welcome to the DR, mom!

my mom arrived yesterday afternoon. she was so excited to see me that she exited the baggage claim area without her bags! well, we were a bit worried about how she'd get back in to get her bags. as she re-entered into the customs/baggage are, the security guys kind of looked at her, tried to call her back, and then gave up (too much effort required and not worth it, i guess). so now we're thinking, how is she going to exit again because i am holding her purse with ticket, passport, and customs form? well, she just popped her sunglasses on and walked on past everyone! she basically got past all the customs people TWO times without anyone asking for her forms or looking over her bags! way to go, mom! next time we need to bring in some electronics or something with huge duties, we'll hire you!

we made a quick stop at daniel, the german butcher, for some things for dinner. this is a real typical german butcher shop - lots of sausages, sauerkraut, and other types of meat on display. there were several customers in there - all speaking different languages, so it was good introduction into the varied cultures and nationalities that live here. i let my mom know that this is the place to buy meat and not at the grocery store where it can often look less than appealing. daniel has gotten to know us, as we're regular customers. if veronica had gone into the shop instead, we probably would have walked out with an extra treat - some hot dog of some sort, which we usually don't want but accept as he's being nice to us. we did not get any extra treats this time, but instead a "please say hello to your dutch friend! warm greetings to her!"

we then came back to the apartment, dropped the bags, and then headed over to the EZE cafe - one of our favorite spots here. it was a great day weatherwise and wind-wise so the windsurfers and kitesurfers were out in force, making for a great view from EZE. after a light snack and some fresh fruit juices, we came back to the apartment. as it was a long 2 days of travel for my mom, it was good to just hang out in the apartment last night. we threw some things on the BBQ and had a nice dinner out on the deck.

today is looking sunny and nice, so perhaps we will go for a long beach walk today. i'm out on our deck now. my mom is still sleeping. veronica is on the other deck (we have two), reading the newspaper etc. online. we have a client who has put in an offer on a great beach house, so we have to work through some of that today with the listing agent. when we leave here, i'd love to write a book on all the experiences we have had with buyers - qualified, unqualified, DREAMERS, as well as sellers and realty processes (or lack thereof here), etc. the stuff we have experienced is just unbelievable. i'm of course not serious about writing a book, but maybe i'd put it into the blog (and obviously keep names out of it.)

ok, time for some breakfast out here on the deck!