Picking Strawberries- May 23, 2010

I really haven't taken advantage of the farm life here in Ohio, so when Erin asked if I wanted to go strawberry picking with her I was delighted to do so. We drove out just beyond Loveland and soaked in the sun searching for the dark red ripe ones.

Pizza Party!- May 21, 2010

I'm not sure who had the idea, but it was a tasty one. We all met up at Angie's for some homemade pizza and a "low-key" night. We had four different types of pizza and caught up and chatted. Good times.

Speckner Wine Party- April 15, 2010

It's sad that residency is coming to a close for some our classmates. The Speckners specifically are heading out to Vancouver next year, so they reprised their wildly successful wine party one last time. At least there's good wine with these goodbyes. :)

Simon at the Zoo- April 15, 2010

Kim's parents came in for the weekend and so we decided to spend the day at the Cincinnati Zoo seeing the Zoo Babies. Of course, nobody loves zoos like little kids, so I picked up Simon last-minute to join in our polar bear and elephant excursion.

Palermo and Recoleta- May 7, 2010

Since we did the south part of Buenos Aires earlier, we stayed in and explored the north and more posh side this time. We walked through some parks, went through the amazing Recoleta cemetary where Evita is buried, window-shopped in the trendy shops Palermo Viejo, and ate the best spinach I've ever had.

Mendoza, Argentina- May 6, 2010

Since we vowed in the morning not to drink, we decided to check out the town of Mendoza and walk to the giant park that lies between the town and the Aconcagua mountains. I wish we'd had more time there.

Bike and Wine in Mendoza- May 5, 2010

This was one of the most fantastic days ever. We hardly had time to put our bags in the hostel before we were waiting for a bus to take us to Chacras for our bike and wine tour. It was a gorgeous fall day, the weather just right, the leaves changing colors, and the pours were amazingly generous. We hit 3 wineries which were all very different. At one we even had our tasting in an old cement wine container converted into a tasting room.

Overnight bus to Mendoza- May 4, 2010

Not a typical post topic, but we had a lot of fun on our overnight bus trip. We had bingo, wine with dinner (which came with a bib) and a champagne appertif. Most importantly we had fully reclining seats that laid completely flat so we could sleep like in beds.

Biking Buenos Aires- May 4, 2010

We were both missing our bikes a little bit, so we decided to take a bike tour of the South side of Buenos Aires which includes San Telmo, the BOCA, a natural reserve, Puerto Maldero, and the microcentre.

Tango in Buenos Aires- May 3, 2010

People tango in the streets in Buenos Aires like people breakdanced in the streets in the 80s. It's part of the culture. So of course, we went to a tango dinner show which was amazing. It was an intimate show with a pretty yummy 5-course meal and the dancing was amazing. It was touristy tango, but that was more fun for Missy and I to see. We even got a little tango lesson before dinner.

Iguassu Falls, Argentina- May 2, 2010

Iguassu Falls is breathtaking. We flew into the Brazilian side and crossed over the border into Argentina to get a close up view of the falls. I've never seen Niagara, but I can't imagine falls more spectacular.

Ipanema Beach, Finally!- May 1, 2010

The rain finally went, leaving the gorgeous sun that Rio is known for. So even though we were leaving on an afternoon flight, we headed to the beach in the morning to laze around and soak up the sun for a few hours. Everyone was out, volleyball games afoot, and Rio was back to its energetic self.

Copacabana, Leblon, and Pau de Acucar- April 29-30, 2010

After a couple more days of furious rain, we finally got a beautiful rainless night to go up to Sugarloaf and watch the sunset on the city, its sparkling lights popping in the night.

Goooaaaaal!!! Going to a Brazilian Soccer Match- April 28, 2010

There's nothing like experiencing the mass chaos and fervor of Brazilian soccer. The city's excitement about their team the Flamengos playing against their archrivals and main competition the Sao Paolo Corinthians in the quarterfinals of the National Championship was palpable. Despite the torrential rain which soaked us, raincoats and all, in seconds, the stands were packed and the place sold out. We experienced the mobs starts and stops trying to get in, careful to hold on to each other and avoid being trampled. We sang their endless songs (well we tried anyway), hoped the fireworks didn't make their sparked way towards us, and prayed that the stadium wouldn't collapse as it swayed with 100,000 screaming and stomping fans. Thank goodness we won. Go Flamengos!

Rio de Janeiro and Santa Theresa- April 28, 2010

We spent the first part of the day walking along Ipanema beach, before deciding that the overcast skies made the hilltop community of Santa Theresa more appealing for our first day in Rio. We took the bonde up which like the San Francisco trolleys is a fun way to travel. Amidst the disrepair of the buildings, we could still see what a luxurious place it used to be. We went to a gutted mansion, a private art collector's home turned museum, and had our first taste of the deliciousness of Brazilian meat and pumpkin stew.

The Beauty of the Amazon, Brazil