As we travel we obviously like to try the different foods an area offers.  Often this goes beyond just the cooking style or cuisine of an area.  In the Andes we were able to try Llama and Alpaca (even on a pizza in Bolivia) and weren’t permitted to leave Peru without trying Cuy (guinea pig).  In Brazil we enjoyed Piranha soup, we went to Oaxaca with the sole purpose of eating a grasshopper, and when we came home the only thing I wanted to eat was buffalo (bison).
The nice thing about all these foods is that they are truly local, providing us with a rich cultural experience while allowing us to directly support the local economy as well.  Many though …

Now that we’re off to Africa we figured it was about time to get our Latin America summary out there. Epic bus journeys in the south and more than a month of nights sleeping on buses…its been a real adventure.
Here’s a summary of the most “fun” statistics for the last 9 or so months:
8.5 – Months spent on the road
33 – Nights spent on a bus (Jillian’s note: We should have calculated our total hours on the bus!)
23 – Nights spent couchsurfing
20 – Hours of longest single bus ride
4 – Viewings of Transporter 3 on the bus
2 – Bathroom breaks from the bus where there was no bathroom present
15 – Countries visited
41 – Passport Stamps
2 – Hemispheres enjoyed
2 – …

I had just finished eating my chili fries when I saw the blue raincoat.  “Oh my god.” I said to my sister. “Danny’s here.”   I shouldn’t have been surprised by Danny’s arrival, after all he’d only been talking about a half-smoke since … Bolivia.
You probably have a food or a restaurant that reminds you of home. It might not be the food, but it’s the booth, the atmosphere or the surly waitress.  For D.C. it has always meant Ben’s Chili Bowl and the chili half-smoke.  Delicious and messy, their half-smoke smothered in chili might give you indigestion, and you might have to wait for a table but it will be worth every greasy minute.
Those of you not familiar with DC’s …

It hasn’t been such a rough transition coming home for “intermission.”  We’ve been gone long enough to appreciate rather than be annoyed by the little things that make home, home.  Yes, people yelling into their cell phones are annoying, but that appears to be a worldwide phenomenon and one that’s probably not going to change.
We appreciate so many things we took for granted before we left.  Little things.  Sitting in Bryant Park last week I used the most incredible public bathroom I’d ever seen.  Well decorated, clean with fancy hand soap, soft ply toilet paper and fresh cut flowers; I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the thought of some of the restrooms I’ve used over the last nine …