After lunch at the Chinese Place, we headed into "the market" which is a giant souvenir stand or flea market. There are two aisles with stalls selling various Costa Rican goods. Once you've seen about 6 stalls, you've seen everything they have to offer. MT was told by his wife the left side of the market was better than the right which it was.
I was looking for a new hat for the hubby and a couple of t-shirts. MT wanted to pick up a few things for his wife that she requested. I got a hat and 4 shirts for $40. I just hope the hat fits the hubby. I should have had MT try it on. As we wandered the market, we priced out what we wanted.
I ended up getting an ox-cart that I wanted for $5 since I kept saying no and attempted to walk away. It was originally $10 or $12.
MT get the bookmarks and birds his wife wanted. He also picked up a penis bottle opener for his sister-in-law because everyone needs one of those right???
With our wallets significantly lighter, we headed down Avenida 3. We stopped at a couple grocery stores. MT wanted to pick up a couple of things. He explained that his wife picked up sample packs or multi-packs of cookies and candies to try different things. I decided I wanted to do that since I like trying (and bringing back) local snacks and candy. In the second store, I was able to get an 8 pack of wafer cookies, a 12 pack of other cookies, a pack of coconut cookies, 2 packs of wafer straws, a mini Rolo looking thing, a Suzy-Q type snack cake, and 6 pack of mini-snowball type cakes plus a can of Dr. Pepper and a Gatorade for $10. Some of it I will, others I will bring home and share with the hubby.
Now that we were loaded down with souvenirs and groceries, I wanted to check out National Museum but MT thought I meant the National Theater. Since the Theater was nearby, we tried to get a tour but since there was a live performance there were no tours today. I was slightly disappointed but not overly disappointed since I would have rather seen the museum anyways.
I took a few random pictures of statues though since statues are always fun. I just had to be careful that no one was going to steal my phone and run.
As we headed down Avenida 3, the less impressed I became. It was too commercialized for me. I am used to the older European Cities with old buildings to see. Avenida 3 wasn't anything more than Costa Rica's version of Michigan Avenue or Times Square -- Restaurants and Stores make up much of Avenida 3 and many American brands. There were some local fare mixed but it was largely Americanized. The nice part though was it was blocked off from traffic for several blocks so we didn't have to deal with traffic except at intersections.
Our last stop for the afternoon was the Mercado Central or the Central Market. Unlike the first market we went to this one was much bigger. It took up a whole city block. There were pet stores, flower stores, butcher shops, cheese shops, fishmongers, Sodas or little eateries/lunch counters, plus a wide variety of stalls selling everything you could imagine from saddles and ropes to ribbons and balloons. It was very easy to get lost in it since it is a giant square perimeter with aisles branching off into the middle. Besides the congestion, there is the unique smell of all the different stalls and eateries mingling in a covered space. Once you got used to the smell. I wish we had an actual kitchen or something since it would have been fun to get a fresh chicken or fresh, with fresh vegetables, and make a meal.
Needless to say I was not overly impressed by San Jose. I wish I could have seen some of the museums or "historical" buildings but shopping was fun too. If you are in Costa Rica and have time to spare, check out the capital city. There are supposed to cool churches and museums, I just didn't get a chance to see them today.
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