Since I’ve been jotting down little notes in a journal and haven’t made it to the computer til now, I’m just going to share some of my thoughts of my last 3 days I’ve been in Johannesburg, South Africa. I came over for a work trip, so a lot of my time has been spent working, between the Hyatt and the office. I haven’t gotten to see too much of the city yet, so I look forward to tomorrow, my “free” day before flying out tomorrow night. But here are some thoughts so far… -On the flight over, I experienced what [View Full Entry]

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-Subways are cool - chandeliers, mosaics, domes, lights, marble, granite, every station is different. Despite our lack of Russian knowledge, we braved the subway every day, and even switched lines a few times today. We made it everywhere we were trying to go. -Women are hot. Lots of hot bodies. And they dress pretty saucily. I can’t imagine walking around in heels like that and pounding the Moscow pavement, subways, etc. It’s impressive. -There is white pollen-stuff flying through the air like crazy. Looks like snow at some points it is so thick. It comes from some tree that no [View Full Entry]

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Hello to all, this is Dave writing this blog. Another interesting day in Moscow. During Amanda’s work training she ran into Julia. They used to take yoga together in Atlanta and now she lives in Moscow and works where the training was held. It was totally random and pretty funny that we travel 8 different time zones and run into somebody we know. Now that is a small world. Anyway, we met Julia for lunch at a great little café (Correa’s - it was really excellent food and reasonably priced!), then she drove us to Stary Arbat Street. It is a [View Full Entry]

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The first thing to say about Moscow is that the architecture is a constant source of entertainment for me. I spent the first 3 days I was here either in my hotel, in the office, or in the car in between. I’m kinda glad that the office and hotel were a ways apart (20 mins in the morning, 1-1.5 hrs in the evening). The drive was excellent for looking at all the beautiful buildings, green spaces, people walking, drivers being insane, and more. I had a great driver named Andrey who spoke excellent English and told me about some of the [View Full Entry]

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Started the day on foot into Recoletta neighborhood. I thought I'd do some shopping, some cafe time, and meet our friend Alfredo for lunch. Found La Rambla - a little coffee/tea cafe that had a nice street view. So I settled in for some incredible croissants - they may have been dipped in honey. Whatever it was, was the best croissants I have ever tasted. Or at least that I could remember right then! I also went ahead and had a real espresso with steamed milk (no wimpy decaf today). That too, tasted so nice. I sat there a little while [View Full Entry]

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-When traffic lights are red, they give you a yellow light to let you know they’re about to turn green. I knew this from the last time I was here, but I had forgotten. I like that little warning - ‘almost your turn!’ it is telling me. -It is winter here now, but not that cold (lowest around mid-upper 40s to 60s). BA locals are walking around in parkas and ski-wear. It seems a bit extreme. -Everyone I’ve come into contact with through work is incredibly kind, and gracious enough to speak in English. Why, oh why did I not learn [View Full Entry]

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So first let me start by saying, why can’t I fly business class always? Oh yeah, because I usually can’t afford it. Well that is a crying shame, because (and yes, I already knew this) it is soooo much better. What a great night’s sleep in a reclining chair with down blanket and full-sized pillow and meals and movies on demand and, well, you get the idea. Arrived in Buenos Aires this morning. We had to fill out health forms as part of ‘swine flu protocol’ and they handed out the masks on the airplane - mandatory to wear until you [View Full Entry]

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Today we awoke and had a pretty lazy day in store. It was about 90 degrees and it felt like everything you did took a little extra effort. Outside our room the field was alive with animal activity. Lots of wildebeest and zebras were filling the fields. We watch them play and find tree stumps to scratch their private parts. I can’t imagine not being able to scratch your balls when you want. It was really funny to watch. Also, we had a family of Franklin visit the patio. The chicks (baby Franklin) decided to make a break for the inside [View Full Entry]

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We had a great day poolside at Bakabung. Wow, that African sun is no joke. Then we went for our first drive alone in Pilanesberg National Park. It was interesting to say the least. Dan was navigator and Dave drove. We headed towards where we were told there were elephants, and on the way spotted two giraffes up close. Wow! That’s definitely as close as I’ve ever been to an animal that large. They’re so tall! (how cliché, right? But man is it true!). We also saw impala and a stray wildebeest or two along the way. Then we got way [View Full Entry]

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Today was different from anything I’ve ever experienced. We woke up early for a relaxing morning on our patio, only to be greeted by vervet monkeys, franklins, several types of birds, warthogs, and more. It was pretty exciting without leaving the house! After a low-key day of some grocery shopping, grilled cheeses, and naps, we then hit our first safari ride into the bush in the late afternoon. Can I just say it was SO COOL! We were in this huge Land Rover-type vehicle that seated 20. At first the animals we saw were pretty far [View Full Entry]

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