Marilee’s Travels

i was talking with my dad this morning and decided i better put up a few more photos. (in no particular order)
#1- the little girl is carolina’s youngest, esparanza. she is the sweetest little thing. her days consisted of laughing, getting the hiccups and listening to nelly(her nanny) sing to her while she worked around the house.

#2- my first meal in santiago. we (carolina and i were going for a snack) she had a lasagna and i had what i thought would be an asparagas side dish. i was a little surprised by what i got. i was sooo good. we also ordered a salad… palm hearts, avacado (fresh and local) and some soft white cheese. oh, let’s not forget my first and far from the last pisco sour. woo hoo!

#3- this is one of 4 photos that make up santiago. it was a 180 degree view of the city. in the background it smog. and beyond that is the andes. and they are HUGE!!

#4- carolina’s living room. look… no tv!!

#5- victor modeling our room at the guesthouse in buenos aires.

#6- the other side of the room.

#7- part of the guest house, out our front door, looking down on the kitchen. we were room #10 of 10.

#8- the front facade of the guest house. (our home)

#9- camerones pil pil… or something like that. it was perfectly cooked shrimp in a garlic butter with a little toast. (and papas fritas - french fries)

ok… so little by little i am getting some photos up! there are more in my “favorites” album. i haven’t manipulated these at all. some i’ld like to crop, color correct or change to black and white. this may or may not happen.

i am sad to say that, it doesn’t feel like i was gone for a month. nothing really changed here in portland. people love me, people hate me and my work is where i left it. there are 2 things that happened while i was gone that prove to me that it all happened. my credit card balances went up and bodo’s nails got longer.

time to plan another trip. it somehow gives reason and meaning for going to work everyday.

(wooooha. can you say downer?)

“Travel pushed my boundaries. When you travel, you become invisible, if you want. I do want. I like to be the observer. What makes people who they are? Could I feel at home here? No one expects you to have the stack of papers back by Tues. or to check messages, or to fertilize the geraniums. When traveling, you have the delectable possibility of not understanding a word of what is said to you. Language becomes simply a musical background for watching bicycles zoom alongside a canal, calling for nothing from you. Travel releases spontaneity. You become a godlike creature full of choice, free to visit the stately pleasure domes, make love in the morning, sketch a bell tower. You open, as in childhood, and — for a time –receive this world. There’s the visceral aspect, too-the huntress who is free. Free to go, free to return home bringing memories to lay on the hearth.”
Excerpted from A Year in the World, by Frances Mayes.

here are some photos that i just put up. sorry… no explanations yet!

just click on photos up in the right hand corner, sit back and be entertained.
(maybe)

i’ll be working on my portraits and hope to have them up sooner than later.

yes! i have started the process of sorting out my (and victor’s) photos. in the next week i’ll have some of them ready. in the mean time i will be adding some of my favorites just for fun. hope you like them. and if you know me, they’ll probably all be portraits.
these first 2 are of a boy i fell in love with. constanza’s mother had taken me for a tour of goya and another town, santa louisa, near by. she wanted me to see a church that was made by the natives in the area. they had carved much of it. (photos later) we were coming out of the church and taking photos when i noticed a group of young boys running across the plaza to the empty lot next to the church to play futbal (soccer). there was one boy that stayed back from the others and came up to the church. when i saw him walking up, our eyes locked and i fell in love. (not in a perverted sort of way. damn i have sick friends.) but this boy… he was so amazing and there was something so special about him and he seemed to think the same of me. he watched me for quit awhile, when i decided to take his photo. (i had the telephoto lens) i then walked over to him to show him the picture and said, “muy guapo.” (very handsome) and he just smiled. we got ready to go and as i was walking away he followed me and that is when i took the other shot. i almost cried when i left…i wish i would have stayed all day, taken his photo or atleast heard his voice or knew his name… i guess i’ll just have to wait until i meet him again.

sorry for the delay in writing. i was swept away, to enjoy the remainder of my holiday when victor arrived. we did so many things, ate fantastic food, danced… drank and played like it would never end. and now it has. i hope to write more in the coming days/week to fill in the blanks of my blog and to add photos, so keep checking!!

‘liver’ like meats = bull testicles

well… we have visited some open markets, the cemetery and tried to get lost via the subways and walking. today we had tango lesson together. that was great!! for dinner we had a traditional asado meal. this included meats of all kinds. steak, chorizo, blood sausage, brains, inner-ards and other unidentifiable parts. not too bad when washed down with beer and followed by large amounts of ice cream. (dad…you would love it). tomorrow we hope to see another tourist site and then we are going to a club that is supposed to have really good drum and bass dj’s. just another day of dancing, eating and enjoying.

i was out last night eating $5 steaks that are to die for with some of the women staying at the house. an aussie, a german and myself. we were out til 1 or 2am and i decided that it would be a good idea (earlier in the day, before the wine) to accompany the taxi drive in the morning at 7am to pick up victor. well once again my alarm failed me and marie was knocking at my door at 705 with the driver waiting. aarrgg. got to the airport and surprised victor. yea!! he is so happy, excited and tired. but what fun to have a playmate. somehow it seems more real, rather than a dream that i am telling all of you about. i have proof now! have a great weekend. i know i will.

my private lesson was at 930am and i woke up at 923am. i am happy that everything is late here including my instructor. i rolled out of bed and into the kitchen for some coffee from marie. then my lesson. it was wonderful. with neither of us speaking each others language we had quit a time talking but we managed just fine. it was really a lesson in posture, balance, attitude… and honestly after tonights drama at a milonga i am happy to pay if i can dance with someone who does not push me into other people on the dance floor. i am not a good dancer but i so happy to find that i was far from the worst. after a quick bite to eat and a shower i went with one of the other women here to the other studio downtown for another private lesson. another great lesson but it was pretty humorus. my instructor can fit under my chin and if i did any weight lifting… i could bench press him. he was a great instructor, very professional and a very good dancer and did not bat an eye as i towered over him like a giant, sweating like i had just run a maraton. then it was back to the house for some putzing around, a short walk and more food consumption. after another shower i went with almost the whole house to a practica. it was good but like i said, the men i danced with after were quite horrible. not all was lost, it was my first milonga in buenos aires, the atmosphere was great, the company good and i got to dance!! that is really all i could ask for. (and sore feet.) tomorrow is another day and another lesson.