In South American and the Caribbean, we learned that * countries here really like to fly enormous flags * Chile's Kunstmann beer from Valdivia is by far the best beer we had, especially the Miel of honey kind * Argentina really likes salt. The waitress thought we were strange when we didn't want salt for our pizza * unlike Europe, South America was very committed to cold beer, frequently serving it in a wine cooler or in a cozy * cheese thrown on the grill is awesome...kidney and tripe, not so much * with all that beef, you would think there would be leather for sale, but no * on the way to Uraguay from Argentina, there is security screening...you know, metal detectors and stuff,...but not on the return trip in the other direction * Ciudad ... read more

We've had many happy accidents of being in the right place at the right time, but on this sort of trip, there will always be a few "we should have gone here instead of there" moments. And right now, WE SHOULD NEVER HAVE LEFT BUENOS AIRES! We mentioned in our last couple of entries that Argentina is very affordable. Cheap hotels, cheap food, and cheap wine - all excellent in a background of fantastic culture and nightlife - mean that, really, there is no reason why you all shouldn't begin planning your next trip there. We returned to Buenos Aires from the northern Missiones district because we wanted to spend Saturday night in the capital and we heard that the Sunday antique market was fun. You can really find anything in the San Telmo market, from ... read more

After our wonderful flight on Iberia and a quick dinner, we awoke from an early night somewhat refreshed. In the whirlwind of Europe, we hadn´t given our South American plans much thought, and with Argentina still in the World Cup mix, several contingincies presented themselves. Thus, the first day in Argentina became somewhat about business and errands. However, we decided to walk from office to office in order to see the city better. Vendors of World Cup merchandise, wide boulevards, walking malls, large sculptures and monuments, even some sort of rally for transexuals - we got to see the central part of the city pretty well. After taking care of business, we headed to a nearby parrilla, url=http://travel2.nytimes.com/top/features/travel/destinations/centralandsouthamerica/argentina/buenosaires/restaurant_details.html?vid=1107942620130 El Desnivel (we´d already gone... read more

As soon as we got to Barcelona, we started eating and really never stopped. While Spain isn't exactly a bargain-traveler's haven, it is a welcome break after many of the other European cities. Going out for a meal and grabbing a glass of wine doesn´t break the bank and the food is simple but amazing. We ditched the tourists along the pedestrian Las Ramblas and found a student bar near the University of Barcelona to watch Spain beat Saudi Arabia. Since Spain had already clinched their spot in the Round of 16 before this match and the win was rather uneventful, we thought it was really odd when we began to hear firecrackers going off all over the city. After our tapas supper, we wandered by the cathedral square to find people dancing to a polka ... read more

There have been many parts of our trip that have been fast paced, but even for us the last week was a whirlwind. Our original plans did not include going to Western Europe because we've both been here before and it's not easy for budget travel. But when Justin realized that we could go to the World Cup, we immediately applied for tickets and changed our itinerary. The experience has been well worth it. Since we saw our match in Frankfurt, we've made it our goal to see as many matches in as many home countries as possible. And so far our record is really good. We were in the Czech Republic for a Czech win (unfortunately they beat the US), in Germany for two German wins, in the Netherlands for a Dutch win, and in ... read more