Note: this documentation may become filled with tiresome details. (This is more for me! :P) You have been warned...
Friday night, April 25
Five girls, three guys, and about 135 pounds worth of luggage made it to SFO well ahead of schedule. We took our chances with our carrier Grupo Taco despite the fantastically slow ticket agent who took over an HOUR to get our boarding passes and who subsequently put us on a different flight which incredibly got us to our destination.
While waiting for the plane, Asian-girl-vacation-mode kicks in: we take enough pictures to make a flip-book movie. Flight was late but good thing our connecting flight was late too! No transfer issues. Slept throughout most of the flight as usual.
The moment we walked out of the San Jose (in Costa Rica!) airport, we had our first encounter with a sketchy guy. We thought he was part of our tour. Turns out he was just there to earn an American tip for carrying our baggage. Got bussed to the Hemingway Inn-quaint little place tucked in the historic district of San Jose. The blond woman-on-duty was great! Kind of a motherly professional type.
On our own for a day! After waiting around for like 2 hours, we headed out for a late lunch. I LOVE their frescas! Especially the papaya en leche. yum! Most interesting dish: cerviche - sea bass cooked from the acid of lemon juice.
Since it began raining hard after lunch (as warned by our tour guide/driver Luis), we sought shelter first at an ice cream shop and then at a department store. Tried a cas-flavored ice cream. (Ok, not sure what cas is but it sounded exotic. right?) Sour-sweet flavor. Not to my liking. Give me sweet anyday baebee. We found $3 shirts at the department store! BARGAIN! I think the locals thought we were crazy because we took over all five changing rooms and then we each had to get the opinion of the other four girls whenever we tried the clothes on.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah"
"Ok, come out!"
(changing room doors open, girls come out)
"[fill with your own imagined comments along the lines of 'That's so cute!' or 'It's a little too big for you' or 'We're wearing the same thing, different color']"
:D
Headed back to the Inn and waited for Al who was supposed to have arrived from Boston 6 hours ago. Worried, we started thinking of possible situations: missed the plane, kidnapped by a taxi driver, lost downtown, etc. But she made it! And just in time for dinner. Delayed in Miami where there was a thunderstorm(?). Now we knew girl #7 was going to be late too - she had a transfer in Miami as well. Darn the luck!
Dinner: headed to the bar/restaurant next to the hotel. The patios of the two are connected. Ordered a fruit curry with peaches and strawberries. SO GOOD! Dinner should always be sugary. hehe. (Bern, if you're reading, recreate the dish!) And after dinner, #7 arrived. Yeah, happy first day!
Friday night, April 25
Five girls, three guys, and about 135 pounds worth of luggage made it to SFO well ahead of schedule. We took our chances with our carrier Grupo Taco despite the fantastically slow ticket agent who took over an HOUR to get our boarding passes and who subsequently put us on a different flight which incredibly got us to our destination.
While waiting for the plane, Asian-girl-vacation-mode kicks in: we take enough pictures to make a flip-book movie. Flight was late but good thing our connecting flight was late too! No transfer issues. Slept throughout most of the flight as usual.
The moment we walked out of the San Jose (in Costa Rica!) airport, we had our first encounter with a sketchy guy. We thought he was part of our tour. Turns out he was just there to earn an American tip for carrying our baggage. Got bussed to the Hemingway Inn-quaint little place tucked in the historic district of San Jose. The blond woman-on-duty was great! Kind of a motherly professional type.
On our own for a day! After waiting around for like 2 hours, we headed out for a late lunch. I LOVE their frescas! Especially the papaya en leche. yum! Most interesting dish: cerviche - sea bass cooked from the acid of lemon juice.
Since it began raining hard after lunch (as warned by our tour guide/driver Luis), we sought shelter first at an ice cream shop and then at a department store. Tried a cas-flavored ice cream. (Ok, not sure what cas is but it sounded exotic. right?) Sour-sweet flavor. Not to my liking. Give me sweet anyday baebee. We found $3 shirts at the department store! BARGAIN! I think the locals thought we were crazy because we took over all five changing rooms and then we each had to get the opinion of the other four girls whenever we tried the clothes on.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah"
"Ok, come out!"
(changing room doors open, girls come out)
"[fill with your own imagined comments along the lines of 'That's so cute!' or 'It's a little too big for you' or 'We're wearing the same thing, different color']"
:D
Headed back to the Inn and waited for Al who was supposed to have arrived from Boston 6 hours ago. Worried, we started thinking of possible situations: missed the plane, kidnapped by a taxi driver, lost downtown, etc. But she made it! And just in time for dinner. Delayed in Miami where there was a thunderstorm(?). Now we knew girl #7 was going to be late too - she had a transfer in Miami as well. Darn the luck!
Dinner: headed to the bar/restaurant next to the hotel. The patios of the two are connected. Ordered a fruit curry with peaches and strawberries. SO GOOD! Dinner should always be sugary. hehe. (Bern, if you're reading, recreate the dish!) And after dinner, #7 arrived. Yeah, happy first day!
posted by pc at
6:57 PM
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