For our second day trip around Salta we headed towards the south into the country’s white wine country. Unlike the previous day, this tour had fewer stops, but got us back to the hotel in a timely manner. The trip was relaxed and simple. We drove through the Quebrada (ravine) de Cafayate. We sampled wine at the Domingo Hermanos. We ate Torrentes flavored ice cream and sweet pastries along the way. When we weren’t feasting with our mouths, we feasted with our eyes. Fire colored mountain rock of all shapes, resembling a frog (el sapo), castles (los castillos) and windows (ventanas) were all along the path.

If you ask me what my favorite part of the entire day was, I’d have to give it to the meeting with the llama. Despite my dining experience a couple days prior, I was delighted to pose with the furry creature and not eat it. Ever since my uncle had a picture taken with one in Peru, I had always wanted one too. And I got it.

For the rest of this entry, I leave you with photos.

On the second day in Salta, Natalie and I got out of the city limits to explore higher grounds in the north. The day before we had settled on doing two day trips in the region with a local tour company whose name I cannot remember at the moment, but will have to locate. At first we considered renting a car to travel the area at our own pace, but one too many recommendations about the long, lonely, stretch of rough road caused us to revert to plan B.

The first tour took us along rusted railroad tracks through mountains dotted with cactus and painted colors. Roadside offerings for Pachamama were easy to be seen as we made our way closer to the Salinas Grandes, but there would be many stops before reaching the climax.

Our guide, a heavy smoker with tattoos of his children’s names lining his arms/hands and need to chew cocoa leaves the entire drive, had offered a revision to the original tour package just two hours into the tour. No one in the car bit. Not even the two 20 year-old ladies with baby doll faces from the U.K. Completely fine with the itinerary and we continued stopping in small towns with populations of 5 to 25 people. Only a few were slightly larger.

We stopped for lunch in an area called San Antonio de los Cobres. I cannot recall the population count here, but the rows of yellow houses with orange colored tiled roof give me the impression there were at least some 300 people around. At least. The streets around the restaurant were a dusty white color, full of people one moment and empty the next. It was a quiet place for the most part, but the restaurant was packed with tourists (mainly European) riding the circuit.

I’d heard about how good the llama was in this particular area and was hopeful of munching on some for lunch. In a total slip of the mind I forgot that the llama was safe during Pachamama. I ordered the beef dish instead and wasn’t disappointed. With or without a squirt of lemon juice the beef was incredibly tasty and I devoured it within minutes. Natalie’s cut wasn’t as nice and a little on the fatty side, so she did the best she could.

After lunch we left San Antonio de los Cobres and pressed further into desert and what seemed like tiny deserted towns. We stopped at one, this one with a population somewhere around ten. There was a church, a tiny museum, a restaurant and a few homes. Our guide told us to spend 30 minutes looking around (so he could nap), but there wasn’t quite 30 minutes of attractions to look at. We entertained ourselves by taking more pictures of cactus and the rabbits that would probably be eaten later.

When our guide finally decided to rise, we were off again. This time the next stop would be the Salinas Grandes, but the road there was paved, unpaved and long. The high sun was starting to slowly sink away into the evening on the horizon. Natalie and I kept busy by snapping pictures of the other passenger every time her sleepy head bobbed over and landed on Natalie’s shoulder. We tried to keep our giggling to a minimum. When we had both passed enough time being goofy, I fixed my gaze out the window.

Then the salt flats came into view. I sat up in my seat with eyes fixed on the grand prize. To simply put it, I was excited because it was something new. Something I’d never seen before.

We wandered around the Salines Grandes snapping photos of the cracked earth and salt ponds with crystals sparkling in the late afternoon sunlight. Then we did what all the other tourists do. We took more pictures playing on perspective. We probably could have been a little more creative and taken about 20 different shots with Natalie stepping on a tiny size Adrienne or vice versa, but I think we just wanted to enjoy the scenery if anything.

It would be great if I could say that the tour ended in a salt flat paradise, but it didn’t. A stop in Purmamarca was on our agenda and when we arrived we were a tad bummed that we only had 10-15 minutes to spend before having to head back to Salta. Our tour guide wasn’t particularly good with time management. Maybe it was that 30 minute stop in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know. Purmamarca was bigger than some of the other towns we passed through and it had a great little market that would have been just perfect for finding souvenirs.

But we had to go. It was 7 o’clock and the two girls sharing the vehicle with us had a bus to catch from Salta to BsAs at 10 o’clock. We were two hours away from Salta and we were supposed to have been back at our hotels by 7:30 or 8 PM at the latest. Apparently, our tour guide drove a bit recklessly the entire way back. I made myself fall asleep to avoid being frightened, but Natalie stayed up the whole time wide-eyed and very aware. We didn’t get back to the Design Suites in Salta until 9:15 PM. For this reason I wouldn’t recommend this particular tour operator or at least this guide.

All-in-all we arrived alive and well, if only a bit frazzled. I will keep the beauty I experienced that day in mind and forget all the rest. Viva Salinas Grandes, juicy beef eats, colorful mountain rock and vibrant fabrics from the market stalls in Purmamarca. Next time, I’ll collect your souvenirs.

Choosing a destination outside of Buenos Aires was difficult once we decided that Patagonia probably wasn’t the best idea. Too little time and my limited budget makes for zero glacier hiking. However, if you ask anyone in country and they’ll tell you almost everything is AMAZING. Of course locals gushed about the expansive beauty of Iguazu’s waterfalls. As much as we believed them, Natalie and I were uninterested in waterfalls this time around. Then there was the option of cycling around the vineyards of Mendoza. This is Natalie’s type of thing and I can’t say that I would have enjoyed it much. I drink wine every now and then. It puts me to sleep.

Then came Salta, a region in the north west of the country and area with great mestizo societies with Andean backdrops. There are jungles, desert, dunes, wineries, arts, entertainment and more to be seen all in Salta and the surrounding towns. In the end, I think I picked Salta because of the diverse options to choose from and it didn’t hurt that the weather was possibly the warmest out of anywhere else in country during the winter season.

Getting to Salta was a trip. On the way it was only supposed to be an 18 hour bus ride, but our bus was experiencing some technical problems and we had to switch to another bus maybe two hours outside of the city. So our trip into Salta was roughly two hours longer than it should have been. Thankfully buses in Argentina are not like Greyhound. They were very cozy (seats reclined all the way back into a bed) and they feed you A LOT.

When we finally did arrive we checked into the Design Suites. I booked this hotel because it looked like a pretty hip boutique spot and it had a gym. (I needed to be sure I could get my runs in.) I really wanted to like the hotel 100%, but I can only give it 85%. The sinks splashed a wee too much water out onto the floor and the 4th floor spa could use a little upkeep. Otherwise the staff was very nice, the morning breakfast was awesome, the view from the gym was cool and the Osadia restaurant is excellent too. Beware: that the portion sizes are very hearty and very tasty! The art displayed around the hotel was interesting and they had a nice display of jewelry from local artisans. The Design Suites is a nice base camp for day trips outside of the city of Salta to explore Salta, the province.

I really enjoyed the city of Salta. It is small, but clean and very attractive. Most attractions can be easily found in Plaza 9 de Julio. The Iglesia Catedral is a must see by day and by night. MAAM is a small museum and for 30 pesos we got to see the one of the “Llullaillaco Children.” They are one of the most important archaeological finds in recent times and tells about ancient rituals of the Incas.

Aside from these two sites my top two favorite places in Salta have to deal with shopping and food. I’ll start with the food.

Jose Balcarce. Yum. Delicious. Fantastic. This is where I had my big opportunity to try llama (pronounced sha-ma in Arg Spanish) and the chef didn’t disappoint. From appetizer to desert I think I was hypnotized. I’ll describe each briefly. My appetizer consisted of salted shrimp, fennel acidity, raw ham with reduction of aceto. My entree was llama loin, quinoa llaswa and filled achoschas. My dessert: orange blossom custard. There were only two wishes I had while dining at Jose Balcarce. I wished Natalie had enjoyed her trout more and that my husband could have joined in this particular dining experience.

My second favorite stop in Salta was at Objetos de Agrado. I think I nearly went bananas at this small jewelry shop. The owner was a nice woman named Solana. She was very down-to-earth and humble. I could sense the pride she took in being able to create pieces that spoke to many different types of people within Salta and worlds beyond. Swing by her place if you are ever in Salta.

Above are a few scenes of the city from the rooftop of the Design Suites and below are only a small handful of photos from around the area.

Before I went to Buenos Aires, I had done a little bit of guide book, blog and news reading to better acquaint me with one of South America’s largest cities. The more I read, the more excited and interested I became. This particular article in the New York Post almost lead me to having mixed feelings. Thankfully, I know better. For the most part the only few things I ever really thought Argentina were; war criminals from Europe and tango. There is no question that these two images will remain on the list, but now I can add to it. That being said, the best way for me to approach a possible conversation I might have about the metropolis is to just go down my list.

Buenos Aires is a large city packed with people, traffic and fairly diverse barrios (neighborhoods) much like New York City. It has a huge theater district along Av Corrientes. If I’m not mistaken it is one of the third largest in the world. There are tons of shops, fine dining, cheap dining, events and you name it! It almost felt like any big city in the U.S. and this made it slightly less exotic and less appealing. (Keep in mind I am a woman with a heart for mud huts in the sticks.) The exceptions being Spanish as the primary language and a sea of brunettes and dark haired citizens bobbing about packed sidewalks and streets. I truly didn’t see many blond or red heads and the city is definitely lacking people of African origin (exception: a few male street vendors).

What the city isn’t lacking are a number of women who have had some type of plastic surgery done. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not against getting one’s nose tweaked or giving some aging boobies a lift, but it’s more extreme here. I had the opportunity to go on two free city walking tours and the guide, an Argentine native by the name, Macarena, shared some disturbing facts about the plastic surgeries. Go on the Aristocratic tour if you’re in town. If she’s your guide then you’ll hear all about it. It will either make you laugh or make you want to barf.

Overall, the buildings are much older and the architecture much more detailed than the modern pieces here in the newer world on the opposite side of the equator. Many buildings lining the street architecturally, reveal various stories about the immigrants who came or simply people who had too much money. There are enough monuments to keep any tourist on the beaten path and shutter happy for days. The Oblesico (pictured above) is one of the most famous landmarks in Buenos Aires. It reminds me of the Washington Monument in D.C. and there are jokes of it being a giant white penis all the same.

Surprisingly as this may sound, I don’t personally know many people from Argentina in the states. In fact, I’ve only met one in Tampa. Maybe I need to make more trips to Miami. Anyways, I had heard some rumors prior to my visit that Argentine’s are somewhat on the arrogant and pretentious side in comparison to their South American neighbors. I wouldn’t have known it. I can honestly say that everyone I met or couch surfed with was pretty grounded and nice. Perhaps if I stayed longer my opinion would change, but I’m happy the way it is now. La-la-la!

Being bored in a city like Buenos Aires should never happen. There is far too much to do and see and feast upon. The great part is a ton of money isn’t necessarily needed, but it could certainly require stamina. I’ll explain later. Because I’m still in listing mode I’m going to tell you exactly where I went and what I saw. I used Lonely Planet’s Buenos Aires Encounter to decide on what I wanted to do while in town with Natalie and without. (I really recommend this pocket-size guide.) In no particular order here are my experiences:

Jardin Botanico Carlos Thays This free botanical garden in Palermo is not worth going out of the way for unless one really craves green space of any type. I hate to compare, but I do it anyway. I’ve been to some great gardens across the world and this one didn’t mow me over. I tried to imagine it in spring or summer and possibly with fewer abandoned cats lurking the property. Just okay if you ask me. The green house pictured above is cool though.

The nearby Jardin Japones is different. First of all, entry is eight pesos. It is properly attended to and without cats digging up the place. Small, but tranquil. Peaceful and pleasant, the only thing that snapped me out of a zen state was the scent of miso and Japanese fare being cooked up in the restaurant. A good visit if you’re in the neighborhood.

Modern and contemporary art can be found at MALBA, but don’t expect five floor levels of bizarre artworks. It is smaller than Natalie and I expected.

Caminito is a popular tourist area in a grittier part of the city named “La Boca.” It’s known for the colorful painted houses and Italian immigrants from Genoa. Sadly, Natalie and I didn’t get much time in La Boca. I would have liked to have sat for a while with a drink (maybe Malbec) and watched as tango dancers swirled passionately on the stage. (The shot above was one Natalie snapped in passing.)

The area is definitely fun for photography. I didn’t take any with my digital camera here so I’ll have to see what my holga produces.

If I had money and lived in BsAs, then I would either live in San Telmo or Puerto Madero. Puerto Madero is clean, green, close to the water and there is good food to be had. I know this for certain. I spent a few hours walking around and in that short amount of time could feel a connection to the area. San Telmo is older and more bohemian. I was probably sucked in by all the artsy-fartsy antique shops and restaurants there, but that is what gave it more character than Puerto Madero. To even compare just these two together is a little silly. It’d be more accurate to compare the P.M. with Palermo. Palermo wasn’t my favorite neighborhood. High end shops and so-called trendsetters make this area. Although I tend to like both, I wouldn’t want to sleep with either.

It feels like I am forgetting something… Ah, yes, TANGO!!! For me I felt most like I was having a real Argentine experience when learning to tango. Natalie and I took one class together at Darcos Magic Shoes and then I took two more after she left. The classes were great and easy to follow. The basic seems tricky, but don’t be fooled. Practically everyone in every class I took nailed it. Regretfully, I never made it to a milonga to practice these moves. GASP. I am very sad that I didn’t work harder to make this happen. It could be my old age, but I couldn’t get on the late night social hours of the city. (STAMINA)

Mmmm… Steak + Wine + Ice Cream = Heaven. The food is very good in Argentina. Hands down the beef is grand, but please pass the chimchurri sauce. The wine was tasty for someone like myself who isn’t a big sampler. The best for me was the ice cream. I’m like a 10 year old like that. The ice cream made me happiest while in country. The empanadas made me less happy. Getting empanadas before a meal was almost like their tortilla chips and salsa. However, even when I felt as if I were starting to get tired of empanadas, I always found myself reaching for one. (Greedy)

Here are my favorite places I ate at in BsAs: La Chollita (parrilla), Miranda (parrilla), I Fresh Market (deli), Freddo (ice cream) & Moderna (ice cream).

1. Not having ice cream every day.
2. Missing the Thursday vigil of the Madres
3. Not going to a Milonga or Tango show during the Tango festival.
4. Not going to visit a pena for Gaucho grooves and moves.
5. Not knowing better Spanish. Habla Espanol muy poquito. :/

Aside from the above I think I made the most of each day. I did more shopping than I would have liked, but that’s my trouble with cities anywhere and I’m not even a big spender.

So in summary… Good times. Not incredible and certainly not terrible. I cannot lie. I feel a little unfilled. Outside of BsAs, each region in the country is begging to be explored. As much as we had hoped to do Patagonia, it wasn’t in the cards. In addition to BsAs there is the northwest which I will bring to my blog in the very near future.

Scattered ashes into the sea and a nice shaded bench is the way I had always planned for remains to be handled in the event of an untimely death. Considering I typically don’t think about death on a regular basis, I actually don’t even have these last requests on paper. Eek! I’m sorry — I’m too busy living. I’m too busy daydreaming, traveling and far too busy revisiting my recent excursion to one of the most extraordinary labyrinths of a cemetery in the world.

Seeing how dead-tired and jet-lagged Natalie and I were when we arrived in Buenos Aires, a nice leisurely stroll through the 14 acre Cementerio de la Recoleta was quite fitting. The cemetery is home to some of Argentina’s presidents, very well-to-do families and military greats. Although neither of us went hunting specifically for Eva Peron’s tomb, I’m pretty sure I can speak for the two of us by saying it was probably impressive like all the rest. Recoleta is like a little city. It was as if I could approach any one of the beautifully designed mausoleum doors, knock and someone would answer. (Shudders) Now you know I never knocked on any glass doors. I did peer inside of many and discovered stairwells descending into what I am guessing was six feet underground or deeper.

The photos here certainly don’t do the experience of wandering the narrow alley’s of Recoleta the kind of justice deserved. This place really left a mark on me. Perhaps it is time I sit down and pay some serious mind to the details of my afterlife. Scratch that simple-minded shaded bench idea. Having my ashes tossed into the sea where oil and whales swim together will not work. I’ll do it bigger. A mini-palace made of marble with a swirling gold stairwell down to the casket bearing my skull bones sounds much more like my style.

Or maybe not.

I thought I sort of had trip planning for Argentina all worked out, but I think Nats and I will be letting the winds carry us in country. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and we’ve done it before in Costa Rica. Problem with Argentina is that we’d REALLY like to go to Patagonia, but I don’t think it would be very practical. For starters my amiga only has 10 days to work with where I have 13 total in country. Getting to Rio Gallegos or El Calafate by bus would take us about 38 hours / 2 days ride. (The key is shoestring travel folks.) Secondly, we’d like to see penguins and go ice hiking on glaciers, but neither looks HIGHLY probable until mid or late September. Would it be worth it to go all the way to Ushuaia, freeze, get our bragging rights and then make the long journey back to B.A.? Eh… Not so sure.

So the question now is aside from Buenos Aires, where should we go? The guidebooks suggest heading north or northwest, but should we follow? If so, where exactly other than Iguazu is worth visiting? Any tipsters out there?

I think I have enough B.A. ideas. Examples: Looking into tango classes at Darcos and other locations, dancing at one of the many milongas (social dance), checking out various neighborhoods like La Boca & San Telmo, sipping Malbec and chomping on juicy Argentine beef at a parrilla…

Oh, and for those wondering about where I’ll be resting my head. Two words: Couch Surfing. In the process of securing our hosts. All the fun!

Funny how some free attractions can offer far more to the visitor than those which charge a fee. TECO’s (Tampa Electric Company) Manatee Viewing Center is certainly worth getting off I-75 at Big Bend Rd to check out. Now that I’m practically in the neighborhood and with temperatures being a cool 41 or so degrees outside this morning, it all made perfect sense: go see the sea cows! Oh, and did I mention the attraction is free?

It’s hard to imagine why any creature would spend the winter soaking in waters beside industrial smoke stacks, but apparently the manatees like warm water. (And apparently the water temperature today was in the 60′s.) There are plenty of manatees floating around and unless they pop their heads up for air, their backs resemble large stones in the water. The best place to spot them is from the large observation deck where other marine life can also be seen.

Smoke stacks, smoke stacks, manatees, manatees, smoke stacks, manatees. Photos: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you watch them long enough they do back flips in the water just like whales do. I kid. A manatee will not be twirling in air, but there are some fish springing from the water. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Yup, that’s me. I practically rolled out of bed, strapped on my camera bags and ran out the house. It was sort of a now or never situation in joining my mother. Please donate to the sea cows. Photo: The Mothership

When you can’t feel your hands anymore and it gets too cold, go inside to the museum to warm up and read up not only on the manatees, but on TECO as well. The museum isn’t huge, but it has enough information for adults and enough entertainment for children to keep everyone please for at least a good 20 minutes or less. Inside the museum, I learned that genetically, a manatees is closely related to an elephant, ardvark, and hyrax. That’s super crazy considering they all looking almost nothing alike.

Manatee bones in the museum. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

If you’ve got the time to kill continue outside of the museum and down the trail to see more of nature’s splendor like red mangroves, coastal berm, and various bird life. My mother and I took to the tidal trail, but my battery didn’t have much more go and so it died. Next time, Gadget, next time.

To visit all of Rome’s museums and churches you’d need a lifetime and an afterlife. There are so many to choose from. During my one week stay with my friend we were lucky enough to score free admission into almost all the museums we made it into, but there were others we never had the opportunity to check out, like the Galleria Borghese. We didn’t make reservations far enough in advance and with the admission being a mere two euros for the special cultural week events it was booked solid. This was a little disappointing as I did really want to see Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne. This means a return to Rome is necessary.

Flames in Santa Maria of Trastevere. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

We did make it through the doors of several other must-sees like the Musei Capitolini, Santa Maria del Popolo, Vatican Museums, Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna and the Central Montemartini. We also saw the Santa Maria of Trastevere, which was one of the more low-key churches and fairly humble. I can’t say that there were any I did not enjoy. My only wish was more time. Like always, I find it difficult to really absorb the material on display. I tend to take the stroll, glance and read more before or after the fact about the pieces and the painters and the builders approach. Having gotten to Rome just before tourist season kick starts we didn’t have o deal with massive amounts of people other than at the Vatican Museums and on the day of Rome’s birthday at the Capitolini. I would suggest to anyone visiting to make the trip over to see some modern art. It is a little jarring at first after seeing all the classical goodness, but a wonderful contrast in Italian art.

Raphael’s famous School of Athens found in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. Photo: Adrienne C. Wilson

Because photography isn’t allowed in many of the museums I wasn’t able to capture all the exhibits, but here are a few snapshots from around the handful we got to check out. Enjoy.

I am back from Rome now as you may have already guessed from the pano picture filled post below. I am still compiling and editing photos and words about the experience as a whole. Hold tight and there will be more in the upcoming days. Above you’ll notice some of the ticket stubs and business cards from some of the landmarks visited on this one week excursion. I will be sure to touch on each one of these in the new posts. My friend Muna and I lucked out big time in visiting last week. Most of the museums were free of charge for cultural week festivities which allowed for some extra pocket change to splurge on some good Italian food and dessert of course.

All photos above: Adrienne C. Wilson

At first I wasn’t going to write about London, but the timing is probably more fitting than ever. Plus Prentice thinks I should share whatever stories I have. Ready for the most un-tourist like vacation tale in London?

LONDON: My plans were simple. I didn’t have any real plans. I didn’t have an itinerary. I just wanted to stay away from tourists. I wanted to visit a few tourist attractions, but I wanted to avoid massive clusters of shutter happy people. When Ian and I arrived at Heathrow we took care of the business of getting Oyster cards with enough pounds to last us our entire trip. We double checked the map before hoping on the Jubilee line. The place we were couch surfing was located in North London just 15 minutes walk away Camden Town and seven minutes walk between both the Swiss Cottage and Chalk Farm Underground stations. It wasn’t hard to find.

The rest of that first day in London became extremely surreal. Fred, a Frenchie, who resided at the residence we were staying at, was delighted to have two American guests so it seemed. He saw it as an opportunity for someone to tag-a-long to a televised debate on who would become the next U.S. President. The debate would be shown on Press TV, the first Iranian international news network, broadcasting in English on a round-the-clock basis. We would also be paid (10 pounds) for being in the audience which had reminded of the many audiences I sat in during college in Los Angeles. I was excited! A paying gig in London! Really? As a broke American joker, I figured it might pay for a meal down the road and was a pretty random way to kick things off in the city. Sitting in the audience was a different story. Ian and I were very exhausted and I was struggling to stay awake. Was I really in Ethiopia less than 24 hours ago and now in a studio audience discussing Presidential matters in my homeland? There were only three McCain supporters in the room and the rest for Obama. It almost started to feel like a nightmare. I’ve included the program below and I do encourage you to press the stop button if you’ve had enough of the election chatter. (Updated: I got annoyed with the video being here on my blog. Please click above if you really wish to view it. The show date was 10.21.)

Back at the house things were the same. All the residents in the house would chatter about “Joe the Plumber” and ask questions about what we thought of Sarah Palin. Wasn’t I just in Africa? Isn’t this London? Of course the people in Ethiopia are excited about Obama. There was a restaurant in Bahir Dar named after him. Several people wore Obama shirts. But somehow I think the people in the UK might have been a bit more obsessive. They asked me about my state and what type of volunteer work I did for the campaign. They loved the Obama gear and buttons I sported a few days while I was there. It seemed they love Obama and if only their votes could count.

The rest of the time in London was spent casually spending money (as if I were rich) in various Camden Town shops. I picked up a wonderful dress from a shop called All Saints and Ian scored a mighty handsome shirt. Lord knows I spent far too much money in London, but I couldn’t help myself. All these wonderful stores and they don’t exist on the other side of the pond. Sigh. How can a girl resist?

Then there was a night at the famous Jazz Cafe where we saw Van Hunt perform. The show was okay and most certainly nothing to write home about. Obviously not being a big fan or I should say, not knowing a lot of the music contributes to my sentiments. Also, before arriving at the venue I had taken a nasty and embarrassing dive into the street of London when hurrying to cross the cross walk. I scraped my knees pretty badly and hurt my fingers and foot in the process. These things I couldn’t get off my mind.

When Koffi came we went to Cargo in the Shoreditch area, but didn’t stay long. Oh, and there was Tate Modern, the Masala Zone and Nando’s with EJ’s girl.

I’ll think I’ll pause on London for now. I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m just thankful the weather was cooperative.