criplomats

The highlight of the week was a fantastic meal at Marcel’s followed by a great performance by Pink Martini and Ari Shapiro at the Kennedy Center. We really had a good time. Marcel’s is very nice, and we enjoyed our pre-theatre dinner – plus they take you to the Kennedy Center. The show was just fantastic – Pink Martini is very eclectic and fun. My spin teach in Islamabad used to play some of their music for our class. Ari Shapiro from NPR (yes, that Ari Shapiro) also sang – he has a beautiful voice. It was a wonderful evening – made even better because it’s close enough for us to walk home!

Last night we met Caroline for dinner – she was one of our managers in Juarez and is in town for a class. It was a lot of fun catching up with her.

The rest of the week was pretty quiet. I had coffee with Barb one afternoon, and with one of my managers another day. John and I spent some time deciding where pictures will be hung – we’ve almost got the house in shape!

Bermuda

I flew out Monday afternoon for Bermuda, via JFK, and arrived on the island around 10PM. It is a gorgeous place – clean, upscale, turquoise water, yachts, pastel houses, verdant green foliage, and men in — what else? — Bermuda shorts.

Scooters waterside

My friend Marcy is the consular chief there, and we had a good time together, along with her small staff. We went out to lunch together one day, which was a lot of fun. It rained a lot while I was there, but it cleared enough on Wednesday for Marcy to take the scenic route home from lunch with the top down on her convertible (perfect car for Bermuda!). We took another scenic route on the way to the airport Friday morning.

I stayed in an old boutique hotel, and spent some time on their lovely veranda having drinks and dinner. Their grounds are beautiful, and the tiny tree frogs sing you to sleep at the top of their little lungs!

Rosedon Hotel

One of the funniest things was finding Mountain Valley Water for sale at the local market! Click to see all of my photos from Bermuda.

Mountain Valley Water in Bermuda

When I got home on Friday, John took me to dinner at District Commons – we had a great meal and personable waiter. It’s close enough to the apartment that we’ll likely return.

Saturday I went to the salon downstairs to have my nails done and was pleasantly surprised by the service. Later I ran out and picked up hamburgers, and John and I watched “Beatriz at Dinner” (kind of a downer).

Last Sunday I ventured out on the bus and went to the National Portrait Gallery/National Art Gallery – lovely!

Skateboarder at the Lincoln Memorial

It feels like fall may have finally arrived in Washington. It was drizzly and overcame all week, and the temperatures dropped some. I took advantage of the cooler weather and walked around the Mall some yesterday. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk from our apartment to the Lincoln Memorial, and from there I went to  Constitution Gardens, the Vietnam Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. On the way home, I stopped in front of the White House and watched a group of guys play street hockey in front of the Old Executive Office Building. I love living downtown and just walking out the door to go sightseeing!

Hockey in front of the EOB

Lincoln Memorial view from WWII Memorial

Pearl Harbor Vet at the Vietnam Memorial

Friday after work, I met Tammy and Amy for drinks. We had a great time yakking and gossiping.

Last night, we went over to see Jim and Kellee — we were in A-100 with Kellee and we were good friends in Islamabad. After drinks on their rooftop, we walked to a BBQ restaurant for dinner – so much fun to see them and catch up.

Constitution Gardens

Caribbean view

After working some last Sunday to get ready for this trip, I flew out Monday well before dawn to start the journey to Guyana – it’s not easy to get there since we are required by law to use U.S. carriers and the total trip time from door to hotel was about 20 hours. Guyana is in South America on the Caribbean coast. The country is very poor and has bad infrastructure, but a recent mother lode discovery of off-shore oil has everyone there excited.

This was my first solo trip and I was a bit nervous, but I was met with a very warm welcome by the consular chief, who I knew from Mexico, and all of his staff. I ended up having a great time and felt the work went well, and next time I plan to stay a few extra days so I can do a little sightseeing, namely birding. There are 300 species in the capital city Georgetown alone, including the Scarlet Ibis, a bird I’ve always wanted to see (I saw a large red bird fly overhead, but trees obscured it, so I couldn’t tell if it was the ibis or a macaw). Once you get well out of town, it turns into rainforest, including howler monkeys! Next time!

The highlight of this trip was feeding and touching a manatee! I saw at least seven in one of the city parks in a pond – they are so cute. I pulled long grass and swished it in the water, and they came to eat if out of my hand!

Manatee nose!

Waiting for the mini-buss

Cattle egrets roosting at the park

On this trip I just worked and stayed close to the hotel – high crime kept me from walking the beaches, but I enjoyed the ocean view. I ran into another State Department guy who I had met in Quito a few years ago, so we had dinner a couple of nights at the hotel. The consular chief also had me over for dinner at his house one evening, and I thoroughly enjoyed an authentic Mexican meal cooked by his wife who grew up in Hermosillo.

Getting home on Saturday was not so fun – after sitting on the tarmac in Miami for over an hour waiting for a gate, I missed my connection and had to overnight there. Luckily the airline sent me to a hotel, but then I was up again early for a 7AM flight in to D.C. – but I finally made it!

Flavia was glad to see because John had left for Fayetteville on Friday. Wishing a speedy recovery to Ginger after her surgery – all reports are that she is doing well.

Click to see my photos from Guayana.

This week was the regional consular officers workshop here in D.C., so I was able to meet the eight other folks around the world who do what I do. Four of them are in their second year of this work, so it was a wonderful opportunity to learn from them. We did a couple of team building activities after work, including going to a Washington Nationals baseball game and doing an escape room – something I’d never heard of before. You’re in a room as a team and have to solve a series of puzzles to get out. Our theme room was based on popular culture from the 80s (yes, we managed to escape!). Afterward we donned some goofy hats for a photo.

My new gang

Yesterday we drove to Maryland, a little north of the Chesapeake Bay to go to a rug show at Kristin’s house. Obaid, one of our rug sellers from Islamabad had a lovely variety that he brought over, and of course we left with not one, but three. I had forgotten how much I love looking at them and the process of deciding which of these little children to bring home.

With Obaid and Kristin