HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We wish you all a very happy 2012!  We pretty much had the last minute idea of traveling to San Antonio Texas to bring in the new year, so around 2:00PM on the 31st, we got in the car, stopped for gas and a
Subway sandwich and drove south.

We read that morning about the celebration that would take place at Hemisfair Park and the Riverwalk, and the fact that it was a free event.  What better than free!?  We arrived at the hotel around 8:30 (I know, we made a few stops to pick up our much needed yellow underwear), checked in and walked down to the street.  For starters, the weather was amazing!  T-shirt, jeans and a pair of chucks.

We first stopped to get the mandatory picture of the Alamo.  I'm pretty sure I have enough of those but it's close enough to the hotel not to have done it.  Then we walked down to the Riverwalk which was packed but everybody seemed to be having a good time.

We made it over to Hemisfair Park and people were everywhere.  The usual pushing through crowds holding your beer up in the air to avoid spilling it.  I was impressed that I did not see a single fight break out as they usually do in drunken crowds.  Everyone was having a good time, there were several stages with live music, and food vendors of all kinds.

We walked around and finally made it to the main stage for the countdown.  It was the end of a good year and the beginning of what I hope is an even better one.

More fossils?

No, not more fossils.  In fact, we haven't seen any fossils lately.  But here are a few more of the animals we saw at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.

Not sure what the deal is with these animals staring us down.  All we were doing was driving through their living room!

Audad - Ammotragus Lervia.  I believe the true name is Rammus Staredownus.  At least that's what the Internet says.

Giraffe - Giraffa Camelopardalis.  This one we will call neckus longeritus.  This guy actually stuck his head in through my window.  Another hungry one.  There were about 6 of these walking around.

We've seen one of these before.  Or two?  I don't recall which one this is, but it is definitely one of the zebras!!

Axis Deer - Axis Axis.  This guy looks so mean that his scientific name is self explanatory.  He'll give you the ax, and then again.

Fossil Rim, Glen Rose Texas

So we took a little road trip about two hours from our house, down to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Preserve in Glen Rose Texas. We had been there before, only last time we took the mountain bikes to ride around certain areas of the park.

This time we decided to get up early to beat the Labor Day crowd, but as it turns out, we had some work to do here at the house & didn't leave for the park until 10pm.

We drove into Glen Rose looking for a place to eat as it would take us about two hours to drive around the park. After driving around for a while, we backtracked to a Mexican restaurant we had seen on our way there and stopped for some tacos. I'll give them a 7.

Once we got to the park we were surprised to see how many people had planned on doing the same thing. It was a holiday after all. The sign said the tour would take between 2 and 4 hours TO THE HALF-WAY MARK!

Over the hill we could see the line of cars slowly driving through the park. We figured WTH, we're already here, might as well do it.

Off we go...

Who would have thought, 2 different species of zebras. Eqqus burchelli and Eqqus canadensis tabida. Can you spot the differences? The first is black with white stripes, the second is white with black stripes.

And yeah, they are right there.  They are so used to people driving around the park feeding them that they pretty much just come in through the windows looking for food.

Our Very Own 7 Links!! Woohooo!!

Since our blog is still a very new project, I was thrilled when Stephanie, from The Travel Chica, nominated this site for The 7 Links Project. Thank you Stephanie!   I now present you with...


Our Seven Links!!

Most Beautiful Post:    Cartagena’s Historic District

This is one of our early posts. The pictures were taken a couple of days before our wedding in Cartagena. This post shows a beautiful city and a beautiful time in our lives.
Note: Pictures by Dukes Fotografía
 

Most Popular Post:   Small Challenges
Everyone likes to see how I solved my dirty floor problem! J


Most Controversial Post:    Simultaneous Vacation
"Why on the motorcycle?", " What about work?", "Instead of spending your free time together, you are traveling to two different places?". The list of questions we got goes on and on. To tell you the truth, even I had my reservations regarding the Texas - Alaska journey. Despite all controversy, Jose Luis rode his motorcycle up north! Glad he is done with it!


Most Helpful Post: Los Cafes de Buenos Aires (1 and 2)
I have to include two posts in this category. Los Cafes de Buenos Aires, and Los Cafes de Buenos Aires 2. The first one is about the meaning of the cafes, and the second includes a list of some of the cafes we liked. Hopefully readers will grasp the importance of these spaces in the Argentinean Barrios, and have an idea of which ones to visit.

The Success of This Post Surprised Us!   Que pan tan bello!
I found a panadería Colombiana in Carrollton, TX. Finding a little piece of your country while abroad is AMAZING. Obviously, El Portal has many fans. This has been one of our most visited posts!


This Post Didn’t Get the Attention it Deserved:    Small House for a Big Star
Here I share my experience in Gardel’s museum. Although I do not tell a whole lot about the things I learned/ observed, I double checked many of the facts online. I also read about Tango in Colombia since I didn’t want to write based solely on memories from my childhood. Being Gardel such a memorable music figure, I thought this post was going to draw more attention.


Post We are Most Proud Of:      In The Mood for Marshmallow Soup?
After the “Preparation Post” by José Luis, this is our first real post. Our blog was going to be a scrap book of our travels, places we liked, and some other random stuff. I don’t even remember when we decided it was going to be a blog, but I am glad we decided so! This post is a review of one of our favorite restaurants in Dallas. It was the first step, the post that started it all.

Nominations

I am proud to nominate Comidilla (in Spanish). Diana is a Colombian entrepreneur, and an expert in food related topics. Read her blog to learn about what you should eat/ or not, and the latest tendencies regarding Colombian cuisine!

My second nomination is my brother’s blog, Visitante o Residente (in Spanish). Flavio is currently writing from Buenos Aires. He has been traveling non-stop for years in South America - especially Colombia - and Europe. He is still my number one traveling advisor!

I was lucky to meet Bobbi and Ric through Tweeter. It is great to have another traveling couple to share our experiences with. Visit Heels and Wheels to follow their adventures through Australia and South Asia!

Some of you already know I have soft spot for fashion. That is why I am proud to introduce you to Tiffany. She is an entrepreneur with a great sense of style! Read I am Style-ish to find outfit ideas, enjoy some good photography, and even learn blogging tips!

Finally, my dear José Luis has branched out. He is slowly building up his blog about motorcycle riding and traveling. Read his posts at Another Irregular Road Trip.

A Three Stars Hotel (Trip to Uruguay 3)

After the excitement faded of, it was time to rest.  Remember our hostel situation? Our last minute booked hotel, offered the following:

1.      Internet connection only in certain corners of the room.

2.      “Vintage” accommodations, with a strong 70’s vibe. Complete with flowery, bright pink covers, and “retro” furniture.

3.      Missing buttons remote control, which I solved pushing inside the holes with a pen or bobby pin. Other buttons didn’t work.  To change the channel you could only go down.

4.      The bathrooms have had some fixing done, and it showed….  Just not in a positive way.

5.      Water had no pressure. What came out of the shower was a coooold drizzle. Taking a shower was a torture. 

This was supposed to be a 3 stars hotel?  Hostels seemed better, and were half price!  We were annoyed.  Our pockets were sore…..*sigh*



Our room.  No internet on this corner.



To be fair, I have seen worse. There were some positives:

1. Hotel was conveniently located, close to shops, restaurants, and historic quarter.
2. Our room had a great view.
3. The heater was working! The remote had to be held directly in front of the unit, but we slept in a warm room.
4. Breakfast was included.

Nope, it just does not balance things out.  It was too expensive for what they offered.

We were the only ones in the dinning area next morning.  I was wondering what we were going to do that day and the next one. After all, we had seen most of the town main attractions.  While silently eating our barely average breakfast, Jose Luis proposed to… leave. We cancelled our reservation for the second night, and turned in the remote control, the keys, and an electrical converter to the person at the front desk. No questions asked.  That small, white rental car we got immediately after was an instant mood fixer.  No more silence, just laughter and excitement. See you later Colonia!

Mood Fixer

Foreign Travels

As we approach another summer, it is time to get out again & travel the world.  So far we have been discussing travel to Spain, Uruguay, Ecuador, Italy or a cross-country road trip across the United States (on a side note, Superman: The Movie, 1978 is on TV!  Yes, I get distracted easily), or fly to Colombia and "road trip-it" over there.

We are still open to suggestions/ideas.  The plan is to leave for a couple of weeks in June. And so the map goes...

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