Making a Deal in The Park

Yesterday was a restful day.  After a 90 minute yoga class, most of the day was spent walking around or reading in the courtyard.  We ate at the Italian restaurant that was just a block or two away.

I guess we needed the rest because we had an extremely busy day today.  We visited the rental office and peered into a few shops on the way.  By one of the ruins, we saw the floats that they will be using during the upcoming Easter events.  Antigua brings thousands of people from all over the world during lent and Easter.

Several street artists were working on the streets as we walked through the El A de Santa Catalina. We looked in several shops on our way to meet our friends in the park.

 

We met Patty and Chris who introduced us to Clara.  Clara showed me quite a few items and explained the different processes on how to make them.  She explained how to tell if it is machine made or handmade.  When handmaking a runner for a table, it can take up to two months to complete.

 

After a bit of wheeling and dealing, Clara and I made a deal and I walked away with three lovely pieces of Clara’s work.  The table pieces cost approximately $55 and her hand made scarves are about $15.  And they are beautifully made.

Patty, Chris, Bruce and I went for coffee at an off the beaten track cafe – we went through a liquor and electronic store and climbed up two flights of stairs to a lovely restaurant with beautiful views.

On our agenda was to go food shopping after coffee, but we were having such a good time and lunch sounded better.  Lunch always sounds better to me.  In fact it’s been one of my favorite things to do in retirement.  So off we went to the Cafe Sky.

I can’t believe I forgot to photograph our lunch.  Bruce said his tomato soup was the best he ever had.  My black bean soup was thick, robust and delicious.  Patty’s grilled cheese sandwich was chock full of cheese and Chris loved his lentil soup.

Lunch finished we stopped in a tienda or small convenience store for some items we were going to get at the big super market.  With all that effort we then needed a break at Cafe Estudio for an afternoon coffee.

We also checked out a few really nice restaurants along the way.  One was called Elten and the other was Eternal Primavera.  Beautiful to look at and a bit pricey but hopefully the food is good.

On the way home, I saw my little peanut man Emanuel.  He is in front of this hotel every day with his nuts, scale and bags and I usually buy a little something from him every day.  I know he looks for me and we have a little conversation in Spanish.

In the evening we met up with some other friends for coffee and conversation.  It was a very full day in Antigua.