Cali es Pasion (So come visit me!)

I love sharing my passions with others. I love a lot of things in this world and I just want other people to appreciate them as much as I do. Things like fruit smoothies, good coffee, fall days in Minnesota, yoga, swimming in the ocean, country music, primetime drama television shows, problem solving, helping students learn, reading, knowledge, Keith Urban's Australian accent, the Minnesota Twins, country music, rollerblading on the first few days of spring, etc.

For the past year and a half one of those passions has definitely been travel and living abroad. While Cali took some time getting used to, I have grown to love so many things about it, and after traveling around Colombia the past week or so I appreciate it in a whole new light.

Lucky for YOU, I am not the only one giving it a glowing recommendation, so are the writers of the New York Times Travel Section. Cali is #10 on the list of 41 Places to Go in 2011. Here's what they had to say about it:

10. Cali, Colombia

Cafe culture is on the rise while salsa fuels the night life.

Cali has always felt like the grittier stepsister of Medellín, but tucked amid the colonial homes of the barrios of San Antonio or Granada are a number of new jewelry boutiques, low-key cafes and salsotecas teeming with crowds as sexy as any in South America.

Salsa remains Cali’s lifeblood. If the dance floors of Tin Tin Deo or Zaperoco are too full, try La Fuente, a pint-size bar jammed with sweaty students who spill out onto the street most nights. Or, follow the sounds of Latin jazz to Guayusa, just next door. Those with serious salsa chops hitch a cab out of town to the suburb of Juanchito, whose dance floors do not fill up until after midnight (but go in a group, as this section gets dicey at those hours). Also be sure to check out a performance of Delirio, the monthly cabaret that is part Cirque du Soleil, part salsa clinic.

The best thing about this is that La Fuente is one of me and Kelsi's favorite bars to go to here but it is this super small hole-in-the-wall type place that is basically a shack. I love that it is mentioned here!! Also I love that they talk about Cali in a positive light because often Cali is not well liked by tourists...there just are not a lot of English speakers here and not many touristy type attractions to see. However, I love it and I love living here...so follow the New York Times advice and come visit me in Cali :)