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Got a little time to kill in the San Jose area?? Have you heard there's nothing to do there?? Wrong!! Some of what you hear about San Jose is true: - Don't try driving in the central area! No street maps exist. If they did, they'd be useless since there are no streetname signs and no numbers on buildings. One way streets are plentiful and seem to have been set up by someone who was terminally insane and intoxicated. GO BY CAB or, you are having someone drive you to our place or to some other destination, CHECK THE HOURLY RATE. Really, it's cheaper and you'll have more fun!!
- Like most big cities, BE CAREFUL when you are walking around. In downtown Vancouver, a stranger can easily wander into areas where trouble is lurking. In Los Angelos, the out-of-towners can take the wrong exit from the freeway and end up in hell. Here, the unwary will wave around valuables like cameras and purses and barely keep a hand on the things - not a good idea, eh?
SO - WHAT TO DO?? The Grand Hotel of Costa Rica is a really good starting point for downtown stuff. It is located just across an open plaza from the Teatro Nacional ("National Theatre") The theatre is well worth an hour or two walk around tour - hours are posted at the front door area. NOTE: LONG PANTS are required - no shorts, tank tops, etc. This is a class place, guys (that means ballcaps off, too!) The Grand Hotel has a beautiful indoor/outoor cafe/restaurant. People watching here is wonderful. In the evening, the pianist gets it going on the grand piano - feels like you're back with Bogie and Bacall (the era when this was built)!! By the way - food and drinks at the Grand are priced almost like the Poverty Cafe in Vancouver! INBIO (Spanish acronym for National Institute of Biodiversity) is truly world class! Plants, insects, reptiles, spiders - it's hard to believe how diverse life is! Plan on spending at least a couple of hours wandering around. To see a fair fraction of what there is to see, plan on spending 3, 4 or more hours! Take a quick look at a few pix!! SHOPPING The guidebooks say there's no real shopping in downtown San Jose. Some truth, some falsehood. If you want lots of "native" art etc: some, but not that much. If you want summer clothes for a trip to the tropics (ie the stuff you pay an arm and a leg for in Canada), you are in the right place!! Bathing suits for women are notoriously expensive (and difficult to find, to the taste of said women!!!). The owners of Casa Carlos each have two daughters: WE KNOW!! Similarly, shorts and tops for either gender are costly in Canada. A TIP: Buy most of your travel clothes here: you don't have to lug them down and you can have bunches of stuff for very reasonable prices. One lady I know bought 3 bathing suits, 10 tops and half a dozen pairs of shorts for about $120 - and it only took about an hour so everyone else was happy. Directions?? Since there are no street addresses as we know them: from the Grand Hotel - look at the National Theatre - the street to your right is the one you want! Do an about face (ie away from the theatre) and go down that street. Maraud and pillage the clothing (and shoe!) stores!!! Yes, if you are buying several things in one store, HERE YOU BARGAIN. When you see a cathedral on the side of the street away from the Grand Hotel side, STOP. Two things have been accomplished: you have reached the end of the really good shopping AND you are standing outside La Casona ("The Homeplace") Restaurant. This is the place the Ticos say serves real Tico food!! No beer or hard liquor - wine for the tourists who wander in (at exorbitant prices) - and food like your mama never made!!!! Watch out - servings of many of the dishes are huge - more than foreigners can put away! CENTRAL MARKET A few hundred metres from La Casona (head down the cross street when you leave the Casona, toward the street that is on the other side of the Teatro Nacional). A pedestrian promenade is one block from La Casona - that is YOUR street!
Built at the end of the 19th century, the market is a maze that covers a large city block. Lots to look at, lots to buy - here you can bargain some - first price shouldn't be paid - but they are pretty spoiled by all the tourists who just pay what is asked. THE PROMENADE When you leave the market, go back to the PEDESTRIAN PROMENADE - like many large cities, you can wander into some bad areas only a few blocks from the Central Market. Go up the Promenade toward the Grand Hotel. Interesting stores and a couple of great "sidewalk bar/restaurants". On the side streets immediately off the Promenade, there are some very good "tourist trap" shops. When you get back to the Grand, keep on for another couple blocks - an "artisans' market" on your right has a considerable variety of stores selling artsy-crafty stuff! ANOTHER GOOD TICO RESTAURANT DOWNTOWN?? Ask a taxi to take you to Nuestra Tierra ("Our Country") - located about 5 minutes or less by cab from the Grand - Located opposite the Plaza de la Democracía ("Democracy Plaza"). A different variety of Tico food - from the northern province of Guanacaste. Prices not as good as La Casona's but still good. Excellent service, excellent food and Imperial to drink. NO CREDIT CARDS |
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