July 10: Exploring the town

We walked around town some more and explored some blocks we hadn't been to before.  We spent a bunch of time in the pool and playing games in the condo.

Although we sweat like crazy going out for walks around town, at least there's beautiful flowering trees to enjoy.

We've discovered this great bakery - a good place to get fresh bread (including whole wheat) and pastries at pretty good prices.  Thanks to a tip we found another bakery on our walk that's owned by an Italian couple - we shared the tiramisu with the five of us....oh my!!!  We will be returning there too!  With breads and anything sweet we buy only what we think we'll eat that day - otherwise there's tiny ants that get into EVERYTHING unless it's in the fridge, double ziplocked or very tightly secured in a plastic container.

 This is the grocery store that is within walking distance from our condo and house (about 10-12 minute walk).  It's sort of a no-frills store like Aldi where you pack your own bags.  This is where we buy most of our food besides the weekly farmer's market where we'll get most of our produce

Grocery prices in general, however, are often twice the cost of back home (the down side to being a touristy area).  Toiletries, anything 'Americanized' or with an American brand/label can be 3-5 times higher than at home:

Suntan lotion = $16.00 a bottle

tampons = $6.00 for 10 pack

1 liter of milk (4 cups) = $1.60

15 eggs = $3.00+

Betty Crocker boxed brownie mix = $6.00

 small jar of peanut butter = $6.00-7.00

We'll stretch our budget with plenty of rice & beans which I'm trying to learn how to make like the locals do.  The batch I made today turned out pretty well but I cheated with a seasoning pack you can buy from the store.  I still need to learn how to do it completely from scratch....one of my goals for the year!