More Fun in Santiago

We went back over to the Parque Metropolitano today because we wanted to see the Japanese Garden and the Mapulemu Garden of native plants. The first turned out to be closed for renovations, but we got a nice hike out of it. And when we had seen the second, we popped over to the Gabriela Mistral playground, which we loved so much yesterday. It was even more fun today because we had it almost entirely to ourselves. On our way back to the apartment, we walked by the impressive U.S. Embassy to get an idea of possible future work environs. We were amazed at how large it was and at all the security. Once we were back at the apartment, we watched England pull out a miraculous World Cup victory over Columbia. And this evening, we caught an Uber over to Barrio Italia, which has some fun and interesting shops and restaurants. We wandered through several of the shops, bought some painted chocolates at a little chocolate kiosk, had a wonderful dinner at Bar Italia, and grabbed some ice cream at Nahia before heading back to our apartment. It was a lovely day!

Jardín Mapulemu

Gabriela Mistral Playground

U.S. Embassy

Barrio Italia

Friends and Fun in Lima

One of the things Jeff has been working on as part of the process to become a diplomat is being able to show fluency in Spanish. So, he has been working with a few tutors on italki. There is one tutor he has been meeting with consistently for months. She is Venezuelan, but she lives in Lima, and it was a privilege for  us to meet up with her and her family for a day of fun. We met at a lovely park (Parque Maria Reiche) where much of the landscaping is designed to look like the Nazca drawings. Eventually, we all headed out to grab some lunch in a small, local restaurant with delicious food. After lunch, we decided to Uber into the city center to see the Circuito Magico del Agua, an impressive display of fountains and flowers in the Parque de Reserva. It was a wonderful day, and we had so much fun! Interestingly, in the course of our conversation, we found out that Ruth's italki Spanish tutor, who is Venezuelan but lives in Argentina, is the cousin of the husband of Jeff's tutor. It's such a small world! When we had said "Adios" to our friends, we headed back to our apartment for dinner. After dinner, Jeff and I went for a walk along the malecon, while the kids opted to stay at the apartment reading and playing games. Our walk took us through a large, fancy shopping area, where we popped in to a restaurant overlooking the ocean called "Popular" for pisco sours. Unexpectedly, we also ordered a dessert called "Ponderacion." We ordered it simply because of the vague description on the menu, thinking it would be a fun surprise, which it definitely was.

Nazca lines landscaping

Wheat tea (or something similar),
which was served with our lunch

Circuito Mágico del Agua

Water Tunnel
(Just before this picture was taken,
my oldest son ran his hand along
 the outside of the fountain, 
causing the water to fall inward 
and effectively soaking us
 and also causing the
attendant to blow his whistle!
I did not kill the child, but he
had better produce an
 amazing Mother's Day gift!)

Gardens at Parque de Reserva

Other diversions at Parque de Reserva

A fun day with friends!

Date night at Popular

Day Five in D.C.

After a leisurely morning, we headed over to Mt. Vernon to learn more about America's first president. The property was absolutely beautiful, and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the mansion and exploring the grounds and outbuildings.

Washington's Home

The grounds at Mt. Vernon were gorgeous!

George Washington had terrible teeth and had to have
several sets of dentures made. He was self-conscious of this,
which is one reason he always looks so serious in portraits.

The swearing in ceremony

A meeting of the great minds

From there, we made our way to Old Town Alexandria for a late lunch at Virtue Feed and Grain. The food was delicious, and the little town was lovely!

Virtue Feed and Grain in Old Town Alexandria

Weston's lobster pot pie

Our next stop was Arlington Cemetery, and truly I have no words. It completely took my breath away, and I walked around with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes the entire time we were there. We were just in time to observe the last changing of the guard for the day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was a beautiful and moving thing to behold.

So incredibly thankful for the sacrifice of these brave souls

The changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Finally, we stopped to pick up "dinner" at Dangerously Delicious Pies and Coffee. I would not really recommend having chocolate pecan pie for dinner every night, but sometimes when you're on vacation, you've just got to go with what feels right.

Dinner

Day Two in D.C.

We did lots of fun things today. First, we visited the National Gallery of Art, which Clay especially loved. After seeing all kinds of art and completing Clay's self-assigned scavenger hunt, we had a picnic in the museum's sculpture garden. Then we made our way over to the National Archives Building, so we could view the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Magna Carta. We also visited the International Spy Museum and later got caught up in a real life police chase on the way back to our apartment. This evening, we had dinner at Capitol City Brewing Company and then stopped in at Dolcezza Gelato and Coffee for an after-dinner treat.

Beautiful entrance at the National Gallery of Art

I loved doing Clay's art scavenger hunt with him!

Feeling the "amor" in the sculpture garden

Having a rockin' good time

The National Archives Building

Ninjas at the International Spy Museum

Salted caramel/Thai coconut milk gelato

Day One in D.C.

We arrived in Washington D.C. late last night and spent today exploring. We walked along the National Mall and enjoyed seeing the capitol and many of the monuments. We also loved seeing the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court building. And, we had a chance encounter with Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," which is a book several of us have read and enjoyed. We also spent time in the Air and Space Museum, the Conservatory, and the Sculpture Garden. We ended the day with our annual "Average Birthday Party," which we always celebrate at a Brazilian steakhouse on the average of all the November birthdays and half-birthdays. Technically, the party should have been yesterday, but it just wasn't possible with our travel schedule. It was an amazing day, and we are already looking forward to what tomorrow holds!

Kids at the Capitol

Looking down the Mall

The Reading Room in the Library of Congress

Perfect Picnic

Supreme Court Building

Michael Pollan pontificating at the capitol

Clay found a friend in the Conservatory

Checking out a model of an aircraft carrier in
the Air and Space Museum

Clay thoroughly enjoyed the Sculpture Garden

Washington Monument

A peek at the White House

Looking toward the Lincoln Memorial

What Max has been looking forward to the most

Average Birthday Party at Texas de Brazil

Exploring Banff

We spent the day in and around Banff and had a wonderful time. We started with the breakfast buffet at Crave Mountain Grill and then rode the bus to Bow Falls. From there, we did a mini hike back into town, where we stopped in at Cascade Gardens. Then, we spent some time at a nearby playground before heading over to the Cave and Basin. After that, everyone claimed to be starving, so we took the bus back over to the center of town and popped into Banff Ave. Brewing Co. for a late lunch. Eventually, we moseyed over to the Banff Park Museum to have a look around. The younger boys were thrilled to get a scavenger hunt to complete while we were there. Finally, we visited another playground, with the hopes of expending the last of our energy before heading back to our campground. Banff is an absolutely gorgeous place and is essentially one big hiking trail. And, with the lovely weather at this time of year, we enjoyed exploring the area very much and wish we could stay longer.

Sasquatch

Bow Falls

Cascade Gardens

Beautiful Banff

Sweet hiking buddies

Cave and Basin

The railroad comes to Canada

Workin' on the railroad

Banff Park Museum

Fire in the sky