Blog Number 13: More life in BA and La Boca

March 9 – 11

It’s Monday and David has his 1^st class at Lenguas Vivas Institute. Oh…did I mention that, in addition to the private tutoring he’s getting once a week, he signed up at a local university to take pre-intermediate Spanish classes 4 days a week (Mon-Thurs). Then, of course, he has homework each day. When David decides to do something, it’s an all or nothing proposition.

When he returns from class, he’s wired from speaking and listening to Spanish non-stop for 2 hours. Lucky for me, he relaxes when Kevin and Rick come for dinner.

Tuesday we get up early and go to the park, where David studies and I sketch.

He goes to class and after, we head back to the park, sit and people-watch. Five o’clock is a perfect time – the playground is packed with little kids, as is frequently the case around now. We enjoy watching them, as they are very cute. One of our friends describes them as ants…they’re all over the place.

We go to the Hard Rock Café, of all places, for dinner – not a typical dinner destination for us, but David announces he needs a Mexican food fix. According to friends they have the best fajitas in the city. We get there at 9:00, eat but don’t linger, since the music is blasting and it’s too loud for us old folks. On our way home, we stop at Volta for some of the best ice cream in the city. Have I mentioned how good the ice cream is here?

On Wednesday, Diego comes over to tutor David and I go to friend Jim’s apartment. We hang out, drink coffee and eat factoras (pastries). In the afternoon, David goes to Spanish class and I go to paint. We meet around 8:00 and go to dinner at 9:00. Seems we’ve found a rhythm that works.

March 12 – 15

Thursday morning, after coffee, we stop in front of a store to admire a window display. We hear a couple, also looking at the display, speaking English. Turns out they (Matina and Steve) are New Yorkers here in BA on holiday. We spend an hour talking and decide to do lunch together on Sunday. Nice!!

We go to Julie and Bob’s apartment around 6:00 and spend the next few hours in their backyard garden drinking and eating. They are leaving for their home in CA next week and we’ll miss spending time with them.

Friday is a day of rest…and good thing, because we plan to spend Saturday on the go. I know some of you have marveled at how we seem to be eating all the time. And you are correct…so we have decided to join a gym (we probably should be joining overeaters anonymous too!).

We meet Yamil, who will be our personal trainer for the next 4 weeks, and after discussing our needs (and his fee) we decide to start working out with him on Monday. On the way back from the gym we decide to check out a great hidden restaurant that Julie suggested. It's in a beautiful old world style building that we are told at one point was the German Embassy.

On Saturday we catch a bus to La Boca. Divided from the suburbs of BA by the “toxic” waters of the Riachuelo river, this working-class barrio was, until the late 19^th century, the entry point to the city for goods and immigrants; hence the name La Boca – literally “the mouth”.

As far as I can tell, this barrio is known for 2 things…their soccer team, the Boca Juniors,

and the Caminito; i.e. the “little walkway” lined with brightly colored corrugated zinc shacks.

Why all the colors, you might ask? Everything I read talks about how, in the early 1900s when the shacks were constructed, they needed frequent painting. The locals would ask the crews of ships that came into port to give them left-over paint. Because each local then took a small quantity, walls might be painted yellow, roofs green, and shutters red.

While this has become a very touristy area, it was fun to walk around for a few hours. It’s sort of like a tango-themed amusement park. Lots of cafes with mini stages set up for bands;

Tango dancers....

Check out the tango video below:

Tango chicas…

Tango art…

and the occasional "Argentinian folklore" dancers (video below):

There are murals, oil paintings, mosaics and reliefs all over, and many have a nautical theme.

Then there is the “fileteado”, a popular style of ornamental painting that appears on signs and storefronts.

David has a great time with his camera!

Back in our neighborhood, we walk over to the park where we catch up with Rick. And, just as we are leaving, we notice bunches of kids congregating around a box about the size of a refrigerator draped in navy blue velvet.

Turns out it’s there for a puppet show…very cute.

We decide to have dinner in, so we stop at Quiero Mas, the fresh pasta store around the corner from our apartment.

You choose the pasta

and sauce you want,

and of course the "must have" empanada....

they heat it all up and voila – instant dinner!

Sunday morning and the time has changed…spring ahead / fall back. Fall is just around the corner…you can feel it in the air. Though we still have an occasional scorcher (yesterday I took 3 showers, it was so hot!), days are definitely starting to cool off ever so slightly, and they are often less humid. We are now just one hour ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time.

We meet Matina and Steve for a leisurely lunch at Lola and eat al fresco. After lunch, we say good-bye, as they are flying back to NYC tonight. Too bad they won’t be here longer…we have a really nice time with them.

Blog Number 12 - Avenida Cordoba Architecture and San Telmo

March 7 – 8

Saturday…we walk towards the artists supply store. On the way, we cross Avenida Santa Fe, which is one of the boundaries between the Recoleta neighborhood we live in and Barrio Norte. Wanting to take a different route than the usual, we head to Avenida Cordoba. On our left is a huge building which as been recently cleaned...the former Palacia Sarmienta, which we think is now the ministry of Culture and Education (though we're not really sure).

We try to capture the beauty of some of the old (often juxtaposed against the new) architecture.

Aquas Argentina is the city's water company. The building is one of the most ornate we've seen in Buenos Aires.

Diagonally across the street is an extreme example of the city's giant institutional look...one of the teaching hospitals,

We have lunch at La Querencia, order the day’s special, a fabulous berry-glazed pork dish, and a desert that gives me a 1960’s Carvel “Fudgie the Whale” ice cream cake flashback (anyone remember Tom Carvel and his TV commercials?). On our way home, it begins to rain and, yes, we get soaked again.

In the evening, we meet Julie and Bob at Oviedo, an excellent seafood restaurant, for a 4 hour dinner (9p-1a) and take a leisurely walk home. One of many really nice things about Buenos Aires is that, with very few exceptions, we always feel safe walking, no matter what time of night.

Sunday…we’re finally at a point where we think we’ve figured out (kind of) how to read the bus schedule, so we (successfully) take the bus to San Telmo, BA’s oldest neighborhood. The buildings are low, the streets are cobbled, and references to the tango are everywhere.

Every Sunday, in and around the Plaza Dorrego, local artists display paintings and crafts and street performers entertain.

The El Afronte Orchestra starts playing at 12:30, immediately after the mass at San Pedro Gonzalez Telmo Church ends.

There are live tango shows,

and the crowd loves Osvaldo Montes (in his mid-80’s) and Anibal Arias.

Watch and listen to their fabulous sound:

Before we head back, we relax at an outdoor café so we can have a coffee while David studies the bus schedule.

On our way to the bus stop, as David takes photos of some of the more ornate buildings…

we hear voices behind us. Turning around, we see 2 neighborhood women we’ve never seen before (Maria and Sylvia) and they are agreeing (in Spanish, of course) that the buildings he has chosen to photograph are indeed beautiful.

We spend the next 20+ minutes talking with them, though neither speaks a word of English. They want to know where we’re from (always the 1^st question), how long we’ll be in Buenos Aires, do we like the city, how old we are, how long we’ve been married. Maria wants us to guess her age (83), tells us how she loved her husband, how he’s dead now and no one can ever replace him, how long she’s lived in the neighborhood…I could keep going but you probably get the idea!

She proceeds to sing for us, wants our phone # so she can have us for dinner (at least we think that’s what she says) and, to reinforce her invite takes out a kitchen knife from inside her apron packet! Sylvia, meanwhile, is translating, in abbreviated Spanish, what Maria has just said. It’s hysterical, and very endearing.

Another typical day for us!!

Blog Post Number 11: Spanish, Art & Evita!

March 4

Wednesday…a big day for both of us.

David:
Fortunately for me, my Spanish tutor Diego (who I had a few lessons with last year) was available and I was able to start lessons again. We reviewed what chapters in my text I needed to study in order to be able to start my second semester of Spanish back in the US. Diego has his own method of teaching so we will just have to see what happens.




Barbara:
I had been thinking about taking art lessons, so after hearing about an instructor from a friend went to see him and the studio. I liked what I saw and signed up for oil painting classes, the first of which was today. Classes are on Wednesdays from 3-7 for the next 5 weeks.

It’s a 30 minute walk to the studio and there are 3 other women taking the class. All are accomplished painters, and all made me feel welcome. Lillian is the only one who speaks fluent English, and she’s a willing translator.

The instructor, Gustavo, speaks very limited English, but his demos give me a good sense of what it is I’m there to learn. His goal – get me out of my comfort zone; i.e. use bold colors, bold subjects, bold strokes, big canvases! For those of you who’ve seen my paintings, you know this will be a stretch!

March 5 – 6
Thursday at the Melody Café for breakfast, there’s an American who’s trying to pay with dollars. Gabriella, the waitress, is having difficulty understanding him and asks David to translate. No question about it…his time studying here and his semester studying Spanish at Cape Cod Community College have begun to pay off.

Friday the weather is fabulous so 4 of us take the bus to Palermo Botanico





for lunch at the Evita Museum’s outdoor café (we plan to do the museum another day). Housed in an architecturally stunning building that once served as a women’s shelter run by Eva Peron’s foundation, the umbrellas, black and white tile and greenery provide a serenity that enhances a delicious meal.

























Buenos Aires is not the right destination for anyone who wants to loose weight. Most socializing revolves around long, leisurely meals (though our saving grace is that we almost always walk to and/or from our destination).

Blog Number 10: Life in Buenos Aires

March 2 – 3

After a busy weekend, we spend most of Monday relaxing. In the evening, we meet our cruise friends Debra and Gene and their friends, who are passing through BA on their way back to the States, for dinner at El Marisol, a parilla; i.e. a steakhouse. David claims that they served him the best "lomo" (Argentinian version of filet mignon) he has had in Argentina to date! We also enjoyed a couple of bottles of a great Malbac and caught up on Gene & Debs trekking travels at El Chaltan and Fitz Roy. Two places we really want to go to next year and try some more glacier trekking!

Next morning, we are still full from last night’s dinner, so at 1:00 we go to the Melody Café with the intention of getting a light breakfast. We think we are ordering the usual…tostadas, which is probably yesterday’s baguette sliced and toasted. But what they hear is tostados, which are crust-less ham and cheese sandwiches. So we each end up with 4 of these sandwiches. Our light breakfast turns into the equivalent of a very full lunch. But more importantly, this reinforces our experience that even a slight nuance in pronunciation can affect an outcome. Attention to detail is a must!

Later in the day, we buy colorful cotton throw rugs (actually, they are horse blankets – new, not used!! – that are typically used under saddles) to cheer up the apartment. We also go to Disco, our local supermarket, because we’re having our first “dinner party”.

As we are shopping, we realize that in the last 2 weeks, prices in general have increased by from 10-20%. You can actually see prices rising weekly. So, while the dollar is getting stronger here the price increases are only partially mitigated by the dollars strength against the peso.

In anticipation of our dinner guest, we break out the good (oh, I mean only) dishes, heat up barbequed chicken, serve it with onion and pumpkin tortes, fresh tomatoes, repollitos de Bruselas (Brussels sprouts), bread and, of course, a bottle of Malbec. Finally, a home-cooked meal!

And, believe it or not, we regret not having brought saran wrap with us from home! That’s because saran wrap here is just awful. It is very thin and there is no serrated edge on the box, so every time you want to use it, you have to find the end and peel it away from the roll. I can’t tell you how frustrating this is. It takes at least two people to wrap things in order to not lose the end of the roll!

We decide to keep it out and balanced on the toaster, slightly unrolled, so we won’t have to deal with finding the edge and peeling it back every time we use it…but the maid, who comes on Tuesdays and Fridays, rolls it back up and puts it in the box. Oh well – it sounded like a good plan at the tiime.