We've arrived in Texas after a series of flight delays with kitties in hand. We are adjusting to the humidity, oxygen, and Cubanera well. We took a quick trip to San Antonio to visit our OBGYN and the baby is head down and doing well. Spring is in the air as my sneezing can attest but at least we are able to enjoy Texas' spring wildflowers. More pics to come...
With all the goodies we have been eating lately, we were in need of some exercise. A beautiful day for a hike along McKinney Falls where we got to enjoy some fall colors. A video of Vince sketching the landscape.
http://svelazquez.smugmug.com/XMAS2013/Austin/McKinneyFalls/i-VBTngBg/A
Below are some pictures. To view the entire album click here.
Michelle landed a job at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center as part of the Ecosystem Design Group at the University of Texas at Austin. As part of her work, she does prescribed fires for research and to inform restoration and regenerative practices. The fields for their research contain a plethora of Juniperus ashei -- a perfect specimen for a Christmas tree. With approval from her office, Vince, Michelle, Suzan, Julia, and I headed out to the Lady Bird Wildflower Center in search of a Christmas Tree. Afterwards we treated ourselves to some Texas BBQ at Salt Lick and then Julia made her very special snickerdoodles!
Below are some pictures of our adventure. To view the entire album click here.
Today Julia, Suzan, and I took advantage of Parque Metropolitano, a park in Quito roughly 10 minutes away - no traffic what so ever! The park has some nice views of Quito and Cumbaya and is large enough to get away from the crowds. A lot of folks walk their dogs here so if people/dog watching is of interest, this is the place. At one point we even saw a cow grazing underneath the native eucalyptus trees.
We purchased a new used 2010 Honda CR-V and decided to take her out on a little road trip to Thomas, West Virginia. Roughly an hour in, we veered somewhat off route to hit one of our favorite sandwich shops, Forlano's Market in Plains, VA where they have a delicious BLT sandwich. It's really a bacon sandwich. With satisfied bellies, we took the scenic route to Thomas, a drive filled with beautiful views of the West Virginia farmlands and mountains to include Seneca Rocks. We just love spending weekends in Thomas - we saw a great band,The Spring Standards, at the Purple Fiddle, hiked Douglas Falls, swam in a local swimming hole along the Dry Fork river, and more importantly spent time catching up with John, Julia's brother. All in all it was a great trip one where we could enjoy one of America's beautiful outdoors before heading to Quito.
To view the entire album click here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75SJiRcOmbs
Congratulations, Michelle, on completing your masters degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Texas Austin School of Architecture. We had a great time celebrating your accomplishment last weekend in Austin. One thing is for sure, we are going to have to get used to the heat and humidity when we travel to Texas and DC this summer. To view the entire album click here.
As our tour in Mexico is coming to an end, we took one final trip with the Mexi-crew to Baja California Sur. A world of contrasts, BCS is beautiful and we were lucky to share it with great friends whom we will miss immensely. The Casa Blanca was our beautiful home at Punta Pescadero, and from there we took a day trip to La Paz and then Isla Espiritu Santo for snorkeling with sea lions and kayaking. Our adventurous fisher-friends took a day trip fishing in the Sea of Cortez. While it was our last trip in Mexico during our tour, it is certainly not our last trip to BCS. To view the entire album click here.
Click here to view our video from Isla Espiritu Santo.
And finally, click here for our Kayaking video in Isla Espiritu Santo
I had been wanting to go to Paso De Cortes ever since hearing about it in a documentary. It is a mountain pass between Popocatépetl and Ixtaccíhuatl volcanoes, roughly 11,000 feet above sea level, and the path through which Herman Cortes and his army marched to Mexico City. Julia and I with some friends headed to Parque Nacional Izta-Popo for a hike, picnic, and of course to take some photos. Roughly 2 hours from Mexico City, we arrived at Paso De Cortez and the entrance to the park. The view of Popocatépetl spewing smoke, as it is still active, was amazing. After entering the park, we drove north on a dirt road to La Joya where we parked and began hiking at roughly 11,857 feet. Once we reached 13,235, we decided to turn back to give our lungs a break. The park provided a great escape from the city life. To view the entire album click here.
Julia, Suzan, and I took a trip to San Crisotbal de las Casas in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. We stayed at Parador Margarita, a charming inn not far from the Zocalo. The service and breakfast were fantastic. Our first stop was Sumidero Canyon which was simply amazing. For me it was the sharp rise of the ocean floor as the river cuts through the mountains exposing the extremely slanted layers of limestone that was most impressionable. The air unfortunately was a little hazy due to the farmers burning their fields. The next couple of days were spent exploring San Cristobal and its markets where locals sell their handmade stuffed animals. We found a some great restaurants especially Comida Thai. How we craved Thai food! On the last day we drove to Chamula de Chiapa, an indigenous village in the mountains. To view the entire album click here.
I finally got a chance to see Suzan's beautiful place in San Miguel during the Easter weekend. The views are amazing! To view the entire album click here.
The last time Julia and I visited Riviera Maya was back in 2006 and my has it changed. This time we stayed at Maykoba and while it was set back from the beach, the room was private and our balcony oversaw what to us appeared like a jungle. We saw all sorts of birds and heard the clean wind blowing through the trees. A much needed break from the city life. Seven years ago we visited Akumal and we were literally the only ones there and after snorkeling we had lunch at a tiny fish shack. This time, however, there were a lot of tourists and a plethora of restaurants unfortunately priced for the tourist. We snorkeled and saw plenty of fish and were able to swim with the turtles again. This was my first time filming underwater with my GoPro so the video is not perfect by any means. We also re visited Dos Ojos Cenote and again it was a bit more packed with tourists. The cenote was still fantastic and I would highly recommend visiting any of the cenotes in the Yucatan.
Below are some links to our videos. Akumal - A compilation of esnorkeling videosDos Ojos Cenote - Julia and I esnorkeling basically...Dos Ojos Cenote - Another video of Julia and I snorkelingDos Ojos Cenote - Snorkeling above scuba divers
To view our album click here.
We took advantage of the long Superbowl weekend by grabbing a number of friends from Mexico City and heading to the slopes in Park City, Utah. The Mexi-crew enjoyed some good American cooking, slope-time, hot-tub time, shopping, a sleigh ride, and cigars. And then it was back to the tacos... Videos can be seen at: ParkCity Video #1ParkCity Video #2 (Viejo Tiene Tumbao)
Our second stop in Italy was Positano on the Amalfi coast. We spent 3 days climbing up and down the stairs of the town (sweaty!), swimming in the Mediterranean Sea, and watching helicopters and planes drop water on the forest fires raging above the town. We closed this portion of the trip with a memorable sunset dinner at Le Sirenuse restaurant.
Volare oh oh Cantare oh oh oh oh Nel blu dipinto di blu felice di stare lassu
To view the Positano photo album, click here!
For our R&R we took a trip to Italy - first stop, Tuscany. We stayed just outside of Montepulciano at the Ortaglia B&B perfect with a great view of the town on the hill and surrounding vineyards. To view the entire photo album from our trip, click here.
Terenzio and Mara were fantastic hosts. Terenzio has a wealth of knowledge of Tuscany and its history and we enjoyed exploring the area each day and relaxing by the pool in the afternoons. He explained why many of the towns were atop the hills to better defend attackes from the barbarians. He also showed us various towns many of which were along the path for pilgrims from the north enroute to Rome. Most of the pilgrims stayed in ospedales (overnight hospitality centers where travelers stayed inside city walls for protection). Towns visited were Castello di Vignoni Alto, Bagno Vignoni, Abbey of Sant'Antimo, Montalcino, San Quirico d'Orcia, Pienza, Cortona, Castiglione del Lago, Siena, Montepulciano, and Orvieto.
We also took 3 cooking classes most of which were hosted by Mara, who showed off her impressive culinary skills and taught us about real Tuscan cooking. For starters, the Italian sofrito begins with olive oil, onion, carrots, and celery. She showed us how to make pici (homemade pasta typically with just flour and water but we added just one egg) with Sugo All'aglione (garlic sauce which is the traditional sauce for the pici in the territory of Montepulciano). Julia and I believe we have the consistency of the dough right and can't wait to try to make it on our own. We learned to make Pappa Al Pomodoro and an easy technique for peeling tomatoes which is to simply drop the tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds. Among other recipes we made were Scaloppine Al Limon, Zucchine Trifolate, Peperoni con Capperi and Scottiglia (Combination of mixed meats).
Finally, we also got to enjoy some of the areas finest wines including Brunello de Montalcino and Nobile de Montepulciano.
Our trip to Texas was intended for furniture shopping but instead became a fantastic long weekend to catch up with friends and family. Oh yea...and let's not forget the food! Many thanks to Lisa and Andrew for meeting up with us for brunch and Sangrias at Picnikins. To Michelle and Vince for hosting us in Austin, taking us to a fantastic Thai restaurant (2 thai peppers!), and giving us some good ole fashioned Texas BBQ! To Allen, Aixa, Aleina, and Ailani for taking us to Joe's Crab Shack for some great crab legs and then spending the afternoon chillin' in your backyard patio. Flights to San Antonio are very reasonable from here so we definitely look forward to paying you another visit! :) To view the entire album click here.
Julia and I along with some friends headed over to Puerto Escondido for surfing over Semana Santa! I must say that Julia did a great job surfing - easily stood up and rode the waves with great balance. Unfortunately no pictures of us surfing as I did not want to bring the camera and leave it on the beach. But I did get some shots of the ocean, our place, and a sunset.
Julia and I drove up to visit Suzan in San Miguel de Allende, a picturesque town with cobble stone streets, narrow alleys, and colorful painted buildings. This town attracts a very large number of foreign retirees, artists, writers, and tourists. San Miguel de Allende hosts many art galleries and excellent restaurants. We stayed at the Casa de la Noche, formerly a bordello but now a charming Bed & Breakfast conveniently located near the center of town. To view the entire album, click here.
After a busy work week we decided for a little pampering at an all inclusive hotel in Cancun. Our first all inclusive. The fish tacos, ceviche, and tuna tartar were delicious and although the sun was potent the ocean temperature was just right! Some pics...
When visiting my family in McAllen, we always stop by Delia's for some tasty tamales.
Upon arriving we are greeted at the door by an armed Constable who politely asked us if we pre-ordered our tamales. If not, he would have asked us to leave. We then wait in line to confirm our order.
After confirmation of our order, we were then instructed to go to station 2 where they wrote the types of tamales on our bags.
With bags in hand we were then instructed to go to yet another station where the tamales are placed in their respective bags.
Such an orderly process to get tamales cause lord knows during Christmas time in the valley, Delia's tamales are a hot commodity. Fights have been known to break out. More pictures of her tamales a bit later!
Julia and I spent a fabulous 4 days in Asheville, NC for Stephan and Eileen's wedding. We were grateful to have shared in this cool couple's exchange of vows. We wish them all the happiness in the years to come. We also took the opportunity to enjoy a seasonal escape to the Blue Ridge in the fall. We stayed at the Carolina, a great B&B in Asheville. Hosts James and Susan prepared magnificent meals and provided expert advice. We shopped, we hiked, and we took pictures. And pictures. And pictures.
Enjoy!
To view the entire album please click here.
