I woke up in the morning completely refreshed and pretty psyched for my continental breakfast. The hotel dining room was on the 4th floor and I got a pretty nice breakfast view as my first taste of Cuenca in daylight. I also met a random Young Judaean from Chicago which was a strange coincidence. Andy and I spent the day wandering the streets of Cuenca and getting our internet fix after minimal access on the coast. Despite the weather (which is starting to be a constant disappointment throughout Ecuador), Cuenca is a really gorgeous city. It's filled with amazing colonial architecture, clean cobble stone streets, vast colorful cathedrals and really stunning plazas. Just walking through the streets made me extremely calm and happy for some reason, and in terms of vibe and beauty, it blows Quito away. One thing it does not beat Quito in however, is action. Our first Sunday night was spent wandering around desparately searching for anything that might entertain us. The streets were abandoned except for some rolling tumbleweed, and nothing was open. Andy and I tried to entertain ourselves by taking stupid videos and doing minorly ridiculous dares, but eventually around 9:30 we gave up and decided to go back to the hotel. As always, television provided a broad shoulder to lean on.
The next morning we had to get up early because, despite our reputation as detailed planners, we hadn't told the school that we were coming and we wanted to make sure that we were able to get private classes. Somehow, despite us not informing anyone of our arrival, our names were on the list proving once again that anything can be accomplished by the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction.
We also decided, after some serious debating, to stay with a family again instead of living it up in the Hotel Milan. This turned out to be another bullseye gut decision, as Elena, our new mother was really the best host we ever could have asked for. First things first, both and Andy and I got our own rooms which was a treat on it's own after sharing for 2 weeks. My room had a balcony and an incredible view of the entire city, which by all acounts is simply stunning. The food was the best we had eaten in Ecuador and each meal included soup, a main course and dessert, as well as an assortment of fresh juices. She also made us eggs every morning which really one upped Mama Ceclia´s daily selection of bread with either jam or butter. It
´s techinaclly only her and her husband living in the house but there's a constantly rotating cast of children and grandchildren eating, talking, and hanging around. Every day, she would take my dirty clothes (without asking) and wash them, and she insisted upon ironing my shirts and pants. I had to argue with her for 15 minutes that my underwear, though slightly rinkled, did not need ironing and that she probably had better things to do with her time. At dinners she'd tell us, in Spanish of course, her best stories of all the crazy characters that have stayed at her house over the years. Her whole family (including a baby beagle) was great as well and I honestly don't think we could have had a better host. It was the perfect home base for our week in Cuenca.
The next morning we had to get up early because, despite our reputation as detailed planners, we hadn't told the school that we were coming and we wanted to make sure that we were able to get private classes. Somehow, despite us not informing anyone of our arrival, our names were on the list proving once again that anything can be accomplished by the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction.
We also decided, after some serious debating, to stay with a family again instead of living it up in the Hotel Milan. This turned out to be another bullseye gut decision, as Elena, our new mother was really the best host we ever could have asked for. First things first, both and Andy and I got our own rooms which was a treat on it's own after sharing for 2 weeks. My room had a balcony and an incredible view of the entire city, which by all acounts is simply stunning. The food was the best we had eaten in Ecuador and each meal included soup, a main course and dessert, as well as an assortment of fresh juices. She also made us eggs every morning which really one upped Mama Ceclia´s daily selection of bread with either jam or butter. It
´s techinaclly only her and her husband living in the house but there's a constantly rotating cast of children and grandchildren eating, talking, and hanging around. Every day, she would take my dirty clothes (without asking) and wash them, and she insisted upon ironing my shirts and pants. I had to argue with her for 15 minutes that my underwear, though slightly rinkled, did not need ironing and that she probably had better things to do with her time. At dinners she'd tell us, in Spanish of course, her best stories of all the crazy characters that have stayed at her house over the years. Her whole family (including a baby beagle) was great as well and I honestly don't think we could have had a better host. It was the perfect home base for our week in Cuenca.
1 comment:
Sounds like Mama Cecilia was excitado about your underwear.
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