Colombia 2015 - Lazy Sunday

There is something about Sunday that just makes one lazy - at least in this Meyer family it does.  We woke up late again and enjoyed the rare luxury. 

Desayuno

For the past week we had been passing a beautiful restaurant on our way to school.  In contrast to the hustle and bustle of the major road of Calle 10, we caught a glimpse of this oasis of a courtyard from the corner of our eye on our first morning.  Since everyday was filled with things to do, our first morning of laziness incited us to head straight for  Desayunodero Calle 10.  

It being Palm Sunday, I thought for sure the place would be closed and was pleasantly surprised it was not.  The workers, however, seemed very annoyed that they had to be there and were very blasé when asking for our order. 

View from the street

Although I wasn't very hungry, I asked for a lot of food.  The one Colombian dish I tried and liked before coming to the country was a soup called Ajiaco and Desayunadero offered it only on Sundays.  I had to order it along with my scrambled eggs with cheese and ham.

The most gigantic capers I've ever seen!

I didn't need to have ajiaco (the soup in the middle foreground), but I just had to taste it!

We waited a long time for our order, but we were not perturbed as we spent that time enjoying the scenery, snapping photos of architectural details, and daydreaming of our future homestead.  Once we finished our food, we enjoyed our coffee and patiently waited for our check.  We learned in Colombia that the attitude of waiters is to not bother you too much.  I don't know if it's out of laziness or if they just think it's rude to hound people.  The restaurant was closing at 2:45 and at 2:25 we were the last people in the joint.  We wondered if they would break tradition and ask us if we wanted the check.  It was a game of chicken down to the last minutes!  We stole glances at one another seeing what the other would do.  Well ... the waiters moreso stared at us probably wondering when we would ask for the check.  They started closing up their sideways rolling door and the doors to the individual rooms that connected to the courtyard.  Finally, at around 2:43, Michael and I threw in the towel and asked for the check.  The conclusion is they think it's rude to ask us to leave. 

The following are relics and pictures we saw around the restaurant ...

Old school landline phone

A picture of the family that used to live here before the house became a restaurant

What their public transportation looked like earlier in the 20th century

Vintage security?  Or modern ingenuity!

Neighborhood Galavanting

After our wonderful meal, we wandered north of our neighborhood and found some interesting sights. 

Dual purpose conveyance.  Stairs for pedestrians and a ramp for the motorcycles.

Interesting pavers look like Capital "I".

Restaurant Structure

Regarding the picture above, Michael and I liked how the columns were articulated through complete separation from the wall.   It highlights the dual structures and allows natural light to wash into the space!  The restaurant was closed so we just ogled the interiors from the windows.

Mom-n-Pop natural/holistic store!

Playground for the kiddies

The playground above is typical of Colombia.  I don't remember seeing a lot of kids play at this particular space, but it may have been because the neighborhood is mainly a touristy one.  In Bogota, we saw these spaces heavily used.  Across the street from the park was a free outdoor gym that was, in contrast, used at all times of the day and night by Colombian beefcakes.  I don't know if the city had provided the equipment or if they weights, bars, equipment, etc., had been amassed by contributors over the years.  Another frequently visited locale was right next to the outdoor gym that Michael and I dubbed "Pot Park" because of the heavily pungent order of marijuana that hit us every time we passed by it.

Muscle Gym in the background beyond the jungle gym.
I know .... you can't see it.

"Pot Park"

Below is a picture of a beautiful facade we found in our wanderings.  Thin sheets of metal are pulled back to let in the light to the interiors.  I don't know what function the building served, but I hope the occupants were not clamoring for light, because it didn't seem to give much. Still, I found the unique architectural expression interesting.

Just a sliver of light.

I didn't take a picture of the hair salons "pelaquerías" that we came across, but it's worth it to note that there are many salons geared exclusively towards children.  The youth are really doted upon in Colombia.  I remember one such a salon in Alameda, CA, but it was struggling and had to go out of business because parents didn't want to pay high prices.  Either the juvenile salons are cheap (which is what I suspect is the case) or parents are willing to dish out the dough for their kids to look prim and proper.

Before coming to Colombia, I checked the weather forecasts to know what to pack.  Everyday predicted that afternoon showers would baptize us, but they never came ... until this lazy Sunday!  The locals were shivering, but it felt like a welcome change.  Not because the temperatures had been scorching, but because any variation is an added spice to life.  Maybe it was the deluge that had prompted us to be lazy that day.