These are my favorite chips when I’m in Germany. We both love like them a lot and are our favorites when we have movie nights at home.
And this is the famous Haribo Pasta flagga. They were “in” during the world cup and the husband brought them because he likes their sweet and sour taste.
After exchanging presents, talking, talking and talking, we decided to go and grab lunch. We wanted something small. Since it was his first day back in Colombia, we were trying to avoid any stomach problems. That same day in the afternoon, we had a meeting with our wedding planners. I had already met them in June, but it was the first time they would see the husband. The wedding planner was a little nervous, mainly because in many parts of the process and due to their irresponsibility, the husband and I got very upset and disappointed and we of course let them know that. The meeting came. The husband is not a guy of many words, so I was the one who did the talk most of the time, while I showed them all the details for the decoration the husband and I had worked on throughout the past months. We discussed ideas, options and worked on much more specific details of the wedding ceremony and reception. After the meeting, the husband and I got all the boxes back to our room and there we glued the hearts garland we used as backdrop during the ceremony.
Late in afternoon we got ready to go to the airport to pick up our first guests coming from Germany: Matt and Janina. As you can see, the husband and I had less than a full day to ourselves, a day to fully reconnect
. At the beginning of the planning we did not think of it that way. We were happy to have special people on our wedding day. Anyway, not so much to do about that. We left to the airport , waited and waited until their plane landed. The same story than with the husband: everyone was coming out but them, ugh! After almost 20 minutes of waiting, they finally came out. It was very nice to see them again and also quite funny because they were still dressed for cold weather, and Cartagena was very hot and humid. We went to the international terminal together, changed Euros for colombian pesos, bought water and took a taxi to the hotel where they would stay until the 12th. Luckily before going to the airport,the husband and I had figured out where their hotel was. It was easy to get there and the best thing was that it was very close to ours. After a disorganized and quite frustrating check in -the person at the front desk was hospitality clueless and was rather a doorman- we went out to eat something simple, mainly because we understood they were tired and so were we.On the morning of August the 6th began our adventures together in Cartagena. We walked along several streets, took many pictures, we sat at a small shop to freshen up and to talk for a while and later on we had lunch together. During lunch we also discussed what were they going to do in the afternoon. I had my hair and makeup trial and could not be with them.
One of the beautiful photos taken by the husband that day
At the end we decided that, since the spa and beauty salon was in Bocagrande, we would go all together, and while they would do my makeup/hairstyle trial, they would walk by the beach and Bocagrande. Since the husband had been in Bocagrande in 2012, he felt safer walking around the streets, they were somehow known. Before leaving, we left a note to my in-laws at their hotel, which was the same hotel where our friends were staying-. They would arrive that day from Bogotá.
I felt a bit nervous or anxious on the way to the salon. Truth to be told, we had walked all morning and had of course sweated a bit. Although I was no sweaty at that moment, I felt a little ashamed. According to our wedding planners, that beauty salon and spa was one of the most exclusive in Cartagena. It was precisely that what had me so nervous: though I was properly dressed, I would have liked to take a shower before going to the trial, but that was not possible.
Upon arrival, I said Tschüss to the husband and to our friends. I walked in and was greeted in a very cordial way. Phew! I calmed down right away. I went where the girl in charge of the trial was. I introduced myself and we clicked immediately. It was like if we had known each other before. That reassured me a lot more. After a couple of minutes, I talked about the ideas I had for my makeup and hair. She understood everything so perfectly and began to work on my hair. We talked nonstop during the 3 hours the test took. I really liked the results. Although, sadly she had to remove my makeup and change whatever she did on my hair, it was supposed to be a surprise! :-) I just pictured the husband’s face when after 3 hours at the salon, he would find his future wife looking the same way she was when they left.
Diego Moya Salon was the place where I got my wedding make-up/hair trial and the official ones on my wedding day. In addition to a nail polish touch-up and wax the day before the wedding.
Wedding hairstyle trial
As good Germans, my fellow adventurers arrived shortly before the 3 hrs were over. After briefly sharing my experience at the salon and they telling me how annoying it is to walk through Bocagrande, as peddlers don’t leave you alone, we went to a travel agency to buy tickets to visit the islands on Monday, August the 11th . Once the tickets were bought and the trip booked, we went to different shoe stores because the girl needed to buy shoes to wear on our wedding. Eventually she ended up buying a simple pair of sandals. After that, everyone went to the hotels to change, because in less than two hours we would meet again for dinner. This time, with my in-laws.
Plaza Santo Domingo, Cartagena. Picture taken from the Internet.
Meeting my in-laws again was literally very special. First because they always seem very happy when they see me. I was greeted with so much excitement and joy. My FIL showed me the box he built to bring the cake topper he had also made for us. And second, because I had to dust off my German and then I felt that after several months, I had forgotten everything I learned and was not practiced… Uh oh!
We walked along several streets and tried to find a table at one of my favorite restaurants when I go to Bogota or Cartagena: Crepes and Waffles. But it was not possible. It was completely full and we would have to wait for too long. Since it was a matter of hunger, we decided to look elsewhere. We reviewed the menu at several restaurants and some were not interesting or simply too expensive. We ended up at the Plaza Santo Domingo. Yes, it is quite attractive to many tourists and in many guidebooks they recommend visiting it; but I must confess that it was not my favorite place to sit and eat. Too much noise from street performers trying to get a coin. But it was not just one, many were singing different songs and music genres all at the same time, with the volume at different heights, also street vendors offering their products all the time and the food at these restaurants is not recommended. The quality is poor and the service is lousy. Going there for dinner was a total mistake.
Despite how annoyed we were left after our terrible dinner experience, their comments regarding the city were positive. My in-laws were delighted, same with our friends. The guy, however, was complaining about the service at the restaurant, the unbearable noise and the hawkers that wouldn’t leave us alone. And to think it was just the 6th of August and we would be there until the 12th. Ladies and gentlemen, it was time to take a deep breath!
And yeah, I agree, your writing is really great and I'm really enjoying this. You hair looked amazing!