Frankfurt & Hamburg, Germany.

Long time no post - life has been such a whirlwind since I got back from Chile! Almost as soon as I took off, however, I found myself flying to Germany with a girlfriend. This was the Eurotrip that was originally supposed to be the SoutheastAsiatrip. After a chain of unforeseen events though, my good friend Jenn who studied abroad with me last summer in Madrid, decided we would head to Europe for two weeks with nothing but a backpack slung over our shoulders. Our first destination was Frankfurt, Germany, where we met up with one of her good German friends, Fabian. Funnily enough, Fabian had actually studied abroad in Fresno a few years back, which is where he met Jenn. Now that we were in his home turf, it was his turn to show us around.

A boat selling kebaps right on the river

Frankfurt is considered the financial district of Germany, and though its "skyscrapers" pale in comparison to those of Manhattan, the skyline over Frankfurt Main (a major river through the city) is still a pleasant view, as families and young people gather by the river for conversation over a few beers.

The view of the city skyline from Frankfurt Main, where people exercise or just hang out

Unfortunately, Frankfurt isn't much more than the economic hub of the country, and so other than meeting up with Fabian and his girlfriend, we did not have any other plans for the city. We probably could have gone to see the largest stock exchange in the European Union, but instead we decided to take the train to Hamburg the day after instead. Hamburg, we had heard, was one of the most bustling cities in Germany with an uncomparable nightlife. Too bad that the day we got there happened to be right after a long weekend, so it was pretty silent. As Jenn liked to tell everyone who asked about Hamburg, "We'd walk for blocks and not see a single soul." In spite of this, however, I liked Hamburg - it's harbor gave me the feeling that I was in a European version of Boston.

The Hamburg harbor

Hamburg Rathaus, the city or town hall

Mendoza, Argentina.

It's strange to think that it has now been close to two months since the big earthquake that rocked the country. Like I tell everyone back home, the damage they see in the media is not what we have here in Santiago - we're further from the epicenter and things have been much more mellow. A lot of help is still needed south in the 7th and 8th regions of Chile, but Santiago has since returned to normal, or as normal as we can get, post-earthquake. Since then though, I've moved apartments, started my internship, and have just been keeping busy enjoying my last months and weeks in Santiago. Now, I have less than a week left here in Santiago, and I am sad to leave. At first, I was so excited at the thought of finally going home to see friends and family, but now that I'm starting the "Last time [insert action here] in Chile..." for some things, it's starting to hit me that I'm going to have a hard time adjusting to life back home stateside come Saturday.

With two of my coworkers from my internship this semester

Another wine tour at Viña Undurraga - there's been a lot of vino visits in the past 6 weeks :)

On a lighter note, my friends Steven and Spencer flew into Chile during their spring break at the end of March to visit. We spent the first several days sightseeing through the city, before leaving Sunday night to go to Mendoza, Argentina, otherwise known as The Trip That Almost Wasn't. Why is that, you ask? Because right as we were about to board our bus, we realized Steven had forgotten his tourist card, a dinky little slip of paper that tourists have to carry around when traveling. We were about to grab our bags and go home, not knowing if we could get another bus or even a refund, when Steven finally found it. Insert hallelujah music here.

Posing with the guards at el Palacio la Moneda

In front of the palace, which is where the president used to live, but now only works there

Our trip to Mendoza was really relaxed - I guess the copious amounts of red wine we consumed helped there, haha! Our first full day we overslept after a gnarly bus ride from Santiago to Mendoza, so we wandered around Mendoza, eating ourselves into a food coma at a buffet and later indulging in some Argentinian alfajores, a chocolate-covered, cookie sandwich-esque. That night, while we were still trying to walk off our food babies, we were approached by a local news reporter for some kind of contest going on. Apparently, they were having a soccer shoot out - if you scored, you would win an official Argentinian national soccer team jersey. Steven and Spencer were apprehensive at first, so we just hung in the back watching. We were about to turn away when we heard the reporter announce, "And, we also have international participants!" Oh boy. We volunteered Spencer to take one for the team. He missed, but the crowd was nice enough to let him try a second time. Fail again. But it wasn't our fault that the goalie was even bigger than the actual goal! We knew Spencer'd made it big the day after when we were approached by a local who got excited at seeing Spencer because he recognized him from TV the night before, haha!

Being harrassed in Plaza Independencia near our hostel by Steven even though I took care of him the whole time

Being interviewed by the local news channel, who had to make it a point that Steven was from California, although his parents are from Vietnam

Our second day was of course the famous Bikes and Wines tour. After a little bit of hassling at the bus stop from various bike rental stores, we finally got on our way. We ended up stopping at the same vineyards that I had visited on my last trip, but this time we actually got wine. For a small fee, one of the vineyards was willing to deliver our wine to our hostel, so that we wouldn't have to ride around clumsily drunk with over six bottles of vino.

On our way to our first winery

Who knew that being friends in ASB in junior high would equate to spring breaks in South America together almost a decade later?

Steven and Spencer left for Viña del Mar and Valparaíso on their own after we got back into Santiago because I couldn't miss any more days of work, but we were able to hang out after they got back! Overall, it was great to see some familiar faces after being away from home for so long! 

A visit to Concha y Toro's vineyards in Santiago was the last hurrah before the boys took off

Us at the airport that's now full of makeshift tents because of damage to their terminals from the earthquake

Rosario, Córdoba y Mendoza, Argentina.

Our last three stops were jumbled together in five days, as we sped through Rosario, Córdoba, and Mendoza. Rosario reminded me of Buenos Aires in the way that it still felt city-like, but it obviously was not as rowdy or bustling, so it had a much calmer atmosphere. Tasha and I rented bikes in Rosario to get a better feel for the city, as it was one of those places where it was too big to walk everywhere, but it would have been too expensive to take a cab to get a look around. Fun fact: Rosario is the birthplace of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, so we tried to find his former home, but it looks like it's been converted into a hostel now, which is rightfully named Hostel Che Guevara.

Out on the town with my rented bici overlooking the water and a barco

In front of the Monumental Nacional a la Bandera, which at night is lit up to resemble the flag of Argentina

Our second to last Argentinian city was Córdoba which had the second largest population in the country after Buenos Aires. New Years was relatively mellow as we ended up going out with some of our fellow hostel mates, but not much was going on nightlife wise because, as we found out later, this holiday is much more family-oriented than for us in the United States, where most of us tend to celebrate more with friends. Once the holiday was over, the city picked up again and we got on board to go on a horseback ride. Our tour guide Nico was extremely friendly and eager to ask us questions about life in the United States. We rode for three hours in the shadeless sun, which was followed by a typical Argentinian asado, or barbecue. So. Much. Meat.

I wish I remembered the name of my horse! :(

Our horseback riding pit stop at a statue of a mother with her children

Finally, we eventually got ourselves to Mendoza, one of the places I was looking forward to the most not only because I'd heard such awesome things from my friends who had gone before, but also because I was excited to get home and put on a clean outfit and take a nice shower. Three weeks of nonstop road travel will do that to you! The one thing that I couldn't stand was my bunk in our hostel: I was at the top of a THREE-person bunk. I had to be especially careful when climbing up at night, and that was without any consumption of any alcoholic beverages. Our Mendozan escapades began with a rafting trip down Río Mendoza, which in retrospect, should really be named Río Leche Chocolate, because that's exactly what the water looked like: chocolate milk. Our river guide, though at first skeptical of our Spanish, was soon impressed by Tasha's rafting, as she's a guide back home as well. He knew right from the get go that he had an expert in the boat. No trip to Mendoza would be complete without a visit to the vineyards, as Mendoza is the stomping ground for a huge number of Argentinian-produced wines. We took a local bus out to Maipú where we then rented bikes and proceeded to follow a map of the nearby wineries provided to us by Mr. Hugo, an icon in the bikes and wines industry.

Bikes are so common to visit the wineries they have their own "parking lot"

Getting a glimpse of actual grapes, something I couldn't do when I visited Concha y Toro in Santiago because of the time of the year

We stopped for lunch at one of the first wineries we passed, exhausted and famished. With a quick introduction to the different varietals available, we finished and continued on, moving to two other wineries to try torrent and malbec, two more unusual varietals that aren't quite your merlot or cabernet sauvignon.

A sampling of some of the Mendocino wines

An awesome trip. Not just Mendoza, but this entire Argentinian experience. I already can't wait to go back! And this is what they'll say when I return:

"Welcome," but with a play on words, "bebidos" being "drinks"

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Buenos Aires, people, makes you forget you are in South America completely. Well, until you realize everyone is speaking Spanish. Before arriving, I only associated the metropolis with several things: steak, tango, and an aura of Europe. And it was all true. The architecture reminded me of my time spent in Spain and even the way Argentinians speak Spanish seems to have an Italian lull. After arriving in our hostel, Tasha and I shot ourselves over to a nearby steak joint where we were overwhelmed by a huge steak for a price tag that doesn't quite seem to measure up. The first two days were relatively mellow due to the Christmas holiday, when everything seemed to shut down. Tasha and I kicked off our very merry Christmas by walking over to a cemetery where we initially thought was where Evita Perón (the former Argentinian first lady immortalized by Madonna) was buried, but it turned out we were in the wrong one. The day was concluded with a screening of "2012," which ironically was about the end of the world. Cemetery and "2012" on Christmas day? Uh, happy birthday, Jesus!

A huge steak and fries for around $10 - what a steal

Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the widest streets in the world - this is just one way!

Some of the tombs in the cemetery we accidentally thought we'd find Evita Perón

The next day started the rest of our major Buenos Aires sight seeing as my friend Michael, who had studied abroad in Buenos Aires before, flew into town en route to a community service project in Bolivia. We were able to see a lot of the big tourist haunts without completely looking like tourists, since Michael led us around more discreetly. In Recoleta, we spent an afternoon in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, passed by a large artisan fair, and saw la Floralis Generica, a huge steel sculpture of a flower.

Taking the metro (or "subte," as it's called in Buenos Aires) around

La Floralis Generica, a giant metal sunflower that opens and closes in the morning and at night

After staying out much too late that night, we somehow found it in us to get up and explore the city a little more, starting with la Casa Rosada, or the presidential offices. Closeby in walking distance was the San Telmo artisan market (in case you haven't quite caught on, handmade crafts are a big thing in South America), where we made our way through a sea of people ogling at woven bracelets and flattened glassware, streetside tango performances, and a local market. Our last daytime stop was the neighborhood La Boca - not recommended after the sun sets! That neighborhood was a reminder of the huge Italian influence in Argentina, with lots of tango, pasta, and pizza with buildings in color schemes that would never be approved by any homeowners' association back in Irvine.

La Casa Rosada - literally, the pink house! What's not to like about that?

Probably the one empty street we saw in San Telmo, truly a rare sight

The first time we took this, our photographer didn't realize we wanted the building - the epitome of La Boca - in the back =/

Tasha and I ended our Buenos Aires trip with a rowdy drum concert held every Monday - although we couldn't quite find it at first, we eventually found our way to the dinky little venue where we were openly offered happy brownies and space cakes while in line. Hahaha! The night concluded with a midnight steak dinner (should I then call it starting the morning then?), with Tasha and I getting ready to make our next Argentinian stop in Rosario and Michael and two of his friends staying in Buenos Aires a little longer before embarking on a 60-hour bus ride to Bolivia. Seriously though, after 24 hours, it just seems to all be the same: LONG.

Bariloche y El Bolsón, Argentina.

I will say right now for the record that I have never been a fan of chocolate. Never liked it, never will. Then I went to Bariloche and it changed my life - for the four days I was there. All of a sudden, I was resisting the stuff like it was my job: it took every ounce of self-control not to buy out the every chocolate shop that was present.

Overlooking the lake in Bariloche

After a grueling 36-hour (that's right, count 'em- 36) bus ride from El Chaltén, Tasha and I made it to Bariloche, Argentina in the lakes district. Having arrived right before the holidays, the city was transformed into a winter wonderland and the cold weather actually made us feel right at home, considering we were drowning in heat elsewhere in the continent. Although in retrospect, feeling at home wasn't ideal as this was the first time either of us was skipping out on Christmas or New Year's. Our stay in Bariloche was mainly to relax and recuperate from the grueling Patagonia trip we'd taken, so we stayed to mingle, hang out, and just take some time for ourselves before trekking out to Buenos Aires before Christmas Eve. There was a lot of chocolate consumption and errand running.

According to this guy, there are only 3 things in life: women, chocolate, and the asado (South American barbecue)

Right before leaving for Buenos Aires, we took a day trip out to El Bolsón, a very hippie-esque and bohemian town about 2 hours out of Bariloche, most famous for a giant artesan market they hold every several days. After exploring the wares, we took a quick bus ride out to the El Bolsón brewery, where a huge line of artisanal beers are produced. There were the typical flavors like a stout, a blonde, and a nutty red, but we also saw some unusual ones like cherry, blackberry, and chili pepper.

Very Lord of the Rings-y tree in El Bolsón

Jauja, the famous ice cream shop in El Bolsón where we somehow snagged a free sweet treat - it was like Christmas came early!

Just a sampling of the available products at the El Bolsón brewery

Both towns were so accommodating and welcome that we knew right off the bat that we were definitely going to be big fans of Argentina.

Patagonia, Chile & Argentina.

Between my two semesters, I had a four week long winter vacation (or "summer," here, really). Instead of going home, I decided to stay in South America, where I traveled for almost the entire month. My first week was spent in Patagonia, the southernmost region of Chile that is also shared with Argentina. With my friend Tasha, who would soon become my partner in crime for the rest of the trip, we flew out of Santiago into Punta Arenas, then headed to Puerto Natales, the town closest to Parque Torres del Paine, the national park where we would be spending 3 days hiking. Tasha and I spent one day in Puerto Natales to just get ourselves prepared for the park, such as renting equipment for camping, grocery shopping for food, and pretty much just figuring out what the heck you do in the park. Torres del Paine is one of those places where you really don't know anything about it until you get down there. Those guidebooks did nothing for us! Two other friends that were already down there were in Argentina when we first got there, so we decided to meet them at a designated location in the park.

A sunset view of Puerto Natales

Hiking along the lake in Parque Torres del Paine on day 1

Hiking through Parque Torres del Paine was, in many ways, so similar to climbing Wayna Picchu in Peru. It was physically demanding and made me want to cry, but so worth it. Three days of nonstop hiking - I covered 65km! - while covered in dirt and sweat would usually not be my idea of fun. This trip was a lot of firsts for me: first time hiking like it was my job, first time backpacking, and first time camping. Yes, camping. I had a couple of close calls but other than that, I knew by the end of the trip that only a couple of days in and this was probably going to be the highlight of my entire winter break. And it was :)

Day 2 in the park was a little cloudier, but gorgeous nonetheless

After going through Torres del Paine, we said goodbye to the two friends we rendezvous'ed with - Andrea and Beth, who had flights to go back to the US - and Tasha and I continued on, crossing the border into El Calafate, Argentina and later to El Chaltén. The big draw to both of those towns is the Perito Moreno glaciar. In El Calafate, I took a boat tour to get up close and personal with the glaciar, even getting to see parts of it break off. El Chaltén is huge with hikers as well, as many travel there to climb the Fitz Roy. Unfortunately, since the two of us were so "hiked out," we did as much as we could but really didn't have it in us to go to the end of the trail.

In front of the glacier in El Calafate

Nature - all around as far as the eye can see in El Chaltén

Cusco, Peru.

Our final major stop in my epic 10-day Peruvian adventures with Grace was in Cusco, where we also happened to spend Thanksgiving (yes, I realize that this post is coming a month and a half after said holiday). Still recuperating from the bus, train, and van rides we had to take from Machu Picchu back to Cusco, our stay in town was much more mellow than the "go, go, go" attitude from the first half of the week. After settling into a hostel on the outskirts of town, we decided to wander the city to look for a place to spend Thanksgiving. Lo and behold, what do we find? A Korean restaurant. The signage was calling out to us like a beacon in the fog. Heading towards it, we sat down to a glorious meal of kimchi jjigae and duenjang jjigae. The server must've thought we were crazy because we were close to tears with everything she brought out: the 보리차, ban chan, and actual food.

Too happy to be here

Before

After

Our time in Cusco was actually very limited because we had to get back to Lima the next afternoon. After our dinner, we explored the city a little more for some nightlife before heading back. The next morning, we lugged our backpacks through Plaza de Armas to get a better look at all the impressive architecture that we couldn't quite view as well because it had been raining the night before.

Cusco en la lluvia

By the time we left, I was only a little disappointed that I hadn't been able to spend more time in Cusco, but after 10 days of nonstop travel, I was ready to go back to the city! Too bad the only thing I had to look forward to in Santiago was a round of finals :(

Cusco's Plaza de Armas in the sunshine