Tuesday April 23, 2013

Tuesday April 23, 2013  update #431

I had to deliver my Thank You cards for Hearts Of Gold but first I had to pick up some more window stickers so that meant a trip to the office.  With that accomplished I headed downtown to do the deliveries.   I stopped at the iTur office to get some maps but they were closed.

I then met up with Ed and Lynne Nadeau who are visiting from Montreal.  Ed was here last November with his buddy Dick, but now was back to show Lynne so she could make her own decisions.  I instantly took a liking to Lynne and they decided they wanted to see the big market, Feria Libre.    So off we went on the #28 bus and toured the huge Mercado.   Something was very strange though, much of it was closed, or closing, early and they were scrubbing the floors.   I surmised that this is because Wednesday is one of the big “fresh food” days and they closed early on Tuesday to prepare.

Then we caught the #13 back and got off near San Sebastian where we saw the square and then made our way to La Condamine and the “maypole” sculpture.  They had already been on the double-decker tour so they had seen a lot but the river is still a big attraction for them.   We went ½ way down Calle Larga checking out the Panama Hats and several stores.

I showed them where California Kitchen is located, although it is closed Tuesdays, and we continued on to La Vina for supper.   The pizza was fabulous as usual, the spaghetti disappeared from Ed’s plate in moments, but poor Lynne’s lasagna was decidedly weird.  It looked like tomato soup and had one layer of noodles.   We should have said something, but didn’t and I shared my pizza with Lynne.   We had a helpful server named Sarita, 4 years old from Colombia, and cute as a button.

I asked them if they wanted to see the junior Symphony in action just down the street but they pleaded tiredness so we parted, only to resume again tomorrow morning.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/

Monday April 22, 2013

Monday April 22, 2013  update #430

I got to bed early, for me, and waoke around 4, got up at 6 and went back to bed around 9.   I got up around noon after 3 hours of the best rest I have had in a long time.

Ed and Pauline have arrived from Montreal, Ed having scouted Cuenca with his buddy, Dick from Moncton, a few months back.   Ed and Dick were both to come with their wives this time but Dick and his wife had to cancel at the last moment due to family emergencies.  Too bad.  I was looking forward to seeing them all.

Ed and Pauline decided to tour the area of their hotel on Mariscal Lamar on their own today, not a bad idea.   I imagine the walking and the altitude will take their toll on them tomorrow but time will tell.

I spent over an hour just waiting for Tom Thumb to make an appearance and giving myself a muscle strain in my left arm from holding the camera in one position for so long.  When he did finally show his pointy beak I only managed to catch one shot of a 3 shot burst.  He is very sensitive to the shutter sound so I don’t want to do it too often lest I scare him away permanently.

I spent the afternoon thoroughly enjoying my return to the Tom Clancy novel “The Bear and The Dragon”.   That is really scary reading and not all that far-fetched in our current world.  I highly recommend it.

That was today’s excitement.   Hugs to all.  Please see all new photos at http://souvenircuenca.blogspot.com/