Friday, February 19, 2010

Trip To Panderia, Calderon Park and Food Coop

We are out almost daily to do some type of activity.  So this report is on a visit to the bakery, Panaderia, to Calderon Park, which is the center of Cuenca, in the Historic Center and finally the food coop where we buy wonderful fresh vegetables.  

To the right is a photo of me going into the panaderia, which is two blocks down the street from where we live. 

Mr. Bill must have been dancing when he took this display case of goodies.  But we went a little deeper into the shop to find all kinds 
 
of tempting treats, you can see here.  Most of these little bakeries serve a neighborhood.  It is often cooked in a bakery in the back and then sold in a room at the front or on the street where people like me have easy access.

We bought six rolls, a small loaf of bread, like you see on the lower right hand corner of the table, and six cookies.  The bill was $1.25. 






Here is a picture of the young Ecuadorian boy who came out of the back to check us out.  You can see the baker working in the back room. 

Now we jump in a taxi and head for City Centre, where the beautiful Calderon Parque is located.  Lots of great people watching here.  More activity on the weekdays than on the weekends.  The center of the city
is the business center and thus lots of lawyers, judges, cpa, banker, airlines employees, etc.



  
  
  
Bill took this photo at my request.  I thought it was so dear.  A latino father holding his little girl while she sleeps.   This is also in Calderon Parque.
  
  


  



  

This is the new Cathedral, a very imposing edifice.  There are beautiful blue and white tile dooms at the rear, but you cannot see them from this angle.  The old Cathedral is across the Parque and makes the east side of the Plaza. 

  
  


Now we head back to our neighborhood for a visit to the Cooperia, which is a coop where farmers bring in their fruits and vegetable and sell them to the public.   
Lots of beautifully fresh produce
which you will be amazed at the prices
when I get to that.  So here goes:


  




 



Pineapple, Pino are $1.00 each.
Banannas are a $1.00 for a bushel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



  

At the right is a photo of what we bought, it includes 2 pkgs of bacon, white grapes, leaf lettuce, 8 avocado, 3 tomatoes, 2 peppers, 3 carrots, 2 cucumers, mango perserves, onions, parsley, cauliflower, 8 big limes, and two different kinds of cheese.  The avocado were .25/each.  The total for all of it ran $23.00, this will last a week. 
You will notice that there are not any unknown fruits or vegetables.
I have stopped buying them, because when I get home I do not know what to do with them.  Many of them have numerous seed inside, so they must just be used for juice,  my juiceer in packed in the household goods, which are to be shipped.  I have thrown away a couple of things that did not smell good to me when I cut them open.  So it is all part of the adventure.

  


  Bill is in love with this plant, plans to have one in a pot when we get settled.  It blooms two different flowers, as you can see.  This photo was taken just outside of where we live, there are planted flower boxes where we wait to hail a taxi.
I promise I am not picking my nose, but it sure looks like it.  We had just eaten lunch in this little joint.  Great pizza, but Bill had a lasagna casserole that was delicious and cost $4.40.
Ciao for now, Dean and Bill






 





3 comments:

  1. Hi Bill and Dean. It sure sounds all wonderful and a large learning curve. We are also having fun, Rving fulltime, since September and learning all the in and outs of this new life. Here is are blog.www.the2balls.blogspot.com

    Gerri

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  2. Dean and Bill . . . how very interesting it is to hear of your day to day experiences. The pics are great and it is also interesting to hear of cost of foods, etc.. I hope you keep the blog going for a long time. We love hearing about your brave adventure.

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  3. Your pics of Cuenca life are the best on the Internet! They're much more informative than others I've seen. They really give me a sense of what you're experiencing. Keep it up!

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