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!!