Yesterday we had to run some errands in preparation for the New Year's eve dinner, so the first stop was at the butcher's.
As many stores around here, they rely on motorcyclist to do their deliveries. Since bikes around here split lanes all the time (in theory prohibited, but it has NEVER, and will never be, enforced), they have a greater advantage over cars during rush hour. This shop has a couple of old-beaten vespas, and I particularly liked to photgraph them since you can really tell that they are viewed as tools of the trade, no need to waste time and money in restoring the glamorous look of this italian machines...just keep'em running!
The butcher shop. They have chairs by the counter, since most orders are prepared in front of you. None of that old, prepackaged stuff. While we waited one of the owners came from a coffee run, and offered some to us.
One of the butchers hard at work. We ordered pork, in a cut that it's kinda like sirloin. Actually what it is is they take a rack of would-be-pork chops, and remove the bone and some of the excess fat.
Then they wrap it, and here's the final product, ready to be marinated:
Then we went to the grocery store, where I couldn't miss taking a picture of the much described avocado in the salad a few pages ago. Just insert an aussie accent a-la crocodile Dundee...."that's not an avocado..THIS is an avocado...."
Walking back from the grocery store, I took a picture of this motorcycle shop. Over here they don't let a few steps detter them from putting a bike shop when real state is hard to come by...
In the afternoon I went for a nice, hour-long walk, to mitigate some of the 'damage' done by all the eating tasty, rich food. It wasn't a particularly long walk, but it's mostly uphill. I went to an old amphititheater, now one of the landmarks in the area. It's sometimes used for small concerts and entertainment, but most weekends people go there to take advantage of the topography and work out.
On the back of the amphitheater, there's an old abandoned control room, still bearing the marks from the recent referendum elections... the graphitti means " *No* to the ammendment."
The amphitheater takes advantage of the natural shape of the hills. I used to work out there by running up/down the steps. This time, just walking from the house to there was enough for me...
You can't help but work out an appetite after all that excercise...so it was a good thing that we already had an invitation for dinner that night...
Salad, hallacas, and to wash it down, 15 yr-old scotch whiskey...