Farmville

World's largest rodent. Eeek!

Went zip-lining yesterday over this beautiful view.

Dragon duck?

Don't be fooled by their cute little faces. These goats are bullies! The ones with the horns kept pushing the little guys out of the way to get food (the one in the middle chomped on my bracelet).  Survival of the fittest exemplified.

Blouse- Filene's Basement, Shorts and Earrings- Forever21, Sandals- Urban Outfitters

If a coffee amusement park seemed odd, try a farm-themed one on for size. A few of the attractions:


1) Cow Milking contest
2) Pose for pictures while sitting on a huge buffalo (I felt bad for the buffalo so I just stood next to it)
3) Pig Race (the pigs wore jerseys representing different countries as little kids chased them)
4) Ostrich feeding
5) Dog Show
6) View 40 species of the world's chickens (who knew there were so many?)
7) Llama ride


I felt a mixture of guilt for the animals (being milked by strangers in front of a cheering crowd comes to mind) and wonder (did you know pigs have a better sense of smell than dogs?). The message the park was trying to send was that without the country, there is no city ("Sin el campo no ay ciudad").  I think they did a good job making the "city folk" aware of what goes into supporting them, I would have just preferred if they didn't sell fried chicken right next to the hens!

Dances with Beans

A caffeine addict's paradise! I actually don't drink coffee, but I thought some of you might appreciate this :) Also, forgive the poor picture quality--I've been using my dad's camera and am having upload issues.

Sweater- Vintage (from Keepin' it Chic), Pleather shorts- Stradivarius (in Colombia), Shoes- Jeffrey Campbell, Hat- Forever21, Earrings- Vintage, Necklace- Urban Outfitters, Cuffs- Vendors in Costa Rica and Cancun

I accompanied my younger cousins on what seemed like an endless shopping trip to one of the largest malls in Bogota. Never in my life have I seen so many stores devoted solely to women's clothes, shoes, and accessories. No random kitchen or electronic stores. No Brookstone massage chair pit stops. Just clothes. After a while everything started to look the same and I became hypnotized.  Stradivarius was a great discovery-- think Zara but cheaper! As far as the Litas, they were probably the least practical shoe to bring on vacation, but I had to give these paisley babies a whirl.

I now find myself in Armenia, the agricultural region, for a little more R&R away from all the craziness of the city.  Each day we've been going on a different excursion. Take yesterday for example.  I didn't think it was possible. A coffee themed amusement park? How was Juan Valdez going to entertain me for 9 hours? 

I was oh so wrong.  El Parco National de Cafe boasts some of the more interesting attractions in the country. I hate to be lame, but it was both educational and fun! (I hear you puking a little).  I learned more than I ever wanted to about the life of a coffee bean-- there was even a coffee ballet show.  Men leapt around with satchels of beans as the women twirled with bouquets of flowers.  There was a wedding scene involving the bride being snatched away by various lecherous coffee farmers and accused by the groom of cheating. In the end, all was well, and the audience got a taste of the major Colombian dance styles.  My dad was moved to tears saying it reminded him of his childhood.  I can't say that I relate, but I will never look at a cup of coffee quite the same way!

Family Party Bus

If there's one word to describe my diet over the past 5 days it's MEAT. LOT'S OF IT.  I'm no vegetarian, but I'm starting to miss salad a little bit. (By the way, we had 4 more grills full like this!)

At Andres Carne de Res, the most visually entertaining restaurant I have ever had the pleasure of pigging out at. It takes up a whole city block (capacity 3,000) and 500 workers are there for each shift! Absolutely everything is made from recycled materials. I couldn't find the condiments and then looked up and realized they were all hanging from the ceiling! Crazy. There are entire walls covered in used crayons, flattened bottle caps, and candle wax.

I left my camera charger in a hotel! This last picture is via google images

Jacket- Rainbow, Tank and Harem shorts- Tennis (my new favorite store in Colombia), Hat & Necklace- Forever 21, Boots- Baker's

The last couple of days have been a blur, so much so that I hardly have any pictures from them. Within two hours of arriving in Bogota, I found myself on a chiva (traditional bus) full of family members ranging in age from 5 to 71 who I hadn't seen in 6 years (some I hadn't even met before) taking shot after shot of aguardiente (my great aunt made me!).  My cousins and I stared wide-eyed as my aunts danced around to reggaeton music (one aunt showed off her recently acquired pole dancing skills). No words. More shots! The bus swayed and bounced all over the city as we waved to interested people on the street.  Eventually I loosened up enough to get up and dance, but not before hitting my head on a strobe light twice and breaking it. (Note to self: Never wear Litas on a party bus!) This is why I love my family!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas (or Chinese food) :)

Influence

Sloths-- the latest accessory for spring (His name is Pepe!) Seriously, I want one.

There's a whole street that sells nothing but sweets in big jars like these.

A sign of the times (Note the neon guitar attatched to the 18th century balcony)

Who was married to Maria Washington. And this was right next to a school named after Jorge Bush. Not really! But I say we revise all our textbooks. 

Crochet tank- Arden B (11th grade), Shorts- Forever 21, Hat- Colombia, Sandals- Urban Outfitters, Bag- Vintage, Coral Necklace- Jamaica.

La Isla de Rosario

I always knew the Christmas shark was real!

The dessert menu of the restaurant I ate at last night was called "The Sins of the Novice" You can order a nice helping of one of the 7 deadly sins, including Gluttony-- "La Gula" (a ridiculous brownie sundae), and there's even Original Sin (As if you didn't feel guilty enough already!). Of course, I ended up with the "Tentacion de chocolate"-- Chocolate temptation! Yummm. Feels good to be bad!

Dress- South Moon Under, Sandals- Urban Outfitters, Bag- Vintage