A Week of Preparation...



The "FIND" from
Feria de San Telmo last Sunday

Last Sunday at the Feria de San Telmo, John bought some antique eyeglasses.  He’s been looking for a pair with the flexible earpieces for a few years for dark glasses.  The ophthalmologist told him he would probably only find them at some antique place.  Feria de San Telmo had a few booths with antique eyeglasses and voila, there they were.  Monday, John stopped in at an eyeglasses place near the apartment and they set him up for new dark lenses in the frames.  By Thursday the results are what you see above.

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This week we did a lot of busy work for our travels out of town:

First, we got our reservations for Montevideo at the Buquebus Terminal.

Buquebus Terminal
for our trip to Montevideo

We will be taking the Ferry to Colonia de Sacaramento, then a luxury bus to Montevideo for two nights.  We will return on Wednesday.



On our way back from the ferry terminal, we stopped at an information center to get information on a trip to the Patagonias via bus and train.  I’ve been trying to get information on the net and just wasn’t very successful at finding out where and how much reservations for the bus, train, hotels, etc. would be. 



Train to Bariloche

The information center gave me all the numbers and information needed for a trip to Bariloche.  It’s a 2 night trip to get there so we will be seeing a lot of the country on this trip. Hopefully we’ll be able to book everything for the Christmas weekend.  It should be a lot like Xmas in the Alps, I’m told.

This week we finished gathering information and filling out the forms for booking on Grimaldi Freighter Cruises.  So far we are the only passengers on this particular voyage – as the months go by, we will see if anyone will be joining us…

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We’ve been taking advantage of the location of Cultura Tanguera by stopping by to use the dance floor to practice 3 times this last week.  John is getting the feel for the steps and is getting to be a pretty good partner for me.  Gloria and Eduardo seemed to be pleased with our progress.

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For our Sunday outing, we braved the humid heat and made our destination Retiro to find the Omnibus Terminal to find out about the luxury buses to Bariloche.  To get there we tried the Subte (the subway) for the first time. It was easier than we thought.  As long as you know where you want to go and if the subway goes there, it's easy!!!

Down into the subway

Retiro
Walking from the subte
to the Omnibus Terminal

We walked home from the terminal for our Sunday Stroll, stopping at the Sheraton Buenos Aires Hotel & Convention Center for the air conditioning and refreshment. As always, a nice place for a break.

A rest from the humid heat
at the Sheraton

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Next week - Montevideo.

Week 7 in Baires...

Jacarandas in Bloom



We are getting into a rut.  Sunday walks, Monday blog and writing/revising, laundry, groceries, Tuesday other errands and writing/revising, Wednesday, Thursday the same, Friday we clean up for evening Tango lesson, Saturday figure out where we want to do our Sunday walk...

Av 9 de Julio

At the end of last week's walk, I noticed lavendar petals on the walk ways, but didn't really bother to look up because I was tired and achy from what John calls "the forced march" to places of BA that we know not where beacuase we were soooo lost (we actually do, but that was after the fact.)  On our errands during the week, I notice the petals again, but look up and realize the Jacaranda are in bloom - it's fragrance softens the warm, humid air and adds a lovely ambiance to the busy, frantic pace of Av. 9 de Julio and Av. Lavalle. 

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My big purchase...

TANGO Shoes!!!



My best Tango pose

Since starting our Tango lessons, my flats just were just not adequate for my advancement in technique, so on one of our forays I search for a Tango shoe store near the Obelisco.  My feet are short and wide, difficult to fit, especially shoes with high heels.  The store owner was very helpful, spoke English and found a couple of shoes that fit me well, so I allowed John to buy me these conservative and comfortable Tango shoes.  I must say, I did pretty well in these dancing shoes and felt very Tanguera.












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This Sunday, we try again to walk to San Telmo to see the Feria de San Telmo.  This time I take a map, so I will know if we are lost...
The Feria is quite something - far larger than we expected and the quality of product was impressive.  Centered in the Plaza Dorrego, the feria extends out on Av. Defensa for blocks. 

Feria de San Telmo
Av Defensa

Antiques, memorabilia and specialty leather items are in the Plaza and vendors with quality goods and art are laid out on the street. Shops around the plaza and along Av Defensa have more clothing, shoes and antiques. Cafes are located around the plaza and along the street with Tango demonstrations in between cafe tables and street vendors. 

Antiques

Gaucho Goodies

Antique Store

Tango in the Street

Street Cafes Abound

On our way back home we stopped at a Tapas bar - Rosa de los Vientos - for tapas and beer...

Tapas and Cerveza
Rosa de los Viento

Good food, good beer and good service, can't ask for anything better than that!

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A Room with a View

So ends another week in an interesting and surprising Buenos Aires...



In Baires for 6 Weeks

A Fake 100 Peso Bill...???

We've been here over a month now and are enjoying the time here, but it seems much harder to get things done than in Montreal. We find ourselves tired and weary at the end of the day. We walk (mostly) or taxi everywhere because we can't figure out how to use the buses and the subway (we've no one to explain it to us in English and they speak so fast and with an accent that sounds more Portuguese than Spanish so I can barely keep up at the grocery store at the checkout counter). Counterfeit money is everywhere so you have to be careful that you don't get fake money in change - sometimes you'll get fake money from the ATMs!



Learning how to play Chess
with Quilmes Stout on the side


It helps that we are in a nice apartment - some days, it's nice just to stay in the apartment and read, cook in the tiny kitchen and do laundry - drying the clothes on lines I've put up in the laundry room. Practicing Tango on the beautiful wooden floors is lovely. I'm even learning to play chess so we can stay in and enjoy each other's company in the tiled patio with the awning up.
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Our latest "project" has been to see about taking a Grimaldi Freighter Cruise from here to France for the next leg of our "Big Adventure." Of course, this has become quite an exhausting project - with our limited Spanish we have come to a lot of road blocks, in that, the address and phone on the website was wrong/old. We went to the address after trying to call the "no longer in service" number - the doorman didn't speak any English and we didn't speak enough Spanish to be able to find out if he knew where the agency moved, etc.  Someone who spoke English gave us an address to go to, but the address wasn't there.  Back to home, I went online again and looked up the agency (not the freighter line), got a current phone number and called.  No, they no longer handled Grimaldi Freight Lines - Grimaldi has it's own office here in Buenos Aires - I got the phone number and address. I called and the person in charge of passengers was out to lunch, "call back in an hour."  After another call, John took over and talked to Martin, the passenger agent, and made an appointment to talk with him to find out what we need to do to make reservations. 

What we need to take this trip:
1. Transfer the fees to Grimaldi's bank account - credit cards are not accepted - problem here is that John needs a verbal password to make the transfer and so John had to find a notory to send a letter with the verbal password to the bank in the USA.
2. We need yellow fever shots - we went to a clinic which told us to go somewhere else
3. We need special insurance for medical emergency on the frieghter - a simple  international long distance call to our insurance agent in the US
4. We need to be prepared for the date we want to be cancelled at the last minute
5. We need a health certificate from our doctor saying we are healthy - another simple call to our doctor's wife in Monterey who may or may not understand what we need
6. Other things I'm not sure I want to think or talk about right now
I'm exhausted just thinking about preparing for this month long "cruise" that will take us up the east coast of So. American (mostly Brazil), across the Atlantic to the African Ivory Coast then to Northern Germany and down the western european coast to La Havre, France where we will disembark. 
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With all that information gathering, this week seemed to take most of any energy we had to find something new to do.  But I perservered and found that the Feria de San Telmo where we could find wonderful antiques, jewelry, clothing and Tango in the streets was only 1.6 mile walk away from our apartment.  I mapquested the walk which was a straight shot out Urugauy (our street) and take a left on Estados Unidos or Defensa.  Simple, yes? 
I'm not sure what happened, but we started out and somehow missed the left turn and got terribly lost.  We found the train station....

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Walking towards Al Centro

and then went on in the direction I thought San Telmo was... (I am the worst - I always think I know where I am and where I'm going so don't like to ask for directions, especially when I don't understand most of the directions that are given to me in Argentine Spanish.)
Not sure where we ended up, but after walking for 2 plus hours, John saw a sign in the street that said "Al Centro".  We followed that sign, found ourselves eventually on Belgrano (a main street we know) and when things got familiar looking we turned left and voila! we were in our neighborhood. 

The Congreso...
almost home



Tenderloin Medallion
with quinoa and veggies

After getting home, resting our feet, watching the Steelers beat the Bengals, refreshing ourselves with peanuts and beer,  John decides to take me out for dinner to a place where we can decompress, i.e., order familiar food, order in English, be able to order drinks and dessert.  We go to the Sheraton Libertador for refreshment and relaxation. 

Hamburguesa con queso y pancheta
(John's heart attack waiting to happen)

We get home well fed, relaxed and revived for the coming week.

It's Week 5 in Baires - Already???

Av 9 de Julio
on the way to the Central Post Office

This week started out badly, or at least frustrating...
On the weekend, a neighbor brought us a package pickup slip from the Post Office (Correro).  After a trip to the nearest Correro, John was told to go to the Central Post Office to pick up the package.
So begins the Correro adventure on Monday...

We start by going to the bank for the week’s cash.  Taxi to the Central Post Office (Correo) to pick up the package from Gladys.  Took a number, waited for an hour to find out that we need MY passport, not John’s to pick up package (the name on the pick-up slip was Dr. Susie Berteauy) – we taxi’ed back for my passport, ate lunch, John tried to take care of some banking business via the internet and then we taxi’ed back to the Correo to wait another hour until our number came up – filled out form and then had to wait until the package was found – waited another 1.5 hour for our package number to show up.  Luckily we took our Kindles both times so we had something to do while waiting.  We walked back home through town with our package.  It took all day – we left in the morning at 10:00 and didn’t get home with package until 4:30 pm. Not sure we want any packages sent to us now - this pickup thing is not very condusive to happiness.

(There are no pictures - too depressing.  The wait at the correro and the walk home was loooooong.)

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HIGHLIGHT of the Week- TANGO

There's a Tango Studio just a few blocks away from our apartment - Cultura Tanguera

During the week, we check it out and watch a lesson then let them know we will be back on Friday evening for our first lesson.

Cafe Iberia

It's such a beautiful evening, we walk to Cafe Iberia for drinks.

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Cultura Tanguera

On Friday evening we are back at the studio.  We are greeted by Jorge Avila, the owner/host.  We are in for a special treat - it's the first night "Gloria and Eduardo" are going to be teaching. 

Gloria and Eduardo Arquimbau

This couple is one of the notables of Tango who toured in the 60's and 70's demonstrating Argentine Tango to the world.  Gloria and Eduardo are wonderful instructors, they took us all through basic steps to more complicated for the "intermediate and advanced." There were people of all stages of Tango there and they were all very gracious and patient with us first timers (John and me). 

The entry where the Tango shoes
and clothing are for sale



Art and atmosphere surround the dance floor





For a better look at this place check out this video of the opening:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN2UHrIeQz8&feature=related

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I finally finished a piece that I started in Montreal

Equisetum 尾
(Horsetail Reed)

Here are some proofs for a new piece...

Not sure what I'm going to do with all these little pieces,
something good, I hope...

That's it for this week!