Day 6: A Wild Restaurant Our Kids Will Never Forget
Today I got up and went to a SoulCycle-type studio in our neighborhood called Cyglo (sigh-glow), and took a class. The vibe was way less intense/intimidating that NYC spin scene. I kept up despite the altitude, and will go back again tomorrow with a former SJR colleague and Bogota native.
We did more quiet schooling the rest of the morning.
At 11 am Ari, Camilla and their 3 kids picked us up for a day outside of the city:
First stop – Sopo, a town in the mountains where Camilla’s mom has a beautiful weekend home. Reminded me of the Freemans’ place in Petaluma, CA…we showed up with the kids before a big luncheon party, and got passed tortilla and pate and sangria. The kids played with the dogs, a big swing and a little Casita filled with their toys.
Oh, Willa got carsick on the windy, steep ride out of town and threw up mango on the side of the road. But she made a quick recovery!
Drove to Chia to experience one of the most popular and famous food spots in the area: Andres Carne De Res. There’s a location in Bogota, but this is the original one, and allegedly the better option. This is how Lonely Planet describes it: “An otherworldy entertainment cocktail that’s equal parts Tim Burton, Disneyland and Willy Wonka – with a dash of junkyard kitch and funhouse extravaganza.” It kind of had a Bubble Room feel too.
Picture an open-air compound, with one building for grownup meals and partying (a party bus leaves Bogota every Friday and Saturday night at 10 pm en route to here for dancing on tables, etc.) and another for family-friendly meals. The kid side menu was like 15 pages, and the setup included the following:
- Puppet show
- Face painting
- Mini soccer pitch
- Trampolines
- Merry go round
- Air hockey
- Rocking horses
- Drum sets with drum leader
- Roaming bands
- Punching bag
- Nail painting for kids
- Cotton candy
- Playdough station
- Bracelet making
- Stilt-walking for kids (helmets included)
There was way more I just can’t remember.
It was a total blast, and the kids were obviously obsessed.
Random thoughts/observations/learnings:
- James still isn’t sure how to pronounce Ari and Camilla’s 3-year-old’s name (Elias — el-EE-us), so all day he called him “boy” and “brother” – so funny. Also, Elias doesn’t speak English like his sisters yet so all he would shout over and over was “JEMS!” to get James’s attention. Whenever Willa or James would talk to him he’d just go, “Que?”
- Alllllll over Bogota are delivery guys with fluorescent pink “Rappi” bags. Ari and Camila explained that Rappi (as in rapido) is Colombia’s only unicorn startup and it’s all over South America now. Everyone uses the Rappi app to get things done: including but not limited to food delivery, car-washing, errands, dog walking, grocery shopping, even ATM runs, etc. All the delivery guys are Venezuelan apparently.
- If you own a car in Bogota you can only drive it on the street on even or odd days – each car is registered for one or the other and it’s strictly enforced to control traffic. So to avoid the issue and be able to drive every day, some people buy two cars and alternate cars on even and odd days. That’s what Ari and Camilla do. Ha!
- School starts at 7 am here!
