Corpus Christi Celebration in Cuenca

Corpus Christi is the body of Christ and it is a week long celebration here in Cuenca. Sweet treats, parades, sweets, dancers, fireworks and oh, did I mention, sweets? Due to our busy schedule and recent recovery from colds, we opted out of visiting the huge crowds but many of our friends attended.

Check out one friend's blog - lots of photos! I think you will enjoy it!

Ciao for now!

Sunday in El Centro

Yesterday was the official day of celebration for Cuenca's 458th anniversary but we didn't expect much when we ventured into downtown (El Centro). But Surprisingly the craft tents and artists displays were packed and there were a lot of people in the downtown area, attending church, eating lunch and enjoying ice cream.

Rather than my chatter on, here are some photos I took today. You can see the rest in our SmugMug album.

When we visited on Friday, I saw a necklace that I really liked but wasn't willing to spend quite as much as the artist's wife wanted. Today the artist was back and the first price he quoted me was less than her discounted price and what I had determined I was willing to spend. It's a two-sided necklace with various stones and sterling silver. He sat down with his daughter and asked me to take their photo.

Ciao for now!

An evening out....

We were invited out to celebrate the birthday of a good friend and last night was the event. We had never been to the restaurant, Goda, but had been told it was good. Well, it was better than that! Food, service, ambiance, great price - our new spot to take out of town visitors (if they ever come visit us). It's affiliated with the El Dorado Hotel. The address is Gran Colombia 7-87 y Luis Cordero, Cuenca, Ecuador. [warning - photo intensive blog]

Here are some photos of our celebration - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Pat!

THE PEOPLE:

THE FOOD:

THE DESSERTS:

THE RESTAURANT:

THE MAGAZINE:

Even our waiter got his photo taken with Zero Latitude magazine!

We just left our review on TripAdvisor...we will be back!

Ciao for now!

Every day is a parade....

Well, maybe not, but here in Cuenca we run into parades often enough that it feels that way. Yesterday was a nice day for heading into El Centro for a walk. I needed to meet up with our tagua man to see if the turtles I ordered for my sister-in-law were ready to pick up.

We headed in after lunch, took a leisurely walk to the artisan shop (Casa de la Mujer) but the tagua man was closed. Assuming he was out to lunch, we headed to Don Colon's for a cup of coffee.

The sun was shining, it was busy everywhere, vendors everywhere selling everything from the usual wares to shoe laces to these cute little hats we saw on toddlers (and of course I could never catch a shot of them). Aliens? Bugs? Not sure... The flower market was full of people enjoying the sun on a crisp day.

While at Don Colon's we were joined by several friends, we sat for over an hour chatting, enjoying our coffee and watching the sights.

After that we headed back to see if the tagua man was back or if he was done for the day. We ran into these adorable little ones there...

From there we headed towards our final destination of the day, dinner at Fabiano's Pizzeria. But before we got too far, we noticed the motorcycle police blocking off intersections and directing traffic. We soon discovered why - a parade!

One thing about living here, you never know when you will run into a parade...and you always know when the parade is over!