Parents Visit

This entry really takes place Nov 10-14. Aviatur picked up Mom and Dad at the airport and we met up at their hotel, a three-minute cardiac experience from my apartment. That is to say, there's a steep grade on the hill between the Stellar Jones Suites and where I live. The next morning, they toured the Gold Museum while I taught classes. Then we met up for a tour of the Candelaria. This is where the city of Bogota originated before it spread out to become the 30th largest land-area city in the world, hosting 8,500,00 people at about 8,600 feet above sea level. That night we had steak at La Biferia.


Friday morning Mom and Dad saw the home of Simon Bolivar, which I'll have to get to one of these days. Then we went to the leather district. This was definitely a highlight of the trip. There is store after store of leather jackets, hats, pursues, wallets, etc, and they bargain just a bit. Once you hear the price it's then less money in cash (since they don't have to pay Mastercard), but also we often said "Tal vez vamos a mirar mas." (Maybe we're going to look around more.) We were able to communicate with just enough Spanish that it was clear Dad wanted a warm coat with some style to it. The first store price was 380,000 pesos ($195) and by the time we had worked our way down the block, it was down to 210,000 pesos ($110)... and when I say working our way down the block, we really did. Each store thought they could figure out what Dad wanted. So they often sent someone next door or down the block, even across the street, to bring back something they thought they could sell! My purchase of a Newsies-style hat that matches my brown jacket from Men's Wearhouse in Arlington Heights gets an honorable mention.


We spent Happy Hour at the Embassy Suites listening to a great jazz/pop duo and chatting with some colleagues. Our crowd included Janis Heigl and Jim Short, two math consultants who happened to be in town from Oregon and California, respectively, as well as my friend Karlita who was on the Medellin trip in 2008. Carlee and Guillo came out as well. We decided to stay in for dinner, ordering Bob's pizza (yes, it's actually called that -- I'm pretty sure they're not native Colombians owners!) and playing some Bananagrams.


Mom and Dad went to services on Saturday morning and then we met up for the Botanic Gardens. It was rainy but still a good experience. Then we had lunch at La Hamburgueseria, henceforth known as the only place in Bogota that I really wish to grab a hamburger. YUM! There bathroom doors are pretty funny.

  

Later, dinner was at Casa Vieja. Not only is their food traditional Colombian, it was among the best food I've had since I've been here. Dad and I did some beer tasting back at their hotel to wrap up the night. Note to self: don't bother with the light beers in a beer tasting next time!

Sunday we hung around the airport's Juan Valdez before they headed off through security for the plane ride home. Apparently that was an interesting experience (which Mom can explain better). Thanks for the visit!