My A-Z of Traveling
By Rease Kirchner
I usually don’t do these things, but since I was tagged by Ayngelina, Lola and JoAnna, I went ahead and did it. Enjoy!
A: Age you started traveling?
19. I studied abroad in Mendoza, Argentina the summer after my freshmen year of college.
B: Best beer you’ve had and where?
As a native St. Louisian, I should say Budweiser at the Busch Brewery, but I think Boulder, Colorado has way better microbrews.
C: Cuisine (favourite):
Mexican. I live for rice, beans, fresh tortillas and spicy sauces.
D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why:
I really loved Guadalajara, Mexico (not just for the food) but I did choose Buenos Aires, Argentina as my home for the past year and a half.
Orozco mural in Guadalajara, Mexico
Least favorite would be Colonia, Uruguay. This has got to be the most boring town I have ever paid way too much to visit. You can read about how much I hated it.
E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”:
Skydiving in Las Sierras outside of Córdoba, Argentina was pretty amazing.
F: Favorite mode of transportation:
I like planes because they get me where I need to be quickly. I want to like buses and trains but as I get motion sick, especially when I read, they are pretty miserable for me unless I have company.
G: Greatest feeling while traveling:
That I am completely free to do whatever the hell I want.
H: Hottest place:
My air conditioner-less apartment in Buenos Aires in January 2010. I took a lot of cold showers that summer.
I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where:
I feel like everyone in Denver, Colorado is super friendly and helpful.
J: Journey that took the longest:
When I moved to Buenos Aires from St. Louis, I left my house at 3:30am on June 22nd and arrived at my apartment in Buenos Aires around 10:30am on June 23rd, so a total of 29 hours in transit. Did I mention I was lugging around 2 huge suitcases and my dog, Padfoot? Padfoot is a handful, you will learn that if you read those articles or just check out his blog)
K: Keepsake from your travels:
I am obsessed with hand-made earrings. I buy them like crazy. These are my latest purchases:
Dragonflies and paper cranes, purchased at a Bonodori festival outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina
L: Let-down sight, why and where:
Sears Tower in Chicago. I avoided it for my first several trips to Chicago but I ended up going eventually. Mistake. It´s just a really tall building.
M: Moment where you fell in love with travel:
I think it was when I jumped out of that plane in Córdoba or perhaps after the first Argentina World Cup win in the 2006 World Cup. I was in Mendoza and the streets went crazy.
N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in:
The CasaSur Hotel in Buenos Aires. I stayed in the Executive Suite and it was incredible!
O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?:
Mullets and rat tails. I just find them disgusting and their continued existence blows my mind.
P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?
I am not the type to worry about my passport stamp count. I just have 4- Mexico, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina
Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:
Tierra Santa. To quote my description in our 101 Places You Should Never Go article: “basically a giant outdoor Jesus advertisement with Jesus through the years models made of Styrofoam and a freakishly huge Jesus that pops out of a cave every 30 minutes. Unless you feel like saying Hail Marys for the rest of your life, keep away from this creepy sacrilegious park.
R: Recommended sight, event or experience:
Blogger meetups. Living in Buenos Aires has given me lots of opportunities to meet bloggers who are passing through and host unofficial blogger events. I would really love to go to a TBEX or other official event some day. I have met some great friends such as Ayngelina, Stephanie and Abby in person just through twitter and blogging!
S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling:
Ice cream. I take my ice cream pretty seriously, I make sure there is ample room for it in my budget.
I bought this beautiful creation in Parana, Argentina.
T: Touristy thing you’ve done:
I did some winery and brewery tours in Argentina. In Mendoza, I got bored of it so I convinced the guy at Trapiche winery to let us skip the tour and go straight to the tasting. He was more than happy to oblige and even added bonus wines and champagnes. We left drunk and happy.
U: Unforgettable travel memory:
Celebrating multiple world cup wins in both 2006 and 2009 in Argentina in Mendoza, Cordoba, and Buenos Aires. The energy is incredible and completely intoxicating. I loved it so much in 2006 that I scheduled my move to Buenos Aires around World Cup games.
V: Visas, how many and for where?
I have never needed a visa to go anywhere.
W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?
Luigi Bosca DOC Malbec 2008, which I tried at the Fierro Hotel wine tasting. It was amazing.
X: eXcellent view and from where?:
My friend Rachel and I joked that we have seen so many “highest points” that it almost gets old so instead of a city view, I will go with the view of the waterfalls in Puerto Iguazú, Argentina. I’m not going to pretend like my photos are even worth looking at compared to all the incredible shots travel blogging photographers have taken, but here’s one anyway:
Iguazu Falls in Argentina
Y: Years spent traveling?:
I am not a RTW traveller or even a backpacker, really. I spent 3 weeks straight traveling through South America and 3 weeks in Mexico, but other than that I have just done shorter trips and my longer stint as an expat (1.5 years) in Buenos Aires.
Z: Zealous sports fans and where?:
Do I really need to mention it again? ARGENTINA! OLE OLE OLE! AR-GEN-TINA! AR-GEN-TINA!
