Cartagena

Cartagena is one of the most romantic cities I’ve ever experienced.

It was founded in the 16th century and looks like a quintessential colonial town. Part of the city is preserved within stone walls built by the Spanish (to protect against pirates!) and that is the part you must visit. There are many little parks and plazas, and the buildings are all brightly colored and have bougainvillea on their balconies. You can’t help but want to take pictures everywhere.

The food is amazing. You can find cheap eats and extravagant meals, and you can’t really go wrong. We had good value/affordable meals at places like El Bistro, and went all out at places like La Vitrola and Club de Pesca. We lucked out and wandered into Club de Pesca without a reservation, then got the best table in the place. With La Vitrola, our hotel set up our reservation, and that is when I was so grateful to be in a luxury hotel with the right relationships.

For live music, we of course went to Cafe Havana, but the locals really gave us props for going to Bazurto Social Club. There are small cover prices at the clubs, but they’re much less than you would pay in NY for great music. Both clubs are well worth the trip outside the old city walls.

I’ve stayed in a few hotels in Cartagena, and the top one for me is the Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa (I wrote about it previously). But Arsenal Hotel Boutique is a close second and it’s just outside the old city walls.

So that’s Cartagena in a nutshell. If you get the chance to go, take it. You won’t regret it.

Medellin…

 

 

…was awesome. It has a very interesting history but is also very modern.

We stayed in El Poblado, where all the bars/restaurants are. And we were there the weekend of the holiday light festival, so in the photo above, the lights you see behind me are the holiday lights decorating Parque Lleras. The park was a total party- there were groups of friends hanging out & drinking (apparently there’s no open container ban!) then heading to the bars surrounding the park.

Culture-wise, we hit up the Museo de Antioquia and took photos around all the Botero sculptures outside (I love how voluptuous they are). We also spent time up in Parque Arvi, even meeting some really nice locals on our ride over there. All the sites were super easy to reach by using Medellin’s metro system, which includes cable cars.

We ate a lot of empanadas there (they were $1 and so tasty), but had sit-down meals as well. My favorite was at El Graspo de Uva. We had walked by it at one point (it’s in El Poblado) and then I saw this blog post singing its praises, so we went for dinner and loved it.

All in all it was an awesome weekend, and I can now say that Medellin is a great city for exploring.

View of Medellin from the metro cable

Cartagena Sunsets

  



Left photo on the city wall near Las Bovedas, right photo on the rooftop of the Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa

Bogota

 


Most flights to Colombia will take you through Bogota. This was the 2nd time I’ve been to Bogota, and I like the city, but I may skip it next time. But, if you’re there, here’s what I recommend to check out:

La Candelaria - just walk around aimlessly. It’s fun

Monseratte - take the cable car ride up to the chapel, and hope for a cloudless day so you can see all of Bogota

eat/drink at Andres - whether at the original site in Chia or at the new one right in Bogota, it’s such a fun experience

dine at Leo Cocina y Cava. The chef/owner, Leonor Espinosa, puts Colombian food on the map. The ingredients are staples of Colombian food but used in very interesting ways. We had snails, octopus, lobster, and beef medallions. There was sauce made from corozo, and foam made out of… foam? We asked the kitchen to make us their favorite dishes, and they’ve now become ours.

The 2 places you have to go to in Cartagena: Bazurto Social Club & Cafe Havana.

"This is your home": Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa

I’ve been having an incredible time in Colombia these past two weeks. There was a slight misstep when we realized an expensive boutique hotel we’d reserved in Cartagena was a) more run-down than their beautiful website let on, and b) under renovation, so we left after one night. Luckily we did not have to pay for the additional nights we had reserved. And even luckier (more luckily?), there was a room available at the Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa. Our new room is perfect and the hotel and staff are magnificent. They let me check in early and when they brought me to the room they said, “If you want anything, let us know. This is your home.”

"This is your home": Hotel Charleston Santa Teresa

 
La Passion Hotel, Cartagena, Colombia

La Passion Hotel, Cartagena, built in the 18th century

 

 
Arsenal Hotel Boutique, Cartagena

Cure for December-
Arsenal Hotel Boutique, Getsemani, Cartagena, Colombia

 
Snacks in Cartagena / Arsenal Hotel Boutique / Getsemani

 

Doors in Cartagena

 
 
Food in Cartagena- Creme brulee at the Sofitel, ceviche at La Cevicheria (2 pics), & gnocchi at El Bistro

Medellin Myths & Legends Parade, Los Alumbrados

Dessert in Santa Elena Medellin Colombia

botero

Botero sculpture in front of Museo Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia

 

Medellin Las Velitas / Alumbrado

Leticia, Colombia: Hotel Amazon Bed & Breakfast. Gave myself a pat on the back for booking this place.