Family Sweet Family

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I drove from Cuenca to Guayaquil today.  On Monday evening my brother, Norman and his wife, Nancy arrive in Ecuador.  This is their second visit and Chuck and I are so excited.  While waiting for their arival, Chuck and I are trying out the Sonesta Hotel.  This is a new hotel, only one year old, that is connected to the Mall del Sol.

We give this hotel two thumbs up!

This hotel is located right across the street from the Sheraton.  They have a nice breakfast bar with made to order omelets, breakfast sausages, pancakes, waffles, french toast, fresh fruit and juice, cold cuts and cheese.

 

 Our room is very comfortable and the wi-fi in our room was very strong.  This is always a plus!

The hotel looks like a giant ship from the outside.

The best thing about this hotel is that you can shop until you drop without ever going outside in the heat and humidity.

I got a call from Norman just awhile ago and their flight was canceled due to hurricane Isaac.  Luckily, they will come on the next flight which will get them in Guayaquil about 10 pm tomorrow night.

Tuesday morning we head to Cuenca.

As usual, when we are in Guayaquil, we are so thankful for air conditioning.

Love,
Nancy

Rotary Market

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I went to the Rotary market this morning.  Our mission was to find a coat rack.  We bought one there several months ago and would like to get two more.  Unfortunately, we didn't find what we went after but we had a great time trying.

The Rotary market is not a food market.  It is a market for crafts people to sell their items.

You can find furniture....finished and unfinished.

Baskets for many purposes in all sizes.

All types of metal craft...bird cages, tools, all sorts of items.  There are so many things to see that you just can't take it all in.

All types of pottery...large and small for plants, decorative and even for cooking.

Chuck found a couple of pots he wanted for plants.

There is also many vendors selling knick knacks...crafts and tourist items.

Depending on what day you go, there are other surprises too.

We had a great time just looking around.

Love,
Nancy

My Favorite Gardener

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck loves digging in the soil.  One of the reasons we bought the condo that we did is because he has space to do what he loves.

Here are a few reasons that Chuck is my favorite gardener.

 

Thank you Chuck for making our lives brighter.

Love you,
Nancy

Tooling Around Ecuador

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been a very long time since I last posted.  I went to the U.S. for a couple of weeks.  I went to visit and help out our son, Matt.  We had a great time together.  Here he is in his new glasses.

When I returned to Ecuador, Chuck drove up to meet me in Quito.  

We spent a couple of days checking out a couple of suburbs of Quito, Cumbaya and Tumbaco.  They are located in one of the nearby valleys and are lower than the city of Quito.  We had heard that they were quite upscale and a popular place for some expats.

We stayed in the hostel, Ventana Bed and Breakfast, in Tumbaco. 

It was located in a lovely setting with fantastic views.

We had a large, comfortable suite.

We went to the central plaza in Cumbaya and enjoyed watching the opening of the Olympic games in St. Andrew's, a Scottish Pub while enjoying our 2 for 1 happy hour drinks.  St Andrew's is located on the main square of Cumbaya.

Later we enjoyed a wonderful Sushi dinner at NOE restaurant.  It is also located right on the plaza.  As we ate dinner on their patio, we listened to a jazz group playing easy jazz in the park.

This is the main plaza of Cumbaya in the daylight.

We got a kick out of this building.  It is located on the corner across from the plaza.  Since there is a cross on top, it looks religious.  Across the top it says:  House of Brother Sun and Sister Moon.

On the way back to Cuenca, we stopped in Guano, a small town right outside of Riobamba.

We went to look at the wonderful hand tied wool rugs they make there.  We bought three rugs for our bedroom.  Here is one of them. Take a look!

We stayed at Casa Real, a hotel near Riobamba.

Here is Chuck enjoying the beautiful atrium.  Wi-fi throughout.

We highly recommend this hotel.

Other than the trip home from Quito, our lives have been pretty normal.

Here is a picture of our favorite Sunday morning walking buddies, Rich and Nancy, at San Sabas restaurant.

Glad to be back home.

Love,
Nancy

Sunday Walk

Dear Family and Friends,

Chuck and I woke up this morning doing our usual Sunday things....coffee, internet, shower and....uh oh ...Rich and Nancy are not walking with us this morning.  How lonely we feel.  I told Chuck that we need to walk anyway...so we walked to town..just the two of us.

Rich and Nancy, if you are reading this, we want you to know that we are not slacking off just because you are out of town.

Our friend, Bruce, has mentioned to me more than once that I need to take a picture of the mural that is being painted on the walls of the newly constructed underpass.  Today we walked by the construction and WOW, I agree, a picture needs to be posted.

The artists are in the process of painting the facing wall.....a picture of that side will come later.

One o f the neat things about the construction is that you can do something that you could never do if the streets weren't closed.  This is a picture of Chuck walking right down the center of Grande Colombia.

We walked to San Sebastian plaza. 

We had breakfast at San Sebas restaurant.  We would have eaten alone but fortunately as we walked in, there sat Jack and Claudia.  They invited us to join them and we had a pleasant breakfast while catching up on all the news.

After breakfast we strolled toward Parque Calderon.

When we got to the flower market big doings were taking place.  Booths were set up and a huge service was going on in the church Iglesia del Carmen de la Asuncion .

Some religious garbed people were selling wine in one booth and in the other booth was a mannequin dressed in the habit of the cloistered nuns who live inside the church convent.

Here is Chuck holding up the wine he just purchased.  I've got a feeling that when you get back Rich, you will be the tasting guinea pig.

Here is a picture of the mannequin.  I don't think the nuns wear the black cloth over their heads all the time, only when there is a visitor in the convent or on any occasion that someone from outside the convent might see them.

Here is a picture of how beautiful the church was decorated this morning.  The statue in the center of the picture was the focus of what was going on in the plaza outside.  This is the 10th anniversary of the crowning (coronation) of the statue..."Senora del Carmen"

For folks living here in Cuenca there will be activities going on all week to celebrate her coronation.

The large picture posted outside the church is of the crowning of  Senora del Carmen ten years ago.

Chuck and I continued on around the corner to Parque Calderon.

There were the usual vendors outside the new cathedral.

This lady is selling candied apples, plantain chips, jello and a meringue concoction that she piles high into ice cream cones.  A word of warning.....that fluffy meringue is made with raw egg whites.  It is not a good idea to indulge.  A lot of the locals eat it...especially children, but I think their tummies are used to it.

We had our walk, a great breakfast and missed Rich and Nancy.

By the way, I will be back in the U.S. for a couple of weeks.  Chuck will be minding the home front here in Cuenca.  I may post while I am gone, but if I don't, I will when I get back home.

Love,
Nancy