Breakfast Sandwiches, Pierogies, Cabbage Rolls and Library Books

Yesterday - Saturday - we decided to drive to Atenas for breakfast. We went to El Fogon because we have had their breakfasts and lunches in the past and they were always good.

We both ordered breakfast sandwiches and fresh fruit drinks made with mora, a type of blackberry. We have a mora bush in our yard.

As you can see, the orders came with a side of fresh mixed fruit. The sandwiches were loaded - egg, ham, cheese, tomato, lettuce, a sauce - have I missed anything?

We had two additional reasons to drive to Atenas - stop at Pequeña Polonia Café and Restaurante to order two meals to go and to take advantage of their free lending library. Pequeña Polonia was formerly known as Kay’s Postres when we arrived in Costa Rica in 2011.

We met the then owners, Kay and Tom Costello, who always welcomed new arrivals. Time moves on and so did they. The present owners are Ania and Tom, who are from Poland by way of Canada. Their menu includes Polish items so you know that they are authentic. By the way, they no longer serve breakfast but are open for lunch and dinner.

We ordered two classic Polish dishes -  pierogies with sauerkraut and mushrooms, bacon on the top, and cabbage rolls with tomato sauce and mashed potatoes. Also included were a cucumber salad and a carrot salad. Don’t you wish you were eating these tonight?

The cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes and two of the pierogies have been devoured. The rest of the pierogies are for dinner tonight, along with a coleslaw that I made.

While waiting for our meals to be prepared, we selected a number of paperback books to take home. There has always been a free lending library at this restaurant. It’s based on the honour system. So we are set for the next few months with reading material. Nothing is better then being in a hammock with a good mystery/detective/murder story book.

We also met one of our former neighbours when we lived in Vista Atenas. It was so great to see Leticia again and get caught up on the local news. Atenas is a small town which is one of its advantages - you get to know your neighbours and townsfolk.

Click on images to enlarge.

Lunch - Victoria Cafeteria/Café Victoria

Yesterday, Saturday, Lance suggested we have lunch at Victoria Cafeteria which we had yet to try. As you can see from the map below, it is very close to where we live.

Victoria Cafeteria is in a charming wooden building with covered porches on two sides. Lots of flowers on the grounds and in and around the porches. It is located next to Coopevictoria, the huge coffee and sugar cane processing plant.

A couple of views of the Coopevictoria plant next door - that is some huge gear on display:

We can’t figure out what those four big “things” are in the background:

Lots of items to choose from the menu. For drinks, we both ordered mora with milk. They were really large.

Lance’s lunch choice was arroz con camarones/shrimp with rice. The rice was loaded with shrimp.

And for me, it was the casado Tico with cerdo (pork):

From left to right clockwise: pork with grilled onions, plantains, black beans, mixed salad, picadillo de papa and white rice in the centre. 

The portions are huge and neither of us could finish our rice and beans.

This restaurant is in a lovely setting, with quick service and friendly people. Highly recommend.

Click on images to enlarge.

We’ve Moved On Up!!! - Part 2

Our new rental home is located in San Roque de Grecia. We have a typical Costa Rican address: “400 m. este de Restaurante La Paila, detrás del taller de aire acondicionado Serví-Frio”.

We are mostly settled in. Only a couple of bins left to sort through, put the contents away and then try to remember where I stowed what. We have found our gardener and housekeeper. They’ll both come every two weeks.

Part of the fun has been exploring the garden area and finding out what is growing. Fruit wise,  we have mora (a berry rather like a blackberry), a mango tree and an avocado tree, a couple of lime trees and what I think may be a limon mandarina - it is green on the outside and yellow on the inside. The mango tree has two almost ready to pick mangos and lots of tiny ones. No avocados as yet.

For herbs, there is a large rosemary bush and I have just planted dill and Italian parsley. Our garden is walled and slopes downward. Lots of truck tires have been situated to help prevent erosion. They are great for gardening and all of them are filled with soil so I will plant more herbs. I found several rose bushes, lots of crotons, some vanda orchids, and two Norfolk pines. There are lots of places for me to hang up my orchid collection.

Someone spent a lot of thoughtful time creating this garden. There are quite a few large lantana shrubs and they attract butterflies and hummingbirds. 

And now for the inside of our new house - 4 bedrooms, two baths, big kitchen and living room. Three, at least (end to end) car garage. Gas oven and six burners, gas dryer. Side by side refrigerator with ice maker, etc. Big round wooden table in kitchen with six chairs. The wood is beautiful - Costa Rican hardwood. Lots of counter space and cabinets. 

The appliances are top of the line.

My favourite part is the outdoor covered loggia which runs around two sides of the house.

Including indoor garage space, outdoor patio space and indoor living space … we have over 3,000 square feet for USD 850, furnished, utilities extra. The cost of utilities is much less. The stove and gas dryer rely on propane and not electricity. In our previous place, the stove and the dryer were electric, leading to a bill of about $100 USD per month. Our first bill here for electric for a month was about 25 USD - I was shocked.

Laneway to our house - garage entrance is on the right:

My outdoor painting area:

Living room: 

Lots of wall space to hang my paintings:

All the inside doors are like this - Costa Rican hardwood.

And, of course, room for my hammock:

More wall space for my art:

Kitchen - gas stove and microwave:

Kitchen table and my favourite refrigerator type:

One side of the loggia:

Click on images to enlarge.