Mom and Dad do Colombia

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In Colombia, Semana Santa (holy week) is a very special time. Mostly for religious reasons, but also because that means Spring Break for me! One week off from school! And guess who decided to join me on my break? My parents!

Pat and Joe arrived on a Thursday evening before my break began. My friend Natalia kindly drove us to the airport to pick them up and you should have seen the suitcase my mother brought for a 6-day trip! You should also have seen the other suitcase full of goodies for me! <3 nbsp="" p="">
Unfortunately, I still had class at 7am on Friday, so I was not able to accompany them anywhere, and my dad flat-out refused to wake up at 6am to go to school with me! Fair enough. Luckily, my roommate Christina had a very light schedule, and she dropped them off at their first destination, the Museo de Oro (gold museum). When it was time for my lunch break, I dashed down towards the Museo to find my parents and Christina (who again, was amazing and picked them up for me!). We decided to go for lunch in La Candelaria, the colonial section of town adjacent to my university, but I was not able to stay long before heading to my final class. From what I hear, the 3 had a lovely lunch and a slow meander through the narrow streets until they came to the university at 330 when I finished teaching.

Once security cleared the gringos, I showed the 'rents my uber professional work corner in the teacher's office. There were a few other teachers around and my parents were able to chat with a few. They both agreed that the campus was beautiful, but let's move it Kathleen...we've got things to do! Aye aye!

Our next stop was Montserrate, the beautiful mountain and church that are behind the university as well. My dad was under the misguided impression that I would let him walk up the mountain...ha! I
knew how much the altitude would affect them, and as we sloooowly trudged up the street toward the entrance of the mountain, my dad conceded that I was right. Victory! We bought a cable car right up the mountain and we were blessed with very clear, sunny views. Also, there were not so many tourists compared to my earlier trips, so it was quite peaceful. We explored the church, took some photos of the views, and wandered around the gift stalls. We bought some Te de Coca (not cocaína!) for mom because it supposedly helps one adjust to higher altitudes. After Montserrate, everyone needed a nap! We rested for an hour and then went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant called El Barrio. It was a small group- just the roommates and my friend Ben. We had a few beers (Dad was finally allowed to have one!) and chatted. It was a very pleasant day!

Saturday, I made brunch at the house. We had Arepa, eggs, avocado, tomato and fruit, one of my biweekly combinations! My friend Corrie also came over to chitchat and eat. I was so happy my parents were able to meet some friends in small doses and really get to know them individually. After brunch, we headed to the Museo Nacional for a few hours. This was my second visit, and I think Mom and Dad liked it too! The musem is an old jail, so you feel like you're in a fortress. The art and relics go back several centuries, but there are also several modern pieces, including art by Botero, who my dad loved! Here are a few pics from the Musuem.

They're so sophisticated, discussing fine art :)

 With Botero


After the museum, we wandered through the surrounding neighborhood, La Macarena, which has cute, European-styled cafes and restaurants. I was shocked to find my normal go-to bar closed, the BBC, but we managed to find beer...we always do :) Once again, everyone was ready for a mid-afternoon nap to prepare the night's festivities!

For dinner, we went to a lovely Italian restaurant in Zona Rosa, the happening spot of Bogota! Natalia and my friend Doug joined us, and we had a great time eating pasta and finishing a couple bottles of wine! The post dinner plans included finding a salsa bar, but once again, I was shocked to find the Cuban club closed! What was going on?! Instead, we found another bar and asked the DJ to put some salsa on. Natalia was very sad because she thought my dad was sad he couldn't dance, and my dad was sad because he thought Natalia was sad because she couldn't dance.  So you can imagine was happened next...yep! My dad agreed to ONE dance with Natalia! So we all trooped to the little dance floor and hilarity commenced! I was impressed with my mom and dad's moves! The funniest part was when Dad said, "Kathleen, how did I choose the longest song ever?" And Natalia whispered to me, "Does your Dad know it's not one song...there have been 3 with no pause!" Hahaha! Finally, Dad caught on and demanded a break. These next pictures will help give you a strong idea of how things went...I hope my Dad doesn't disown me!




We made some new friends :)

Alas, my mom turned into Cinderella at midnight (rightfully so), and we took a cab home. After all, we had a flight at 12 to...Cartagena!

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