Chris Keating's Space

Wow…  I have been trying to write this blog entry for the past 4 months but after spending 5 hours in the Atlanta airport this weekend, I finally got around to it.

In short, it is a set of lists that Beth Ann and I put together on the back of some napkins as we were sitting in the Bogota airport awaiting our flight back to Seattle.   At the time it was more of a fun recap/re-living of our Colombian experience for the two of us, but after looking back on it now while writing the blog entry, it brought a enormous smile to my face all over again!

Here goes:

Our Colombian Top 12 List (in no particular order)

1. The itinerary that Beth Ann and Torri created – it couldn’t have been more perfect.   Leave me a comment if you want a copy of it. 
2. The Colombian people – enough said.  They were fantastic, accommodating, gracious, and most of all fun!
3. Having two friends living locally and “looking out for us” – this included our own personal drivers, our own VIP boat tour, meeting the Colombia equivalent of Mario Batalli, among many other things
4. The Charleston hotel group – the quality and price of the hotels and importantly their appreciation of the history of each building during the renovation.   In Bogota we stayed at Casa Medina and in Cartagena, we stayed at the Hotel Santa Theresa.
5. The insanity of Andres Carne de Res in Bogota – words can’t do it justice but it is a must-do if you go to Colombia
6. The amazing variety of previously unknown fruits and jugos naturales with names like Maracuya, Guanabana, Lulo, and others 
7. Tayrona and the EcoHabs huts in particular – they were simple thatched huts but with amenities and views that were other-worldly.
8. Our VIP boat trip to Islas Rosario off Cartagena – four people on a 50- foot power cruiser with a captain and first mate???  Seriously?
9. The turquoise blue water at Islas Rosario – the picture speaks for itself
10. Cartagena sunset on the last night of our trip and the colors of the Cartagena buildings during the day 
11. Walking on top of the fortress walls surrounding Cartagena
12. Vitrola restaurant in Cartagena – one of my favorite dining experiences in the last few years

Random other things that were great about Colombia overall

• Safety Checkpoints – everyone was so concerned about our safety when we were planning the trip.   It wasn’t even an issue once.   I felt as safe/safer in Colombia than in any other 3rd world country I had been to
• Local beer – they have a good variety of local beer options to choose from if you like your beer watered down like i do….   BONUS!   Favorite was Club Colombia by far.
• Pancakes – seems like a strange thing to include on the list, but every place we went they served pancakes (breakfast is huge in Colombia culture) and they were fantastic.
• Cheap and plentiful taxis – The taxis were insanely abundant in Colombia and they were dirt cheap.  

Things that could be improved about Colombia

• T-shirt selection – most countries have a set of “traveller shirts” like the local beer shirts, etc…   Colombia had the most limited selection that I have seen in any country and I was even actively searching them out.
• Streetfood – Usually streetfood is my primary source of sustenance when travelling.  In SouthEast Asia, I think I went a few weeks eating only streetfood in Thailand and Vietnam.    In contrast, in Colombia I can count on one hand the number of times that I found good streetfood.  Bummer.
• Spicy Food – We definitely had some fantastic meals in Colombia.   However, we didn’t find any food that had great local spice/kick to it.    We ended up buying hot sauce and carrying it around with us so that we could add it to the food.
• Condiments – they just don’t seem to get the need for condiments in Colombia.   Even basics like ketchup were rarely found…   Given the overall bland nature of the food, this was really surprising to us.
• Pace of service – Slow service is always expected (and mostly cherished) when travelling abroad but Colombia was seriously on a time of its own unlike any other country I have been to.   In some places they were trying to rush us through our meals by taking half-finished plates and drinks away and in other places it took two hours just to get something like chicken and rice.
• The Decameron hotel group – we stayed here by mistake one night and it was the worst decision we made all trip…   It was expensive, poorly located, overrun with tourists, and facilities were not great.   We would have rather stayed at a $2/night hostel than this place for $125/night.   Avoid at all costs…

For our next visit to Colombia

• A little more strenuous activity – we did a lot of beach combing, beach sitting, and walking around Cartagena and Bogota
• Visit the Castillo in Cartagena
• Check out the Hotel Agua Baru on the islands
• More dancing (salsa and other types)
• Hike to Ciudad Perdida (maybe…)
• Hike to Pueblito
• Scuba diving in Santa Marta
• Visit Medellin
• Visit the area between Bogota and Cali

I saw this story yesterday on the NFL network and thought it was a great story about DeSean Jackson’s road to the NFL and the role that his father (who passed away in May) played in it.

Desean seems like a classy guy, and I am happy that he plays for the Philadelphia Eagles!

A friend of mine is one of the Product Managers on the new Project Natal technology that xBox announced at the E3 video game conference.

This is going to be so freaking cool.   Check out how Jimmy Fallon freaks out when he gets to play a race car driving game without a steering wheel or a pedal.

This is going to revolutionize gaming.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/live/projectnatal/

http://www.hulu.com/watch/77038/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-project-natal-demo

Love the image of the Great Barrier Reef on the Bing homepage today.   Brings back some fantastic scuba diving memories from back in the day.

Although, I do wonder if the water below is from the Coral Sea or not…. 

Recently I posted a message on both my Messenger and Facebook status messages asking people for their favorite “recession wines” defined as < $12.   The response was overwhelming…  I received over 75 messages and comments from people giving me a variety of options and opinions.

They ranged from the very specific -- Domaine Delaye St. Veran "Les Pierres Grises” to the very vague – I hear Chilean wines are good and cheap…

I have compiled the list below for anyone’s reference.   I hope that it helps you in the future to move from just buying a “cheap bottle” and instead “buying a cheap but good” bottle!

Thanks to everyone who submitted their favorites and if I neglected a personal favorite “recession” wine, leave me a comment and let me know.

Enjoy!

Update 6/4:   Here are some other highly recommended wines that come from some very trusted sources!

Columbia Crest  - 2 Vines Vineyard 10 Red Wine
Hogue - Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Bodegas Castano Hecula Monastrell 2005
A to Z - Pinot Gris
Cono Sur  - Pinot Noir
Waterbrook  - Melange
Knick Knack

When we were in Charleston, we spent a bunch of time cruising around the city and it was so much fun to wander in and out of all of the art galleries there.   There are some fantastic spots.

One of the galleries had some photography by Gary Geboy.   Geboy is a photographer who takes pictures in a variety of different locales but one is the “low country” around Charleston.

I particularly liked this one below.

If you are in to photography, definitely check out some of his other work: 
http://garygeboyprints.com/

While bbqing tonight on my deck, I took this 23 second panoramic video.   Seattle summer is the best!

This weekend I was in Charleston, SC for yet another wedding and a friend of mine who lives there introduced to my new favorite drink.

It is called Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and it is an sweet tea infused vodka created on Wadmalaw Island in South Carolina.     For those of you that don’t know what the sweet tea flavor is, click here for info from Wikipedia.   Their website says that they use real tea grown a few miles from the distillery at the only remaining tea plantation in America (seems crazy but I have to believe them).

After the first sip of my Firefly and Water, it immediately became my go-to drink for the weekend.   So much so that I immediately went to their website to figure out where to buy it in Washington.   Luckily, all of the state stores seem to have it… so I can introduce some Seattle-ites to it this summer (whenever that comes…)

Here is a video that Firefly created to describe their background, their wine (yes they also make wine), and their vodka.   Gotta love the intro music….   8^)

Go check it out yourself!

This ad has been out for a few weeks now, but it is really good so I wanted to give Heineken some credit.   Fantastic song, good personalities, and so right on in terms of message.

Update 5/13:   I just learned that last week, “Just a Friend” by Biz Markie shot up to the #1 most downloaded single on iTunes and outsold current singles by Lily Allen, Kings of Leon, and Kanye West. 

My friend Denis sent out his initial list of specific dishes in Seattle that he and his wife love.   From there, people piled on and we came up with the list below.

What do you think?   Have you tried any of them?   Any that we are missing that you highly recommend?

Leave me a comment and let me know and Ill add it on.   And do yourself a favor and try some of the ones below…

1. Short ribs – Crush
2. Seared sea scallops – Matt’s in the Market
3. Ham and cheese quiche – Le Pichet
4. Pizza Dante (arugula & prosciutto) – Via Tribunali
5. Steamed mussels Pigalle – Place Pigalle
6. Ashak dumplings – Kabul House
7. Heirloom tomato salad (and French fries!) – 35th Street Bistro
8. Amaretto bread pudding – Boat St Café
9. Duck egg raviolo – Spring Hill
10. Hand-shaved noodles with chicken – Jack’s Tapas
11. Laksa soup – Wild Ginger
12. Fish n chips – Pacific Inn Pub
13. Midnight Cuban sandwich – Paseo
14. Al pastor burrito – 45th St Taco Truck
15. Ramen with pork broth – Samurai Noodle
16. Tom Yum soup – Araya
17. Camarones enchipotlados – Senor Moose
18. Pate sandwich – Le Panier
19. Creamy spicy scallop nigiri – Tuna House
20. Broiled eggs with ham and gruyere – Café Presse
21. Vermicelli combo bowl at Green Leaf
22. Creme Brulee at Boka
23. Ensaladas de Remolachas - Harvest Vine
24. Pastalon w/ Beef - La Isla
25. El Diablo - Tango
26. Bahn Xeo (Vietnamese Crepes) - Tamarind Tree
27. Tajarin & Ragu - Spinasse
28. Duck Sliders Burgers - Tilth
29. Pita & Baked Gigante Beans - Panos
30. Sequimbled Eggs - Steelhead Diner
31. Pomme Frites - 35th St Bistro
32. Oeufs en meurette - Cafe Campagne
33. Sweet Potato Gnocchi - Tulio
34. Quesadillas de Camarones - El Camino
35. Almejas (clams) and Patatas Bravas - Ocho
36. Broccoli Blasted - Black Bottle
37. Insalata di Napoli - Tutta Bella
38. Cheese Steak Double Wiz Wit - Tat's Deli
39. Cheeseburger - Palace Kitchen
40. Spicy Fried Chicken - Ezell's
41. Carne Asada Tacos - Malena's Taco Shop
42. Burger - Lunchbox Laboratory
43. Porchetta - Salumi