what i presumed at the store to be bran flakes with raisins turned out to bran flakes with cocoa clusters.
#pleasantsurprisesinsouthamerica
#pleasantsurprisesinsouthamerica
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Santiago
just starting our 7th day here in Santiago. in case you were wondering, we made our flight in Bogota; in fact, we got off our plane and waited while they cleaned it and then got right back on. no security check, no changing terminals. so that was convenient. we got in very early in the morning, but had no troubles there, either. our hosts/landlords marcello and jim are very cool and very nice. they're also involved in the restoration of this historic neighborhood, and are working with a university, from whom they received a large grant, developing strategies for preservation as well as cataloging items of historical and cultural significance. it's all really cool and means that we got to look at over a dozen walking tours they've put together on the computer, and we're the first to be given the opportunity to walk them.
the first few days we just stayed around the neighborhood. we're very close to plaza brasil and plaza yungay, the latter of which is where in the early days of the city the merchants set up their private residences; later on the chilean aristocracy moved in as well, and there were architectural races, of a sort, to see who could create the most unique and interesting palaces. there's a lot of cool buildings here.
we've only eaten out a couple times, but every time the food has been fantastic. there's a great place around the corner where their house special pisco sours include fresh minced green chilis. the smell is really interesting, and you get the chili on the tongue when you drink, but the pisco and lemon kill any afterburn you might expect, so it's just a really good, complexly flavored drink.
yesterday we took the bus downtown to plaza armas and walked around a bit. we climbed santa lucia, a hill nearby with a fort on top. later we made our way to an artisan market, where they have all kinds of cool craftwork: wood and stone carvings, clothing, leather goods, lapis lazuli jewelry, musical instruments, etc. nora got a skirt/dress that she's thrilled about, but i have to be honest i think i'm even more excited about my purchase: a leather messenger bag. i've been looking for a suitable one for over three years now, and i think i finally found one i'm satisfied with. all in all, a successful day.
nora's classes start tomorrow, and the classes i teach have been moved to a new format, so there's a lot of work for me to do getting ready before they start on sunday, so the next few days may not be as exciting. still, this is a great city, and we're in a wonderful part of it if you like walking around and taking in the ambiance--which we do.
oh, one last note to all of you in the northern hemisphere reading this: it's hot here. thankfully, there's a constant breeze and wind blowing through, but even then it's quite warm. nora got a sunburn on her nose yesterday. those of you back home who just got snow dumped on them, enjoy it while it lasts, but here's to hoping it doesn't last too long.
the first few days we just stayed around the neighborhood. we're very close to plaza brasil and plaza yungay, the latter of which is where in the early days of the city the merchants set up their private residences; later on the chilean aristocracy moved in as well, and there were architectural races, of a sort, to see who could create the most unique and interesting palaces. there's a lot of cool buildings here.
we've only eaten out a couple times, but every time the food has been fantastic. there's a great place around the corner where their house special pisco sours include fresh minced green chilis. the smell is really interesting, and you get the chili on the tongue when you drink, but the pisco and lemon kill any afterburn you might expect, so it's just a really good, complexly flavored drink.
yesterday we took the bus downtown to plaza armas and walked around a bit. we climbed santa lucia, a hill nearby with a fort on top. later we made our way to an artisan market, where they have all kinds of cool craftwork: wood and stone carvings, clothing, leather goods, lapis lazuli jewelry, musical instruments, etc. nora got a skirt/dress that she's thrilled about, but i have to be honest i think i'm even more excited about my purchase: a leather messenger bag. i've been looking for a suitable one for over three years now, and i think i finally found one i'm satisfied with. all in all, a successful day.
nora's classes start tomorrow, and the classes i teach have been moved to a new format, so there's a lot of work for me to do getting ready before they start on sunday, so the next few days may not be as exciting. still, this is a great city, and we're in a wonderful part of it if you like walking around and taking in the ambiance--which we do.
oh, one last note to all of you in the northern hemisphere reading this: it's hot here. thankfully, there's a constant breeze and wind blowing through, but even then it's quite warm. nora got a sunburn on her nose yesterday. those of you back home who just got snow dumped on them, enjoy it while it lasts, but here's to hoping it doesn't last too long.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
New Years Day
despite what one may hope for, life is not quite a U2 song. for one, the world i inhabit is not white. for another, to say that nothing changes is not quite accurate (nora and i are now the owners of our very own car, for example). perhaps some other parts of that song still ring true.
after a particularly nerve-wracking flight to pennsylvania in december, we decided not to wait until may to purchase a car, and instead bought one there and drove it back. we're very pleased with the results.
in 4 days we have to be at the airport shortly before 7 am and will start the long journey to santiago. there is one connection, in bogota, colombia, in which we have 45 minutes to pass through security and board our next flight, or else we will have to stay the night in the airport. hopefully we'll make the window, because there are a lot of places i'd prefer not to spend the night, and the bogota airport is one of them. if all things go as planned, we'll be in santiago, chile early in the morning on the 6th, where we've rented a lovely apartment for a month.
from chile we have a week to meander our way to buenos aires, where we are renting an apartment for another month. we haven't chosen that one quite yet, but we've narrowed down the list of possibilities from thousands to hundreds to dozens to a handful. i feel confident in our ability to make the last step.
when our time is up in buenos aires it will be halfway through march. we don't plan on being home until the first or second week of may, and are hoping to be able to poke around uruguay, paraguay, bolivia, and peru in the remaining 7 or 8 weeks. we'll see what happens.
enjoy the new year, everyone, wherever you are.
after a particularly nerve-wracking flight to pennsylvania in december, we decided not to wait until may to purchase a car, and instead bought one there and drove it back. we're very pleased with the results.
in 4 days we have to be at the airport shortly before 7 am and will start the long journey to santiago. there is one connection, in bogota, colombia, in which we have 45 minutes to pass through security and board our next flight, or else we will have to stay the night in the airport. hopefully we'll make the window, because there are a lot of places i'd prefer not to spend the night, and the bogota airport is one of them. if all things go as planned, we'll be in santiago, chile early in the morning on the 6th, where we've rented a lovely apartment for a month.
from chile we have a week to meander our way to buenos aires, where we are renting an apartment for another month. we haven't chosen that one quite yet, but we've narrowed down the list of possibilities from thousands to hundreds to dozens to a handful. i feel confident in our ability to make the last step.
when our time is up in buenos aires it will be halfway through march. we don't plan on being home until the first or second week of may, and are hoping to be able to poke around uruguay, paraguay, bolivia, and peru in the remaining 7 or 8 weeks. we'll see what happens.
enjoy the new year, everyone, wherever you are.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
December
We survived the heart-busting onslaught of double Thanksgiving dinners and have coasted our way into December with no major upsets or cold weather snafus.
Now that it's December, however, it seemed like a good time to leave the cool/cold South and head to the cold/frigid North. We're going to Pennsylvania. We're going to visit my father and pseudo-step-mother in a tiny town in the mountains where, according to Weather.com, the high tomorrow is 26 degrees and the forecast is for snow.
I spent 5 hours today using a leaf blower to try to clear Nora's parents' massive yard of leaves, and I suspect that tomorrow I'll be wielding a snow shovel. If not, I'll certainly be wielding a coal shovel, as my father's house uses a coal furnace. Either way, it's an amazing time we live in, when one can be subjected from one grueling cold-weather chore into a much more grueling, colder-weather chore within 24 hours.
Joyce, the pseudo-step-mother mentioned above, is a great cook and an all around great woman, so I'm looking forward to seeing her as well as my Dad. Nora's met them both several times before, but she's never made the trip to the wintry North (or summery, for that matter), so this will be an interesting experience.
If everything goes according to plan, we'll be back in time for the end of month holidays (one can never really tell with airports and weather fronts these days). So fingers crossed on that one. In the meantime, wherever you are, hope you enjoy your December.
Now that it's December, however, it seemed like a good time to leave the cool/cold South and head to the cold/frigid North. We're going to Pennsylvania. We're going to visit my father and pseudo-step-mother in a tiny town in the mountains where, according to Weather.com, the high tomorrow is 26 degrees and the forecast is for snow.
I spent 5 hours today using a leaf blower to try to clear Nora's parents' massive yard of leaves, and I suspect that tomorrow I'll be wielding a snow shovel. If not, I'll certainly be wielding a coal shovel, as my father's house uses a coal furnace. Either way, it's an amazing time we live in, when one can be subjected from one grueling cold-weather chore into a much more grueling, colder-weather chore within 24 hours.
Joyce, the pseudo-step-mother mentioned above, is a great cook and an all around great woman, so I'm looking forward to seeing her as well as my Dad. Nora's met them both several times before, but she's never made the trip to the wintry North (or summery, for that matter), so this will be an interesting experience.
If everything goes according to plan, we'll be back in time for the end of month holidays (one can never really tell with airports and weather fronts these days). So fingers crossed on that one. In the meantime, wherever you are, hope you enjoy your December.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thanksgiving
We spent last weekend at the Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, while I went to the NCTE conference. While there I got some free books, saw Gary Paulsen, had the line to meet Gary Paulsen cut off right in front of me, and did a lot of people watching. English teachers are a curious bunch.
We also spent two nights walking around Downtown Disney, which is surprisingly adult and interesting. Nora designed a T-shirt, and we ate twice at Cooke's of Dublin, a fantastic fish and chips shop.
Probably the highlight of the trip was going to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, where of course they have the new addition The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This was the only reason we paid the $80+ each to get in to Islands of Adventure, but we did manage to walk around some of the other mini-parks there, and Nora rode a few additional rides.
We went to Wizarding World on the 19th, the day the movie was released in theatres, so it was a bit packed. It's also a bit small, and there are only 3 rides -- only 2 of which I went on. Still, Hogsmeade and Hogwarts were really cool to walk around, and the shops were interesting. There was a great long line for Dervish & Banges, which I checked out while Nora road the Dragon Challenge roller coaster. It was packed with people and full of useless bric-a-brac.
The ride that took you through Hogwarts was really cool, though I did get motion sickness about halfway through. It's part simulation with screens, and part jerky, whirly ride through darkened horrorscapes. It was great fun until the quidditch match left me trying to keep my stomach down. The line for the ride trails through Hogwarts, and there are several really high quality holograms of Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. You also trail through several classrooms and a hall of moving paintings.
The best part, however, was the food and drinks. We had pumpkin juice--fantastic--and butterbeer, of course--also good. For lunch Nora had half a rotisserie chicken and I had a smoked turkey leg--hands down the best turkey I have ever eaten in my life. The skin was crisp and slightly chewy, with a salty ham-like flavor, and the inside was moist and delicious. I still think about that turkey leg, and I don't feel bad at all for having eaten it. [For those who don't know, I very rarely eat meat of any kind, and it had been weeks since I'd eaten anything other than fish]
We've been back a few days in TN now, and will be splitting Thanksgiving between Nora's family and mine. I haven't seen my brother for over 15 months, so I'm glad he'll be there. It should be a good weekend.
Hope your Thanksgiving is lovely, and full of food and cheer, and relaxing in the extreme.
Until next time,
Eat well and travel safely.
We also spent two nights walking around Downtown Disney, which is surprisingly adult and interesting. Nora designed a T-shirt, and we ate twice at Cooke's of Dublin, a fantastic fish and chips shop.
Probably the highlight of the trip was going to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure, where of course they have the new addition The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This was the only reason we paid the $80+ each to get in to Islands of Adventure, but we did manage to walk around some of the other mini-parks there, and Nora rode a few additional rides.
We went to Wizarding World on the 19th, the day the movie was released in theatres, so it was a bit packed. It's also a bit small, and there are only 3 rides -- only 2 of which I went on. Still, Hogsmeade and Hogwarts were really cool to walk around, and the shops were interesting. There was a great long line for Dervish & Banges, which I checked out while Nora road the Dragon Challenge roller coaster. It was packed with people and full of useless bric-a-brac.
The ride that took you through Hogwarts was really cool, though I did get motion sickness about halfway through. It's part simulation with screens, and part jerky, whirly ride through darkened horrorscapes. It was great fun until the quidditch match left me trying to keep my stomach down. The line for the ride trails through Hogwarts, and there are several really high quality holograms of Dumbledore, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. You also trail through several classrooms and a hall of moving paintings.
The best part, however, was the food and drinks. We had pumpkin juice--fantastic--and butterbeer, of course--also good. For lunch Nora had half a rotisserie chicken and I had a smoked turkey leg--hands down the best turkey I have ever eaten in my life. The skin was crisp and slightly chewy, with a salty ham-like flavor, and the inside was moist and delicious. I still think about that turkey leg, and I don't feel bad at all for having eaten it. [For those who don't know, I very rarely eat meat of any kind, and it had been weeks since I'd eaten anything other than fish]
We've been back a few days in TN now, and will be splitting Thanksgiving between Nora's family and mine. I haven't seen my brother for over 15 months, so I'm glad he'll be there. It should be a good weekend.
Hope your Thanksgiving is lovely, and full of food and cheer, and relaxing in the extreme.
Until next time,
Eat well and travel safely.
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