The Vintage Diplomat: MIA

Life is busy. And messy. The ISFJ in me wishes that life were more compartmentalized, more structured, uniform, predictable. If I'm honest, though, there is a part of me that genuinely relishes the chaos of the universe, which includes all sorts of random, spur of the moment, spontaneous events that keep life interesting.

When last I wrote, R had returned to good ol' Santo Domingo, and we had resumed our lives together (and I quickly became MIA). After a very short time, it was as if he had never been gone. This post will include our September adventures.

We unleashed our inner explorers and went to Punta Cana for the weekend over Labor Day (his first time, my second, gorgeous as ever).

In a small chapel on the Cap Cana peninsula. We watched the preparations for a wedding in the chapel as we were eating dinner at a nearby restaurant. Gorgeous stained glass windows depicting Dominican life.

R and me on the balcony of our hotel - Alsol.

On the way back to Santo Domingo, we visited the Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia in Higuey:

Kind of stark and industrial, but striking and beautiful, nonetheless.

In the very center, behind the altar, is a likeness of Our Lady of Altagracia - the Patron Saint of the Dominican Republic. Out of respect to my mother, I stood in the line of Dominicans to pass by the painting, touching it briefly. I always say a little prayer for my mother, and for the world in general, when I'm in a holy place.

The outside of the Basilica.

We went to the Ocoa Bay winery for lunch on R's birthday (delicious and beautiful, but you can only purchase their wines for consumption on the property - we were disappointed we couldn't take a bottle home with us).

The road leading to the winery.

Just your typical day in paradise.

The grapes on the vines.

Also in September, We traveled to Santiago to take in the Centro León Museum, and then we stayed close to home and visited the Museum de la Resistencia near the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo.