A Weekend Getaway

The Plaza Mayor- one of the largest cobblestone 

plazas in the Americas

In February, as part of a three day weekend, we traveled to Villa de Leyva - one of Colombian's most scenic colonial towns.

The Mudejar Fountain that served as the village's
sole water source for centuries.

The best part of the weekend was staying at the
home of one of our colleagues. What a treat
 it was for our cell group to share the
weekend in this amazing beautiful, quaint,
and peaceful setting!

The "bunk house" where we slept

                                                      .

One of the other houses- notice the fun windows!

                                           

 A view from the inside. You can feel the love and
creativity that William and Bonnie put into the
design and construction of each and every detail!

A cemetery we found on the walk into town

                                               

          

                             

Karen's fascination with
Colombian doors and doorways continues!

                                           

Our afternoon walking around town- so quaint!

One of our favorite parts of the
weekend was a 3 hour horse
back ride- complete with a river crossing!

What is becoming a traditional jump shot with our dear friend, Lynsey

A perfect ending to a really wonderful weekend!

Amberly's Wedding

Snowy Boston

This was just the beginning. In the end
 there was over a foot of snow!

The bridal party took the subway to the wedding
then walked about 4 snow filled blocks

January started with two exciting events - a major blizzard and a WEDDING! It was planned for January 4th and we flew up on January 2nd, arriving in Boston just a few hours before they closed the airport. Boston turned into a winter wonderland. Most businesses closed and the streets were empty - except for the snow of course. Over the next two days guests made their way into the city - sometimes with amazing detours and great stories. In the end, all but a handful of people made it to the wedding. The wedding itself was wonderful! held in an art studio/gallery with many friends and family. Highlights for me included all the preparations, the father daughter dance (we did a disco dance!), hanging out with friends that we don't get a chance to see very often and of course seeing Amberly and Charlie get married. We left town just ahead of another snowstorm but had no problems and the next day flew back to Bogota. What a wonderful and happy wedding it was. Enjoy a few pictures.

They all made it!

Getting ready!

The happy couple

The tables were organized by cities that were important
to Amby and Charlie. Sendai of course was where we lived
in Japan (and the site of the horrible tsunami in 2011)

Amberly's grandmother

Walking down the aisle

The ceremony

All these people were students together in Sendai

The reception

Charlie's grandfather

At the rehearsal - Drayton had to fill in
for one of the bridesmaids who
was delayed by the snow

Kristin and Andrew

The three kids!

The bridesmaids

The bridesmaids with Amby

The proud parents

On the Metro the day after

Saying goodbye!

Christmas in Bogota

Bogota decorations

My goal is to get back up to date. Surely I can do that. I am only four months behind! We are now on our spring break and with a little extra time, I will try to get up a few posts. Just a word of warning - they may be a little brief. Hope you enjoy!

A building near our house

Are they passing the snowballs up or down?

Even the churches decorate

Christmas in Colombia may compete with the USA in terms of the decorations and all out love of the holiday. Following Halloween there are no real holidays (no Thanksgiving in Clombia :( ) So decorations start in early November. Seasonal shops open up and other stores turn their inventory over to Christmas. These are a few pictures we took with our phones. We weren't really prepared for the extravagance, coming from Japan. Anyway, after school we headed to the USA for a quiet and relaxing Christmas. The girls and their husbands came for a long weekend and it was fun to touch base with many of our (and their) North Carolina friends. So it stayed quiet until the new year - but that is a tale for the next post.

So do many buildings

the journey home... from school

Greetings everyone,
after a two month hiatus the blog is back and we will make it an effort to keep updating it every week. Here is what is on the agenda 1) Christmas Break, 2) Amby and Charlie's Wedding, 3) A weekend in Villa de Leyva, 4) the CNG Color Run and 5) Karen's week in the Amazon. Plenty of material and more coming. So for now, enjoy our walk home from school.

One of our friends recently posted a bunch of pictures that depicted his walk home from school. As i walked home the other day, I decided to replicate his idea and capture my walk home. I admit I was  somewhat surprised to find/notice things I have missed as I have hurried back to our apartment.

J and I take the bus TO school each day and from the pictures, you may be able to tell why. The school is on the side of a mountain and it's an all uphill walk to school. Coming home is a breeze- and only takes about 10 minutes. As you will see, the walk is beautiful and there are many things to enjoy.

The view of Bogota from school

Karen's Office

Inside Karen's place

The entrance to the school

across the street from the school - maybe the only flat part of our walk

Grafiti is an art in Bogota

Flowers are everywhere

Apartment buildings almost all the way down

Many unique and beautiful doorways

Art pieces are all along the way

There are lots of stairs

More art

more stairs

Oddly colored leaves - since there is no fall or spring

Did I mention there are lots of stairs

Finally at the bottom of all of the stairs

A fairly typical street (4th street)

A little house around the corner  from our apartment

Our apartment building with one of our three porteros