Dia Uno

Here we are safe and sound in beautiful Buenos Aires Argentina. The Paris of South America (if Paris has crumbing buildings and grafitti everywhere) or so they say. We got here after an approx. 10 hour flight that was in some ways better than I thought it would be and in some ways was much worse. The first 4 hours or so were great. It turns out if you travel in the awesome Boeing 777 you have your very own TV screen and remote and can chose between like 10 movies to watch and about 10-15 TV shows. I watched Mama Mia (saw it on Broadway but couldn´t resist listening to all those great ABBA songs) and then after dinner (YES! They actually fed us a real meal on a plane) Chad and I both watched Wall-E on our TVs. After that I decided to try to catch some shut eye. That did not go well, and after about 4 hours trying to sleep and getting about 45 mins worth I decided it wasn´t worth it and just listened to music. The ride was smooth and comfortable otherwise.

Instead of being smart and taking it easy the first day we wanted to go, go, go. As soon as we checked into the apartment and signed the contacts we got ready real quick and went in search of pre-paid cell phone cards and Empanadas. We were supposed to have lunch with Chad´s friend Mariana but we needed a snack. While we got the empandas she called and told us where she wanted to meet so we headed on over. We toured the Burger King on Florida Ave that is in an old palatial homestead. It was so gorgeous except for the orange and blue tables everywhere. While we were there Mariana called to say she couldn´t make it because her boss had to meet with her so we struck out on our own for La Cabrera which we heard were the best steaks in BA. Here is our food.

It turns out that if these are the best steaks in Argentina I am done with Argentine steaks (supposedly world renowned). It was good once you got around all the fat but there wasn´t much besides the fat and it was never exceptional. Anyway, on the way in to the restaurant I broke my sandal and needed to head home after that. We finally wised up and took a nap after being grumpy and grumbly all day up till then.

After our naps we freshened up again and went out to find groceries and more Empanadas for dinner. Chad wanted to take me to the Pink House (where Evita Peron lived and the Argentine presidents live) and the Plaza de Mayo in downtown BA. I also wanted a closer view of Ave 9 de Julio (widest road in the world) and the Obelisk in the center of 9 de Julio.

I was really upset to see the national catedral in the main plaza had grafitti on it. You could tell it happened before and was painted over but the paint didn´t match. There was no sign I could see that said it was the National Cathedral or that above was the pink house. It is like they don´t have pride in their National Heritage or something, which I know is not the case but I was kindof disappointed none the less.

After the Plaza and Obelisk we took the Subte (subway) to the Constitution station (like grand central in NYC to catch a light rail train to a barrio close to downtown to go to Wal-Mart (because sometimes you need to feel like a redneck even when you are in a foreign country).

Wal-Mart, even in Argentina, just reinforced that it is not my friend, but we got some good crap. So now I just posted this blog that took forever and probably took you forever to read, if you even made it to the end at all. No worries as this is for my own purposes as well.

Aeropuerto

So here we sit in the Miami Airport. Our flight is scheduled to leave in a few hours for the grand journey to Argentina. This is going to be the furthest I've ever been from home and the longest vacation. I am so freaking excited. The journey down was pretty uneventful except our flight our of Atlanta was an hour and a half late. Luckily we had a long layover so we didn't have to run to our next flight. When we arrive in Argentina it will be Friday! I can't wait to post and show you how awesome it is.

Wicked

Wicked! As in wicked awesome if I was from Boston. We went and saw Wicked on Friday 10/24 and it was so fun. I loved the story so much. I would highly recommend getting on the Wicked Is Cool bandwagon. It is a fun ride.

1 week left

One more week of work left till the great escape. SO the reason we are going to Argentina is that Chad served his LDS mission there, and like all missionaries, wants to go back to visit. We are staying in the barrio norte section of Buenos Aires which is technically out of Chad's area that he served but most of his area was rural. I am so excited to go to the Southern Hemisphere so like Homer Simpson I can watch the toilets flush in the opposite direction. I promise to post lots of pictures. Like this one. This is the apartment we have rented.

Ok so I am having technical difficulties but here is a link to it.
http://www.bytargentina.com/re/propview.php?&ano_ing=&dia_ing=&mes_ing=&ano_sal=&dia_sal=&mes_sal=&apartmentclose=&view=2297

8 days

The final countdown is on. Only 8 days for the big tip to Argentina! I am so excited except for the fact that I know practically no espanol. No worries b/c I have my own personal interpreter. We will try to post every day while we're down there so people know how things are going and to make you all j.

Update for my long lost friends

Since this blog is to help me and Chad keep with with some of our old friends I shall give an update. Chad graduated from Optometry School 2 and 1/2 years ago and we set up our office almost 2 years ago. The baby making business is not going good so that is on the back burner for awhile since it is quite expensive when you are self-insured. That will be the last we talk of that on the blog. Our life is made up of both of us working 6 days a week and coming home and chillin. We still have the sweetest dog in the world, Shelby. I am in a quest to become a proper redneck since I live in and was raised in Georgia. Much to my sisters' chagrin I Love Nascar (also love the song by Cletus T. Judd). I work on the accent some but it is not coming along. We bought our house almost 2 years ago and love it. Hummm, not sure what else but I will come up with more updates on our lives if I can think of anything interesting/funny.

At our wedding

Our House

Shelby

The office

Beelzebub's Printer

Okay so we decided to buy a new all in one printer so Chad could scan photos of his mission and make a photobook of them. Guess what? I think this printer is satanic. It is evil. It HATES me. I hate technology that is so "advanced" that it takes weeks to learn how to use it efficiently. Luckily I am going home early so I can play housewife and figure out the satanic printer/scanner. Yeah me!