Posts Tagged ‘Cafe Condesa’

Good eats

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Our days here are winding down, so I’m going to post a few photos of us in a few of our favorite eateries, or, in one case, on the calle out front. Olivia took the photo of me, above, in Cafe Condesa, the restaurant on the Square that is always packed with Antiguenos, North Americanos, and visitors from around the world. Olivia loves their pancakes; I always order their eggs and black beans. If you’ve been to Antigua even once, you’ve probably enjoyed a cup of their coffee.

Olivia’s other favorite food, anywhere, is pizza. We’ve discovered a little place where they’ll cook hers the way she likes: no cheese, with pepperoni extra crispy. The restaurant boasts three television sets, and no matter when we go, afternoon or evening, on one of the channels we can watch Shakira leading thousands of fans in dancing the “Waka Waka.” Here’s Olivia breaking into her version on the street.

The last photo is of Olivia and me at what is perhaps Guatemala’s most famous eatery, Pollo Campero. When we first started visiting Guatemala in 2002, we smelled Pollo Campero on every plane ride home: the overhead compartments were filled with buckets of the crispy chicken, carried by Guatemalans to family members in the United States. I hear now that Pollo Campero is everywhere, from Florida to Texas. No wonder we no longer smell it on the airplane.

I bet I’m not the only one who misses the aroma.

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Traje, a bike race, and goats on the calle

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

I had to post this photo of a street in Solola because it shows a man in traje, the traditional dress of indigenous Guatemalans. Guatemala is divided into twenty-two “departments” or regions, and each department has its own unique design, a tradition developed hundreds of years ago. (My post on Nimpot showed examples of ceremonial traje hanging on the walls.) Although many Guatemalan women wear traje, not many men do; most dress in blue jeans or more contemporary clothes. In case you haven’t seen traje in person, here’s a photo.

Another reason I like this photo is that is juxtaposes the traditional with the modern. Especially in larger towns such as Solola, you see that a lot: a wide range of people, from school students in uniform, to farmers, to office workers. In Guatemala City, the capital, especially in restaurants and hotels, you could be in any large urban area where the men and women are extremely stylish. (I often feel underdressed, as I would in New York or Madrid.) (more…)

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