Finding Happiness...One Dish at a Time.

I realized that the most "happening" pictures on my camera so far are of food, so I figured I might as well focus on what makes this trip back to my hometown so special - FOOD.

Before I go into much detail about God's gifts to mankind, a.k.a foods, I will share some fun things to do with your youngins here in Ecuador. In Samborondon, there's a place called "Tierra Diversion" or "Land of Fun" (I think that's the name). There's a bunch to do, like drive bumper cars into other people, ride a giant caterpillar, or play foosball or air hockey. It's like a year-round carnival here. 

Saturday night I went out with friends to Plaza Lagos (http://www.plazalagos.com.ec/home.aspx) for dinner. This town center was re-done recently, and the formal inauguration will be in 2 weeks. It is one of the nicer town centers in the city.

Food time!

Dinner was great. We ate at "Tupac", named after the last Incan emperor Tupac Yupanqui. This was my first shot at higher-end Peruvian food...seafood to be exact.

Risotto with choclo (corn) and peas, fish on a slab of melted cheese and avocado, topped with caramelized onions. Amazing.

After little sleep (about 3 hours), I got up and explored the city before having lunch at an Ecuadorian restaurant that served traditional favorites with a twist. I cropped myself out of the picture on purpose. I was looking a little rough.

White rice with menestra (beans), patacones (fried plantain slices), salad, and breaded popcorn shrimp. To die for. All this topped off with a fresh squeezed orange juice over slushy ice.

Dinner was awesome as well! I was taken to Urdesa to eat sushi.

The crunchy looking roll is tempura with shrimp filling, the orange looking one had tuna, the black one had eel, and the colorful one topped with avocado and caviar had salmon. All these rolls were dipped in a mixture of eel and soy sauces with sesame seeds. Nom nom!

And with that, I conclude my edible segment of the day.

Onto Familiar Business

Back home in Florida I enjoy trying foods from different parts of the world. I'm especially fond of Middle-Eastern cuisine - Lebanese at the top so far.


For many years there has been a prominent Lebanese community throughout my hometown: Guayaquil. There are countless restaurants serving "kippes" or "shawarmas" or "hummus". Last night I had the opportunity to dine at a small restaurant in an area called Urdesa.


Here we are eating a chicken shawarma and kippes. The soda "FioraVanti" is very traditional here. One of my favorites for sure:

 

After dinner, my friends took me out to the Hermitage area of Guayaquil for a "welcome back" party for a friend who is studying in Mexico. This is was my opportunity to finally enjoy the night for what it was...not to worry about other dinners and outfits or planning the next day's outings, etc.


Here are a few of us from last night:

For now, I am staying in the concrete jungle that is my home city. Next week I plan to visit nature at its finest. Stay tuned!

Go!

After many hours of travel, I finally made it to Guayaquil!
The sky was very overcast, but if that means the weather will stay fresh, keep it coming! Last summer the heat here was unbearable, so I hope for nicer weather this time around.


There really is nothing like going to your hometown and reading words of welcome. The inside of the newly re-done airport, José Joaquin de Olmedo (GYE), has "welcome" written in about 10 languages! Since I'm a language junkie, I felt right at home from the moment I left the airplane.


Here's a picture of the outside of the airport:

As I left the airport and entered the city, I read this one more time:

I was picked up and taken to lunch by a family friend staying in the north of the city. Unfortunately, my camera died by the time I made it to lunch at "El Sabroson" - a restaurant specializing in sliced pork and turkey sandwiches. This place is amazing. As soon as the glass doors opened, my mouth was watering! 

The smell of roast pork and turkey in traditional Ecuadorian fashion brought me back to my childhood, when my family would get together to feast on these fragrant breads holding sliced pork with an onion sauce. Wash it all down with a cold soda.Wow! 


No worries! Tomorrow I'm asking to eat the same thing, so a picture or two will be here.


After unpacking and taking a long, cold shower, I came to a friend's house where I found the newest addition to the family walking. This is him after wearing himself out by running around the house. haha

After spending time with the baby, some friends took me out to Samborondon to have dinner. This is us at dinner:

The picture above is of a really traditional Ecuadorian meal - rice with brown beans (menestra) with grilled meat (pork chop, beef, chorizo, and chicken) parillada. 

Ready, Set...

July 18, 2012

         It’s so hard to internalize the fact that I’m a few hours away from being in the land that saw me birthed to this world – Ecuador. I’m at Miami International Airport with many other travelers, but the reality of my situation is still a bit strange to me.

My trip overall began this morning at 5:30am. I took a shower and prepared to come to Miami by 11:00am. I was met by a good friend who took me to lunch at Flannigan’s. We then went to another friend’s house to share a couple of laughs.

It is currently 4:15pm, and I am at gate H4 waiting for boarding to start at 4:45pm. I will be making a stop in Panama City, Panama, for several hours, and I am super excited to see what the city has to offer.

As of now, here’s a picture of me before arriving to my gate:

I normally travel with a long-sleeve shirt to avoid freezing on the plane, but following my mom’s suggestions I decided to wear a couple layers before putting on a sweater on the plane so I can carry more in my ticketed luggage.