Sunday, February 26, 2017

I slept well last night, only getting up once early in the morning, finally waking/getting up at 9am.

I met Dave (his Expat Exchange handle is Augieman) at Bartellos Bar at 11am.  He’s about my age from southern California and before that Virginia.  He’s traveling through Ecuador and Colombia.  We talked for about an hour and then walked down to Classic Diner.  The following is my review that I later posted on Trip Advisor:

The place is surprisingly large with a few vintage motorcycles, a convertible (car) table, a pool table, walls filled with typical American diner memorabilia and they played some American music from the 1960s. 

Their menu consists of a variety of burgers plus Tex-Mex offerings and a couple desserts.  I ordered their Classic Diner burger which included fries and artisanal juice, my friend ordered their Classic burrito which came with a spot of what looked like refried beans and something white we were unable to identify.  He also ordered a tea I haven’t seen before – Te Xencha.

I asked for some mustard for my burger and the waiter brought us each a small container.  The burger was good although the bacon wasn’t crispy like I had requested.  My friend said he enjoyed his food and I was happy with mine.

Classic Diner is open daily from noon to 11pm.

The total bill was 63,413 (about $22.25) including tip and tax.

I walked him back towards our apt and then showed him the way to the Envigado metro station.

The three of us registered online for Smartfit.  If I understand correctly it costs 49,900 a month, plus a 90,000 initiation fee, plus an annual maintenance fee of 89,000.  I’m not sure if my debit card transaction will go thru as my bank – USAA – was not on their list.  We did get confirmation emails and we have to print out some form that needs to be signed.

We left the apt at 6:15 to see the 7pm showing of 50 Shades Darker (4.9) at Santafe mall.  We got our preferred seating tickets with no problem for 19,500 each (about $7).  We bought a medium popcorn to share, a sandwich for Teresa and large cokes for all of us for about 40,000 (about $14).

The theatre had a preponderance of women; I don’t know why they are interested in seeing the sexual acts of an admitted sadist but there they were.  Even though it has received poor ratings the movie cost 46 million and has already made more than 94 million so I’m sure there will be another coming soon.  In fact there the next installment is scheduled for release next Valentine’s Day.  

How sweet!  When I checked my RunPee app I also noticed they have a coming attraction at the 3-minute mark of the end credits but I had a difficult time keeping the ladies in their seats.  They had just gotten up to leave when they started.  It only lasted about 20 seconds so it didn’t seem worth it.

We easily caught a taxi back to the apt.

T-shirt of the day: So, if we lie to the government, it’s a felony… But if they lie to us, it’s politics.