The next day I took the bus back from Montevideo to Colonia del Sacramento, feeling that I had experienced Montevideo as much as a traveler could without some local connections. With my friend Timmy from Switzerland, I took the city bus back to the long distance bus station, which incidentally is a shopping mall on the top floor and a bus terminal on the bottom, to catch our four hour ride to the small town. The view from the bus window was spectacular - the green and gold patches of plants over red earth, speckled with oddly shaped trees and cattle [View Full Entry]

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The rainy cold front continued and I decided to change my plans and head straight for the capitol, Montevideo instead of going to one of the smaller beach cities further along the coast. There should be more to do and see there given the weather. At breakfast I found the couple I had dinner with last night had come to that very same conclusion, so we went to the bus station together, and ended up spending much of the day together. In Montevideo we took a city bus downtown from the main bus station and checked in to a nearby hostel. [View Full Entry]

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I took a Buquebus ferry across the river to Uruguay, to the town of Colonia del Sacremento, a small city founded by the Portuguese as a smuggling port, and found it a world away from Buenos Aires. Yes it is kept up as a tourist destination, particularly for local tourists, but even on a cold, rainy, and dark day it keeps its charm, right down to the groups of children on their way home from class stopping into the doorways of shops to say hi to their friends parents. Even though it is nearly spring here, the colors and smell remind [View Full Entry]

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After a long time of planning, I finally made it Buenos Aires to begin my trip to Argentina to explore the culinary world down here and the history and culture of a place few Americans know much about. I was so excited landing here, and a little nervous, not knowing quite what to expect. Will the city be like Italy or France, as so many people say? How will my spanish be, since the accent and even some of the verb tenses here are quite different from anywhere else? How will I do starting out in such a big city? I [View Full Entry]

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I woke up early to the noise of the garbage trucks outside, then fell asleep again to a few plump rain drops falling on the windows above me. The sky grew dark and the rain fell, filling the gutters and soaking the ground. Summer storms here is just as I remember them. The rain drops are big and make a splash around them when they hit the earth, and there are lots of them! The rain in California often falls hard and the little drops sting like needles. Here they are softer, rounder, heavier. I spent the day catching up on [View Full Entry]

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Green!!! As we landed I was excited to watch the endless variety of green in the fields, forests, neighborhoods, and lakes below. Summer in Los Angeles is colorful - some neighborhoods filled with grass and tropical plants, others dingy, dusty, brown and yellow. The hills are dry and toasty brown as you drive around the cities. Here there is water all around and the land extremely fertile. My taxi ride was a little long and I got to see a variety of vegetation - trees, fields, yards - all so beautiful. It has been a few years since I've been here [View Full Entry]

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I spent most of my summer helping to take care of my Mom in South Pasadena. Her paperwork was a mess and she had surgery on both of her feet. My boyfriend Pablo was still there getting ready to move back to his parents' in Juarez, and I helped him out with that too and went there to visit for a week. It was good to see friends and family, but I was not very happy to be in L.A. Most days were spent taking care of the house and family. I have never felt comfortable in Los Angeles, even though [View Full Entry]

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In la Ciudad de México, often called México or D.F, we first drove downtown to la Zona Rosa to drop Silvia off at Paco's house before heading south to stay with Sergio, a friend of Pablo's. We got together with Pablo's friends from school and headed out to a bar. I was too weak and tired for much of a night out instead of getting better I feel I'm getting worse. They chatted for a bit while I tried to stay awake, then was happy to go back to the house to sleep. I had been very excited to see D.F. [View Full Entry]

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We arrived to Martita and Luis's house in Querétaro in the afternoon. They were away and busy for the day, so we relaxed and planned dinner. Martita's son was late coming to take us shopping so dinner was late as well. Everyone helped me make fresh ricotta gnocchi and a tarragon tomato sauce served with dark greens sauteed with panchetta. Conversation was lively, ranging from Asian history and philosophy back to brewing. Mauricio, Martita and Luis's son who was with us, was engaging and enthusiastic. Silvia, Pablo, and I headed out late that night to explore the city. After walking th [View Full Entry]

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We made it to Taxco on Wednesday afternoon after yet another long drive through the winding roads, this time with lots of bathroom stops (I think I have a kidney infection). There was another futbol game with Barcelona playing this afternoon - with Silvia here, we can't miss it! We didn't have time to drive downtown to catch the game, so we found a hotel near the road, which incidentally had an amazing view overlooking the city, and watched the game there. The keys to the rental car somehow got locked inside, so Pablo spent most of the game trying to [View Full Entry]

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