Good question. Where has Nick been?
I've been driving around America. That's where I've been. And there is a different blog to follow that journey (I plan to compartmentalize every part of my life with a different blog). If you want to follow the journey head on over to americaclockwise.blogspot.com for the videos, or check Picasa for the pictures. Hopefully, I'll get back to regular posting on this blog in the middle of July. That's when I get back to civilization, start my job (for the next 40 years), and generally try to act like an adult.
The MMJ cd came out this past Tuesday. You're a fool if you don't own it. You're a bigger fool if you don't go to their Myspace page and listen to the entire album for free.
One disadvantage of being on this trip is that MMJ was giving a free concert at Ear-X-Tacy for 500 fans who bought the ablum at Ear-X-Tacy. That would have been ridiculous to have seen. Oh, and MMJ played a 4-hour, 35 song set at Bonnaroo this past weekend (with none other than Kirk Hamlett from Metallica as a special guest on One Big Holiday). Also ridiculous.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
News and Notes
Well, it's finished. Six years at Purdue came to a close yesterday with my participation in the commencement ceremony. It's been a good six years.
May 10th, 2008 was officially Nick Haywood Day in Bloomington, IN. Sara used her connections in the Mayor's Office to have the day named in my honor. I doubt that too many Purdue graduates have days named in their honor in Bloomington.
Sara wasn't able to come to graduation (and for that, I will never forgive her) since she is in Geneva (Switzerland....not Texas or Kentucky) interning for the summer with Eli Lilly. You can read about her trip at http://www.swissara.blogspot.com/.
Trip planning for the America Clockwise Tour is coming along nicely. Expect more news on that in the coming weeks.
May 10th, 2008 was officially Nick Haywood Day in Bloomington, IN. Sara used her connections in the Mayor's Office to have the day named in my honor. I doubt that too many Purdue graduates have days named in their honor in Bloomington.
Sara wasn't able to come to graduation (and for that, I will never forgive her) since she is in Geneva (Switzerland....not Texas or Kentucky) interning for the summer with Eli Lilly. You can read about her trip at http://www.swissara.blogspot.com/.
Trip planning for the America Clockwise Tour is coming along nicely. Expect more news on that in the coming weeks.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
South America - March 15th - Buenos Aires
Last day in South America and the only way to spend it is to spend it on a boat. I love boats and one of the excursions the group was offered was a river cruise. It was a 50 passenger boat with 5 of us on it. Hilarious. The delta was really cool. It had tons of small islands everywhere and grocery boats that would stop at the little islands. The inhabitants would come out onto this convenient store looking boat and make their purchases. Pretty neat. There was also schools and about everything you would need. I don’t know how the adults made a living, but it would be an awesome way to grow up.
The flight back to the US was uneventful. They played this John Cusack movie and one would think that it couldn’t get worse than that. But yet it can. It can when the John Cusack movie is called Martian Child and the premise is that he has an adopted son who he thinks is a Martian. Seriously. That was the plot.
A great trip. I would recommend Chile and/or Argentina to anyone who would listen.
The flight back to the US was uneventful. They played this John Cusack movie and one would think that it couldn’t get worse than that. But yet it can. It can when the John Cusack movie is called Martian Child and the premise is that he has an adopted son who he thinks is a Martian. Seriously. That was the plot.
A great trip. I would recommend Chile and/or Argentina to anyone who would listen.
South America - March 14th - Buenos Aires
Since we had 4 days in Buenos Aires without travel, we were able to have a much more laid back experience compared to the rest of the trip. I don’t know if I liked it though. I’m not much of a city person, so after a few days I tend to get restless. Sara and I wanted to take a boat over to Uruguay (it’s only like 90 minutes by boat), but it just didn’t work out. Instead, we walked across town to the real rich part of town. Well, we tried to. So, I read the map wrong. Sue me. Sara got pretty mad and told me that she knew why I quit being a pilot. Haha. It was hilarious. I got us there eventually. Even got us back. Even found Evita’s grave in the cemetery. Why to people feel so compelled to see Evita’s grave. You didn’t know this lady. You aren’t Argentine. You have no emotional connection to the broad. For all you know, you think she looks like Madonna and likes to sing in English instead of talking normal in Spanish. What, you love her because she has a lot of shoes? Come on now. I will admit the cemetery in Buenos Aires was nicer than the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
We also spent time at one of the cities famous cafes. Argentina is known for it's cafe culture, so it was just to play local for a while.
We also spent time at one of the cities famous cafes. Argentina is known for it's cafe culture, so it was just to play local for a while.
South America - March 13th - Buenos Aires
It’s often the little things that stick out when you’re in a different place. One of those little things that I noticed about Chile and Argentina is that their bottle openers are different. The difference is the placement of the “hook”. In America, the book is located closer to the middle of the opener and when you use it, you latch the opener onto the bottle cap and push the cap away from you. Well, the openers in Chile/Argentina have the hooks at the end of opener and when you latch the opener onto the bottle cap, you pull the cap towards you. I borrowed one of these openers from the hotel mini bar.
Back in the 70’s, one of the dictators stole a bunch of the babies and they were re-disbursed across the country. Well, obviously the moms didn’t like this and they still memorialize this event by holding a protest a couple days a week. Sara and I are all for not having little babies stolen from their moms, so we went to the protest. The moms (who are quite old now) throw papers in the air and walk around in a circle and sell things to run a foundation that offers DNA testing to those who think they may have been stolen back in the day.
That night we went to a steakhouse buffet. For $17 it was all you can eat meat, papas fritas, and a liter of cola/beer/bottle of wine. The only problem is that we had limited knowledge of the different pig and cow parts. So, I doubt we’ll ever know what we were eating exactly. We went by the consistency rule. If something shot out of the skin when you cut into it, you didn’t eat it. If it appeared to just be fat, it probably was and you didn’t eat it. If the cook laughed when he gave it to you, you didn’t eat it.
Back in the 70’s, one of the dictators stole a bunch of the babies and they were re-disbursed across the country. Well, obviously the moms didn’t like this and they still memorialize this event by holding a protest a couple days a week. Sara and I are all for not having little babies stolen from their moms, so we went to the protest. The moms (who are quite old now) throw papers in the air and walk around in a circle and sell things to run a foundation that offers DNA testing to those who think they may have been stolen back in the day.
That night we went to a steakhouse buffet. For $17 it was all you can eat meat, papas fritas, and a liter of cola/beer/bottle of wine. The only problem is that we had limited knowledge of the different pig and cow parts. So, I doubt we’ll ever know what we were eating exactly. We went by the consistency rule. If something shot out of the skin when you cut into it, you didn’t eat it. If it appeared to just be fat, it probably was and you didn’t eat it. If the cook laughed when he gave it to you, you didn’t eat it.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
South America - March 12th - Buenos Aires
Beth, from Sara’s group used to live in Buenos Aires and tipped us off to this great shopping center across the city. To get there, we took the subway. The subway was clean, easy to use, and on-time. While Sara’s was buying the tickets I wondered over to a class display case that housed a variety a cigars (apparently the subway is a good place to refill on nicotine). In the display case there were both Cuban cigars and Black & Mild “cigars”. So you had a choice between the cigars that all cigars are measured against, and the cheapest American cigars that kids smoke in white kids from the suburb smoke to prove how tough they are.
We get to the mall but were pretty disappointed in the offerings. Not that it wasn’t a nice mall. It was just that it was like a large American mall. Same layout. Same stores. Same prices. What the mall wasn’t lacking was McDonald’s, because it had three of them (Buenos Aires knows that these colors don’t run). In fact, there were two in the food court. You might think that sounds dumb, but you would be wrong. You are wrong because one of those two in the food court was McDonald’s Kosher (The only one in the world outside of Israel). Same great products, but with a Jewish twist. Actually, not the same great products because you can’t get cheese on anything at a Kosher McDonalds. Even though Kosher salt on french fries really makes them rock, I think I’ll stick with the regular, “unclean” McDonald’s. There is also a rabbi on staff to make sure everything is……kosher (that’s the first time I think I’ve used that term literally).
We spent the rest of the day walking around the city and pretending like we were locals. Of course, to do that we had to pretend like I didn’t have neon bright blond hair. We stopped at a Café Havanna for some coffee and alfajores (these disgusting little moon pie type things that Sara kept ordering…I don’t know if she really liked them or just wanted to be Argentine), and I became instantly addicted to this one drink. It was incredible. I’m pretty sure it was really bad for me, but then I’d have to know what was in it to know if it was bad for me…..I’ll pretend it wasn’t.
That night we went to this steakhouse around the corner of the hotel. We didn’t know if it was going to be good until we stuffed in and they had a stuffed cow and stuffed horse in the entry way. Then we knew we picked a good place. Steaks and empanadas (empanadas are served before the meal like a salad would be in America….these people love beef…they have beef appetizers before their beef main course) for everyone.
We get to the mall but were pretty disappointed in the offerings. Not that it wasn’t a nice mall. It was just that it was like a large American mall. Same layout. Same stores. Same prices. What the mall wasn’t lacking was McDonald’s, because it had three of them (Buenos Aires knows that these colors don’t run). In fact, there were two in the food court. You might think that sounds dumb, but you would be wrong. You are wrong because one of those two in the food court was McDonald’s Kosher (The only one in the world outside of Israel). Same great products, but with a Jewish twist. Actually, not the same great products because you can’t get cheese on anything at a Kosher McDonalds. Even though Kosher salt on french fries really makes them rock, I think I’ll stick with the regular, “unclean” McDonald’s. There is also a rabbi on staff to make sure everything is……kosher (that’s the first time I think I’ve used that term literally).
We spent the rest of the day walking around the city and pretending like we were locals. Of course, to do that we had to pretend like I didn’t have neon bright blond hair. We stopped at a Café Havanna for some coffee and alfajores (these disgusting little moon pie type things that Sara kept ordering…I don’t know if she really liked them or just wanted to be Argentine), and I became instantly addicted to this one drink. It was incredible. I’m pretty sure it was really bad for me, but then I’d have to know what was in it to know if it was bad for me…..I’ll pretend it wasn’t.
That night we went to this steakhouse around the corner of the hotel. We didn’t know if it was going to be good until we stuffed in and they had a stuffed cow and stuffed horse in the entry way. Then we knew we picked a good place. Steaks and empanadas (empanadas are served before the meal like a salad would be in America….these people love beef…they have beef appetizers before their beef main course) for everyone.
South America - March 11th - Buenos Aires
Bariloche had the most efficient airport I’ve ever had the pleasure of leaving from. We got to the airport, they took our bag, handed us a ticket without showing ID, walked through security that may or may not be able to identify if you’re carrying an assault rifle under your shirt, and onto the airplane. We landed in Buenos Aires and de-planed on the tarmac. Old school style. Down the stairs and across the airplane parking lot (I mean really, that’s what it is….or maybe bus stop would be more accurate).
Buenos Aires likes to think of itself as a European city and it has a much different feel than Santiago. There are many more cafes and tiny restaurants. Pedestrian walking shirts and the like. The streets are narrow and almost all one way. Well, except for the 24-lane Avenida de 9 Julio. We took a bus tour of the city and saw the typical sights of independence and revolution. We stopping in the La Boca neighborhood to walk around. La Boca is home to La Boca Juniors (the team of Argentine star – read god- Maradona) and was probably once a really neat, artistic part of town. All the buildings are painted different colors due to the fact that they just used leftover paint from the ships back in the day. Now it is full of tourists and I think any flavor that it once had is now just fake and part of the show. Also, you aren’t supposed to go there after dark.
That night we went to a tango show. The way one of these things work is that a meal is packaged with the show. But let’s be honest. These guys specialty is dancing. Not cooking beef and empanada’s. Speaking of empanadas. You know that Coke commercial from a few years back when one roommate eats the other roommate’s empanadas and drinks his Coke. I never really understood that commercial because I didn’t know what an empanada was (let alone had I have ever tasted one). Empanadas are like little meat filled tarts. Kinda like a Hot Pocket. Speaking of Hot Pockets, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten one without burning my mouth…it’s almost warning me that it’s filled with processed cheese and meat. Back to the empanadas. I now know that if my roommate had eaten my empanada I would have killed that dude and buried his body in the backyard. Those things are delicious. Back to the tango show. The actual show was in this tiny little venue with a raised stage. There were a lot of scandalous outfits, twirling, dancing, singing, and accordions. It was fun. About on par with Stomp. Really fun for 15 minutes and then the same things for another 90 minutes.
Buenos Aires likes to think of itself as a European city and it has a much different feel than Santiago. There are many more cafes and tiny restaurants. Pedestrian walking shirts and the like. The streets are narrow and almost all one way. Well, except for the 24-lane Avenida de 9 Julio. We took a bus tour of the city and saw the typical sights of independence and revolution. We stopping in the La Boca neighborhood to walk around. La Boca is home to La Boca Juniors (the team of Argentine star – read god- Maradona) and was probably once a really neat, artistic part of town. All the buildings are painted different colors due to the fact that they just used leftover paint from the ships back in the day. Now it is full of tourists and I think any flavor that it once had is now just fake and part of the show. Also, you aren’t supposed to go there after dark.
That night we went to a tango show. The way one of these things work is that a meal is packaged with the show. But let’s be honest. These guys specialty is dancing. Not cooking beef and empanada’s. Speaking of empanadas. You know that Coke commercial from a few years back when one roommate eats the other roommate’s empanadas and drinks his Coke. I never really understood that commercial because I didn’t know what an empanada was (let alone had I have ever tasted one). Empanadas are like little meat filled tarts. Kinda like a Hot Pocket. Speaking of Hot Pockets, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten one without burning my mouth…it’s almost warning me that it’s filled with processed cheese and meat. Back to the empanadas. I now know that if my roommate had eaten my empanada I would have killed that dude and buried his body in the backyard. Those things are delicious. Back to the tango show. The actual show was in this tiny little venue with a raised stage. There were a lot of scandalous outfits, twirling, dancing, singing, and accordions. It was fun. About on par with Stomp. Really fun for 15 minutes and then the same things for another 90 minutes.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
South America - March 10th - Bariloche
Early to rise (see if you read the last line of March 9th and then go straight into March 10th it just flows…genius). Early to rise because we are going horseback riding. I rode a pony at the Louisville Zoo when I was 5, so you could say that I have a significant amount of experience in the saddle. Actually, I was pretty sure that when the gauchos saw my skills and abilities I would immediately be offered a position on the ranch.
We arrive at the ranch and are offered yerba maté tea while we waited for the ranch hands to put all the gear on the horses. Yerba mate tea is a type of tea popular you in Argentina. It is also the bitterest beverage that has ever touched my lips. There is also a very intricate process you must follow to make the maté. It all starts with a cup made out of a gourd and a metal straw with a filter on one end. You put the straw into the cup and fill the cup with leaves. Next, you pour water on the straw and let it run down into the leaves, so as not to scald the leaves. Then you drink this boiling hot beverage through the straw and try not to spit it back out. I brought some home, so just ask if you want to try it.
We also spent some time petting a llama/alpaca. I say llama/alpaca because I’m not sure what it was. When it was time for riding we went out and were assigned our horses. Some of the horses had fun names like Pisco Sour and Margarita, but I forgot to ask what mine was. I could tell that the horse was all business and probably had an Argentine name that when translated to English would be Works Harder Than A Mule But Is Faster Than Seabiscuit (I know that doesn’t really flow off the tongue, but I could tell that’s what type of horse it was). Actually, I was just hoping my horse didn’t pull a Barbaro while we were out in the wilderness. There is only one thing I hate more than putting down a horse (knowing that I’d probably have to choke it out because I don’t think anyone was carrying a gun) and that is walking back to camp. The first of the two rides was considered the more scenic of the trips. It involved hills and great picture opportunities. It also involved one of the females falling off her horse while at a fast pace. As scary as it was when it happened, it was kind of funny later. I mean, she FELL off a horse. I doubt she’d do well in the rodeo. I’m almost got it on video, too. I literally turned off the camera (I was making a documentary about being a cowboy) five seconds before she went down. She’s lucky she didn’t get trampled too.
Two hours of riding can sure make a gaucho hungry, so it was back to the ranch and an authentic asado criollo (cookout). We gathered around the table and were served bar-b-qued beef, pork sausage, salad, potatoes, and Tang. Yes, Tang. Surprisingly, this was not the last time we would be offered Tang in Argentina. I guess the Argentine’s figure that if it’s good enough for the astronauts, it’s good enough for our visitors.
Our day as gauchos wasn’t over as we still had two more hours on the trails. The second half of the journey would be the forest section of the farm. Because I had great command of the horse we successfully navigated the forest, as well as the galloping in the open field. Did I mention that the horse knew exactly where it was going and that it didn’t matter what I did because it was going to do what it wanted. They gave me a switch to hit the horse, but I’m pretty sure it was just to make me feel powerful. That switch did nothing. About 100 yards from the end of the ride, one of the horses stopped sat down, rolled onto its side as to throw it’s rider off, got up, and finished without her. He said that’s enough, I’m done. It was a really fun day.
That night we had more fondue and went to this fun chocolate shop (Mamushka) where I offended the workers. It wasn’t embarrassing at all.
We arrive at the ranch and are offered yerba maté tea while we waited for the ranch hands to put all the gear on the horses. Yerba mate tea is a type of tea popular you in Argentina. It is also the bitterest beverage that has ever touched my lips. There is also a very intricate process you must follow to make the maté. It all starts with a cup made out of a gourd and a metal straw with a filter on one end. You put the straw into the cup and fill the cup with leaves. Next, you pour water on the straw and let it run down into the leaves, so as not to scald the leaves. Then you drink this boiling hot beverage through the straw and try not to spit it back out. I brought some home, so just ask if you want to try it.
We also spent some time petting a llama/alpaca. I say llama/alpaca because I’m not sure what it was. When it was time for riding we went out and were assigned our horses. Some of the horses had fun names like Pisco Sour and Margarita, but I forgot to ask what mine was. I could tell that the horse was all business and probably had an Argentine name that when translated to English would be Works Harder Than A Mule But Is Faster Than Seabiscuit (I know that doesn’t really flow off the tongue, but I could tell that’s what type of horse it was). Actually, I was just hoping my horse didn’t pull a Barbaro while we were out in the wilderness. There is only one thing I hate more than putting down a horse (knowing that I’d probably have to choke it out because I don’t think anyone was carrying a gun) and that is walking back to camp. The first of the two rides was considered the more scenic of the trips. It involved hills and great picture opportunities. It also involved one of the females falling off her horse while at a fast pace. As scary as it was when it happened, it was kind of funny later. I mean, she FELL off a horse. I doubt she’d do well in the rodeo. I’m almost got it on video, too. I literally turned off the camera (I was making a documentary about being a cowboy) five seconds before she went down. She’s lucky she didn’t get trampled too.
Two hours of riding can sure make a gaucho hungry, so it was back to the ranch and an authentic asado criollo (cookout). We gathered around the table and were served bar-b-qued beef, pork sausage, salad, potatoes, and Tang. Yes, Tang. Surprisingly, this was not the last time we would be offered Tang in Argentina. I guess the Argentine’s figure that if it’s good enough for the astronauts, it’s good enough for our visitors.
Our day as gauchos wasn’t over as we still had two more hours on the trails. The second half of the journey would be the forest section of the farm. Because I had great command of the horse we successfully navigated the forest, as well as the galloping in the open field. Did I mention that the horse knew exactly where it was going and that it didn’t matter what I did because it was going to do what it wanted. They gave me a switch to hit the horse, but I’m pretty sure it was just to make me feel powerful. That switch did nothing. About 100 yards from the end of the ride, one of the horses stopped sat down, rolled onto its side as to throw it’s rider off, got up, and finished without her. He said that’s enough, I’m done. It was a really fun day.
That night we had more fondue and went to this fun chocolate shop (Mamushka) where I offended the workers. It wasn’t embarrassing at all.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
South America - March 9th - Puerto Varas to Bariloche
I learned that in it is really hard to write emails without the @ symbol. You see, the keyboards in South America are different than those in North America. The letters aren’t in the same place because they have different letters all together. You know, the ones with the tildas on top. The @ symbol isn’t on the 2 either. In fact, it wasn’t anywhere. Somewhere hidden. Clearly, this was some sort of conspiracy to decrease the productivity of people from the USA while in country. Some sort of tricky idea to send us into a recession (opps, I said the word). Don’t they know that these colors don’t run.
March 9th was a travel day from Puerto Varas, Chile to Bariloche, Argentina. The easiest way to do this is to get on an airplane and fly over the mountains (with this option there is always the possible of our plane crashing and having to eat each other like in the movie ALIVE!....I would have no problem eating Sara). Often, the easiest way to do something isn’t most fun or most adventurous way to do something. So we decided to take a boat across the Andes. Nick, are you stupid. When there is water around mountains those mountains are called islands. Nope, not stupid. Since Chile is so unstable (Ring of Fire, earthquakes, and such) lakes are created in weird places. So, the journey we took involved taking 4 boats and 3 buses along the way. We made a stop to a national park before starting the trip and got some awesome pictures next to some crazy whitewater further upstream than where we rafted (If you haven’t looked, there are new pictures from the trip if you follow the link on the right side of the page). All the boat trips were really relaxing and a cool way to hang out, read a book, and check out the scenery. The bus trip across the Andes was wild in that you could tell the bus driver had driven this route a million times and new every turn. Consequently, he didn’t need to slow down on the blind turns along a one lane road. No matter even if we were driving right through the middle of the farm (“The horses will move”). Halfway through our journey we stopped at this tiny hotel in this tiny town (the only people that lived in the town were people who worked at the hotel or worked for the bus/boat company). We ate the fastest lunch ever eaten because we had to catch the next bus and had zero time. It was super stressful. But funny. Really funny. I felt bad for the people working in the café. Our journey didn’t go without injury though. As we waited in customs in Argentina, swarms of bees attacked the group with fury. People were taking shots to neck. To the arms. Generally, just wailing and gnashing of teeth insued.
We arrived in Bariloche at sunset and watched the sun go down over the lake while driving to our hotel. We checked in, changed, and headed out to dinner at a Swiss restaurant (there is a great deal of Swiss and German influence in Bariloche) called Familia Weiss. We ate lots of cheese and fondue and goloush and steak and it was all delicious and awesome. Early to bed.
March 9th was a travel day from Puerto Varas, Chile to Bariloche, Argentina. The easiest way to do this is to get on an airplane and fly over the mountains (with this option there is always the possible of our plane crashing and having to eat each other like in the movie ALIVE!....I would have no problem eating Sara). Often, the easiest way to do something isn’t most fun or most adventurous way to do something. So we decided to take a boat across the Andes. Nick, are you stupid. When there is water around mountains those mountains are called islands. Nope, not stupid. Since Chile is so unstable (Ring of Fire, earthquakes, and such) lakes are created in weird places. So, the journey we took involved taking 4 boats and 3 buses along the way. We made a stop to a national park before starting the trip and got some awesome pictures next to some crazy whitewater further upstream than where we rafted (If you haven’t looked, there are new pictures from the trip if you follow the link on the right side of the page). All the boat trips were really relaxing and a cool way to hang out, read a book, and check out the scenery. The bus trip across the Andes was wild in that you could tell the bus driver had driven this route a million times and new every turn. Consequently, he didn’t need to slow down on the blind turns along a one lane road. No matter even if we were driving right through the middle of the farm (“The horses will move”). Halfway through our journey we stopped at this tiny hotel in this tiny town (the only people that lived in the town were people who worked at the hotel or worked for the bus/boat company). We ate the fastest lunch ever eaten because we had to catch the next bus and had zero time. It was super stressful. But funny. Really funny. I felt bad for the people working in the café. Our journey didn’t go without injury though. As we waited in customs in Argentina, swarms of bees attacked the group with fury. People were taking shots to neck. To the arms. Generally, just wailing and gnashing of teeth insued.
We arrived in Bariloche at sunset and watched the sun go down over the lake while driving to our hotel. We checked in, changed, and headed out to dinner at a Swiss restaurant (there is a great deal of Swiss and German influence in Bariloche) called Familia Weiss. We ate lots of cheese and fondue and goloush and steak and it was all delicious and awesome. Early to bed.
Monday, April 07, 2008
South America - March 8th - Puerto Varas
We woke up on the morning of the 8th and said goodbye to Santiago. Guessing by the airport security, the threat level in Chile is a negative color (yea, wrap your mind around that). No shoes coming off. No belts coming off. I’m pretty sure you could walk through security with a handgun in one hand and bullets in the other. The flight south to Puerto Varas took about two hours and we landed in one of the largest airports I’ve ever walked through. It had not one but TWO luggage conveyors. I know. I know. Ridiculous. So yea, the town we were in was pretty small. We left the airport and got on what is known as the Pan-American Highway. You can apparently get on the highway at the airport and drive all the way to Alaska. Sounds like a pretty fun trip to me. Who’s going to plan it? One thing we noticed and the tour guide mentioned is that everything looked to have been burned. Fields next to the side of the road were charred and barren. But no fire. The day before our arrival to the area rain had arrived and put out a fire that had apparently been burning for THREE (3!!!!!!) MONTHS.
Our hotel in Puerto Varas sat overlooking Lake Llanquehue (Yan Kee Way). Which provided a pretty spectacular view when we were waiting for our rooms to be ready (checking-in with 38 people can be quite the hassle). Luckily, the hotel provided us with pisco sours while we waited. Actually, I should say unluckily because those things are gross. Pisco sour is the “favorite” drink of Chileans. I use quotations marks because it seemed like all the Chilean’s we asked didn’t like them. I can see why. Pisco is a distilled drink that tastes like stall tequila. Pisco sour is pisco mixed with egg whites and lemon juice. It is bizarre and not good. Like a terrible margarita with a weird consistency.
We had enough time to put down our bags, change into our swim suits, and grab a quick lunch (jamon y queso….that’s ham and cheese and my fallback food option in all Spanish speaking countries…..of course) before we were off to rafting.
Forty-five minute bus trips aren’t that fun unless the time is spent driving around a huge lake surrounded by ridiculous mountains and green pastures (a weird and cool contrast). So we show up at the rafting center and almost immediately the girls started fawning over the rafting guides. I’m pretty sure that being a rafting guide is one of the easiest ways to pick up women. We had to take a short hike to where the rafts were put in. The ground wasn’t so much dirt, as it was volcanic dust (nutrient rich!). Luckily, the path ran next to a bee hive and the bees were happy to let everyone know they were there (100 yard journeys can’t be considered epic without injuries). We put the rafts into the bluest-green water these eyes have ever seen and were off. It was an awesome trip. While the rapids were only class-II-III, the scenery was amazing (and more than made up for the non-hair-raising experience). Having the trip being framed by a mountain range off one shoulder and a volcano off the other was incredible. We passed under a cable line and cart that was used to pass cows (one at a time) across the river. That part of being a gaucho doesn’t seem so fun.
Our hotel in Puerto Varas sat overlooking Lake Llanquehue (Yan Kee Way). Which provided a pretty spectacular view when we were waiting for our rooms to be ready (checking-in with 38 people can be quite the hassle). Luckily, the hotel provided us with pisco sours while we waited. Actually, I should say unluckily because those things are gross. Pisco sour is the “favorite” drink of Chileans. I use quotations marks because it seemed like all the Chilean’s we asked didn’t like them. I can see why. Pisco is a distilled drink that tastes like stall tequila. Pisco sour is pisco mixed with egg whites and lemon juice. It is bizarre and not good. Like a terrible margarita with a weird consistency.
We had enough time to put down our bags, change into our swim suits, and grab a quick lunch (jamon y queso….that’s ham and cheese and my fallback food option in all Spanish speaking countries…..of course) before we were off to rafting.
Forty-five minute bus trips aren’t that fun unless the time is spent driving around a huge lake surrounded by ridiculous mountains and green pastures (a weird and cool contrast). So we show up at the rafting center and almost immediately the girls started fawning over the rafting guides. I’m pretty sure that being a rafting guide is one of the easiest ways to pick up women. We had to take a short hike to where the rafts were put in. The ground wasn’t so much dirt, as it was volcanic dust (nutrient rich!). Luckily, the path ran next to a bee hive and the bees were happy to let everyone know they were there (100 yard journeys can’t be considered epic without injuries). We put the rafts into the bluest-green water these eyes have ever seen and were off. It was an awesome trip. While the rapids were only class-II-III, the scenery was amazing (and more than made up for the non-hair-raising experience). Having the trip being framed by a mountain range off one shoulder and a volcano off the other was incredible. We passed under a cable line and cart that was used to pass cows (one at a time) across the river. That part of being a gaucho doesn’t seem so fun.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
South America - March 7th - Santiago
March 7th was the only legitimate off day for Sara's group, so we had the tour guide take us around the city and show us what was up with Santiago. We stopped by the Presidential Palace to see what was going on but sadly we weren't allowed to go in. The Palace is adjacent to a large square. I think we all know what South American squares outside of presidential palaces are used for revolution (REVOLUTION, Revolution in the streets!!!). Sure enough, the facades of all the buildings that lined the square were covered with bullet holes. I mean, why fix the bullet holes when you'll just have to fix them again after the next revolution (REVOLUTION!!!!). Just a few short blocks from the Palace was a shopping district and this was the next stop on our tour. It was in this shopping district that I learned about a very high class piece of Chilean society. Our tour guide was really excited to show us this place. Cafes con piernes. Coffee with legs. Coffee with legs is a genre of coffee shop where your coffee is served by scantily clad women on raised platforms. No nudity (remember I said high class). Let me tell you, the coffee was exquisite.
Actually, the whole experience was really awkward. Sara went two days in a row, so she must have not thought so. Since coffee makes you go to the bathroom (el bano) in about 30 seconds after you drink it, I had to find a public one. Most of the shops downtown don't have a bathroom and you have to use a pay version. Kinda like riding the subway in that you pay for a ticket and then are allowed to go through a turnstile in the bathroom. One thing that's tricky is that toilet paper isn't kept in the stalls. You have to get it before you go to the stalls. That would be a heck of a mistake to make. Since you have to pay for entry, it was a really clean public bathroom. So at least they have that going for them.
We ended up heading to the fish market to take a look around and also to grab lunch. Nothing like seeing what you are going to eat before you eat it. Similarly, there is nothing like picking something to eat and then afterward seeing what whatever you ate looks like. We realized quickly that this is one of those deals in which the tour guide takes us to a certain restaurant and then they eat for free. That’s fine. I have no problem with that. Especially if the food is good. Luckily, the place they chose did have good food. A bit of confusion was encountered when we ordered appetizers. We thought we were getting a sampler of different dishes, but in reality we got something like 7 different (mussels, snails, abalones, clams, shrimp, squid, oysters) full appetizers. That’s a bit much for 6 people. Especially when they don’t know that’s what they are getting and also order a full meal. Pretty hilarious really.
After lunch we took a trip to the top of this mountain that overlooks the city. Pretty cool view. The only sad part about it is that our entire time in Santiago we didn’t get to see the city framed by the Andes Mountains in the background. Most people will say smog. The people of Santiago deny that it’s smog. You can believe whatever you want. At the top of the mountain there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks the city (very similar to the statue of Jesus that overlooks Rio De Janeiro). There is also a ski lift that takes you from the mountain top to the base. That ride wasn’t so much fun. Especially when the lift stops in the middle and you’re just swinging back and forth.
Actually, the whole experience was really awkward. Sara went two days in a row, so she must have not thought so. Since coffee makes you go to the bathroom (el bano) in about 30 seconds after you drink it, I had to find a public one. Most of the shops downtown don't have a bathroom and you have to use a pay version. Kinda like riding the subway in that you pay for a ticket and then are allowed to go through a turnstile in the bathroom. One thing that's tricky is that toilet paper isn't kept in the stalls. You have to get it before you go to the stalls. That would be a heck of a mistake to make. Since you have to pay for entry, it was a really clean public bathroom. So at least they have that going for them.
We ended up heading to the fish market to take a look around and also to grab lunch. Nothing like seeing what you are going to eat before you eat it. Similarly, there is nothing like picking something to eat and then afterward seeing what whatever you ate looks like. We realized quickly that this is one of those deals in which the tour guide takes us to a certain restaurant and then they eat for free. That’s fine. I have no problem with that. Especially if the food is good. Luckily, the place they chose did have good food. A bit of confusion was encountered when we ordered appetizers. We thought we were getting a sampler of different dishes, but in reality we got something like 7 different (mussels, snails, abalones, clams, shrimp, squid, oysters) full appetizers. That’s a bit much for 6 people. Especially when they don’t know that’s what they are getting and also order a full meal. Pretty hilarious really.
After lunch we took a trip to the top of this mountain that overlooks the city. Pretty cool view. The only sad part about it is that our entire time in Santiago we didn’t get to see the city framed by the Andes Mountains in the background. Most people will say smog. The people of Santiago deny that it’s smog. You can believe whatever you want. At the top of the mountain there is a large statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooks the city (very similar to the statue of Jesus that overlooks Rio De Janeiro). There is also a ski lift that takes you from the mountain top to the base. That ride wasn’t so much fun. Especially when the lift stops in the middle and you’re just swinging back and forth.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
South America - March 6th - Santiago
Since this was an educational trip for Sara (and oh how educational it was) she had two meetings (the four spread out over the two weeks….you cannot even begin to imagine all the work) and I had nothing to do. Well there is only one place to go in a situation like that. Starbucks. Oh Nick, tell me you didn’t go to Starbucks, that is so American. First, South American’s consider themselves American so you have to say United States (as Sara reminded me continually) and second, I think it is really interesting to see how companies from the US do things in foreign countries. Anyway, back to the Starbucks. I walk in and it is EXACTLY like a Starbucks in the United States. Down to the music being in English. Well, besides the Spanish. No worries, I can handle this situation. Some could consider me a master of the Spanish language (my high school Spanish teacher is not one of those people) and besides Coffee of the Day is translated as Café de la Dia in Spanish. This was supposed to be a one-sided order though. So when the lady asked if I wanted milk I got confused. Then when she said milk in English I was like, “Leche. I knew that one. Dangit.”
After my trip to Starbucks I took the long way back to the hotel to walk around the parts of the city I hadn’t seen the night before. One thing that I noticed, and everyone was pleasantly surprised about, was how clean the city is. Sure there were the requisite stray dogs that Sara gave me the puppy face about every time she saw one (I got it a lot), but they all seemed well fed. The thing I love about stray city dogs is that they stop at crosswalks and walk when the crowd does. They aren’t dumb. At least there were no stray cows like in India.
Anyway, Sara and her group eventually came home. We went on a search for bottled water and killed time until dinner. That meant we had to kill A LOT of time. See, in Chile and Argentina they don’t eat dinner until after 9 o’clock in the PM. Restaurants don’t even open until 8 o’clock. If you wanna go out after that you better be ready for a long night because it isn’t appropriate to go to the bar until 1 AM. We chose this restaurant near the hotel that (as best as I can tell) a Chilean TGI Friday’s. Check out this name for a restaurant, Pub Licity. You realize very quickly in any meal setting that the South American concept of service is much different than the North American version. Our waitress was always on the fringes of our area but wouldn’t come to the table until we signaled that we needed something. She would give us our menus and then wouldn’t come back until we signaled we were ready to order. Another great thing about being in a foreign country is when you struggle to order something or carry on a conversation and then the waitress answers in much better English than your Spanish.
The food wasn’t that great, but afterward we took the party to the restaurant’s bar. This is where I learned a very valuable thing about South America. Be mindful of the mixed drinks. I wouldn’t even call them mixed drinks. I would call them death drinks. They give you a glass half full of whiskey and then a 12 ounce coke in a glass bottle. They pour so much that I was sure that they had to mix it with water. I revised this sentiment about two hours later. You’d better be careful or you’ll be down quick. I also had a Chilean tell me that I looked like John Denver. He then proceeded to sing me a song that John Denver wrote about Chile. It was AWESOME.
After my trip to Starbucks I took the long way back to the hotel to walk around the parts of the city I hadn’t seen the night before. One thing that I noticed, and everyone was pleasantly surprised about, was how clean the city is. Sure there were the requisite stray dogs that Sara gave me the puppy face about every time she saw one (I got it a lot), but they all seemed well fed. The thing I love about stray city dogs is that they stop at crosswalks and walk when the crowd does. They aren’t dumb. At least there were no stray cows like in India.
Anyway, Sara and her group eventually came home. We went on a search for bottled water and killed time until dinner. That meant we had to kill A LOT of time. See, in Chile and Argentina they don’t eat dinner until after 9 o’clock in the PM. Restaurants don’t even open until 8 o’clock. If you wanna go out after that you better be ready for a long night because it isn’t appropriate to go to the bar until 1 AM. We chose this restaurant near the hotel that (as best as I can tell) a Chilean TGI Friday’s. Check out this name for a restaurant, Pub Licity. You realize very quickly in any meal setting that the South American concept of service is much different than the North American version. Our waitress was always on the fringes of our area but wouldn’t come to the table until we signaled that we needed something. She would give us our menus and then wouldn’t come back until we signaled we were ready to order. Another great thing about being in a foreign country is when you struggle to order something or carry on a conversation and then the waitress answers in much better English than your Spanish.
The food wasn’t that great, but afterward we took the party to the restaurant’s bar. This is where I learned a very valuable thing about South America. Be mindful of the mixed drinks. I wouldn’t even call them mixed drinks. I would call them death drinks. They give you a glass half full of whiskey and then a 12 ounce coke in a glass bottle. They pour so much that I was sure that they had to mix it with water. I revised this sentiment about two hours later. You’d better be careful or you’ll be down quick. I also had a Chilean tell me that I looked like John Denver. He then proceeded to sing me a song that John Denver wrote about Chile. It was AWESOME.
Monday, March 24, 2008
South America - March 4th and 5th - Santiago
The entire time I was in South America I kept a notepad close at hand and would write an experience in one or two words so that I could later bring all my readers (the 6 of you) an accurate summary of the highlights of my trip.
The flight from DFW to Santiago was a pretty simple nine hour overnight flight. Well, as simple as any flight is. You get on the airplane, they close the doors, you sit around for 45 minutes, you take-off, land in a foreign country, and go on your way. I had two forms of entertainment to help me cope. The first was this really crappy Steve Carell movie (Dan in Real Life) and this really uncrappy John Grisham book (The Appeal). I chose the John Grisham book and sleep after watching about 15 minutes of the movie. John Grisham books are all pretty similar in that there is some social injustice in Mississippi and a lawyer of some type is going to fix it. But they are all really entertaining and easy to read. His books are my number one for reading when traveling.
So yea, we touch down in Santiago and the immigration officers are like, “Welcome to Chile!!!” And I was like, “THANKS.” And they say, I see you’re from Estados Unidos.” And I’m like, “Yes ma’am. These colors don’t run.” And they’re like, “That will be $131.” So apparently if you’re from America it is $131. If you’re from Canada or the UK it’s $50, and if you’re from anywhere else it’s free. That doesn’t seem very fair. I mean all I wanted to do was plunder their natural resources and deface their national parks.
The tour guide meets outside of customs (I pulled a quick one on the agriculture officials when they wanted to search my bag by just walking away, “No hablo espanol.”……HA, I had a bunch of fruit and some cow parts infected with hoof and mouth disease in my carry-on). We walk outside to the bus and already I’m a fan of Chile. Remember, the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite those in the Northern Hemisphere and March is the beginning of fall. The weather was just about perfect. We leave the airport and drive through the obligatory slums located near the airport into the city. The roads into the city are interesting in that the major ones are actually tunnels that go under the city. Everyone knows that in the movies the major catastrophes happen in the tunnels, so I’m sure how safe it is to have tunnels in the country with the most tremors in the world (I may have made this up, but they do have A LOT of tremors and earthquakes), but hey, they were a quick way to get around the city.
We check into our hotel with 90 minutes before we’re supposed to be ready for our trip to the winery. The question is, do we eat or do we sleep? Sleep it is. We’ll just set the alarm clock and…….wait a minute, where is the alarm clock? We were soon to find out that alarm clocks do not come standard in hotels across Chile and Argentina. Luckily we had the cell phone. Then we turned on the TV, oh good the first channel I turn to is GREY’S ANATOMY…..IN ENGLISH.
The Concha Y Toro winery is what you would expect a winery to be. A bunch of grapes, a bunch of barrels of fermenting grapes, and a bunch of bottles of finished fermenting grapes. All set to beautiful scenery and old, well kept building. As previously stated, I’m not big on the wine. But wine is good for the heart, and well you’ve gotta keep that heart strong so I might as well try it. Well, I tried. Disgusting probably isn’t the right word, but they definitely weren’t good. Or maybe they just weren’t for me. Concha Y Toro is Chile’s most popular wine though.
After the winery, it was late afternoon and almost dinner time. A group of people were walking across the city to this “artsy” part of town. After a day of travel I didn’t feel like doing anything, but Sara wanted to go and she is really cranky after a day of traveling (apparently I should have given her more wine). Anyway, most of the walk was through this park that follows the river (or more accurately, riverbed…..drought) through the city. Apparently, Chilean’s like to make-out in parks. Good for them. I think that (along with wine) makes you live longer. Our walk eventually turned into the Bataan Death March until out of nowhere we showed up in this really dirty party of town. As we all know, dirty parts of town equal the artsy (often referred to as bohemian (often referred to as hippie)) parts of towns. I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t really happy when we were told this was the place. Especially when I could feel the local “artists” staring holes into my blond head. I just told myself that it was because the ladies wanted me so bad.
In actuality, the trip was well worth it because we went to this AWESOME restaurant. It had ivy growing up stone walls inside and concrete benches and great food. I think I might have eaten intestines though. I’m not sure. It was gross, whatever it was. We took a “taxi” back to hotel. I used the quotation marks because I’m pretty sure it was just this guy’s Jetta. Since there were 12 of us, we took 3 taxis back to the hotel. Our driver had to get out of his vehicle to ask another taxi what the fare was. Also, when you have 3 taxis all going from the same point A to the same point B you get some racing. That was fun.
Then it was time for bed.
The flight from DFW to Santiago was a pretty simple nine hour overnight flight. Well, as simple as any flight is. You get on the airplane, they close the doors, you sit around for 45 minutes, you take-off, land in a foreign country, and go on your way. I had two forms of entertainment to help me cope. The first was this really crappy Steve Carell movie (Dan in Real Life) and this really uncrappy John Grisham book (The Appeal). I chose the John Grisham book and sleep after watching about 15 minutes of the movie. John Grisham books are all pretty similar in that there is some social injustice in Mississippi and a lawyer of some type is going to fix it. But they are all really entertaining and easy to read. His books are my number one for reading when traveling.
So yea, we touch down in Santiago and the immigration officers are like, “Welcome to Chile!!!” And I was like, “THANKS.” And they say, I see you’re from Estados Unidos.” And I’m like, “Yes ma’am. These colors don’t run.” And they’re like, “That will be $131.” So apparently if you’re from America it is $131. If you’re from Canada or the UK it’s $50, and if you’re from anywhere else it’s free. That doesn’t seem very fair. I mean all I wanted to do was plunder their natural resources and deface their national parks.
The tour guide meets outside of customs (I pulled a quick one on the agriculture officials when they wanted to search my bag by just walking away, “No hablo espanol.”……HA, I had a bunch of fruit and some cow parts infected with hoof and mouth disease in my carry-on). We walk outside to the bus and already I’m a fan of Chile. Remember, the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite those in the Northern Hemisphere and March is the beginning of fall. The weather was just about perfect. We leave the airport and drive through the obligatory slums located near the airport into the city. The roads into the city are interesting in that the major ones are actually tunnels that go under the city. Everyone knows that in the movies the major catastrophes happen in the tunnels, so I’m sure how safe it is to have tunnels in the country with the most tremors in the world (I may have made this up, but they do have A LOT of tremors and earthquakes), but hey, they were a quick way to get around the city.
We check into our hotel with 90 minutes before we’re supposed to be ready for our trip to the winery. The question is, do we eat or do we sleep? Sleep it is. We’ll just set the alarm clock and…….wait a minute, where is the alarm clock? We were soon to find out that alarm clocks do not come standard in hotels across Chile and Argentina. Luckily we had the cell phone. Then we turned on the TV, oh good the first channel I turn to is GREY’S ANATOMY…..IN ENGLISH.
The Concha Y Toro winery is what you would expect a winery to be. A bunch of grapes, a bunch of barrels of fermenting grapes, and a bunch of bottles of finished fermenting grapes. All set to beautiful scenery and old, well kept building. As previously stated, I’m not big on the wine. But wine is good for the heart, and well you’ve gotta keep that heart strong so I might as well try it. Well, I tried. Disgusting probably isn’t the right word, but they definitely weren’t good. Or maybe they just weren’t for me. Concha Y Toro is Chile’s most popular wine though.
After the winery, it was late afternoon and almost dinner time. A group of people were walking across the city to this “artsy” part of town. After a day of travel I didn’t feel like doing anything, but Sara wanted to go and she is really cranky after a day of traveling (apparently I should have given her more wine). Anyway, most of the walk was through this park that follows the river (or more accurately, riverbed…..drought) through the city. Apparently, Chilean’s like to make-out in parks. Good for them. I think that (along with wine) makes you live longer. Our walk eventually turned into the Bataan Death March until out of nowhere we showed up in this really dirty party of town. As we all know, dirty parts of town equal the artsy (often referred to as bohemian (often referred to as hippie)) parts of towns. I’ll be honest with you, I wasn’t really happy when we were told this was the place. Especially when I could feel the local “artists” staring holes into my blond head. I just told myself that it was because the ladies wanted me so bad.
In actuality, the trip was well worth it because we went to this AWESOME restaurant. It had ivy growing up stone walls inside and concrete benches and great food. I think I might have eaten intestines though. I’m not sure. It was gross, whatever it was. We took a “taxi” back to hotel. I used the quotation marks because I’m pretty sure it was just this guy’s Jetta. Since there were 12 of us, we took 3 taxis back to the hotel. Our driver had to get out of his vehicle to ask another taxi what the fare was. Also, when you have 3 taxis all going from the same point A to the same point B you get some racing. That was fun.
Then it was time for bed.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Safe and Sound
Just flew back from Chile and Argentina, and boy are my arms tired.......I hate that joke. Anyway, super tired. I'll get a write-up on here in the next week or so, but I wanna make sure it's good and does the trip justice.
Purdue's going to the Elite Eight. I can feel it in my soul.....and it feels good.
In the meantime, read this hilarious site.
Purdue's going to the Elite Eight. I can feel it in my soul.....and it feels good.
In the meantime, read this hilarious site.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Done and Done
I'm going to make this one short and sweet. Ok, maybe just short. After 6 long years I'm finally finished with college. That associates degree is going to look great on my wall.
I also leave for Chile on Tuesday. I don't know when I will be able to post next, but you have my word that you will get a full report when I return.
Also, the weather is wonderful. 60 and sunny. It's supposed to snow again on Tuesday. Global warming I guess.
See, told you short.
I also leave for Chile on Tuesday. I don't know when I will be able to post next, but you have my word that you will get a full report when I return.
Also, the weather is wonderful. 60 and sunny. It's supposed to snow again on Tuesday. Global warming I guess.
See, told you short.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
My Friend Oscar
Here are my picks for the big awards tonight. They're listed in order of preference.
Actress in a Supporting Role
Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There – Haven’t seen it. But she plays a dude, and that usually goes for a lot. Plus, the dude she plays is Bob Dylan. So, we have a chick playing a man in a biopic. She’s the favorite.
Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone – REALLY good character. People from Boston are crazy.
Ruby Dee in American Gangster – Plays the mom of the gangster. Throws some punches too.
Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton – Pretty good character.
Saoirse Ronan in Atonement – Haven’t seen it. Can’t really say anything about it.
Actress in A Leading Role
Ellen Page in Juno – Cute character, but I have the feeling this is just her in real life. That doesn’t really make it acting .
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age – Haven’t seen it.
Julie Christie in Away From Her – Haven’t seen it.
Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose – Haven’t seen it.
Laura Linney in The Savages – Haven’t seen it.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men – One of the creepiest characters I can remember. He should win, simply because I like his character the best. This category is so close that I think the only one who shouldn’t win is Hal Holbrook.
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton – Should be on equal billing with George Clooney in Michael Clayton for the role he plays in the movie. A really good character.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War – Plays the ying to Tom Hank’s yang. Great character played well by a great actor.
Casey Afflek in The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford – He plays Robert Ford in the movie. And, he plays the character well. Not better than Wilkinson or Seymour Hoffman though.
Hal Holbrook in Into The Wild – Plays the old man in the movie. You know, the guy who teaches the you young boy about the world.
Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood – I really, really like this character. Similar to his Bill The Butcher character in Gangs of New York. Well similar to the character in that they are both super creepy.
George Clooney in Michael Clayton – I feel like this character wasn’t that much of a stretch for Clooney. It’s very Clooney , just without the humor.
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises – He plays a Russian. And he has a knife fight in a bath house while naked. There are just better characters.
Tommy Lee Jones in In The Valley of Elah – Makes the movie go. I know this was supposed to be his big anti-war statement. The very last scene of the movie is Jones raising a flag, and I remember thinking, “That wasn’t an antiwar movie. “ Then you see the flag and it’s upside down. Then I remember thinking, “That’s just dumb.”
Johnny Deep in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street – I hate musicals. I bet it’s a dark character though.
Emile Hirsch in Into The Wild – Should be up for this award. In fact, either him or Day-Lewis should win this award. He almost made me cry. Almost.
Best Picture
No Country For Old Men – Sara hated this movie. I loved it. It’s really dark. Even the humor is dark.
There Will Be Blood – I wouldn’t be upset if this one instead of No Country, but I don’t think it should.
Juno –Probably didn’t live up to the hype that it received, but that’s probably more to the fact that there was too much hype. It was a pretty good movie though. Michael Cera is so awkward that I can’t help but love his characters.
Michael Clayton – A really good movie. I wouldn’t say a great one. I think I saw this and American Gangster on back to back nights and liked American Gangster more.
Atonement – Haven’t see it. But, someone told me they fell asleep during a war scene. That’s all I need to know. Eric told me it wasn’t bad, but I could tell he didn’t really mean that.
Cate Blanchett in I’m Not There – Haven’t seen it. But she plays a dude, and that usually goes for a lot. Plus, the dude she plays is Bob Dylan. So, we have a chick playing a man in a biopic. She’s the favorite.
Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone – REALLY good character. People from Boston are crazy.
Ruby Dee in American Gangster – Plays the mom of the gangster. Throws some punches too.
Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton – Pretty good character.
Saoirse Ronan in Atonement – Haven’t seen it. Can’t really say anything about it.
Actress in A Leading Role
Ellen Page in Juno – Cute character, but I have the feeling this is just her in real life. That doesn’t really make it acting .
Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age – Haven’t seen it.
Julie Christie in Away From Her – Haven’t seen it.
Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose – Haven’t seen it.
Laura Linney in The Savages – Haven’t seen it.
Actor in a Supporting Role
Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men – One of the creepiest characters I can remember. He should win, simply because I like his character the best. This category is so close that I think the only one who shouldn’t win is Hal Holbrook.
Tom Wilkinson in Michael Clayton – Should be on equal billing with George Clooney in Michael Clayton for the role he plays in the movie. A really good character.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War – Plays the ying to Tom Hank’s yang. Great character played well by a great actor.
Casey Afflek in The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford – He plays Robert Ford in the movie. And, he plays the character well. Not better than Wilkinson or Seymour Hoffman though.
Hal Holbrook in Into The Wild – Plays the old man in the movie. You know, the guy who teaches the you young boy about the world.
Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood – I really, really like this character. Similar to his Bill The Butcher character in Gangs of New York. Well similar to the character in that they are both super creepy.
George Clooney in Michael Clayton – I feel like this character wasn’t that much of a stretch for Clooney. It’s very Clooney , just without the humor.
Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises – He plays a Russian. And he has a knife fight in a bath house while naked. There are just better characters.
Tommy Lee Jones in In The Valley of Elah – Makes the movie go. I know this was supposed to be his big anti-war statement. The very last scene of the movie is Jones raising a flag, and I remember thinking, “That wasn’t an antiwar movie. “ Then you see the flag and it’s upside down. Then I remember thinking, “That’s just dumb.”
Johnny Deep in Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street – I hate musicals. I bet it’s a dark character though.
Emile Hirsch in Into The Wild – Should be up for this award. In fact, either him or Day-Lewis should win this award. He almost made me cry. Almost.
Best Picture
No Country For Old Men – Sara hated this movie. I loved it. It’s really dark. Even the humor is dark.
There Will Be Blood – I wouldn’t be upset if this one instead of No Country, but I don’t think it should.
Juno –Probably didn’t live up to the hype that it received, but that’s probably more to the fact that there was too much hype. It was a pretty good movie though. Michael Cera is so awkward that I can’t help but love his characters.
Michael Clayton – A really good movie. I wouldn’t say a great one. I think I saw this and American Gangster on back to back nights and liked American Gangster more.
Atonement – Haven’t see it. But, someone told me they fell asleep during a war scene. That’s all I need to know. Eric told me it wasn’t bad, but I could tell he didn’t really mean that.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Mother Teresa or Dell Computers - Who do you think helped India more?
My generation has a much easier time distinguishing India as an emerging economy than my parent’s generation. We don’t remember it for the disaster that it used to be. We don’t remember that what Africa is today, India used to be. And so, the question has to be asked. What helped India turn the corner? Was it foreign aid/charity or was it Dell Computers? Are Indians empowering themselves and growing their middle class by me giving them money or by Dell Computers giving them jobs. I think it’s the later, and I think it’s going to always be the later.
Does me handing money to someone that is hungry get them food? Yes. Does it get there children food? Yes, maybe. Does it give their children’s children food? Undoubtedly no. So, I’ve provided temporary relief but not cured the problem. What if someone close to you had a treatable form of cancer and the doctor told you that instead of treating the problem they were just going to provide relief? You would be livid. Poverty is a treatable (but not curable) problem. It’s being treated right now in India and China. But, instead what, if we instead gave that person a loan. And they used that money to start a business. And that business provided their children with money and food and education. And when I say business, I’m not saying that they build a telecommunications company. But maybe they do. Africa has had the highest growth rate for mobile phone users the past 10 years. Someone has to sell the the hardware. Someone has to provide the services. There are woman in India who sell sachets (think smaller than what you get in a hotel) of shampoo and soap they purchased using loans of $200 in rural areas. There are people in Brazil who sell the minutes on their sell phones. What if we helped people buy and cultivate land to grow coffee that rich Americans will pay outrageous prices for?
We (the US) have spent close to $2.5 trillion (and remember generally no more than 40% of money that is donated actually the reaches those that need it, the other 60% is sunk into administrative costs) on foreign aid the past 50 years, with little to show for it. Why? One, is because it makes us feel good. Giving money makes us feel like better humans and is the lowest cost denominator in appeasing our soul. Two, it helps the American economy. When the US pledges to send food to XYZ country, almost all that is sent on US produce. When the US pledges drugs to be sent to ABC country, those must be FDA-approved. That’s big business, especially for industries that are heavily subsidized and need buyers for products. Three, it’s a way for the US to spread their power across the globe.
I don’t think all of societal problems can be solved with capitalism. In fact, I don’t think that most of them can. Really, only poverty. That’s not to say that I think we can make it where no one is poor. Socialism does not work. If you took a group of the ten richest people and put them on another planet. The 10th richest person would not be considered the 10th richest. That person would be considered the poorest.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.
Song Recommendation – Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife by The Drive-By Truckers
(Who I’m going to see next weekend at Headliners. Get your tickets fast because their sure to sell out. DMassey might have an extra one, let me know if you're interested.)
Thinking about all this made me think about one of my experiences in England. The experience has no no bearing on the previous situations, because the circumstances are completely different. This is about a bum. When I studied in England they put us up in this flat in a super nice part of town (when you have the word Royal in the name of the borough, you know you got it made). This guy used to sit in front of the store on the corner (across from the Lamborghini dealership) and ask for change every time you walked in and out. Would give you a dirty look if you didn’t give him money. Everyday. Sitting there. Asking for money. So, the last day we are there (not kidding, the very last day), I see this guy count his money, run down the street (first time I’ve seen him move), buy a beer, chug the beer, and sit back down in his spot to start begging for another beer. So, I went back to America angry that I thought I was helping this guy out all summer, when in actuality he was getting drunk off of my money.
If you wanna read more about this topics from this post you can check out:
The Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid by C.K. Prahalad
Bill Gates Calls For Kinder Capitalism
The White Man's Burden by William Easterly
Does me handing money to someone that is hungry get them food? Yes. Does it get there children food? Yes, maybe. Does it give their children’s children food? Undoubtedly no. So, I’ve provided temporary relief but not cured the problem. What if someone close to you had a treatable form of cancer and the doctor told you that instead of treating the problem they were just going to provide relief? You would be livid. Poverty is a treatable (but not curable) problem. It’s being treated right now in India and China. But, instead what, if we instead gave that person a loan. And they used that money to start a business. And that business provided their children with money and food and education. And when I say business, I’m not saying that they build a telecommunications company. But maybe they do. Africa has had the highest growth rate for mobile phone users the past 10 years. Someone has to sell the the hardware. Someone has to provide the services. There are woman in India who sell sachets (think smaller than what you get in a hotel) of shampoo and soap they purchased using loans of $200 in rural areas. There are people in Brazil who sell the minutes on their sell phones. What if we helped people buy and cultivate land to grow coffee that rich Americans will pay outrageous prices for?
We (the US) have spent close to $2.5 trillion (and remember generally no more than 40% of money that is donated actually the reaches those that need it, the other 60% is sunk into administrative costs) on foreign aid the past 50 years, with little to show for it. Why? One, is because it makes us feel good. Giving money makes us feel like better humans and is the lowest cost denominator in appeasing our soul. Two, it helps the American economy. When the US pledges to send food to XYZ country, almost all that is sent on US produce. When the US pledges drugs to be sent to ABC country, those must be FDA-approved. That’s big business, especially for industries that are heavily subsidized and need buyers for products. Three, it’s a way for the US to spread their power across the globe.
I don’t think all of societal problems can be solved with capitalism. In fact, I don’t think that most of them can. Really, only poverty. That’s not to say that I think we can make it where no one is poor. Socialism does not work. If you took a group of the ten richest people and put them on another planet. The 10th richest person would not be considered the 10th richest. That person would be considered the poorest.
Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.
Song Recommendation – Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife by The Drive-By Truckers
(Who I’m going to see next weekend at Headliners. Get your tickets fast because their sure to sell out. DMassey might have an extra one, let me know if you're interested.)
Thinking about all this made me think about one of my experiences in England. The experience has no no bearing on the previous situations, because the circumstances are completely different. This is about a bum. When I studied in England they put us up in this flat in a super nice part of town (when you have the word Royal in the name of the borough, you know you got it made). This guy used to sit in front of the store on the corner (across from the Lamborghini dealership) and ask for change every time you walked in and out. Would give you a dirty look if you didn’t give him money. Everyday. Sitting there. Asking for money. So, the last day we are there (not kidding, the very last day), I see this guy count his money, run down the street (first time I’ve seen him move), buy a beer, chug the beer, and sit back down in his spot to start begging for another beer. So, I went back to America angry that I thought I was helping this guy out all summer, when in actuality he was getting drunk off of my money.
If you wanna read more about this topics from this post you can check out:
The Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid by C.K. Prahalad
Bill Gates Calls For Kinder Capitalism
The White Man's Burden by William Easterly
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Another Day, Another Birthday
Tuesday was my birthday. The 24th of my life. Big props go out to Mama Haywood for coming through and getting through the birth process back in 1984. I couldn't have done it without you. I certainly didn't do anything exciting. Went to class, went to meetings, watch Purdue let IU win, just the normal here and there of life. The family and I and Sara celebrated on Sunday with lunch at PF Chang's and Ice Cream Cake and Daytona 500. What can I say, we like to party.
One of the present's Sara got me was a subscription to Netflix (which is amazing on her part because I asked for it for Christmas but didn't get it, she didn't even know I wanted it). Now, I've been skeptical about Netflix and its utility for a while. I watch a lot of movies and TV shows because I don't get any television stations, and I kept debating on whether I wanted it or not. The thing that changed my mind about renting movies was when I went to rent a movie and they charged me like 4 bucks. 4 bucks for 2 hours of fun. No thank you. I can drive across the street and get one from the RedBox at McDonalds for $1. That is, if they aren't all gone. Well, after having it for 3 days I love it. For one, there are a good number of movies that you can just watch streaming over the internet. You don't even have to wait the 1 day it takes to receive them in the mail. SWEET. Second, they have this feature where you rate movies that you've seen and they make recommendations based on that. The more ratings you make, the more accurate the recommendations become. I'll rate a bunch of movies, and then it will make a recommendation and it'll be a movie I really like. Good stuff.
One of the shows I've been watching over the internet is a Showtime show called Dexter. Dexter is the story of a serial killer who works for the police department down in Miami. The show has the best of both worlds. It's a crime drama (Dexter is infatuated with blood, and as such is a forensic expert) in the mode of CSI with clues and crimes and bad people and good people. But it's also creepy (in the mode of a nightmare) because the main character kills at least one criminal in every show. How can you not love that?
Speaking of nightmares. Sara told me that she recently had a dream about being pregnant (don't worry, it wasn't mine.....or maybe that means I should be worried). Except it wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare. Why was it a nightmare? Because she wasn't taking baby vitamins. She called it her "scariest dream ever." I told her that my scariest dream ever happens every day when I wake up and realize that she and I are still dating. She wasn't too happy about that. I thought it was funny.
My cast got some snow water in it walking from my house to the car, and so I had to use a blow dryer to dry it out. Good news. It's dry. Bad news. Based on the smell, my leg is rotting inside the cast. I also developed a new sleeping move. Instead of the dead frog, I've been going with the upside down waterslide. It's very similar to normal sleeping on your belly, but you cross your feet at the ankles.
Song Recommendation - Pearls On A String by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
One of the present's Sara got me was a subscription to Netflix (which is amazing on her part because I asked for it for Christmas but didn't get it, she didn't even know I wanted it). Now, I've been skeptical about Netflix and its utility for a while. I watch a lot of movies and TV shows because I don't get any television stations, and I kept debating on whether I wanted it or not. The thing that changed my mind about renting movies was when I went to rent a movie and they charged me like 4 bucks. 4 bucks for 2 hours of fun. No thank you. I can drive across the street and get one from the RedBox at McDonalds for $1. That is, if they aren't all gone. Well, after having it for 3 days I love it. For one, there are a good number of movies that you can just watch streaming over the internet. You don't even have to wait the 1 day it takes to receive them in the mail. SWEET. Second, they have this feature where you rate movies that you've seen and they make recommendations based on that. The more ratings you make, the more accurate the recommendations become. I'll rate a bunch of movies, and then it will make a recommendation and it'll be a movie I really like. Good stuff.
One of the shows I've been watching over the internet is a Showtime show called Dexter. Dexter is the story of a serial killer who works for the police department down in Miami. The show has the best of both worlds. It's a crime drama (Dexter is infatuated with blood, and as such is a forensic expert) in the mode of CSI with clues and crimes and bad people and good people. But it's also creepy (in the mode of a nightmare) because the main character kills at least one criminal in every show. How can you not love that?
Speaking of nightmares. Sara told me that she recently had a dream about being pregnant (don't worry, it wasn't mine.....or maybe that means I should be worried). Except it wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare. Why was it a nightmare? Because she wasn't taking baby vitamins. She called it her "scariest dream ever." I told her that my scariest dream ever happens every day when I wake up and realize that she and I are still dating. She wasn't too happy about that. I thought it was funny.
My cast got some snow water in it walking from my house to the car, and so I had to use a blow dryer to dry it out. Good news. It's dry. Bad news. Based on the smell, my leg is rotting inside the cast. I also developed a new sleeping move. Instead of the dead frog, I've been going with the upside down waterslide. It's very similar to normal sleeping on your belly, but you cross your feet at the ankles.
Song Recommendation - Pearls On A String by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
Thursday, February 14, 2008
EXCITING NEWS!!!!
Well, I have some exciting news. Since, I was working in Louisville this weekend and wasn't going be able to see Sara on Valentine's Day I stopped by Btown on Wednesday to celebrate the worst holiday this side of President's Day. Well, Sara cooked this fabulous meal (I'm talking pretty close to GourMan...4 courses) and afterward I knew I couldn't wait any longer. With Sara sitting on the couch and the lights dimmed, I got down on one knee, reached into my bag, pulled out the...DVD and put it into the player. Seriously, you seriously believed that? Come on. Whenever and I do decide to propose it definitely will not be on a holiday. Especially a holiday as cheesy at Valentine's Day. It will be something good like Christmas or the lucky girl/boy's birthday. That way I'm only buy ONE present instead of two. See how I do that. You can say whatever you want about ol' Nick Haywood, but you can't deny that he's a thinker.
But yea, we watched The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. If you didn't know, movies about murderers and robbers make GREAT Valentine's Day movies. Casey Afflek (yes, Ben's brother) was pretty impressive in his role as Robert Ford. Probably deserving of his Best Supporting Actor nomination. In my opinion, that category is the hardest to pick a winner from. All five of those guys had great roles. But we'll talk about that at a later date. I still have a couple more movies to watch before I can give my predictions.
Take a minute to imagine a dead frog. The frog's lying flat on it's bell with it's legs out behind it, kind of bent out wide.....Ok, got it. Now, take a minute to think about how you sleep.............Ok, got it. I sleep on my stomach. And since I don't like to suffocate with my face down in the pillow I turn my head to the side. The issue is that to turn your head to side you have to also turn your hip. Nick, that's not an issue! You're right. Normally it wouldn't be an issue. Except that when you turn your hip you also turn your ankle, and the way you want to turn your ankle is the way that is restricted when your wearing a cast. That leaves to way to sleep. With your foot dangling off the bed, or like a dead frog. I choose dead frog. My boss also suggested I tell me that I hurt my ankle because a party I was at got busted, I ran from the cops, jumped over a fence, my belt got caught (?????), I was hanging from the fence (Is this possible??), and eventually fell off and broke my foot. Basically, my boss wants me to be irresponsible. Everyone knows that if I was at a party that got busted, I'm shooting the cop and calmly walking away.
Boy, do I have a song recommendation for today. It's not my normal genre (you know, sad, depressing, semi-country stuff) but I have to give Kayne West credit for his performance at Grammy's. I did not know this, but he sampled a Daft Punk song with his hit Stronger. So, he invited Daft Punk (and their pyramid) to perform with him. Daft Punk is huge in Europe and was a headliner at Bonnaroo last year, yet are adverse to being in the spotlight (Search for a picture of them on internet without their helmets). They're hard to find. The Grammy's were their television debut. 15 years of hot beats and they've never been on TV. Plus, I want me some of those sunglasses. If you don't wanna watch the Kayne part just go to the 2:40 mark.
Song Recommendation - Stronger by Kayne West
Based on that video, I bet those who made the mistake (I guess that's a point of view word) before Daft Punk's set at Bonnaroo were freaking out the entire time.
But yea, we watched The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. If you didn't know, movies about murderers and robbers make GREAT Valentine's Day movies. Casey Afflek (yes, Ben's brother) was pretty impressive in his role as Robert Ford. Probably deserving of his Best Supporting Actor nomination. In my opinion, that category is the hardest to pick a winner from. All five of those guys had great roles. But we'll talk about that at a later date. I still have a couple more movies to watch before I can give my predictions.
Take a minute to imagine a dead frog. The frog's lying flat on it's bell with it's legs out behind it, kind of bent out wide.....Ok, got it. Now, take a minute to think about how you sleep.............Ok, got it. I sleep on my stomach. And since I don't like to suffocate with my face down in the pillow I turn my head to the side. The issue is that to turn your head to side you have to also turn your hip. Nick, that's not an issue! You're right. Normally it wouldn't be an issue. Except that when you turn your hip you also turn your ankle, and the way you want to turn your ankle is the way that is restricted when your wearing a cast. That leaves to way to sleep. With your foot dangling off the bed, or like a dead frog. I choose dead frog. My boss also suggested I tell me that I hurt my ankle because a party I was at got busted, I ran from the cops, jumped over a fence, my belt got caught (?????), I was hanging from the fence (Is this possible??), and eventually fell off and broke my foot. Basically, my boss wants me to be irresponsible. Everyone knows that if I was at a party that got busted, I'm shooting the cop and calmly walking away.
Boy, do I have a song recommendation for today. It's not my normal genre (you know, sad, depressing, semi-country stuff) but I have to give Kayne West credit for his performance at Grammy's. I did not know this, but he sampled a Daft Punk song with his hit Stronger. So, he invited Daft Punk (and their pyramid) to perform with him. Daft Punk is huge in Europe and was a headliner at Bonnaroo last year, yet are adverse to being in the spotlight (Search for a picture of them on internet without their helmets). They're hard to find. The Grammy's were their television debut. 15 years of hot beats and they've never been on TV. Plus, I want me some of those sunglasses. If you don't wanna watch the Kayne part just go to the 2:40 mark.
Song Recommendation - Stronger by Kayne West
Based on that video, I bet those who made the mistake (I guess that's a point of view word) before Daft Punk's set at Bonnaroo were freaking out the entire time.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
South America
As per Adam’s request I procured an updated itinerary for the South America trip that is quickly approaching.
The trip starts with a red-eye flight (why don’t people just carry some Visine or something, then it could be called an all-night flight) from DFW into Santiago, Chile (SCL for those playing flight simulator) that arrives at 10 AM on March 5th. That afternoon there is a trip to the Concha Y Toro Winery and the itinerary says,
Depart Santiago towards the Maipo valley, one of Chile’s most important wine producing areas. Founded in 1883, Concha y Toro is today the largest wine exporter in the country. The tour includes a full visit to the extensive landscaped gardens, the plantations (some of which were planted by the founder of the vineyard, Don Melchor de Concha y Toro), the modern plant and the old cellars. There is a tasting of different wines during the tour.
To say I don’t like wine is an overstatement, I hate the stuff. But when in Chile, do as the Chilean do. That is, take touristy wine tours. No, I’m sure it’ll be pretty neat. I like the process of making things, often times more than the actual product. And, the wine tasting can’t be worse than drinking whiskey at the Dewar’s Distillery in Scotland. That stuff was firewater, and the Master Distiller recommended we hold it in our mouths for the full flavor. Yikes. That evening, as well as the next two days we are on our own to tour Santiago. Well…kinda….see…the point of the trip is for the IU students to make company visits and learn “how to do business” in South America. Everyone is obviously just using that as an excuse to tour Chile and Argentina. So, half of one of those two free days is going to be touring Chilean companies.
On Saturday the 8th, we catch a flight down to Puerto Montt. Puerto Montt is located in the Patagonia Region (that’s what the company is named after) of Chile (most of Patagonia is located in Argentina, but Patagonia National Park the company is founding will be located in Chile), and because of that I’m expecting it to be downright beautiful. That afternoon we are going whitewater rafting in a glacial river. Hopefully wetsuits are provided.
Set off on a class III-IV rafting trip down the clear, azure waters of the Petrohue River. The mighty Petrohue is one of Chile’s most beautiful and exciting glacial rivers in the Lakes District.
That evening is free to check out the city and the next day involves a lake crossing to the Argentinean city of Bariloche (I’m still not sure how this is possible considering there is a mountain range between Bariloche and Puerto Montt, but I’m going to assume our tour guide knows this). We spend a day and a half in Bariloche; with one afternoon spent horseback riding. Again, sounds cool.
The Fortín Chacabuco Estacia ranch is 25 km from the centre of Bariloche and offers everything we need – excellent horses and native bilingual guides who’ll lead us into places beyond our imagination, with panoramic views of Bariloche and the Andes beyond. We’ll hope to see plenty of deer, Patagonian hares, perhaps some red foxes and all the bountiful flora of the area. We’ll ride for two hours in the morning and at lunch share a typical Argentine barbecue, an authentic asado criollo. In the afternoon, we’ll take a ride through swamps, canyons and valleys. Before heading back into Bariloche, we’ll have a break for yerba mate tea and homemade pastries.
On Tuesday the 11th we fly from Bariloche to Buenos Aires. The pattern for travel days usually includes travel in the morning and a group activity in the afternoon. This day will be no different as we get take a guided city tour in the afternoon (the explanation of the tour isn’t well written, but I think you’ll get the main idea).
In order to introduce this magnificent metropolitan city, we will be visiting the main points of interest of Buenos Aires such us the historical complex of Plaza de Mayo (May Square) where you can see Government House, the Casa Rosada (Pink House), which is the site of the Argentinean National Government. Next is the Cathedral, where there is a mausoleum dedicated to General San Martin, the greatest national hero in Argentina. The historical Cabildo is a beautiful building dating from the 18th Century, and the site of the first Government introduced to the country. The imposing building of Congress, the colonial church such as Santo Domingo.
La Boca District with its famous and pintoresque Caminito Street. The next point of interest to be visited is an area called La Recoleta , where the French cultural influence can be seen in the design of the many buildings, apartment houses, palaces, shops, streets, cafes and restaurants, all of which offer a very lively and colourful background to the Quarter. A short walk into La Recoleta Cemetery offers a surprising discovery of sculptural and architectural treasures. On either side of the narrow walkways there are monuments and mausoleums which look just like the houses in town. It’s a miniature village dedicated to the departed.
That evening there is a group dinner and tango show. The next three days are free for us to take company visits (one afternoon) and explorer the city (the rest of the time). The last day of the trip there is a Delta River cruise, which is described as:
A pleasant journey along the River Plate's coast and through beautiful residential areas in Buenos Aires: private neighborhoods, sailing clubs, marinas and slips. The enchantment of the renewed old English train stations allows visitors to enjoy one of the most modern trains in the country and a great variety of entertainments. At Tigre Port we’ll visit the open market and its handcraft shops. On board of a Catamaran we’ll navigate through a labyrinth of islands and small barren islands intercrossed by rivers and streams.
Depart towards north district . This tour comprises a tour through the elegant northern riverside suburbs of Vicente Lopez, Olivos, where the Argentinean President's residence is located. You’ll also visit San Isidro, with its gothic Cathedral, and San Fernando before proceeding to Tigre, where you’ll embark a private boat and will set sail . You will see why the labyrinth of rivers and channels of the Tigre Delta have been a favorite weekend getaway for porteños. We’ll explore the maze of channels and streams, islands, riverside villas, Victorian docks, English gardens and traditional rowing clubs along the Parana River Delta. The nearby Lujan, Sarmiento, Tigre and San Antonio rivers are all part of the excursion.
We’ll arrive to Gato Blanco Restaurant, after about 45 minutes of navigation, located in one of the Delta’s Island where lunch will be served. After some free time to relax, we’ll navigate the catamaran back to Tigre Port.
That evening we catch our flights back to the US. Things on the trip that I am particularly excited about is the horseback riding in Patagonia and the lake trip from Puerto Montt to Bariloche. I need to pick up guide books for both Santiago and Buenos Aires. Actually having a detailed itinerary in front of me is getting me pretty excited for the trip. I think I’m going to go start packing right now.
Song Recommendation - Daddy's Farm by Shooter Jennings
The trip starts with a red-eye flight (why don’t people just carry some Visine or something, then it could be called an all-night flight) from DFW into Santiago, Chile (SCL for those playing flight simulator) that arrives at 10 AM on March 5th. That afternoon there is a trip to the Concha Y Toro Winery and the itinerary says,
Depart Santiago towards the Maipo valley, one of Chile’s most important wine producing areas. Founded in 1883, Concha y Toro is today the largest wine exporter in the country. The tour includes a full visit to the extensive landscaped gardens, the plantations (some of which were planted by the founder of the vineyard, Don Melchor de Concha y Toro), the modern plant and the old cellars. There is a tasting of different wines during the tour.
To say I don’t like wine is an overstatement, I hate the stuff. But when in Chile, do as the Chilean do. That is, take touristy wine tours. No, I’m sure it’ll be pretty neat. I like the process of making things, often times more than the actual product. And, the wine tasting can’t be worse than drinking whiskey at the Dewar’s Distillery in Scotland. That stuff was firewater, and the Master Distiller recommended we hold it in our mouths for the full flavor. Yikes. That evening, as well as the next two days we are on our own to tour Santiago. Well…kinda….see…the point of the trip is for the IU students to make company visits and learn “how to do business” in South America. Everyone is obviously just using that as an excuse to tour Chile and Argentina. So, half of one of those two free days is going to be touring Chilean companies.
On Saturday the 8th, we catch a flight down to Puerto Montt. Puerto Montt is located in the Patagonia Region (that’s what the company is named after) of Chile (most of Patagonia is located in Argentina, but Patagonia National Park the company is founding will be located in Chile), and because of that I’m expecting it to be downright beautiful. That afternoon we are going whitewater rafting in a glacial river. Hopefully wetsuits are provided.
Set off on a class III-IV rafting trip down the clear, azure waters of the Petrohue River. The mighty Petrohue is one of Chile’s most beautiful and exciting glacial rivers in the Lakes District.
That evening is free to check out the city and the next day involves a lake crossing to the Argentinean city of Bariloche (I’m still not sure how this is possible considering there is a mountain range between Bariloche and Puerto Montt, but I’m going to assume our tour guide knows this). We spend a day and a half in Bariloche; with one afternoon spent horseback riding. Again, sounds cool.
The Fortín Chacabuco Estacia ranch is 25 km from the centre of Bariloche and offers everything we need – excellent horses and native bilingual guides who’ll lead us into places beyond our imagination, with panoramic views of Bariloche and the Andes beyond. We’ll hope to see plenty of deer, Patagonian hares, perhaps some red foxes and all the bountiful flora of the area. We’ll ride for two hours in the morning and at lunch share a typical Argentine barbecue, an authentic asado criollo. In the afternoon, we’ll take a ride through swamps, canyons and valleys. Before heading back into Bariloche, we’ll have a break for yerba mate tea and homemade pastries.
On Tuesday the 11th we fly from Bariloche to Buenos Aires. The pattern for travel days usually includes travel in the morning and a group activity in the afternoon. This day will be no different as we get take a guided city tour in the afternoon (the explanation of the tour isn’t well written, but I think you’ll get the main idea).
In order to introduce this magnificent metropolitan city, we will be visiting the main points of interest of Buenos Aires such us the historical complex of Plaza de Mayo (May Square) where you can see Government House, the Casa Rosada (Pink House), which is the site of the Argentinean National Government. Next is the Cathedral, where there is a mausoleum dedicated to General San Martin, the greatest national hero in Argentina. The historical Cabildo is a beautiful building dating from the 18th Century, and the site of the first Government introduced to the country. The imposing building of Congress, the colonial church such as Santo Domingo.
La Boca District with its famous and pintoresque Caminito Street. The next point of interest to be visited is an area called La Recoleta , where the French cultural influence can be seen in the design of the many buildings, apartment houses, palaces, shops, streets, cafes and restaurants, all of which offer a very lively and colourful background to the Quarter. A short walk into La Recoleta Cemetery offers a surprising discovery of sculptural and architectural treasures. On either side of the narrow walkways there are monuments and mausoleums which look just like the houses in town. It’s a miniature village dedicated to the departed.
That evening there is a group dinner and tango show. The next three days are free for us to take company visits (one afternoon) and explorer the city (the rest of the time). The last day of the trip there is a Delta River cruise, which is described as:
A pleasant journey along the River Plate's coast and through beautiful residential areas in Buenos Aires: private neighborhoods, sailing clubs, marinas and slips. The enchantment of the renewed old English train stations allows visitors to enjoy one of the most modern trains in the country and a great variety of entertainments. At Tigre Port we’ll visit the open market and its handcraft shops. On board of a Catamaran we’ll navigate through a labyrinth of islands and small barren islands intercrossed by rivers and streams.
Depart towards north district . This tour comprises a tour through the elegant northern riverside suburbs of Vicente Lopez, Olivos, where the Argentinean President's residence is located. You’ll also visit San Isidro, with its gothic Cathedral, and San Fernando before proceeding to Tigre, where you’ll embark a private boat and will set sail . You will see why the labyrinth of rivers and channels of the Tigre Delta have been a favorite weekend getaway for porteños. We’ll explore the maze of channels and streams, islands, riverside villas, Victorian docks, English gardens and traditional rowing clubs along the Parana River Delta. The nearby Lujan, Sarmiento, Tigre and San Antonio rivers are all part of the excursion.
We’ll arrive to Gato Blanco Restaurant, after about 45 minutes of navigation, located in one of the Delta’s Island where lunch will be served. After some free time to relax, we’ll navigate the catamaran back to Tigre Port.
That evening we catch our flights back to the US. Things on the trip that I am particularly excited about is the horseback riding in Patagonia and the lake trip from Puerto Montt to Bariloche. I need to pick up guide books for both Santiago and Buenos Aires. Actually having a detailed itinerary in front of me is getting me pretty excited for the trip. I think I’m going to go start packing right now.
Song Recommendation - Daddy's Farm by Shooter Jennings
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