After strolling through the parks, we picked up some pretty amazing bean and cheese empanadas at the Mercado Central, and then walked by the post office and museum. Isn't it gorgeous?
From there, we went to the Teatro Nacional, which I had walked past and admired dozens of times, but had never gone inside. It is absolutely beautiful!
After checking out an impromptu modern dance rehearsal at the Teatro Nacional, we visited the Jade Museum. It was o.k., but not my favorite museum of all time. After the museum, I showed my mom my favorite used book shop, and while there, we made a funny discovery. As you may remember, my sister visited me in March. When she went back to the U.S., she left some books for me to read. After I finished them, I traded them at the book store to get some new books to read. While skyping a few weeks later, my sister asked me to mail one of them to her when I got back to the U.S., so she could put it back in her collection. Ummmmm...you mean she wasn't giving me the books? Whoops! I totally thought she was giving them to me! I felt terrible and told her I would order her a replacement copy. However, when we walked into the book store, I found my sister's very copy sitting on top of a big stack in the romance section! Obviously, I snatched that right up, and have since mailed it to her. I can't believe it turned out that way, but it's a much better story than if she had just loaned it to me and I had returned it, right?!
After exploring the San Jose's downtown offerings, my mom and I went out to Escazu, to meet up with some of my parents' closest friends from graduate school and to see the house where her mother's family lived. We had a little trouble connecting due to some miscommunications, but after finally meeting up at the mall, B.K. (the wife) drove us over to the house. Strangely enough, B.K. and her husband F.T. just so happen to own a house right around the corner from my grandmother's old house. Crazy! (They are living in Canada for the time being, but are keeping their house in Costa Rica, as they are planning to return when they retire.)
My cute mom with the Calle Maynard sign (Maynard was her mother's maiden name).
The house is named "La Roca," due to the giant rock inside!
We were in luck--the same man who let my sister and me in before was there again! He gave us a tour and let us walk around taking pictures. He's trying to sell the house and sent my mom the professional real estate photos of the house. How nice!
Here's the backyard, where my grandparents got married, way back when.
Gorgeous! I'm so glad my mom got to see this house. I think it's really important to see as much of your family history as possible. After we were done touring the house, we all met up with F.T. for some drinks, and then they dropped us off at the bus stop so we could head back into San Jose proper. Somehow, we ended up on the wrong bus and ended in a sketchy part of town that I had never seen before. Eventually, we caught a cab back to my apartment, because I couldn't figure out where we were or how to catch a bus that would get us there.
From there, I went up to a little gathering at my friend J.F.'s house. My good friends E.A. and R.B. were taking off the next day for Malpais and Santa Teresa (where they ended up getting engaged...so exciting!), and others were flying out the next morning, so we had one last dinner together. It was so nice to have some low-key time to hang out.
What a great way to spend one of my last days in Costa Rica!
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