Tia Amy in Bogota!

So John & Monica have invited me to make today's post, since I have had the honor and priveledge of spending the last few days with them in their "home away from home" here in Bogota. The past few days have been amazing, not only being with them and Gabriela (!!!) but also getting to know Monica's family here in Bogota, who I already love a lot (Rosario, Jaime, Juan Carlos, Marie Alejandra & Pablo ROCK!!) and also touring around the city seeing the amazing sights, the beautiful architecture, the wonderful churches and enjoying the fantastic shopping.

So, back to Gabriela, right?! She is so beautiful, and so sweet, and so soft & cuddly. Monica's family describes her perfectly as "juiciosa" which translates as tranquil and calm. She loves to just sit with all of us in the room watching us, or entertaining herself by pulling on her shoelaces and clapping her feet together. She wakes up happy, spends the day happy and goes to sleep at night with a sweet smile on her face - of course, some of that has to do with her Mami cuddling her while her Papi sings sweet songs in her ear each night before laying her down. She likes to sit in the high chair at dinnertime and chew on breadsticks, and she loves to sit on someone's knee, laughing and clapping and swinging her feet. She is amazing and I know all of you will adore her instantly when she finally comes to her VA home in the US. Not that you wouldn't adore her anyway, but her temperament is so laid back and relaxed, that you will beg to be in the room with her as often as possible! :)

So, as you have seen from the previous posts this week, we have gone to many cool places in Bogota since I have been here - Pablo's school, the Artisan shops, the monastery that overlooks Bogota, a local bar, Crepes & Waffles... Today we rode the "bus rojo" to central Bogota, and walked around one of the older parts of the city looking at the churches & strolling the backstreets taking photos. We also went to the President's mansion and witnessed the changing of the color guard. It lasted about 30 minutes and was really cool. Afterwards we went to eat steaks at a traditional Colombian restaurant, and ended the evening with ice cream from McDonald's - yes sometimes, you just need a hot fudge sundae or a McFlurry. :)

So OK OK - on to the photos. Here are a few of my faves from JH & Mon's camera, from yesterday & today. ENJOY!
aj