Wednesday, June 28, 2023

It's Like America, But South! Day 12

Even though it was a great day and we did a lot, I don't have a ton to share! After having breakfast at the hotel, we took an uber to the old town section of Bogota and wandered around for most of the day. I didn't take many photos; I was being pretty cautious about not having my phone out and making an obvious show of being a tourist. The area was very busy and I like to play it safe!

The old buildings were beautiful and we did spend quite a bit of time in the public library (we like to visit libraries whenever possible on our travels!) before returning to our hotel. We found a local burger place that had veggie burgers (not always an easy thing to find) not too far from our hotel, and then enjoyed happy hour in the lounge at the hotel (a perk that comes with this room!).


















temperature walking back from dinner...
perfection!


Happy Tails to you!

Tuesday, June 27, 2023

It's Like America, But South! Day 11

Today was another travel day as we left Medellin and arrived in Bogota!


We were up early to pack, then took an uber from our hotel to the airport where we checked our bags and spent some time in the airport lounge relaxing before our flight. We flew on LATAM airlines again and I cannot say enough good things about it. Since our seats were in the premium economy section, we once again had the middle seat between us blocked off, which was great!

Talking about seats, I've seen all sorts of posts over the past couple of months about people who do what we do - book an aisle seat and a window seat, even when there are three seats in the row. As a perk of doing so, am I always hoping the middle seat will be free? Of course. However, many times it isn't and C and I just live with a stranger sitting between us for the duration of the flight. It's not a big deal, as I usually sleep most, if not all, of the flight and we certainly do not talk or try to pass things back and forth across that person in the middle seat! I'd venture a guess that almost one hundred percent of the time, the middle seat occupant doesn't even realize we are together. The behavior of the window and aisle people that's described in those posts is awful, but that is not at all how we act, so we will continue to book the aisle and the window - always hoping for the middle seat to remain unoccupied, but not bothered one bit when someone sits between us! C loves the aisle and I love the window and that's that!




if I didn't sit in the window seat,

I wouldn't have views like this!

When we got to Bogota, we picked up our bags and took an uber to our hotel, which is a Hilton. We arrived at about 1:15, and check in was not until 3:00, so we were planning on dropping off our bags and going to grab some lunch while we waited. We gave the staff our passports and were completing the paperwork, and C and I were being a bit silly with each other and joking around while we stood at the desk. The next thing we knew, we were being told that although the standard room we had booked was not yet ready, the presidential suite was available and they were upgrading us at no charge! I am absolutely convinced that this happened because we came across as friendly and easygoing as we were laughing and chatting to one another. Hotel employees have to deal with demanding and obnoxious guests and we have often found that being kind and patient when checking in has resulted in unexpected room upgrades, extra snacks, free breakfasts, and the like, all because we try not to be THOSE people who make the staff's job harder than it already is. Today was a perfect example of us not expecting the room to be ready because we knew we were early, but having the staff go above and beyond. Treat everyone the way you'd want to be treated!

The room is amazing - so spacious with fabulous views - and in our very limited time here so far, we both really like Bogota. It seems similar to Medellin, but on a larger scale! I'm so happy we didn't just go to Cartagena because I would not have a favorable view of Colombia, but because we've visited two additional cities, I've fallen in love with this country!
















these are little kennels where you can safely leave
your pet while you go into the store!

This evening, we went to the hotel bar to get a drink for a celebratory toast because thirty years ago tonight, we got engaged! It was nice to take a stroll down memory lane because those three decades have simply flown by!

Cheers to us!


Happy Tails to you!

Monday, June 26, 2023

It's Like America, But South! Day 10

Another great day in Medellin!

very happy travelers!


We spent the day exploring, starting at the local mall, which had the craziest kids' play area complete with an enormous ball pit and gigantic inflatable octopus! We also spent some time in a book and office supply store - two of my favorite things! - and found yet another, different Harry Potter set. For the record, I don't buy copies in all of the countries we visit - I just take pictures!

We took an uber downtown to visit the cultural center, which is a very cool building, but is surrounded by street vendors, tourists, and general chaos. From there, we decided to give the metro another try and it was a much better experience today! We took it from downtown to north of the city, where we then boarded a cable car that took us on a scenic ride up the mountain. The views were spectacular!





this was IN the mall!
dogs are welcome everywhere!

a cutie taking advantage
of the amenities!




















One sad moment was when we got a pic of Avalanche from C's mom and dad. A big difference between Ginny and Avalanche is that Ginny was afraid of things in the "outside" world, but noises like fireworks and thunder didn't bother her. Avalanche is the opposite; he loves the outside world, but is terrified of loud noises. Well, there was a storm, and Avalanche hid in the corner of the family room with his face tucked behind a chair due to the thunder! Heartbreaking! C's parents have since assured us repeatedly that he is fine, but we worried about him all day. Then, late this afternoon, a rainbow appeared through the window in our hotel room and I took it as a sign that our eight Dachshunds at the Rainbow Bridge were letting us know that they were watching over Avalanche and keeping his safe while we travel. Made my heart happy!




Happy Tails to you!