Sunday, September 19, 2010

Buenos Aires, Argentina (in other words "The Paris of South America" as it is often referred to as)
Shawn and I decided to go meet my brother in Argentina over labor day weekend. We left on Friday night and arrived back in Texas Wednesday morning. I am not sure if Shawn was more excited to go on a Boeing 777 or to see Buenos Aires.

We were able to go first class which was quite the experience. The seats fold out to be a bed so that you can sleep on the way down. It is a 9 1/2 hour flight. They also really spoil you and have a pretty amazing assortment of food. They feed you constantly. First class on an international trip was very different than on a domestic trip. On the airplane we saw around 10 of Shawn's co-workers. They all said "Isn't Buenos Aires the best weekend get away!" I kept thinking who does this..... Because all of his co-workers love Buenos Aires we had an extensive amount of notes on what to do and places to stay which was very helpful. If you ever go let me know and I will give you all the info.
Getting all settled in

The menu which was quite a production

My brother picked us up from the airport and we headed to the coast to see some areas that my brother served on his mission. We also met several people that he taught and knew on his mission. We went to Mar del Plata and Necochea. The cities along the coast are beautiful. Supposedly during their summers the beaches attract people from all over the world.
First meal in Argentina. Shawn could not wait to eat the meat. It was delicious!

Marcella was so nice and was our little tour guide in Necochea.


Walking at night in Mar del Plata. It was fun to see all the people and eat yummy pastries.

In Mar del Plata we ate lunch with one of my friend's from College. My brother met Pedro on his mission but then I became friends with him at BYU. Pedro is on the left. His son also Pedro is adorable and at church he sat right next to me and drew a bunch of pictures for me. He would label the pictures "Marti, Shon and Gray (that is what he called my brother)" too cute! Little Pedro learns English in school and he speaks really well. It was really fun to see them. It has been a long time.


My brother and his friend that was his companion on his mission


We took my brother to the airport on Sunday night and then Shawn and I headed to Buenos Aires. We ate at a yummy steak house and then walked along the river. I felt like I was in Europe. Everything was very modern and hip.
A night walk

Palermo Viejo: we stayed in this area one night. It is known for it's hip restaurants and boutiques. They had amazing shopping but the prices were amazingly high. So I just "museum shopped" because I could not afford anything but it was fun to look around.

Lunch is the big meal for Argentina. It was fun to eat by the river and people watch while we ate. Shawn was in heaven eating his meal. Need I say more!


More of the city


We took a little city tour so that we could get to know the city better. While we were there it was Brazilian Independence Day so our bus was filled with Brazilians.
First stop the Recoleta Cemetery. I wish we had time to take a tour. I am sure it would have been fascinating but we only had time to walk through part of it. Luckily we found were Eva Peron was buried in the short amount of time we had. This cemetery was amazing.




Next stop was somewhat of a tourist trap. There was not much but a little plaza for you to buy stuff.

Next stop La Boca. A very colorful lively place. Lots of Tango dancers. If we had more time I would have ate lunch here and enjoyed the environment.





After the tour we went to the oldest Cafes: Cafe Tortoni. The inside was beautiful. We had hot chocolate and churros.


After dinner we walked a couple of blocks to get some yummy ice cream

The next day we set out to find a leather bag that Shawn wanted for his birthday. We went to this neighborhood that was known for their high quality leather but was not insanely priced. Shawn found his bag. I sure did love looking at all the neat stuff they had.

We heard that Buenos Aires had great meat and Italian food. So we pretty much switched off eating these two types of food. This was not the best representation of the food but the Italian food was really good. I did not think it was quite as good as Italy but close.

Statues of Eva Peron were all over the city

Not sure how this car ended up here

We went to Museo de Arte Decorativo. It was one of the country's grandest single-family homes in the early 20th century.

Lastly we enjoyed lots of Con de Leche cookies and desserts. Yummy!!

There was still so much to do. Hopefully we get back someday!

Utah

We have been to Utah several times this summer. Partly to escape the heat of Texas and partly to see all the family that has come into town. While we were there we were able to see my brother before he headed off to Hawaii to start his job, my sister, my cousins from Seattle, Oregon and Montana. Also, we were able to go to my cousins wedding. We sure had lots of fun seeing everyone.

Jack loves my brother and sister. He would call my brother "dadda." Both of my siblings are so cute with Jack. Jack loved when my sister would come to visit. She has so much energy and just plays and spoils him. Jack especially loves all the attention he gets from GG. When I go to Utah he is super attached to my mom. He would prefer her over me any day. I have to admit I kind of like the break.


Jack was obsessed with my mom's golf cart. He always had to have the dogs come along. We went on at least 10 rides a day. Jack loves my mom's dogs. My brother nicknamed Jack "Tarzan" because he would run around naked (much to our disgrace...) with a stick in his hand with the dogs. He was kind of a wild man in Utah. He is tamed know that we are back in Texas.




Shawn and I went with my brother and his friend to Antelope Island. We did a little hike and saw some buffalo.




This is how I would find Jack after waking up from his nap. He takes off all his clothes!

Jack was outside and took off his diaper and before I could reach him he threw it and this is where it landed.


Jack making messes as usually


We went to the zoo with my dad's side of the family. My cousin Eliza was so cute with Jack. I wish she lived closer to babysit.