After a 45 minute cab ride I got dropped off where the hostel was supposed to be but there was definitely no obvious indication of this being the right place. I walked down to the corner, found a cozy coffee shop and confirmed the address with the girl working there while enjoying my first Argentine espresso for AR$4.5 (exchange is currently 3:1 so divide all prices by three to get the dollar amount… Oh, cab ride from the airport was AR$95).
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As a birthday present this year, I’m treating myself to two weeks in South America. I’m starting off in Buenos Aires where I plan on staying at least one night. From there things are not too set in stone - if at all. I have to end up in Santiago on the 31st and I’ve heard several stories about the passage from Argentina being both open and closed. I probably should just bite the bullet and buy a flight but the road trip is supposed to be quite nice so it’s worth the chance.
I have a couple of friends roaming about Mendoza at this very moment so I hope we’ll be able to connect. In Santiago I’ll be staying with my brother and a couple of friends in an apartment they’ve rented for one or two weeks. We’re hoping to get some boarding done but, just like everything else, there’s no plan.
At this point I have just a backpack, my cameras and phone. Hopefully I’ll be able to get a local SIM to have just in case. I did find out the metro stations in Buenos Aires have free wifi so at least I’ll have that as a fallback although I ‘doubt the availability of internet cafes.
For now, I’m just at Hartfield waiting for my delayed flight to start boarding and hoping this is not some kind of bad foreshadowing of things to come.
Football season has all of three weeks left and what a season it’s been. I seriously think the last three minutes of the Florida-South Carolina game cost me three years of my life. Drew and I ended up with tickets stood amidst the Carolina faithful and were screaming our brains out hoping for whatever miracle would grant us a third blocked-kick in the game. In front of us, a Gator couple is putting up with a Gamecock fan obnoxiously reminding us that the kick wins it and that the kicker has already made one from 56 yards out (and while it was called back, he still made. Florida fans can not assume kicks will fly between the uprights this season). I’m hardly paying attention when Drew tells me the husband bets the Carolina fan $400 that the kick won’t go through.
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So I’m in Frankfurt for work but this time I’m here by myself. This past Saturday my company was to have its Christmas party at the Mark. Only problem is the Mark is in Atlanta and I’m several thousand miles away. And, it’s not so much that I wanted to make the party but it would have been a fun weekend in Atlanta with my brothers and some friends.
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There are not too many things I can positively talk about after spending the past few months working near Frankfurt and it’s not because Germany doesn’t have anything to offer but rather because it’s depressing being somewhere with so much to do and not being able to take advantage of it.
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August 25, 2003: A peek
Le Glacier du Geant as seen from Helbronner, Italy.
After what we are all referring to as the Week of Hell with work days averaging 12 hrs. long, we decided to treat ourselves to no less than four awesome meals and a couple of days of exploring.
The Château de Chillon in Montreux, Switzerland.
Saturday was spent on Mont-Blanc, the highest European peak at 4,800 meters. We rode the gondola to Aiguille du Midi, a point at 3,842 meters, and then hopped on another one that took us across to Helbronner, Italy. We really wanted to make it one stop further - at the base of the mountain on the italian side - but we were off to a late start that morning and needed to make sure we got back on time to ride the cable car back to France (from what we heard, those who missed the ride back ended up spending the night on the mountain. And, sure, it’s summer, but there’s still a heck of a lot of snow up there).
Even with that bit of drama, the ride across was nothing shy of being absolutely impressive. Trust me, being suspended from two cables for forty five minutes while you’re looking down at people who seem a quarter of an inch in height puts a whole new perspective to what being “up there” is all about.
Sunday, we visited towns that edge Lac Léman on the Swiss side and spent a couple of hours visiting checking out some cool castles and dining by the water. Later that evening we gained a new person - Robin - who joined us for dinner near the center of Lausanne.
Ok, so the Veo doesn’t exactly crank beautiful shots, but here’s a couple of the good ones until I develop the film. A bientôt.
It was in the Spring of 1992 that I found myself taking a required statistics and computing course for my CISE degree at UF. I’ve heard there’s something about people who are good at math that makes them hate statistics and that definitely applied to me. Fortunately, this would be second of two required stats course so I was almost home-free.
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The plans are taking shape. I got myself a room for the night of the 19th just to give me a place to crash for a nap and then leave my bags while I scavenge for other hotels.
So, I heard from my friend Rodrigo who lives in Toronto but is currently spending a semester in Milan and is flying in on the evening of the 19th. I also spoke with Anne who’s coming from Germany for a week and arrives at 7am on the 20th by bus. Coincidentally, Sara flies in at 7:10am on the 20th into Charles de Gaulle. Finally, Marc arrives sometime that day coming from Aachen. This is going to be a nice collage of people who don’t know each other except through me.
So, for the time being, Anne and I have made plans to meet up (thanks to Maporama) at this cool cafe named, well, Le Café. If everything works out ok, that should join the two of us plus Sara who I should have met at the airport earlier that morning. I went to the place last summer as it was recommended by my friend Jack who was so unfortunate as to have lived in Paris for about six months last year. Anyways, Jack’s been an endless source of information of cool places to go to in Paris and Le Café is all that (assuming it still exists.. yikes!).
Now, the other cool bit of information about this Saturday is that it just happens to be La Fête de la Musique, an annual celebration of music with all kinds of events going on throughout the day all over the country. Funny enough, I learned about this in FRE 1115 and had entered the date in my palm (geekness, I know) so it was a nice surprise to see at the end of last week. Perfect timing, for once.
This is probably my last entry to digressed so check out the live journal for remote updates if technology doesn’t fail me. Adieu.