Wisconsin and Minnesota

A litttle while ago I visited Minnesota and Wisconsin to visit a long time friend and attend a wedding. While I was in town I managed a bit of sightseeing.

I started with a quick visit to Hudson, a cute town on the border of Wisconsin. There are many charming old houses in town. There are also two cute pink Airbnb’s marketed toward girl’s trips.

The downtown area is cute as well. I take a walk by the water and stop for lunch at a post office converted to a restaurant. I have to order cheese curds.

The wedding today is at a charming winery about 30 minutes away.

The next morning I visit Paisley Park, recording studios and sometimes residence of the artist Prince located outside of Minneapolis.

I also make a stop at the famed Lake Minnetonka talked about in the movie Purple Rain. I did not purify myself in the waters.

In the afternoon I stop by Minnehaha Falls for lunch and to admire the waterfall. The park has nice trails along the water. Coincidently today it is hotter here than my home state of Florida. Luckily I am used to a good sweat when I am enjoying nature.

Later that day my friend and I take a walk to see Willow Falls near Hudson.

We also tour downtown Minneapolis which I learned has quite a milling history. You can see all the prominent brand signs on the buildings.

We go to the observation level at the Guthrie Theater for better views.

Lastly we drive by First Avenue, the historic club known to host big acts, especially the local artist Prince when he was still alive.

I was supposed to leave a day earlier but I realize a band I like is playing in St Paul the following night. I change my flight and book a historical hotel slash old custom house in the heart of downtown St Paul. While it is a generally safe city, it looks like it is in a state of transition. I look forward to returning to see the changes in the future.

It is such a brief trip that I plan to return and try some restaurants and all the other things the city has to enjoy. Plus it is really good catching up with an old friend.

Vancouver Canada

This summer I went on my first Alaska cruise. More on that cruise later but first I want talk about the day or so I had exploring Vancouver, Canada (British Columbia) – the starting point of the cruise. I have only been to Canada once before and that visit was to Montreal, so I am excited to see another part of this incredibly large country that I have put off visiting for way too long. Although Vancouver has much to offer in the form of natural resources I decided to keep this visit a city exploration since I plan of spending a week observing wildlife in Alaska.

The hotel we chose is further away from the action than I want in Metrotown but I soon see that it is very convenient to get to downtown Vancouver by the elevated train. I take it a few times during my stay. I am in Vancouver with some family members but they arrive later in the evening so my first evening is exploring on my own.

For my first evening I spend most of my time in Chinatown. It is a little rougher in this part of town but I generally feel safe. This is also the location of some good eateries and cute cafes. My first stop is the recommended Phnom Penh Restaurant, a Cambodian and Vietnamese restaurant. I knew arriving that there would probably be a wait since they don’t take reservations. I am told the wait is thirty to forty minutes and they take my phone number for when my table is ready. I wander around the neighborhood while I wait – it actually ends up being closer to sixty minutes and I would have stopped somewhere for a cocktail if I knew the wait would be that long.

I order too much food for one person because there are many things I want to try. Everything I ordered (butter beef, water spinach, chicken wings, moo moo shake) was good and I vow to come back to try more. What I really like is that even though it is awkward to dine alone, especially at a family style Asian restaurant, they seemed to be accommodating by letting me order smaller portions of some of the dishes. A little politeness goes a long way – I am used to being treated as second class in some countries as a solo diner but they did not (although I am certain I would have gotten a table faster if I had a bigger party since there weren’t many smaller tables).

Next stop is at Laowai for a cocktail. They have an interesting food menu that I would be taking advantage of if I hadn’t just eaten a large meal.

I have a reservation at a speakeasy nearby. I walk the neighborhood while I wait for my reservation time.

My last stop is at Bagheera, a speakeasy with an entrance themed like a horse betting window. This is once again another place with an interesting food menu, many of them Indian themed. I want to come back when I am hungry and try some of the menu items.

The next morning my cousin and I take the train into downtown Vancouver and then walk down to the ferries.

We take a ferry out to Granville Island for some snacks and to walk around. There are so many food choices here that I wish I scheduled more time in Vancouver to hang out here. In the summer there is live music and other events happening on Granville Island. Definitely visit their market if you are ever in town.

We also linger a bit to watch some geese and ducks.

We have a food tour scheduled this afternoon so we head to the Waterfront Station to meet up with our group.

We automatically have a connection to the tour guide who has the same name as my cousin’s sister who passed away many years go (I also was very close to this cousin who was six months younger than I). The guide is an actress but also holds many different roles, one of which is as a tour guide. We try a number of dishes around the downtown area and she tells us a little history of each location. While I didn’t love all the food choices (this tour might have been better in Chinatown) she did a good job overall. The tour at least was a good introduction to the city.

After our tour we take a break to have a drink and a view.

Our next adventure is to walk the sea wall down to Stanley Park. We enjoy nice views along the way as well as a seal but our legs and feet are tired. We pledge that we will at least continue on until the Totem poles but then allow ourselves to uber back to the hotel.

Stanley Park

There is so much more to see but we are exhausted and we have a cruise to catch tomorrow so early to bed!

Mostar

This morning I took the train to Mostar, a medieval ottoman city famous for its stone streets and iconic bridge. Mostar is in the Herzegovina region of Bosnia & Herzegovina. It’s confusing because it’s not an actual political border or state but just a region of land. There are actually borders within their country but they are named differently.

Cheese burek this morning before my train

It’s about a 25 minute walk to my hotel where I get to walk through a cute town awakening for the day. Little do I know in just a few minutes crowds will thicken as day trippers come in via very large groups. I drop my bags off at the hotel and brave the crowds for a bit while I wait for my room to get ready.

During my wandering I end up at the famous Stari Most (bridge). This unesco bridge was originally built in the 16th century but was destroyed in the war of the 1990’s. It was reconstructed in the early 2000’s. There is a tradition here of jumping off the bridge into the Neretva river below. I forgot about this tradition until I see three guys “getting ready to jump”. They start collecting money for the jump – I later discover they are actually taking bets whether or not someone will jump. After a production they step down and don’t jump. Confused as I am I watch them for a while repeat this same routine multiple times. I am convinced it is a scam and happy I don’t give them money. I find out later from a tour guy that they do eventually jump but these younger guys make more of a production out of it to collect the most money. I still not have seen anyone jump but like I said it is a tradition and actual club you can join to work your way into the big jump.

I order coffee and a local dessert at a cafe and enjoy a view of the river.

It is now time to check in so I return to the hotel and settle a bit to let the crowds die down before I go back out.

I decide to visit a highly rated cafe to eat before I attend a walking tour I have scheduled this afternoon. I am tired of cevapi so I try some grilled chicken instead. I am very happy with my order.

Grilled chicken, salad, cheese, pita bread, grilled veggies

I meet up for the tour. The tour guide is a local who was an adult during the last war. He tells us about town history pre-war and Yugoslav era. Then he tells us how things were during the 1990’s war in this town. The ethnic groups are the same as in Sarajevo but here the residents are majority ethnic Bosnia and Croats with the Serbs forming a minority. I have gotten a completely different perspective than I did in Sarajevo. There was conflict here but the players are different and they change over the course of the war. The whole situation is so complex that I am sure it will confuse me even more if I talk to someone who is familiar with the viewpoint of the other two sides. The only thing to hope is that peace will last here.

Finally I find a place to get a couple drinks after being in a mostly dry town for two nights. I try a flight of beer and a local whisky in a NON-SMOKING area! I love enjoying my evening without a side of smoke. I really take the clear air for granted in the USA since we long since outlawed smoking in most indoor places.

Tomorrow I have a day tour scheduled for the country-side of Herzegovina.

Back to Medellín

M and I head to Medellín Colombia today. It is the second time for me and the first for her. A couple weeks ago I spent some days leisurely around the city. I hope to see more this time around.

The flight to Medellín from Cartagena is only around an hour and ten minutes so our travel journey is not long. The flight is in the morning and I order a cheese and ham toasted sandwich to hold me over before my journey.

When we arrive we check into the same hotel I stayed in prior, Diez Hotel Categoria in El Poblado. It is a good choice. Our room has two beds and a hammock that overlooks the neighborhood.

I wasn’t sure how we would feel when we arrived so we didn’t have much booked on our first day in Medellín. Luckily we are early enough to take a free walking day tour with Real City Tours (pay guide by tips).

Fortunately I already navigated the metro during my prior visit so we took the metro to meet our tour.

We are a little early for our tour so we stop for a beer in a old charming bar called Salón Málaga. Most were not drinking, in fact we thought we were getting a sneer from the table next to us but we ended up chatting with the girl and her mother instead. They were Spanish speaking but actually live in the USA and were tourists in Medellin as well. We made plans to share a taxi with them to Guatapé the next day but plans fell through when they had to leave town early.

We meet up with our tour guide who then takes us around the city and points out different landmarks.

El Monumento a La Raza (sculptor Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt) – bronze sculptures symbolizing the culture of Antioquia

At one point we sit by an old train station (Edificio Antigua Estación del Ferrocarril de Antioquia) where our guide gives us a “real talk” about the history of Medellin – tells us the history of all the factions that caused turmoil: the government, the military, drug lords, right wing militia, left wing militia. The losers are the ordinary people who had to live through the war and terror.

We are taken to a shopping district where there are lots of pop up stands you can get cheap goods (Carabobo pedestrian street).

National Palace Mall

Sex workers hang out in front of this church.

We are told where to go to get some great empanadas

We end up at the Botero park where we can see lots of Botero statues.

Our guide talks about the metro and the pride the locals have for their train.

We are told the area under the train is where people go to exchange goods. We don’t have time to watch but we go back later to see it in action. Mostly men take items to exchange (belt buckle, watch, coins or whatnot) and engage with conversations with others to see if a deal can be made. It is interesting to watch and seems to be a sport of its own in the city.

We walk by some musicians playing outside at Parque Berrío. People are dancing to the music.

Church across the street from Berrio Park

Our guide talks about some local fruits. I finally get to try that weird looking fruit (guama) from my first visit to Medellín.

Finally he takes us to the Parque San Antonio where he tells us the story of the bombed statue.

At the end there is a question and answer session about the city. Some was asking about seeing a futbol (soccer) game while in town. The guide tells us about the upcoming El Clásico Paisa game. I don’t listen too carefully because at this point going to a soccer game in Medellín seems too intimidating to me. Plus I am not sure we’ll have time. M pays attention though and is able to talk me into attending the game. More on that later.

Bogota Museum Day

I am still in Bogota Colombia and will spend the day visiting museums.

Colombia is still new to me and the public transportation is intimidating so I end up using the Cabify app to call a taxi to take me to the main tourist areas.

I start first at the Museo Botero to get a good look at some of Botero’s chunky art work. His pictures and sculptures are so much fun to see.

Love the chubby animals and the expressions they hold.

Along with the Botero art the museum contains pieces from other artists.

After the Botero museum I head over to the Museo de Oro. I really have no interest in gold but the museum is highly rated so I give it a try anyway.

I see lots of gold pieces but what is great about this museum is organization of items and customs by different indigenous groups of the nearby regions (pre-Hispanic societies).

I like the exhibit on the extensive drainage channels built by Zenúes indigenous people. The channels are built to handle the regular floods of the region while still being able to maintain agriculture. It is pretty advanced for its time.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the area of La Candelaria.

I once again used Cabify to order a taxi. I had a hard time getting taxi to pick me up. I used a taxi app but practically had to push someone out of my cab when it arrived because people were trying to flag down cabs that would never stop. I am leaving Bogota tomorrow but if I ever return I will definitely learn public transport.

Bogota is such a nice city that I could have used a couple more days in exploring the region. Maybe someday I will return.