Exploring Antigua – Dining, Dancing and Drinking
Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala |
Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
Angie Angie – serves Spanish tapas with great music. The courtyard has a bonfire on a massive ceramic pot. Went here twice, first with Erina (from Boston), then with Adelle (retiree from Australia) — both stayed in same case de familia where I stay. Love the brownies here, they were my staple for the first week. Each costs Q10, but was later charged Q12 — dunno why. Locals could be quite random with foreigners when it comes to their prices… The coffee and Guatemalan hot chocolate are nice especially on a cold, cloudy, rainy evening.
Bagel Barn – mentioned this in an earlier post. The bagels are meant to be good. I didn’t try as I’m not a bagel fan. The Mayan hot chocolate is nice though.They show movies everyday at around 5:30PM/7PM.
Cafe No Se – this place is a bit gritty for my taste although it’s got great music. I only poked my nose in to see what’s there. Inside is a Mezcal bar. I was told this place is a magnet for d***s.
Cafe Sky – right next to Cafe No Se, has a great rooftop view of the Oriente side of Antigua. The most distinct vista is that of the San Francisco church with the volcano on the background (on a good day).
Choco Museo – has a chocolate making tour and workshop. You get to make your own chocolate. For me, I simply enjoyed the chocolate caliente with good company and conversations (Erina, Adelle).
Dona Luisa – they are known for their banana bread, the freshly baked scent of which pervades the street. This is right next to the choco museo. I bought Pan de Limon (Lemon Bread) instead of the banana bread and shared it in school. Everybody loved it!
Monoloco: very much a “gringo” place. Ladies night on Tuesdays. Went there twice: first, with Rachel, Megan (fellow travelers) and Erina (fellow homestayer) and the next, with Todd and his friends.
La sin Ventura: First time I came here was with Gilbert. We were both happy to meet each other again — we first met in Oaxaca, then in San Cristobal along with other couchsurfers. this time he’s with Mario and Eric, both Guatemaltecan CSers. Erina was with me. Packed on a Saturday, the place was pretty dead on a Thurs. Keen for real dancing crowd, off we went to…
La Sala: This is a seriously packed dancing crowd, especially on a Ladies Night. Free entry for girls, $10 cover charge for guys. The crowd is pretty mixed although predominantly tourists, mostly Americans I guess. Had so much fun dancing! Danced till Mario, Eric and Gilbert were exhausted. Luckily, met a new dancing partner, Todd, who danced with me till the last song.
Las Palmas: They have free movies everyday at 2PM and 4PM. Went there with Todd the following Sunday to watch J. Edgar, starring Leonardo di Caprio. It’s useful for learning Spanish as the movie has Spanish subtitles. Thursdays and Fridays, they have live music.
Following Thursday, I went back with my fellow homestayers, Wendy and Joan from Netherlands, and danced to Bachata and Meringue. We pretty much had the whole place mostly to ourselves and we had so much fun dancing.
When we went back there on a Friday, it was full on serious Salsa dancing with live music. Lots of the guys are dance instructors and I had the chance to dance with one of them just for a while. Todd dropped by and saved the day as we went off to a more dance-friendly zone, La sin Ventura — which is pumped and packed on a Friday.
Into my third week in Antigua, I didn’t go out dancing at all… I guess that was it for me. My amigos and amigas have all left town: Gilbert to Bolivia, Todd to Peru, Erina to Lanquin, Wendy and Joan to Mexico, Adelle to New York… and the new ones I meet, I haven’t yet cliqued with.
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