Sugar Shock

On June 24th, I turned a milestone birthday. Now I'm 10 years older than the minimum age for an antique! (Figure that one out!) Feeling old, my sweet hubby decided we needed a romantic lunch back at the "House of Angels" restaurant where we spent Father's Day. The sun was shining and the garden was just beautiful! All of the staff came out and brought me a special dessert with a candle and sang Happy Birthday. For those of you who know me, I'm not a big dessert person, yet there have been some frequent mentions of this waist expanding activity! I can say in all honesty, that since this new change in lifestyle in Ecuador, i.e. walking just about everywhere almost daily, Ken and I have lost quite a bit of weight. We are currently looking for a tailor because our slacks just don't want to stay up. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a belt, but smart Ken did!

We recently discovered a nice, well equipped, clean gym with new equipment just a ten minute walk up the hill from our home. Talk about a great warm up! We've begun our weight lifting regime, and we feel great! (Well sort of..) The cost for the two of us? Thirty dollars per month and no contract. Diego, the owner, is a nice young man who lived a few years in the States. His degree is in education, and like the young lady who made our curtains, his salary as a teacher was so low, he couldn't survive. He had to look for alternatives. He's weight lifted most of his life, and owning his own gym has always been a dream, that's now a reality. We're glad we're able to be a part of his success.

It's Corpus Christi festival time in Cuenca! This religious, week long festival includes marching bands and processionals that include young girls dressed as angels, priests, nuns, and faithful followers carrying lighted candles, singing, in front of a float depicting the Virgin Mary, as they weave their way around the city. Fireworks are shot off every night around 8:00pm, sometimes in the middle of a crowded street. Ken and I walked to El Centro, the location of Cuenca's most beautiful park, Parque Calderon Saturday night, and couldn't believe our eyes as we saw row after row of tented stands, around the park, next to the cathedral loaded, and I mean loaded with all kinds of baked goods and candies. This is what Corpus Christi is most known for. The confections are not covered, much to the delight of the honey bees that appeared out of nowhere!

Since most Ecuadorians are short, tall folks have to duck to get through the maze of tents!

Sunday, we decided to walk back to El Centro and buy some flowers from the flower ladies near the cathedral.

We found just the perfect flower arrangement for our living room! One of the luxuries of living here is fresh flowers all the time. They are beautiful, plentiful, and very affordable. I love getting up each morning and enjoying their beauty and fragrance. Here's what we selected for $3.00.

Later, we stopped at SuperMax for some groceries, and couldn't resist when we found these for $3.00 also!

They look great in our kitchen!

Monday, during our daily walk, we found a little shop selling hats. Ken left his hat in Murrells Inlet and needed one to protect his scalp from the Ecuadorian sun. Here's a bit of trivia. Did you know that Panama hats are actually made in Cuenca Ecuador? The name "Panama hat" actually was coined by Teddy Roosevelt. While visiting the Panama canal when it was being constructed, he noticed the workers' hats, liked them, and decided to get one for himself. When he returned to the US, his hat caught the attention of the media, and he referred to it as his "Panama hat"! I think Ken probably looks better in his than old "Teddy" did!

He's my white haired "sugar"!

Father's Day in a Third World Country?!

Today is Father's Day and Ken and I are in Cuenca, far from the children. To make our guys feel better, my neighbor and friend, Robin and I decided to surprise them with a special lunch. Little did I know how special this was going to be!

It was a glorious day, and we decided to take the fifty minute walk to Casa Alonso. Here are some of the sites we passed along the way.

We finally arrived at our destination, and learned our restaurant was located inside the beautiful Mansion Alcazar, or as it's know, "House of Angels".

We literally gasped as we walked through the front door, and experienced the splendor of this beautiful mansion that once belonged to a bishop. The mansion houses a restaurant, coffee bar and boutique hotel. It has eleven rooms and three suites, each one individually decorated with antiques.

We were led outside to the breathtaking garden and seated at our table.

After placing our orders, we were served three small specialty breads. That was soon followed by what was called a palate stimulator. It consisted of what looked like yellow cherry tomatoes covered in a balsamic dressing. It was both sweet and tart at the same time. That was followed by a palate cleanser. It was an edible rose petal lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar topped with a tiny dollop of passion fruit sorbet. Yummy and totally unique! As we chatted, we spotted beautiful hummingbirds! They were larger than we see in the States, and a vivid blue-green color. Joe told us there are 150 different species of hummingbirds in Ecuador.

The main course was served on pewter platters with a large cover topped with an angel. While eating we noticed the sky getting darker and the wind picking up. We ordered dessert for this special occasion, and raindrops started to fall. We hurried inside, when for the first time since we've been here, we heard thunder rumbling then torrential rain and hail. It was sudden, and lasted only about fifteen minutes.

We also enjoyed our time inside, and couldn't believe once the rain stopped, how much ice collected in the outdoor flower pots. After dessert we headed back outside to further explore the garden, and just look at what we saw!

The general manager offered to give us a tour of the hotel. Sandra was charming and friendly as were our servers at lunch. Sandra shared that when the hotel first opened a few years ago, there were a lot of reproductions. Today, the majority of the rooms are furnished with real antiques. Just take a look.

I 'm the antique standing in front of the fountain located in the center of the hotel lobby. It is filled with fresh flowers daily. The cape I'm wearing was purchased last year in Cotaccachi Ecuador, a beautiful rural Andes town that specializes in leather goods. The cape has pieces of leather stitched together.

The rain stopped, and despite the drop in temperature of at least five degrees, we decided to walk back home. Along the way, the sun peeked out

out and we were again overcome by the beautiful views and snapped some more photos as we headed home.

We had a memorable day, spent with good friends. All of us agreed on one thing; not everyone is cut out to live in a third world country!

A Walk in the Park

2

Today we took a looooooong walk and explored Paraiso Park.  Paraiso is spanish for paradise, and this park was aptly named!  Our apartment building is nestled between two parks, each approximately ten minutes walking distance, to the right or left. Paraiso is behind a trauma center, and borders the Tomebamba River.  Saturday afternoons the park is packed with families, and off the beaten path, are scores of young lovers looking dreamy eyed, stealing kisses.  Ecuadorians are openly affectionate, and when greeting a friend, a kiss on the cheek is the norm.

There are marvelous walking trails with bridges that make you feel as though you've entered the jungle.  The sound of rushing water adds to the ambiance. Majestic fir trees, twice as large as the ones seen in the states, border the paths.  The park is spread out and also boasts a large pond in the center with paddle boats.  Around the pond are scattered gazebos for sitting and enjoying the views.  Throughout the park are pieces of playground equipment, getting lots of use.  Watching the children play made us miss our little ones at home.

We got our first taste of renowned Cuenca culture!  The Cuenca Symphony out did themselves yesterday when performing Rimsky-Korsakov's Opus 35 Scheherazade.  This just happens to be my favorite Korsakov opus, and I wasn't about to miss it.  They also performed Shostakovich's Opus 77 with violin solo.  The soloist is originally from the Ukraine, now living in Cuenca.  She was outstanding!  By the way, the concerts are always free!  

Beginning June 23rd, there is going to be a week long city wide musical festival, with venues around Cuenca.  The variety of music being offered is astounding, with more than half the performances free.  Sure beats my hometown's Lincoln Center's costs!