I'm just getting over a cold, and I have discovered a wonderful cure for it. A flight to Puerto Rico.

Just back from a long weekend in San Juan with my daughter Liz, son-in-law Peter, and my beautiful, brilliant granddaughter Adeline. (I know all granddaughters are, by definition, beautiful and brilliant, but I just had to say it out loud!)

In San Juan the sun was very sunny, the beach was a peach, and the pools were plentiful.

I, sadly, had the aforementioned cold, so I spent most of the trip lying in the sun, drinking medicinal cocktails (did you know many tropical drinks contain fruit?), and watching Adeline swim like a fish.

There are worse places to recover from a cold, believe me.

We stayed at the El San Juan Hotel, newly refurbished following the damage from Hurricane Maria in September 2017. It was exquisite. The El San Juan was opened in the late fifties, and stars like Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. used to perform there.

When we entered the luxurious lobby, a local salsa band was performing. We had dinner at Caña by Juliana Gonzalez, which features local specialties. We tried the mofongo, crispy snapper salad, and the blue crab and shrimp rice entrée. All were excellent.

The next morning, we returned to Caña for breakfast and enjoyed superb eggs Benedict, omelets and yogurt.

Then it was on to the beach, which was windy but warm. We also visited the pools (there are 5!) and I enjoyed an afternoon siesta in the hammocks under the palm trees. My idea of a perfect day.

While Adeline practiced standing up in the waves and swimming in all the pools with her dad, her mother and I got massages on the beach. It was lovely. We dined al fresco at Aquarelle, the outdoor restaurant near the beach.

The next day was even better weather-wise, with blue skies and less wind. The beach was perfect for kite-flying and swimming, and the pools were full of kids for Adeline to play with. We were outside for the entire day, once again. Adeline had seen one pool that actually had tables in it, so we had lunch there that day. We had guacamole with plantains and pulled pork and fish tacos and all were excellent. We dined en el agua and I won't say that someone may have used the pool as a finger bowl, but…

In other exciting news, there was a huge wedding going on at the hotel all weekend, and it was major. I know it was a rager, because on Sunday morning, at the wedding brunch, held outdoors beneath the hotel's two-hundred-year-old banyan tree, the attendees were few and quite mature, if you catch my drift. Those young kids know how to party!

So my cold, thanks for asking, is better, and an impromptu trip to Puerto Rico turns out to have been the perfect medicine. Ah, to be back in that hammock under those palm trees.