Alice and Randy Live in Colombia: Work and Play in Medellin

On Wednesday morning, we (Randy, Nedret, Zeki and I) went with Mario to the local museum of Museo El Castillo, a large, European style castle house built in the 1930's. It has beautiful gardens and behind the gardens is the school that backs up to Mario's apartment. It was originally part of the land of the house and was given by the wealthy owners to establish a Catholic school for girls. The owners were a Colombian business owner and his Swiss wife and they had one daughter. They lived there from the 1940's until around 1970. Since then, the house has been preserved with the lavish furnishings and decor in which they lived. You can only tour the house with a guide (in Spanish, of course). We spent an hour seeing the house and Mario did some translation for us. We then explored the gardens and admired the plantings and I saw two amazing birds.

Worth visiting in Medellin especially for the gardens and setting

A selfie with the house and vegetation

Mario and Randy wait on the terrace for the 11 AM tour

Panorama from the terrace

Nedret reads the notice board

Nedret and Zeki enjoying their first day in Medellin

Casa Velez is in the building framed by the two big trees

Soaking up the bucolic setting

A selfie from the house interior (no photographs were allowed inside the house unfortunately)

The boys on the grounds

El Castillo is popular for private parties, weddings and receptions

The very interesting flowers in the garden - some relative of Bird of Paradise?

Glorious lilies

An amazing yellow bird

I am proud of getting this picture of a truly memorable bird

A native relic on the grounds - looks like he is playing baseball

One of the best flowers - can you believe this is real?

A good shot of the exterior

We had lunch at the apartment of Carlos and Sandra and their son Esteban, and their two cats, Lucas and Simon. Their apartment was spacious and beautifully decorated. Sandra and her maid made a fantastic lunch of pan friend salmon, pasta, vegetables, and a rich cake named after the Italian city of Genoa. It was a kind of Tres Leches cake and pretty delicious.

The apartment, like Casa Velez, has cat screening over all windows and the balcony

Very sweet Lucas - I never did see Simon who is super shy

The maid, Alis, fries salmon. I would love a Colombian maid.

Chilling before lunch

Randy and Andres drink some pre-lunch beers

Mario and Carlos

Mario and Andres with their Club Colombians

Lunch family style - the guys dig in

My plate - muy delicioso and pretty healthy

The Genoa cake - very delicious and not so healthy

After lunch, Nedret, Zeki, Randy and I took a taxi to the city center to see the Botero Plaza. We strolled among the striking statues in the fine weather. We walked on the pedestrian only shopping street to the cathedral (which was closed, as it was when we visited two years ago). The downtown is pretty seedy in many ways but it is lively and has some impressive buildings. I braved the metro to get back as my class began at 5 PM. I walked to the station and took the metro easily, guarding my purse well, and then found a taxi a few blocks from the station nearest to campus.

At my favorite Botero - the fat cat

Nedret and I with the fat dog

Enjoying the best weather of the trip at Botero Plaza

A last photo of my fat cat

Another iconic shot - this time with clear skies

The city cathedral

Simon Boliver, liberator of Colombia and more, in the park in front of the cathedral

After class, I had a tumble on campus with a step I didn't see in the dark. I scratched my new glasses which was unfortunate and got a few minor bruises. After a medicinal glass of wine at the apartment for me, all of us from Auburn including Andres walked to a nearby arepas restaurant, J&C, and had some versions of arepas. The food was not great but the place is close, relaxing (outside) and inexpensive.

Dinner on Wednesday night - "The most exquisite arepas with everything!"

Andres and Zeki with their Club Colombians

At the table nicely situated outside and on the second floor across from Oviedo Mall

Our last day in Medellin (Thursday) was spent in a similar way. I had some paperwork to do at the university in the morning and a 11 AM meeting with the head of the international programs office at EAFIT. She was an impressive and lively lady and we had a good discussion about possible interactions between EAFIT and Auburn. Then, we (except for Nedret who was spending most of the day at the National University at Medellin giving a seminar and visiting faculty) gathered in a couple cars and traveled to Casa Velez. There, Mario's mom (Nubia) had prepared the traditional Colombian stew (ajiaco) of chicken, potatoes, corn and seasonings. At the table you add cilantro, big capers, cream, rice and avocado. Sensational! We also had my favorite fruit - the uchuva. It looks like a golden cherry tomato but is sweet and tart at the same time and very additive. We could get used to these home cooked lunches.

Mario, Andres and Juan Gregorio listen to Antonia's explanations on some photos

The ajiaco with fixings

My lunch - wonderful!

Randy had seconds - note the size of the avocado

Alice and Carlos at the table

The guys after lunch are full and happy

Mario's youthful mom, Nubia, our chef for the day - Muchos gracias!

Mario took Randy and Zeki to Parque Arvi, the wonderful park at the top of a mountain accessed by metro and cable car. I opted out as I worried about getting back for my class on time. I spent a quiet afternoon working on the computer in the hotel. Nedret returned just before my class and we walked to EAFIT together so she could see the campus. Class went well with the students especially engaged in the final group in class assignment. Nedret, in the meantime, had found a hair dresser and gotten a stylish new cut.

My students working on their final group projects in class

They really got into the assignments

The ladies put the finishing touches on their hospital recommendations

Me (in center) and my class

Dinner was a farewell affair for Andres, who left on the 7 AM flight on Friday. We gathered at a steak restaurant located in a small mall in the hills outside the city (on the road to the airport). We enjoyed food (no meat for me - only sides but most others had big beef, pork or chicken dishes). Several desserts were ordered for sharing and passed around. It was a super end to our time in our Colombian "home" city of Medellin. On Friday, the road trip to the coffee regions awaits!