Nica Trip - That's a Wrap

A full 3 months after we returned, I finally put a bunch of our photos and video clips together into a single longer video to remember our trip. Fitting that today is just before Thanksgiving, since seeing this all together makes me grateful we were able to go and experience the culture, sights, kind people, and delicious food in Nicaragua. The video doesn't quite get across either how hot and sweaty we were on a daily basis, or how relaxing it was to read in the hammocks and float in the pool each day. For all the activities we had over the month, this trip overall was calm and restful more than anything else. Thanks for the great time, Granada!

Summary of activities:

Las Isletas Boat Tour
Masaya Volcano Sunset Lava Tour
Mombacho Volcano Hike
Day Trip to Lake Apoyo
Volunteering at English School
Spanish Classes
Pool party with our Spanish teacher and her family
Running of the Bulls
La Hipica Horse Festival
Celebrating my birthday and Zadie's
Visiting churches and climbing bell towers
Hanging out in the main square
Visiting the children's library
Watching Death in Paradise & Heartstopper

Our Nica restaurant faves:

Verde
Garden Cafe
Kathy's Waffle House (giant pancakes!)
Pan de Vida for pizza
Raspados Loli for icy treats on hot afternoons
Maria Elena Patisserie for baked goods and birthday cakes
Tortilleria Juan Centeno for the best warm, handmade tortillas
Cafe Sonrisa with sign language on walls/tables
Restaurante Rincon de Sabores off main square
Restaurante Comidas Tipicas y Mas for traditional Nica food right next door to our house
TelePizza for giving 80s Esky family pizza restaurant vibes
Grill House for weekly happy hour with the expat group

Have I mentioned that Bill rocks?

The original clawfoot tub now has a new faucet and a shower!, which gives us a full working bath upstairs. We first thought the tub would require professional reglazing, but it turns out that some sanding/painting on the outside and a serious cleaning on the inside was all it needed. Shower conversion kit arrived last week and Bill set about the super-fun task of removing all the old parts and hooking everything up. Boy, does he love plumbing! Old faucet and previous "shower", a short length of garden hose with a plastic sprayer on the end: New faucet (which is so bright and shiny, pic doesn't do it justice, love it): Ready for shower curtains and final touches: It did take 5 trips to Lowes and 3 trips to Home Depot IN TWO DAYS (damn those old, non-standard plumbing sizes), but it works! In other news, I think the second color on the hallway is going to work (first one = too beige), so Bill will start on trim this week. Full final before and after pics are here .

Before & After - Front Door

Quite the transformation with the new color scheme! Since our house is located in a historic district, the colors had to be approved by the historic district commission. Front Door After The colors and products used here are (not affiliate links): Door - Sherwin Williams Cajun Red ( link , a pretty red-orange in real life, looks slightly more brown here) Siding - Sherwin Williams Rookwood Blue Green ( link ) Trim (white) - Sherwin Williams Pure White ( link ) Trim (teal) - Sherwin Williams Still Water ( link ) Porch floor - Sherwin Williams Pewter Tankard ( link ) Brick foundation (not shown) - Sherwin Williams Rookwood Dark Brown ( link ) Mailbox - Ecco E4 in Bronze ( link , available via Amazon and elsewhere) Similar Craftsman-style Door With Dentil Shelf ( link ) Front Door Before

Next Trip Coming Soon!

Today's post was written by my 7-year-old daughter, Zadie: Hi, I'm going to tell you about our trip to Costa Rica that we are going on in 12 days also I'm the youngest daughter of the person who wrote this blog so the day after school gets out we go on our trip. It will suck. I don't even get a day to relax before our trip. At least it is not like another of our trips when we had to wake up at 3 am. But we still have to get up at 6 am. When we get there, our house only has three bedrooms so I will have to sleep with my sister and I don't want that and she does not want that. But at least we get a tv and our own beds. Oh and the planes we take there are one to Charlotte which is less than an hour long and then one to Costa Rica which is 4 hours long. I don't know the activities so bye. PS - I hope you liked my writing because I cannot see half of the letters on my mom's keyboard so this was hard to type.

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