As aspiring foodies, Alex and I wanted to track down a few local places known for both their cuisine and affordable prices. After spotting Limoncello on Tripadvisor, which was noted as the 8th best restaurant in San Jose (and 0.4 miles from our hostel), we were determined to head there for dinner. The address translated to "behind the movie theatre" so we struggled to find the actual location without an address on our first day, but today we finally found it - and we are so glad we did!
I am wearing the nicest outfit I packed so expect to see it multiple times.
Let me just say that the reviews on Tripadvisor are spot on. For the cost of a sitdown lunch in NYC we had a bottle of wine, basket of homemade rolls, massive antipasti platter and two pasta entrees - mine consisted of a spicy tomato sauce with clams, mussels, calamari and shrimp; Alex's ravioli was stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella. Eventually we need to stop eating like we are on vacation for a year! While we had a pretty hard time locating Limoncello, we would highly recommend it to anyone passing through San Jose.
Earlier in the day, we started with free breakfast at our hostel - they actually asked us what we wanted and then prepared it! We spent the next few hours walking around San Jose before the daily rainclouds moved in.
A cathedral in central San Jose.
Inside the cathedral.
Near the courthouse and decked out in full-on backpacking gear. So far the nicest areas we have seen are located around government buildings.
Government offices in the center of town (and Alex's shoulder).
After exploring the city a bit more we made our way a few miles west to Parque La Sabana. It's hard to compare to Central Park in Manhattan, but it was a welcome respite from the often gritty streets of San Jose and the trees were really beautiful.
"Rainbow trees" according to Sarah.
Museo de Arte Costrricense.
The trees are huge.
By the time we made it back to our hostel it was time for a nap before leaving to track down our dinner spot. Tomorrow we leave for La Fortuna for 3 days and are looking forward to exploring the volcano.