Honeymoon pics!
And finally, without further ado…
Our honeymoon pictures! Sorry for the long wait. But as Sarah well knows, I’m get-it-right which means my projects take longer. She’s get-it-done, which means she’s had wedding pictures up for three months already. Better late than never for me, right? On with the show. There’s lots of pictures, spread over a few pages.
Sarah and I flew to Argentina {1}. We went on a two city tour over 5 fantastic days. It was an amazing trip, one we’ll never forget. Take a look…
morning of our Argentine trip
Here we are, just arrived at the airport and ready for our flight out of the country!
waiting to board at the gate!
Our first stop (not counting the brief layover in Lima, Peru, which we only saw from the comfort of our LAN plane) was the huge city of Buenos Aires.
Vista Sol swanky room
We stayed at the swanky Vista Sol hotel, a very modern and posh building in the heart of the city. It kind of felt like a movie at spy movie at first, where outside is a bustling dirty city street and as soon as the glass doors slid open, it\'s all luxuriously fancy inside. The ground floor level was entirely glass, and at the check-in counter you could see the cafeteria a floor below. Very cool. Admittedly, the brochure made our room seem <em>much</em> larger, but we didn\'t mind much. It was an almost entirely automated room, for which enhanced its geek cred. For instance, the lights turned off automatically as soon as you locked the front door upon leaving. Also, the motorized window shade only worked when the window was shut. Other than the AC not working that well and some window shade mishaps, we loved the tiny place.
cathedral doors
This is the amazingly beautiful Catholic church in the heart of the capital. The doors were at least 10 feet tall, and this picture really doesn\'t do justice for its size.
La Boca
The tour bus dropped us off in the shopping area of La Boca. It\'s an Italian district of B.A. with very bright colors and quaint buildings. It felt very old world.
car wash? hula hoop factory?
On the harbor was this bizarre art on display. Or was it some sort of brush car wash? You got me.
Rob & the giant gum tree
To give you and idea what 2 centuries worth of nearly unpruned growth looks like, have a look..
mausoleum
The Catholics like them some masterful architecture. A lot of the crypts were very old. Take a look at this one.
elaborate crypt architecture
And you wouldn\'t believe the intricacy of the design. Some were like miniature houses or museums, they were so ornate, complete with marble columns.
elaborate crypt architecture
We then went to the city\'s cemetery. There were hundreds, probably thousands of tombstones, crypts, and mausoleums packed into this relatively small plot of real estate.
mechanical flower sculpture
Near the planetarium was a gigantic sculpture of a metallic rose complete with working petals. At different times of the day, the petals lower or raise. It\'s really quite fantastic.
the dogs of Buenos Aires
The phrase, \"the dogs of B.A.\", is no exaggeration. There were dogs everywhere. Lots were strays, more were personal pets. Canines are the source of a nice little cottage industry.
100_2741.JPG
The cuisine was a mixture of Italian and Argentine. The thing is, the Argentines don\'t start partying until late, so even dinner really doesn\'t kick in full gear until 10pm. By the time we were done eating, the place finally started filling up.
Sar at the Filo (Italian & Argentine)
That night, we went to a restaurant called Filo. It was very hip.
sculpture
The Argentines really love their sculpture and public art. In this district, there were many historical and mythic statues. It gave the city that classic old world feel, a place of long tradition and significance.
Avenida de Nueve de Julio (9th of July)
Before leaving downtown, we couldn\'t pass up the Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest thoroughfares in the world. 17 lanes! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenida_9_de_Julio)
pastries & cafe on every corner!
The next morning we were to catch a private coach to the airport for the second city in our tour -- Bariloche, a beautiful mountain resort city. The biggest difference between Bariloche and Colorado Springs is the elevation. Bariloche has a very large lake, making it much more humid.
the Universe in Spanish
We went to the planetarium and guessed what the Spanish narration was lecturing.
Sarah y el Planetario
The next day, we trekked out on our own, even braved the taxis (which apparently you\'re not supposed to do).
the 2nd best lemon meringue pie in Argentina
Lunch included -- what else? -- pastries and coffee (café con leche for Sarah). A national favorite of the Argentines is dulce de leche, thick milk caramel. Sar and I loved it the first few days, but now we kind of wretch inside at the mere mention of it. Too much of a good thing, I suppose.
Parrilla at La Chakra
On our final night, we went to another restaurant called La Chakra, where we ordered the famous Parrilla assortment. It\'s a customary dish of various, um, parts of the cow from the very recognizable to the somewhat indistinguishable. The steaks were fantastic. The tripe not so much. The liver was pungent, but the lung (I think?) very delicate and tasty. According to Wikipedia (I won\'t bother linking to the article. As it turns out, \"parrilla is a form of gruesome torture in South America. One can only assume that Argentines have a healthy sense of irony, as they call this dish of meat \"parilla\" for its vague similarity. Indeed.), The Spanish word parrilla means a cooking grill or barbecue of the type commonly found in South American countries.
Tunquelen room key
Our little cabin was at least 50 years old. Its room key was this old-style skeleton key like thing, very heavy.
diggin the lodge get up
We stayed at this quaint little ski lodge nestled back in the woods. The trip by car to the place was its own adventure, as we raced in and around hairpin turns at high speeds. The drivers in Argentina are very aggressive without being angry or stressed (contrary to their American cousins!).
in the mountaintop cafe
We took a ski lift up the mountain and had the most wonderful pastries and espresso.
internet cafe
Back in town, being the itinerant bloggers that we are, we had to stop at an internet cafe!
It was truly a trip of a lifetime. Next time we go, we’ll be sure to pack the skis and stay longer!
Footnotes:
- Sar and I would gladly fly LAN airlines exclusively, if only they flew domestically. Seriously, it’s a great airline with lots of frills [↩]
Tags:
buenos aires, lan airlines, marriageRelated posts:
from → Etcetera
