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Wednesday 9 December 2015

Making new friends, finding markets...

Monday, Dec. 7, 2015

Today our landlady, Barbara, invited us along on her Monday morning ritual to meet friends at the Jardin for coffee at 10:30. We happily accepted, and met some exceptional people who live here permanently. Some from the USA, and some from Canada. It was a wonderful time and the event spilled over into a nice lunch out too. Now we have been invited to the Friday ritual which is lunch at restaurant "La Fronterra", a Tex Mex joint. Hopefully we can stay in touch with the people we have met, new friends are always welcome in our lives...

 

Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015

Tuesday is the day for the weekly market in town. We walked along the northern part of town and found it without any problems, well actually Shelagh finds everything, I just follow her like a puppy. Once at the market we were either too early, or too late. Many of the stalls were closed. However we still got a good feel of the place and will come back over time to see the rest.

Taking many breaks...
Nativity scene...
The Parroquia, no photos inside please...

When we returned to the house we found out that we were at the wrong market! The Tuesday market is in open air in a field somewhere. Next week we will try again.

Shelagh's cold is very slowly getting better, but she is still gasping for air and needs to take many breaks along the way. That's okay, we don't want her to over do it. We stopped for a while at the Jardin and Shelagh bought a nice Mexican woven handbag for carrying her millions. Then we did some grocery shopping and climbed the streets back home. A relaxing afternoon is in order.

 

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015

There is yet another market in town that operates all week, and that is on today's agenda. Just down the hill from our house is plaza Civica, and just next door to that is a wonderful permanent market, selling fresh produce including a few meat shops. An abundance of flowers were being unloaded from a truck that couldn't possibly carry more. Our first stroll through the market was to see who sells what and which vendor cooks the best food, you can tell by the amount of customers are sitting on a stool munching lunch.

Flowers a plenty...
In the Plaza Civica...
Pointsettias, native to Mexico...

However we had pizza on our mind and set out to find a restaurant called "La Grotta". After asking a couple times we found it to be closed, maybe they have a website so I can look up the hours of operation. So on to plan B. Last Wednesday we enjoyed a little restaurant owned by a local celebrity and we really liked the food, so we went for tried and true. "San Augustine" sells churros and chocolate but also nice sandwiches and Mexican dishes. It came recommended by fellow blogger Nancy Beglaw, she does not tell a lie, it's great!

After lunch we went back to the market to buy a few groceries. Dinner is planned, quesadillas are on the menu, but first a leisurely afternoon on the roof deck to enjoy this new thing called retirement. I think I like it...

 

11 comments:

  1. Hi Peter and Shelagh, it all looks so clean and well preserved, wonderful! Yes you are learning fast to live the retired life! Nice to mingle with others in the same position, you make it all sound really wonderful, enjoy!

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    1. The city is mostly spotless, very little graffiti and the locals scrub the sidewalks, just in Holland in the old days...

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  2. The great thing about you guys being there is I can almost feel the vibe from walking around these same streets.

    Sooner or later you will hopefully walk on down to the Weber RV Park where we stayed. Super awesome place. We may go back there some day. Just down the block from them is another amazing church and restaurant. I am sure I have it in my blog posts. Check it out.

    Super jealous but our time for leaving is almost upon us. Should be out of her by Dec 28 or 29.......getting excited and a little sad to leave our little boys for 3 months.

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    1. A visit to the RV park is on the agenda, just in case we end up living mobile some day. We're excitied for your upcoming trip and look gorward to reading all about it.

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  3. once again a good read and pictures that make me feel like i'm walking along with you

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    1. Thanks Laurel, we are both a bit under the weather at the moment, so I'll be back in a day or two...

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  4. I am so enjoying seeing SMA thru your eyes and words. However I am tad confused. Do you have the entire house or just the guest house? Are all those outdoor areas in your photos just for you or are you sharing the space?

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    1. Hi Contessa,

      We have rented the main house for three months. the guest house has been rented for the year 2016. Barbara, our landlady, is going to the coast after Christmas for two months, she is staying in the guest house for now.

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  5. Thank you. Certainly a lovely rental, you chose well.

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    1. We have the entire roof deck which has three areas to sit, we also have the area where the loungers are which is off our master bedroom. There is also a joint sitting area between the two house where the courtyard is. It is a lovely house.

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    2. I stayed a month in the lovely guest house last Christmas (I am a friend of Contessa. Small world.) If you have not discovered already, you can walk to the giant Tuesday market from Barbara's place. It's a bit of a hike, but it's just up the big hill about 4 or 5 blocks, and to the right one block. I walked there every Tuesday and loved it!

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