Day 17: Homerun!
June 17th, 2012
I’m not really a big sports fan, but I just gotta go see a baseball game while I’m here!
The game of baseball was introduced to the country by Venezuelan students who had studied at American universities. When they returned home after finishing their studies, they tought the the game to their friends in Caracas in the early 1890’s. Wow, the history of the sport is much older than I thought!
In May 1895, brothers named Amenodoro, Augusto, and Emilio, and Gustavo established the first organized baseball club, called Caracas BBC. The team had been practicing every Sunday for the preceding three months at a plot of open land in front of the train station in Quebrada Honda. The field would soon be known as the Caracas Baseball Club Exercise Field.
The place we went to is huuuuge! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to catch any of the baseballs that flew into the audience, but I still had a great time! The home team won the game too!
Day 16: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
June 16th, 2012
Feliz cumpleaños Jess!
Today is Jess’s 17th birthday! To celebrate, we’re going out tonight to a really fancy restaurant with Jess’s family and some of her friends from school to dine in style and open all her presents! I hope she’ll like my present!
The restaurant we choose is called “Alto” and it serves ethnic dishes of Venezuela as well as a variety of international foods. The dishes are both balanced and elegant. It’s a little on the expensive side, but it’s worth it!
I have to say that this restaurant is just amazing. It’s really beautiful on the inside and Jess loves the place! She also loves the food that they have been serving, and I have to agree with her. Everything is fresh and crisp and tastes divine. After a few courses, a few of the waiters brought out a huge birthday cake and we all sang happy birthday to Jess, in Spanish of course! Next up are the presents! The pile at the end of the table was huge, but Jess took her time opening each gift and thanking the person who gave her the gift. When she opened mine, I could tell she loved it immediately. I bought her a friendship bracelet with two halves so both of us could wear it to remember our time together! I was absolutely going to miss her and her family a lot when I left.
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Day 15: Art!
June 15, 2012
Only five more days till I leave for home! 🙁 Gotta make the best of the last few days I’m here!
Jess’s birthday is tomorrow and since we’re going to be busy trying to fill my last few days with fun activities, we decided to visit something simple and easy today. We’re going to Galeria de Arte Nacional today! It’s an art museum with art that really captures the feel of Venezuela. It has over 6000 different pieces of art in it! Everything from pre-Hispanic, colonial paintings, sculptures to works of modern art. It shares a building with the Museo de Bellas Artes, which exhibits a random selection of art from all around the globe! The top floor is a terrace offering views over Parque Los Caobos and much of Caracas and it’s beautiful from up here.
Jess practically led the tour around the museum. She’s been here a lot just to look at the view from the top floor, so she knows her way around the museum. Paintings are okay, but sculptures are what really interest me. It’s amazing how a sculptor can capture emotion in a block of stone!
Filed under Uncategorized | Comment (0)Day 14: The View!
June 14th, 2012
Back to sight seeing until Jess’s birthday! From my guest bedroom, I can see these cable cars in the distance. They looked really interesting so I asked Jess’s mother about it and she told me the cars are apart of El Teleferico, which takes people over a distance of 3.5 miles to see the view and visit the hotel on the other side. I really wanted to go, but apparently the best time to go on the cable cars is early in the morning so you can beat the large amount of people who ride it in the afternoon and just because it’s just beautiful to see the sunrise over the mountain.
Surprisingly, it only took about 15 minutes to make it to the highest peak. El Teleferico was opened on September 29, 1955 and it still runs fantastically with small repairs and improvements here and there. This high elevation is making everything cold, but luckily I brought a sweater with me! The sight from the top is absolutely amazing, Jess’s mom was right. The sunrise casting light on everything makes it all shimmer. Absolutely breath taking. I wish I could stare at it forever, but unfortunately other people want to see it too so the cart has to keep moving! Oh well, at least I got some pictures!
The view!
Day 13: Dance The Night Away
June 13th, 2012
I wanted to see more of Caracas’s at night because when the sun goes down, all the buildings light up and it makes Caracas look gorgeous! Jess recommended we go to one of Caracas’s nightlife hotspots called Centro San Ignacio. It’s a mall and also has clubs in the lower levels! I’ve been wanting to go one of the clubs for a long time because I’ve never gone to one before! Jess and I dressed up for the club. Hopefully I would be able to dance in my heels!
Jess’s parents came along with us, because they were going to go eat at one of the fancy restaurants and do a little shopping for Jess’s birthday while we went to one the clubs. They would pick us up later. The club was amazing! Neon lights were everywhere and the DJ was playing fast paced dance songs. I pulled Jess onto the packed dance floor. It was time to dance the night away. Definitely one the best nights I’ve had here. 🙂
