FUN:travel – Mendoza, Argentina – Day 3
February 28, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Mendoza, Argentina – Day 3
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 24 – Friday, February 22 – Mendoza, Argentina – sunny, high clouds, 90’s
- 7:30 – wake up – hot coffee w/ hot milk
- 9:30 – breakfast is typical – fruit, toast, cereal, yogurt, ham & cheese w/assorted breads
- 9:45 – arranged for car & driver to take us into Andes
- A – drive through wine country on way
- 10:00 – start winding up the mountains – no trees just short scrub brush, grasses & bushes
- A – you can see snow on the tallest peaks
- A – colors range from sandy beige, terra cotta, gray, brown & volcanic flat black
Aconcagua
- A – drive past big Potrerillos lake (from a distance you can see Tupungato volcano which we saw from the plane on the way in)
- C –1:00 – arrive @ Aconcagua – take a short walk – Chris is pretty sore from the fall
- 3:00 – lunch @ Estancia de Elias, in only town on the way – more Argentinean beef – meet couple from Chile who drive here because” it is the best” – tells us to order beef de chorizo, get 2 mixed salads, fried potatoes & local beer Isenbeck – only $30 & VG
- 5:00 – drive thru Parque General San Martín on way back
- 6:00 – arrive B & B
- 9:30 – dinner next door @ Florentina – 4 dipping sauces w/bread & seafood risotto – just so-so
- 11:30 – so tired, hit the bed since I had no time for room R & R or siesta
FF– (FUN-fact) – Aconcagua is the tallest peak in all of the Americas at 6962 meters.
Not so FF – You can’t see the Andes from Santiago because of all the smog.
Parque General San Martín
WOW Word-Of-the-Week #447: Dream
February 27, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on WOW Word-Of-the-Week #447: Dream
Dream – an achievement that is longed for; an aspiration.
What achievements have you longed for? Is there anything that you aspire to do or be? When you have shared your dreams with others did they support and encourage you?
I had several responses to last week’s WOW on possibilities. And two of them referred to the word dream so I felt it would be perfect to make it this week’s WOW.
Kim responded by writing this, “Re: possibilities. Along with dreaming and taking joy in the possibility of it coming true – I think another major aspect are the doors of opportunity that are opened when one starts to dream, and the joy and adventure of stepping through them. Not all doors lead to the final goal, and usually don’t, but the dismissive people tend to never even see the doors. You don’t have to know how you will get there, but you have to have the insight to step through opportunities to the next. Life isn’t a destination, it is a journey. I like that saying and it reminds me to be joyful in my journey!!”
And Bob wrote this, I’ve always been inspired by what Walt Disney said. “If you can dream it, you can do it!” And my Science of Mind training let’s me see my life and the world as the “infinite field of possibilities.”
I really loved both of these responses and know that the doors will open as long as you are ready for them to. I love talking to people in my travels and telling them what my aspirations are for the future. And I have gotten great ideas to make my travels easier and more enjoyable because like Kim said, “I want to be joyful in my journey.”
This week’s focus is on your dreams. When was the last time you thought about your aspirations? What do you need to help you achieve your dreams? Do you believe that if you can dream it, you can do it?
Reader Responses
“I do believe that if you dream it, you can achieve it. We need to pay better attention to our dreams, because it says something about the mind that allows us to dream or think or envision something in the future. I also agree that we have to go through certain “doors” in our lives in order to get where we want to eventually. It reminds me of something that James Taylor talked about in his “One Man Band” dvd about his trip to London after the breakup of the group The Flying Machine. He had recorded a demo tape, which wound up in the hands of producer Peter Asher. He brought it to George Harrison. When The Beatles heard the demo they signed up James Taylor as the first artist of Apple Records. “I met The Beatles and it was like a door opened to the rest of my life. A lot of times when a door opens, hell is on the other side,” said Taylor. So, we never know what is on the other side of that door, but it comes down to taking advantage of the opportunities presented, and then seeing what comes after that. As long as we keep our eyes on the prize, we will be ok. But many times we can get frustrated in the search for our dreams and be tempted to give up. But it is always darkest at dawn. We never know what tomorrow will bring. So, if we can keep the faith, our dreams – in one form or another – will come true. Believing can be difficult when we can’t see the forest for the trees. I mentioned earlier about our minds and how they can affect how we see the world and our dreams. We need to make better use of our minds so that we can make our dreams come true. We use such a limited portion of our brains and rely instead on computers. Let’s use our brains to the fullest. And more dreams might come true.” – “Warrior” Joe
FUN:travel – Mendoza, Argentina – Day 2
February 27, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Mendoza, Argentina – Day 2
Plaza España
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 23 – Thursday, February 21 – Mendoza, Argentina – overcast, high clouds, cool morning turns clear – low 80’s
- 7:30 – wake up – sleep fitful even w/very quiet room
- 12:00 – walk through town – lots of trees shade the streets & keep you cool – 4 small plazas are equal distance from the grand main plaza
- 1st Plaza Italia – fountain & playground
- 2nd Plaza España – colorful tiled mural walls & used as accents on walkway
- 3rd Plaza San Martin – big statue & water feature
- 4th Plaza Chile – playground
- 5th Plaza Independencia – 4 times the size of the others
- 1:30 – lunch Tomaso Trattoria – mixed salad w/tuna, egg, carrots, tomatoes, onion & putanesca pizza – supposed to be spicy & not
- B – just so-so
Plaza San Martin
- 2:45 – gelato break – best in town @ Sopellsa, corner of Sarmiento & Belgrano – incredible amount of flavors & options
- A – 3:15 – The Vines of Mendoza – wine tasting bar – 20% off w/the map from TI @ airport – nice Malbec (forgot to write it down)
- 4:00 – room R & R siesta
- 6:30 – Chris takes off to find store for snacks & water
- B – “Mendoza Moment” – Chris tripped @ fell – smacked his knee hard & busted his lip
- C – 8:45 taxi to dinner @ 1884 to eat w/cruise buddies Don & Steve – beautiful outside seating on patio – definitely a meat place, they had rib eye & filet VG – we ordered eggplant cannelloni & not VG
Lesson Learned – the sidewalks are uneven & broken up so you have to be very careful walking.
FF – (FUN-fact) – The colonial city of Mendoza was destroyed by earthquakes and was rebuilt and expanded by settlers from Italy and Germany who gave it the airy plazas.
FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
February 27, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina
B & B Plaza Italia
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 22 – Wednesday, February 20– Viña del Mar, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina – warm sunshine, blue skies, cool breeze – low 60’s
- 7:10 – wake up
- B – another horrible night of no sleep
- B – 7:30 – head to Starbuck’s – doesn’t open until 8:00
- B – McDonald’s is open but no cream because McCafe doesn’t open until 8:00
- 11:00 – taxi to Santiago airport takes 90 minutes
- A – we stay @ airport Hilton on way back from Easter Island, plan to drop 2 bags of heavy clothes & coats so we don’t have to schlep & get hit w/outrageous baggage fees
- B – 11:30 – OMG! we are in downtown Santiago
- B – taxi driver has no idea where the hotel is – he is stopping & asking people – he has a phone but doesn’t use it!
- 1:30 – arrive airport for 3:50 flight
- A – airport has tons of shops so you can easily entertain yourself
- C – airport security is great – shoes, laptops, liquids no problema
- C – no baggage police or baggage nazi’s @ LAN in Santiago (unike Ecuador & Peru last year)
- B – 3:50 – flight delayed
Downtown
- B – we lost our jetway & now have to take a bus & schlep our bags up & down stairs
- A – flying in, clouds are so thick & packed together in some spots, they look like heads of cauliflower at the market
- A – blue skies for the Andes, incredible & see snow capped volcano
- 5:00 – arrive Mendoza
Plaza Italia
- B – Argentina makes you scan all bags when leaving the airport
- B – takes an hour to get through customs
- A – taxi to city costs $10
- 6:30 – arrive B&B Plaza Italia
- A – Javier, son of owner Mercedes, welcomes us & spends 45 minutes telling us about their family home (where we are staying) & where to go in Mendoza & asking what our plans are during stay
- C – fast, free internet
- C – big, quiet room w/our own bathroom
- 7:30 – dinner Azafran recommended by Javier – 1st salmon tartar on bed of thinly sliced cucumbers topped w/guacamole & plantain chips – 2nd arugula salad w/guacamole between 2 thin wafers of fried provolone & grilled shrimp, citrus vinaigrette – 3rd quinoa crusted chicken breast stuffed w/ricotta goat cheese, topped w/buffalo mozzarella, spinach cream sauce, crispy fried carrots & eggplant rolls – bottle Monteagrelo Malbec , $38 – total dinner $90 & VG!
Lessons Learned – don’t get out of bed before 8:00 if you want a good cup of coffee. Pad extra travel time for less stress!
FF – (FUN-fact) – Viña del Mar is very clean, has lots of parks, and lots of horse drawn carriages.
Not so FF – Chile is a lot more expensive than Argentina for everything.
Really Good Malbec!
FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile – Day 2
February 25, 2013 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN:travel – Viña del Mar, Chile – Day 2
The ABC’s of Chile
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Day 21 – Tuesday, February 19 – Viña del Mar – more full on sun, blue skies, cool breeze – low 60’s
- B – horrible night – no sleep – noisy even w/double paned windows (I’ve slept @ airport hotels w/ planes taking off all night that were more quiet)
- A – 8:00 walk for really good Americano @ Starbucks
- 10:25 – breakfast of fresh fruit & sandwich for later – guacamole, turkey & cheese
- 12:00 – nice walk along beach boardwalk
- some restaurants & local vendors
- 1:00 – picnic in the park w/sandwiches from breakfast buffet
- A – sand sculpture artists dot the shoreline
- 7:15 – dinner @ Margarita’s – chicken fajitas – not so good – chips, guacamole, black beans, salsa verde, pico de gallo, jalapeno’s make it better
- bottle of wine costs $15 & a cocktail costs $10
Sand Sculpture
Lesson Learned – I live in San Diego so I don’t need to have an ocean view room, however, for a quiet room I would have paid the extra $30 to be off the main street.
Not so FF – (FUN-fact) – Viña del Mar has a large homeless dog population. That means no one is picking up after them and you need to be careful where you step.