationing on an island - no cell phones! I mean really who wants to call someone from the island to just rack up that phone bill!? Not I - so even though Sal brought his phone, we only used it once to tell everyone that we had arrived safely.

When Sal booked our vacation, he didn't book a room with the view of the ocean, because it was more expensive, but when we go there, we had a corner room with an extended porch, AND a view of the ocean and pool! It was amazing to wake up every morning and just take in the fantastic view.

The first night we were there, we walked around the resort to see where everything was - from the VIP beach to the pool, dinner and even the Colosseum, which had a show that night. Sal decided that we should volunteer to go on stage when they asked the audience, I figured it'd be a fun experience - not thinking that I would be dancing in a competition, with a dress on... eventually flashing half of the crowd. It was quite embarrassing, until I realized I didn't know anyone and really didn't care all that much, well until we lost the competition!

After the mishap, we decided to call it a night, having been exhausted from the plane ride. The next day we decided to go to the VIP beach, and there we met some amazing people - people we have since been in contact with and hope to see them again soon. 

Of course, I bought all three Fifty Shades before I left for vacation, and starting the trilogy was the best decision I made on vacation. It definitely spiced up our nights in the Dominican Republic. I recommend it to anyone on vacation, or with their partner near by!

When we finally got out of the Dominican sun, we could tell we got some nice color in just a day! We showered and got dressed for the night out - it just so happened that they had a fire show right outside our door, on the pool! We enjoyed the company of the friends we had met that day, and ate such great food! I am a complete lover of chicken, rice and beans!

Check back tomorrow to see what I forced Sal to volunteer for! You won't want to miss this - video included!