It's done, We're done!

Finally, everything has been sold (although some things will be picked up during our last three days here in Cuenca). It's been quite a process but surprisingly fairly painless. Once all the big things (and many, Many, MANY small things) were sold, we divided the final items into bags for friends in need.

Today we had a going away party at Magnolia Caffe . I think we ended up with at least 40 people in attendance - it was amazing! Magnolia is a special place to us. The owner, Simon Cordero, hand-crafted our wedding rings back in May 2013. The wait staff of husband and wife, Huber and Karen, have become like son and daughter to us and their son, Juan Pablo, a grandson.

We took over the restaurant today - these photos were taken before another dozen or so folks arrived. We had over forty people take time out of their busy schedule to see us off. Oh, and we also had three tables outside!

Other friends couldn't make it today but we have been able to see them around town. Life is good!

For anyone who needs a reason to stop in and try out Magnolia Caffe , besides the delicious meals, here is a snapshot of one of their delicious desserts. (We had the American style apple pie but I forgot to take a photo).

Everything is baked in house, including their rolls and breads. We highly recommend Magnolia Caffe for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert or just drinks!

This will be our final post in this blog. I hope you will all move over to our US based blog and follow us there: backendofnowhere.com or ourprimeyears.blogspot.com, where we will continue to chronical our travels and adventures! 2016 is going to be a busy year for us!!

Ciao for now!

Saturday in El Centro, more food and friends!

Saturday we headed out to El Centro with our first stop being Cafe Nucallacta for lunch. It's also our favorite coffee stop and where we buy our beans for grinding.

Stu opted for the Burrito Mojado (wet burrito) that I had last time and I opted for the Greek Salad. We were both quite pleased, especially me. I'd been craving a Greek Salad for months! We ran into several friends there and chatted a bit before heading to our next stop.

We ran into more friends on the walk just down the street to the Todos Santos church. For weeks we've heard about the Puro Cafe behind the church. Good coffee spot with an amazing view. Well, on Saturday there was an artisan show going on with not just crafts but food and wine (with tasting). Who could resist? We knew our friends, Tiago and Meg, would be there, selling their goods.

We enjoyed viewing all the wares from everyone as well as running into another dozen or so folks we knew. Seems as though everyone was shopping - of course the gorgeous sunny day helped.

We found Tiago (Meg was off getting lunch at Subway) and chatted for a minute. He had sold all but TWO of his scarves. Made us both happy! As we walked around the event, Tiago found us and surprised me with a little Mothers day gift - another pillow from his collection. LOVE IT!

Here a few photos of my pillow, the event and the cafe.

[Remember, click any image for a larger view.]

We decided to walk down to the river and up to Magnolia Caffe for the coffee we never got earlier. We hadn't seen the "Broken Bridge" since its repair, it was nice to see it completed. At the bottom of the stairs, under the bridge was a small art gallery. Some beautiful works there!

We walked along the river, savoring the perfect weather, while I snapped a few shots here and there.

We arrived at Magnolia Caffe to see the new VW bus the owner, Simon Cordero, had purchased and was restoring. Sweet ride!!

Since several hours had passed since lunch, we both decided to have a little dessert with our coffee. Stu got apple pie and I got passionfruit cheesecake. Yummy!!

We sat outside enjoying the weather and the view (great spot to people watch). This little tyke came up with his father, racing along on his little bicycle as fast as his two tiny feet could move (no pedals). He was smiling and laughing, I had to get his photo - made my day!

A short walk to the bus stop and back home. A fantastic day!

Ciao for now!

May Day 2015

May first, or May Day, here in Ecuador is similar to Labor Day. Not just a day off but a day of protests and marches. In Cuenca there were two groups, one that is pro-Correa, our Presidente, and one anti-Correa.

While we went into El Centro but timed it to be after the parades even though last year there was nothing violent, we wanted to avoid the crowds. But a friend, LT Murphy, captured a great video of the event.

Our normal bus had to take a different route due to road closures for the demonstrations, so we had several blocks to walk to our destination. We saw a lot of folks headed out of El Centro, both by foot and car. We also saw the remnants of the extra police brought in - just in case.

{Sorry for the poor quality of some photos, most were taken with my iPhone 3s. Remember you can click to see a larger image.}

We decided to eat lunch at Cafe de Ñucallacta since we needed to buy coffee beans anyway. This was their first day open in their new location and they were offering an expanded menu. What a treat! Three times the size (or maybe more) than their old location, spread over two rooms, it is now open, airy and bright. The furnishings were quite comfortable and the new menu offered a lot of choices. They even had the WiFi working!

I opted for what they call the Wet Burrito with chicken. A flour tortilla, tomato, black beans, cheese, pico de gallo (although it's not what we typically find in the US), chicken and a special sauce. Absolutely delicious and very filling.

Stu opted for the chicken fajita and enjoyed that as well. The little side dish of hot sauce made him sweat a bit, but he loved it.

They also had a dessert counter. We didn't indulge but it looked tasty.

From there we walked down the stairs where a lot of folks were selling jewelry and bags.

Then over to Parque de la Madre where 24 artisans were showing off their wares. A lot of food products, some household decor, toys, clothing, jewelry - it was a feast for the eyes. I was good and didn't find anything that I couldn't live without so we left empty handed.

We took a walking break in the park, enjoying the sights and sounds of children all around us. One family especially enjoyed rolling down the small hills, their trek started by mom pushing them over.

A bus back home and a few final shots.

We ended up with over 7,000 steps although the day ended up over 10k after a twenty minute walk up to meet new friends who had just arrived in Cuenca. Oh, and although it looked like rain off and on all day, we barely got a drop. A good day for sure!

Ciao for now!