It's 2010 already! Where did 2009 go? How about the last 10 years? Isn't it funny how time flies the older you get? I was shocked to find out my oldest grandson had become a teenager? Now I do feel old! Also, my body keeps trying to tell me I'm not a teenager anymore. Any of you finding out the same thing?
As mentioned in previous emails, Judy and I planned a trip to South America to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We were going to Rio de Janerio, Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina. We got to the airport and the airlines asked us for our Visa to get into Brazil. "What Visa?", we asked in shock. We were informed we required a Visa to get into Brazil. To say we were shocked is an understatement. The plane was leaving in two hours and there was no way we could get a Visa. Judy got on the phone to the airlines and told them of our tale of woe. The Delta rep got his supervisor on the phone and rebooked our tickets so we could get to Buenos Aires instead. He came back on the line and said we were booked, there were no extra charges or fees and then he said "Happy Anniversary, have a great trip". What a relief. We thought we were going to have to phone our friend who had dropped us off and have him come back and get us.
It's actually quite amazing because we have traveled extensively and have never required a Visa in the past. We had told all kinds of people who had travelled to Brazil that we were going there and not one of them brought up the need for a Visa. In addition Judy had spent days on the Internet doing research and hadn't come across a single thing about requiring a Visa. When we travel we often purchase a travel guide from Frommers or Fodors. Judy checked out their websites and got good information and NO message of needing a Visa. The airlines didn't flag that we needed a Visa and neither did the hotel.
In spite of all this we had a great time and found a little "gold" in this mistake. In the past we had always been busy, busy, busy on our trips trying to make sure we didn't miss anything. On this trip we were going to Rio, Iguazo Falls and Buenos Aires in the two weeks. As a result we stayed in one place and spent all the time REALLY getting to know Buenos Aires. This error has changed the way we will travel in the future.
Buenos Aires is called the Paris of South America for good reasons. It's a lovely city with WIDE streets and boulevards, great shopping and wonderful people who want to help you out. We travelled by bus, train, subway and boat. Not once on this entire trip did we every feel the slightest bit uncomfortable. It is NOT a gastronomical experience. Argentinians eat a lot of protein and very little in the way of vegetables. A vegetarian would go hungry! There is a large Italian influence there and as a result ham and cheese abounds. Everywhere you go you see Pizza places but the Pizza is different than what we are used to. There is no pepperoni on the pizza and little in the way of meat. They love eggs. I ordered what they call a "Complete Burger" and it came with a fried egg, a slice of ham and cheese as well as the burger. You would often see a fried egg on a steak. They have a really high incidence of heart problems as you can imagine.
They have fast food restaurants such as McDonalds and Burger King and they are huge in size. In one two block section there were three McDonalds restaurants. They are two stories high! Some of them have a McCafe in them, which serves coffee and pastries. They also have a separate ice cream counter and an Internet cafe as well with computers in a Kiosk kind of arrangement. Once in a while we just had to stop for "comfort food"!
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Ken & Judy Wilton
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