On the road again

Everything is well and I am now in Torres del Paine, Chile. We left on a bus yesterday morning from El Calafate and will be in Torres until Thursday and then we go on the cruise until the following Monday. There is a very good chance that we will not have access to email till then.

We had a great time in Patagonia and I will give you all the details later.

At the end of the world

Internet is very hard to come by and very slow when i do have it... so updates will be far and few until about Dec 11.

So Far:

Ushuaia - Amazing. We went to Tierra Del Fuego and went to the End of the World or the most southern part. The snow capped mountains are amazing. We also went to the light house at the southern most tip of the world.

El Calafate - Today we saw our first glacier... Perrito Moreno (named after the man who found it). It is incredible we watched huge chuncks of ice fall from the glacier. it is one of the few only glaciers that is expanding as well as contracting so it is equal. All others are getting smaller and smaller. Tomorrow we see the Upsala glacier. Then rent a car and drive to the trekking capital of Aregntina... El Chalten. There we will do hiking.

Then in the morning (6:30) we leave for Torres Del Paine. These are all very remote areas and have no internet so don't get nervious if you do not hear from me.

Oh Baby... Shakira Shakira

Wow! What an incredible concert. This concert would never happen in the US. It was held in a futbol statium and we arrived a little late due to the traffic. Were were waiting in line when she
as about to start. The personnel at the statuim started screaming at us to run. It became a mass frenzy with people trying to make it on time. Mana and I just were laughing the whole time.

Shakira is an amazing performer. She can sing and boy can she dance. Incredible!

See the pictures... it is great.

School is out for winter

School just ended on Wednesday and I feel very guilty about getting credit for my studies. I only had classes for 6 weeks, 2 days a week and now I have to write a few final papers. I figure that is a fair exchange for a whole quarter of credit at Anderson.

The last 2 weekends I have been travelling and doing school in between. One weekend to Rosario and Cordoba and this past weekend to Peninsula Valdes. The most amusing part of both of these trips is that I visited a Swiss town in Cordoba and took high tea in a Welsh town near Peninsula Valdes.



Who knew that you could come to Argentina and experience so many cultures?!? I don't even have to go to Europe anymore. They even have an American "town" right here in Buenos Aires. It is called "Kansas" and it is a restuarant (but big enough to be a city) and it is owned by Huston's Restaurant. Every Sunday the other Americans go there to get their fix if American style baby-back ribs and mashed potatoes. It is like a home away from home (but the waiters still speak Spanish).

This week I was on a quest for a turkey in honor of Thanksgiving. That proved to be a fruitless search. Argentinians, according to everyone including the poor meat guy I accosted, do not eat turkey except on Christmas. It is forbidden all other times. So on Dec 15 the stores start stocking turkeys and then the day after Christmas all of the turkeys are promptly removed. So in honor of Thanksgiving, I did something as American as I could think of .... I ate at McDonalds. But it wasn't the same. The McDonalds was clean. The hamburger was made from meat and my sundae had Dulce de Leche on it. Sigh. I'm just going to have to settle for a big fat piece of beef and say my "thanks".

I'm going to the Shakira ("Shakira Shakira") concert on Sat night and then I'm off on my amazing race through Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Brazil.

Hope all is well and Happy Thanksgiving!

Land of animals and delays

Yesterday was almost as great as the first day. With 3 other British people I rented a car and went to see the penguins, dolphins and had tea at a welsh town. Normally those 3 trips would cost a total of 400 pesos or 130 dollars but with the car rental it was closer to 150 pesos and I had a great time.

The penguin colony was beyond anything I would have ever expected. Over 1 million penguins walking around and we got to walk in their territory without many fences. They didn't seem to be bothered by us being there though.

For the dolphins we were really lucky to see them. Also we were the only 3 people on the boat. It was incredible. For all of these animals I got video also so I cannot wait to show you.

My flight back to Buenos Aires was cancelled. It is amazing. It was just a fluke that I called to confirm my flight and they said .. Oh that was completely cancelled, you are now put on at 10 o' clock flight (instead of 7:45) and by the way your credit card didn't work either. So I have to pay when I get to the airport. That is Argentina for you.

Whale watching

So no killer whales but we saw southern right whales and it was INCREDIBLE!!!

They came so close to the boat that they bumped us a little. It was amazing. I also have about 1 million pictures of it raising it´s tail and waving to us. It was like the whales were putting on a show.

I have meet 2 really nice Londoners and we are renting a car tomorrow and seeing the penguins. Everything is just gravy after seeing the whales.

I meet the only 2 non-price sensitive ppl in the hostel I think. One is a consultant and the other an investment banker. One has their MBA and the other is applying next year.

Supposedly we were really lucky since other boats did not see the tail raise out of the water in proper whale fashion.

I am so glad I came and I have a bunch of pictures to prove it. I had a whale of a good time today!

The land of steak

We are in the land of steak, leather and tango and loving it. We fill our days with shopping, tango shows, dancing, exploring the city and surrounding areas, eating and .... classes (of course). The 3 peso to 1 dollar exchange rate is great for us. We eat dinner at the coolest, best, hippest places with great wine and dessert for about $10 USD. Leather goods are abundant, great quality and reasonable. And the portenos (people from Buenos Aires) are so friendly and helpful.

Top 10 things that we have discovered while here in BA:
1. Everyone drinks Mate, a very strong tea thing. They carry around their thermoses full of hot water and their yerba (herb for mate).
2. When you park on the street you have to pay a guy to watch your car so nothing "bad" happens to it and that still isn't a guarantee.
3. You always have to look down when you walk. You never know what you will step in.
4. A ring on your finger doesn't matter to the guys and for guys, if you are not making out by the end of the night, you must be gay.
5. Time doesn't mean a thing. Dinner at 9:30 means dinner at 11:00 and don't even think about showing up at a club before 2:00 am.
6. The buses are unmarked and you have to have a special 6th "bus sense" to know where they stop and pick up.
7. You always have to check your bills since fake money is EVERYWHERE!
8. Panchos are not something you wear they are something you eat. (Hot dogs)
9. Dulche de Leche has taken over all the desserts.
10. The most common phrase is "super" combined with a Spanish word. Example "super despacio" = really slow. "Muy cool" is the second most common phrase.

ok ... just one more (it was hard to limit the list)
11. If you look at a guy in a club, that means you want to take him home.

Attached is a picture from a dinner at an Anderson Alums house just outside BA and Mana and I hosted a Halloween party to show the Argentineans how to party.

In the meantime, we will look where we walk, eat panchos and dulche de leche, dance the night away, avoid looking at guys and... of course, study.

3 weeks in Argentina

I should be ashamed of myself. I have been in Argentina for almost 3 weeks and I haven't send any updates. But in my defense, time just flies by. I cannot believe I have been gone for so long!!!

The truth is that life is pretty much the same here as it is back home (except life is in Spanish here). Buenos Aires is very cool and very European. It is always amazing to be walking down a street and see old beautiful buildings mixed in with new high rises. We did a tour of the Teatro Colon and it is truly incredible. The theatre was built in the nineteenth century and has hosted many operas and ballets. They have a huge in house costume, shoe, wig, mask and set design studios. It is incredible!

We also went to a polo match. The people here are quick to tell you that polo is not "popular", it is "elite". Apparently, since it cost so much to maintain the horses and purchase the horses only the very wealthy play polo and consequently mainly the wealthy watch the sport. I thought it was great. I got to watch a men riding horses carrying sticks trying to hit a little tiny white ball in between 2 poles. What is more fascinating than that?!?!?!! I attached a photo of my roommate and me at the polo game. Yes... we are at a polo game, not advertising the beer.

Other than that I have basically been wondering around Buenos Aires looking at the sites. I saw the Casa Rosada, where the president used to live. I think if I were president I would find it emasculating to live in a pink house, but, hey, that is me. And the Plaza de Mayo where they still hold protests about the thousands of people that disappeared during the Dirty War. And all of the other plazas and parks.

I still haven't seen an official tango show but they really do tango on the streets. It would be like on 3rd Street people busting out with tango shows. They are very beautiful to watch but you just feel like the people dancing are having an awful time since they never smile.

Also Argentinians have a very strange custom of drinking this stuff called mate. It is tea, but instead of filtering out the taste of tea through a tea bag, you fill up the cup with tea herbs and then filter the hot water out through a special straw. It is very strong and bitter but EVERYONE drinks it. I was invited to a friends house and she busted out this mate cup and everyone shares. I think it is a bit unsanitary (everyone drinks from the same straw) but it is also very communal and hospitable. (She also had awesome ice-cream so I wasn't going to complain.) Which leads me to tell you about the food. Oh my Gosh!! The food is incredible and so cheap! I had an incredible steak and chicken meal with wine and appetizer and dessert for .... U$D 10. It doesn't pay to eat at home here. Of course my waistline is demonstrating that I feel that way, but there is always 4 months before the wedding to lose it. (Famous last words). We usually go to a different restaurant each night.

I have plans to start traveling around the country so I should have some more stories when I go.

The Graveyard shift

Day 1:

Red–eye flights are properly named. When Vadim and I arrived in Boston our eyes must have been the color of ketchup. Of course, I think I slept more than he did since I would squish him and take up more than my share of space. However, the personal embedded TV’s filled with live (!) news and “you vs. all other passengers” trivia games kept us occupied, as we also tracked the progression of the flight. Who says a watched plane doesn’t move? While waiting for Lucy and Igor, despite the cramped quarters we were released from, we couldn’t help but be excited to finally be outside the confines of California and Nevada.

During the drive to their house, Lucy and Igor pointed out all of the worthwhile sights and explained about the “Big Dig” – a 10+ year construction effort in the heart of Boston. I never knew anything about Boston so it was all very new and exciting for me. Vadim, practically being a Bostonian himself (he has been there 2 times before) added to the mini car tour. Once at the house, we started to plan our long weekend. Lucy and Igor brought out all the maps and explained the layout of the land and I got a feeling for the city, although I still would never be able to navigate through it myself without the help of the red line running through the city. Since it was still technically a workday, Lucy and Igor got ready to go to work and Vadim and I took a nap (a result of a time change and a Song flight).

We expertly took the bus to the T-station (of course we rode the bus the wrong way a little) and made our way to Boston Commons. From there we walked around a bit, spied on the swan boats and then quickly hustled back to catch a walking tour that followed the freedom trail lead by a guy dressed in a period costume. The trip advertised that they stopped at 12 of the sights on the freedom trail, and the tour guide made sure we knew which stop we were on. At Boston Commons he would continuously say “And this is our first stop on the Freedom Trail Tour.” We went onto our second stop (because that is the way we count) and saw the new state house. **Fun Fact: There are 3 entrances to the new state house, the largest middle double doors and 2 side entries. The large middle entrance is only used for the current president or current head of a foreign country. Former presidents, famous people and others cannot use the middle door. However, when the MA’s governor’s term is up, they give him the boot out through the special door. J

We continued our tour to the first of many graveyards. It was the 3^rd oldest graveyard in the US (don’t ask me what the 2^nd oldest is). There (not here) lie 3 signers of the constitution: Sam Adams, John Hancock and someone I’ve never heard of. As well as Paul Revere (who, we learned, was not the rider he is claimed to be), James Otis (the great orator who was the originator of “taxation without representation” line and we got to hear his 5 hour speech) and 10,000 other people (literally).

We moved along the red trail (visions of Wizard of Oz are popping up…”Follow the red brick trail…”) to the 1^st oldest graveyard that the Anglican Church built their church on. Their claim was that the dead didn’t mind. **Fun Fact: There were many types of gravestones here. On a plot of land that was about 500 sq. feet there were approx. 6,000 people buried and floods and such had moved around the headstones. On most of the headstones there was either a skull and crossbones or a skull with wings. People used those icons to represent death. It is the predecessor to our modern angel on graves. Also, there were tabletop tombs that had not been moved. Unlike what I had previously thought, people were not buried in the tabletop tombs but there was a door in the tomb that lead to an underground crypt like thing that were final resting places for up to 50 people.

Right about this point in the tour we were getting tired and I’m sure you are too by reading this much, so I’ll just list the rest of the sights: The sight of the Boston Massacre where British soldiers killed 5 rebelling Bostonians, the old state house where we shouted “Throw the tea into the sea” but the original Boston Tea Party “Indians” were not loud like us, and we ended the tour at Fennel Hall.

After walking around a bit, we met Cristina, my high school friend, her boyfriend and her brother for lunch. (Yummy! We were hungry!) We talked a lot and reminisced about high school and then parted with plans to meet the next day.

Vadim and I decided that we wanted to see Bunker Hill, but we didn’t want to walk there. So we hopped on a public ferry (the best $1.50 we ever spent) and took a ride across the river. It was beautiful to see Boston from the water – it really is a pretty town. After taking a billion pictures (ok it was more like 50) we walked around the museum for the USS Constitution and saw both the old and new ships. There again we found the red line that gave me my sense of direction. We were going to go to Bunker Hill but it was closed already so we decided to follow the red line to the red line (aka “Freedom Trail” to the subways Red Line). The freedom trail also took us across the rusty Old Bunker Hill Bridge and had excellent views of the brand new Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world. Once back at Harvard Square we walked around a bit and listened to some street performers, who just might have been Harvard music school drop outs. At night we went out for some for sushi at Harvard Square, and took a scary, walk along Fresh pond in pitch-black. Whew! What a day!

Day 2:

This trip is going to be dubbed the “Trip of Cemeteries”. In the morning we took a restful, peaceful walk around Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge. We climbed up the Washington Tower, which at the time built was the 2^nd tallest structure and had spectacular views of the whole area. Green trees surrounded the whole tower and I kept repeating to Vadim “I bet this is beautiful in the fall.” (Is that enough of a hint?!?! ;-) )

We then skedaddled to the Sam Adam’s Brewery tour where we met Cristina and her friends. There was a tour of the brewery where the guide told us that there were most beer factories per capita in Boston then anywhere else in the US. He introduced us to all the ingredients of the beer and kept insisting that the type of water used doesn’t affect the beer…. Tell that to “Taste of the Rockies”! Hmm, ok interesting, NOW GIVE US THE BEER!! After the much too long talk about the history of Sam Adam’s Brewery, we were given a chance to sample a bit of the beer they produced, which was the original reason for going on the tour. J We tried the Original, Summer Brew (a bit lemony) and a special brew that wasn’t even named yet but was a bit like coffee beer. We also learned how to be beer connoisseurs, but I say all you need to know is lift and chug.

During our Sam Adam’s tour, Lucy and Igor were shopping for shoes at Downtown crossing so Vadim and I hopped on the T to join them. We walked around a little downtown and then headed for Walden Pond, the home of the recluse Thoreau. It was soooooo pretty, but I could never live there – super boring. They had a replica of the house he stayed in and it was more like a shack than a house. However, the area around the pond was just beautiful. The water was warm and Lucy and Igor went for a swim. Vadim and I played in the water a bit and then walked around in the forest. While I was splashing around a little girl on the path called me a chipmunk and was so excited to see the creature. When she saw that it was just I and not an animal, she got so excited and wanted to come into the water. She was cute! Later,Vadim was trying to teach me how to skip stones in the water when we got into a water-dunking contest. Silly Vadim, you cannot dunk me.

After the peaceful afternoon at Walden Pond and a catnap at the house, we headed over to Newbury Street by way of the Harvard Bridge. **Fun Story told by Igor: The city was building a new bridge connecting Cambridge and Boston. They asked the two universities in Cambridge what it should be named. Harvard instantly replied - ”Harvard Bridge”. MIT, on the other hand, looked at the all plans and the engineering for a little while and after some time they too responded “Harvard Bridge”! A few years after being built the entire bridge was in danger of collapsing due to poor engineering and had to be entirely re-built. Thus, it was aptly named J. After walking down across “364.4 and 1 ear of Smoots” (the measurement for the Harvard Bridge) and walking down Newbury Street, we ended up dining at a neo-contemporary Chinese place that was very good.

Day3:

Sunday morning we headed off to Salem, the home of the American witch trials. We arrived in the infamous town and headed straight to the witch museum. Let’s just say, we easily could have skipped it and had 1 hour and 30 dollars back in our lives. All four of us just had a pleasant day walking around the sea town enjoying the terrific weather. The gardens of the House of Seven Gables were beautiful and there was a lady playing a harp in the background that made the whole scene picturesque. Unfortunately our time was limited and we had to run back to catch the plane. So we drove from Salem to the airport and after heartfelt hugs and sincere good-byes Vadim and I left. However, I keep telling Vadim…Boston would look beautiful in the fall!!

Thousand Dollar Weekend

Every time Vadim comes to Vegas to visit me, I come up with an itinerary. I try to find activities that are physically, mentally and, sometimes even, spiritually stimulating. However, despite great "game plans" we usually end up chillin’. This weekend was no exception.

Once Vadim arrived at MacCarren airport, I immediately whisked him away to go see the Improv Comedy Show at Harrah’s. They have a series of rotating (no, they don’t spin around in circles) stand-up comedians that people have said are really funny. Plus, I got free tickets. We arrived in just enough time for me to get the maitere d' upset and give us seats at a table with 6 other very strange people. Out of the four comedians performing, Vadim liked the host the best. He had one very funny joke that everyone should ask Vadim to repeat. The headliner did a great job interacting with the audience. He would ask people their name and occupation and play off their answers. Most of the participants were good sports, but there was this one blonde that was so annoying she was funny. She had to be involved in every joke. If the comedian said, "Oh in Jamaica…" she would scream out, "I was just in Jamaica." Finally the comedian made her the joke to the audience and she stormed out upset…it was great!

Saturday morning was pretty much shot because I had to go to work, but even when I got back home, around 10:30 am, we still were lazy bums. We made our token visit to Costco, then got ready for our big night…the night we have been waiting for for 2 months. Not surprisingly, we were late for our dinner reservations at the Pari Eiffel Tower Restaurant (please read with a French accent). After unsuccessful attempts to bribe the valet man, we parked in self-parking and once in the hotel we were ushered up a private elevator to an exclusive dinning room that over looked parts of the strip. We had a very romantic French dinner including fois gras, rack of lamb and filet mingion, topped off with a soufflé and wine. Then, we scurried over to Bellagio for the main event of the evening, "O".

We were a bit early for our 10:30 engagement, so we stopped in for a nightcap at the piano bar. Vadim continued the French themed evening by trying absinthe and I drank a glass of port (my fav after dinner drink). Not only was the absinthe colored like green NiteQuil ™ but it tasted like it too. However, it’s redeeming quality was the glass that it came in – a delicate glass that was shaped so perfectly it just fit in the palm of your hand. It was so delicate that later in the night I proceeded to break it…it was an accident, I swear!!

Once I stepped into the "O" theatre my little heart started to beat faster and I got so excited!! The array of flying acrobats, divers, synchronized swimmers, clowns and musicians was awe-inspiring. Me, being practically a virgin to Circe shows (I had only seen one other), could not help but wonder where they found so many talented people that could all fly through the air, swim through the water and dive into the depths of the pool. Vadim, knowledgeable as always, told me – Russia. Even the stage was a piece of artwork, which had platforms moving this way and that allowing different depths of water for the people to perform. Needless to say, I was definitely impressed.

My original iternerary had planned on gambling a little then heading over to the water park on the strip. Well, we made it to the gambling part and then stopped there. We played poker for the better part of 7 hours. Vadim broke even and I was ahead... at one time (final last words).

On the whole, despite the original plan, the weekend was wonderful like every weekend with Vadim. I just have to accept the fact that plans are not always followed nor should they be since veering from the path sometimes leads to more adventure.