Earlier this week we ate lunch at the taco hall in the market, 20 de Noviembre. It was a fun and wild experience! Upon entering the hall, we were given a shallow basket. And then with the basket, we walked down the hallway with the intent of choosing a vendor to cook meat for us. How to choose? I have no idea, I made Conor do it while the girls and I waited at a table! Conor chose a place and while we waited for the meat to cook, we chose toppings and sides. Cucumber, guacamole (x2!) a spicy salsa and radishes. Our meat was brought to our table with tortillas and we assembled our tacos and ate them off of the purple paper shown in the photo. Man, it was a fun experience! The tacos were pretty good too! 

While we ate, many vendors came and tried to sell us things. One passed a toy to Maeve - a cat rattle with bells and Maeve would not let it go! And so we found ourselves paying 35 pesos for the toy! Maeve is not allowed to touch nada in the future!

Church was so good today! I loved it. Church is extremely humbling because I realize just out little I know of the Spanish language! It's tempting to feel like, why even try? But we are trying! And we are doing okay! We will get there one day. 

This afternoon, we tried to get Maeve to take a nap - no luck! And we learned that tortillas taste a million times better on the day they are made. Finally we threw in the towel and decided to get out of the house. I really wish we had a park and a playground nearby (that's something Ecuador did really well!) but we don't. We went to the children's library (free) and we loved the space. It's a short walk from our apartment and I picture us spending more afternoons there. We never saw one library with books in Ecuador so it was a real treat to find a place with lots of books, toys and space. The library also hosts events. We are excited to try to go to some! 

Mexico - So far so good! 

How cute are these kids that are our neighbors and our girls' playmates? Let me tell you, there is a lot of yelling and laughing and a ton of fun! Maeve was very into this little motorcycle and took the approach of hovering so close the poor little guy couldn't even ride it. Her strategy worked because then she got a turn! Having an outdoor space to play in and kids to play with will surely be a high point on this trip! We also met an 8 year old boy at church who lives nearby and who the girls really like. We are going to go see him play tennis tomorrow! 

Last night, we just went out without any solid plans besides some food items we needed to buy. After a while, we found ourselves at a museum and then Santo Domingo (the big cathedral). We bought elotes (street corn) and that was so yummy! Maeve was super into it. We came across lots of vendors and enjoyed browsing and then we found ourselves following music and investigating what a big crowd was all about. It was a wedding celebration! Larger than life paper mâché people dancing, an energetic band, and traditional dancing. And the bridal party. It was so fun to watch and seemed like such an amazing way to celebrate marriage! Afterwards, we ate tacos and tlayuda that were disappointing, but you can't win them all!

Today was a busy day! First thing the market to buy eggs, avocados and tortillas for breakfast. And then we had to hunt down some other, harder to find items such as knives, diapers, wipes, shampoo and conditioner... We walked a half hour to a department store, similar to a wal-mart. We found all the items we needed and spent about $50. Then we found ourselves some lunch at a restaurant called, "Itanoni" which was recommended to us by our friends. They make their tortillas with heirloom corn. The food was really simple and delicious. Our favorite dish was the teleta. It's the triangular shaped tortilla. Inside was beans, cremates (similar to sour cream) and cheese and it was mind blowing! The restaurant itself is adorable and colorful and perfect. We will definitely make another visit! And oh man, the juice! SO good! Lunch cost us 423 pesos (about $21 USD). This was a more expensive meal. But well worth it! 

One of our bigger challenges right now is nap time for Maeve. She's refusing to nap despite really needing one! Yesterday and today, she took a snooze in the ergo on my back in the morning. I'm not sure how to solve this problem, but I think it includes not letting her sleep in the ergo, which is challenging in itself!