We discover the most interesting things when we aren't looking for them

When I think about highlights from 2014, I remember my trip to Buenos Aires.  I’m reminded of how the beauty of traveling is in discovering the unknown and most importantly, the unplanned.  Sure, we did the usual touristy stuff expected of any visitor to BA.  We cruised through the famous colorful Boca neighborhood, took tango lessons, and ate way too much steak, but best of all, the memorable parts of our trip were discovering little surprises along our way that weren’t on our itinerary.

This picture of this cool bench with the ‘runaway’ wood is from the MALBA – Museo de Arte Latino-Americano right in the heart of Buenos Aires.  We actually stumbled upon this museum after a long jetlagged first day in the city and almost skipped it.  It turned out to be the best museum with the innovative architecture and modern art that piqued our curiosity.

The next day, we were on the hunt for a good cheap eatery and discovered two statues at a roundabout.  I thought they were interesting – an elegantly poised female statuette with a stern-looking rigid statue in the background.  We loved how we would turn the corner and find art in the form of statues, paintings, architecture wherever we went.

On one particular afternoon, we turned into a courtyard and found this non-working bicycle with a pebbled arrow next to it.  This piece of art blended nicely in the background and we almost missed it.

Finally, when it comes to eating when traveling, it’s best to be spontaneous.  We arrived late in Tilcara, a small dusty town in the north close to the Andes Mountains.  As soon as we sat down to eat in a cozy restaurant, we saw a guy next to us eating what we thought looked like potato soup.  “I’ll have what he’s having,” we told the waitress.  It turned out to be a hearty TRIPE dish – not what we expected!  It was delicious and my husband Eduardo ate every last bit of it.