Santiago de Chile/ Buenos Aires, Argentina

My friend Abby, who lives on the same floor in the building in Manhattan where I used to live, has been wanting to come down to Argentina to visit me for as long as I've been living here.

We started our trip via Santiago de Chile because all the flights to Buenos Aires were full. We arrived in Chile with absolutely no plans, no hotel reservations and I had no clothes with me except what I was wearing, of course having assumed I would be home in BA with an overflowing closet to my disposal. We arranged a room at the Crown Plaza downtown (a beautiful hotel) and took advantage of the day- walking around downtown, climbing up to the castle at Santa Lucia and having dinner at the really cute restaurant "Como agua por Chocolate" in the Bella Vista neighborhood. The next day we took a tram up the San Cristobal mountain to the Virgin Mary statue and then a cable car across the mountain and down the other side. That same day we jumped on a GOL flight to Buenos Aires, only arriving a day later than originally planned and having taken in a new city.

Our week in Buenos Aires was a whirlwind! The weekend we arrived we took the train out to Tigre and took a boat tour through the large river system that makes up the islands of that area. We also went to the out door market in Palermo.

On monday morning I returned to the gym (thank god!) and of course Augusto-my personal trainer- was there ready to kick my ass. It's incredible how fast you can see results when you have someone pushing you so hard! I worked out with him every morning this week and spent a lot of the week with sore muscles. Love it!

Last night Abby took the direct flight on American Airlines back to JFK and I took the flight to Atlanta. I'm sitting here in the lounge now in Atlanta waiting for my flight to JFk.

On Tuesday I leave for Abu Dhabi for two weeks. I am so excited!!!

Ok, I'll upload some photos of this past week later today or tomorrow.

un beso

Opera Town

I totally forgot to blog about the second"after-office" party I went to. Ok, imagine it's Saturday night late, around 3 am, and you're in a club packed with people dancing, drinking and going wild. It's getting toward the end of the night and people are scouring the dance floor, looking for potential hookups.

Ok, now imagine this scene but it's not Saturday-it's Wednesday and it's 9pm and people are for the most part in their work clothes. Except for a few girls who changed in their cubicles after work. Wow. It's called Opera Town and it was definitely an experience. It's like a company Christmas party gone way wrong. I went with my friend Laura and her friend Josh. Here's some pics.

out to dinner

Last week in BA I went out to a great restaurant with a group of students from my spanish school (that's my spanish teacher on my right). I only stayed an hour or so since my friends Nahuel and Mariano (that's them on my couch) were coming over to my place later to tell me all about their wicked Brazilian adventures. By the way, Happy Birthday Nau!!! besos

loving the sun

I came down to BA on the 11th-hardly made the flight- and have been moving non-stop ever since. I can't believe how busy you can be when you really have nothing to do! I joined the Megatlon gym and have been on a work out kick ever since. I have gotten used to the fact that my body hurts all the time and I can't walk downstairs without wincing...haha. No pain no gain. I also got a personal trainer who hopefully will whip my ass into shape pronto.

I have spent the week hanging out with friends and haven't spent a single evening at home yet, getting home at 2am on average every night ( 5am last night...upf) Maybe tonight will be the night. Or maybe not. As of yet I don't have any plans but hey, you never know. Friday evening I went to meet a bunch of friends at an "after-office" get together at a local bar. After-office is a really big thing down here (comparable to happy hour in the U.S) and on certain days of the work week ( i haven't figured out which ones) people meet up after work and hang out at bars. It's a total pick-up place and every one is there to impress. We left the "Kilkenny" ( an Irish pub) at around 11pm and headed to grab a bite to eat at "TGI Friday's" which is really an expensive place down here. It felt like we were in Anywhere, USA. The decorations were exactly the same-the same faux Tiffany lamps and waiters with too many buttons and funny hats. Random. I don't have any photos to upload unfortunately.I have been really bad about taking pictures.

Today is another beautiful day and I think I will go for a long walk outside. I think it's supposed to be 90 degrees. Chau everyone

Flying with friends!!!

This past week I picked up a trip that my friend Anne was on so we could work together. It's great how when you work with a friend it's like you're not working! Love it. We had fun even though the first day totally kicked our !@#$. Up and back to Florida all day... yay!

I would do it again in a heartbeat though. I love my job!

Slumber Party!

Anna, Abby and I had a great little road trip to Ikea last weekend full of the usual Ikea crisis' like "OMG, how are we going to get all of this crap in the car?" and "oh no, we put this together and it won't fit down the hall!!!" Totally FUN!!!!!! And we goofed around in the Kid's department of course and ate way too much crappy food. We spent the whole weekend in Queens ( quite a feat getting Manhattanites to spend time outside the city) and ordered pizza, listened to music and caught up on each other's busy lives.

Kind of like Sex and the City minus the sex.. and the martinis.. and the Christian Louboutin heels... and the city for that matter. Ok, so totally more like... I don't know, think of a show with girls hanging out in Queens. Is there one? Well,there should be.

new addiction

So I met someone who has videos on his blog and I copied him...hahaha....I think this might become my new addiction. Sorry to all of you who will be annoyed by this. I promise to try and put only good videos on....and not on every blog.

sad to leave...

So instead of staying three weeks as I had originally planned I am leaving today. The flights were looking pretty full getting back up to the States next week and I am going to grab the chance to do some training for work. It is really sad to leave though....I have been having a wonderful time these past days and I will miss the sun for sure.

Long night and a long walk

Went out clubbing last night with the boys until 5am...totally fun!! I must have danced for a good 2 1/2 hours straight. Of course that meant I didn't get out of bed until 2:30 this afternoon. Lazy!!

Later this afternoon went for a power walk in the gorgeous Ecological Reserve here right in the heart of the city. The park is open to the public and you can walk different loops around the marshlands. It is acres and acres of paths with different areas to sit or have a picnic, lay out or sit next to the river. This might become my new running location.

new haircut

I'm loving my new 'do!!

Steak dinner in Palermo

My friend (and coincidentally also my upstairs neighbor) Gabriel had some friends in town this week and we went to the best restaurant ever. The name is La Cabrera and it's in Palermo. Wow,the steaks were amazing, the side dishes so tasty and the portions gigantic. I think this will go down as one of my favorite restaurants in Buenos Aires!! And the company was great too of course ; )

Happy Birthday Anne!!!

After 22 days of straight back-to-back flying I made my way down to Chattanooga, Tennessee to celebrate one of my best girlfriend's 30th birthdays. She had a lovely dinner party and a fabulous brunch the next morning with a group of close friends and family. The food was delicious at dinner ( THOSE SCALLOPS!!!!) and brunch was at her house the next morning with all home made dishes (and a little hair of the dog for those who overindulged the night before). On sunday night I jumped on a flight back down to Buenos Aires for a lot of sun and even more relaxation.

Vega baby,Vegas

The first week of January I picked up a two day trip that had a long layover in Las Vegas so I could see my friend Chris from New York. He and I used to work together (and have a blast) at Geisha Restaurant in Manhattan and he just moved to Vegas about 4 months ago. It was so great to see him and as usual we had a fantastic time. He showed me around his new hood, took a drive out to Red Rock, had a delicious dinner at Koi restaurant ( super fresh sushi-yummy) , went to a show (Stomp) and then went out to the Playboy Club night club at the top of the Palms hotel( Slash from Guns n Roses was there too...cool huh?) . All of that in less than 12 hours!!!! It was awesome....looking forward to going back...SOON!!!

Christmas Eve 2007

Spent a wonderful Christmas Eve at my mom's in Holland. It was great, we exchanged some gifts and spent she prepared a delicious Christmas dinner- Organic beef rollade, potatoes, and brussel sprouts with steamed pears. A typically dutch meal!!

time to go back to work

Today I go back to NY to get back to work. My time down here in Buenos Aires always goes so fast. Steffen left to go back to the states on Saturday and i have had the place to myself. I love it!! I. YAY! The apartment gets a lot of sunlight and so it's very cheery and is located in a great neighborhood. I am sad to leave today.

I spent the weekend with a group of friends I haven't seen in a while. We went and hung out by the river on Saturday, ate at my friend Nahuel's house that night and then went out until 6am. Then on Sunday we all met up at 12pm and went to Tigre to spend the day on the dock and at a little summer cottage along the Delta. A very very fun weekend!!

My new apartment

So today I moved in to my new apartment. Well, actually I got the keys and I'm sleeping here but I don't have any of my stuff here yet. It's very exciting and I have my own room in a two bedroom apartment in the heart of Buenos Aires that I share with my friend Steffen. It's a great little place in an old French style building that dates back about 80 years. The last few months of living as a gypsy down here while waiting for this place to become available have been tiring and I'm ready to unpack and organize my things... get some order back into my life. I'll be down here another 4 or 5 days and then it's back to work for the holidays. It is so nice and warm down here, the snowy "wintry mix" they have been fore-spelling in NY is not appealing to me at all.

Ok, I'm tired.. going to sleep. Hope my new bed is comfortable!

Venice

Had a great time in Venice! I had a two day layover there which was great, it gave me a chance to relax a little and still go see the city. The weather was not so great, it was soooo cold and damp of course but the city was enchanting all the same. That's a place I would love to visit over and over.

After my Venice trip I did a two day domestic trip, nothing exciting but it was a nice break from the international crowds and the all night flying I always do.

Yesterday my friend Anne and I drove upstate and hit the outlets to do a little Christmas shopping, and of course I got presents for myself- a girl can never have too many nice bags ; )

So today I am trying to get all my stuff together and get out to the airport to fly down to Buenos Aires tonight. I move into my new apartment on the 14th of december. Exciting! And I'm looking forward to the nice warm weather.

gotta run... ciao

Barcelona

Ended up in Barcelona last minute but had a blast! My friend Lorna was there too and so she showed me all the places she always goes to. Tapas, the beach, La Rambla, the Gothic District, Indian food, and walking walking walking! I saw so many new sides of the city. The weather was gorgeous and I felt no guilt eating those delicious chocolate croissants the next morning after my five hour sight seeing walking tour!!

Pisa

Went to Pisa for work and took my mom with me !! WOW! The italians are hot... and the city itself is pretty nice too..that Leaning Tower is seriously leaning... ; )

back in the U.S

Here's a few picture sof our final days in Buenos Aires.

Mom and I made it back to The States early Thursday morning, spending two days in Atlanta and now a night in Queens, NY. Tomorrow we head to Pisa, Italy where we will spend two days.

Am looking forward to the regularity of work, does that sound crazy..haha. My job is anything but regular!

Locas!!

What a whirlwind week! My mom and I have been doing so much. Saturday we went to the National Horse Derby here in Buenos Aires to watch the annual "derby" and yesterday we took the bus out to San Antonio de Areco, home of the "guachos" where I had been earlier this year. Yesterday was the Day of Tradition and they celebrate that with a huge guacho festival in the "birth town" of the guacho. There were thousands of horses and all kinds of shows and processions.

finally.....

so I'm going to try and make a come back into the world of the bloggers. It's been so long since my last post and so much has happened I don't even know where to start. I can't beleive that I haven't written a decent post since May. All right..here goes.

I'll pick up somewhere in between now and where I left of last...About two months ago Alan and I decided to go our separate ways- we had different ideas of how we saw our futures. Thankfully we are still very good friends and there are no hard feelings.

My friend Marieke from Holland had been planning to come down to Argentina to visit me and this new development (of me being single) opened up the chance for the two of us to backpack through the north of Argentina for two and a half weeks. It was amazing-!! I returned back to work after that for three back to back trips and am now down in Buenos Aires with my mom( it's her first time here) for about a week and a half. We are staying in a friend's beautiful apartment that she rents out in the heart of the nicest neighborhood of the city. I will be moving into my new aparment with my friend Steffen in the middle of December about ten blocks from here.

Mom and I arrived on Tuesday morning and have spent these last days touring the city by foot, cab, bus and subway. We are worn out-!! There is so much to see here, even I see new things all the time and I thought I knew it all.. hahaha

I'll attach some pictures of my travels through the north of Argentina....besos

worst blogger ever

yes- I know I am the worst blogger ever. I do feel guilty, it's true. However, I have been flying like a crazy person and I do have great blogger plans. I have several pictures I need to upload to my laptop and then the blogging shall begin. Until then..... besos

ignoring my blog

So my good friend Tony sent me a friendly reminder that I have been ignoring my blog. It's true. Well, I've had the intention of updating it but really since my trip to the coast I haven't done anything "out of the ordinary". Lots of flying for work, a couple trips to the beach on my layovers in Holland with friends....

Shaba, my dog I got from the pound in Holland when I was 17 passed away last week. That was really sad.

So I guess I haven't really been in a blogging mood lately. But hey, tonight I leave BA to go back up to Atlanta, I have my yearly flight attendant training tomorrow, and then I'm going to Hawaii for my stepfathers Change of Comand Ceremony at Pearl Harbor. I'm sure there will be lots of bloggable stories with pictures.

ok, until then

weekend at the coast

On Friday night Alan and I packed into the car and took off for a four hour drive to Mar de las Pampas, a little village on the edge of the dunes in the woods along the coast of Argentina. We arrived at around eleven p.m. and our hostess had already lit the fire in the fireplace of our cabin. It was picture perfect but OMG!!!!! ... it was freezing!!!!! We dived into bed without even unpacking and spent the night trying to keep any body parts from exposure to the air. In the morning we decided that even though the cabin was great, we couldn't survive another night of extreme temperatures and went off in search for other accommodations. We explored Mar de las Pampas a little before taking off to Villa Gresell and then Carilo where we found a really great hotel one block from the beach. And it was really warm, a definitive necessity at this point. We ate at a great fondue restaurant and walked around Carilo. These towns are in the middle of nowhere but obviously marketed at the very wealthy. Each town has a downtown area built to resemble a lodge of some sort with wooden walkways, little dwarf statues, and some are even very tree house-like. The stores are very upscale and the restaurants are top notch. Think Vail, CO or Park City, Utah without the snow and add the beach. On Sunday we took off for Pinamar, a coastal town and then headed back to Buenos Aires in the afternoon.

Today has been a lazy day of lounging in front of the computer, drinking tea and catching up on a little cleaning. Heading back up to NY on Wednesday for a three in a row streak of Amsterdam trips..... besos

too much pink

you're right.. that was way too much pink. Sorry.

weekend away

Taking off tonight for a weekend on the coast... Mar de las Pampas. A weekend in a cabin in the woods with the beach a short walk away.

back in BA

Arrived this morning, got a facial at 11am, met Alan for lunch at 12:30 and then met up with my friend Marni (who happened to be on the crew coming down) and spent the day walking around the city with her. We booked massages for the morning. Wow, it's been a full day. Alan and I ordered pizza and it's on the way. I love a week that starts off so energy packed like this!!!

heading back down to BA

Right now I’m sitting on a plane heading back down to Atlanta after just getting in from Amsterdam today. I flew up to NY a week ago to work two back to back trips and do a day of training. The weather in NY and Amsterdam is becoming nicer with every trip and the weather in BA is getting colder every day. Wow, winter is coming and that will mark a full year that I’ve been in Argentina. Time really flies, it’s incredible.

I never got my transfer into Atlanta and so I’ve decided to stick out the summer flying in NY and try again for a transfer in the fall. I seem to be doing pretty good schedule wise in NY getting the days off that I want and I don’t want to ruin a good thing.

I’ll be down in BA for the next week. Hopefully with more adventures..... besos

crossing the river...

ha-ha.... so my new name for Colonia is Mosquito-lonia. Those Uruguayan mosquitos are ten times as fierce as their Argentine neighbors. First stop- the pharmacy for some OFF.

The boat ride over to Colonia was so fun. Alan and I upgraded our seats to first class on the ferry and spent the three hour trip drinking mate, browsing the duty free shop ( yes, there’s a duty free shop on a ferry.... it’s international ...) and lounging in our really comfortable seats.

Colonia was such a great town.The day we arrived was quite rainy so we spent a lot of time inside cafes and running in between the stalls at the local outdoor market.Lunch was a typical Uruguayan sandwich with egg, steak, ham and cheese. Yummy! We had dinner at a great little pasta place with live music. Our hotel, which used to be the original governor’s house, was located in the heart of the historical district. The rooms were so charming with antique furniture and a little balcony with a view of the back garden and pool. The second day the weather was fantastic and we spent the day roaming the cobble-stone streets that led us down narrow passages filled with old pastel colored houses and hidden courtyards. We climbed to the top of the lighthouse and walked along the old city wall. As our ferry departed the harbor the sun was setting over the town. What a perfect weekend!

the night before Colonia....

Went to a boat show at the Yacht club here in Buenos Aires on Friday night. Alan’s brother Axel designs boats and was showing his latest. It’s a beauty don’t you think?!

reservations

Ok, i just got word, the reservations have been made.. we're going to Uruguay this weekend. I'm finally going to make it to Colonia! YAY!!!

day on the boat

On Saturday morning I worked the flight back to NY (after my day with my mom in Holland) and then immediately got on a plane back to Buenos Aires via Atlanta. You know I slept like a baby all the way from Atlanta to Buenos Aires, thank God for Business Class. The morning I arrived in BsAs(Sunday), Alan picked me up at the airport and we went straight to the marina and spent the day on his parent's boat with them. Luxurious! First coffee and toast on the boat and then lunch at this little restaurant you can only get to by water. Of course I ordered my favorite cut of Argentine beef "asado". So fun! We spent the rest of the day lounging on deck in the sun, reading, napping and playing games. We made it back to the marina as the sun was setting. A perfect day.

Can you believe how much I've done in three days? Now it's Wednesday and I have less than a week before I have to go back to work. Alan and I are finally trying to make it to Colonia, Uruguay this weekend. I'll let you know. besos