On Sunday we are invited to our friends David and JJ’s for dinner. They live just a block away from our Airbnb so it’s a very easy stroll. JJ prepares a delicious meal and we have great fun talking and laughing. David has a renewed interest in playing cribbage so after dinner he and William sneak in a couple of games. Perhaps David will join us at Tuesday cribbage in one of the upcoming weeks.
Tuesday’s cribbage game has six players and is very enjoyable. It helps that I win my first game and that we change players for each of the three games. Between hands we talk about life in Cuenca.
Wednesday’s morning is very full. At 9 am the building maintenance man arrives to fix our master shower door, which literally has a screw coming loose. Also at 9 am Cecilia, the maid arrives. Something I didn’t realize when I booked the Airbnb was that weekly maid service is included. 😊 Last week she spent 3 1/2 hours here. Soon after their arrivals we head out the door. Today we walk a block or so to Kolo Restaurant for breakfast. It’s on the first story (one floor up) of a lovely old colonial building which has been converted to a hostel on the ground floor. The waiter explains that today’s special is cinnamon roll french toast with two eggs. I can’t resist. William is good and sticks to his carnivore eggs and bacon. The food and service is very good.
Tuesday’s cribbage game has six players and is very enjoyable. It helps that I win my first game and that we change players for each of the three games. Between hands we talk about life in Cuenca.
Wednesday’s morning is very full. At 9 am the building maintenance man arrives to fix our master shower door, which literally has a screw coming loose. Also at 9 am Cecilia, the maid arrives. Something I didn’t realize when I booked the Airbnb was that weekly maid service is included. 😊 Last week she spent 3 1/2 hours here. Soon after their arrivals we head out the door. Today we walk a block or so to Kolo Restaurant for breakfast. It’s on the first story (one floor up) of a lovely old colonial building which has been converted to a hostel on the ground floor. The waiter explains that today’s special is cinnamon roll french toast with two eggs. I can’t resist. William is good and sticks to his carnivore eggs and bacon. The food and service is very good.
A property manager has told us of an available three bedroom townhouse in the new town. Our plan is to walk to the neighborhood to see if it’s within an acceptable range. The day is sunny and the temperatures are warming up. Although Google Maps says it’s an 18 minute walk, we conclude that the distance and route from El Centro would mean that we would likely take more taxis rather than walk. Oh well, we’ll pass on this townhome.
We do some other errands, including a haircut for William. He stops in a barbershop he used years ago during one of our previous visits to Cuenca. The cut looks good and only costs $4, $5 with tip.
We do some other errands, including a haircut for William. He stops in a barbershop he used years ago during one of our previous visits to Cuenca. The cut looks good and only costs $4, $5 with tip.
Our major activity for Wednesday is the meeting with our attorney to discuss next steps for our visas. We are disappointed to learn that William’s education documents are not yet approved by Senescyt (National Secretary Of Superior Education, Science, Technology and Innovation). We are further disappointed to learn that we do not yet have an appointment to actually submit all the paperwork for Anne’s Professional Visa. No appointments are available in August and the appointment calendar for September will not be be released for weeks. In addition we will need to apply for an extension to our tourist visas if we do not submit the paperwork for the Professional Visas by September 5th. Oy! This causes lots of potential issues with our plan to travel to the US for our niece’s wedding in October, as once we leave the country on the extension Visa we cannot return until our Professional Visas are approved or until January, 2024. Oy! Oy! Sara, our attorney, attempts to make us feels good saying it is still possible all will work out, but we leave the office a little depressed.
Thursday we decide to just proceed believing all will work out with the visas. We meet an acquaintance who lives in the condo building where we first saw a unit (Casas del Nogal). Over a light breakfast we get further acquainted and she provides her perspective of the condo building and neighbors. All sounds good. An hour later JJ texts that she and David are going to have breakfast at Sunrise Cafe, where the Thursday special is steak and eggs. William says it’s a perfect opportunity for second breakfast!
Given the positive information about Casas del Nogal we re-look at the available condo on Friday afternoon. We find some things we would like changed or repaired and agree that we will rent the condo for six months beginning October 2nd.
The other big activity of the week is the celebration of our wedding anniversary. It seems impossible that it has been 45 years, especially since some days I still think of myself as 37 years old! David and JJ are invited for dinner on Saturday. William wants to make his spaghetti sauce from scratch, and he takes several days to prepare and then cook the sauce. We buy 36 Roma tomatoes at the Mercado which he blanches and processes into juice and pulp. We can’t find decent mild Italian sausage, so I buy ground pork and various spices which William makes into sausage. It’s not the same as in the US, but will do. Thursday is sauce day, where William makes meatballs as well as sausage torpedos which are floated in the seasoned tomato juice and pulp and slowly boiled for 3 hours.
Thursday we decide to just proceed believing all will work out with the visas. We meet an acquaintance who lives in the condo building where we first saw a unit (Casas del Nogal). Over a light breakfast we get further acquainted and she provides her perspective of the condo building and neighbors. All sounds good. An hour later JJ texts that she and David are going to have breakfast at Sunrise Cafe, where the Thursday special is steak and eggs. William says it’s a perfect opportunity for second breakfast!
Given the positive information about Casas del Nogal we re-look at the available condo on Friday afternoon. We find some things we would like changed or repaired and agree that we will rent the condo for six months beginning October 2nd.
The other big activity of the week is the celebration of our wedding anniversary. It seems impossible that it has been 45 years, especially since some days I still think of myself as 37 years old! David and JJ are invited for dinner on Saturday. William wants to make his spaghetti sauce from scratch, and he takes several days to prepare and then cook the sauce. We buy 36 Roma tomatoes at the Mercado which he blanches and processes into juice and pulp. We can’t find decent mild Italian sausage, so I buy ground pork and various spices which William makes into sausage. It’s not the same as in the US, but will do. Thursday is sauce day, where William makes meatballs as well as sausage torpedos which are floated in the seasoned tomato juice and pulp and slowly boiled for 3 hours.
Our meal on Saturday includes penne pasta in sauce, meatballs and sausages, roasted pork loin and broccoli. Everything is made from scratch. David and JJ are very generous and bring a beautiful strawberry cake for dessert. We enjoy good conversation, good wine and good food. A wonderful celebration with friends.
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