Tonight we ate dinner al fresco at El Restaurante Terranova which sits on the perimeter of el zocalo, the main square in Oaxaca City. We were able to sample some local dishes--mole, tlayuda (sort of pizza meets tostada), chicken tacos, and a quesadilla while sipping limonada and shooing both eager pigeons and vendors away. Penelope has mastered "no gracias"with the utmost of grace. After rejecting a woman selling hair rubber bands adorned with poof shaped dolls, a woman at a neighboring table pulled one from her purse to give to Penelope explaining that they are made in Oaxaca. I promptly tied her hair back with sincere appreciation. An added texture to our dining experience was the crowd of futbol fans witnessing the first match of the World Cup--very exciting.
After dinner we wove our way through musicians, street vendors, pedestrians, and busy streets clogged with vintage beetles in every punch bug shade. The kids licked paletas --one lime, one strawberry cream---as we passed pedestrian only streets, tourist friendly shops brimming with embroidered blouses and painted sculptures, colonial buildings with gorgeous wooden doors and windows scarred with graffiti and crumbling plaster. We walked as far as the gilded Santo Domingo before turning homewards with raindrops at our heals.
Now with one child in bed, and the other on his way, we are grateful for a cozy home to recover in. I only now took pictures of the courtyard as seen from our vantage point in the three bedroom apartment, Los Espejos. Yes, that's a grapefruit tree which evidently is a fun place for lizards to climb. I feel a bit overwhelmed with all there is to see, photo, and explore, but we'll start here for now, at Villa Maria.
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