Highlights from BA

Figured since pictures speak louder than words I could recap Buenos Aires better this way...

First few days staying at a hostel in Palermo Soho, exploring the city and hanging with little bro:

outside the hostel

hostel common area

my room

going out with little bro & his study abroad group

San Telmo Market

watching soccer! Argentina vs. Mexico

Casa Rosada, their "White House"

Family arrives! Moved into their nice apartment in Palermo Hollywood for the rest of the trip:

apartment

view from the balcony

soccer watching party... all this crowd and it wasn't even an Argentina game!

Plaza San Martin

amaaaazing tango show at Faena Hotel

La Boca

little bro, the pro tango dancer

Recoleta Cemetary

There's No Place Like Home

Wow I'm not doing very well at keeping this thing updated am I? Guess it's been a busy few weeks..

Fortunately I was able to escape to Sarasota for some much needed family time and pampering over the weekend. My brother and I both got to be home for Mother's Day, which was a huge surprise to our amazing mother (my ears are still ringing from her squeals when little bro snuck in late Saturday - she wasn't expecting him home until this morning). Somehow in the less than 48 hours I was home I managed to soak up everything amazing in Sarasota and unwind a bit from hectic city life.

Siesta Key Beach

100+ SPF sunscreen... who even knew this existed?? What's the point of even going in the sun?

After minimal sleep the night before (who was I kidding about calling it an early night on a Friday?), I wasn't too thrilled to be up at 5 a.m. to catch my flight home on Saturday but it was definitely all worth the lost sleep. First stop was lunch at a cute little cafe, and next stop was definitely the beach (no I didn't use the 100+ SPF, and yes I'm sunburned). After a mini nap on the warm sand, Mom and I headed off to mani pedis, and then I was off to the massage that I managed to schedule at the last minute. With my newfound food obsession in mind, Mom and I decided to check out a "new" restaurant in downtown Sarasota (well new to us), Mozaic. SRQ friends, you must go. The menu and service was absolutely amazing.

Sunday morning we had a yummy Mother's Day brunch with my grandparents and aunt (Mom even bought Lox after I took her for the most amazing bagel of her life at Ess-A-Bagel). Great to see extended family in my quick trip and catch up a bit.

Brother/Sister love

After a little quality time by the pool, Dad took us out sailing. I have to say, I expected it to be much more relaxing then it ended up being... I think when I hear sailing I picture myself lounging on a huge boat, margarita in hand, watching the palm trees go by. Sailing is apparently much more than that, as I've now learned, and I managed to add a few new words to my vocabulary in the process (winch, tack, keel - who knew sailing had its own language). All in all, still fun to be out on the water with the fam.

The weekend ended with a delish Mother's Day dinner at our favorite (well mine and Mom's anyway) restaurant in Sarasota, Roy's.

As much as I love life in New York, it's always great to get away for a few days - especially when the getaway involves home and family. Despite getting up at 4 this morning (I'm on my flight back now, gotta love that in-flight wifi), I feel so refreshed from the weekend and ready to take on the week! Thanks Sarasota, always a pleasure. And it's exciting to know the next time I see my family will be in Buenos Aires! Counting the days until that trip... Until then, it's back to city life for this girl.

A Quick Vacation

Any New Yorker, no matter how much they love the hustle and bustle of the city, will tell you it is necessary to get out of Manhattan every now and then in order to keep your sanity. After living here a little over a month (does that even make me a New Yorker yet?), I jumped at the opportunity to spend the 4th of July with girlfriends the Hamptons. 

Beautiful sunset before the fireworks started.

Happy 4th of July!

Having grown up in Sarasota, I'm a total beach bum at heart. I love love love living in the city, but sometimes I just need to be by the water (I'm aware Manhattan is an island, but dirty rivers just don't do it for me). East Hampton even reminds me of where I grew up a little bit, so this weekend was very nostalgic and a nice change of pace from what I've experienced since I moved away.

Who knew kids even had lemonade stands anymore? This was way too cute not to stop.

Beautiful day at the beach.

Lazy day in the sun with a silly girly book = perfection.

It was nice having a change of scenery, but I'm glad to be back in the city, sunburned and exhausted. It was cool coming home to my apartment from a night away and truly feeling like I was back home. Even after living here last summer, I could never really call New York home... now I'm finally able to.