Mendocino and Fort Bragg
Day 1
November 27th
The Drive from San Jose to Mendocino – 4 hrs on 101 and nearly 5 hrs on hwy 1.We’d done the Hwy 1 drive south of San Francisco multiple times and up north till Point Reyes. It made sense to Join Hwy 1 somewhere near Bodega Bay and drive all the way up.
The Sonoma Coast
It was rather uneventful until we started driving along the Pacific. I’ve stayed in Bodega Bay, camped on Wrights beach and covered all the beaches in between. The surf was always rough but never looked Dangerous. The sight of 20ft waves crashing into rocks and the ocean in front literally roaring was menacing. Ive never seen the Pacific in this Avatar. We had to make a stop at Salt Point, for old times sake. ( and also for a restroom break – yes, the campground has flush toilets)
The Drive upto Point Arena
The Road is reasonable wide, but a single lane each way. It took us up the hill and then down again. It was interesting for me coz nowhere on the big sure drive does the road go so high up the hill and yet by the bluff. Quite breathtaking – until the fog played foul. We drove past the Gualala regional park ( so the board read ). The plan was to stop at the Point Arena lighthouse. We stopped at the town just before , by the same name. It was time for a cup of Coffee from the only shop that was open that day – everyone else was eating turkey. Family owned little place. She named her smoothies after her kids! Perfect Mocha. Got the sugar just right. We couldn’t see a thing ahead of us on the road, but something made us turn left and try our luck with the lighthouse. The tallest one on the pacific coast. That was 15 minutes we were never getting back.
Sandrahla!
Continued driving through till we reached the house. The landscape looked pretty much the same all through – fog. Thank God for the Coffee. The keys had already been picked up from the Coast Getaways office on Little Lake rd. All we needed to do was to get home. Beal Ln can easily be missed ( But the GPS doesn’t, so that worked out well). It’s a narrow road and 33150 was somewhere near the end of the street. What is amazing is that Google has a street view of this! It is practically a Private Street leading to a pathway over the dunes to our private beach!!!!
Sandrahla was a beautiful home with a spectacular yard. Spacious and beautifully landscaped. There was even an outdoor deck with a grill and a hot tub. To the left as you go through the front door is a large living room and formal dining room; straight ahead is the family room with the 50" TV and another dining area that is open to the spacious kitchen, including a big island--enough room for anyone who wanted to play chef. the master bedroom had a huge bathroom suite each of the other 3 bedrooms were themed- Asian, Hawaiian, and Am. Indian. 4 beds and 3 baths for 4 families. That was a lot of room. The private dunes dunes and beach were on the Mackerricher State Park & Beach. Btw, i got the Asian room.
The Agenda: Unpack – eat – play. We did drive a long way. Couldn’t have spent the evening better.
Day 2: Friday
November 28th
BBQ Prep
Normally we would wake up early and head out. This time we decided to Chill. It was vacation time – time to just be. Also – Rain was predicted. The morning was wet. The nice kind of wet. We had planned to BBQ weeks ahead. Rain was not going to stop us. Right after breakfast, what we did was marinate. MDH Tandoori BBQ masala + curd + Corriander chutney. Simple and yummy. cauliflower, zucchini, onions, paneer and bell peppers. The only thing we were missing were the mushrooms.
Walk into the dunes
A deer checked us out from atop the dunes. We had to go! Prashant went out on a reconnaissance ( but without his camera), he came back and I went along with him on the second trip. This time, we brought the camera without the SD card. By the time we got back to retrieve it, the whole mob was ready. So we started on the expedition again. There were 3 sets of prints – Deer, Mine, Prashant’s. wild.
The combination of open spaces and kids is lethal. They went crazy. I had no idea kids could run so fast with their tiny limbs. We had to take turns running with them. I love baby metabolism. I want it. It’s amazing how a bite of food consumption can take them over the roof! The dunes were totally un-spoilt and beautiful. It started getting a bit windy and we headed back. The good thing was that it looked like it was clearing up. We hoped the morning drizzle was the last we saw of the rains.
BBQ
The men had an afternoon out with the grill and some wine. Lots of fun and great food.
Mendocino and the Headlands
Come evening and we headed out to Mendocino. We had to drive back south towards Mendocino and just followed signs to the Mendocino Headlands state park. Mendocino is a little peninsular village which sits on rugged bluffs overlooking the pacific. It is simply beautiful – with its New England style architecture, galleries, inns and shops. A survivor of the free spirit and the era of peace and love. The state park surrounds the village making it accessible to everyone. A much appreciated buffer. The meandering drive took us along the bluff. The views were expansive and ocean was as unruly as it was the day before. We reached the tip and parked. The car shook. We looked at a bird in the sky and it was floating in the same spot while trying to fly. Another gull was actually walking backwards. It was hilarious. We got out of the car only to be pushed by the strongest headwinds I have ever encountered. It was a struggle to stand in one spot. It was a struggle to take pictures. It was exhilarating. Cold, but exhilarating. No one survived long enough. We had to keep running back to the car and recover before heading out again. I’m glad I had that experience. Wouldn’t have wanted it to be otherwise.
In the Village
We drove into the village at stopped at Harvest Market for some local wine and cheese. ( and also some organic dark chocolate with raspberry). It was a nice little store. Definitely prefer to patronize this local store rather than the Safeway closer to Fort Bragg. We Strolled down, to grab some coffee before heading home. Coffee was at Moodys café. Quick and nice.
Day 3
November 29th
After a long night of Cranium, I think it was 11 by the time we left.
Point Cabrillo Lighthouse
South of Fort Bragg, closer to Russian Gulch State park is the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse. It’s located in a vast nature preserve. It’s a ½ mile hike on a paved road to get to the lighthouse. Here, we could actually climb down into the rocks and enjoy the surf up close. We could only imagine how this place would have been last evening with all the wind. The “lighthouse Inn”, overlooks the lighthouse and is actually open for renting! There are 6 rooms and 3 cottages – each costing between $250 and $300 per night. It’s definitely worth a try! There is also the first light keepers house that is maintained as a museum, with all it’s antiques preserved. It was interesting.
It was time to grab lunch. I wanted to try Piaci, but it was closed. We should have closed in quickly on an alternative, something local. I would have liked to try Mendo Bistro. What did we do? We Had lunch at Round Table Pizza. I am not going to talk about that for obvious reasons.
Van Damme State Park
While Northern California is famous throughout the world for towering redwoods and Douglas firs that grow to be hundreds of feet tall, there are, however, trees that cant grow to even 10 feet tall! This is what the Pygmy forest walk told us. It’s nestled in the Van Damme state park, 3 miles south of Mendocino. The natural condition of the soil is the cause of their stunted growth. They’re 100s of years old, live in these harsh conditions just a mile away from towering redwoods and are still alive! Pretty cool. There was a nice little boardwalk and the place was surprisingly chilly.
Russian Gulch State Park
After following directions to the park, we drove down the road and turned into the road that took us to “picnics”. The picnic tables are located right before the parks most interesting feature : the blowhole. The relentless pounding of the mighty pacific has burrowed a 200 ft tunnel island. Eventually, a huge section caved in measuring 60 ft deep by 100 ft wide, creating a spectacular sight. You can actually look down into the canton and see the churning, bubbling sea as it crashes and thunders below. The views of the headlands are also quite spectacular from this park – 2 miles north of Mendocino.
Back to Fort Bragg
On our way back, we stopped at the pedestrian bridge, right off hwy 1, to get some shots of the sunset. The access to this bridge is tricky. Our guess is that it is accessible via a paved path from the backyard of the motel right next to it. We had to climb rocks to get there.
Day 4
November 30th
This was our drive back. We drove into Mendocino on Hwy 1 , along the pacific. This time, we were driving though Hwy 128. Right after we crossed Van Damme State Park, we were stunned by the dramatic tunnel of redwoods that led all the way to the Anderson Valley. Navarro River Redwoods State Park offered the most beautiful natural corridor I have driven through. Superb wines and beautiful scenery is what awaited us in Anderson Valley. It is best known for its production of rich pinot noirs and Gewurztraminers. It’s full of small family owned wineries that make small batches of hand crafted wines. We stopped by at Handley Cellars for tasting and brought back souvenirs. Wine, art and beautifully scenery blend seamlessly in this fascinating region of Mendocino County. We stopped for lunch at Boonville, right at the southern edge of Anderson valley. Freshly made roasted veggie sandwich and a pizza with parsley and caramelized onions. My mouth’s watering as I type this. To me, stopping there was the best decision we took that day!
The rest of the drive was rather uneventful and we were consumed by the moroseness of the impending Monday morning. We had a wonderful vacation, tons of pictures, memories and now, an entry in this blog!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Buenos Aires
28th March 2009
The flight was at 10:30 in the morning – didn’t have to wake up too early and had a good nights sleep. Every one was bright and chirpy at the airport – the holiday mood, I think. Plus I had a great avocado sandwich. I’ve grown to like it so much that I have a craving for it, right now, as I’m typing…
Flight to Dallas
Then we embarked on our journey – in the worst airline ever. American. Even air deccan is better with its service (despite their promise not to offer much of it). About 10 minutes after take off, my throat got dry and I was coughing. I had to beep to ask for some ( since they don’t let us carry any anymore). The stewardess came with raised eyebrows , somehow not appreciating having to work this early on the flight, I think. I asked for water (still coughing – picture me with a red face and watery eyes among other things) and she says “just wait for 20 mins and they’ll come around with the drinks” . This was the moment for me to raise my eyebrows and the kind lady sitting next to me joined in. Im not sure what it was that knocked sense into that stewardesses head, she came back with a cup of water in about 5. Not a very good start. Soon a view of the snow capped sierra Nevada range had me totally rapt. It was a clear clear day – a beautiful one. Was hoping weather was going to be as good as this every place I was visiting.
Dallas Fortworth to Ezeiza
Landed at dallas fortworth. I thought the airport was huge!!! We were taxiing for 25 mins after we landed ! I contemplated calling shruti dash and when I reached out for my phone, I realized I had checked it in. It was now that prashant chose to tell me that he hadn’t specified our meal preference for the 12 hr flight we had to Buenos aires. Was flying from texas to Buenos aires – was pretty sure they wouldn’t have anything vegetarian. We now had to hunt for some place to grab a substantial bite – enough to last us till the cup of fruit they would offer next morning. ( it was American airlines, wasn’t sure if even that would come)
In Buenos Aires – March 29th
The 12 hour flight was not too bad. Landed, got immigration done in a jiffy and we were soon looking for the ezeiza taxi booth. There are 2 money exchange counters, one right after immigration – somewhere near baggage claim and another just before the exit gate. The first one offers really bad rates. Thanks to lonely planets tip ( and the queue at the second one) we didn’t make a mistake. 3.72 it was, I think.
First Impressions
Also, we were now in the land of espanol. We knew a few words to get around but its just very hard to communicate! So we had the address written on paper and headed right out. It was a Sunday. driving through the by lanes reminded me a lot of driving through Bombay – very similar looking. The width of streets, the sidewalks, the kind of trees . Just cleaner and les crowded. There wasn’t much traffic that day and most establishments were shuttered down – except essential services, restaurants and cafes. Again, very similar to India. I started loving the place already.
And the people – the most wonderful, hospitable, friedly, warm – I love them. The first person we encountered was our cabbie from the airport. What I loved about this guy was that we didn’t understand each other but he continued to try and make conversation eith gestures etc. I would soon come t realize that theyre a very patient lot. Being a non-english speaking person here in the US wouldn’t be nearly as pleasant, im sure! Once we reached outr destination, the sweet cabbie waited with us and said he’d stand around till somebody answered. We were told that cabbies were not normally tipped – but this fellow was too nice!!! We thought for a moment about the Chennai automen and immediately left him a handsome tip. May be we shouldn’t be spoiling them and making them expect it when they don’t right now…but what the hell!!!
Our home in BA
The place we stayed in – el edifico Los Pavos reales. http://www.elpavorealbb.com/
We knew what the place looked like (after having ogled at it in their website) and recognized it in an instant. It was right there with the entrance door on the street. We buzzed and waited at the door. In a few moments Kevin greeted us at the door.
As soon as we got into the heavy metal and glass door under the colonial façade, there was this beautiful painted ceiling and another door right after which lead to this vintage elevator. There was a spiral stairway around it and then the house we were staying in on the first level. The moment we entered the house, our jaw dropped. It was a vintaghe colonial house. With high ceilings, tall doors, heavy wood walls and wonderful Victorian furniture. It was lit up really well – not too dim that you’ve to strain your eyes to see , but yet nice and mellow. The entrance to our room was from the patio. The room was not too big but the bathroom was very large with mirrors all around making it look larger still – as large as our room! But we had a comfortable bed, enough storage space and nothing to complain about. I think Kevin and diego did a wonderful job of decorating the place . everything was in sync, the furniture and accents looked hand-picked and there was good colour coordination – just the way I liked it .
First breakfast in BA:
Our room wasn’t ready yet – we were there at 9:30 and were supposed to check in only at 12:00. Kevin said he’d get it ready in about an hour and that we could spend that time getting a bite at this vintage Italian café just 6 blocks away – La violettas. It has umpteen pillars, creepers around pillars, glass doors, a lot of wood and gold and painted glass near the ceilings. It wasn’t like it was some sort of an upscale boutique café. It was just a café where everyone went. The Spanish menu was staring back at us in a few moments. We read that dulce-de-leche (milk caramel) was something of a national obsession. But we only saw it under “additionals”. I tried desperately to ask the sweet man to waitered our table for some café-con-leche ( coffee with milk) with a hint of dulce de leche. he was looking very puzzled with my request. And made some suggestion when I didn’t understand at all. After a painful back and forth I finally resigned to a combo of café-con-leche + 3 medialunas (croissants) and Dulce de leche on the side. It was when all of this came to the table that I realized that dulce de leche was like a spread for the medialuna and that medialunas that the argentinians eat are tiny!!! I think anyone who is used to the croissants here in the US would have a hard time getting used to the medialunas there. We spent about an hour there and walked back down avenida rivadavia to claim our room.
San Telmo:
In less than 90 mins we were all showered and ready to hit the roads. It was a Sunday and our only Sunday. We decided to visit the fames antiques and craft market in san telmo. It was just 6 subway stations from loria to Plaza-de-mayo. The subways were made by the English and still ran the vintage wooden trains. It was very unique. Right out of the station at plaza–de-mayo and left onto defense, and we were right there. On the street where the fair was held. I think its good to knows numbers 1-10 and multiples of 10 upto 100 and once can manage a decent bargain. The market was a platform for craftsmen to sell their goods directly past the middlemen. Basically – offering wonderful guilt free shopping. And youre dealing with artists and craftsmen here – not aggressive salesmen. So the experience is very pleasant indeed. There are all bonding with each other over mates ( its their verson of green tea sippied out of a gourd cup through a straining straw – it’s a very prevalent local preference.) come 4 o clock and performers and out on the streets. Music , painting, tango – the whole place is suddenly alive and starts getting crowded. I picked up a couple of mates and we hailed a cab right after to head to La Boca!
La Boca:
On our drive to La Boca we passed the futbol stadium. We had just missed a boca juniors match scheduled on saturdday evening (damn! Wish we had planned around it!) whats hit me first when I got off there was the riot of colour and spirit. The one place to stroll around there is the “Caminito”. Its one street with all the colourful buildings, cafes that spill on the streets, tango preformera everywhere, kids playing futbol, music dogs. This places also gives you a hint of how futbol-crazed the nation is! A little play area where a band was playing music, kids playing futbol wearing their team uniform (mostly #18 and #10) futbol graffiti on the wall, stores selling merchandize. Interestingly one guy on the streets looked at us and asked “India?” and with our confirmation showed us his cell phone with a DDLJ picture for the wallpaper! He then told us – “shah rush, kajol. Vey nice. Namaste!” It was amazing. Right after that we walked along the canal and soaked up the whole place.It was spirited and alive. Viva la vida.
Day 2 in Buenos Aires – March 30th
A Walk through the city – Congresso and Microcentro
It was about 5 subway stops to get to congresso. We rode the train with the lonely planet in hand bookmarked on the “walking tour of microcentro and congresso” . Depending on how long our stops were , it was to last anything between 4 hours to a whole day. Ours lasted a whole day. We started off at Plaza del congresso. A colossal structure modeled on the capitol building in D.C. right across were monuments honouring the congresses which led to argentine independence. A bit of a stroll away was Av. De Mayo – one of the more important streets lined with offices buildings, museums and other public offices on both sides. The place however, looked like it might have been all museum! The buildings were all vintage – all of them and people were walking out in business suits and with mobiles in their hands! We stopped by at Café Tortoni – another vintage café, just like La violetas we visited yesterday. After a brief coffee we continued our stroll and went past all of the subway stations that lead to plaza de Mayo – the final stop. We decided to take a small detour at this point into this street called “florida” to have lunch at Granix ( a vegetarian buffet!) . florida is like the “shopping street” – it’s only pedestrian for its entire stretch and has stores on both sides and street performers and astists in the center. We were coming back to walk down florida a bit later, so we just grabbed a quick bite here and headed bac onto av. De mayo through diagonal norte. Our next destination, the cathedral and Casa rosada.
The flight was at 10:30 in the morning – didn’t have to wake up too early and had a good nights sleep. Every one was bright and chirpy at the airport – the holiday mood, I think. Plus I had a great avocado sandwich. I’ve grown to like it so much that I have a craving for it, right now, as I’m typing…
Flight to Dallas
Then we embarked on our journey – in the worst airline ever. American. Even air deccan is better with its service (despite their promise not to offer much of it). About 10 minutes after take off, my throat got dry and I was coughing. I had to beep to ask for some ( since they don’t let us carry any anymore). The stewardess came with raised eyebrows , somehow not appreciating having to work this early on the flight, I think. I asked for water (still coughing – picture me with a red face and watery eyes among other things) and she says “just wait for 20 mins and they’ll come around with the drinks” . This was the moment for me to raise my eyebrows and the kind lady sitting next to me joined in. Im not sure what it was that knocked sense into that stewardesses head, she came back with a cup of water in about 5. Not a very good start. Soon a view of the snow capped sierra Nevada range had me totally rapt. It was a clear clear day – a beautiful one. Was hoping weather was going to be as good as this every place I was visiting.
Dallas Fortworth to Ezeiza
Landed at dallas fortworth. I thought the airport was huge!!! We were taxiing for 25 mins after we landed ! I contemplated calling shruti dash and when I reached out for my phone, I realized I had checked it in. It was now that prashant chose to tell me that he hadn’t specified our meal preference for the 12 hr flight we had to Buenos aires. Was flying from texas to Buenos aires – was pretty sure they wouldn’t have anything vegetarian. We now had to hunt for some place to grab a substantial bite – enough to last us till the cup of fruit they would offer next morning. ( it was American airlines, wasn’t sure if even that would come)
In Buenos Aires – March 29th
The 12 hour flight was not too bad. Landed, got immigration done in a jiffy and we were soon looking for the ezeiza taxi booth. There are 2 money exchange counters, one right after immigration – somewhere near baggage claim and another just before the exit gate. The first one offers really bad rates. Thanks to lonely planets tip ( and the queue at the second one) we didn’t make a mistake. 3.72 it was, I think.
First Impressions
Also, we were now in the land of espanol. We knew a few words to get around but its just very hard to communicate! So we had the address written on paper and headed right out. It was a Sunday. driving through the by lanes reminded me a lot of driving through Bombay – very similar looking. The width of streets, the sidewalks, the kind of trees . Just cleaner and les crowded. There wasn’t much traffic that day and most establishments were shuttered down – except essential services, restaurants and cafes. Again, very similar to India. I started loving the place already.
And the people – the most wonderful, hospitable, friedly, warm – I love them. The first person we encountered was our cabbie from the airport. What I loved about this guy was that we didn’t understand each other but he continued to try and make conversation eith gestures etc. I would soon come t realize that theyre a very patient lot. Being a non-english speaking person here in the US wouldn’t be nearly as pleasant, im sure! Once we reached outr destination, the sweet cabbie waited with us and said he’d stand around till somebody answered. We were told that cabbies were not normally tipped – but this fellow was too nice!!! We thought for a moment about the Chennai automen and immediately left him a handsome tip. May be we shouldn’t be spoiling them and making them expect it when they don’t right now…but what the hell!!!
Our home in BA
The place we stayed in – el edifico Los Pavos reales. http://www.elpavorealbb.com/
We knew what the place looked like (after having ogled at it in their website) and recognized it in an instant. It was right there with the entrance door on the street. We buzzed and waited at the door. In a few moments Kevin greeted us at the door.
As soon as we got into the heavy metal and glass door under the colonial façade, there was this beautiful painted ceiling and another door right after which lead to this vintage elevator. There was a spiral stairway around it and then the house we were staying in on the first level. The moment we entered the house, our jaw dropped. It was a vintaghe colonial house. With high ceilings, tall doors, heavy wood walls and wonderful Victorian furniture. It was lit up really well – not too dim that you’ve to strain your eyes to see , but yet nice and mellow. The entrance to our room was from the patio. The room was not too big but the bathroom was very large with mirrors all around making it look larger still – as large as our room! But we had a comfortable bed, enough storage space and nothing to complain about. I think Kevin and diego did a wonderful job of decorating the place . everything was in sync, the furniture and accents looked hand-picked and there was good colour coordination – just the way I liked it .
First breakfast in BA:
Our room wasn’t ready yet – we were there at 9:30 and were supposed to check in only at 12:00. Kevin said he’d get it ready in about an hour and that we could spend that time getting a bite at this vintage Italian café just 6 blocks away – La violettas. It has umpteen pillars, creepers around pillars, glass doors, a lot of wood and gold and painted glass near the ceilings. It wasn’t like it was some sort of an upscale boutique café. It was just a café where everyone went. The Spanish menu was staring back at us in a few moments. We read that dulce-de-leche (milk caramel) was something of a national obsession. But we only saw it under “additionals”. I tried desperately to ask the sweet man to waitered our table for some café-con-leche ( coffee with milk) with a hint of dulce de leche. he was looking very puzzled with my request. And made some suggestion when I didn’t understand at all. After a painful back and forth I finally resigned to a combo of café-con-leche + 3 medialunas (croissants) and Dulce de leche on the side. It was when all of this came to the table that I realized that dulce de leche was like a spread for the medialuna and that medialunas that the argentinians eat are tiny!!! I think anyone who is used to the croissants here in the US would have a hard time getting used to the medialunas there. We spent about an hour there and walked back down avenida rivadavia to claim our room.
San Telmo:
In less than 90 mins we were all showered and ready to hit the roads. It was a Sunday and our only Sunday. We decided to visit the fames antiques and craft market in san telmo. It was just 6 subway stations from loria to Plaza-de-mayo. The subways were made by the English and still ran the vintage wooden trains. It was very unique. Right out of the station at plaza–de-mayo and left onto defense, and we were right there. On the street where the fair was held. I think its good to knows numbers 1-10 and multiples of 10 upto 100 and once can manage a decent bargain. The market was a platform for craftsmen to sell their goods directly past the middlemen. Basically – offering wonderful guilt free shopping. And youre dealing with artists and craftsmen here – not aggressive salesmen. So the experience is very pleasant indeed. There are all bonding with each other over mates ( its their verson of green tea sippied out of a gourd cup through a straining straw – it’s a very prevalent local preference.) come 4 o clock and performers and out on the streets. Music , painting, tango – the whole place is suddenly alive and starts getting crowded. I picked up a couple of mates and we hailed a cab right after to head to La Boca!
La Boca:
On our drive to La Boca we passed the futbol stadium. We had just missed a boca juniors match scheduled on saturdday evening (damn! Wish we had planned around it!) whats hit me first when I got off there was the riot of colour and spirit. The one place to stroll around there is the “Caminito”. Its one street with all the colourful buildings, cafes that spill on the streets, tango preformera everywhere, kids playing futbol, music dogs. This places also gives you a hint of how futbol-crazed the nation is! A little play area where a band was playing music, kids playing futbol wearing their team uniform (mostly #18 and #10) futbol graffiti on the wall, stores selling merchandize. Interestingly one guy on the streets looked at us and asked “India?” and with our confirmation showed us his cell phone with a DDLJ picture for the wallpaper! He then told us – “shah rush, kajol. Vey nice. Namaste!” It was amazing. Right after that we walked along the canal and soaked up the whole place.It was spirited and alive. Viva la vida.
Day 2 in Buenos Aires – March 30th
A Walk through the city – Congresso and Microcentro
It was about 5 subway stops to get to congresso. We rode the train with the lonely planet in hand bookmarked on the “walking tour of microcentro and congresso” . Depending on how long our stops were , it was to last anything between 4 hours to a whole day. Ours lasted a whole day. We started off at Plaza del congresso. A colossal structure modeled on the capitol building in D.C. right across were monuments honouring the congresses which led to argentine independence. A bit of a stroll away was Av. De Mayo – one of the more important streets lined with offices buildings, museums and other public offices on both sides. The place however, looked like it might have been all museum! The buildings were all vintage – all of them and people were walking out in business suits and with mobiles in their hands! We stopped by at Café Tortoni – another vintage café, just like La violetas we visited yesterday. After a brief coffee we continued our stroll and went past all of the subway stations that lead to plaza de Mayo – the final stop. We decided to take a small detour at this point into this street called “florida” to have lunch at Granix ( a vegetarian buffet!) . florida is like the “shopping street” – it’s only pedestrian for its entire stretch and has stores on both sides and street performers and astists in the center. We were coming back to walk down florida a bit later, so we just grabbed a quick bite here and headed bac onto av. De mayo through diagonal norte. Our next destination, the cathedral and Casa rosada.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
South America – Visa and Prep
It’s always good to write while the memories are still fresh. I’m not questioning my faculties in anyway – just that I don’t want to miss the little details. Details of what I ate what the stewardess said and the guy who wore a funny cap (was there a guy in a funny cap?) – sigh!
Visa:
Let me start of with the biggest hassle for most of us Indians – the visa (even flight connectivity is not so bad these days from India. I am in California right now, just 1 hoop to jump).
So here is the list ( copy pasted from the email we got):
1. Valid passport (please send your passport)
2. Proof of legal status in the United States.
3. Proof of economic resources, copy of your checking bank statements for the last 3 months (with your name on it, please include all pages)
4. Letter of verification of employment.
5. Hotel reservation, (with your name on it)
6. Flight itinerary showing a round trip with your name on it issued by the airline, showing the date you enter and exit from Argentina.
7. color passport picture.
Visa free of charge. Please send a pre-paid postal service, U.S. post office, DHL, Fedex or UPS. If there is more than one person applying for the tourist visa, please send each application with all the above referred requirements
The Argentine consulate was in LA . so we had to mail in our passports and then wait for 10 days to get it back (10 days!) it was day 7, and I decided to make a random check. ( I do trust usps, but when a passport is in the cover, its good to question these services). The consulate general said exactly what I didn’t want to hear – “ I cant find you package”. It’s scary on many levels – where was my passport, what’s wrong with USPS, should I cancel my trip, do I have to drive to LA, will it come to filing a law suit, who should I sue..wait..i needed to find my passport. I was pretty sure she was talking while my mind was working on these, ut when it did stop I heard her say “can I have the last name again”. All hopeful, I gave her the details. She called back in a bit and confirmed it was indeed there, but that quite a few documents were missing.
As is written in the list of requirements if you send more than one application, you have to include with it another set of documents, you sent 2 applications with one set of documents, besides you have not include a copy of your last 3 months of bank statements including all pages.
For example – she needed a copy of the airline ticket for each of us ( though both our names were there on a single ticket). She wouldn’t just take a photocopy of the same. I had to scan it and send it. Noted. Next – the bank statement was reported missing. I packed it all – I definitely remember putting it there. Ok, so I shall scan and send that too. Next – photographs were missing ( what!!!!) I pretty much lost it at this point and asked her to empty the contents onto some kind of tray. Then somehow in minutes she found the photographs. It was going to take a couple of days to process it and then a couple of days for my passport to get back to me. The brazil visa was still pending . though the consulate was in SF, I still neede my passport.
That evening, we had all the docs re-scanned and sent to LA, and after that started pushing our trip by a week. We had to push about 5 hotel/ B&B reservations, tour reservations, airline tickets – a whole bunch. ( I am not even sure how it was done. Prashant just managed it)
Over the next couple of days , there was a lot of back & forth. – she said she needed a copy of the checking account statement, after having confirmed that she received everything and that it was good to process. In a nutshell, it was the most painful process. All for what – a 10 day visa. Yes, 10 days. It took longer for processing it!
Right after that the Brazil visa was a breeze. Here is all they asked for
1. Passport
2. Visa application form
3. Photograph
4. $20 per application
5. Travel initerary
The consulate was in San Francisco. I spent all of 20 mins there and paid only $20 ( Those of you on a us visa – Travel to Brazil before you get your GC – you can save $110 ;) ;) ) I love their reciprocity policy! Picked up my passport in about a week and we were good to go!
Fares and accoodation:
Prashant spent the last 2 months planning this trip. Getting the perfect accomodation (you'll see why!) , perfect things-t0-do, best fares etc. ( used to check fares everyday for a week, block-release. It actually swung across a $200 margin – and we did manage a good price) Our return fare was all of $774 – can’t even imagine it today. It has hardly been a year and prices have shot through the roof.
Packing:
It was for the first time that I was packing for multiple seasons. Buenos Aires was hot during the day and cold at night. Like October in the Bay Area . So let me call that fall. Rio was HOT – very summery. Iguazu – pleasant, rain foresty, butterflies , flowers, water – springy. And in Patagonia- we were hiking the glacier. So yeah – I know this sounds very tacky – but I did pack for 4 seasons!
Food research:
We are vegetarians ( no fish even!)
And we were visiting the Beef capital. Obviously, we had our concerns. Did a LOT of research, and you’ll be surprised with what awaited us. in fact some of the restaurants on the list we carried closed down, but we did manage to find some new gems. you'll find details. Here are some of the links though:
http://www.happycow.net/south_america/argentina/buenos_aires/
http://www.buenostours.com/buenos-aires-vegetarian-and-vegan-food
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/jan/29/argentina.buenosaires.restaurants
http://www.happycow.net/south_america/brazil/rio_de_janeiro/
America – Del- sur, Here I come!!!
Visa:
Let me start of with the biggest hassle for most of us Indians – the visa (even flight connectivity is not so bad these days from India. I am in California right now, just 1 hoop to jump).
So here is the list ( copy pasted from the email we got):
1. Valid passport (please send your passport)
2. Proof of legal status in the United States.
3. Proof of economic resources, copy of your checking bank statements for the last 3 months (with your name on it, please include all pages)
4. Letter of verification of employment.
5. Hotel reservation, (with your name on it)
6. Flight itinerary showing a round trip with your name on it issued by the airline, showing the date you enter and exit from Argentina.
7. color passport picture.
Visa free of charge. Please send a pre-paid postal service, U.S. post office, DHL, Fedex or UPS. If there is more than one person applying for the tourist visa, please send each application with all the above referred requirements
The Argentine consulate was in LA . so we had to mail in our passports and then wait for 10 days to get it back (10 days!) it was day 7, and I decided to make a random check. ( I do trust usps, but when a passport is in the cover, its good to question these services). The consulate general said exactly what I didn’t want to hear – “ I cant find you package”. It’s scary on many levels – where was my passport, what’s wrong with USPS, should I cancel my trip, do I have to drive to LA, will it come to filing a law suit, who should I sue..wait..i needed to find my passport. I was pretty sure she was talking while my mind was working on these, ut when it did stop I heard her say “can I have the last name again”. All hopeful, I gave her the details. She called back in a bit and confirmed it was indeed there, but that quite a few documents were missing.
As is written in the list of requirements if you send more than one application, you have to include with it another set of documents, you sent 2 applications with one set of documents, besides you have not include a copy of your last 3 months of bank statements including all pages.
For example – she needed a copy of the airline ticket for each of us ( though both our names were there on a single ticket). She wouldn’t just take a photocopy of the same. I had to scan it and send it. Noted. Next – the bank statement was reported missing. I packed it all – I definitely remember putting it there. Ok, so I shall scan and send that too. Next – photographs were missing ( what!!!!) I pretty much lost it at this point and asked her to empty the contents onto some kind of tray. Then somehow in minutes she found the photographs. It was going to take a couple of days to process it and then a couple of days for my passport to get back to me. The brazil visa was still pending . though the consulate was in SF, I still neede my passport.
That evening, we had all the docs re-scanned and sent to LA, and after that started pushing our trip by a week. We had to push about 5 hotel/ B&B reservations, tour reservations, airline tickets – a whole bunch. ( I am not even sure how it was done. Prashant just managed it)
Over the next couple of days , there was a lot of back & forth. – she said she needed a copy of the checking account statement, after having confirmed that she received everything and that it was good to process. In a nutshell, it was the most painful process. All for what – a 10 day visa. Yes, 10 days. It took longer for processing it!
Right after that the Brazil visa was a breeze. Here is all they asked for
1. Passport
2. Visa application form
3. Photograph
4. $20 per application
5. Travel initerary
The consulate was in San Francisco. I spent all of 20 mins there and paid only $20 ( Those of you on a us visa – Travel to Brazil before you get your GC – you can save $110 ;) ;) ) I love their reciprocity policy! Picked up my passport in about a week and we were good to go!
Fares and accoodation:
Prashant spent the last 2 months planning this trip. Getting the perfect accomodation (you'll see why!) , perfect things-t0-do, best fares etc. ( used to check fares everyday for a week, block-release. It actually swung across a $200 margin – and we did manage a good price) Our return fare was all of $774 – can’t even imagine it today. It has hardly been a year and prices have shot through the roof.
Packing:
It was for the first time that I was packing for multiple seasons. Buenos Aires was hot during the day and cold at night. Like October in the Bay Area . So let me call that fall. Rio was HOT – very summery. Iguazu – pleasant, rain foresty, butterflies , flowers, water – springy. And in Patagonia- we were hiking the glacier. So yeah – I know this sounds very tacky – but I did pack for 4 seasons!
Food research:
We are vegetarians ( no fish even!)
And we were visiting the Beef capital. Obviously, we had our concerns. Did a LOT of research, and you’ll be surprised with what awaited us. in fact some of the restaurants on the list we carried closed down, but we did manage to find some new gems. you'll find details. Here are some of the links though:
http://www.happycow.net/south_america/argentina/buenos_aires/
http://www.buenostours.com/buenos-aires-vegetarian-and-vegan-food
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/jan/29/argentina.buenosaires.restaurants
http://www.happycow.net/south_america/brazil/rio_de_janeiro/
America – Del- sur, Here I come!!!
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