Thursday, Sept. 23

There was an earthquake today. Actually, I heard there were 5 in various parts of Chile. The one I felt seemed like 15 seconds of driving in a car across a very bumpy road. In looking out the window you could see that the building was swaying visibly, and the water in the cooler jug was moving about. No one seemed terribly alarmed, which I took as a good sign, especially since they had such a bad earthquake just a few months ago. And then it was over and that was that.

We visited the Chile version of Wal*Mart today, called Lider. The brands were different, but it very much had the feel and look of Wal*Mart in the US. Except for the guy playing the electric keyboard and singing. I haven't seen (or heard) that at Wal*Mart before. After checking out the Wrangler Hero product display I purchased a box of tissues (first days of Spring here, you know), then we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant (well, not really our kind of Mexican) before returning to the office.

I don't have much in the way of pictures to offer, but I'll share the few I do. Check back after the weekend, because that should offer some new adventures.

The VF Jeanswear Offices and Distribution Center

A really fabulous shopping mall called Mall Alto Las Condes. You could fit 8-10 Four Seasons Malls into this thing with room to spare.

Men's Jeans Department at Falabella, the largest Department Store in Chile.

Santiago Chile: First Day

Another long flight. But not quite as long as the last, since I flew to Atlanta and then to Santiago. The ATL to SCL leg was just under 9 hours. The Monday I arrived was the 4th day of a 4 day weekend in Chile celebrating its Bicentennial. Pretty big deal for any country, and it was nice because the roads were deserted. As I did on arriving in Buenos Aires, after making my way to the hotel and getting cleaned up and a bit rested I booked a bus tour of the city in the afternoon. It is a terrific was to get some sense of the town if you are going to be somewhere for a while. So below you will find some pictures from the inaugural tour.

The view from my room. The hill behind is Cerro San Cristobal, which will appear later in this post.

View from the rooftop pool. Those are the Andes Mountains with snow on them in the background.

Now on the tour, the mountain in the far background is the tallest in South America, over 20,000 feet. This was taken from atop Cerro San Cristobal

Santiago sits in a valley between the Andes and the Coastal Mountain Ranges. This is looking toward the Financial District, where my hotel is located.

A zoom an SA's tallest peak. If you look in the upper right you will see a glacier near the peak of the mountain.

A view from the other side of Cerro San Christobal, looking to the West.

A tourist in front of the Cathedral in the old downtown square.

Reflection of the old cathedral in a new building.

The Presidential Palace. Used to be the mint for both Chile and Argentina.

An old neighborhood that was built to look very European, which went to blight but is now in a stage of renaissance.

Dancers doing the traditional National Dance. Something about waving a hankie over your head.

Tourist with the dancers.

An interesting building we drove by.

So that was my first day. Santiago is very clean, very modern and quite inviting. It has a good "feel" to it, so I look forward to my next 10 days here.

The Adventure resumes....

After a very pleasant two weeks at home, highlighted by a long Labor Day weekend at Smith Mountain Lake and also by Barbara's golf tournament this past Friday, which was another huge success, I resume my travels later today. Late this afternoon Delta will fly me to Atlanta, then tonight I take another Delta flight to Santiago, Chile. I will arrive Monday morning, and will be spending 10 days working with the group in Santiago before flying over to Buenos Aries to meet with Jeanswear Top Management for a couple of days before returning home on October 1. So you can expect some new pictures to be posted to this blog over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!!!!

Last Day

Today will be my last day in Buenos Aires for this trip. After work I head to the airport and will board an 8:00 flight for Houston. I arrive in Greensboro Friday at 2:30PM. We have a long Labor Day Weekend planned at the lake, and my sister Gay and her daughter Anna will be joining us, as well as Todd, Cassidy and baby Lilly.

I will have a week in the Greensboro office, then Barbara's golf tournament is on Friday, September 17, and I will participate in that. Saturday the 18th is a birthday party celebrating Lilly's 2nd birthday!!

Then on Sunday the 19th I head to Santiago, Chile for a 2 week stay.

So stay tuned, more pictures will be posted in a few weeks!!!

Bill

A walk to Recoleta

The day started off foggy, then overcast and cool, but about noon the sun peeked through and it turned into a very nice afternoon. I walked along the Avenue del Libertador past the main train station, past the Monument to Carlos M. de Avlear, then past a park, the Expostion Hall and on to the Plaza Naciones Unides, which features a large metal sculpture in the form of a flower.

From there I crossed the street and passed another park, then the Museum of Fine Arts, on my way to Recoleta.

The Plaza leading up the hill to Recoleta with filled with street vendors. I made my way up to the Cathedral, then made a much more extensive walk through of the Recoleta Cemetery than I had time for on my earlier tour. After walking through the Cathedral and Cemetery, I walked across to the street full of shops and restaurants and found a Parrilla (grill) to sit down for a few cervezas and some lunch. I sat outside, which was very pleasant, though the wind kicked up a little and the large trees surrounding the area were shedding lots of tiny little leaves, which seemed to find their way into everything. Food, beer, everything. I fully expect to find some inside my clothes when I get ready for bed tonight.

While I was at lunch the sky got somewhat overcast again, and the air cooled off. It is going to be cooler starting tomorrow for the next week, with highs only in the low 60s. So maybe the cooler air was already arriving. When I finished with lunch I made my way back to the Hotel, using a different route that took me to the Plaza San Martin, right next to my work. As is always the case, every street you go down here has beautiful old building with magnificent architecture.Hope you enjoy the pictures!!!!

Looking towards Plaza San Martin from Ave. del Libertador

Statue in a park

Monument to Carlos M. de Alvear

The National Exposition Hall

This enormous aluminum and stainless steel sculpture of a flower in the Plaza Naciones Unidas has pedals that open and close and the whole thing turns to the the rising and setting of the sun. It is surrounded by a reflecting pool.

Another monument in another park.

The Museum of Fine Arts

Don't know what this is, other than interesting.

Headed up the walk past the street vendors.

More of the street vendors.

The Church next to the Cemetery, known as N.S. del Pilar Parish

Inside the Church

A panel on the side wall of the church.

Outside the church, looking across the street.

A tomb in the Recoleta Cemetery. Note the live and very contented cat just to the left of the statue of woman and dog.

The center of the Cemetery.

Tomb of the Duarte family, where Eva Peron is now buried.

Shops and restaurants in Recoleta

Headed home on Alvear Ave. Here is the Luis Vuitton store.

Ralph Lauren on Alvear

More great architecture.

Hard to get a picture, but this is a Convent.

With all the wars and revolutions they have had here over the years, they seem to have a lot of statues to National heros. I don't know who this is, but based on his security detail, I think I like him a lot!!!

The Palace San Martin

An Embassy. What flag is that???

Another Embassy, I think.

That's all folks!!!!

Plaza St. Martin

I had a busy and productive week at work. Got to do a really deep dive into the Forecast and Production Planning and Sourcing areas. I also provided some assistance to Silverio and Juan Carlos on their preparations for the Corporate Inventory Call that will occur on Monday.

One interesting facet of Argentinian life is that it seems that at least several groups are conducting some sort of demonstration somewhere in the city on any given day. This past week we had Subway workers, teachers, and textile workers demonstrating. There were others that I didn't catch who was demonstrating for what reason. That just seems to be a part of life here.

What I didn't do this week was take a lot of pictures. I did walk over to the Plaza right across the street from the office one day. It is larger than I thought, and is centered with one of those enormous rubber trees that are so common here. Here they are:

The Marriott Plaza Hotel

On the opposite side of the Plaza, looking back towards the office.

Military Museum behind the trees.

View to the North

Every Park needs a statue of a guy on a horse. I'm guessing this one is named San Martin.

Looking towards the Bell Tower and Ports behind.

Trees in the Plaza. In the center is the big rubber tree.

Bark Park in the Plaza. Argentine doggies spend the day here while their Masters work.

Looking back towards the office. Very odd traffic flow on the street, with lanes reversed.Actually, it is two different one-way streets running side by side.