Day 2: A Day in San Jose, CR



Avery & Paul looking at prices

      The day began with a nice hilly run for Sydney & Stacia. It was hot & lovely. We hope to exercise whenever possible!

the Spanish version of "Frosted Flakes"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Kyra with regular corn flakes



 

Shopping for Food & Souvenirs



 Paul took the kids on a walk to the local shops to get some breakfast & food for the day. Spanish versions of American cereals was this biggest find, but they also got some fruits & vegetables. They ran into some young missionary elders who were wondering what tourists were doing in this residential part of town!

     We then loaded up & drove into downtown San Jose. We have downloaded the Waze app which is how we get around.  It seems that most roads, especially once you get out of the downtown area don't have any street signs.  That kind of makes navigating difficult.

the front of the gated community

trekking back to the apartment

Downtown San Jose was interesting.  The kids were asking what are all these people doing?  Why are there so many people walking around on a Tuesday afternoon?  There were a lot of people. 
We had some fun buying a few things.  Kyra tried to buy some gum and asked the guy in Spanish how much it cost?  We did end up jumping in to help her but it was cute watching her try.  We went to some markets, saw a street performer guy and there was even a big net tent set up with butterflies in it.


the central plaza in downtown San Jose

Paul took the kids to a big toy store.  Cannon was excited to get his first lego set.  Well, the smallest set was our $5 size and it was $20.  He said they were so mean for selling it for so much.  Kyra and Cannon ended up with a bag of plastic body parts- nose, ear, hand, foot, eyeball and grossest of all a tongue because it looked pretty real.  These entertained them for hours.  The best part was they are sticky and they spent the evening throwing body parts around our  condo and then tried to get them down.
We also enjoyed fresh cut mango for cheap and saw a cake that looked just like one from our fabulous going away party- Kim that pics for you!


smile if you can guys!

a colorful door

The most memorable part of the day was the ride home in rush hour traffic.  We had heard driving is crazy here- and it is!  They have very few lights.  Getting to the freeway is just people from the side streets honking and cutting/shoving their way in.  Paul almost hit a pedestrian.  He was alerted by Stacia's blood curdling scream.  It was a free for all out there and I am glad I wasn't driving.  There are very narrow streets and you have to be careful of the cliff like edge on the left and not hitting the oncoming traffic on the right.  When we got back to the condo Paul even had to go for a little walk to unwind.  We were glad to be leaving the big city the next day.
That evening we had a church video moment!  It was great. The kids were on the 2 futon beds in the small living room area.  Sydney and Kyra were reading scriptures, Avery was journaling, and Carley was helping Cannon with his journal.  I thought to myself- this just might be what the trip is all about!

We parked right off the main plaza & walked around.