8 Days, 4 Flights, 4 Cities.....phew. - Part 2 (Part 1 is coming next...)

Alex and I had planned to go to Bogota in October since last fall to celebrate Alex's Mom turning 50.  Well, then we got pregnant in March, and I would have been due in November, so we had decided that Bogota may not happen in 2013.  [That is actually how we told my in-laws we were pregnant.  We said "We really don't think we can make it to Colombia this year....it is just TOO close to Tonya's due date."  It was perfect.]  

Anyways, ya'll know the story, but we ended up miscarrying, so in May, I was like, I guess Bogota can be back on now!  So it was a go, we committed to going to Colombia the first weekend in October.  Flights to Bogota are CRAZY out of Houston, so I had been shopping around.  We could fly direct from Houston for $1250 a ticket.  Boo.  We could flight from College Station to Houston to Bogota or from Austin to Houston to Bogota for $800.  Why that makes any sense at all I have NO idea!  Literally tacking on an extra flight for $400 less per ticket.  Well, like 3 weeks before our trip we still hadn't bought our tickets.  We were hoping prices would drop...but they didn't.  Alex found a direct flight on JetBlue out of Orlando for $600 per ticket!!  So, he suggested that we fly to Orlando, spend a few days in Disneyworld and then head to Bogota from there.  Ummmm......yeah!!!  So, we did it.  Three weeks out, we went from a long weekend trip to being gone for 8 days!  We are planners, so normally we are counting down to our vacations a year in advance, so this spontaneity was way out of the norm for us....one definite benefit of having no kids though.  :)

It was so perfect and so necessary.  Alex and I hadn't traveled anywhere solo for a few years, so it was super nice to getaway just the two of us!  I will post pics from the Disney portion later...they are still on my camera.  

We  flew to Disney on a Tuesday and then left there on Friday to head to Bogota Colombia.  I loved this trip even more than our last visit.  Colombia has beautiful landscapes....you are surrounded by mountains, lots of vegetation and roses all over!!  

Here are some pics from our visit!

We flew in late Friday night.  They have this law in Bogota called Pico Placa (no idea if that is spelled correct -- Sonia??)  You are only allowed to drive every other day to keep traffic a little lower.  So, we stayed at a hotel on Friday and Saturday night on the north side of Bogota so we could walk or cab our way around.  

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel and then drove out to one of the suburbs Sonia and Mauri love called Chia.  We went to a mall there that had a great park/playground attached.  The weather was amazing, so we spent the WHOLE weekend outside.  Seriously....such beautiful weather.  

On Sunday, we purchased tickets to take an old steam train from Bogota out to Zipaquira.  Again, the weather was phenomenal.  Bogota has such beautiful landscapes.  It was great to ride a train through the mountains out to Zipaquira.  We were able to spend a few hours there and just enjoy the company.  I am so blessed to have wonderful in-laws that love me like I am their own.  I really enjoyed the opportunity to spend days with them.  Really so blessed.

Waiting for the train to arrive....if he didn't already stick out as an american, wearing shorts in Bogota will make  you stick out for sure!!  NO ONE ever wears shorts there.

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I used our time waiting for the train to play with my camera.....

Nap Time!

Train mascot....he did not want a ticket, but a treat!

On the train and ready to go!!  We had front seats which made for great views...and kept me from getting car sick.  :)

A very common past time in Bogota is to go to malls.  They are everywhere and people are just strolling, or drinking coffee.  Just enjoying all the people watching.  We went to a mall at Zipaquira.

Also walked through the town square.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that all the towns, big or small, have these town squares.  SO beautiful.

There was a skate park there too, so we got some ice cream, which is also EVERYWHERE in Bogota, and watch the teens try to kill themselves do crazy stunts.

Check out those mountains!!!

We spent Monday relaxing at the apartment and it was really nice to have a chill day after really busy days!  At the apartment, we also got to see an old friend!

Micho is about the same age as Spencer....it was great to see him.  He kind of acted like he remembered us...

We also got to meet Sophie too.  She reminded us of Spencer because she would prance around and show off her bone.  :)  Sweet pups...

We had such a great visit!  So much fun.  Great food....great weather....great times were had by all.  Grateful to be blessed with a great family.  Also grateful that Sonia is coming to visit this weekend for a couple weeks, so we get more time with her!  Life is too short not to enjoy being with those you care most about!

Have a blessed day!