Hola everyone! I am in Buenos Aires. I am on my last continent getting into the swing of things here. There is always a transition period when switching from regions. I am easing into it by going to Tango shows and going out at night. The show I saw last night was great. The dancing is sooo good and the music was just as good.

Eastern Europe sure does not feel like the East anymore. I started in Berlin and found that the former Eastern section is now the new hip, center of the city. Everything has been renovated. Berlin is doing an excellent job of integrating the new with the old in their architecture. For example, the Reichstag ( congress ) has a clear glass dome and you can walk to the top of it and look down on the politicians. Transparency is what they are going for in their new society I was told. The new government buildings also span the river that separated East from West and are connected by a high bridge. Berlin certainly feels like one of the hippest, exciting places to be in Europe.

From there, I went to Krakow, Poland, one of the most charming and best cities I have ever experienced. It is filled wth castles and churches with narrow, gold topped spires. They even have a dragon near the castle. Everyone sits around the main square drinking coffee or beer and checking one another out. I did a lot of that. My favorite was the park that surrounds the entire city - it was once the moat. I also went to Auschwitz and Birkenau. It is truly disturbing to see what we can do to our fellow man. I also took a bike tour and saw the Jewish ghetto and Oscar Schindlers factory ( You recognize several of the scenes out of the Pianist ).

Finally, I hit Budapest. More sightseeing and partying. The night river cruise on the Danube is spectacular. They have one of the most attractive parliament buildings in the world. The baths in the park were awesome. The older folks sit outside in the hot mineral water playing chess. We need to copy this in the states. Taking a dip on your lunch break would be nice. They had a bunch of hot rooms and different temp. pools as well.

On my way here I stopped in New York and saw some good old friends from the UCLA ski team: Shauna Finnie, Rebecca Pringle, and Big Jim Shephard. It was great to see you guys.

Being in New York made me feel a longing for home, but now it is on to my final portion of the trip. As I said above, I am easing into a new area and I think I am going to like it . . . a lot.