Adios, Colombia!

Wednesday morning gave us our first sunny day in Bogota! The weather was perfect for a walk around Usaquén and its market. While typically a busy weekend flea market, it was a bit quieter on this weekday morn. Regardless I found a few gifts (for myself and others, hah), and it was from one of these street vendors that I received my first birthday gift: a red, blue, and yellow bracelet - typical Colombian as the colors represent the flag. Not a bad way to begin my birthday morning.

my birthday bracelet.

In walking around the area, Jesi showed us a beautiful nursery, with several glass hot houses.
[I took several pictures to give Mom and Dad ideas for their future nursery. ;-) ] 

glass greenhouse.

inside.

We also stumbled upon a gift shop with Christmas decorations and housewares. Here I fell in love with a scarf. Silly, I know. Although it was imported (Germany, I think), it still has a Latin flair. I'm wearing it now as I sit in the airport!

On the way back home for a wonderful birthday and last-day-in-Colombia lunch, we stopped to pick up dessert. Ale and I searched the entire weekend in Cartagena to find a gift that would suffice in expressing our appreciation to the Torres family. They (and the rest of Colombia) have been so hospitable, thoughtful, helpful, kind, and welcoming. Señor Torres gave Ale and I beautiful photo books of Colombia sights.

beautiful pastry shop.

my birthday cake!

Señora Torres made a traditional Colombian lunch (Apologies for the lack of Spanish vocabulary today. Ale and Jesi aren't here to tell me what things are called.) with meat and vegetables, rice, salad and mashed potatoes, made from tiny yellow potatoes specific to Colombia. They finished our meal with a Spanglish rendering of "happy birthday". So great! The meal was amazing, the company full of laughs, and perfect dessert and coffee to finish us off!

As I may have mentioned earlier, Ale and Jes and family are attending a wedding this weekend a few hours out of the city. In preparation for that and my trip to MS/NYC, we took advantage of the great prices and had our nails done! What a great way to spend my birthday: shopping, being pampered and eating too much! All of my favorite things.

colombian coffee and delicious cake? si, por favor!

By the time we finished nails/toes, it was time to get ready for dinner! We went to Gaira Cafe for dinner, a restaurant owner by Ballenato legend Carlos Vives.  The restaurant is reminiscent of the House of Blues in New Orleans: the walls are decorated with photos and paintings of musicians and celebrities; the tables  are arranged as a normal restaurant, but a huge red velvet curtain lines one full wall; live Ballenato music plays each night.

The restaurant serves coastal food, mainly from the region around Cartagena. A few friends of Ale and Jesi's also joined us, making it a perfect birthday celebration and a chance for old friends to catch up. When the meal arrived we all shared tastes of each plate: my favorite part of dining out.

jesi and i. what a wonderful host!

my meal. shrimp and plantains with arroz con coco (coconut rice).

the group and Guillermo Vives (famous Ballenato singer).

jesi, me, and ale.

birthday crown. woop woop.

me and my birthday band.

All in all it was an excellent birthday and a great finale to Colombia!

Now it is back to real life... Sitting in an airport, awaiting my six hour flight and mentally preparing myself to take a similar trip tomorrow. I leave BWI (Baltimore) at 6:50a for Gulfport. I can't wait to be home, see family and visit with friends in Starkville, but I can't say I'm ready to make the trip. :-)

Thanks for reading!