My husband Steve is receiving a one-month sabbatical from his company, eBay, to mark his 5-year anniversary. I never thought we would really use it to go on a huge trip like this. But we are, and next Tuesday (November 6th) we leave for Argentina. My in-laws, who have lived in Michigan for most of their adult lives, are originally from Buenos Aires. Before I met them, my knowledge of Argentina was strictly based on information received from Andrew Lloyd Webber.
So when Steve and originally spoke of going to Argentina for a month, this is what I had in mind: A castle in the middle of nowhere, wine, ducle de leche, learning Spanish, and of course, una vaca por día. But what has emerged is, for us, a true adventure. I have the snow jackets packed, the Dramamine, the computer and the international cell phones are ready. Our son is prepped to try a new school, and my husband promised me that he plans speak Spanish out loud (he understands it very well, but, he is a quiet one).
So here we go:
- 6-7 November 2007: In flight Arrive in Buenos Aires, American Airlines from San José, California via Dallas. Erin immediately heads to Freddo, the local ice cream chain.
- 8 November 2007: Buenos Aires, dinner with Steve’s grad school buddy Marcos
- 9 November 2007: Buenos Aires, dinner with family friends
- 10-16 November 2007: Mendoza, Wine Country
- 11 November 2007: Start Spanish classes: Intercultural. Francisco starts preschool in local “Jardín Infantíl”
- 16 November 2007: Leave for Bariloche and the Lake District, 1st real splurge: 1 night at the Llao Llao Hotel and Resort thanks to Steve
- 17 November 2007: Move in with host family
- 18-23 November 2007: Start classes at La Montaña, Francisco starts at local preschool
- 23-24 November 2007: El Calafate, Interior Patagonia and the Perito Moreno Glacier
- 25-27 November 2007: Trelew, Coastal Patagonia and with luck, Punta Tombo
- 28-30 November 2007: Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego (to truly appreciate this, one needs to imagine my mother-in-law, collapsed on her kitchen floor in Michigan. As soon as she reads this, she will clutch her chest in desperation and cry, “Where are they taking my beloved grandson!”). Of note, she is actually from Argentina, but she is a big city, porteña girl.
- 1-6 December 2007: Buenos Aires
- 7-8 December 2007: Fly home to San José via Dallas
- 9 December 2007: Begin intensive training program to work off diet of ice cream, meat and red wine.
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