Tag Archives | Mexico

7 Questions with Beers and Beans

In our continued series of featuring some of the best couple bloggers we want to introduce you to Beth and Randy of  Beers and Beans.   They offer some great couple travel ideas and some amazing photography.

Meet Beers and Beans:

beer

Beth & Randy in Iceland

Beth and Randy are a freewheelin’, 30-something couple with a 7lb hound named Chachy. Beth is a professional photographer and Randy is a professional journalist, and they blog about their adventures on their eclectic travel website Beers and Beans.  Their travel stories have also appeared in USA Today Travel Tips, the San Diego Reader, San Diego Uptown News, BootsnAll Travel Network and other travel websites. You can also find them on FacebookTwitterGoogle+ Pinterest.

We asked the traveling duo our 7 questions:
1)    We love your ebook on how to get off auto!  What would be one thing you would recommend to budding photogs that want to take better travel pics?

He Said: Listen to Beth.
She Said:  Read the book or any other book that helps you learn the basics of creating your own exposures. If you have the time & money – take a class. Understanding exposure (and how to create good exposure) is the most important thing anyone can learn if they are trying to take better photos. Also, shoot all the time – keep pushing yourself.

2) If you had to travel with someone else besides your travel partner, who would it be?  (this person can be living, historical or
mythical?.)

He Said: Henry Miller
She Said: Hmm… Anyone in my family. My family is really fun to travel with.

Beth3)What has been your favorite destination in your wanderings?  Why?

He said: Paris. I simply love exploring that city.
She said: It’s really a toss up between Paris & Venice. I guess I would have to say Paris because the light is the best I have seen anywhere. I always feel really creative and inspired when I am there and I never want to leave.

4)  If you had to eat one last meal, what/ where would you eat?

He said: I would love to eat at the WWOOF farm we volunteered at Cerreto Libri in Tuscany.  I would eat anything there – the food was unbelievable!
She said: Definitely Paris – something vegetarian. Believe it or not I have only eaten out twice in Paris and both times my mind was blown at how amazing the food was. I’ve been ruined – now I need to stockpile money just for eating in Paris!

5)This question is for Randy…What exactly are “man-nessities”?  (By the way…you look great in a towel!)

He said: Oh the video….I didn’t think anyone even watched that! Thank you for the compliment as well. Man-nessities include…..prophylactics and dress socks.

6) If you could solve one problem in the world what would it be?

He said: I would end all the wars because it would free up large amounts of money and resources to help treat and solve a lot of other world problems.
She said: Greed. If greed was abolished and replaced with generosity then the world would much a better place. Greed is the root of all evil.

7)You knew it was coming….What has been your greatest travel fight/disagreement?

She said: We’ve had 2 really bad fights on the road. One in Sorrento, Italy and one in San Felipe, Mexico. The San Felipe one was the worst by far. We were bar hopping with two friends and everyone had a WAY too much to drink. My friend’s husband decided he wanted to see what a wet t-shirt contest would look like – on his wife and no one else. So completely out of the blue he took a beer and poured it all over the front of her shirt while they were sitting at the bar having a conversation – in front of everyone. You can imagine how well that went over. The night really went downhill after that.

In her anger, my friend took off and we couldn’t find her. We searched all over for her and the thought of leaving her alone and drunk in Mexico was making me more anxious and nervous with each minute. After an hour of looking around town we decided to go back to the ratty RV we had rented for the night to see if she was there. Thankfully she was. At this point it was really late – around 3am and we all needed to sleep it off. Just as everyone crawled into bed drunken Randy decided the night had not yet ended for him and announced he was going back out by himself. It was a very bad idea and I told him not to go because he shouldn’t be wandering around Mexico at night, drunk and alone. Only bad things would happen.  He kept fighting with me, determined to go. We ended up having a huge screaming match and I threw my shoes at him as he walked out the door. I was so mad at him because I knew I would be worried about him the rest of the night.

Of course I was right and nothing good happened – he got robbed by two guys on the beach. Given the fact that he was obviously wasted and stumbling around I think he got off pretty lucky.

He said: Yup, that about sums it up. But at least I wasn’t the guy who tried to create his own, personal wet t-shirt contest – although do I applaud the ingenuity.

1000Fights: Now thats a couple that knows how to fight!  Impressive.

I know that was seven..but you guys are too cool for just 7.

8)  We loved your series:  Blood, drugs, and Sangria: How to vacation in a war zone.  It is clear that you guys really love Mexico, so tell us…what was the scariest moment for you guys?

She said: Hmm… basically anything involving Randy and alcohol in Mexico is scary to me! He has so many stories it’s a wonder he’s still alive. One time that was particularly scary for me was on the same night as the above story in San Felipe. We were all leaving a bar and we were walking across the street when a cop car pulled up next to us. Two Policia jumped out and grabbed Randy for no reason. They tried to throw him in the back of the car but I grabbed onto his hoodie and wouldn’t let go.

We had not done anything wrong and there was no reason for the cops to grab him so I put up a fight. I spoke a lot more Spanish then and I ended up in a large & loud verbal disagreement with the cops. This was all while playing tug of war with Randy in the middle. I was pulling with all my might to keep him out of the car. It was scary. I didn’t know what was going to happen but I knew there was no way I was going to let them just throw him in the back of that cop car. Fortunately after a few minutes the cops realized it wasn’t going to be an easy grab so they gave up and let him go. They got back into their car and drove off. We still have no idea why that happened but I think they were planning on making us pay a bribe to get him out of the car. In any case, it was so random and happened so quickly that it was pretty frightening.

He said: This was a while ago and I was drinking in Tijuana with a friend and we got separated. While looking for my friend I ended up befriending two deported gang members in the red light district. To make a long story short, I drank with them on their stoop for a while until they decided to shake me down and rob me. That was pretty scary. I thought for sure I was going to get stabbed as well but luckily they left and I took off in the opposite direction.

1000Fights:  A huge thanks to Beth and Randy.  What an amazing couple.    One of their mottos is, “Lets go Travel”.   So….Lets go!

I know what you did this summer!

We asked a few of our couple travel blogging friends: “so what did you do this summer?” We were stunned by what we got back! Everything from warm beaches of the Blue Lagoon Resort in Fiji to a scenic 12 mile “stroll” that ended in a couple fight! Yay! Granted, fall is quickly approaching for us on the top of the ball, its not too early to start your plans for next year. If you cant wait that long, at the bottom of the rock summer is just getting started!

 

Peter and Dalene

www.hecktictravels.com/

When boarding our flight to Brussels, Belgium, we waited in line behind a guy wearing a dog-collar with spikes, metal plates on his shoes and horns coming out of his nose. We started chatting to him about his city, and he immediately warned to be careful when going out at night – that Brussels was becoming increasingly dangerous.

A scary first impression, we thought. And after our first few days, we realized he spoke the truth – sort of. Brussels is definitely dangerous, but only for your waistline.

Apart from the beautiful architecture, Brussels is known for its gastronomy. We feasted on beer, their national dish of frites with mayonnaise, mussels, a wide variety of international cuisine, and of course, their heavenly chocolate. Never mind that when strolling through it’s streets, the aroma of fresh waffles is constantly in the air. It’s a foodie and beer connoisseur’s paradise!

 1000Fights: Ok, we are hungry now!  Those waffles look to die for!

 

Emanuele and Romana

www.thesiracusas.com/

When the summer kicked in in the northern hemisphere we were in Fiji. Technically it was winter time there, but as you can imagine you couldn’t tell, tropical weather is tropical weather, after all. The fijian trip was the final part of our 8 months round-the-world trip, so we were going there to take it easy, enjoy the tropical paradise experience, prepare psychologically for our homecoming and also celebrate our second wedding anniversary.

The quest for our dream island was over when we landed in Nacula, at the Blue Lagoon resort. Because of the amazing white sand, the beautiful crystal-clear waters and the friendly resort staff, we decided to stay at Blue Lagoon more than initially planned. The management also gave us a deluxe seafront villa (with no extra cost!) as a present for our second wedding anniversary. We were also given the opportunity to visit the local village and the school, getting an insight into the locals’ life. I can assure you, the day we left Nacula, and the Blue Lagoon resort, was a sad day!

 1000Fights:  Congrats on your second anniversary.  We wish you many happy years and fights as well!  The closest we have gotten to Fiji is drinking their water from the gas station.  Someday!

 

 

Erica and Shaun

www.OverYonderlust.com

Our favorite place that we visited this summer was Tulum, Mexico. We were blown away by some of the most spectacular beaches we have ever seen. This was also offset by the Tulum ruins which are placed on the sides of cliffs looking over the sea. The city is so incredibly laid back that we felt right at home. We even ended up hanging out there two separate times on our trip!

This location also rocks because we were also able to make day trips to to the neighboring Akumal, Mexico for our fix of the best fried fish tacos with fresh mango salsa we had ever had the pleasure of inserting into our mouths at Lucy’s Kitchen. About 50 feet away you can snorkel with sea turtles munching on sea grass right off of the beach. Bring your own gear and you can swim out to them yourself. Huzzah for free activities!

1000Fights:  Sounds amazing.  Lucy’s kitchen?  I think that is the only way we can get Luci of 1000Fights into a kitchen!

 

Betsy and Warren

www.marriedwithluggage.com

This summer we spent 5 weeks in Edinburgh, Scotland. We fell in love with the place, the people, and the real ale. Scots really do have more fun than everyone else, and we were lucky to make some good friends and have some fun adventures during our time there. We climbed munros, learned how to retell ancient stories to entertain a crowd in the dark upper room of an old pub, ate local specialties like shortbread and haggis and tasted the abundant varieties of whisky. We also had an epic fight during a 12-mile walk along a scenic canal – at the start, of course – and made some pretty good breakthroughs in our relationship during the remaining 11.5 miles. We’ll definitely return to Scotland to explore the Highlands and enjoy some real ale and whisky with good friends, but we will probably skip the haggis (and hopefully another epic fight).

1000Fights: DARN!!  Dont give up the fights!

 

Doesn’t all of these sound like fun!  Thanks you guys for sharing some great ideas for summer fun.   Couples take note, pick one of these or a place of your choice, put aside a little cash over the next few months.  Dont let another summer get by without going to place of your dreams.

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.

“You can steer yourself any
direction you choose.”

You’re on your own.
And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll
decide where to go.

Dr. Suess