Thursday, May 29, 2014

Bogotá - Day 2

I asked Milena (the lady who works here at the guest house) if it was true that tourists shouldn't hail taxis here. She said "es complicado" and tried to explain why I shouldn't do this and insisted on calling a taxi for me.  I wasn't quite sure what the danger would be: kidnapping, mugging, or just being ripped off on the fare. When the taxi came, she said I needed a "clave" (password) and told me to tell the taxi driver. I told him. He punched it into his device. And off we went. I later learned that the password is the last two digits of your phone number. It's a security measure. 

I went to the Gold Museum in the historic district. It's an amazing place and brings to life Latin American culture and history through the story of gold and other metals. 








Following that, I went to the local tourist office in Plaza de Bolivar and found out there was a walking tour. So off I went. We were accompanied by two young guys from the Army. Here we go again, I thought! More security. How lucky. How awful. As it turns out, they were on their 1-year mandatory army service but also in training to be tour guides. The army was lending them out for training. Wow! I thought this was better than the alternative: that it was so unsafe that we needed an army escort. 

Back to the taxi's.  Even the tourist office and my new army friend strongly advised me not to hail a cab (there was no official taxi rank) so they tried calling for one. They were all booked as it was rush hour. So my new friend stepped out and got one for me instantly.  Oh my....having friends in powerful places! Here we are below :) 

(I wonder how all the other tourists managed?)


I'm staying in tonight. What else? Milena is baking fresh empanadas downstairs and invited me down to enjoy. All is well that ends well! 

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Bogotá - First Impressions

Police are everywhere. I feel a strong sense of fear and relief at the same time.  These aren't great feelings to be having on day 1.  They say even the police do shakedowns on tourists. Sniffer dogs are everywhere. And not for narcotics. The god damn dog jackets say "explosivio".  My hotel looked lovely (for a budget hotel) on the internet.  But I'm the only one staying here. I wonder why? To get in, you have to ring the buzzer, which is inside an iron grill. Have people ran away with the buzzer before? They don't give you a front door key. Good job I'm staying in tonight. The manager is very nice. I needed to get money from an ATM this morning and I asked her where to go. She told me I could come downtown with her or try one of the three banks on the avenue around the corner. But it was really up to me. She said I should go and see for myself if I felt safe enough there. I had read never to withdraw from an ATM on the street. These were on the street. I did it anyway. Never have I felt more afraid using an ATM. Is this all a huge exaggeration and an abundance of caution for the tourists? I don't know. But it feels scary. It makes me want to check into a luxury hotel with a gym and a spa! 

On the good side, the weather is lovely and I checked out two Spanish schools today. The staff were very friendly at both places.  I will give the city a chance. There is lots to do here.  To understand the sheer size of the city, consider that Mexico City and New York City are the only North American cities larger than Bogotá (source: wiki travel).  It has almost nine million inhabitants - a minor fact that I overlooked before coming here.  

If all else fails, I will study Spanish for the week and check myself into a very nice hotel! 

Friday, May 16, 2014

Pontoon, Ireland

Just posting a picture I took this morning at around 7.00 am as I was leaving for the airport. This was taken at the back of our family home. The dawn chorus had just about finished. The fish were jumping. It's a beautiful setting. A slice of heaven. 


This one was taken the evening before.


And this one the evening before that...



Thursday, May 15, 2014

Vienna

May 8-11

Vienna is an amazing city. It's one historic building or palace after another. The city is beautiful. The music is amazing....and I'm not talking about Conchita Wurst, who incidentally won the Eurovision Song Contest the Saturday night we were there (they went crazy in the pubs that night!!). 


Blue Danube


Schönbrunn Palace / the Hapsburg's summer house before they were exiled in 1918


My mother and Aunty Anna. 


Strauss & Mozart concert at the Kursalon





Sunday, May 11, 2014

Prague, Czech Republic

I took a little diversion from my South America trip to go to Prague to see an André Rieu concert. Well, the concert was just an excuse to go on a trip with my mother, sister and aunt. It was a lovely few days. The concert was great too!!

May 5-8