Episode 65: October – December 2013

Highlights of the quarter:

• Fall colors;
• Weekend in Philadelphia;
• Thanksgiving in Brazil and Argentina;
• The Borgs Visit the U.S. for Christmas.

I have decided that fall is my favorite season in Michigan.  The cooler temperatures lead to the changing colors of the leaves, great fashion trends (switching from flip flops to knee-high riding boots), and a crisp evening air.  It’s a fantastic time of year, and while our fall was short this year, we made the most of it.

Over one weekend, we decided to pay another visit to Philadelphia.  While there, we took a stroll through the Italian Market district where there are several little delicatessens, bakeries, butchers, and grocery stores, all with an Italian flair (and a few Mexican stores sprinkled in to remind you just how multicultural the U.S. is).  To continue with our theme of diversity, we walked through Chinatown for a snack of dumplings before venturing to Pat’s King of Steaks, one of the two Philadelphia institutions – located across the street from each other – that is notorious as the creator of the famous sandwich, the Philadelphia Cheesesteak.  (The cheesesteak, for those curious to know, is basically chopped meat, cooked on a flattop grill, and then stuffed onto an Italian roll, topped with onions, and smothered with Cheese Whiz – the more processed the cheese, the better.)  Happy and fed, we continued exploring the area for the rest of the afternoon.  That night, we had dinner at a great farm-to-table restaurant called Fork.

Thanks to Neal’s research and planning, this weekend ended up being quite the culinary adventure.  Other notable restuarants we visited on this trip were Talula’s Garden for Sunday brunch, Amada for a lovely Spanish dinner, and Parc for a great French bistro experience.  We also spent some time at the Franklin Institute and took a tour of Independence Hall, both of which provided us with good science and history lessons.

In late-November, it was time to check another location off our “bucket list”: Buenos Aires.  This was a place neither of us had visited previously, and therefore a great location to spend the Thanksgiving holiday week.  Our trip started with a short stopover in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to visit Luis and Stephanie and see how they have settled in there.  They have a gorgeous home and were fantastic hosts during our brief visit, doing a great job to modify our sightseeing program to accommodate for the rain that just refused to stop.  We visited the quaint artist town of Embu; went to their local market where Stephanie impressed us with her very fluent Portuguese; and visited the Mercado Municipal de Sao Paulo, a huge indoor market.  We discovered a great restaurant that specializes in bringing produce from the Amazon into modern-day cuisine.  Our favorite meal was at the local Feijoada joint, a small place that Stephanie and Luis visit frequently, where the famous bean and pork stew and the local cocktail (caipirinha) are available in an endless buffet all day long.

From Sao Paulo, we flew to the gorgeous city of Buenos Aires.  Our time in the city was limited, but we made the most of it by walking through all the main neighborhoods of Centro, San Telmo, Recoleta, and Palermo.  Our hotel was located in Puerto Madera, which was a safe and central place to be stationed.  One of our favorite activities was the Argentine tango show that we watched at Esquina Carlos Gardel.  Some friends of ours, who also work for Dow, joined us for dinner one evening, taking us into Palermo for a fantastic meal at a restaurant that specializes in food from country’s Patagonian region.

Other highlights of Buenos Aires was the amazing architecture of the city (very European in style); a visit to the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried; seeing all the sights from the hop-on/hop-off bus (I’m still mad for it); and the friendly locals.  On a side note, one of the more common professions we observed in the city was that of a dog walker – literally dozens that we saw each day, some with as many as 30 dogs on leashes.  It was quite the spectacle to watch!

From the summer of Argentina we headed back to Michigan and a very early winter, complete with snow and temperatures below freezing.  Needless to say, we were keen to get out of the cold and begin our next adventure.  We were very excited to welcome my mom, stepdad, and both of my sisters to U.S. to join us over the Christmas break.  Our trip started in New York City where Neal and I flew to meet the travelers en route from their various starting points.  Christmas time in New York City is magical, and even better seeing the sights from the vantage point of first-time visitors to the city.  We hit all the major sights, with special visits to the Christmas Village at Bryant Park; Rockerfeller Center for a bird’s eye view from the top floor; Battery Park; Wall Street; Times Square; and even a pedicab tour around Central Park.  No trip to New York City is complete without a show on Broadway, and on this trip we saw the stage production of one of my favorite all time musicals, Annie.  To top if off, we were fortunate enough to have unseasonably warm temperatures in the city, which made our walking weekend very pleasurable.

Our next stop was Michigan where the family came to enjoy some down time, see where we live, and get a real dose of winter weather.  It was one of the most memorable Christmases I’ve had in a long time, with snow falling outside and the fire on inside – just the way Christmas should be.  We spent the day at home cooking, laughing, and playing outside in the snow, making snow angels and a snowman on the front lawn.  The highlight of my stepdad’s time in Michigan was discovering the joy of shoveling snow – not sure he’ll find it such a joy if he realizes how often you need to do it, but he enjoyed doing it a couple of times.  The remainder of the time in Michigan was spent shopping and touring the town (albeit briefly since it was so cold outside).  Michelle and Ed joined us for dinner one night so they could meet the family, and they showed up with a deep fried turkey for us all to enjoy (delicious!).

The adventures did not stop in Michigan.  Our next stop on the family vacation was Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where we thawed out over a seven-day cruise of the Eastern Caribbean.  The cruise was a blast – plenty of activities for all to be entertained with on the boat.  And we did plenty of adventures on land at our various stops.  In Grand Turk, we did an ATV tour of the island; in St. Thomas, we took a scenic bus tour to the highest point on the island; in San Juan, Puerto Rico, we explored the historic old town on foot; and in the Bahamas, we did our own triathlon, complete with some snorkeling, biking, and kayaking.  We also spent as much time as possible swimming in the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean.  We spent New Year’s Eve on the cruise, which turned out to be very special, with all of us attending a party to see in the New Year and dancing at the onboard nightclub until the wee hours of the morning.  We had some fantastic memories that will last a lifetime.

Our family adventure was a great way to end 2013 and welcome in 2014.  We wish you and yours a fabulous, fun, and prosperous year ahead.  Until next time, take care!