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Bogota Living, La Candelaria, Botero’s Art, And The Simpsons

Breakfast at a Juan Valdez cafe

Laura greeted me at the door, welcomed me into her spacious apartment, and introduced me to Juliana, her roommate. They had known each other from childhood, having both grown up in Cali. Tired from the long travel day, my body still operating on Spanish time, I kept it low key the first night by chatting, using their wonderful wi-fi internet access, and watching The Simpsons in Spanish.

Between two of Botero's beauties

My first night at Laura's was comfortable, but I didn't get much sleep. I awoke around 2am local time (8am Madrid time), and only slept intermittently thereafter. It was some of the worst jetlag I'd experienced on my trip. Juliana left for her first day of the new semester at university. She's majoring in architecture, while Laura started out with art and has since moved to international law. Her classes begin the following week, so she would have time to show me around.

Plaza Bolivar

We headed out mid-morning. I wanted to try the Trans-Millenia bus, the city's alternative to building a metro. It was crowded, a little more costly than the normal buses, but fast. Our first stop was the Juan Valdez cafe in La Candelaria district. The JV cafes are Colombia's version of Starbucks, which has yet to open shop in Colombia, though Laura said it was a possibility for the future (less for the coffee, more because it was symbolic of American culture). Needless to say, the coffee was good.

My host Laura (left) and her friend Laura

We then wandered through several interconnected museums…all free. What a concept! I had fun trying to improve my Spanish by using visual cues in the paintings to translate the titles. Laura helped when I got stuck. Between art galleries, and Spanish-dubbed episodes of The Simpsons, there's hope for me yet! I really enjoyed the Fernando Botero collection. As Colombia's most famous artist, he donated not only his own work but part of his private collection which was extensive, including works by Picasso, Degas, Dali, and Monet. We walked through the Mint museum too, seeing two jewel-encrusted, golden sculptures (housed in their own vault room) and plenty of coins.

Traditional soup of Bogota

Laura's friend Laura met up with us back at the cafe and we walked to the Plaza de Bolivar. It was filled with pigeons, and uncharacteristically I was told, a band playing live music. I had already shared with Laura my focus on food, and she made sure to steer us into a restaurant offering the typical regional cuisine. I liked the background music. I chose the traditional soup with tender shredded chicken, potatoes, onions, and cream. It arrived with a side of avocado and rice, the perfect accompaniment. The serving sizes were huge, an neither the Laura's, nor I, could finish half of what was given to us.

Police bike

After lunch, we walked around another part of the city where the bullfighting stadium was located, but the rain was putting a damper on our walk so we returned to Laura's apartment via the regular bus, which was more comfortable than the Trans-Millenia, but far slower.  The night was spent the same as the first, watching TV and hanging out.  Again, I found myself awake at 2am from the jetlag, too tired to get up and not tired enough to fully fall asleep again.

Planning a trip? Go Backpacking recommends:

ayngelina

Friday 15th of October 2010

I must have that soup! Tomorrow for lunch I'm hunting this place down.

Dave

Monday 18th of October 2010

Let me know if you find it -- I should know the name of the restaurant for future reference!

Amy

Sunday 8th of February 2009

That soup looks so good!

Amy

Sunday 8th of February 2009

That soup looks so good!

Dexc

Tuesday 3rd of February 2009

nice travel photo shots.....i amjust curious..are the policemen in this place uses this motorcycle all the time?

Dave

Saturday 7th of February 2009

Not all the time, but I certainly see more of them then in western countries.

Dexc

Tuesday 3rd of February 2009

nice travel photo shots.....i amjust curious..are the policemen in this place uses this motorcycle all the time?

Dave

Saturday 7th of February 2009

Not all the time, but I certainly see more of them then in western countries.

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