San José Tour

Today's tour of San José, Costa Rica - Brought to you by Memory, while on the treadmill in New Mexico...

I left our apartment in lovely Barrio Dent, walked though Parque China, and through Escalante to the Iglesia Santa Teresita.  Then I cut through Barrio Amon to see the bougainvillea at the Casa Amarrilla (I waved to the President, of course), and then through Parques España, Niños, and Morazon, and on to the Alliance Française - Coucou! Ça va?
I followed the bus route (terrible for breathing fumes, but exciting to think of all those destinations!) all the way to Mercado Borbón, where I bought some *fresh* palmito (aka hearts of palm) and mora (blackberries).  I turned back towards home, thinking of all the wonderful ways to enjoy them!
I stopped off at the central Correo (so beautiful) to check the mail, and rested for a moment at the park (for some reason, this time, I simply didn't hear the perpetual stream of proselytizers).
I went down to the pedestrian mall, past the flower stall and statues, and into the press of people!  I got into my people-watching-and-dodging mode, listened to the chatter and street musicians, kept an eye out for a street-side bargain (hah), and stopped for a breath of wet air at the fountain.
I thought about stepping into the café at the National Theatre, but decided to listen to the blues played outside instead.
I watched children chasing pigeons, and remembered the freeze-frame flashmob we did at the plaza :-)
I got to the end of the mall, this time without coming across any political parades, and went on to the Artist's Market, where I cut back through the shady, breezy, blossomy Parque National.  I passed the ferrolito (train station, also used for outdoor events), the Antigua Aduana (an events hall that used to be customs), and walked on to Parque Francia.
Almost home!  So I waved to the North American Cultural Center, passed the dazzling yellow hibiscus, turned left at the purple bougainvillea, and went into my gate :-)