Mardi Gras

We left Chicago at 9 pm on Friday and drove south. 18 hours later we got there. After experiencing a horrible 5-hour blizzard, the worst weather I’ve ever seen. Along the way I saw over 80 cars in the ditch. Around 2am, during the thick of the storm I even lost control of the car, causing the car to spin around 4 times before ending up in the ditch too. Luckily no one else was on the road at the time and neither us, nor the car were damaged.

New Orleans was GREAT!! The whole experience was really good. Not only Mardi Gras and all the parades and parties but the opportunity to see it from the local perspective. Ian, our host, (Chris’ friend whom I met 2 years ago in Berlin when he spent New Years at my place), was outstanding. He welcomed us with fresh crawfish and shrimp and introduced us to all his friends and roommates; all GREAT people.


Even the dogs in the south are nicer…

We went to at least one parade everyday and unlike in Germany were they throw candy out of the floats, in New Orleans they throw beats and all sort of different objects; like stuffed animals, cups, footballs and baseballs, but mainly A LOT of beats. Ian made clear that the main point of Mardi Gras was to get as much stuff as possible and so we did.


I tried all sort of southern specialties; all of which were absolutely delicious. Jambalaya, red beans n’ rice, po-boys, gumbo, turtle soup, pecan pralines, crawfish, Cajun and Creole recipes. And LOTS of king cake, which is only for Mardi Gras and has a little baby inside and who ever gets it has to buy the next cake.

The city it self is awesome too. A great mixture, just the way I like it. Strongly influenced by the French, mixed together with touches of Spanish architecture and the flavor of the Caribbean all reflected on the Americans. The people couldn’t be nicer… everyone says hello and exchange smiles, which is one of the things that I miss a lot about my country. The coffee for a change was delicious, strong, just like at home.
It was a great experience. One more place of this country that I visit and fall in love with.
I could never thank Ian enough for such a good weekend and for being an excellent host.



HERE are more pics!!!

Valentines Day!!

After a delicious dinner at Handlebar with Hector and Sebastian, we got together with Sonia, Kaily, Barb and Angel for drinks at Danny’s Tavern and my valentines day ended up being GREAT!!!

How evil are you?

Please take the test and let me know how you did, cause I was kinda scared with my result...

You Are 78% Evil

You are very evil. And you're too evil to care. Those who love you probably also fear you. A lot.

How Evil Are You?

Games Night!!

It is amazing how much I enjoy playing board games… on Saturday, Esmi, Kate, Sonia Hector and I spent a good 5 hours playing Texas hold’em at the beginning and then for most of the time a REALLY good game (new for me) called apples to apples. We had so much fun, it was a GREAT night!!

Miller Party!!

Miller Party at the Green Dolphin, it was very cool. Life Music (which I love) and a lot of free beer …

Subterranean Monday's open mic!!!

I totally recommend it, very good performers. The only bad thing was that someone broke their window last night… so, even though we were inside everyone was wearing jackets and scarf’s cause it was freezing inside the bar.
Subterranean is at:
2011 West North Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
Wicker Park

Super Bowl!!

The game stared up GREAT! But at the end the Bears didn’t win L. We had an awesome time anyway. It was fun for me to se the American passion for football, similar but definitely not as intense as ours for soccer.
After the game we went to the planetarium to take some pictures of the city supporting the Bears. The lake was totally frozen and the temperature was miserable, but the pics were worth freezing my fingers until I couldn’t feel them anymore and I had to run back to the car.
One more great American experience in Chicago!!!

VIEW FROM THE ADLER PLANETARIUM AFTER THE GAME

Cold, Freezing, Run!!!

GO BEARS!!

Sonia's Birthday!!

We went to Las Tablas and had a great time. After not eating Colombian food in a while, I stuffed my self with empanadas, arepas and patacones. God!, those things taste good!!
On the other hand, last night was the COLDEST night ever. Being outside was literally painful. The temperature was –21, Wind chills near 30 below and this is in Fahrenheit…, which is –34 in centigrade!! That is a ridiculous number… there is even a wind chill advisory.

” The National Weather Service in Chicago has issued a wind chill warning for tonight and early Monday morning... for portions of northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana generally along and north of a line from LaSalle... to Kankakee Illinois and Hebron Indiana.

With bitterly cold Arctic air in place across the region this
afternoon... temperatures will struggle to the zero to 5 above range before plummeting well below zero again tonight. Continued gusty northwest winds will combine with these frigid temperatures to produce dangerously cold wind chills... ranging from 25 below zero this afternoon... to as cold as 30 to 35 below zero across the warning area overnight and early Monday morning.

Though wind chill readings will rise above 30 below zero a few hours after sunrise Monday... bitterly cold weather conditions will continue with wind chills remaining colder than 20 below. A Wind Chill Advisory will therefore remain in effect from 9 am Monday through 9 am Tuesday morning.

A wind chill warning means the combination of very cold air and strong winds will create dangerously low wind chill values. This will result in frost bite and lead to hypothermia or death if precautions are not taken.

If you must venture outdoors... dress in layers and cover all
skin. Make sure you wear a hat and gloves. Limit outdoor activity to minimize exposure... as frostbite can occur in 30 minutes or less.
Check on elderly family members and neighbors. If you need
assistance in the city of Chicago... call 3 1 1.”

Chicago is Cold!