How did we achieve this, you ask? February 12, 1982, was when we married in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and February 14, 2016, was when we got married in Costa Rica. I did a blog post about this wedding and you can read it here.
We decided to drive to San Jose for a weekend stay. I couldn’t get reservations at Hotel Aranjuez, where we stayed for a week when we first arrived in Costa Rica May, 2011.
The Gran Hotel had vacancies so this is where we spent two nights. This is the high season so I was surprised we were able to get a reservation. The hotel has undergone a lot of renovations inside since the last time we were there but part of the historic 1930’s exterior has been retained. The Gran Hotel is in an excellent location - steps from the National Theatre, a pedestrian walkway which extends for several blocks, the Gold Museum, shops, cafes, the Plaza de la Cultura and so on.
Staff are very friendly, bilingual and helpful. We left our car with the parking valets out front and they whisked it off to a nearby lot. Parking is $25 USD for 24 hours. It’s worth it. Our luggage was first taken up to the 5th floor - this is where check in/check out is and also the piano lounge and dining area.
That done, our luggage was then taken to our room on the 4th floor. We had a king bed room with inside view. It was small but very comfortable, with a mini fridge, a safe, very large wall TV, toiletries, etc. Check in time is 3:00 pm.
We had dinner at the hotel. The view is excellent. Very good menu and bar drink choices. We opted to share the cured meats and cheese board which came with marinated olives and bread. Drinks: Tito’s handmade vodka.
The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel’s buffet. Lots and lots of choices, including Costa Rican traditional foods.
We discovered that John Fitzgerald Kennedy (USA president from 1961 to 1963) had visited Costa Rica in March, 1963 and stayed at the Gran Hotel. On the fourth floor we discovered this:
I sat in one of the chairs and imagined that JFK had sat in that very same chair. Here is a video of his visit.
Because we had been to San Jose several times before, visiting the National Theatre, the museums, the parks and so on, we just opted to relax around the hotel area. We went to their casino but were not that impressed with it. There is a Peri grocery store close by and we picked up some items to take home. I also had to pay our electric bill and we were directed to an ICE office not far from the hotel.
On the way there, a young fellow approached us and asked if we spoke English. He was very relieved to find out we did. He proceeded to tell us a tale of great woe …. he had been robbed - his backpack was torn off his neck (showed us neck injuries) - he needed to get to the airport to meet his parents - but had no money to get there. He had a vaguely British accent. Anyway, we gave him a few colones and he thanked us profusely. Yes, most probably none of his story was true but his performance was worth it.
Back to our hotel and decided to have cold fruit drinks at the Quiznos outlet. There we could sit, watch the world go by and relax. A tour group:
So after this exhausting day, and to give the housekeeper time to clean our room, we went up to the 5th floor lounge. There we could sit quietly, listening to the piano player and checking our emails. There are a lot of pigeons in the vicinity of this hotel. They hang around the Plaza de la Cultura where people feed them and tourists take photos.
The pigeons were quite active on the window ledges and seemed to be in tune with the piano player. I made this video of them through one of the windows.
One thing we wanted to do in San Jose was go for dim sum. This was one of our favourite meals when we lived on the west coast of Canada. We went to Restaurante Casa China (aka China House) on Sunday, before driving home. We have eaten here previously. Excellent dim sum and we ordered extra to take home with us.
Click on images to enlarge.
7 comments:
Happy 40th anniversary, an impressive milestone! As is the 6th in Costa Rica. Thank you for the JFK video; it was so interesting to look back, and at the same time, bitter-sweet. Sounds like your trip to San Jose was both nostalgiac and relaxing. Here's to many more adventurous years together!
Thanks so much, Lynda!
¡Felicitaciones dobles, Diana & Lance! 🥂 Paying ICE, how ever so romantic 🤣😉
Yeah, especially since I was the once that went in to navigate my way through it! First up, the door guards. Second: they pointed me to a guy who gave out numbers. Third, I went and sat in a chair hoping to hear my number called. And I missed it. But the nice people that work there told me which teller to go to. I was able to handle the payment part in Spanish. I always thank everyone profusely when I leave situations like this.
I’m sure they shake their heads.
Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary!
Thanks for sharing your memories!
The number of visits from around the world is interesting.
It really is. I just started this blog as more of a journal of our move to Costa Rica.
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