Carrinos - Drinking Life to the Lees

When we first hooked up in '94, we talked about traveling around the world before we hit 30, the deadline distant and hazy. Now that we can see it all too clearly, we figured we better get in gear. So we set out from Chicago with seven months to traverse the globe and hopefully make it back in one piece. This blog will chronicle our journey.

Basic Plans:
Dec. '05 - California,
Jan. '06 - NZ / Austrailia (East Coast),
Feb. - SE Asia (From Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City) / Hong Kong,
March - Beijing / Russia (including Trans-Siberian Express) / Scandanavia,
April - Eastern Europe / Middle East,
May - Eastern Africa,
June - Western Europe (including World Cup),
July - South America (From Rio to Santiago) / Bahamas

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Joined on: December 18th 2005
Last Login: June 5th 2009

Blog Entries: 48
Photos: 352

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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Carrinos, order by Date newest first.

By Carrinos
July 24th 2006

The Final Wrap-Up North America » United States » Illinois » Chicago

The Cities we would most like to live: *1. Chicago, IL, USA (still #1) *2. Buenos Aires, Argentina *3. Prague, Czech Republic Places we will not likely return: *1. Egypt (a clear frontrunner for us) *2. For Chris - China (at least Beijing); For Justin - Russia *3. Romania, particularly Bucharest (and don't confuse it with Budapest) Best Food: * Vietnam Best Dining Experience * Argentina Best Beer: * New Zealand, special mention to Montieth's Our biggest regret [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
July 21st 2006

South America & Caribbean Wrap-up North America » United States » Illinois » Chicago

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 [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
July 19th 2006

Bindings, Beaches and Birthdays Central America Caribbean » Bahamas » Nassau » Paradise Island » Atlantis Resort

Hitting the Slopes

When we woke up early on Friday morning to catch the shuttle to Valle Nevado ski resort outside of Santiago, we were a bit salty. It isn't that Santiago is the worst place in the world or anything. But when the rain sticks you in a place for longer than you need, and you know you missed a chance to be somewhere you might not ever get to again, it's hard to look on the bright side. We hadn't skiied in several years (one of the biggest drawbacks to living in the midwest), and were happy to be going to do [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
July 13th 2006

A Tale of Two Cities South America » Chile » Santiago Region » Santiago

Why Buenos Aires Rules

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 [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
July 9th 2006

Vive Le Argentina South America » Paraguay » Ciudad del Este

Why Digital Cameras Rule

After our adventure in Brazil, we hit a parrilla to fill our stomachs and headed to bed fairly early, a consequence of not sleeping much on the coche cama, and the fact that Puerto Iguazu isn´t a place to spend resources on nightlife. The next morning, we awoke, and found the bus to Parque Nacional Iguazu . Considered by many the premier waterfalls in the world, they straddle the Brazil / Argentina border on the Rio Iguazu. While the Brazil side affords a more complete panorama, the Argentina side gives you greater access to and closer views of th [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
July 4th 2006

Visa Independence Day South America » Brazil » Paraná » Foz do Iguaçu

Before the Fall

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 th [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
June 30th 2006

Western Europe and World Cup Recap Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam

Germany

We learned that... * Everyone has the same cheers and patriotic songs. People just translate them into their own language, except everyone uses "Olé, Olé, Olé" * Either there are no female English football fans or they are just too afraid to go to the match. There were like 3 women in the whole stadium, and one of them was Chris. * We came all the way to Germany to drink American Budweiser since they are an official sponsor of the World Cup * Frankfurt apple wine is not cider, and it's really gross. * German Adi Dassler (get it, Adi-Das) [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
June 29th 2006

Chorizo, Jamon, Olives, Queso, Potatoes, Tortillas, Tapas... South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires

Dancing in the Streets

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, [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
June 23rd 2006

Screw Brazil Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Postcard Shot

Unfortunately for the French, our World Cup luck took a bit of a slide. After a lazy Sunday at Christina and Nicola´s, including a trip to the market for the girls, a great outdoor brunch, some ice cream cones, and an awesome seabass dinner cooked by Christina, we went out to watch the second half of the match against South Korea, but could only manage a tie for them. Part of it may have been the French crowd, which was the tamest of the four countries we´ve witnessed so far. The decibel level only rose after Korea tied it up late, [View Full Entry]

By Carrinos
June 18th 2006

More Football Europe » France » Île-de-France » Paris

The Netherlands team of 2018

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 [View Full Entry]

A few shots of Jaigermeister with Marko and Stephen

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Carrinos - Drinking Life to the Lees

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