About Me

My photo
Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
We are from Connecticut originally and have most recently lived in North Carolina, USA. We are starting a new life in South America so our retirement $'s will go farther toward a new way of life and a new adventure.Prior to June of 2010 we never thought a move such as this would be possible or advantageous for us. And, that is why we call this blog "Retirement: Plan B" We intend to see and do as much as possible in our retirement. Spend quality time with family, friends and each other.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

We have been doing more walking the last couple of weeks just trying to get a little exercise and enjoy the city. Sometimes we come across the unexpected and other times we spot things we hadn’t noticed previously. I think this is probably true of a lot of people and not just the expats. Cuenca isn’t a large city, as cities go, but there is a lot here and it is hard to take it all in. Walking is the best way because of the slow pace and the possibility of just stopping to see what is around us. This blog is mostly pictures for the above reasons. 


 There are always new flowers and plants. Not being a plant guy these are almost always new to me. I guess there is now time to stop and smell the roses.


The ladies with the unique hats are (I believe) from Peru, they are in Cuenca for the 12 of April holiday which celebrates the founding of Cuenca. They are here to sell at the market set up on Avenida 12th of April  across the street from the Otorongo Plaza. They are waiting for the rain to stop so they can set up there stall.



At the Otorongo Plaza there is a coffee shop that is very nice. The owner speaks English very well after spending time in the United States. His name is Simone and he is a restaurateur and a jewelry maker and designer. He also teaches jewelry making. He has  some of his work on display in the restaurant
The staff is friendly; the restaurant is attractive and comfortable with outside seating. The coffee is very good and they do something that is unique in Cuenca… they give free refills.





I don’t know if it was nap time or if the alcohol kicked in but the bike is standing and the rider is not.


There is a set of 91 steps at the Otorongo Plaza that lead up to El Centro (the old part of town). Mick decided he wanted to see how hard it was to climb them.


  

On our way back from El Centro, we walked along the river and I snapped a couple of pictures of the buildings. They are old and some need repair but seeing them is still pretty cool.








We heard of a new pizza restaurant recently. Fabiano’s on Presidente Cordova 4-48 near Mariano Cueva.  We were told the owners had spent a lot of time in Connecticut and so we felt we needed to find out if the pies were anything like we knew from the old days.
The pizza was delicious and the husband and wife, Fabian and Jackie, are very friendly and personable people. The restaurant is very nice and they are open from noon to 8pm everyday but Sunday. If you’re in town you might want to hurry over while they are running a special of a large pizza with 3 toppings for $10.

We will be doing more walking in the future and there will be more pictures but to close I thought I would put one more in and see if anyone knows where it was taken.


Hasta Pronto 
Dale and Joan

1 comment:

  1. Hola Dale and Joan;
    Try the coffee shop at the corner of Calle Larga and Presidente Borreo. I found it on my last trip. I am moving to Cuenca over the next few months. I used to live in Conn. My email address is: mreding@mac.com. Love to hear from you.
    Hasta Luego

    ReplyDelete