Thursday, June 26, 2008

And now, Buenos Aires

Kevin saw much more of Santiago, then I. I was in the office on Monday and Tuesday, while he did a couple of walking tours. We met a "Tastet" for drinks. Thanks to Facebook Kevin found a family of Tastets that live in Santiago. We met the father and daughter for a drink at the hotel. Eugenio was very adamant that we contact him when we are here again so that he can introduce us to his family and show us more of Santiago and Chile.

We flew to Buenos Aires Tuesday night. Once in Santiago we caught a cab to the hotel. This is a huge city. It feels a lot larger then Santiago, I think it has twice as many people.

Kevin and I went downstairs to get a bite to eat. They say the beef in Argentina is the best. I have to admit it is on par with my family's own beef. There is a lot of meat served in this country. I think I have eaten more red meat on this trip then I have in the last 4 months. In Buenos Aires, even the butter is beef (or at least your bread comes with a "beef spread" that tasted like roast beef and butter.

Wednesday I headed to the office with Sue, while Kevin went back to bed. I am going to let Kevin provide the details of his version of Buenos Aires. So far my has included going to and from the office.

Friday night we are going to take a Tango class and then Friday - Sunday Kevin can show me the highlights of the city.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Santiago - Part Dos

I never found the artisan market I went looking for. I walked for at least 90 minutes and then finally took a cab back to the hotel.

Kevin arrived, we got him situated and then headed out to lunch in the Providencia neighborhood. It was a great little local place. Our spanish is pretty bad...at one point the waiter was asking where we were from and I thought he was talking about the check. I am sure the locals got a kick out of it. The waiter wanted to know if we thought Hilary would win, he was disappointed (along with our "table mates") that she had dropped out of the race. They both eagerly pointed out that both Chile and Argentina have women presidents. The waiter made a gesture about the US holding women back, that coming from a machismo based culture.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel for nap. We went out for dinner around 8. We took the subway (which is very easy to navigate). The subway entrances/exits are as confusing here as they are in Antwerp. We don't seem to be able to exit on to the right street, headed in the right direction, inevitably leading to 15 minutes of orientation. Tonight we thought we were headed in the wrong direction, not yet on the right street. I finally asked for directions in a little restaurant. Turns out we were on the right street and really close to the restaurant we wanted.

Dinner was good...this trip seems to be nothing but steak, steak and more steak. All of it great too.

We finally left the restaurant around 11pm and caught a cab back to the hotel. Thank goodness for the cab, otherwise it could have been another "Tastet night in Amsterdam" where we wandered for hours in the wrong direction (not exactly as safe or clean as Amsterdam either). We were both completely turned around.

More to come later.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

City #2 - Santiago

I don't think I will ever get tired of boarding a plane to another country. There is something about being greated in another language as you board...

I arrived in Santiago last night and checked in to my hotel, the Ritz Carlton. I know, I know, I have a tough life. I met Toni & Sue for a drink and then dinner. The conversation always seems to quickly become about work. Ugh. We had dinner in the hotel, again very nice.

I finally crashed around 1am and planned to sleep as late as possible. I had forgotten to turn my alarm off so it woke me up 4 hours later, i promptly went back to sleep and slept until 10.

The first thing I did when I woke up was open the curtains. Wouldn't you know, a view of the Andes. Slightly obstructed, but it is still the Andes - so close you could reach out and touch them.

I showered, arranged for a car to pick Kevin up at the airport and then headed out for breakfast. Trusty Fodor recommended Cafe Melba (a few blocks from the hotel). It was a little cafe that was really good.

I went looking for local crafts for the next couple of hours, planning to return to the hotel in time to meet Kevin.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Traveling the world, again...

I have been off of the crutches and out of the knee brace for a week, just long enough to be ready to head south to Brazil, Chile & Argentina.

I left on Monday for a work trip to Sao Paulo. I arrived Tuesday monrnig, we made it to our hotel, unpacked and then headed out for a light lunch. My knee was bothering me, but I wanted to get a work out in. My hotel has a "fitness center", it isn't much but i was able to get my heart rate up and do my knee rehab.

Tomorrow I head to the office to support training that someone else is giving...I think I will end doing 6 hours of real work for the this portion of the trip.

Right before I got on the plane in Dallas, kevin and I decided to fly him to meet me in Santiago and then go to Buenos Aires. He will definately get to see more of the cities then I will, but it should be fun. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to have us both in S.A for about 1100 bucks. Good hotels, good food and great sights.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Still a cripple

A month has passed and I still have the brace and the crutches. I am working on getting my range of motion and flexibility back. The crutches have sent my shoulder and chest muscles for a loop though, resulting in a couple of slipped ribs. I am currently sitting with a heat pad on my chest and trying not to take too big of a breath.

I went to a chiropractor for the first time (ever) on Friday - 3 appts later - no good. Now I am in too much pain to even have him try to adjust me. I limped home and quickly sent emails to Robyn and Josh - looking for Andrea's miracle working naturopath. (Andrea is hiking through a rainforest in Peru). Dr Mindy massaged my shoulders, neck & chest to get the muscles to release - then used accupuncture. I left feeling ok, I go back on Thursday.

I am supposed to go to Brazil, Chile & Argentina on the 16th. This has to be healed by then, otherwise there is no way I am getting on a plane.

I am going to work from home for the rest of the week, so I can stay off of the crutches - instruments of torture that they are.