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  • San Jose Tour Activities
    • The Bird's Nest Tour
    • The Artist Bird Tour
    • The Hungry Bird Tour
    • The Glam Bird Tour
    • The Bird's Paradise Tour
    • Saturday Favorites Tour
  • Day Trips
  • Agents & Hotels
  • Travel Planning
    • Concierge Services
    • Bus Tickets
    • Private Shuttle Transport
    • Gay & Lesbian Fun
    • Outside Central Valley
    • General Advice
    • Safety
    • Helpful Travel/Fun Links
  • Best of San Jose
    • The Wise Birds
    • Gallery
    • News from the Barrio
    • Tour Reviews
    • Contact Us

news from the barrio

Brunch Menus Expand Options for Saturday Downtown Fun

6/24/2013

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Brunching, a favorite activity amongst many expats and travelers has been difficult to accomplish in downtown San Jose. 

Aside from the occasional breakfast buffets inside hotels, you'd come up with nothing more than the traditional gallo pinto available on morning menus. 

Recently, however, two restaurants are taking the plunge to open on Saturdays for mostly brunch hours. And the good news you can leave full for a reasonable amount of money. 

Jardín del Parque, situated on the northeast corner of Parque Nacional is now open from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. on Satudrdays.

This is a fantastic vegetarian restaurant with a combination of breakfast and lunch menu options on Saturdays. Fruit parfaits, egg skillets and homemade pancakes with homemade jams will make for a nice first meal of the day. They do not have a liquor license however so you'll have to hold on the mimosas. Prices range from $5 - $10.

Restaurante Kalu, a restaurant and art gallery with a delightful eclectic menu is opening its doors 8 a.m. - 11:30 only for brunch, changing to a regular menu at noon, which kind of misses the point of leisurely brunch hours but at least it's a start for greater Saturday breakfast options. 

Kalu has chosen to provide an extensive and creative menu with only breakfast dishes. One can choose from homemade chocolate bread pancakes to homemade bread topped with egg and toppings of your choice. We had the smoked salmon (another hard to find dish) which was well prepared but would have been wonderful with capers. Again, prices were reasonable between $5 and $10 for most plates.  

The arrival of brunch to downtown San Jose rounds out a variety of options for urban fun. I would recommend the following agenda:

8:30a - 10a Organic Farmer's Market at Feria Verde
11a - 12p Free Yoga in Parque Espana
Brunch before or the farmer's market or after yoga, whatever works well for you! 

Remember, if you like a new effort from a business be sure to support it. I guarantee these brunch options won't last long if clients don't stop by! 

**This Saturday June 29 you can also participate in a bike ride with Chepe Cletas and showing of The Triplets of Belleville at the Historic Cine Magaly. The ride will start from the National Monument in Parque Nacional at 8:30. 



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San Jose Walking Tours Now in Spanish! 

6/23/2013

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We are very happy to announce an expansion of our services -- city tours in Spanish! Mariel is joining our team as a fluent English and Spanish speaking guide. 

Native to Costa Rica, Mariel not only is able to provide city tours in Spanish, but also chat with our clients about life growing up in Costa Rica and wildlife. Get ready to hear some new stories! 

Mariel graduated from the program of Biology and Sustainable Development at Universidad Latina, Costa Rica. She then pursued the field of Tropical Forest Conservation and management at the Higher Education and Research Center CATIE, where she became interested in the social aspects of natural resource management. 

Her work experiences are broad and include tourism, experiential education, rural conservation programs, research and community-based workshops. She is also passionate about nature,  Thai massage, teaching Spanish and reading!

Interested in taking a tour with Mariel? Reserve a San Jose walking tour! 

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5 Don't Miss Activities in Jan./Feb. 

1/26/2013

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I hope you got in your rest during winter and the holiday season because this is the time of year to come out and play and there is no rest for the weary as back-to-back festivals and cultural events carry us through to Semana Santa. 

Here's a quick summary of what's to come in the next few weeks,we'll be covering some of these in more detail soon. 

FILM - Jan. 28 - Final film in Chaplin series at Teatro Variedades_, EL GRAN DICTADOR (The Great Dictator) 1940. 

THEATER - The English-speaking Little Theatre Group will kick off the 2013 season with a Cabaret Night, theater and musical performances will be the highlight of this Jam at the Bar. 7:30 on Feb. 8, 2.500 entrance fee at Sala Garbo.  

ROCK - Festival del Rock en el Farolito, 11a - 8p Feb. 16 and 17. This is a free concert featuring prominent Costa Rican rock bands in Parque Morazan. Full line-up schedules will appear on the facebook page. 

ELECTRONIC - ChepeJoven is an annual event that opens up international electronic music for free to Costa Ricans while closing Paseo Colon for a Sun. As the name implies, this will be an event mostly attended by teenagers and then electronic fans of all ages. Hosted also on Feb. 17 you can listen to music ALL DAY downtown. This festival runs 8a - 3p. 
DJs spinning include:
 
- Jeff Brenes
- Monik Zdan
- Hector Moran (El Salvador) 
- Erik Prestinary 
- ¿?
- Lawrence Casal 
- Huba&Silica

INNOVATION - TEDxPuraVida is an independently organized event with the same spirit of 'ideas worth sharing'. Presentations are in Spanish but that's a good opportunity to practice and a great chance to meet some of the nation's thought leaders. Tickets are $150, the event will be hosted at the Children's Museum. A full schedule of presenters is available. 

To explore of the exciting places and activities in San Jose, Costa Rica Book a City Tour.

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Historic Renovations Giving New Shine to Old Buildings

1/24/2013

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When I arrived to San Jose 4 years ago, I spent a lot of timing wondering side streets, finding old buildings that carried ancient soul, story and charm. My curiosity to learn their histories led me to start this city walking tour business so I could share that curiosity with visitors. 

Fastforward to 2013, and the majority of these buildings have been restored, bringing the rich history of the city out of the shadows and into the forefront for all to marvel and remember. 

As infrastructure and restorations move forward I continue to predict more pleasant walk ways with less chaotic traffic and signage, and more calm to take in the San Jose that existed 100 years ago and has a new face to put forward today.

The newest buildings to add to our restoration list are pictured here at the right. 

Edificio Macaya was originally a hardware store opened in 1906. Remembering that most goods were imported, these warehouses would be filled floor to ceiling with mostly european products to buy. 

The building is still in the Macaya family and due to poor property management they have been unable to or unwilling to pay for the continued neccesary maintenance of the property. The Patrimonial dept. invested $25,500 in the restoration of the facade. You'll notice the railing in the original photo, this had completely fallen apart and so that and other elements were reconstructed. 

Edificio Herdocia is a familiar building for those that have to cross east to west through downtown. Situated on the north side of the post office, this building was designed 30 years later by the same Spanish architect of the post office, Luis Lack Llagostera in 1945.

Restoration work has begun on the exterior. The pink and cafe colors on the side might be an experiment to see which color will be best for the entire facade. This building features some the traditional neoclassic elements we see on many of the downtown buildings from the early 20th century including the false columns down the side. The completion of this building will make the adjacent plaza (one of my favorites) an even nicer place to visit and relax in the sunshine with a coffee from the new cafe also located in the plaza. 

If you are interested in learning more about the architecture in San Jose we recommend taking our Bird's Nest Tour. 




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The nearly completed facade, Jan. 2013
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The original facade, 1910's
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Inside view of the hardware store about 100 years ago.
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Edificio Herdocia currently getting a face lift.
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Costa Rica's Gold Museum Awarded 1 of 800 Best Buildings of 20th Century

11/14/2012

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The English editorial, Phaidon Press Limited, has just honored the Museo del Oro/Numastic Museum in its recently released list of most important buildings of the 20th century. 


Serendipitously, the museum has been celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and has finished a remodel that includes handicap access, new electrical system and interior upgrades. 


The building is unique in that it is the only underground building in Costa Rica and is also an inverted pyramid. The 'roof' is the famous Plaza de la Cultura which is home to many cultural events througout the year and is next to the National Theater. The museum has also improved its cultural outreach over the past two years hosting coin collector fairs, concerts on the plaza entrance, and new art exhibits inside. 


An exhibit on the buildings creation and construction will open next Fri. Nov. 23rd.

We visit the most interesting architectural sites in San Jose on our Walking Tours $22 - $25. 

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    By Stacey Auch.
    Stacey is the founder of Barrio Bird Walking Tours and an original advocate of San Jose's revitalization. She has opened 4 businesses all with a focus on sharing San Jose secrets and tips with locals and visitors. 

    You'll want to subscribe to this blog above if you want to enjoy the best of San Jose, and you'll definitely want to book a walking tour!

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