Settling In in our Newest New Home

It's been noted that we move a lot.  We can't really argue the point.  When we were touring around Vancouver we saw several locations that held "old stomping grounds" and had a similar experience in Victoria.  Since 2000, we've moved seven times.  Yup, that works out to every two years. All that being considered the title of this installment might make more sense.  Here are some photos of our new place (sorry FB friends who have seen this already, but there are people out there that aren't on FaceBook.)

The Master Suite...okay it's a one bedroom condo

Our sitting area out front

Living room and kitchen (see we really are here!)

I'm here, too, and here's the proof!

It's been interesting try to restock an entire kitchen with food stuffs.  You forget how much you build up over time, so the fridge seemed shockingly empty even after we put away a fairly decent amount of groceries.  We can't find Dijon mustard here (at least without honey), so that's a bit disappointing.  I'm sure that there are other things we'll miss that we don't even remember about right now.

We've been getting the lay of the land and have returned to a few favourite places, one being the Cafe do Brasil which hosts Happy Hour, Monday through Friday from 3 to 10.  You can get two for one caiparinha's (that's Brazil's national beverage.)

Pretty!

How does it taste??? Yummy...after the initial alcoholic shock.

How does Ron look, after you drink one? Just like that.

What I look like (working on my second one.)

We've also indulged in some of the local fare and "foreign" food like tapas, here's an idea of what's on offer:

Requisite "salsa" that comes with every meal.

Beautiful little brioche bread

Smoked salmon on "tostadas"

Papas Bravas...I've never had them not cooked in the tomato sauce before

Camarones al Ajo (shrimp in garlic sauce)

Brochettes of ham, beef and prawns with red & green peppers

Bruschetta, but with Serrano ham on top

I thought the night was going to be a bust, as the restaurant had completely run out of cheese (all kinds) but it turned out to be fine...delicious, really.  Here's one of our almuerzos (lunches) from a restaurant right up the street (keep in mind that the whole meal below cost us US$3 per person):

White bean soup...the oddly shaped thing is a baby fingerling potato.

Fresh juice, we don't know what kind, but very refreshing.

Stewed meat, rice and vegetable salad - with pasta.

Deep fried banana...it was ridiculously tasty.

 We've also been braving the local farmers' markets, as it's more cost effective to buy many things there.  The selection is very good, especially for fruits and vegetables and they are very patient with our terrible Spanish.

Full side of beef, aging/curing.

Fruit and vegetables as far as the eye can see.

Ecuadorian fast food, comes with potatoes and a small salad (usually)

Carnes (meats) in all sorts of cuts and types

One of the rows of meat vendors.  There's a full floor of them.

 We haven't braved the butchers' counters yet, but we did go the the fish monger and snagged a piece of albacore tuna for $4.50. PS: that's a dinner plate.

Then there is the city, itself.  The weather has been fairly good.  It's usually a bit overcast in the morning, with the cloud breaking up around 10 and the sun shining for a good part of the afternoon and then clouding over again around supper time.  The evenings usually entail some form of rain - frequently accompanied by thunder and occasionally torrential down pours.  

Not sure what it is, but it's pretty

Views of the mountains

Interesting sculpture...the children are trying to climb a pole and get to the household goods on top.

One of the many beautiful churches

Pretty buildings on the street

Some sort of school pep rally...it went for blocks and blocks

The Cathedral - artsy like

The Tombebamba River

Views across the river and over to the mountains.

Close up of one of the mountains surrounding the city.

You may or may not know that Cuenca is a variation on the Spanish word for bowl, as the city is nestled within a crown of Andean mountains.  It's really quite stunning, and despite being a fairly good sized city, population wise, it retains a small city charm and feel.

We have some things that we still need to take care of, like registering our Visa (who knew...but apparently you have to do that) and refreshing some "stale" documents.  (Who knew that a marriage certificate could get stale?)  We're hoping to have all the paperwork taken care of in the next couple of months and that we have redo some of the documents we already took care of is causing us some stress, but we have 5 months to get everything in order, so hopefully it will all fall in to place.  That's all for now, from the beautiful city of Cuenca.  Drop us a line every once in a while, so we know what you're up to and how you're doing!  Lots of love!