SoFo is the Old San Juan Culinary Festival semi-annual food festival. It’s typically held in the early summer & again in the fall, and it is all about enjoying food & having fun. In the evening, the Old City closes a number of streets to traffic. Then the restaurants start setting up serving tables and bars, tables and chairs, and stages are set up for the bands. This summer, the festival is being held from July 8 through July 11, 2010.

Every year, the town of Aibonito hosts the largest plant show & sale on the island. It features flower & plant displays, a large section for plant sales, live local music shows, and food kiosks. My favorite part is the rows and rows of booths selling all kinds of plants — orchids, fruit trees, vegetable plants, heliconias, gingers, hibiscus … just to name a few. I look forward to this event all year and it is now that time of year again!

When looking for day trips to do, I sometimes forget to look at places close to home. Luquillo is a great little town in the north east part of Puerto Rico. It is home to diverse natural beauty — both miles of beautiful beaches and acres of rain forest. It has a rich and interesting history and a decently active, modern social life. Most people assume they have "done" Luquillo if they make it to the food kiosks and Luquillo Beach, but there is a lot more for people to do and enjoy. So take some time and come explore Luquillo!

If you want to be part of a local experience, get up early on a Friday and head to the San Sebastian Market. I guess I would call it a large flea market or farmers market, since it had a little bit of everything. The market is located on the Centro Agropecuario grounds. It has slots for over 340 tables inside the grounds and, of course, there are other people selling things outside in the parking lot.

With all the talk of the economy and the recession, it’s always helpful to find a way to save some money on vacation. Order the 2010 Puerto Rico Entertainment Book and you’ll be able to find 50% off and 2-for-1 discounts at lots of restaurants, attractions and services across the island.

If you love ice cream and exotic flavors, you need to visit Heladeria Lares, located on the town square in Lares. They have home-made ice cream in flavors like rice & beans, garlic, corn, pumpkin and cod fish (to name a few). Most are tasty. Some are just bizarre. For the faint of heart, they also have "safe" flavors like vanilla and chocolate.

Whether you have just a couple of hours or a couple of days, there are plenty of things to keep you busy and entertained in the northeast part of Puerto Rico. From the rain forest to beaches to biobays, we’ve put together a list of activities sorted by the amount of time you need to do each.

For the real Puerto Rican local market experience, head to Rio Piedras. There, you will find a large indoor Mercado de Rio Piedras (Rio Piedras Market) and blocks of outdoor sidewalk shopping where the locals go to shop!

The Aibonto Flower Festival (Festival de Flores de Aibonito) will be held this year from June 26 through July 5, 2009. It’s a wonderful day of flowers, plants, shopping, music, food and more!

One of my favorite things about going on vacation is the opportunity to try food that is different than I can get at home. Tropical fruit has become somewhat of a passion of mine, and it’s always something I seek out whenever we travel. Luckily for me, we can grow a bunch of different types of tropical fruit right in Puerto Rico. Luckily for you, there are many different places you can get a taste of the tropics!