Saturday, December 12, 2009
Week in Cordoba day 1 Nov. 16 lunes
At 645am Uli rng my buzzer so we could go to the bus station. turned out he brought a fairly good-sized backpack for his clothes. originally, he was going to bring just a regular backpack , but i told him we were ging for a week...not a day. but, it was a good thing we bought the other one because we will need a smaller one on the motorbike. we had medialunas and cafe in Retiro at the omnibus station and fresh-squeezed orange juice...not too shabby. here was the fun part...trying to find which bus was ours - any one between platforms 15 and 40. the bulletin board was not up to date and 830 was fast approaching. we were looking for Chevallier because that was who we bought our tickets from, but we were wrong! the empresa (company) was Urquiza and finally we asked someone who said "you better run because it's leaving"...and so we ran...thank god we found it. guess what...we spent 13 hours on that bus! definitely the longest bus ride i've ever been on. there wasn't much to see but flat land and cows and the different towns we had to pass through. we stopped so many times to pick people up and drop them off. i slept a little bit. we were going to drink on the bus, but someone left his wine bottle opener in his bag which was underneath the bus! by the end i was ready to die...we had to sit in the seats under the top floor about 15 min before we got off the bus since we were the last ones, and the bathroom was down there. i was really starting to feel sick because after 13 hours on a bus with who knows many people were using it...eck! there really are mountains here...i almost couldn't believe it just because the land was so flat for so long! they were so beautiful...looked very dry- all sort of a brownish colour. saw the sun set on the bus...we arrived in the dark to Villa Giardino and walked to Hospidaje Anita where Uli had stayed before. we ran into some people that he knew on the street and they invited us over. first we settled into our room, finally...we are staying in a kind of hostel that is a converted house but we are the only guests...it is beautiful...lots of plants and wooden furniture...very home-like. there are about 10 rooms or so. she is so nice and hospitable. her name is Susanna. as time goes by, i understand a bit more. she gives us breakfast between 9 and 11am and cleans and changes everything. she is so nice...she always calls me "mi amor". she's like a mommy away from home. we opened a bottle of wine and started drinking and talking about personal things until Roxanna and her boyfriend came by and asked us what was taking so long. so away we went. there house was cute. bare, but cute. the mother, Betty, had a little dog named Cleto who wouldn't leave me alone. we ate pizza, talked and looked at photos from when Uli was there before. and around 1230, i told Uli we had to go, so we did. He snored a shit ton...so both of us didn't get much sleep because i had to keep telling him to be quiet.
Return from Iguazu Sun. Nov. 15
i had a rude awakening. at 5am (and onward), some locals on the road by the river decided they were going to blast music from their cars. that was pretty disruptive. so at 7am i couldn't take it anymore and got up for breakfast buffet. i ran into Jose, Fabiana and Jorge who all said "what are you doing up so early?" and i said "ay, la musica de los jovenes en la calle afuera de mi ventana...no pide dormir!" F and Jleft to go on their tour of the Brazilian side of the falls. i couldn't do that because just like those damn Americans, i need a visa too. i wandered around and took more pictures of the hotel. then i had to wait an hour and a half for my ride to the airport. i had lost my watch at the fals so i had a difficulttime trying to keep an eye on the time. also, the sky was looking very dark - like thundercloud dark - it even started raining and i thought "i bet my flight will be delayed". so my ride showed up and we cahhted in the van and by this point it was pouring rain and thundering and lightning...i knew my flight would be delayed. got to the airport and sure enough, it was delayed by half an hour (which meant an hour). i wndered around and went into a couple of shops and looked for presents for people. it was a bit pricey for Argentina. but i found some bookmarks and almost a really good present for Steffy. looking outside it was thunderstorming. there was only one security gate and it took 40 min. to get everyone through. apparently, it took so long not only because of the one security gate, but also because they had to input you passport again...i chatted with an older couple from Canada (Toronto, wee!) in line behind me about this. they had been in the amazon and were going to Bs. As. first for a night, then South and then back. they were nice but complaining a lot about the inefficiency of this airport. finally i got on the plane. it was still Aerolineas Argentinas, pero Austral, a different mini-company in an MD Serie 80 jet. unlike the Boeing, its wings were closer to the back and had 3 seats on one side, 2 on the other and no first class. the ascent wasn't too bumpy. they fed us another ham and cheese sandwich and a mini alfahor. it only took us 1.5 hours this time. being ale to see Bs. As. from the air was incredible. in Toronto, you see the downtown as having the tallest buildings...but for Bs. As. it's almost impossible! there are tall buildings everywhere! it's impressive! i couldn't believe it! when i was leaving the airport, i couldnt' believe how long the line was for people needing taxis. i walked a little over the way and just hailed one off the road...muy facil! i spent the rest of the evening trying to pack and had dinner with Uli so we could talk about the plan for the morning...the day was going to come really early.
Nov 14 - Day at Iguazu Argentinian Side
NB: taken from info.in my hotel room: " the Iguazu port is located in the northern area of the Misiones province; it is the gateway to visit Iguazu national park, site of the worldwide famous Iguazu falls with its 275 falls. The city, located at 15km from the Iguazu falls provides all the complementary services to this wonderful n atural tourist destination. the city, founded on Sept. 10, 1901 as "Aguirre Port", has celebrated its first 100 years of existence. it is located in the northeastern extreme of the Misiones Province. the small city has 30,000 inhabitants and several attraction points for enthralling tourists. one of them is the Three Frontier Landmark where you can observe the Iguazu river floating into the Parana river at the geographic limit of the 3 countires: Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The guaranies settled in the Argentine territory between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century. the Misiones province and neighbouring areas of Paraguay and Brazil presently shelter the mbya, descendants from the guaranies who refused to participate in the Jesuit Misiones. besides the mbya, groups of pai tareytera and chiripas live in the Misiones province."
My day began very early - oh by the way, the planes locally don't have tv screens - the flight attendants have to do their seatbelt/mask demonstration totally alone with someone on the intercom. So, anyway...really early - breakfast buffet with pastries, eggs, different freshly squeezed fruit juices (me encanta), cheese and meat and of course, coffee. Jose was there again and took care of me of course. At 8am, i was picked up by a mini-van on behalf of Travel Raisen with another couple from Bs. As. We had to go into the Ciudad de Iguazu to a hostel to pick up another couple. They didn't talk much the whole day. the guide's name was David and his English was pretty limited...I thought "oh hell, wy wouldn't they give me an English tourguide, im screwed. thankfully, the first couple who got in the van with me spoke some English and said they would translate for me. their names were Jorge and Fabiana and they live outside Bs. As. in la provincia. They are here celebrating their 22nd anniversary and have 3 sons - Fabiana is a lawyer and Jorge works in insurance. Jorge told me that David was explaining that there are 3 parks the one we are going to is Iguazu National Park with 67,000 ha; there is another one south, and one in Brazil that is 100-something ha. The park is considered subtropical rainforest and is not completely natural - only about 70 years old. we got to the park and walked through to find a mini-train. the park was beautiful so far: everything so green and lush, the ground so red and fertile, we saw various beginnings of trails and stores for merchandise. it almost looked like it could have been an amusemnt park. while we were walking, we walked through a forest and ate some random yellow fruit off the ground. i forget what David called them. they were sweet and bitter at the same time and really juicy. we also saw a palm tree which is specifically for "palmito that people use an ingredient in cooking. apparently, it takes a really long time to grow party of it - 15 years or so - and they use the shoots to cook with. so, if all the shoots are used, there is no new part of the tree growing. they essentially kill it. we also saw a Coati, which is a mammal that looks like a raccoon and has a really long tail. we had strict instructions not to feed them because they will eat anything. i snagged a picture of the cute creature (mostly to show papa that at least he didnt have to chase these things out of the garbage in Toronto, just regular raccoons) and then we got to the train station. it was called "Estacion Central" - central station - how original! we waited en un cola larga (large line) and at that point you could feel the humidity as the sweat uncontrollably dripped down my face. i talked with Fabiana and Jorge and then we just stuck together for the rest of the day. Mariposas were everywhere (butterflies!). They were many beautiful colours...blue, red, yellow, orange and would try to feed off the salt minerals on us. on our tran ride the mariposas were everywhere...flying all aroun, trying to hitch rides on people. it was very pleasant. we arrived at Estacion Garganta so we could go to Garganta del Diablo - a very powerful, circular area of the falls a bit like Niagra Falls. We had to walk about 1km over metal pathwys over the Iguazu river. it had just rained so the water was a bit higher than usual. However, it is very possible that these pathways can be flooded if the river rises too quickly. the walk was cool - well, cool as in interesting, and the sun was definitely beating down on us. and ofcourse, mariposas everywhere as we walked! i didn't see any crocodiles (apparently there are some) and all of a sudden you could see (and hear) the tops of some very big waterfalls (cataratas). it was unbelievable - i took tons of photos....half of it belongs to Brazil but most is Argentina. The mist was so thick and beautiful and the sound of them....there were these birds that kept flying in and out of the mist - apparently they make nests in caves by the water. you couldn't see the water down below because of the mist. Union and Mitre are the names of the two major sides of these falls up here. The Diablo part is just after the water drops down below and you cant see the bottom because of all the mist. I was in complete awe...so much so that I didn't realize there was a bee sitting on my arm (bee=avejas) and i watched it sting me. i freaked out, grabbed it and threw it, and ripped the stinger out of my arm as best i could! Fabiana and Jorge came over and squeezed it to make sure the stinger was out and asked me if i was alergic...i didn't think so. i was pissed off, but okay. we looked at these falls a bt more, then had to walk back across the catwalks to catch the train again. this time, we went to Estacion Cataratas (i think) or Central, where we were going to do a forrest trail in a bit open truck and then our boat ride into the falls. We got to this big open outback truck where we were pretty much had people from everywhere in the world present (except Russia and Africa) - well major countries, that is. we were driving down the main road and then all of a sudden we veered off down Sendero Yacaratia. the drive was going to take us through Iguazu forest for about 8km. there wasn't much to see. a lizard was scurrying away from the truck at one point and near a puddle, a bunch of mariposas flew all around the truck like something out of a movie! the forest is pretty tangled and thick in some places...and the trees are more tall than thick because all of them are competing for the same sunlight. Our guide for the open truck ride was nice...her name was Paula (pronounced Paola). She said that 30% of Argentina's plant species are are in the park and 50% of the animals. There are big cats present in the park too but I didn't see any. She told us about the palmitas. Anyway, it wasn't very long, but it was definitely enjoyable. I, of course, tok some pictures of trees. We disembarked and were going on to the boat trip. We had to walkdown some long, uneven stairs to get down there and were warned it would suck climbing back up. The mariposas were still everywhere. We waited to get onto a raft and then onto the boats that were attached to it. They gave you thick, waterproof bags to put your stuff in. The boat could fit quite a few people and one of the guys who worked there was filming us so people could buy the experience on DVD for 100p. The wait itself was insane. They gave us lifejackets of course and we went on a pretty fast boat ride up the Rio Iguazu inferior. It was nice feeling the wind in my hair and Brazil was on one side, with Argentina on the other. Took more pictures! All of a sudden, you could see some waterfalls ahead...it was like these big monsters looming in front of us. We stopped for pictures a bit of distance away...we were going to go almost right under the Salto Tres Mosqueteros (3 muskateers). It was suspenseful as we watched other boats ahead of us go into them and float with the river...and we were about to do the same - we waved and cheered to other boats and then, in we went. We were soaked and it was hard to see the water coming down into our eyes. But, I tried my best and saw the water coming down ontop of me...breathtaking! We turned around and went round to pause at a bunch of more waterfalls...Bossetti, Eva, Adan, San Martin, Mbigua and another that I can't make out the name. I took so many pictures...even a couple of videos because the pictures didn't show the full effect of the unbelievable beauty and power of these. all of a sudden, in we went again - even more breathtaking looking up at the water falling down on me...i thought of so manny people that should have been there with me. after, we wanted to go in again, but went to another raft dock closer to these falls. we docked, soaking wet and gathered our belongings. David, our tourguide was waiting for us. we proceeded to climb an insane amount of stairs in the forested cliffs and had little balconies here and there that gave us different views of different falls as we wound our way around them, beside them and up to the top of them again. I got a bunch of pictures- David was nice enough to take a few of me and I took some for Jorge and Fabiana as well. we got so close to the fals even on foot on a balcony on one of the catwalks. when we finally made it to the top again, there were 2 men selling handmade tiles and magnets painted with pictures of Iguazu and tucans (i didn't see any tucans...maybe in Brazil). i bought a few of them as souvenirs. beautiful! perfect gifts...im now on a gift-hunting mission. we walked over more catwalks - the humidity made it difficult because our clothes weren't drying and made us all uncomfortable. around 2, we were starving and myself, Fabiana and Jorge had a pizza at one of the fast food places - it was quite good actually. then, at 3, we met david at the gate and piled back into the van. we were exhausted. we went our separate ways for the afternoon and were going to meet for dinner at 9. i spent the rest of the late afternoon resting, watching a movie and writing outside on one of the lunge beds...i forget what they are called in castellano. met my new friends at 9 after Jose had already come out and brought me a Dakiri - i love being able to put things on a tab (even the mini-fridge) because the exchange makes it all super cheap! It was good to not have to have dinner alone again. they had the buffet and i ordered steak with potatoes in a cream sauce. it was wicked! F and J are so nice. they told me if i wasn't going home for Christmas, i could come spend it with them...i think i will take them up on the offer. it was muy amable de ellos. we chatted for a little while after dinner on the front deck. then, i said adios.
My day began very early - oh by the way, the planes locally don't have tv screens - the flight attendants have to do their seatbelt/mask demonstration totally alone with someone on the intercom. So, anyway...really early - breakfast buffet with pastries, eggs, different freshly squeezed fruit juices (me encanta), cheese and meat and of course, coffee. Jose was there again and took care of me of course. At 8am, i was picked up by a mini-van on behalf of Travel Raisen with another couple from Bs. As. We had to go into the Ciudad de Iguazu to a hostel to pick up another couple. They didn't talk much the whole day. the guide's name was David and his English was pretty limited...I thought "oh hell, wy wouldn't they give me an English tourguide, im screwed. thankfully, the first couple who got in the van with me spoke some English and said they would translate for me. their names were Jorge and Fabiana and they live outside Bs. As. in la provincia. They are here celebrating their 22nd anniversary and have 3 sons - Fabiana is a lawyer and Jorge works in insurance. Jorge told me that David was explaining that there are 3 parks the one we are going to is Iguazu National Park with 67,000 ha; there is another one south, and one in Brazil that is 100-something ha. The park is considered subtropical rainforest and is not completely natural - only about 70 years old. we got to the park and walked through to find a mini-train. the park was beautiful so far: everything so green and lush, the ground so red and fertile, we saw various beginnings of trails and stores for merchandise. it almost looked like it could have been an amusemnt park. while we were walking, we walked through a forest and ate some random yellow fruit off the ground. i forget what David called them. they were sweet and bitter at the same time and really juicy. we also saw a palm tree which is specifically for "palmito that people use an ingredient in cooking. apparently, it takes a really long time to grow party of it - 15 years or so - and they use the shoots to cook with. so, if all the shoots are used, there is no new part of the tree growing. they essentially kill it. we also saw a Coati, which is a mammal that looks like a raccoon and has a really long tail. we had strict instructions not to feed them because they will eat anything. i snagged a picture of the cute creature (mostly to show papa that at least he didnt have to chase these things out of the garbage in Toronto, just regular raccoons) and then we got to the train station. it was called "Estacion Central" - central station - how original! we waited en un cola larga (large line) and at that point you could feel the humidity as the sweat uncontrollably dripped down my face. i talked with Fabiana and Jorge and then we just stuck together for the rest of the day. Mariposas were everywhere (butterflies!). They were many beautiful colours...blue, red, yellow, orange and would try to feed off the salt minerals on us. on our tran ride the mariposas were everywhere...flying all aroun, trying to hitch rides on people. it was very pleasant. we arrived at Estacion Garganta so we could go to Garganta del Diablo - a very powerful, circular area of the falls a bit like Niagra Falls. We had to walk about 1km over metal pathwys over the Iguazu river. it had just rained so the water was a bit higher than usual. However, it is very possible that these pathways can be flooded if the river rises too quickly. the walk was cool - well, cool as in interesting, and the sun was definitely beating down on us. and ofcourse, mariposas everywhere as we walked! i didn't see any crocodiles (apparently there are some) and all of a sudden you could see (and hear) the tops of some very big waterfalls (cataratas). it was unbelievable - i took tons of photos....half of it belongs to Brazil but most is Argentina. The mist was so thick and beautiful and the sound of them....there were these birds that kept flying in and out of the mist - apparently they make nests in caves by the water. you couldn't see the water down below because of the mist. Union and Mitre are the names of the two major sides of these falls up here. The Diablo part is just after the water drops down below and you cant see the bottom because of all the mist. I was in complete awe...so much so that I didn't realize there was a bee sitting on my arm (bee=avejas) and i watched it sting me. i freaked out, grabbed it and threw it, and ripped the stinger out of my arm as best i could! Fabiana and Jorge came over and squeezed it to make sure the stinger was out and asked me if i was alergic...i didn't think so. i was pissed off, but okay. we looked at these falls a bt more, then had to walk back across the catwalks to catch the train again. this time, we went to Estacion Cataratas (i think) or Central, where we were going to do a forrest trail in a bit open truck and then our boat ride into the falls. We got to this big open outback truck where we were pretty much had people from everywhere in the world present (except Russia and Africa) - well major countries, that is. we were driving down the main road and then all of a sudden we veered off down Sendero Yacaratia. the drive was going to take us through Iguazu forest for about 8km. there wasn't much to see. a lizard was scurrying away from the truck at one point and near a puddle, a bunch of mariposas flew all around the truck like something out of a movie! the forest is pretty tangled and thick in some places...and the trees are more tall than thick because all of them are competing for the same sunlight. Our guide for the open truck ride was nice...her name was Paula (pronounced Paola). She said that 30% of Argentina's plant species are are in the park and 50% of the animals. There are big cats present in the park too but I didn't see any. She told us about the palmitas. Anyway, it wasn't very long, but it was definitely enjoyable. I, of course, tok some pictures of trees. We disembarked and were going on to the boat trip. We had to walkdown some long, uneven stairs to get down there and were warned it would suck climbing back up. The mariposas were still everywhere. We waited to get onto a raft and then onto the boats that were attached to it. They gave you thick, waterproof bags to put your stuff in. The boat could fit quite a few people and one of the guys who worked there was filming us so people could buy the experience on DVD for 100p. The wait itself was insane. They gave us lifejackets of course and we went on a pretty fast boat ride up the Rio Iguazu inferior. It was nice feeling the wind in my hair and Brazil was on one side, with Argentina on the other. Took more pictures! All of a sudden, you could see some waterfalls ahead...it was like these big monsters looming in front of us. We stopped for pictures a bit of distance away...we were going to go almost right under the Salto Tres Mosqueteros (3 muskateers). It was suspenseful as we watched other boats ahead of us go into them and float with the river...and we were about to do the same - we waved and cheered to other boats and then, in we went. We were soaked and it was hard to see the water coming down into our eyes. But, I tried my best and saw the water coming down ontop of me...breathtaking! We turned around and went round to pause at a bunch of more waterfalls...Bossetti, Eva, Adan, San Martin, Mbigua and another that I can't make out the name. I took so many pictures...even a couple of videos because the pictures didn't show the full effect of the unbelievable beauty and power of these. all of a sudden, in we went again - even more breathtaking looking up at the water falling down on me...i thought of so manny people that should have been there with me. after, we wanted to go in again, but went to another raft dock closer to these falls. we docked, soaking wet and gathered our belongings. David, our tourguide was waiting for us. we proceeded to climb an insane amount of stairs in the forested cliffs and had little balconies here and there that gave us different views of different falls as we wound our way around them, beside them and up to the top of them again. I got a bunch of pictures- David was nice enough to take a few of me and I took some for Jorge and Fabiana as well. we got so close to the fals even on foot on a balcony on one of the catwalks. when we finally made it to the top again, there were 2 men selling handmade tiles and magnets painted with pictures of Iguazu and tucans (i didn't see any tucans...maybe in Brazil). i bought a few of them as souvenirs. beautiful! perfect gifts...im now on a gift-hunting mission. we walked over more catwalks - the humidity made it difficult because our clothes weren't drying and made us all uncomfortable. around 2, we were starving and myself, Fabiana and Jorge had a pizza at one of the fast food places - it was quite good actually. then, at 3, we met david at the gate and piled back into the van. we were exhausted. we went our separate ways for the afternoon and were going to meet for dinner at 9. i spent the rest of the late afternoon resting, watching a movie and writing outside on one of the lunge beds...i forget what they are called in castellano. met my new friends at 9 after Jose had already come out and brought me a Dakiri - i love being able to put things on a tab (even the mini-fridge) because the exchange makes it all super cheap! It was good to not have to have dinner alone again. they had the buffet and i ordered steak with potatoes in a cream sauce. it was wicked! F and J are so nice. they told me if i wasn't going home for Christmas, i could come spend it with them...i think i will take them up on the offer. it was muy amable de ellos. we chatted for a little while after dinner on the front deck. then, i said adios.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Iguazu Waterfalls Nov 13 (Friday...ahhh)
NB: Friday the 13th is not relevant here...so maybe my bad luck on Friday 13th will not follow me...my teacher Martin told me that for Argentina, their bad luck day is Tuesday the 15th...ha, strange, eh? I almost forgot it's Friday the 13th.
Okay, so here I am at Jorge Newberry Airport. It's the local one for national flights. It's okay...haven't seen any planes yet, but t's right by the Rio Plata - the closest i've been to he river so far. I figured i should start a new book for this because i'm almost 2 weeks behind writing and figured that would take up the rest of the pages in the other book. I realized i'm going to have to make a scrapbook too! i dont' hear many Eng. speakers but it's definitely easiernow that my spanish is a bit better. Feels good being at an airport though...i always feel right at home. i can only imagine how crazy it will be if i go to Japan...you cant "fake" the language down there! I saw a roach (cucaracha) while i was in the bathroom here...I wondered if saying something would be a good idea...but then i figured no one would do anything about it. i'm sitting here in the Patio de Comidas (food court) because i'm thinking so much and i had to write it down. i was able to have a conversation with mmy taxi driver on the way here...i still cant understand many of the words but i can definitely talk about things and ask questions. And for 2 months they always tell me my Castellano is quite good...I guess it was meant to be.
Observations: There are some big thunderheads in the sky :( i hear french behind me and now i hear english. we had to get on one of those buses and were driven out to our plane. i knew it...it's a Boeing 737 for Aerolineas Argentinas. being at the airport everytime keeps the flying dream alive...the baggage handlers seem to have to load the baggage by hand. That would be pretty strenuous. not to mention, not all of the airport is air-conditioned - even the plane isn't air-conditioned much. so far i seem to be the only person on this flight (except for this older lady who totally cut in front of me in line) who is travelling alone - but what liberation! my first national flight in another country. i cant believe it...thank you Papa!
well, that was the bumpiest ascent i have ever been on. it started raining when we took off, but the thing is whenever it rains here, there is usually thunder and lightning! i kept thinking "there's no way the pilots will fly into a thunderhead - it would structurally rip the aircraft apart." when we first took off the pilot flew low over the river towards Uruguay. the clouds were very dark. i knew he was trying to find a better spot to start climbing that wouldn't destroy us. when it was too bad, he levelled out. it was pretty scary. back home, we climb, on a good day in about 15 min. it took this one 35 min. to reach 35,000 ft. it felt like a rollercoaster. i almost grabbed the guy beside me. Poor Mom...if she were here she couldn't have handled it. when we came out of the clouds and saw sunlight, the thunderheads were huge...i could see it. for the first time ever flying i thughtthere was a possibility i was going to die. i shouldn't have eaten the gross lomito sandwich inthe airport because they fed us on the plane a ham and cheese sandwich and a dulce de leche pastry which was sooooo rich! God, i seriously am going to be walking AND running every day when i get back. maybe there is a gym i can use at the hotel. so the hotel is "almost" a 4-star hotel...complete with pool and 'fitness facility' (which could mean anything) - even a sauna (ugh where are these mosquito bites coming from - everytime i touch a part of my body i find a new one! and those stupid things are carrying Dengue :( ) the hotel is called the Esturion. I just realized i forgot my book...well that will be interesting when im eating dinner alone. maybe some day i'll get to be in a romantic place at a fancy hotel with that fabulous boyfriend i so desire. until then...it's me...and hopefully not forever. looks like we're flying over country - although i have no idea what country owns this country.
Well i just found out that Belgrano (where Christina lives) is under water - people have to cross the streets holding ropes and the traffic is chaos! well, that explains the extent as to how violent those clouds were. the news shows no traffic lights and many cars are bahsed in and structures have fallen down on cars and in the streets. i cant believe it! so here i am having a whole bottle of 38p. trapiche chardonnay and a 90p buffet dinnerher in my hotel. you cant order a glass of wine here...oh NB: i was standing on the balcony and saw fireflies! i was in awe...i'm pretty sure i haven't seen them before...or else I dont remember. they are absolutely baffling...i mean i dont know how they do their light...but wow. well, i'm officially eating everything here...it is sooooo humid it makes wearing clothes difficult. Iguazu is located in the province of Misiones, which is one of the most northern provinces of Argentina. i am so lucky...i can't believe i get to do this...after this trip in a couple of months all i have to do is go to the south (see some glaciers...Argentina has all the diff. environments). I have to get up at 630am for the tours. my server is nice - his name is Jose. nothing but families and older couples here. the buffet is alright but i dont think i'll eat it tomorrow.
Okay, so here I am at Jorge Newberry Airport. It's the local one for national flights. It's okay...haven't seen any planes yet, but t's right by the Rio Plata - the closest i've been to he river so far. I figured i should start a new book for this because i'm almost 2 weeks behind writing and figured that would take up the rest of the pages in the other book. I realized i'm going to have to make a scrapbook too! i dont' hear many Eng. speakers but it's definitely easiernow that my spanish is a bit better. Feels good being at an airport though...i always feel right at home. i can only imagine how crazy it will be if i go to Japan...you cant "fake" the language down there! I saw a roach (cucaracha) while i was in the bathroom here...I wondered if saying something would be a good idea...but then i figured no one would do anything about it. i'm sitting here in the Patio de Comidas (food court) because i'm thinking so much and i had to write it down. i was able to have a conversation with mmy taxi driver on the way here...i still cant understand many of the words but i can definitely talk about things and ask questions. And for 2 months they always tell me my Castellano is quite good...I guess it was meant to be.
Observations: There are some big thunderheads in the sky :( i hear french behind me and now i hear english. we had to get on one of those buses and were driven out to our plane. i knew it...it's a Boeing 737 for Aerolineas Argentinas. being at the airport everytime keeps the flying dream alive...the baggage handlers seem to have to load the baggage by hand. That would be pretty strenuous. not to mention, not all of the airport is air-conditioned - even the plane isn't air-conditioned much. so far i seem to be the only person on this flight (except for this older lady who totally cut in front of me in line) who is travelling alone - but what liberation! my first national flight in another country. i cant believe it...thank you Papa!
well, that was the bumpiest ascent i have ever been on. it started raining when we took off, but the thing is whenever it rains here, there is usually thunder and lightning! i kept thinking "there's no way the pilots will fly into a thunderhead - it would structurally rip the aircraft apart." when we first took off the pilot flew low over the river towards Uruguay. the clouds were very dark. i knew he was trying to find a better spot to start climbing that wouldn't destroy us. when it was too bad, he levelled out. it was pretty scary. back home, we climb, on a good day in about 15 min. it took this one 35 min. to reach 35,000 ft. it felt like a rollercoaster. i almost grabbed the guy beside me. Poor Mom...if she were here she couldn't have handled it. when we came out of the clouds and saw sunlight, the thunderheads were huge...i could see it. for the first time ever flying i thughtthere was a possibility i was going to die. i shouldn't have eaten the gross lomito sandwich inthe airport because they fed us on the plane a ham and cheese sandwich and a dulce de leche pastry which was sooooo rich! God, i seriously am going to be walking AND running every day when i get back. maybe there is a gym i can use at the hotel. so the hotel is "almost" a 4-star hotel...complete with pool and 'fitness facility' (which could mean anything) - even a sauna (ugh where are these mosquito bites coming from - everytime i touch a part of my body i find a new one! and those stupid things are carrying Dengue :( ) the hotel is called the Esturion. I just realized i forgot my book...well that will be interesting when im eating dinner alone. maybe some day i'll get to be in a romantic place at a fancy hotel with that fabulous boyfriend i so desire. until then...it's me...and hopefully not forever. looks like we're flying over country - although i have no idea what country owns this country.
Well i just found out that Belgrano (where Christina lives) is under water - people have to cross the streets holding ropes and the traffic is chaos! well, that explains the extent as to how violent those clouds were. the news shows no traffic lights and many cars are bahsed in and structures have fallen down on cars and in the streets. i cant believe it! so here i am having a whole bottle of 38p. trapiche chardonnay and a 90p buffet dinnerher in my hotel. you cant order a glass of wine here...oh NB: i was standing on the balcony and saw fireflies! i was in awe...i'm pretty sure i haven't seen them before...or else I dont remember. they are absolutely baffling...i mean i dont know how they do their light...but wow. well, i'm officially eating everything here...it is sooooo humid it makes wearing clothes difficult. Iguazu is located in the province of Misiones, which is one of the most northern provinces of Argentina. i am so lucky...i can't believe i get to do this...after this trip in a couple of months all i have to do is go to the south (see some glaciers...Argentina has all the diff. environments). I have to get up at 630am for the tours. my server is nice - his name is Jose. nothing but families and older couples here. the buffet is alright but i dont think i'll eat it tomorrow.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fine Print....
okay so it seems i feel like im never going to be up to date....in the next few days im going to post the entries from the days of my trips last week because they were super exciting and very interesting...then maybe eventually i'll fill in the big gap
:)
:)
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Sun Oct 4th - Empanadas, Reggae, the perfect boots, Club Araoz
Friday was a crazy day! I had Spanish class and was feeling good from the night before. However, today was special because the language studio was hosting an empanada-marking night at Elvira's place (she's the owner). I had to swing by the vegetable market to get green onions (cebolla verdeo) and white onions (cebolla). I love the concept of a small fresh vegetable market! The green onions were huge! Absolutely enormous and beautiful! I had to go to a supermercado after that to get raisins (pasas de uva) and I swear that Asian girl is either permanently pissed off at the world or just doesnt like me because im a foreigner- well technically so is she. So I walked in and she had a kleenex shoved up one of her nostrils. Then i asked her where the raisins were and she just passively waved down an aisle. I was wandering around for about 10min. until she lookd at me and pointed to the bottom shelf i was looking at! arg! anyway, I went to Elvira's to learn how to make the empanada filling because it has to cool - preferably naturally. We were going to make 2 kinds, carne and queso con cebolla. I wrote down the ingredients - def. a lot of onion - and Elvi and I made the filling. Sean showed up and brought the meat and almost didn't come because he thought it was later. Elvi and I also had tea together! So then I left until later. I wrote up some of the blog and did some situps then when I was ready, went back to Elvi's. There were probably around 11 of us there and it was a good time. I met new people - one girl invited me to go with her and her friends to Creamfields (all-nighter) where apparently Armin Van Buuren and Tiesto are playing :). I thought Paul Oakenfold was going to be there....he's the last of the 3 i need to see. So we got to fill the empanadas, seal them and then fold it in such a way to make it look pretty, seal it well, and distinguish meat ones from the veggie ones. I have to say there was a good crowd. I think this Belgium guy was pretty into me. I was originally into this other guy when I first showed up, but then he started talking to this tall skinny girl, I thought "ah forget it". Christina (one of the girls from the previous night) came by and we went to a reggae club in Abasto - the other 2 didn't come with us. From the moment we stepped out of the taxi, to the moment we left in another taxi, the men did not leave us alone! This 38-year old Colombian guy wanted us to go meet his friends but then this girl wanted to paint my face. After that, we ditched the old guy by pretending to go to the bathroom. We were at the bar when this other guy started chatting me up (gotta love how there are always more men than women) and I learned that he was acting as a wing man for his friends. So we danced a bit and then went upstairs. Anyway, we left a bit later and as soon as we walked out, 3 guys outside offered usa ride home and wanted to have a drink with us. We were like "nah" but chatted with them a bit an then got a cab. Apparently Chris texted me a few min. later (because i was dropped off first) saying the cabbie wanted a kiss..ew! haha! what a great story...
Saturday was my day of finding the perfect boots! I met Courtney and we walked around Palermo Soho - the line in Starbucks was crazy! And apparently, on my cup instead of writing Jojo, they wrote Gogo - great, eh?- I should just tell everyone to start calling me Gogo...I've never seen an SB with so many people waiting. We were walking to the subte and randomly wandered into a shoe store just to see what they had! And of course, when you have such big feet, the selection is much smaller! And- we're talking last pairs, here. But luckily we found them...beautiful, black, pointy-toed, tiny-hell, fake-leather boots! And no tax - 200 pesos - about 60 bucks or so. I was thrilled! I had to meet Daniel in San Telmo at 530 and it was 521...eep! But whenever you're in a hurry, that's when transportation takes forever! Well i was about 15 min late but he was waiting. We caught the end of the market - one of the vendors made me a present out of wire that said "jojo" - at least it wasn't gogo...We wandered around looking for somewhere to eat - finally found one - and the menu was huge! Took us another 15min to figure out what to order! Forget the name...Don Ernesto I think. After, I went home to get ready for another club experience. I met Uli (Belgium guy) around 11:45 and we had a drink...everyone else was supposed to come at 12! Mariano and Alexis came around 12:30...the girls showed up at 1:20am!!! I wasn't happy. Their friend and his friend came too and then there was this random guy standing with us and we were like "who are you?" and he said "well, you were speaking English so i came over" hahaha! His name was Donovan and i asked him "where are you friends?' and he said "in south africa". - so we almost had the whole world in our group of 11: US, Canada, UK, South America, Belgium and Africa! We went to Club Araoz, the one that was too expensive last weekend. We got in - and I mean it was okay, but the music sucked - they even played YMCA and Barbie Girl at one point - ugh! And we lost Mr. South Africa but we kept losing everyone else too - so that was hard! Not to mention having to shove through all the people just to get to the other side...We left around 4am - the music was so bad and my feet were dying. Next Sat. we are going to a club not in Palermo. We had late-night food nearby then called it a night.
I got up pretty late on Sunday Oct 4th, did my homework and went with Uli to Campobravo in Las Canitas for dinner. It was a bit pricey and their version of Caesar Salad so wasn't Caesar! We had a bottle of wine and asado and some good conversation. He's a nice guy. The middle of the night brought a huge storm! I've never heard thunder like that - well, maybe in Hong Kong but I was seriously freaked out and in need to company. I have to stop eating so late. It's just so bad for you. Tomorrow Im determined to go running - but it's already starting to get humid...that's not good! I'm already dreading how humid it will be here :(. I want more cold! Green Day is playing in the cafe where I'm writing...I miss Andy...they're his fav. band.
Saturday was my day of finding the perfect boots! I met Courtney and we walked around Palermo Soho - the line in Starbucks was crazy! And apparently, on my cup instead of writing Jojo, they wrote Gogo - great, eh?- I should just tell everyone to start calling me Gogo...I've never seen an SB with so many people waiting. We were walking to the subte and randomly wandered into a shoe store just to see what they had! And of course, when you have such big feet, the selection is much smaller! And- we're talking last pairs, here. But luckily we found them...beautiful, black, pointy-toed, tiny-hell, fake-leather boots! And no tax - 200 pesos - about 60 bucks or so. I was thrilled! I had to meet Daniel in San Telmo at 530 and it was 521...eep! But whenever you're in a hurry, that's when transportation takes forever! Well i was about 15 min late but he was waiting. We caught the end of the market - one of the vendors made me a present out of wire that said "jojo" - at least it wasn't gogo...We wandered around looking for somewhere to eat - finally found one - and the menu was huge! Took us another 15min to figure out what to order! Forget the name...Don Ernesto I think. After, I went home to get ready for another club experience. I met Uli (Belgium guy) around 11:45 and we had a drink...everyone else was supposed to come at 12! Mariano and Alexis came around 12:30...the girls showed up at 1:20am!!! I wasn't happy. Their friend and his friend came too and then there was this random guy standing with us and we were like "who are you?" and he said "well, you were speaking English so i came over" hahaha! His name was Donovan and i asked him "where are you friends?' and he said "in south africa". - so we almost had the whole world in our group of 11: US, Canada, UK, South America, Belgium and Africa! We went to Club Araoz, the one that was too expensive last weekend. We got in - and I mean it was okay, but the music sucked - they even played YMCA and Barbie Girl at one point - ugh! And we lost Mr. South Africa but we kept losing everyone else too - so that was hard! Not to mention having to shove through all the people just to get to the other side...We left around 4am - the music was so bad and my feet were dying. Next Sat. we are going to a club not in Palermo. We had late-night food nearby then called it a night.
I got up pretty late on Sunday Oct 4th, did my homework and went with Uli to Campobravo in Las Canitas for dinner. It was a bit pricey and their version of Caesar Salad so wasn't Caesar! We had a bottle of wine and asado and some good conversation. He's a nice guy. The middle of the night brought a huge storm! I've never heard thunder like that - well, maybe in Hong Kong but I was seriously freaked out and in need to company. I have to stop eating so late. It's just so bad for you. Tomorrow Im determined to go running - but it's already starting to get humid...that's not good! I'm already dreading how humid it will be here :(. I want more cold! Green Day is playing in the cafe where I'm writing...I miss Andy...they're his fav. band.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sept 30 La Bomba de Tiempo and some New girls
Sunday was another day of rain. I got up late and walked in the rain to Starbucks - and I have to say that not only do they write your name on the cup, but they make their lattes like the cafe con leche in the cafes. It was so good. I worked on my lesson plan for Tues. I'm supposed to teach an hour to a business english student for Cpacitaction en Ingles - a new pilot program for English immersion. But they are so vague and so friggin' disorganized. I had to email the girl just to figure out how old the person was, what level they are and who they work for. They are extremely vague. And they give me no material - or help, obviously. Monday I had Spanish class - they were nice enough to extend and shorten some of my classes to accomodate this probation teaching. After class, I asked Sean and Aida if they wanted to go to the book store "El Ateneo" at Callao and Santa Fe. So we took the subte down there. The bookstore is an old converted theater. Absolutely beautiful and huge! I found a couple of books to hopefully help me teach English - and help me teach English in Spanish if I had to. We found a buffet place on a side street - I forget the name - but like 20 something pesos all-you-can-eat including tons of seafood and a parilla! We were like "something has to be wrong with this place". But it was all that food at a ridiculously low cost! After the huge meal, Sean and Aida took the subte and I walked back - took me just over an hour. It was pleasant. I decided to work on my lesson plan again and then Anna came by - one of the girls from "girls night". Sean and Aida met us and we went to La Bomba de Tiempo. It was at Pueyrredon on the B line - a subte line i haven't taken yet - felt different. We got to the Konex Centre on Sarmiento - it was sort of a half outdoor venue. But a lot of people - there were a number of men on a stage playing tribal drums - with one man at the front - impromptu - conducting different drums. It was like a big tribal party. It was unbelievable. Everyone was dancing. Outside of the dancing areas you could get litre beers for 15 pesos (5 bucks). So Anna and I went and got some beer - some guy started chatting her up in Spanish - man, i hope that 5 months from now I'll be able to talk like that too. I do fine with writing, reading and listening but speaking is still pretty tough. I thought of Andy...he would have loved this. We werent there for very long, but we are set on going next week. We made a mad dash for the subte - and I slipped and fell on my face - of course!- in the subte but thank goodness Aida said "you'll never see these people again anyway" but we were on the wrong platform anyway. When I got home I mentally prepared for teaching Tues.
However, Tues rolls around and 2 hours before I got to teach, they cancelled on me. Arg! So frustrating considering they are so vague (as I already said), unorganized and unprofessional. Oh well...After Spanish class, I met Daniel from the BA expat website. He's 30 and taught in Chile last year. He's also here to teach English but would rather do something else - he said he started teaching a couple of kids in Belgrano though, but he got robbed not far from their house - poor guy! We had lunch on Santa Fe somewhere, then walked through the Jardin Botanico and on to the park in Palermo. We saw 40 baby geese (I thought they were ducks before but they arent). We noticed a small path in the grass and saw this trail of ants carrying bits of grass - a long trek - and several paths - leading to holes in the ground. It was fascinating! There were also these birds that were black with either a yellow or orange spot on their heads! It was a beautiful d, a good walk, great conversation, and hopefully a new friend. That night I talked to Ian a bit...yay...and had to create a 1.5 hour lesson plan for Thurs for a job interview and needed his advice.
Wednesday was a good day too. Had 2 hours of class with Martin...he's so funny! Oh I had a job interview in the morning with Executive English - they pay only 18 pesos an hour..so not too bad but at least not vague like that other place. After class I met Haley for lunch - she's from the Expat website as well. We met at Tea Connection in Palermo - pricey, but so many teas! And healthy, good food on the lunch menu - they also make these homemade drinks - like flavoured water. She's from California and has been here about 3 weeks. She has a roomate though...I want to get a cat :( ...Anyway, I had this great salmon sandwich...there is such a lack of seafood out here..and I haven't eaten much chicken...quite a bit of ham though! When I got back to the apt, I decided to go for a run for the first time in a couple of months...it was painful but totally worth it! I printed off my lesson plan for Thurs. interview and spent the rest of the evenin mentally preparing and watching movies.
Happy Oct finally! This has been the longest month ever...my body is killing me from running, but it's about time I really focused on me...I had spanish class in the morning and then had the "big" interview! I was prepared! I re-did the newspaper lesson plan. I could definitely tell the lady was impressed by my creativity and the fact that i was very prepared. I went running again in the park in Palermo and it was hard, but good. That night I met this girl Courtney off the BAexpats website. It was funny because we didn't know what each other looked like and she was with 2 friends...well all 4 of us are women of colour! I haven't met anyone yet with dark skin! It was so funny! So we all walked down to a restaurant on Santa Fe. Two are from the States (NY and St. Louis) and the other is from the UK. We had steak - I had this amazing lomo with mustard sauce - very fattening im sure, but so damn good! We had great convo and good wine and then Courtney and I had another glass of wine in Plaza Serrano. It was around 2am by the time we called it a night.
However, Tues rolls around and 2 hours before I got to teach, they cancelled on me. Arg! So frustrating considering they are so vague (as I already said), unorganized and unprofessional. Oh well...After Spanish class, I met Daniel from the BA expat website. He's 30 and taught in Chile last year. He's also here to teach English but would rather do something else - he said he started teaching a couple of kids in Belgrano though, but he got robbed not far from their house - poor guy! We had lunch on Santa Fe somewhere, then walked through the Jardin Botanico and on to the park in Palermo. We saw 40 baby geese (I thought they were ducks before but they arent). We noticed a small path in the grass and saw this trail of ants carrying bits of grass - a long trek - and several paths - leading to holes in the ground. It was fascinating! There were also these birds that were black with either a yellow or orange spot on their heads! It was a beautiful d, a good walk, great conversation, and hopefully a new friend. That night I talked to Ian a bit...yay...and had to create a 1.5 hour lesson plan for Thurs for a job interview and needed his advice.
Wednesday was a good day too. Had 2 hours of class with Martin...he's so funny! Oh I had a job interview in the morning with Executive English - they pay only 18 pesos an hour..so not too bad but at least not vague like that other place. After class I met Haley for lunch - she's from the Expat website as well. We met at Tea Connection in Palermo - pricey, but so many teas! And healthy, good food on the lunch menu - they also make these homemade drinks - like flavoured water. She's from California and has been here about 3 weeks. She has a roomate though...I want to get a cat :( ...Anyway, I had this great salmon sandwich...there is such a lack of seafood out here..and I haven't eaten much chicken...quite a bit of ham though! When I got back to the apt, I decided to go for a run for the first time in a couple of months...it was painful but totally worth it! I printed off my lesson plan for Thurs. interview and spent the rest of the evenin mentally preparing and watching movies.
Happy Oct finally! This has been the longest month ever...my body is killing me from running, but it's about time I really focused on me...I had spanish class in the morning and then had the "big" interview! I was prepared! I re-did the newspaper lesson plan. I could definitely tell the lady was impressed by my creativity and the fact that i was very prepared. I went running again in the park in Palermo and it was hard, but good. That night I met this girl Courtney off the BAexpats website. It was funny because we didn't know what each other looked like and she was with 2 friends...well all 4 of us are women of colour! I haven't met anyone yet with dark skin! It was so funny! So we all walked down to a restaurant on Santa Fe. Two are from the States (NY and St. Louis) and the other is from the UK. We had steak - I had this amazing lomo with mustard sauce - very fattening im sure, but so damn good! We had great convo and good wine and then Courtney and I had another glass of wine in Plaza Serrano. It was around 2am by the time we called it a night.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sept 29.... Polo
Gosh lots to tell! So Friday I was exhausted in class, but that was okay...Martin was great! Afterwards, Sean and I took Aida to the vegetarian place for lunch. It was still just as good - no meat involved! And I spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on life. I went for a walk in the evening, like Sean and I had done on Thursday, around the lake at the park in Palermo - around Infanta Isabel and Avenida Montt - it was beautiful - so many people rollerblading, biking and running or walking. I saw baby geese!!! They were yellow and fluffy and the flock came right near me! So cute! I walked around for a good hour, then had to walk to a bank-which was another bit of a walk...when I got back, I met another person off the BAexpats website who is Argentinian/italian and his parents live in California. He works with importing/exporting for a Denver company. He bought like 12 boxes of alfahores so he could ship them to someone who requested them. He works long hours - like 9am-8pm - geez! But he likes what he does! We had a coffee on Avenida Santa Fe - he had an americano, and I noticed, put 5 packets of sugar in it! (keep in mind, here, one packet of sugar is a tablespoon). Rafael picked me up and we had a late dinner at an Indian place called Katmandu...it was pretty expensive and I was disappointed at the lack of spice and the weakness of the tandoori (Argentinians dont use a ton of spice) - wont be recommending that to the parents.
Saturday was POLO day!!!!
I met expat-connection at the Starbucks in Palermo - there were about 15 of us. We went in a giant van to the town of Pilar - took about an hour to get there. I sat in the back with these 2 hot American guys who were hungover but one didn't mind talking to me. The seats in the middle were facing each other, so the group of girls sitting there developed a clique really fast. And it was hard when you know, you find out once again, that everyone is American and when you say your Canadian, they're like "oh...". Then, they start talking about American college football, or a city or something...and I just can't relate. The country was beautiful...the cutest lttle kid opened the gate for us and we were on an Estancia called El Retiro (the retirement). When we got out, we were immediately given wine and taken on a tour. They have about 55 horses that belong to them and then about another 50 kept there by others. Apparently, horses are stolen often - so much so that horses being bought could have very easily been stolen elsewhere. We saw the stables and the tack room and were shown buildings for the groomsman's quarters. We had a huge asado! We ate for like 2.5 hours-lots of wine and various cuts of meat-chorizo, sausage, blood sausage, chicken, kidney, intestine, lomo, vaseo...not to mention, regular salad, potato salad, bread and fruit salad for dessert - oh and grilled veggies and more potatoes! Stuffed and full of wine we watched a polo game..Rules to follow hopefully.....
After polo, we had coffee and then got to learn how to hold the polo sticks! Then they gave us horses and said "reign left and right to turn them, reign taught for them to stop". I didn't like having to kick the horse to make her go - and I'm definitely not coordinated enough to hold the horse reign in one han and try to hit the ball with the stick in the other hand! But it was fun! Fell asleep on the way back...no real connections made oh well. That night was our first sat night out. It didn't go according to plan though...We went rather late - met up at 2am and by the time Alexis found parking it was 230am. We went to a club here in Palermo Soho, Araoz. And because we were later, men were 35 pesos with a drink and women 45 wth a drink! Doesn't that seem kinda backwards? Usually women are cheaper, if not free! We were thinking "what the hell..." so we tried another place called Liquid which was around the corner on Santa Fe. The line was the longest line I've ever been in! We waited about a half hour only to find out that for some reason they weren't letting anyone in! Ahhhh! So we went back to the car, to Plaza Serrano, found a bar with empty seats and ordered a drink and a plate of meat and cheese to share (para compartir). We talked til around quarter to five until they told us to go. The stupid waiter (mozo/moza) didn't want to give us change for our 100 pesos even though he had people giving him tips all night! 5am saw us heading our separate ways.
Saturday was POLO day!!!!
I met expat-connection at the Starbucks in Palermo - there were about 15 of us. We went in a giant van to the town of Pilar - took about an hour to get there. I sat in the back with these 2 hot American guys who were hungover but one didn't mind talking to me. The seats in the middle were facing each other, so the group of girls sitting there developed a clique really fast. And it was hard when you know, you find out once again, that everyone is American and when you say your Canadian, they're like "oh...". Then, they start talking about American college football, or a city or something...and I just can't relate. The country was beautiful...the cutest lttle kid opened the gate for us and we were on an Estancia called El Retiro (the retirement). When we got out, we were immediately given wine and taken on a tour. They have about 55 horses that belong to them and then about another 50 kept there by others. Apparently, horses are stolen often - so much so that horses being bought could have very easily been stolen elsewhere. We saw the stables and the tack room and were shown buildings for the groomsman's quarters. We had a huge asado! We ate for like 2.5 hours-lots of wine and various cuts of meat-chorizo, sausage, blood sausage, chicken, kidney, intestine, lomo, vaseo...not to mention, regular salad, potato salad, bread and fruit salad for dessert - oh and grilled veggies and more potatoes! Stuffed and full of wine we watched a polo game..Rules to follow hopefully.....
After polo, we had coffee and then got to learn how to hold the polo sticks! Then they gave us horses and said "reign left and right to turn them, reign taught for them to stop". I didn't like having to kick the horse to make her go - and I'm definitely not coordinated enough to hold the horse reign in one han and try to hit the ball with the stick in the other hand! But it was fun! Fell asleep on the way back...no real connections made oh well. That night was our first sat night out. It didn't go according to plan though...We went rather late - met up at 2am and by the time Alexis found parking it was 230am. We went to a club here in Palermo Soho, Araoz. And because we were later, men were 35 pesos with a drink and women 45 wth a drink! Doesn't that seem kinda backwards? Usually women are cheaper, if not free! We were thinking "what the hell..." so we tried another place called Liquid which was around the corner on Santa Fe. The line was the longest line I've ever been in! We waited about a half hour only to find out that for some reason they weren't letting anyone in! Ahhhh! So we went back to the car, to Plaza Serrano, found a bar with empty seats and ordered a drink and a plate of meat and cheese to share (para compartir). We talked til around quarter to five until they told us to go. The stupid waiter (mozo/moza) didn't want to give us change for our 100 pesos even though he had people giving him tips all night! 5am saw us heading our separate ways.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sept. 24...Ladies Night
Went to class - have lots of homework which is good! Afterwards, the language studio went out for lunch again - and we went to Sean's favourite place - El Federal. I was being repetitive and had pastel de papas again - the homemade shepherd's pie in a bowl with black olives and tons of veggies. So good...I think next time I'm going to get that homemade tomato soup. They make focaccia bread from scratch but I probably said that before. We met (Sean and I) this new couple from Norway who had been living in England the past few years. They just got here and are pretty much doing the same thing we are all doig. At night, Aida and I went to a "Ladies Night" held by a girl from BA expats. It was funny because when we were walking there, we had no idea who we were meeting of what they looked like! We were thinking "okay, we have to find a group ofgirls who are speaking English". Sure enough, 4 girls were sitting there and of course they all had to introduce themselves again...oops. They are all pretty much from the States, but a good group. One is married and knows like zero Spanish, another lived in China for awhile, another moved here with ther bf from the States an the other volunteers at the same organization as Aida. We had a couple of bottles of wine and great conversation. After that, I met up with a local porteno and his friend and we went to another local parrilla and had more wine and good conversatio. They seem like very nice people and their English was pretty good - even though I need to practic my Castellano (Spanish). I was a little bit intoxicated...but a great night...
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sept 23 - Evita Museum
Yesterday was a shitty day. It was cold and rainy again. I went to class and then spent the rest of the day trying to upload pictures but it wouldn't work! I had a jacuzzi bath, but my bathwater was only lukewarm, so I was just as cold when I was in it. Ugh que desastre!
Today I went to class - oh I didn't mention this place right around the corner that has cafe con leche to go - so at least that's been 2 days in a row that I get to have a delicious coffee while sitting in class. Class was great today - I find it helpful. After, Sean and Aida and I went to the Evita museum. We had lunch in the restaurant first....and wow. Aida and I had these crepes - hers had sausage in it, and mine had brie. And I also had a wicked empanada. Thank goodness, because the last 2 empanadas I had were so disappointing. The Evita museum was unbelievable. It chronicled her whole life - she really was a woman for the people of Argentina, but I had no idea as to the extent of that. And all before she died at the age of 33. She was an unbelievable social worker who created a constitution for workers rights; she established the first school for nurses; created a "Children's City" for orphans and abandoned children for Argentina - every Xmas, she and Peron would go and give presents to the children of the city; she and Peron would act as godparents so children could be baptized; she advocated for women's rights so they could vote (the museum itself was actually in a building once used that she created for women who needed shelter); she also was an ambassador, strengthening ties with Spain to help increase exports and strengthened ties with may European countries. When she died, part of the world died with her...not just Argentina. I felt it when I was in the museum - the whole place smelled like rosewater - that must have been her perfume or something. But I cant believe how overwhelmed I was...my heart actually ached when I left. And now, here I sit writing...should probably get to that homework. :)
Today I went to class - oh I didn't mention this place right around the corner that has cafe con leche to go - so at least that's been 2 days in a row that I get to have a delicious coffee while sitting in class. Class was great today - I find it helpful. After, Sean and Aida and I went to the Evita museum. We had lunch in the restaurant first....and wow. Aida and I had these crepes - hers had sausage in it, and mine had brie. And I also had a wicked empanada. Thank goodness, because the last 2 empanadas I had were so disappointing. The Evita museum was unbelievable. It chronicled her whole life - she really was a woman for the people of Argentina, but I had no idea as to the extent of that. And all before she died at the age of 33. She was an unbelievable social worker who created a constitution for workers rights; she established the first school for nurses; created a "Children's City" for orphans and abandoned children for Argentina - every Xmas, she and Peron would go and give presents to the children of the city; she and Peron would act as godparents so children could be baptized; she advocated for women's rights so they could vote (the museum itself was actually in a building once used that she created for women who needed shelter); she also was an ambassador, strengthening ties with Spain to help increase exports and strengthened ties with may European countries. When she died, part of the world died with her...not just Argentina. I felt it when I was in the museum - the whole place smelled like rosewater - that must have been her perfume or something. But I cant believe how overwhelmed I was...my heart actually ached when I left. And now, here I sit writing...should probably get to that homework. :)
Mon Sept. 21 Dia de la Primavera
Well, a few days to catch up...Friday I got up at 9am and dragged my tired self to a cafe to do my homework and so I didn't have to get i the way of the lady cleaning the apartment. It was just around the corner from me and I had a tostada, cafe, jugo de naranja, agua mineral - all for about 10 bucks. Then, I went to class. I was going to take a nap when I forgot Sean and Aida wanted to go to the vegetarian place. So off we went...still just as good as I remembered. After a huge lunch, we all basically lounged in our apartments for te rest of the day. I caught up on my blog a bit (feels like I'll never finish it) and watched a couple of movies...I had a bit of a nap bu it was interrupted by Pablo calling me and wanting to see me that night...and he did. We went downtown and walked for a bit down Lavalle, which is very pedestrian, like Florida and within about 2 blocks or 3 there must have been like 5 movie theatres! We had empanadas somewhere quick - mine was chicken with egg in it - I didn't know there would be egg in it...but apparently they do that. We took the colectivo (oh how i dislike it) back to Palermo. At my place, we watched a bit of the movie "Panic Room" because there were Spanish subtitles even though it was in English! Fits both worlds.
Saturday, Sean and Aida and I went to Recoleta Cemetery. I was going to go to the Evita museum, but when they said they wanted to see the cemetery, I was like Vamos! We walked there down Avenida Las Heras and wandered into the Botanical Gardens first - it's right near us. They were beautiful...and will be more beautiful when the flowers come out. There are trees I've never seen before...and huge aloes! I got a few pictures - oh, and lo and behold, tons of cats...yay!!! I love cats. Anyway we probably walked for about over an hur to get to the Recoleta cemetery. It still takes my breath away everytime I walk in. Poor Aida decided to stick her head in a mausoleum with a busted door and got a huge whiff of mould that her mind combined with rotting corpse and thank goodness she didn't get sick....We wandered around in there for over an hour...some mausoleums are very well kept - fresh plants and flowers - we found one with pictures of every member of he family, including the dog who was in a coffin and had died 3 months ago. Some mausoleums (that I hadn't seen before) had a big door, like a cellar, that lead down into an enormous room in the ground - like an Egyptian tomb. A cat walked close to me and was sniffing a water tap and I turned it on a bit for him...so he climbs ontop and tarts drinking it upside down. Poor thing was thirsty and people passing by took pictures...it was pretty cute. We had coffee at a "Delicity" nearby with medialunas and tostadas (I have to stop eating those) then walked back. That night we went for steak at "Estancia" in Las Canitas...the barrio next to Palermo which is pretty residential with quite a few bars on the main drag. I had sweet potato friest (batatas fritas) and steak (lomo) in a mustard pepper sauce (mostaza con pimiento) - paid less than 30 buck including alcohol and dessert! Did I ever sleep like a baby that night...
Sunday, the 3 of us met up with Pablo again and we had medialunas and cafe at Delicity near Sean and Aida's place. Then, we took the colectivo to Puerto Madero and near it is the Reserva Ecologia which is a huge reserve with the river at one end - and honestly, there is now ay yu can see Uruguay on the other side. We had just started to drink mate when the park patrol came along and told everyone to leave because the park was closing. So we drank mate as we were walking. Seeing as Pablo was telling us that the park outside the Reserve was known for cakes, Aida was itching for cake. We had already had so muc sugar - we wonder what the incidence of diabetes is here. We waited in line for tortas (cakes), probably for like 20 min. or so. I had a ricotta cheesecake with dulce de leche. But now we know why Argentinians are so hyper -because of all the sugar. By the time we got back on the colectivo, we were all pretty burnt out from all the sugar. The four of us had dinner in - Sean made a freakin' delicious chicken alfredo - the alfredo being from scratch, mind you. It was so rich! And of course, being the salad queen that I am, I made an enormous salad that took me as long as it took Sean to make the alfredo. But nothing but compliments to both chefs :)
Today, Monday, is the first day of Spring. The flowers are everywhere..guess Im in the right place...ha! Young lovers are all over the place with flowers - I decided to buy myself some daisies. They are absolutely beautiful - and smile at me as I'm sitting here. I went to a cafe after class - the food was terrible! I think the place was called Kentucky on the corner of Santa Fe and 2 blocks from where my street hits Santa Fe. My tostada wasn't toasted (ew) - it was basically just whit bread with no crusts and ham and cheese in the middle - even mustard didn't help. So I got an empanada and it was cold! Arg! I wont be going there again. I had a job interview with Capacitacion en Ingles-they're doing a new pilot program completely in English that would basically be an English immersion program for companies who need their employees to learn English whether for business or travel. I'm slightly concerned because the interview was only 5 mintues. I realized after the fact that may not be a good sign. I met up with Aida after and took the deposit for Larry's rental in Feb. to the guy for the apartment. It was he that told me that I may have been discriminated against within that short period of time. It never occurred to me to take them out (piercings). Ian advised me to take them out if I have an interview for anything else. That aside, Aida and I went to take the deposit and then went to "Jumbo" searching for measuring cups for Aida and scissors for me. Well, we found a cheap measuring bowl - and the scissors were too damn expensive. But this was huge...bigger than Carrefour maybe. Plants and outdoor stuff on the bottom - oh, after you go through a mini mall - and then uptairs is food and home decor - furniture too, I think. We wandered around there for awhile. I bought herbs that I can grow in my kitchen and candle holders for the tealights Dad and Larry bought me. Afterwards, wehad dinner at their house again - mmmm more alfredo - but the salad, alas, was in my fridge. We had some great chorizo - it's better than salami and you put it on crackers with cheese spread we bought - it as camembert. Mmmm so good - and we locked at clubs to go to this Saturday...super stoked.
Saturday, Sean and Aida and I went to Recoleta Cemetery. I was going to go to the Evita museum, but when they said they wanted to see the cemetery, I was like Vamos! We walked there down Avenida Las Heras and wandered into the Botanical Gardens first - it's right near us. They were beautiful...and will be more beautiful when the flowers come out. There are trees I've never seen before...and huge aloes! I got a few pictures - oh, and lo and behold, tons of cats...yay!!! I love cats. Anyway we probably walked for about over an hur to get to the Recoleta cemetery. It still takes my breath away everytime I walk in. Poor Aida decided to stick her head in a mausoleum with a busted door and got a huge whiff of mould that her mind combined with rotting corpse and thank goodness she didn't get sick....We wandered around in there for over an hour...some mausoleums are very well kept - fresh plants and flowers - we found one with pictures of every member of he family, including the dog who was in a coffin and had died 3 months ago. Some mausoleums (that I hadn't seen before) had a big door, like a cellar, that lead down into an enormous room in the ground - like an Egyptian tomb. A cat walked close to me and was sniffing a water tap and I turned it on a bit for him...so he climbs ontop and tarts drinking it upside down. Poor thing was thirsty and people passing by took pictures...it was pretty cute. We had coffee at a "Delicity" nearby with medialunas and tostadas (I have to stop eating those) then walked back. That night we went for steak at "Estancia" in Las Canitas...the barrio next to Palermo which is pretty residential with quite a few bars on the main drag. I had sweet potato friest (batatas fritas) and steak (lomo) in a mustard pepper sauce (mostaza con pimiento) - paid less than 30 buck including alcohol and dessert! Did I ever sleep like a baby that night...
Sunday, the 3 of us met up with Pablo again and we had medialunas and cafe at Delicity near Sean and Aida's place. Then, we took the colectivo to Puerto Madero and near it is the Reserva Ecologia which is a huge reserve with the river at one end - and honestly, there is now ay yu can see Uruguay on the other side. We had just started to drink mate when the park patrol came along and told everyone to leave because the park was closing. So we drank mate as we were walking. Seeing as Pablo was telling us that the park outside the Reserve was known for cakes, Aida was itching for cake. We had already had so muc sugar - we wonder what the incidence of diabetes is here. We waited in line for tortas (cakes), probably for like 20 min. or so. I had a ricotta cheesecake with dulce de leche. But now we know why Argentinians are so hyper -because of all the sugar. By the time we got back on the colectivo, we were all pretty burnt out from all the sugar. The four of us had dinner in - Sean made a freakin' delicious chicken alfredo - the alfredo being from scratch, mind you. It was so rich! And of course, being the salad queen that I am, I made an enormous salad that took me as long as it took Sean to make the alfredo. But nothing but compliments to both chefs :)
Today, Monday, is the first day of Spring. The flowers are everywhere..guess Im in the right place...ha! Young lovers are all over the place with flowers - I decided to buy myself some daisies. They are absolutely beautiful - and smile at me as I'm sitting here. I went to a cafe after class - the food was terrible! I think the place was called Kentucky on the corner of Santa Fe and 2 blocks from where my street hits Santa Fe. My tostada wasn't toasted (ew) - it was basically just whit bread with no crusts and ham and cheese in the middle - even mustard didn't help. So I got an empanada and it was cold! Arg! I wont be going there again. I had a job interview with Capacitacion en Ingles-they're doing a new pilot program completely in English that would basically be an English immersion program for companies who need their employees to learn English whether for business or travel. I'm slightly concerned because the interview was only 5 mintues. I realized after the fact that may not be a good sign. I met up with Aida after and took the deposit for Larry's rental in Feb. to the guy for the apartment. It was he that told me that I may have been discriminated against within that short period of time. It never occurred to me to take them out (piercings). Ian advised me to take them out if I have an interview for anything else. That aside, Aida and I went to take the deposit and then went to "Jumbo" searching for measuring cups for Aida and scissors for me. Well, we found a cheap measuring bowl - and the scissors were too damn expensive. But this was huge...bigger than Carrefour maybe. Plants and outdoor stuff on the bottom - oh, after you go through a mini mall - and then uptairs is food and home decor - furniture too, I think. We wandered around there for awhile. I bought herbs that I can grow in my kitchen and candle holders for the tealights Dad and Larry bought me. Afterwards, wehad dinner at their house again - mmmm more alfredo - but the salad, alas, was in my fridge. We had some great chorizo - it's better than salami and you put it on crackers with cheese spread we bought - it as camembert. Mmmm so good - and we locked at clubs to go to this Saturday...super stoked.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Sept 17 - Spring veggie place and wine-tasting
Well here we are getting on into Sept...been gone from Hali almost 3 weeks now - cant believe it! Time will fly...I have a job interview Monday for an English immersion program. I'm excited! Tuesday I had a different teacher...Martin...he's very dynamic and very good. The language studio was having a lunch day and we went to this Asian vegetarian place called Spring...I had no idea you could fake meat the way they did in all the Asian dishes...Sean and I ate a ton! So, for about 30 pesos (10 bucks) you can get a drink and all you can eat! The family definitely has to go - somewhere I'm definitely going to suggest when they get here in Feb. I went to the wine-tasting that night at 0800-Vino held by Nigel who is the owner. We had muchos vinos y queso in his wine cellar. I took lots of picture so I'd remember which wines I had and to show Papa. I learned quite a bit: people swish wine around in their mouths so it heats up and evaporates and hits the olfactory bulb in your head. Nigel passed around a number of little bottles that had concentrated scents in it that you were supposed to smell hints of in the wine. Apparently, the deeper and more orangey-red a red wine is, the older it is. And of course I didn't know that, por ejemplo, pinot grigio is the type of grape used. There were about 8 of us there and we had good convo...I think a few of them are going to the polo tour. After muchos vinos, I hopped in a cab to Sean and Aida's place because I havent seen it yet. I love the decor - its very modern and red and black...makes my decor look pretty girly. They live on the other side of Santa Fe...the big street near both of us. We had a glass of wine and chatted and then they were nice enough to walk me home. It was funny when I got there because my phone ran out of minutes and I had to show the guard which apartment I had to go o...and he said "are you North American?"...haha! Wednesday, I had Spanish class and after, Sean and Aida and I went to Sean's fav. place to eat called El Federal - another recommendation for the family - and no wonder he likes it so much...Everything is homemade, even the bread...the focaccia is to die for. I hada traditional Argentinian dish called pastel de papas and it was similar to a shepherd's pie stew and it was the heartiest, yummiest thing I've had here yet! Soooooo full! I spent the rest of the afternoon typing up some of my blog. Rafael picked me up last night and we went to a Colombian restobar called "Gabo"...I had this fish with coconut sauce and spcies with coconut rice and salad - gosh it was to die for and we had some good conversation. I slept like a baby considering I didn't sleepat all the night before!
Today, I had class with Martin...he's going to teach me some bad words for fun...yay! I went and dropped off my deposit for the polo trip Saturday and seeing as it's pouring rain, I've been sitting here writing this entry in Cafe Orso at Paraguay y Uriarte...cute place...my new hangout. B.A. really is a cafe city. I went to a gym...60 bucks a month....no thank you! Dropped laundry off...9 pesos...not too bad...cheaper than doing our own laundry in Canada. Suppose I should finally go to the grocery store. Frederico says he's taking me to Club 69 tonight...let's see if he shows up...haha!
So Sean and Aida invited me over for dinner. And while Sean was cooking, I read over Aida's report she had spent all day typing up...t'was a crappy rainy day so not great for exploring - we had pasta with sausage and broccoli...mmmm...kinda felt like home. We drank some wine and met Frederico at my place! We went to Club 69. What can I say about the club, except that it was off the hook! The drinks were pretty expensive - 20 pesos - that's like 7 dollar drinks...makes me miss those 2.50 drinks in Hali. But, a mojito is a real mojito! Tall glass, lots of real mint and actually crushed....nothing fake about it. There were paid dancers, men and women in scantily clad outfits - similar to cowboys - with their asses hanging out ...this one cowboy was so hot- I touched his chest at one point and thought I was going to pass out...I think he swings the other way though...haha. They did a little number on stage dancing and singing to a song and performing a little act - and there were some men dressed as women and this big guy was pretending to be a woman going after the cowboys and it was funny because he was a big woman and when they were playfully trying to lift him, he would playfully try to scare them. The outfits were amazing! That's what Karrie and I need for evolve next year! There was also this pole on a moveable platform that kept being moved all over the dance floor so you had to watch out when they moved it. Many people don't go crazy dancing like back home, they're too busy watching the dancers. The music was great! Back home I remember times when I was constantly disappointed due to shitty music...but here, no way! There is a bigger club scene here! We left at 230am and it was just getting good. It was raining cats and dogs (or frogs and snakes as they say here) - streets flooding - never seen anything like it! The end of a late night though will be met with an early morning...cleaning lady comes at 930 am :(
Today, I had class with Martin...he's going to teach me some bad words for fun...yay! I went and dropped off my deposit for the polo trip Saturday and seeing as it's pouring rain, I've been sitting here writing this entry in Cafe Orso at Paraguay y Uriarte...cute place...my new hangout. B.A. really is a cafe city. I went to a gym...60 bucks a month....no thank you! Dropped laundry off...9 pesos...not too bad...cheaper than doing our own laundry in Canada. Suppose I should finally go to the grocery store. Frederico says he's taking me to Club 69 tonight...let's see if he shows up...haha!
So Sean and Aida invited me over for dinner. And while Sean was cooking, I read over Aida's report she had spent all day typing up...t'was a crappy rainy day so not great for exploring - we had pasta with sausage and broccoli...mmmm...kinda felt like home. We drank some wine and met Frederico at my place! We went to Club 69. What can I say about the club, except that it was off the hook! The drinks were pretty expensive - 20 pesos - that's like 7 dollar drinks...makes me miss those 2.50 drinks in Hali. But, a mojito is a real mojito! Tall glass, lots of real mint and actually crushed....nothing fake about it. There were paid dancers, men and women in scantily clad outfits - similar to cowboys - with their asses hanging out ...this one cowboy was so hot- I touched his chest at one point and thought I was going to pass out...I think he swings the other way though...haha. They did a little number on stage dancing and singing to a song and performing a little act - and there were some men dressed as women and this big guy was pretending to be a woman going after the cowboys and it was funny because he was a big woman and when they were playfully trying to lift him, he would playfully try to scare them. The outfits were amazing! That's what Karrie and I need for evolve next year! There was also this pole on a moveable platform that kept being moved all over the dance floor so you had to watch out when they moved it. Many people don't go crazy dancing like back home, they're too busy watching the dancers. The music was great! Back home I remember times when I was constantly disappointed due to shitty music...but here, no way! There is a bigger club scene here! We left at 230am and it was just getting good. It was raining cats and dogs (or frogs and snakes as they say here) - streets flooding - never seen anything like it! The end of a late night though will be met with an early morning...cleaning lady comes at 930 am :(
Friday, October 2, 2009
from sept 14 - ahhh so behind!
Let me start off by saying that I have these huge metal blinds for all three of my windows overlooking the street and at night, you lower them so they encapsulate you in your dwelling - I just thought it was odd that at night everything looked more...abandoned, but that's why...everyone has these metal blinds. Apparently Rafael told me it's because of "Spiderman"...someone who could climb your balcony and get into your apartment at night...comforting, eh? We dont seem to have this concern in North America. Anyway, yesterday "Sunday" I had a great day! Pablo and I met Sean and Aida (Jersey...wooo) in San Telmo where we were quite hungry - so we went to a Parilla and had Bife de Chorizo (the cut of beef with fat on it but it's quite tender). They made fun of me because I wanted a coffee with my beef - haha! After we ate, we went through San Telmo on a mission for hot water to drink the Yerba mate and wandered through some of the antique market. Some of the antiques are so beautiful, I really hope people buy those things. Pablo was explaining the different mate, the round bowls they use because some are made from wood and others are carved out of the fruit. I need more info - but this woman came and yelled at us because Pablo was explaining it to us and not her! What a crazy ol' bat! We got hot water at a house where a woman charges one peso for hot water because it is right near the park - what a great idea! I imagine lots of people would drink it longer if they dont run out of water and she probably makes quite a bit of cash! We sat down on the grass and Pablo started preparing the mate. You put the yerba in the mate and there's a long metal stick (bombilla) with holes at the end so the yerba doesn't get sucked into it. You put sugar in with the yerba to sweeten it, then pass it back to the maker. There are etiquette rules too i.e. making sure you pass it back to the person making it so they can make a new one for the next person. Everyone walks around drinking it, even the police! We all really liked it! It was so relaxing to sit in the park - it seems to be a big social thing too - people sit around with friends and drink mate...I finally didn't feel so much like a tourist! When we were done, we walked back through San Telmo and ran into 2 drum groups in the streets and we danced in the street following the procession...what sound! Later that night, Rafael and I went for a super latedinner - like midnight! It was nice to be able to talk to someone completely. Today, (Monday), ...I had my first Spanish class. I didn't do too bad, but when the text was thrown in front of me, there were many words that I didn't know. We went over the text and she gave me some homework...I've missed homework! After class, Sean, Aida and I went to the museum of natural science. It was a lovely day and we had lunch in our neighbourhood before we went...my chicken wasn't cooked...but I got that fixed. We walked to the museum...at least we found out where all the cats went in this city...they own the Parque Centenario...there were dozens of cats outside the museum! I was thrilled! There are so many dogs in this city that I was beginning to wonder where all the cats went! The museum only cost us about 3 pesos - and I was surprised at how similar it was to the ROM, but smaller of course. There was a section on mollusks and shellfish, dinosaurs, frogs and snakes, history of Argentina, reptiles, etc. all not necessarily specific to Argentina...but it was interesting to see that their dinosaurs discovered in South America are very different than what we learned growing up in North America; except for T-Rex...he was definitely in both places! Did I mention we walked to the museum and also walked back...prob about 4km distance in total. We were pretty tired. We walked around more looking for a place for dinner but the other two only had visa, so it was even harder looking for a place that would take visa! After much searching, we found a place - I had a really good tuna sandwich - they called it Mediterraneo (even though a tuna sandwich is not Mediterranean) and the other two had cheese pizzas...so much cheese! We paid about 17 pesos each which includes a drink. But we had a dessert and it was panqueque dulce de leche....like a caramel crepe...que rico!! It was soooo good...I found a little piece of heaven again.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The start of being on my own in BA
Not a wink of sleep last night! My mind was too busy thinking...But yesterday we went and saw an apartment in Recoleta that Larry is looking at renting in February. It was pretty nice! Then Papa and I went back to where I got my phone and the girl there got it working with no problem! Muy loco! So now I have a phone! Spent the afternoon at the apt. writing down musems and things I wanted to visit. In the evening we went to Alcorta Carrefour which is the biggest everything-store I've ever seen! Everything from meat to furniture to candles and home decor and food!
We picked up a bunch of household items...toilet paper, candles, napkins, etc. and then Rafael met us and we went to Guidos (we tried going there Saturday but it was the only night that it happens to be closed!) It was an Italian place, with high ceilings and pictures all over the wall from floor to ceiling! We sat down and there are no menus - they start with anti-pasta and then pasta and they just keep bringing you food until you ask them to stop. It was so good! We're bringing everyone there in Feb!
Hoy es jueves, y la dia que mi padre vuelve a Mendoza. Mi espanol es mas o menos tambien. Pero, puedo hablar mejor (that may not be proper grammar, but I'm trying).
Today, Papa and I went to the MALBA (museo des artes latinoamericanos de buenos aires) to see latin american art at its finest - apparently it changes frequently. And the building itself is pretty futuristic!
We started on the top floor - most of it was art by Yente and didn't excite me too much. Lots of lines and squiggles...reminded me of art I used to do when I was younger. Maybe it will be worth something someday! The second floor was more interesting - paintings come to life when you look at them or are made with various materials like celotex, fibreglass, and aluminum...and they come to life when you push a button. We had lunch with Larry down the street in a pub that had a lot of English sayings on the wall. We all had tuna salads that came in these huge bowls and the tomatoes were enormous!!! Mmmm....
So Papa and Larry left and I've spent my first night solo. I went out for a walk down Avenida Florida again and a tango show started. I watched that for a bit. There was an older gentleman who introduced them and the girl was so tiny and had these long legs that she would flick around while she danced...beautiful. I talked with 2 guys who asked me where I was from and I told them I studied Spanish in school. They said my spanish was good! Ha, yeah right! They asked me if I had an Argentinian boyfriend yet - why do guys here ask that? I mean it's not important, but clearly when they see a pretty girl they have to ask!! I had dinner at the mall and that was fine...I'm seeing things strangely at the moment...but tomorrow is MOVING DAY!!!
 |
| entrance to Carrefour |
 |
| Papa and Larry at Guido's |
 |
| a bit blurry but a place full of photos and things on the walls |
Hoy es jueves, y la dia que mi padre vuelve a Mendoza. Mi espanol es mas o menos tambien. Pero, puedo hablar mejor (that may not be proper grammar, but I'm trying).
Today, Papa and I went to the MALBA (museo des artes latinoamericanos de buenos aires) to see latin american art at its finest - apparently it changes frequently. And the building itself is pretty futuristic!
So Papa and Larry left and I've spent my first night solo. I went out for a walk down Avenida Florida again and a tango show started. I watched that for a bit. There was an older gentleman who introduced them and the girl was so tiny and had these long legs that she would flick around while she danced...beautiful. I talked with 2 guys who asked me where I was from and I told them I studied Spanish in school. They said my spanish was good! Ha, yeah right! They asked me if I had an Argentinian boyfriend yet - why do guys here ask that? I mean it's not important, but clearly when they see a pretty girl they have to ask!! I had dinner at the mall and that was fine...I'm seeing things strangely at the moment...but tomorrow is MOVING DAY!!!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Darregueyra - My New Home
The sky here looks different. The cloud formations seem different - almost like an alien sky. Sadly, that's one thing that doesn't bring me comfort right now when it always used to. Maybe I'll learn to see in it what I used to see.
Today, I got an apartment and stepped in shit (right after I saved my father from doing that). We got up early to greet the maid - she was late of course. Larry says that punctuality is not a priority around here.
Oh! I didn't mention how screwed up the phone system is! So, from a landline, you can only call other landlines here - you cannot call a local cell phone from a landline - you can use a calling card which gives about an hour of time to Canada or call a local cell phone at a peso/minute - on a 10 peso international calling card. Canada can call my landline or cell phone but dial a whole shit ton of numbers i.e. 011-54-11 then 8 numbers or trying to call a cellphone here and putting a 15 in fron of it or a 11 or from Canada dropping the 15 or 11 and adding a 9! Thank god for Larry....are you confused yet? I sure am!
So the stupid cell phone we got has no number! It's been 4 days since we got it and when we went to a branch of the phone company, she said she couldn't help us and that we had to go back to the guy who sold us the phone at the kiosk. It's like he didn't submit any of my information and the contract he wrote up has no information on who he is, or where he is located; just a bunch of numbers with my signature on the bottom! So needless to say...did I sign a real contract? Or did I just sign a bunch of nothing?
Papa and I went to the real estate place on Nicaragua street - Che Palermo - to put a deposit down on the apartment in Palermo Viejo (that's the neighbourhood). It's pretty big and very nice - living room fully furnished, with couch, tv, table and 4 chairs, modern bathroom with jacuzzi jet tub, toilet with a bidee (as if I'd need one of those), bedroom with little bedside tables, and a king size bed and the kithen is pleasant and open with all proper appliances - oh, and it has a balcony that is the length of the living room and bedroom - absolutely huge! It was originally going for 800 USD/month but we talked the owner down to 750USD/month - just over 2800 pesos.
After we were in the rental place for awhile, we were starving and went to the first place we saw in my new "hood". It was called Chimm Churri I think...Papa had this weird salad as an appetizer that was pretty much shredded carrot and a couple hard boiled eggs - we felt sorry for the poor bastard that had to shred all that carrot - and my salad was a bunch of dried mixed lettuce. It's funny how three quarters of the music you hear in the background is in English, but I bet most people don't understand the words. After we were done (oh and when the men leave, Im swearing off bread - it's been present at every meal) we took a cab to Murillo (calle) where Papa was on a mission to buy a leather jacket. The amount of real leather and leather goods and furs is unbelievable! We only went into 3 stores. The first was a bit pricey and I tried on a number of red lamb's leather jackets - one had a rabbit and fox fur collar - holy cow (I mean lamb!) haha! The second store we browsed and the third Papa found one he liked which caught his eye because of a tiny, simple caramel stripe for half the price and they tailored it for him at no extra cost! While we were waiting for the tailoring, we had a cafe nearby in a family-owned restaurant. We also went exploring in a big supermercado (supermarket) nearby! Fresh vegetables and basic food are so inexpensive compared to back home - veggies for 2-3 pesos ( a dollar), bread for 89 centavos (30 cents), pasta for a dollar, wine for 4 dollars - it's crazy!
We got back to the apartment and were going to resolve the stupid cell phone issue but it was already after 7 and figured it wouldn't be open and I forgot my passport. We hit another bank machine and figured we can only take out 2000 pesos a day (not coinciding with the Canadian bank limits) so we can start hoarding them for Friday when I get my apt. We were going the wrong way down the street and bumped into the Wall Street Institute which specializes in language training so I'm taking them my resume tomorrow. We had dinner a Chico Campo at Austria and French, where people do not pick up after their dogs (hence the first statement at the beginning of this entry)! We had 2 steaks shared, salad, wine and fries for 20 bucks each! Crazy!
Happy eating!
Today, I got an apartment and stepped in shit (right after I saved my father from doing that). We got up early to greet the maid - she was late of course. Larry says that punctuality is not a priority around here.
Oh! I didn't mention how screwed up the phone system is! So, from a landline, you can only call other landlines here - you cannot call a local cell phone from a landline - you can use a calling card which gives about an hour of time to Canada or call a local cell phone at a peso/minute - on a 10 peso international calling card. Canada can call my landline or cell phone but dial a whole shit ton of numbers i.e. 011-54-11 then 8 numbers or trying to call a cellphone here and putting a 15 in fron of it or a 11 or from Canada dropping the 15 or 11 and adding a 9! Thank god for Larry....are you confused yet? I sure am!
So the stupid cell phone we got has no number! It's been 4 days since we got it and when we went to a branch of the phone company, she said she couldn't help us and that we had to go back to the guy who sold us the phone at the kiosk. It's like he didn't submit any of my information and the contract he wrote up has no information on who he is, or where he is located; just a bunch of numbers with my signature on the bottom! So needless to say...did I sign a real contract? Or did I just sign a bunch of nothing?
Papa and I went to the real estate place on Nicaragua street - Che Palermo - to put a deposit down on the apartment in Palermo Viejo (that's the neighbourhood). It's pretty big and very nice - living room fully furnished, with couch, tv, table and 4 chairs, modern bathroom with jacuzzi jet tub, toilet with a bidee (as if I'd need one of those), bedroom with little bedside tables, and a king size bed and the kithen is pleasant and open with all proper appliances - oh, and it has a balcony that is the length of the living room and bedroom - absolutely huge! It was originally going for 800 USD/month but we talked the owner down to 750USD/month - just over 2800 pesos.
After we were in the rental place for awhile, we were starving and went to the first place we saw in my new "hood". It was called Chimm Churri I think...Papa had this weird salad as an appetizer that was pretty much shredded carrot and a couple hard boiled eggs - we felt sorry for the poor bastard that had to shred all that carrot - and my salad was a bunch of dried mixed lettuce. It's funny how three quarters of the music you hear in the background is in English, but I bet most people don't understand the words. After we were done (oh and when the men leave, Im swearing off bread - it's been present at every meal) we took a cab to Murillo (calle) where Papa was on a mission to buy a leather jacket. The amount of real leather and leather goods and furs is unbelievable! We only went into 3 stores. The first was a bit pricey and I tried on a number of red lamb's leather jackets - one had a rabbit and fox fur collar - holy cow (I mean lamb!) haha! The second store we browsed and the third Papa found one he liked which caught his eye because of a tiny, simple caramel stripe for half the price and they tailored it for him at no extra cost! While we were waiting for the tailoring, we had a cafe nearby in a family-owned restaurant. We also went exploring in a big supermercado (supermarket) nearby! Fresh vegetables and basic food are so inexpensive compared to back home - veggies for 2-3 pesos ( a dollar), bread for 89 centavos (30 cents), pasta for a dollar, wine for 4 dollars - it's crazy!
We got back to the apartment and were going to resolve the stupid cell phone issue but it was already after 7 and figured it wouldn't be open and I forgot my passport. We hit another bank machine and figured we can only take out 2000 pesos a day (not coinciding with the Canadian bank limits) so we can start hoarding them for Friday when I get my apt. We were going the wrong way down the street and bumped into the Wall Street Institute which specializes in language training so I'm taking them my resume tomorrow. We had dinner a Chico Campo at Austria and French, where people do not pick up after their dogs (hence the first statement at the beginning of this entry)! We had 2 steaks shared, salad, wine and fries for 20 bucks each! Crazy!
Happy eating!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Tour - here is your history lesson :)
Today we are going on a city tour - it's about to get choppy - this entry, that is, because I was writing feverishly...I love the history of this city.... Me encanta!
- 12 million people in Buenos Aires, metro - its the 3rd largest city on the continent after Mexico and Brazil
- Spanish rule said all cities must have square in centre with square blocks surrounding.
- The Teatro Colon is one of the 4 most important theatres in the world and it's off Avenida 9 Julio (Argentina's independence). The Obelisk is here on this avenue and is a meeting place for lots of people. We ran into a protest here with hundreds of people, but we didn't know what they were going on about - the tour guide says no one really cares.
- Puerto Madero - it's the old port that has been converted to new neighbourhoods. The Hilton is here and it looks like a small airport. This port was used up to the 1930s but big ships couldn't get in and the port was abandoned for 50 years. They tore down the warehouses and built avenues - it's probably the most expensive part of B.A.
- The Rio de la Plata (river plate) was where B.A. was founded. There is a bridge called "Women's Bridge" because women complained there were no street names for women and it was all men so they made a bridge and called it that. B.A. was founded by Spanish Conquistadors in 1536. This part of the river is the widest river in the entire world because you cannot see Uruguay on the other side (translates as "silver river"). The Spanish were looking for silver and brought it from Bolivia ad took it to Spain from here. The Latin word for silver is Argentum, therefore, Argentina means silver. The Spanish fought Indians and the B.A. that was founded was burned. It was re-founded in 1580 by the Spanish again.
- Cities are always founded around a main square - in this case the Plaza de Mayo (pronounced Majo in Arg). On the 25th of May, the revolution in 1810 finished in 1816 on the 9th of July for their independence after 6 years of battle.
- Casa Rosada: the pink presidential house. Civil war from 1816-1862 where 2 political parties wanted their government to rule - the Unitarios (white) vs. Federales (red) which together makes pink. So the house was painted pink as a compromise. Evita was the 1st lady of the country (Madonna who played her in the movie made her speech to the crowd from the window of he Casa) and was married to Juan Peron during his reign as president. The monument represents liberty in front of the Casa Rosada. On Thursday afternoons, the mothers of those lost in the 1980s during the "dirty war" protest their sadness.
- Jose de San Martin is their national hero buried inside the Cathedral. He was in Spain and came here in 1812 to organize the army to fight Spain. He liberated Chile and Peru and is therefore the "liberator of America" and he met Simone Bolivar in Ecuador. He died in France in 1850 and was kept there til 1880. Now he is here. The inside of the Cathedral was finished in the 20th century and looks very different from the outside which has a facade influenced by the French Neoclassical period. The burning flame outside the Cathedral shows that San Martin is inside.
- In 1862 when civil war was over, only one million people in Argentina. The Government decided to attract European immigants because if they were brought here, Argentina could be more like them. Natives are only 1% of the total population. The rich families went to Europe often and everything here became European. First European avenue is Avenida de Mayo by Alvear at the end of the 19th century. It is here that the famous Cafe Tortoni occupies a spot.
- the Avenida 9 Julio has so many lanes of traffic. It's 140m from sidewalk to sidewalk (like 20 lanes all going down, up or cut across).
- Argentina is the 7th biggest country in the world. It is a republic with government, congress, and court of justice. There are 23 provinces with their own government. B.A is considered a province and city.
- San Telmo: where the richest families used to live. 30% of people died from yellow fever and moved to Palermo and Recoleta
- Tango started in La Boca and cabarets by prostitutes for when sailors came in but we dont really know where it came from (the music, that is...not the prostitutes). The cobblestone was brought from Europe. At the end of the 19th century, rich houses became tenement houses for immigrants and had 20 families or more in one house sharing one bathroom (eesh!). But they were happy! B.A. became a melting pot - 40% Italian, 40% Spanish and all over Europe - of many different languages.
- Eva Peron's foundation has a monument outside the building it used to be in and the monument is called Canto el Trabajo and is for the workers. Its in the Eva Peron square and the building its in front of is now part of the Engineering Faculty of the University of B.A.
- Lots of buildings were torn down in the 1970s. But now San Telmo is a historic district that is very bohemian - full of antique shops, art, restaurants and old houses.
- La Boca: (the mouth [of little river] that flows into big river): La Boca is the poorest neighbourhood and was filled mostly with Italian immigrants.
- Yellow House - William Brown who created the navy from Ireland and is buried in a green mausoleum...funny eh? The Boca Juniors (gold and blue) have their stadium here. It's funny cuz the coca cola advertisement on stadium isn't red and white, it's black and white because red and white are the colours for an opposing team! The colours of gold and blue are supposed to help improve way of life.
- the River Riachuelo was the first port of B.A.
- Schools and hospitals are free for everyone.
- B.A has the lowest illiteracy rate on continent including Canada and the US and the highest educational rate. Sarmiento made education free.
- Puerto Madero is a great place to walk.
- Luna Park is a stadium where in 1944, Eva Duarte met Juan Peron at a concert.
- Trains and buses reach suburbs - located in Retiro which is the 3rd port - 3 train systems! The clock tower outside stations was a gift from England for the centennial - even though war in 1982 on Falkland Islands.
- There is a flower sculpture - a gift from an Argentinian architect living in Boston. It opens with the sun and closes at 6pm each day and takes 17min to close.
- Palermo looks like Europe..mostly embassies now but huge contrast to La Boca.
- One of the best museums is Latin America art (MALBA).
We contacted Marco when we got back and he said that if I met him right then and there (in Palermo),he would show us a couple of apartments. So off in a cab we went. The first place was 1000USD and you walked in and there was a tiny sprial staircase and a nice little living room with some artwork. The kitchen was pretty puny but there was large balcony. Going up the staircase we came to a bedroom with full bath (half bath downstairs) and a ladder to closet space on another level and part of staircase led to rooftop. It was lovely but way to big for just me! The second place we saw, I think we all fell in love with. Fully furnished huge bed and bedroom, bathroom with a tub (and jacuzzi jets), a fab. kitchen, great living room/dining room and a huge balcony all to myself...It even has an air conditioner. I could see myself staying here (obviously in the nicest apartment I've ever had the privilege of living in) and having people over or having them stay with me. However, it's being priced at 800US - way over my budget. But Papa likes it ...tomorrow I may have an apt.
We went for dinner at Bar Uriarte- a very nice upscale restaurant with a beautiful 'home and garden' modern patio that wasn't open. It has a huge place that looked like a converted warehouse. The bathrooms uptairs were all on their own - took me forever to figure out how to flush the toilet! They are all different! The food was pretty good! After, Larry took us to Callao and Santa Fe where there was this huge ice cream place called Volta - surprisingly, a chain- and there were so many flavours - all in unlabelled containers in the countertop - but the server knew by heart...and all the chocolate...im in heaven....another modern looking closed-off patio with water and rocks - very aesthetically pleasing! And then here we are at midnight having a glass of wine in the vacation rental apartment...goodnight!
- 12 million people in Buenos Aires, metro - its the 3rd largest city on the continent after Mexico and Brazil
- Spanish rule said all cities must have square in centre with square blocks surrounding.
- The Teatro Colon is one of the 4 most important theatres in the world and it's off Avenida 9 Julio (Argentina's independence). The Obelisk is here on this avenue and is a meeting place for lots of people. We ran into a protest here with hundreds of people, but we didn't know what they were going on about - the tour guide says no one really cares.
- Puerto Madero - it's the old port that has been converted to new neighbourhoods. The Hilton is here and it looks like a small airport. This port was used up to the 1930s but big ships couldn't get in and the port was abandoned for 50 years. They tore down the warehouses and built avenues - it's probably the most expensive part of B.A.
 |
| the entrance of the Hilton |
- The Rio de la Plata (river plate) was where B.A. was founded. There is a bridge called "Women's Bridge" because women complained there were no street names for women and it was all men so they made a bridge and called it that. B.A. was founded by Spanish Conquistadors in 1536. This part of the river is the widest river in the entire world because you cannot see Uruguay on the other side (translates as "silver river"). The Spanish were looking for silver and brought it from Bolivia ad took it to Spain from here. The Latin word for silver is Argentum, therefore, Argentina means silver. The Spanish fought Indians and the B.A. that was founded was burned. It was re-founded in 1580 by the Spanish again.
- Cities are always founded around a main square - in this case the Plaza de Mayo (pronounced Majo in Arg). On the 25th of May, the revolution in 1810 finished in 1816 on the 9th of July for their independence after 6 years of battle.
- Casa Rosada: the pink presidential house. Civil war from 1816-1862 where 2 political parties wanted their government to rule - the Unitarios (white) vs. Federales (red) which together makes pink. So the house was painted pink as a compromise. Evita was the 1st lady of the country (Madonna who played her in the movie made her speech to the crowd from the window of he Casa) and was married to Juan Peron during his reign as president. The monument represents liberty in front of the Casa Rosada. On Thursday afternoons, the mothers of those lost in the 1980s during the "dirty war" protest their sadness.
 |
| the Casa Rosada |
- Jose de San Martin is their national hero buried inside the Cathedral. He was in Spain and came here in 1812 to organize the army to fight Spain. He liberated Chile and Peru and is therefore the "liberator of America" and he met Simone Bolivar in Ecuador. He died in France in 1850 and was kept there til 1880. Now he is here. The inside of the Cathedral was finished in the 20th century and looks very different from the outside which has a facade influenced by the French Neoclassical period. The burning flame outside the Cathedral shows that San Martin is inside.
 |
| the Cathedral |
- In 1862 when civil war was over, only one million people in Argentina. The Government decided to attract European immigants because if they were brought here, Argentina could be more like them. Natives are only 1% of the total population. The rich families went to Europe often and everything here became European. First European avenue is Avenida de Mayo by Alvear at the end of the 19th century. It is here that the famous Cafe Tortoni occupies a spot.
- the Avenida 9 Julio has so many lanes of traffic. It's 140m from sidewalk to sidewalk (like 20 lanes all going down, up or cut across).
- Argentina is the 7th biggest country in the world. It is a republic with government, congress, and court of justice. There are 23 provinces with their own government. B.A is considered a province and city.
- San Telmo: where the richest families used to live. 30% of people died from yellow fever and moved to Palermo and Recoleta
- Tango started in La Boca and cabarets by prostitutes for when sailors came in but we dont really know where it came from (the music, that is...not the prostitutes). The cobblestone was brought from Europe. At the end of the 19th century, rich houses became tenement houses for immigrants and had 20 families or more in one house sharing one bathroom (eesh!). But they were happy! B.A. became a melting pot - 40% Italian, 40% Spanish and all over Europe - of many different languages.
- Eva Peron's foundation has a monument outside the building it used to be in and the monument is called Canto el Trabajo and is for the workers. Its in the Eva Peron square and the building its in front of is now part of the Engineering Faculty of the University of B.A.
- Lots of buildings were torn down in the 1970s. But now San Telmo is a historic district that is very bohemian - full of antique shops, art, restaurants and old houses.
- La Boca: (the mouth [of little river] that flows into big river): La Boca is the poorest neighbourhood and was filled mostly with Italian immigrants.
- Yellow House - William Brown who created the navy from Ireland and is buried in a green mausoleum...funny eh? The Boca Juniors (gold and blue) have their stadium here. It's funny cuz the coca cola advertisement on stadium isn't red and white, it's black and white because red and white are the colours for an opposing team! The colours of gold and blue are supposed to help improve way of life.
- the River Riachuelo was the first port of B.A.
- Schools and hospitals are free for everyone.
- B.A has the lowest illiteracy rate on continent including Canada and the US and the highest educational rate. Sarmiento made education free.
- Puerto Madero is a great place to walk.
- Luna Park is a stadium where in 1944, Eva Duarte met Juan Peron at a concert.
- Trains and buses reach suburbs - located in Retiro which is the 3rd port - 3 train systems! The clock tower outside stations was a gift from England for the centennial - even though war in 1982 on Falkland Islands.
- There is a flower sculpture - a gift from an Argentinian architect living in Boston. It opens with the sun and closes at 6pm each day and takes 17min to close.
 |
| the flower |
- Palermo looks like Europe..mostly embassies now but huge contrast to La Boca.
- One of the best museums is Latin America art (MALBA).
We contacted Marco when we got back and he said that if I met him right then and there (in Palermo),he would show us a couple of apartments. So off in a cab we went. The first place was 1000USD and you walked in and there was a tiny sprial staircase and a nice little living room with some artwork. The kitchen was pretty puny but there was large balcony. Going up the staircase we came to a bedroom with full bath (half bath downstairs) and a ladder to closet space on another level and part of staircase led to rooftop. It was lovely but way to big for just me! The second place we saw, I think we all fell in love with. Fully furnished huge bed and bedroom, bathroom with a tub (and jacuzzi jets), a fab. kitchen, great living room/dining room and a huge balcony all to myself...It even has an air conditioner. I could see myself staying here (obviously in the nicest apartment I've ever had the privilege of living in) and having people over or having them stay with me. However, it's being priced at 800US - way over my budget. But Papa likes it ...tomorrow I may have an apt.
We went for dinner at Bar Uriarte- a very nice upscale restaurant with a beautiful 'home and garden' modern patio that wasn't open. It has a huge place that looked like a converted warehouse. The bathrooms uptairs were all on their own - took me forever to figure out how to flush the toilet! They are all different! The food was pretty good! After, Larry took us to Callao and Santa Fe where there was this huge ice cream place called Volta - surprisingly, a chain- and there were so many flavours - all in unlabelled containers in the countertop - but the server knew by heart...and all the chocolate...im in heaven....another modern looking closed-off patio with water and rocks - very aesthetically pleasing! And then here we are at midnight having a glass of wine in the vacation rental apartment...goodnight!
San Telmo and a New Friend
Des nivel: this was the name of the rustic asado we went into randomly in San Telmo. It was loud and bustling - there were huge bbq pits where the chef had all different cuts of meat and all different kinds of meat cooking on the pit behind him. We sat down past the smoking area (smoking isn't banned in restaurants like in Canada). Whenever you sit down at a restaurant, they give you this huge basket of bread and usually butter, but last night it was a dip of some kind and then today it was a soft cheese - very creamy. There was also this steak sauce already at the table filled with chilies and oil and spices - chimichurri - so good to dip bread. The menu was extensive - tons of meat! We ordered grea big chunks of meat at 2pm!!! Sunday brunch was steak heaven! Papa's was mustard, mine was garlic and Larry's was peppercorn and all of our potatoes were different! Papa ordered vino tinto (red wine) that came in this jug shaped like a duck and Larry got an enormous bottle of beer - the standard size no less. My 2nd steak already - and the bill was just over 20 bucks for each of us - including liquor!
When we were done, we proceeded outside and wandered around the biggest antique/flea market I've ever seen (in the Plaza Dorrega). Hundreds of people and the stalls spanned many streets in the barrio. There were so many antiques - we went into a home that had been converted into an antiques area but it had the three levels of patios where typically the first was living quarters, the second for cooking and washing and the third was for livestock (we were on Calle Defensa - the main drag for vendors). There were tango dancers, men on stilts, puppeteers, many spoofs to attract tourists and their money (i.e. people pretending to be statues that only move when you went near them) and even the locals! There were so many people! This little old lady was playing homemade drums (I think they were cups) and when Papa tried to take her picture, she held up a sign that said "show me the money". So Papa gave her some pesos and she let me hold a drumstick while he took a picture. I also got a picture with one of the people pretending to be a statue. A band went by banging drums and when Papa gave them money they stood around me and played while I danced a little bit. Half-embarrassing. All the antiques - old gloves and tango shoes and hats; old telephones and chandeliers from before the city became so poor; old tricycles and signs; parts of doors and houses; statues and furnitue - and tons more. I can't wait to go back there.
 |
| tango in San Telmo |
 |
| on the weekend there is an enormous amount of people |
 |
| this guy's act was to look like the wind was blowing him away |
 |
| this man can do beautiful paintings with his feet |
 |
| this man is a puppeteer and his puppet has the same outfit as he does |
 |
| mate bowls |
 |
| part of the antiques market |
Papa and Larry were ready to head back to the apartment for naps, but I was going to stay. So I walked back the way I came and went into a couple of crazy antique and arte moderna stores. At Calle Humberto 1 378, I found myself taking my own tour of the Museo Penitenciario Nacional which only operated until the 1870s and first served as an asylum for crazy women and then as a prison shortly after that.
 |
| the penitentiary |
Outside was a band playing - a number of violinists, 4 acordians, piano player, vocalist - for a pretty big crowd. I then found myself outside the Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de Belen, built in 1770. It was beautiful but Pilar is 10x moreso. Just when I finally got to San Lorenzo (I wanted to go to this cafe), I stopped to look at some signs for rental properties above the stalls, when this guy approached me. Tall, dark and handsome, his English was bad, and my Spanish was no better. I gathered that he lived in Buenos Aires province and his family lived outside the capital - he has a sister , works for the city and is going to show me around B.A, thank god, since I have no friends here yet. It was exhausting trying to talk to him in broken spanish all afternoon. He was nice enough to walk me the 15 blocks back to Reconquista. Papa and I had dinner at La Barra which is around the corner - total was less than 30 bucks including the wine!!! What a crazy day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)