Home Sweet Home

Originally I was only planning on coming home for about two weeks. I felt any longer would really kill my traveling momentum. After a lot of peer pressure (who am I kidding I am the easiest person to convince to do something) I decided to extend my trip to 5 weeks so I could go to the UCLA vs Texas football game. I am SO happy I made this decision. Not only was it an incredible game (see below) but those 5 weeks went by so fast. In true Vandria fashion I had plans every night. As I cannot recap every night I will do a top 5 (in chronologic not favorite order):

Trip to SF

I came home from South America for Anna and Ryan's wedding (see below) but the date I chose

was because of the Dave Matthews concert at the Mountain View Amphitheater. Ashley, Jen and I bought tickets for this show back in March however Ash had to bail due to work/travel in Europe. I am pretty sure my SF friends got together and decided to boycott my visit as the majority of them were out of town. But it was actually a very nice relaxing weekend. Usually I am so busy trying to make time to see everyone, this weekend Jen and I went at our own pace. On Friday night we went to dinner with Katie (Moy) and Matt then went bar hopping around the Marina with Gibbs. On Saturday we met up with Amber, her bf Ryan, Gibbs and Libby for brunch at my favorite place in the city - The Tipsy Pig. They honestly have the most amazing Huevos Rancheros and Bloody Mary's. However I do not recommend drinking one right before running 5 miles.... I was so dehydrated and burping up bloodies all throughout Jen and my scenic run across the Golden Gate Bridge.... Yummy!

Tom joined us for the Dave show, which was honestly one of the best Dave shows I've seen (note: I have been to more shows than I can count). Tim Reynolds performed with him and was incredible! Additionally the Mountain View Amphitheater is an awesome venue. (Sorry Ash! Though not too much as you were in my favorite city in the world- Barcelona).

Jen and I capped off a perfect SF weekend by driving down the CA Highway 1. It took about 9.5 hours but was well worth it! Such a pretty drive.

Ak & Abel's wedding

I apologize for this next line to any friends whose amazing/fun wedding I have attended. Anna and Ryan's wedding was honestly the best wedding ever! Madeline and I were looking forward to this wedding all summer long. We constantly talked about it and both bought new dresses (and me shoes) in Brazil for the occasion. We hyped it up so much I was kind of worried we were setting impossibly high standards.

Well.... they were definitely met and surpassed. What made it so special was the history and friends. For those of you who don't know Ak and Abel they are good friends from High School (who also both went to UCLA). They became best friends freshman year and as Ryan put it in his letter/vows "it all changed that one New Year's Eve sophomore year when you (Anna) were laying on top of me (Ryan) and we shared our first kiss..." When the rabbi read this the entire audience burst out laughing. Anna's family in Russia made the most amazing video that shows that they were destined to be together before they were even born. This amazing video brought us all to tears.

The other thing that made the wedding so much fun was the music! In the words of freshman AK "all I wanna do is dance" and we did... Mads, Jessica and I along with the boys (Ari, Ellman and Garron) danced the night away. I gotta say, I wish all weddings has the hora. It was so much fun! It was so fun to see how excited the boys got. It was a great night with wonderful friends celebrating two amazing people. Mazel Tov!!

The Cousins Visit CA

Due to timing conflicts I was unable to go to Arizona during my month home. Luckily two of my cousins were able to take time off and come to me! Jen, Luke, Mady and Logan visited the after labor day. We had a lot of fun on my Uncle Lanny's boat and then went to Disneyland. The park was a little over whelming for Mady,

however despite the fact that at times she looked like she was having a bad a time, as soon as we left she asked if we could do it all over again.

Janine, Mike & Scotty came a few weeks later for a weekend. I met them at La Jolla Shores where Scotty spent the day playing in the sand. It was really great spending time with all of them.

Sadly Jamaila and AB could not make it out. Get a Skype account!!

Texas

Thank you to all who convinced me to make this trip. I would has been so sad had I missed this amazing weekend! From the moment we landed on Thursday, we did nothing but eat, drink, eat, party, eat, drink, eat, party.... Highlights of food: Salt Lick BBQ (I have never consumed such mass amounts of meat in one sitting and remember I am currently living in Argentina where all they eat is meat), Austin City Press food truck (Jen and I discovered this ah-mazingness at 3am after already having eaten pizza.... 2nd meal was the best decision ever!! stopped by the next night with a larger crew and tasted just about every sandwich) and Juan in A Million (come on isn't this the best name ever!). Oh yeah and did I forget to mention we won 34-12!!!!!!!!!!! It was great spending time with all my Bruins in Austin!!

Fun Times with friends in SD & LA

Checking out Buenos Aires

Mads and I spent a week and a half in Buenos Aires. The goal of the trip was for me to get situated in an apartment and get to know the city that would soon be my home. Despite the FREEZING weather (the first two days we were here it was about 45-50°F!!) we had a blast. As this was about 2 months ago I am just going to give some highlights:

Hanging out with Jouliette

I was so excited to discover that I knew someone who lives in Buenos Aires! I went to high school with Jouliette and we share many similar friends. Mads joked that Jouliette is the La Jolla High Ambassador for Buenos Aires, as the most random people contact her upon their travels down here. She has been living here for 4 years

after falling in love with an awesome guy while studying abroad here. We out with her a hand full of times during our time here. She has a really great group of American girlfriends who have all been living here 4-5 years and who all have Argentine boy friends. They were so warm and welcoming and have made me really excited to return.

BAIT Hostel (http://www.baitba.com/)

Located in Palermo Soho, the location of this hostel is unbeatable! It is walking distance to the Subte (Metro D line), great shopping, amazing restaurants, bars, and night clubs.

As far as hostel accommodations go it is a typical hostel - beds, common area with free WiFi, a kitchen, etc... What sets BAIT apart for any other hostel though is the people. The hostel attacks a fun, diverse crowd and the staff who works there is incredible! While everyone is great I would like to give specific shout-outs to Pablo who works the morning/early afternoon shift, Melvin who works the 3:30-11:30 shift and Rafa who works the graveyard shift. These three guys are so friendly and can definitely help you with anything you will need. We hung out with Melvin, an American expat living in BA for about 3 yrs now, often. He is def going to be one of my BA besties. Mads and him got along perfectly as they both have soooo much attitude. :)

Timmy!!!

We met Timmy at BAIT. Buenos Aires was Timmy's first stop on a 3 month trip around South America. One day Mads and I invited him along with us for lunch and then to La Bomba (an awesome drum bragde group that plays every Monday night -http://www.labombadetiempo.com.ar). After that night the three of us became an inseparable trio. Mads and I loved to mock Timmy's South African accent and lingo. And I am sure we cracked him up with our ridiculous behavior.

La Boca

La Boca is a popular destination for tourists visiting Buenos Aires. This colorful neighborhood is home to the pedestrian street the Caminito, where tango artists perform and tango-related memorabilia is sold in every shop. It is known among sports fans for La Bombonera the home of Boca Juniors, one of the world's best known football clubs. I tagged along with Minna, a girl staying in our hostel, as Mads wasn't feeling so hot that day. The highlight of my day was the delicious choripan we had for lunch. This amazing sandwich is named for the combination of the names of its ingredients: a grilled chorizo and a crusty bread (pan in Spanish).

Buenos Aires Bus Tour (http://www.buenosairesbus.com/)

I am a huge nerd, who LOVES audio guides and cheesy tourist things so obviously I was so excited to take one of the bus tours around town. Mads and Timmy, on the other hand, were not too stoked on it. Timmy says in South Africa he and his friends throw ice at the nerds on the busses. Rude! Well I made them take the tour with me regardless. And guess what?? They loved it! It was a really great way to get to know the entire city and understand the lay out. Plus Timmy, a professional photographer, got a lot of cool shots like this one of the three of.

Buenos Aires Graffiti Street Art Tour

http://matadornetwork.com/nights/graffiti-mundo-street-art-for-the-people-in-buenos-aires/

Buenos Aires is covered in beautiful Street Art. The GraffitiMundo tour took us around several areas introducing us to the different art collaborations that exist in Buenos Aires. Here are a few of our faves:

We Now Return You To Your Regularly Scheduled Programming…

For those of you who were avid followers of my blog during my travels, I am sorry I went radio-silent after after Rio. I am back to writing and promise to try my best to stay up-to-date. While I am now living in Buenos Aires, I am going to back peddle a bit and write a few entires about the end of Mads' and my trip as well as my 5 weeks home. After that we can move forward. Thanks again for reading!