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

biking in Holland

I had the most wonderful layover at my mom's house last Friday. Whenever I go to mom's on my layovers I take the train straight to her house instead of going to the hotel with the crew. I took a little nap there in "my" room and afterwards we went for a 25 km bike ride through the nature reserve that you overlook from the balcony of her apartment. The weather was perfect and as we say in Dutch, there wasn't a chicken on the road (no one else was out). We stopped and had a coffee at a cafe in the middle of the woods( also on the grounds of the cafe/restaurant is a monkey sanctuary and you can watch the monkeys playing outside on an island while you sit on the terrace) and then pedaled back home. In the pictures you'll see my mom on her bike, at the cafe, pictures along the way with some house boats and her red apartment building from the distance (her's is the closest).