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2007-07-08T14:53:00.002-07:00

Sob.

Marco is packing. I am sniffling morosely into the keyboard.

We leave tonight at midnight (or possibly tomorrow morning 2am, who knows. We're flying Aerolineas Argentinas, after all...)

our last stroll along Defensa for the Sunday San Telmo Feria

sob

one last lunch of chorizo, morcilla, provalone, rinones, bife de lomo, bife de chorizo and ensalada at the local parilla, Desnivel

sob

one last cd purchase from a street Orquestra Tipica

sob

hasta luego

sob

chao chao

Today's wonderings

2007-07-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

you absolutely must have an icecream sundae at El Vesuvio

delivery bicycles are absolutely everywhere

arquitect alert: most edificios in Baires proudly display the names of the architect, builder, and sometimes the engineer

but not this one.

Can anyone tell me what the symbol of the two arms holding a stick with a red beanie on it means? it's absolutely everywhere

in the Cathedral

on the waterworks building

at the Plaza Asturia restaurant

Reasons to love San Telmo, Part Two.

2007-07-07T16:18:00.000-07:00

There used to be trams here. They left these tracks here, just in case.

you can go antique shopping at night

or pick up some fresh fruit and veg

or bread and deli goods at the Mercado

maybe some feral pasta?

Things you absolutely can't photograph

2007-07-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Tango classes.

Gabriel and Julietta from Tangocool are my absolutely favourite teachers.
Sometimes Gabriel looks alarmingly like Mr Bean.

Absolutely everyone must go to one Wednesday afternoon class with Eduardo Saucedo at Confiteria Ideal. Sadly he has upgraded his hairdo from magnificent mullet to something more sedate, but three hours of his muy effervescent high camp passion is a must. And Ideal is divine.

Mosquitos. I think I've donated about a litre of blood to these little portenas...I feel faint...quick, pass me a medialuna slathered with dulce de leche...

Milongas.

Absolutely everyone must go to one matinee (afternoon) milonga, or viejoteca as Marco and I call them. It's nice to know there will still be somewhere to go out to when you're 90.

Smells.
In rare moments, in the mornings, the diesel fumes lift and the delicious scent of woodsmoke from parillas (charcoal grills) firing up for the day mingle with the sugary doughy perfume of baking medialunas (pastelerias/confiterias bake all day).

Noise.
Consistent and insistent.

Linaea A

The first subte line (underground train) still runs the original timber trains. It feels like being inside a live animal as they stretch and flex organically as they rattle along.

Poverty.
It's still a really really really tough life for many here.

Shopping

2007-07-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

Today we went shoe shopping.

Jill, here are your shoes

Jo, these are your shoes

of course Marco already bought some

here are mine

moo.

Exclusive - Argentinians in High Places

2007-07-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Porteno Oddservations

2007-07-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

you can buy almost anything on subte (underground train) platforms

primary school children are dressed like hospital interns

Portenos like:

talking

eating

reading.

La Boca

2007-07-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

The Sovereign Hill of Baires.

Absolutely all tourists must visit the old port barrio of La Boca, so that the kindly and helpful portenos can relive foreigners of large and burdensome amounts of cash.
We made our ritual donation today.
Before diving in to Boca proper, we visited the Museo de Bellas Artes.
This is the view of the port from the magical roof sculpture garden

you can get a pretty good view of the barrio

they have a collection of bowsprits inside the Museo

I liked them very much.

Caminito is why everyone goes to La Boca

a bit like looking at the paint chart in Bunnings, really.

How to drink a submarino

2007-07-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

1. Your waiter brings you a glass of frothy hot milk,
a special submarino chocolate bar,
a spoon,
and sugar.

2. Tear open the wrapper,
DO NOT EAT THE CHOCOLATE.
Drop it into the glass of hot milk.

3. Stir the chocolate as it melts

4. until properly combined.

You can add sugar if you want, but I never do.

5. Enter a state of grace.

Contingent Baires

2007-07-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

sometimes you just look up and get a view like this:

there are some fabulous hairdos in Baires

you can buy almost anything in this spectacular shopping arcade on Florida

even a rifle.

some of the graffitti is muy romantico

some is just plain fascinating.

We danced for 3 hours today at the Ideal, honest.

2007-07-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Museo de la Ciudad (City Museum).
It has a temporary exhibition of kitsch, and a permanent exhibition of toys.
This partly completed build-it-yourself dollshouse was there

much of the rest of Baires is under construction too (these public works notices are everywhere)

or it's for sale

but the Confiteria Ideal is still open and operating as usual.
Here Marco assumes an appropriate expression of refined and elegant suffering...

...exactly the kind of suffering caused by having to pause mid serious panqueque consumption for a photo.

Cerrado. Termino. Enfermo.

2007-07-02T17:10:00.000-07:00

Last night we tried to go to a tango/feldenkrais class at La Catedral.
We arrived 10 minutes late (perfectly ok in Baires, portenos don't know the meaning of punctual) but the door was locked and we couldn't get in.
Then we tried to go to a milonga in San Telmo, but my information was old and the milonga hadn't been running for years.

This morning we tried to go on a tour of the Palacio Barolo

to get there we had to cross the 18 lane Avenida 9 De Julio

the pedestrian lights tell you how many seconds you have left to cross the road

Palacio Barolo is famous for having been designed according to Dante's Divine Comedia

but the guide was unwell so there were no tours

we drowned our sorrows in cake at the cafe.

Getting around town....

2007-07-02T16:49:00.000-07:00

Buses go absolutely everywhere in Baires

you need to use the Guia

just find where you want to go on the map on the right
street numbers in round hundreds are listed on the map
because streets are kilometers long
and have thousands of buildings
and in the corresponding grid on the left are the bus route numbers

because (almost) all the streets are one way, for each route the journey out (ida) and return (vuelta) is slightly different, so you need to check the details in the back

simple.

often it's easier to catch a taxi
they're cheap and plentiful

Reasons to love San Telmo, part one

2007-07-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Dorrego Bar is just up the street

it's seriously good.

On Sundays, grungy funky young tango Orquestra Tipicas busk in the streets

La Furca

El Afronte

we bought both their cds.

Our Place

2007-06-30T14:09:00.001-07:00

I love love love our San Telmo apartment

There's an almacen (grocery store)
right on the ground floor

This is the street door

you have to get the cage elevator to the second floor

then you unlock this door

walk past these bikes

up the step here

down again and across this bridge

along a bit further to the front door

under the chandelier and to the left again

and inside!

Those stairs behind Marco lead up to the bedroom.

In the bedroom you can see this
through a yellow glassbrick window

it's the abandoned orphanage in the street behind

Tips

2007-06-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

!! we didn't find this store in Bariloche....

Ahhh it's great to be back in Baires. We're staying in San Telmo, my favourite barrio.
Our first night back, Argentina played Estados Unidos in the Copa Americana, and won 4-1.
We watched the match in this cosy bar

and (squeal) here are my fabulous handmade new zapatos de tango

Some important things to know when in Baires:

ALWAYS carry plenty of cambio (small change)

used toilet paper does not go here

it goes here

Absolutely all the streets are one-way

except the ones which aren't

Bariloche

2007-06-29T11:36:00.000-07:00

Patanuk Guest House is right on the shore in Bariloche

they also have very friendly dogs

What to do with only one day in Bariloche?

Lunch, of course....

(smoked deer, smoked cheese, smoked boar, smoked etc)

and afternoon tea and chocolate

it's safest to go chocolate shopping when
you just couldn't eat another morsel

we sat for a while in the cathedral

and then hung out at the local skating rink
(it's right over the water)

our hosts at Patanuk recommended Kandahar as a great place for dinner

it was delightful.

Next morning, the flight back to Baires with Aerolineas Argentinas....
We are becoming experts at waiting

Moving on...

2007-06-29T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today we left Marina's at Villa La Angostura.

Marco loves South american cable tv

there's 100 channels and always a futbol match on

I will miss the bath

We went to Bariloche by bus

Whoooa! It's slippery on the ice...

2007-06-26T13:15:00.000-07:00

Today we walked to Puerto Manzano

I am learning how to walk on the ice

Marco finds it perfectly easy.

luckily, Puerto Manzano is much closer than Villa La Angostura

and very pretty.

There are packs of friendly dogs roaming the roads

they like Marco best

Isn't this the most darling little bus stop?

Winter wonderland

2007-06-26T06:45:00.001-07:00

It was misty this morning.

We walked into town

it's a long way (about 10 km)

so we were hungry when we arrived at Villa La Angostura

very hungry....

very, very hungry....

The good folk at Villa La Angostura are very artistic. There are many wood sculptures

and even some made from snow.

Southward bound, Ho!

2007-06-25T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you need to take a holiday from your holiday.
We went from this

to this.

It was a long trip
on a plane
PA "Senores y Senyoras, this is your Captain speaking. We apologise for the delay. We should be taking off within the next 10 minutes."
etc
etc

and then a couple of buses, and finally a taxi.
This is the view from the Bariloche bus stop

and the mandatory shrine to Our Lady of Something-or-other inside.

So 8 hours after we left our cosy little Baires nest, we arrived at Marinas, just outside Villa La Angostura.
This is the view from our bedroom

It's not all medialunas and dulce de leche, you know...

2007-06-23T17:58:00.000-07:00

Alright, so it's mostly medialunas

We tried the national snack, empanadas, for lunch today

I liked the choclo (corn) ones best.
They were recommended by folk at the Grupo De Ingles, an English Conversation group in Baires. They also explained the plethora of flags - apparently June 21 is the flag's anniversary.

Which still doesn't explain the obsession with potplants. These are inside a tomb in Recoleta...

We leave our apartment today for a short trip to the snow. This is the building we've been staying in:

oddly enough this is not the swanky part of town.

This is.

Other significant Recoleta constructions

2007-06-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

The magnificent, unfinished, crumbling Facultad de Ingenieria (Engineering Faculty - not sure which university). Guidebooks tell us the building was originally intended for the Law Faculty, but was never completed. Evidently engineers are not so fussy about appearances...or maybe they're more romantic than the stereotype suggests?

The spectacular, no doubt soon to be crumbling National Library

The tourist must-see gigantic mechanical flower sculpture which guidebooks also tell us shuts its petals at night. Ooo-er.

And the little known, ephemeral, but equally profound performance art installation: Torre de Helado, Av Callao, Recoleta, 2007.

Rest in what? Sorry, I can't hear you...

2007-06-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

Last night, around midnight local time, Boca beat some Brazilian futbol team and won a cup.

Baires went nuts, Boca fans stormed the Obelisco, and horn tootin', flag wavin', fan-filled cars zoomed around the city until well after 3 in the the morning.

This morning it was sunny, so we returned to Recoleta Cemetary to rest our ears

and take photos

it's muy dramatico

even the resident cats assume tragic poses

Rainy Recoleta

2007-06-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today we walked to Recoleta, planning to take photos in the cemetary, but it rained so we had sushi here instead.

We saw this removal van on the way.

Portenos are very patriotic

Even their umbrellas are in Argentine colours.

A theory to test

2007-06-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

The more potplants and flags, the better a Baires confiteria or restaurant is.

Our favourite steakhouse, El Establo

(No steak pix. Yet...)

Yesterday's breakfast

which we had just around the corner

And today's lunch, the famed panqueques de dulce de leche

eaten just around the other corner, here at Medio y Medio

I saw this dogwalker at work out of the window at Medio's

Serious research

2007-06-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

It took four days just to choose where to go dancing

including snack breaks for facturas (pastries)

I don't think they dance Tango here, but maybe they have Feldenkrais classes?

And I don't think I'll be buying any jewellery from this shop.

Baires Toorak

2007-06-18T04:40:00.000-07:00

Portenos know how to spend money on infrastructure. An attitude Melbourne could benefit by adopting?
This was the Baires waterworks building. No, not administration offices. Inside are huge, empty tanks.

Breakfast in Baires is the same, no matter which barrio.

And everyone wears fur in winter. Even to breakfast in barrio Palermo.

Today was sunny and Dia del Papa - "Day of the Potato" aka Father's Day so the parks were full of strolling families.

Lag

2007-06-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

In Baires, you can eat cake any time.

3.30 am, Puerto Madero (Baires docklands)

Grafitti here is still pretty confronting.

And bilingual.

But they could do with some help in English spelling?

Route 67

2007-06-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

This bus route takes you from Nunez to close to Congreso. Even at 3.30am. If you know how to find the paradas (stops).

Obviously advance reports of my arrival reached the locals.

You get much better exchange rates if you cambio dolares with shady looking characters in dark niches off Florida.

Today's breakfast....
Is this the best bookshop in the whole wide world?

Primero Desayuno

2007-06-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Guess what? It's COLDER in Ba As than Melbourne.

Local time: 6.30am
Bodyclock time: whatthe$*#@ am.
Solution: desayuno (breakfast).

Guess what else? Cake/chocolate shops open EARLY in Bs As.

Or maybe they never close?

New Zealand

2007-06-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

PA "Senores y Senoras, this is your Captain speaking. Our take-off from Sydney has been a little delyed because of the weather, but we are sixth in line and should be taking off in about 15 minutes."
Cue heavier rain.
30 minutes later.
PA "Senores y Senoras, this is your Captain speaking. Thank you for your patience. Sorry but it seems our delay is longer than I expected. There are planes landing as well in between takeoffs, but we are next in line."
20 minutes later.
PA "Senores y Senoras, this is your Captain speaking. Thank you for your patience etc etc...."

3 hours later....

The Kiwis are doing everything they can to assist water conservation in Australia. Absolutely no liquids, not even gooey or slightly damp substances are permitted through security in Auckland. Or permitted to be left on the plane during transit. Presumably my mascara and lipstick carefully stowed on the Captain's advice has been returned to the land of OZ and recycled into drinking water.

But they do allow you to drink H2O for free in the airport...

Areolineas Argentinas don't believe in unecessary frills like movies or operational seats or functioning cabin lighting. It's only 10 hours flying time to Buenos Aires.

Mi Buenos Aires querido......zzzzz

Australia

2007-06-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

PA "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We will be taking off soon, but first we have to remove the ice which has formed on the wings. This should take about 15 - 20 minutes."
15 minutes later.
PA "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We're still waiting for the de-icing truck. It's just finishing off another plane, we expect it soon."
20 minutes later.
PA "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Thank you for your patience. Just to update you, there is only one de-icing truck at Tullamarine. We are first on the list. We cannot leave without the wings being de-iced first, for safety resons. Cabin crew will advise you regarding connecting flights, but I anticipate we'll be de-icing in about 20 minutes."
20 minutes later.
PA "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. Just to update you, the de-icing truck is on the way. You cannot change to another flight, we will be the first flight out of Tullamarine this morning. Some additional passengers are joining us, and we expect to be taking off in about half an hour."
20 minutes later.
PA "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. The de-icing truck has arrived, and we will be taking off in 20 minutes."
1 hour and 20 minutes later.....

Sydney Airport, 30 minutes before scheduled Aerolineas Argentinas takeoff. Bless Sydney train conductors for waiting for sprintingluggagehefting passengers exactly the way Melbourne tram drivers don't.

Checkin Counter "Miss the flight? Not likely. The plane is still in New Zealand, delayed by bad weather. The flight's been delayed by four hours...."

There's not much to do at Sydney Airport except shop

I bought a camera

We used the food voucher from Aerolineas at wagamama