Author: Carrie

Happy to be tourists

Today, we decided to just bite the bullet and go on a guided tour. The tour line we picked was pretty cool – it was a small bus that drove us around, and randomly, we would pull over to the side of the road (or not) and they would show us a video that explained some of the facts relating to the particular area we were in at the moment. This is a HUGE city, divided in many sections, and we just really needed to get our bearings.

So, here we begin with one of the first stops. In America, the president lives in The White House – in Argentina, the president lives in The Pink House (Casa Rosada)! Here is The Pink House:

The area where the Pink House is located holds a lot of history for Argentinians. It was kinda cool getting a mini history lesson about this place. Below is a photo of a large monument in front of The Pink House commemorating Argentina’s independence from Spain. Lots of political turmoil and victories have been celebrated in this place, Plaza de Mayo.

After Plaza de Mayo, we headed to La Boca, which is a very colorful, very old and also very poor part of town. It’s called La Boca (The Mouth), because it was the huge port way back when where all the Italian immigrants lived. They were so poor, they built houses out of whatever found materials they could find, and painted them bright colors with the leftover paint they had from painting the ships that would come in to the port. The guide said sometimes 30 families would all live together in one tiny house! It’s very historic – and pretty cool. There are also tons of tango cafes where people just dance in the street. The place that we stopped was a famous tourist street called El Caminito (the little street) which is very close to the huge soccer stadium La Bomborena (The Candy Bowl). Argentinians are SERIOUS about their love for soccer! We watched an entire video of just how much Argentians love soccer, how important it is to them, and how their soccer heroes have been elevated in the society to almost saints! All this sports information was a little lost on Carrie, who doesn’t give a rip about sports. But we digress …

Here are a few pics of El Caminito:

We also visited Recoleta – a very rich area that basically looks like Rodeo Drive, Puerto Madero – which is an old port that has been recently revitalized and has a famous new modern bridge called Puente de la Mujer:

The architect who designed this bridge says it’s supposed to reflect a couple doing the tango. Um, we don’t necessarily know if we see it or not, but it is beautiful nonetheless.

Our tour guide said that Argentina’s most famous author described people from Buenos Aires as Italians … who speak Spanish …. who were educated by the British … but want to be French!

Anyway, ciao for now – we are off for some empanadas!!!

Museum Day!

It started off as a rainy day in Buenos Aires this morning, so we figured it would be a perfect time to check out Malba (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires). 


First of all, the building is beautiful.  Once we walked inside, it was exhilarating – big, bright and definitely bustling.  The art was VERY modern – lots of bright colors of course, and all different sorts of mediums.  We tried to take some pics, but kinda got busted by an undercover museum employee!  We made sure to say lo siento and put the camera away, but we caught a few snaps:


The guy walking towards us in this picture is who busted us … oops.

This was one of the temporary exhibits, “Mercado”.  It was really small, but so inspiring!  Just using simple imagery displaying foods from the market – the green you see above are a whole bunch of heads of lettuce!  The giant broccoli to the left was cool too – very pop – and made all of tile.  There were also intricately carved melons that were gorgeous too – and a very modern display of a giant pile of dirty dishes.  It was way better than we’re making it sound …


Another highlight was an exhibition of Felix Gonzales-Torres‘ work. It was shocking because throughout the exhibition, there were giant stacks of prints that people were just picking up and taking.  We watched for awhile, and then finally we asked if we really could take some. Yes, it was true, we could!  We absolutely fell in love with two prints – two simple, stark white sheets of paper with tiny black type.  One simply reads “Somewhere better than this place” and the other reads “Nowhere better than this place”.  The art spoke to us because we both are always thinking, planning and dreaming of the next place we’ll travel to, but we are always proclaiming to others how much we love our Long Beach “hometown” and how content we are to be in the LBC forever.  We can’t wait to get them framed and displayed once we get back!


After Malba, we headed over to San Telmo, one of the oldest & “most authentic” neighborhoods in the city. We saw tango in the streets and lots of street vendors and performers, but it was crazy crowded.  We decided we’d tackle San Telmo later this week without carrying art prints among the sea of people in the streets!

Dining in Style – Casa Cruz, Palermo Hollywood

Tonight we had the privilege of dining in one of Argentina’s finest restaurants – Casa Cruz – in one of the coolest neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, Palermo Hollywood. It was close enough to walk to, and we had a great time just exploring the neighborhood a little bit. We were highly anticipating this meal, as it was mentioned in EVERY travel book and blog we read about Buenos Aires. It definitely delivered! Thank goodness for the exchange rate, it was incredible what all we ordered and how reasonably priced the experience was for the best of the best!

We wish we had better pictures, but Casa Cruz is just one of those places that just can’t be captured on camera. We walked through giant 16 ft. brass doors upon entering, and lounged on gorgeous silver sofas with cocktails in hand while we waited for our table.


This is a shot we stole from the web of their monstrous wine wall – this photo only shows a fraction of it! The Argentinans are SERIOUS about their wine – and it’s true – Argentinian wine is incredible! We stuck with the local varieties – Carrie chose a Torrontés, a very bold and fruity white, and Ed had a Malbec, Argentina’s signature red. We decided to put ourselves out there and try an unusual and exotic dish – so Carrie chose the rabbit & Ed chose the grilled octopus. Our waiter was impressed, he said we chose the two best items on the menu! The dining experience was one of the best we’d ever had – amazing service, beautiful food, and tons of variety.

Again, we regret not taking many pics, but here we are enjoying the evening!

It’s pouring rain tonight, so we are relaxing and trying to knock out our jet lag by getting in an early bedtime. Buenas Noches!

We love Portland.


This past Labor Day weekend, we finally made it to Portland to visit our dear friends, Rebecca & Jody (You may know Rebecca as our very talented friend who made our wedding cake topper). They have a BEAUTIFUL mid-century modern home in Portland, and were the best hosts we’ve ever had the pleasure of staying with. They had a full weekend planned for us with lots of sightseeing, and they even made us breakfast every morning! Thanks for the pumpkin pancakes and home-grown veggie scramble, you two!

We were a little concerned about the madness of Labor Day weekend travel at LAX, but we just had to grin and bear it. Vacation time off is limited, so when a “free day” comes along, we just gotta take it! However we were pleasantly surprised* – it was an absolute GHOST TOWN at 5:30pm on the Friday evening of this holiday weekend! Here’s the proof:

*Okay, maybe we were slightly freaked out by the fact that it was so empty, like What the heck is going on?, but after we got over that, the pleasantly surprised part settled in …

Portland is a pretty great place. Lots of young folks just like us, a real artistic vibe, and a general concern for things like locally grown foods and independent businesses. No McDonald’s on every corner in Portland! As soon as we got off the plane, Rebecca and Jody drove us downtown, so we could visit the famous, Voodoo Doughnuts. They are known for some pretty wacky creations (check the menu!) – including their famous Maple Bar, topped with a giant piece of bacon. We went for the kitschier variety – Ed got the Captain Crunch doughnut, and Carrie opted for the Fruit Loops. Sweetness overload!

There are so many fun foods to document about Portland, but we’ll cut to the chase and get to the pictures! Feel free to click the “Portland” link under the photos too, if you want to check out the entire album.

Some favorites:

Rebecca & Jody at a local Cafe

Ed’s heart attack on a plate – Scotch Eggs. Huh?

Portland is known for their beers – and here, they feature a Beer Float! Ed says they taste great.

Vietnamese cuisine is pretty popular in Portland, and we couldn’t be happier. This is Jody after his giant crepe arrived at the table!

Now for the pretty stuff. On Sunday, we took a full day to just drive and enjoy the gorgeous Portland Scenery. We had to admit, for two city people like us, we were pretty enamored with Oregon’s green. We’re typically not the nature-y type, but we definitely fell in love!

Beautiful views on our way up to The Gorge

One of many waterfalls, peeking through the green.

Crazy for trees!

Self-explanatory.

After all of the falls, our grand finale was to visit Timberline Lodge, a historic ski lodge at the top of Mt. Hood. The place was amazing. It’s also the lodge you see in The Shining. We didn’t see Jack Nicholson, but we did see SNOW – on the last day of August! It was pretty cool.


To wrap up our trip, we flew home 1st Class – just by pure luck! Our trip was courtesy of Delta (thank you, Frequent Flyer miles!) and on the way home, they just happened to put us in 1st class!

We admit it – we are happier in 1st class. :)

All in all, it was an amazing trip. Thank you, Rebecca & Jody for being such fantastic hosts! Check out the album for more beauty …

Portland