I didn’t know much about bachata music until I met Marisol. When her favorite artist, Romeo Santos, announced a concert in Pereira, she asked me to come with her and her group of friends. In the weeks leading up to the concert, Marisol taught me how to dance bachata. She told me I can’t go to the concert unless I can dance.
Every year for one week, Belén de Umbría celebrates a week of fiestas to commemorate the founding of the town. The fiestas usually take place in November. This year, they were moved a month earlier to October.
With a couple of other teachers (Natalia #1, Natalia #2, and Maryam), I went to a Marc Anthony concert in Pereira. It’s not normally I concert I would go see, but I was sure the atmosphere would be amazing in Colombia.
The biggest social event in Medellín is the annual Flower Festival (Feria de las Flores), held annually in August.
Just the thought of an amusement park with a coffee theme was intriguing to me. Parque del Café, part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, is located in a beautiful green valley in the heart of Coffee Country near the town of Montenegro in the department of Quindío.
Every May for three days, the UNESCO World Heritage city of Paraty turns into the jazz capital of the world. The Bourbon Festival is an international music festival featuring jazz, blues, R&B, and soul artists from all over the world. All concerts are completely free, and street musicians perform all over town.
Petrópolis is a city in the highlands of Brazil, not too far from Rio de Janeiro. It was the summer residence of Brazilian emperors in the 19th century. Besides a beautiful drive from Rio through green forested hills, the climate is cooler and less humid, making it a nice escape for a day.
Probably the ONLY Greek restaurant in Santiago, Opa-Opa Comida Griega was hosting a Greek fest with a live band today. I decided to go check it out.
My all-time favorite place in Greece to have a meal or drink or coffee (especially on a weekend) is in a revamped old area near the port in Thessaloniki called Ladadika.
Manoli, Aleko, and George picked me up and we began our four hour drive to Windsor, Ontario. Our excuse was to see the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers play at Comerica Park in Detroit the next day. Aleko and I sat in the back seat and played a heated game of Risk on my iPad while George and Manoli captained the ship.