John Stewart does it to wrap up the Daily Show, so I am doing it to wrap up this blog.
Here it is, your blogspot moment of zen...
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
This is it...
The last blog entry. The **LAST** blog entry **EVER**. Well, I intend this to be the last, but in case I get a huge inspiration 5 months from now about something I absolutely meant to share, I may add another update... or if I can ever get that video of Steve riding an ostrich in South Africa to load, that would be worthy of another entry.
So, it has been almost two months since my last entry. I promise I haven't been a total slacker, just laying around on a beach sipping a pina colada the whole time (although we have had some fantastic beach time in the Bahamas and in Florida.) Since my last entry, we traveled to Uruguay, said goodbye to our beloved Buenos Aires, returned to the USA (including a teaser one-hour layover in the Atlanta airport at 6AM en route to Florida), went to Disney World- much better than Disneyland Paris, spent a couple of weeks in the Bahamas meeting more of Steve's family, came back to Atlanta, ran in the Peachtree Road Race (decided to do it 2 days before, I don't recommend running a 10k on July 4th in Atlanta with zero training), recovered from the Peachtree, went back to Florida for two different family reunions, and now we're all caught up to today. Whew.
Here are a few of the highlights of the past couple of months:
*While in Uruguay, we were able to meet the Ubals, friends of my grandparents dating back to the 1950´s. As a newlywed couple the Ubals had moved from Uruguay to Lubbock, Texas in order to attend Texas Tech. Through a foreign student support program, my grandparents met and soon became friends /surrogate parents for the Ubals. Fifty years later, they are still in touch and Mr. Ubal has returned to Lubbock several times to visit. We spent two days touring Montevideo and the surrounding areas with true locals, dining on local specialties ranging from delicious steak and pasta to panchos (hot dogs served with a horseradish mustard) and hearing all about their time in Lubbock as well as their many travels abroad. At one point Mr. Ubal was head of the Uruguayan navy and then became a naval attaché in Spain, so needless to say they had some great stories to share!
*Relaxing in the Bahamas, eating deliciously grilled fish and perfectly fried conch fritters that had just been caught a few hours earlier (and not being made to clean either the fish or the conch!), swimming in crystal clear waters, roasting marshmellows on our own private stretch of sand while watching the sun set over what (I think) is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
*Upon returning to the USA, first walking into a Publix grocery store and being amazed at how it smelled like delicious fresh-baked bread, how clean everything was, the fact that every shelf was completely stocked, and they don't give you a nasty look for paying with a bill higher than $5. I have since gotten a bit more adjusted to our American way of life, but I still try to keep in mind how lucky we are that we can go out at any time of day, driving my own car down a paved street, walk into an air conditioned store, and find just about any product I need and be able to pay with it using a credit card. Wow.
Now we are back home, slowly unpacking the many many boxes in order to feel officially moved back into our house. It is hard to believe the trip is over, that we have already been gone for a year. More honestly, though, it is hard to believe that we are able to make this trip a reality- to put our "normal" life on hold to have the chance to travel and see new worlds and meet new people. This is something that we have dreamed of / been planning together for 5+ years. Was it life-changing? Yes. My eyes have been opened to so many new cultures, but there are still so many more new places to go and places to go back to. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. What's next? Perhaps skydiving in New Zealand for our 30th birthdays next year. Or going back to Africa to hike Kiliminjaro and explore the Kenyan coast. Or journeying to the Galapagos Islands. Or sailing to Antarctica. Or......we'll see ;-)
A VERY special thanks to everyone that has been following this blog. It has meant so much to know that you guys are following along and taking an interest in our adventures- whether you read every post or just skim entries every few months. I look forward to sharing more of our experiences in person- we have about 8,000 photos so let me know when you have a few weeks blocked off and we can do the whole slideshow, starting way back in August 2007 with New Zealand.
Cheers,
Anna
So, it has been almost two months since my last entry. I promise I haven't been a total slacker, just laying around on a beach sipping a pina colada the whole time (although we have had some fantastic beach time in the Bahamas and in Florida.) Since my last entry, we traveled to Uruguay, said goodbye to our beloved Buenos Aires, returned to the USA (including a teaser one-hour layover in the Atlanta airport at 6AM en route to Florida), went to Disney World- much better than Disneyland Paris, spent a couple of weeks in the Bahamas meeting more of Steve's family, came back to Atlanta, ran in the Peachtree Road Race (decided to do it 2 days before, I don't recommend running a 10k on July 4th in Atlanta with zero training), recovered from the Peachtree, went back to Florida for two different family reunions, and now we're all caught up to today. Whew.
Here are a few of the highlights of the past couple of months:
*While in Uruguay, we were able to meet the Ubals, friends of my grandparents dating back to the 1950´s. As a newlywed couple the Ubals had moved from Uruguay to Lubbock, Texas in order to attend Texas Tech. Through a foreign student support program, my grandparents met and soon became friends /surrogate parents for the Ubals. Fifty years later, they are still in touch and Mr. Ubal has returned to Lubbock several times to visit. We spent two days touring Montevideo and the surrounding areas with true locals, dining on local specialties ranging from delicious steak and pasta to panchos (hot dogs served with a horseradish mustard) and hearing all about their time in Lubbock as well as their many travels abroad. At one point Mr. Ubal was head of the Uruguayan navy and then became a naval attaché in Spain, so needless to say they had some great stories to share!
*Relaxing in the Bahamas, eating deliciously grilled fish and perfectly fried conch fritters that had just been caught a few hours earlier (and not being made to clean either the fish or the conch!), swimming in crystal clear waters, roasting marshmellows on our own private stretch of sand while watching the sun set over what (I think) is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
*Upon returning to the USA, first walking into a Publix grocery store and being amazed at how it smelled like delicious fresh-baked bread, how clean everything was, the fact that every shelf was completely stocked, and they don't give you a nasty look for paying with a bill higher than $5. I have since gotten a bit more adjusted to our American way of life, but I still try to keep in mind how lucky we are that we can go out at any time of day, driving my own car down a paved street, walk into an air conditioned store, and find just about any product I need and be able to pay with it using a credit card. Wow.
Now we are back home, slowly unpacking the many many boxes in order to feel officially moved back into our house. It is hard to believe the trip is over, that we have already been gone for a year. More honestly, though, it is hard to believe that we are able to make this trip a reality- to put our "normal" life on hold to have the chance to travel and see new worlds and meet new people. This is something that we have dreamed of / been planning together for 5+ years. Was it life-changing? Yes. My eyes have been opened to so many new cultures, but there are still so many more new places to go and places to go back to. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. What's next? Perhaps skydiving in New Zealand for our 30th birthdays next year. Or going back to Africa to hike Kiliminjaro and explore the Kenyan coast. Or journeying to the Galapagos Islands. Or sailing to Antarctica. Or......we'll see ;-)
A VERY special thanks to everyone that has been following this blog. It has meant so much to know that you guys are following along and taking an interest in our adventures- whether you read every post or just skim entries every few months. I look forward to sharing more of our experiences in person- we have about 8,000 photos so let me know when you have a few weeks blocked off and we can do the whole slideshow, starting way back in August 2007 with New Zealand.
Cheers,
Anna
Friday, May 30, 2008
Iguazu Falls, Take 2!
Since we have now officially done about everything "touristy" there is to do in Buenos Aires, Steve and I took a break from sightseeing and went and saw the new Indiana Jones film the other night. For just 2 pesos more (about $0.60) we upgraded to the super-giant tub of popcorn (which here is served sweet, like kettle corn, rather than buttery) and then walked into the super-giant movie theater (looked like it could seat 2000 people at least-had two huge balcony levels, although there were only about 20 of us there to see the movie.) You can imagine our excitement when, towards the end of the movie, there is a scene involving several waterfalls, and we realized that we had been to those same waterfalls before- it was Iguazu Falls! It was strange to actually recognize waterfalls, but we double-checked our facts and because of a freak storm in Hawaii Steven Spielberg had to find another location to shoot those scenes and he selected Iguazu. Very cool.
So I am sad to report that our time in our wonderful little apartment in Buenos Aires is coming to an end. Tomorrow we check out of our apartment and head out to see a few more cities- Tigre and the Delta Parana in Argentina, then Colonia and Montevideo in Uruguay. Last night we had our (French expat) landlord and his girlfriend over for Argentenian wine and pizza. There were 3 languages being spoken at any given time, mostly Spanish, but we had a great time trying to understand each other and it was fun to realize how much of the language we have picked up since being here. Now all we need to do is remember it once we get back to the States!
I think I have said this before, but it has been a completely different experience actually being settled in one place for this amount of time- we have learned to navigate the streets of our neighborhood- well a lot of the streets in the city really- without relying on a map. We had a great time showing our families around, catching a tango show in one of the most historic cafes in the city, visiting a milonga where locals go in the middle of a weekday afternoon to dance the tango, checking out the many wonderful museums as well as outdoor art installations, touring an estancia (farm) where we saw traditional dancing and amazing demonstrations of gaucho (like cowboy) skills, and of course eating lots and lots of delicious Argentenian beef. I am pretty confident to say that in the last month we have eaten more beef than we have in the last two years! We have enjoyed the Argentenian parrilla (type of grill) so much that we bought one of our own to take back to Atlanta. Now we have to figure out how in the world we are going to get the giant box back with us..... and the super-heavy box of tiles, too, ha!
So if you happen to decide to visit Buenos Aires (which you definitely should), here are some observations/things we've learned and seen that might help you get settled into the city easier:
Riding on the subway:
-at various times of the day, the subway gets VERY packed, and people have no problem whatsoever just pushing until they can pry their way into the car, too, making for a very tight experience like you might see in a deoderant commercial. our advice- wait for the next train, it's usually no more than 5 minutes behind and may be significantly less crowded
-people sell all sorts of stuff on the subway- from road maps to packets of kleenex to hair rubber bands, and they do this by passing out their items to everyone on a subway car, sometimes explaining the product, and then before the next stop picking all of the merchandise back up- we have yet to buy anything from them, but it is an interesting practice
-the A-line is the oldest subway line, complete with old wooden cars that you have to pull the doors open to exit. very fun experience, but the doors open way before the train stops, so keep your balance and hold on until you can hop out
Around town:
-Dog walking is a serious profession here. Everywhere around town you will see these folks walking 15-20 dogs at a time, from the smallest chihuahua to the largest great dane. Pretty comical when these are on the same leash! Go to any park on a weekday and you will probably see hundreds of dogs just lounging around as part of their daily walk routine- now if only they could clean up after all these dogs.....
-Most smaller intersections don't have traffic lights, or even stop signs. It is more a game of chicken, where the car going faster or is bigger has the right of way over the other vehicles. This gets really exciting when your taxi driver decides he should always have the right of way and flies through intersections without yielding to anyone. Pedestrians are the lowest folks on the totem pole in this situation, so you yield to EVERYTHING- even guys on bicycles, and even if you have a crosswalk.
-Protests can pop up anywhere, any time of day; just get somebody a flag, and someone else a drum, and you've got yourself a protest. The streets around the Casa Rosada (equivalent to our White House) are always jammed with some sort of demonstration- it is such a part of daily life that it seems odd if you don't see protestors out on the street. There was even a protest that marched down our little street in front of our apartment- they were carrying flags with Che Guevera on it banging drums on a Wednesday morning- not sure what they were promoting or protesting, but still interesting to watch.
-In the past, they have had a large problem with counterfeit bills, so almost everywhere you go they will check your money for the watermark to verify it is real. They do this even for a 2 peso bill (about $0.60), so paying for something with a lot of bills can really take a while!
Beverages:
-We were in a wine store and saw a ceramic penguin. Odd, we thought, so we asked. Apparently there is a tradition of pouring wine into a ceramic penguin, so that it can then be poured into a wine glass and mixed with soda water. Not to decant it, just to serve it. Now if you see a ceramic penguin pitcher, you know it comes from Argentina.
-Mate is consumed everywhere- on the subway, while touring Iguazu Falls, while walking around town, everywhere. It is a tea beverage, served by completely filling a hollowed out small gord with these leaves, pouring hot water into the gord, and then drinking with a silver straw fitted with a small filter on the bottom to keep from sucking up the leaves. People go everywhere with their mate cup and thermos of hot water. It is an acquired taste- as my mother described, it tastes like "wet tobacco leaves"- but a very interesting tradition nonetheless. We bought a mate cup and a bag of the tea, but not knowing how to prepare it properly our cup quickly sprouted some weird spores, so we have retired it to "dust collector" status as a souvenir from Buenos Aires. On the note of mate, we would like to give a very special thanks to our spanish teacher Juan, who shared his mate with us, explaining some of the practices surrounding it, and teaching us how to speak more like Argentenians!
Only a few more posts to go until we return to our casa in Atlanta......
Cheers,
Anna
So I am sad to report that our time in our wonderful little apartment in Buenos Aires is coming to an end. Tomorrow we check out of our apartment and head out to see a few more cities- Tigre and the Delta Parana in Argentina, then Colonia and Montevideo in Uruguay. Last night we had our (French expat) landlord and his girlfriend over for Argentenian wine and pizza. There were 3 languages being spoken at any given time, mostly Spanish, but we had a great time trying to understand each other and it was fun to realize how much of the language we have picked up since being here. Now all we need to do is remember it once we get back to the States!
I think I have said this before, but it has been a completely different experience actually being settled in one place for this amount of time- we have learned to navigate the streets of our neighborhood- well a lot of the streets in the city really- without relying on a map. We had a great time showing our families around, catching a tango show in one of the most historic cafes in the city, visiting a milonga where locals go in the middle of a weekday afternoon to dance the tango, checking out the many wonderful museums as well as outdoor art installations, touring an estancia (farm) where we saw traditional dancing and amazing demonstrations of gaucho (like cowboy) skills, and of course eating lots and lots of delicious Argentenian beef. I am pretty confident to say that in the last month we have eaten more beef than we have in the last two years! We have enjoyed the Argentenian parrilla (type of grill) so much that we bought one of our own to take back to Atlanta. Now we have to figure out how in the world we are going to get the giant box back with us..... and the super-heavy box of tiles, too, ha!
So if you happen to decide to visit Buenos Aires (which you definitely should), here are some observations/things we've learned and seen that might help you get settled into the city easier:
Riding on the subway:
-at various times of the day, the subway gets VERY packed, and people have no problem whatsoever just pushing until they can pry their way into the car, too, making for a very tight experience like you might see in a deoderant commercial. our advice- wait for the next train, it's usually no more than 5 minutes behind and may be significantly less crowded
-people sell all sorts of stuff on the subway- from road maps to packets of kleenex to hair rubber bands, and they do this by passing out their items to everyone on a subway car, sometimes explaining the product, and then before the next stop picking all of the merchandise back up- we have yet to buy anything from them, but it is an interesting practice
-the A-line is the oldest subway line, complete with old wooden cars that you have to pull the doors open to exit. very fun experience, but the doors open way before the train stops, so keep your balance and hold on until you can hop out
Around town:
-Dog walking is a serious profession here. Everywhere around town you will see these folks walking 15-20 dogs at a time, from the smallest chihuahua to the largest great dane. Pretty comical when these are on the same leash! Go to any park on a weekday and you will probably see hundreds of dogs just lounging around as part of their daily walk routine- now if only they could clean up after all these dogs.....
-Most smaller intersections don't have traffic lights, or even stop signs. It is more a game of chicken, where the car going faster or is bigger has the right of way over the other vehicles. This gets really exciting when your taxi driver decides he should always have the right of way and flies through intersections without yielding to anyone. Pedestrians are the lowest folks on the totem pole in this situation, so you yield to EVERYTHING- even guys on bicycles, and even if you have a crosswalk.
-Protests can pop up anywhere, any time of day; just get somebody a flag, and someone else a drum, and you've got yourself a protest. The streets around the Casa Rosada (equivalent to our White House) are always jammed with some sort of demonstration- it is such a part of daily life that it seems odd if you don't see protestors out on the street. There was even a protest that marched down our little street in front of our apartment- they were carrying flags with Che Guevera on it banging drums on a Wednesday morning- not sure what they were promoting or protesting, but still interesting to watch.
-In the past, they have had a large problem with counterfeit bills, so almost everywhere you go they will check your money for the watermark to verify it is real. They do this even for a 2 peso bill (about $0.60), so paying for something with a lot of bills can really take a while!
Beverages:
-We were in a wine store and saw a ceramic penguin. Odd, we thought, so we asked. Apparently there is a tradition of pouring wine into a ceramic penguin, so that it can then be poured into a wine glass and mixed with soda water. Not to decant it, just to serve it. Now if you see a ceramic penguin pitcher, you know it comes from Argentina.
-Mate is consumed everywhere- on the subway, while touring Iguazu Falls, while walking around town, everywhere. It is a tea beverage, served by completely filling a hollowed out small gord with these leaves, pouring hot water into the gord, and then drinking with a silver straw fitted with a small filter on the bottom to keep from sucking up the leaves. People go everywhere with their mate cup and thermos of hot water. It is an acquired taste- as my mother described, it tastes like "wet tobacco leaves"- but a very interesting tradition nonetheless. We bought a mate cup and a bag of the tea, but not knowing how to prepare it properly our cup quickly sprouted some weird spores, so we have retired it to "dust collector" status as a souvenir from Buenos Aires. On the note of mate, we would like to give a very special thanks to our spanish teacher Juan, who shared his mate with us, explaining some of the practices surrounding it, and teaching us how to speak more like Argentenians!
Only a few more posts to go until we return to our casa in Atlanta......
Cheers,
Anna
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Sort of "Fall" in Buenos Aires
Being in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite from those at home. Simple concept, except it can be very strange to experience- going from summer one day to almost winter the next. After arriving in Buenos Aires from Paris, we were lucky that the transition wasn't that drastic. Literally every day in Argentina has been sunny and pretty warm- almost spring like.
The only sign that it was fall here were a few trees losing leaves (although those trees may have actually just been dead- hard to tell!) Today is the first official day where it is feeling like we are creeping into winter- cloudy skies, actually need a jacket during the day. It is going to be quite a shock to come home to Hotlanta in the middle of the summer!
We are currently enjoying a visit from my mom, and are looking forward to Steve's mom and sister arriving this weekend. It gives us a great excuse to get out and see more of those sights that we've had on our to-do list but managed to somehow not
get around to seeing yet!
get around to seeing yet!
We just got back from a trip to Iguazu Falls, one of the most beautiful places on earth.... and that is coming from a couple of travelers who have been fortunate enough to see a LOT of beautiful places on earth :-) The first picture is of part of Iguazu Falls- from the Argentenian side. Some folks like to say that they are more beautiful from the Brazillian side, but I think they are amazing from where we were standing. The second is from our balcony in our hotel which was big enough to comfortably seat a family of about 20- randomly enough there is a Sheraton inside the Iguazu National Park.... which happens to be the ONLY hotel in the park, so this is what we got to enjoy waking up to every day! The third picture is what we look like going about 15 miles an hour (although it felt much faster) down a river getting ready to get drenched in the waterfalls. When we signed up the 3:45 time slot seemed like a brilliant idea, except we didn't take into consideration the fact that the sun sets pretty early- cold waterfall, sunset, speeding down a river, made for a refreshingly exhilarating experience!
We are heading out to our favorite lunch spot in Buenos Aires now, so I will write more soon about our experiences in the city and some of the (quirkier?) things you start to notice after being in a place for more than a few days!
Cheers,
Anna
Friday, May 9, 2008
From Paris to...... Paris?
Actually, we are in the "Paris of South America", but it is beautiful nonetheless. We have been in Buenos Aires for almost two weeks (I can't believe it's been that long!) and in our apartment for a week. After many trips to many different stores, we are officially settled into our temporary home. We have found an excellent butcher, a great produce guy (who happens to be literally outside our front door), and all the other important vendors that go along with helping you get settled. Steve has mastered the art of the "parrilla" (Argentenian for barbecue) and has successfully prepared the most delicious steak, chicken, eggplant.... the list could go on for much longer..... that I have ever had and to sweeten the deal everything is so cheap. Almost like Southeast Asia cheap. AMAZING Argentenian bife de chorizo (steaks) for $1.50 each from the butcher, a few pounds of vegetables for $2, great bottles of wine for $3 (and this isn't your two-buck-chuck stuff!) Needless to say, we are LOVING having a kitchen to cook in, a dining room table to eat at, and well, everything else that goes along with having a place to feel settled. Even watering the plants on our terrace is a daily activity I look forward to.
We spent this week taking some Spanish classes, learning the Argentenian style of Spanish. It turns out that they have some pretty big differences in pronunciation of basic Spanish words.... and after finding that out in class we understand folks a lot better. Italian immigrants have had a big influence here, so it is basically people speaking the Spanish language but with a lot of the gusto of Italian. Plus, we are using one of the weird conjugations of "you" that your Spanish teacher probably skipped over (like mine did) explaining "you will never, ever, need to know this, ever" except now we do need it.... it is "VOS" instead of "TU" for those interested. It felt odd doing homework for the first time in..... well, we don't need to mention HOW many years..... and it also felt odd that Steve had completely finished his homework while I was still procrastinating on even starting, ha!
Today we ventured out to do some sight seeing, and stopped at the Recoleta Cemetery. This turned out to be WAY cooler, and much less creepy, than expected. Being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city I expected it to be interesting, but it really was fascinating. It is literally like a city, complete with "street" signs, except the buildings are all mausoleums and, well, you can kind of fill in the rest. This is where the city's elite are buried, including Eva "Evita" Peron. Her tomb was pretty normal compared to the rest, except there were LOTS of flowers piled around it, and according to the guide book if we had been there at a busy time (we accidentally went 45 minutes before it closed) there would have been a huge line of people waiting to get close to it. Also interesting is that right around the corner is the Hard Rock Cafe Buenos Aires..... not exactly where I would have expected it to be, but oh well..... we didn't go in, but if we are looking for a super shot of "American" culture in the near future we know where to find it!
We have had a great time just wandering the streets checking out all of the amazing architecture..... although we can't look up for too long because a) the sidewalks are pretty broken up in areas so it is easy to trip, b) in places the sidewalk is literally like a mine field covered with "presents" from the many dogs in the city. There are some great parks in the area, but apparently the dogs prefer to just go on the sidewalk.... and the ones that have owners aren't terribly concerned about picking up after their dogs.... So, if you visit, consider yourself forewarned.
I am not sure if I just happen to be outside a lot, or tuned into it, or what, but I have seen a very large number of blind people in the city. Steve and i both agree that Buenos Aires could probably be the most difficult city to be blind in. We haven't seen any seeing eye dogs, either. The other day we literally saw "the blind leading the blind" along a sidewalk in our neighborhood, and it wasn't pretty. The good news is that folks seem to be pretty helpful, strangers helping strangers navigate in the subways, crossing streets, etc.
Tomorrow is the first time in a long time where we will actually feel the difference between a weekday and the weekend, because we don't have class and we don't have homework! We haven't figured out exactly what we will do, but probably check out one of the great weekend markets (if anyone is in the market for an antique gramophone let me know, I have seen about 50 stores selling them just in our neighborhood!) There was a volcano eruption hundreds of kilometers away from us this week, but the ash has travelled all the way to BA giving sky a grayish tint. Hopefully that will clear up by tomorrow so we can go back to the perfectly blue skies and great weather we have been enjoying!
Cheers,
Anna
We spent this week taking some Spanish classes, learning the Argentenian style of Spanish. It turns out that they have some pretty big differences in pronunciation of basic Spanish words.... and after finding that out in class we understand folks a lot better. Italian immigrants have had a big influence here, so it is basically people speaking the Spanish language but with a lot of the gusto of Italian. Plus, we are using one of the weird conjugations of "you" that your Spanish teacher probably skipped over (like mine did) explaining "you will never, ever, need to know this, ever" except now we do need it.... it is "VOS" instead of "TU" for those interested. It felt odd doing homework for the first time in..... well, we don't need to mention HOW many years..... and it also felt odd that Steve had completely finished his homework while I was still procrastinating on even starting, ha!
Today we ventured out to do some sight seeing, and stopped at the Recoleta Cemetery. This turned out to be WAY cooler, and much less creepy, than expected. Being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city I expected it to be interesting, but it really was fascinating. It is literally like a city, complete with "street" signs, except the buildings are all mausoleums and, well, you can kind of fill in the rest. This is where the city's elite are buried, including Eva "Evita" Peron. Her tomb was pretty normal compared to the rest, except there were LOTS of flowers piled around it, and according to the guide book if we had been there at a busy time (we accidentally went 45 minutes before it closed) there would have been a huge line of people waiting to get close to it. Also interesting is that right around the corner is the Hard Rock Cafe Buenos Aires..... not exactly where I would have expected it to be, but oh well..... we didn't go in, but if we are looking for a super shot of "American" culture in the near future we know where to find it!
We have had a great time just wandering the streets checking out all of the amazing architecture..... although we can't look up for too long because a) the sidewalks are pretty broken up in areas so it is easy to trip, b) in places the sidewalk is literally like a mine field covered with "presents" from the many dogs in the city. There are some great parks in the area, but apparently the dogs prefer to just go on the sidewalk.... and the ones that have owners aren't terribly concerned about picking up after their dogs.... So, if you visit, consider yourself forewarned.
I am not sure if I just happen to be outside a lot, or tuned into it, or what, but I have seen a very large number of blind people in the city. Steve and i both agree that Buenos Aires could probably be the most difficult city to be blind in. We haven't seen any seeing eye dogs, either. The other day we literally saw "the blind leading the blind" along a sidewalk in our neighborhood, and it wasn't pretty. The good news is that folks seem to be pretty helpful, strangers helping strangers navigate in the subways, crossing streets, etc.
Tomorrow is the first time in a long time where we will actually feel the difference between a weekday and the weekend, because we don't have class and we don't have homework! We haven't figured out exactly what we will do, but probably check out one of the great weekend markets (if anyone is in the market for an antique gramophone let me know, I have seen about 50 stores selling them just in our neighborhood!) There was a volcano eruption hundreds of kilometers away from us this week, but the ash has travelled all the way to BA giving sky a grayish tint. Hopefully that will clear up by tomorrow so we can go back to the perfectly blue skies and great weather we have been enjoying!
Cheers,
Anna
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Springtime in Paris
Yes, it really is as beautiful as you'd think! We were there at the absolute perfect time- the tulips were in full bloom, the birds were chirping in full force, and the outdoor cafes were filled with people enjoying the sunshine and a not-so-cheap espresso. This was also a perfect time to visit Disneyland Paris!
We spent an entire day hopping between the two parks, enjoying the European version of Disney. In case you're wondering, they have a lot of the same rides- Twilight Tower of Terror, Aerosmith Rockin' Rollercoaster, It's a Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, but there is definitely not the same level of "polish" as you get in Orlando. We waited until the close of the park, in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle, expecting a spectacular fireworks show in celebration of the 15th anniversary of Disneyland Paris...... but the Candleabration Extravaganza was actually Mickey and a couple of other characters dancing on a platform made to look like a cake and some tinsel confetti shot out of 15 candles (off the beat of the music) and no fireworks were in sight. If you have never been to Disneyworld in Orlando, you might think I am being overly harsh, but if you HAVE been then you know what I am talking about- I mean, a few tinsel streamers compared to a giant fireworks extravaganza- really no comparison there..... One other exciting moment of the day- not really in a good way- was being emergency-evacuated from the Star Tours ride (yes, we really did EVERY thing) with no explanation of what was going on, and then told to completely evacuate the park by a misinformed drink cart saleswoman. We're not sure what actually happened- we figured a medical emergency of some kind- but we never had to evacuate the park, and we never went back to ride Star Tours. Nonetheless, we had a fantastic time at Disney and it was very surreal with it being so easy to forget that we weren't actually in Orlando. In case you're wondering, Mickey Mouse speaks English at Disney Paris.
We hit all the major sites in Paris, the Eiffel Tower and all the crowds that go with it,
...the Louvre Museum which was complemented by the fantastic Rick Steves audio guide that we downloaded onto the iPod (hence the headphones).....
So now we are in Buenos Aires, getting over jetlag from the 14 hour flight from Paris. We decided to settle down a bit more and have rented an apartment for the month in a "bohemian" part of town. It is going to be a very different feeling not hopping towns every two days, but it should be fun having a chance to get to know a place better, and hopefully pick up on more of the language and local culture. We have a few more days to live it up with our hotel points (the Plaza Hotel definitely didn't know what to make of us rolling in with our giant backpacks!) and then off to our new (temporary) apartment!
...the Louvre Museum which was complemented by the fantastic Rick Steves audio guide that we downloaded onto the iPod (hence the headphones).....
....Notre Dame, multiple trips to patisseries to enjoy their fantastic desserts. I would say this go-round Paris wins the award for most delicious creme brulee, butter croissant, rhubarb pie, well the list really could go on but you get the drift.....
We stayed in a Courtyard Marriott just on the edge of the city, which was close enough to have an amazing view of the Eiffel Tower from our room, but far enough away to not have swarms of tourists on your doorstep. We started the trip on a sour note having a run-in with a VERY snooty Parisian on the subway coming in from the airport. Turns out everyone else was in general much nicer, and of special note was when I was spending our last €6.50 on a sandwich in the airport, the bill came up to €6.60 and I embarassedly had to admit I didnt have enough to pay for the food. Instead of making me put the sandwich back, the clerk gave me .10€ from her tip jar to cover the difference- now THAT was a nice way to leave a city.
The week before Paris we spent in Valencia, Spain, having a fantastic time taking advantage of the apartment(s) we rented. We cooked lots of great dinners using all the fresh produce we picked up at the daily markets, wandered around the town enjoying the laid-back atmosphere, bought a laptop computer- not QUITE the impulse purchase it sounds like- rented bikes to explore more of the city, and just had a great time relaxing. Valencia is a great place if you have a chance to visit.
So now we are in Buenos Aires, getting over jetlag from the 14 hour flight from Paris. We decided to settle down a bit more and have rented an apartment for the month in a "bohemian" part of town. It is going to be a very different feeling not hopping towns every two days, but it should be fun having a chance to get to know a place better, and hopefully pick up on more of the language and local culture. We have a few more days to live it up with our hotel points (the Plaza Hotel definitely didn't know what to make of us rolling in with our giant backpacks!) and then off to our new (temporary) apartment!Cheers,
Anna
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Cinque Terre- the walking stick capital of the world!
In the past few weeks Steve and I have been doing some more country hopping between Hungary, Italy, and now Spain. We had a great (but very cold time) in Budapest, and we even had the chance to rent a car to get out of the city for a day. It was great fun to get to explore a few of the smaller towns, but the first couple of hours of having the map in my hand brought back some painful flashbacks of Australia and New Zealand (accidentally navigating us to an RV dumping station instead of a campsite in the middle of the night, crazy confusing toll road interstates with no toll booths to pay at....) BUT, after cruising alongside the Danube for a while I managed to relax and we enjoyed the beautiful countryside. Our trip was cut a little short by a freak snow shower- one minute completely sunny and the next minute it was snowing giant snowflakes. Bad news- no Hungarian spa visit this trip- good news, we didn´t get stranded, we made our flight the next morning to Italy, and now there´s a perfectly good reason to go back to Budapest.
After Hungary we headed to Italy and spent a couple of weeks having a blast traveling around with Mary Beth and Drew Lake. We started in Rome, and I have to say this go-round was much more pleasant than last time I was there (picture in the middle of July, as a student, dragged around by a crazy architecture professor completely oblivious to the fact that it was 100F in the shade, with an EXTRA million visitors as someone was being canonized as a saint that weekend.) This time the weather was nice, we actually got to sit down in the Sistine Chapel for a few minutes without just being ushered through, and the company was fantastic. Next we headed to Sienna (claim to fame- one of the scariest horse races in the world, done on a tiny track in the middle of town, riders dont use saddles, horses can finish even if their riders fall off- we were not there to witness this said spectacle.) It was a quick stop-over but definitely a place I would love to revisit. Then to Florence, home to the most amazing restaurant in the world (Il Latini)- at least that is my biased opinion. We toured all the sites- saw Michelangelo's David, the Ufizi Gallery, the Duomo, several gelato stands....
Then to one of the most amazingly beautiful places in the world- Cinque Terre. Arriving via the train from Florence, stepping off the platform was literally like stepping into a postcard. Beatifully steep cliffs dropping straight into the clear ocean, quaint little towns built into the hillside, lemon trees growing on the steeply terraced hills. We stayed in Riomaggiore, one of the 5 (Cinque) towns in the area. We completely lucked out, finding an apartment, complete with a kitchen, with a balcony that opened out to the water. We took full advantage of the kitchen, cooking dinner (for the first time in months, literally) with ingredients we bought from the local market just around the corner. We spent one day hopping between the different towns, each equally charming but still having their own personalities. If you ever have a chance to visit this area of Italy, I would HIGHLY recommend staying several days, it really is amazing.
A funny side note about visitors to Cinque Terre- we saw more people with walking sticks there than anywhere else in the world. Not just your average "I picked this up during a stroll in the woods" kind of walking stick- think serious high performance low weight carbon trekking poles that mountain climbers use. We didnt make it to the "rough" part of the trail between the last two towns so I admit that I am a little in the dark about its degree of severity, but it seemed to me to be a bit of overkill with the gear. Seriously. Maybe Rick Steves recommended bringing trekking poles, so all of his fans followed his advice and they all happened to be in Cinque Terre when we were there. If any of you reading this have been on that part of the trail, please let me know how it is, it has been the source of much debate for us! :-)
We bid adieu to Drew and Mary Beth in Milan, and as was the case when Mom and Sue left in Istanbul, the weather quickly turned from beautiful and sunny to cold and rainy, staying that way basically until we left Venice 4 days later. If we have any more visitors on this trip, you're not going to be allowed to leave because of this trend! Venice was great, as it always is, a little harder to find a restaurant with a menu that is not translated into at least 4 languages, but still beautifully picturesque and fun to get lost in its many winding streets.
A few days ago we flew from Venice into Barcelona (where we are now.) It has been an adjustment switching from Italian to Spanish. Well, at least with the few Italian words we picked up- since being in Spain I keep saying thank you / hello to everyone in Italian, maybe that just makes us look more cosmopolitan (and helps them overlook the fact that we're obviously tourists in our zip-off pants and quick-dry wicking shirts!) Today we did some serious sightseeing from the eclectic "History of chocolate" museum (complete with large displays, all of chocolate, of characters ranging from Disney's Bambi to Don Quixote) to the just downright confusing "La Sagrada Familia" church designed by Antonio Gaudi that is only 50% complete despite the fact that folks have been building it for around 100 years. So many conflicting adjectives come to mind after seeing the structure- or semibuilt structure- tacky, unbelievably creative, confusing, beautiful, mildly creepy...... Several of the spires are topped in technicolor larger-than-life bunches of grapes.... need I say more? Really, without seeing it for yourself, it is impossible to describe what it's like. Millions of visitors visit this church every year, dubbed by the guide books as the "most visited construction site in the world."
We have enjoyed this brief stint in Barcelona, and tomorrow we head to Valencia to hopefully sample some amazing paella (and see some cool sites, too.) In only a couple of weeks we switch continents again, the whirlwind tour continues!
Anna
After Hungary we headed to Italy and spent a couple of weeks having a blast traveling around with Mary Beth and Drew Lake. We started in Rome, and I have to say this go-round was much more pleasant than last time I was there (picture in the middle of July, as a student, dragged around by a crazy architecture professor completely oblivious to the fact that it was 100F in the shade, with an EXTRA million visitors as someone was being canonized as a saint that weekend.) This time the weather was nice, we actually got to sit down in the Sistine Chapel for a few minutes without just being ushered through, and the company was fantastic. Next we headed to Sienna (claim to fame- one of the scariest horse races in the world, done on a tiny track in the middle of town, riders dont use saddles, horses can finish even if their riders fall off- we were not there to witness this said spectacle.) It was a quick stop-over but definitely a place I would love to revisit. Then to Florence, home to the most amazing restaurant in the world (Il Latini)- at least that is my biased opinion. We toured all the sites- saw Michelangelo's David, the Ufizi Gallery, the Duomo, several gelato stands....
Then to one of the most amazingly beautiful places in the world- Cinque Terre. Arriving via the train from Florence, stepping off the platform was literally like stepping into a postcard. Beatifully steep cliffs dropping straight into the clear ocean, quaint little towns built into the hillside, lemon trees growing on the steeply terraced hills. We stayed in Riomaggiore, one of the 5 (Cinque) towns in the area. We completely lucked out, finding an apartment, complete with a kitchen, with a balcony that opened out to the water. We took full advantage of the kitchen, cooking dinner (for the first time in months, literally) with ingredients we bought from the local market just around the corner. We spent one day hopping between the different towns, each equally charming but still having their own personalities. If you ever have a chance to visit this area of Italy, I would HIGHLY recommend staying several days, it really is amazing.
A funny side note about visitors to Cinque Terre- we saw more people with walking sticks there than anywhere else in the world. Not just your average "I picked this up during a stroll in the woods" kind of walking stick- think serious high performance low weight carbon trekking poles that mountain climbers use. We didnt make it to the "rough" part of the trail between the last two towns so I admit that I am a little in the dark about its degree of severity, but it seemed to me to be a bit of overkill with the gear. Seriously. Maybe Rick Steves recommended bringing trekking poles, so all of his fans followed his advice and they all happened to be in Cinque Terre when we were there. If any of you reading this have been on that part of the trail, please let me know how it is, it has been the source of much debate for us! :-)
We bid adieu to Drew and Mary Beth in Milan, and as was the case when Mom and Sue left in Istanbul, the weather quickly turned from beautiful and sunny to cold and rainy, staying that way basically until we left Venice 4 days later. If we have any more visitors on this trip, you're not going to be allowed to leave because of this trend! Venice was great, as it always is, a little harder to find a restaurant with a menu that is not translated into at least 4 languages, but still beautifully picturesque and fun to get lost in its many winding streets.
A few days ago we flew from Venice into Barcelona (where we are now.) It has been an adjustment switching from Italian to Spanish. Well, at least with the few Italian words we picked up- since being in Spain I keep saying thank you / hello to everyone in Italian, maybe that just makes us look more cosmopolitan (and helps them overlook the fact that we're obviously tourists in our zip-off pants and quick-dry wicking shirts!) Today we did some serious sightseeing from the eclectic "History of chocolate" museum (complete with large displays, all of chocolate, of characters ranging from Disney's Bambi to Don Quixote) to the just downright confusing "La Sagrada Familia" church designed by Antonio Gaudi that is only 50% complete despite the fact that folks have been building it for around 100 years. So many conflicting adjectives come to mind after seeing the structure- or semibuilt structure- tacky, unbelievably creative, confusing, beautiful, mildly creepy...... Several of the spires are topped in technicolor larger-than-life bunches of grapes.... need I say more? Really, without seeing it for yourself, it is impossible to describe what it's like. Millions of visitors visit this church every year, dubbed by the guide books as the "most visited construction site in the world."
We have enjoyed this brief stint in Barcelona, and tomorrow we head to Valencia to hopefully sample some amazing paella (and see some cool sites, too.) In only a couple of weeks we switch continents again, the whirlwind tour continues!
Anna
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