La Vida en Buenos Aires

Self Portrait #420 - Balcony in BA
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Our flight left the Caracas airport with only a slight delay on the tarmac. We were in for a six & a half hour flight - the longest either one of us had ever been on. The flight had changed several times before we even left the US due to the airline having been taken over by the Argentine government, so we were not sure what to expect. One thing is for sure, our vision of an excellent Argentine beef meal and a flowing river of vino tinto on the long flight to BA was soon to be shadowed by reality. Shortly after departure, we were given a muffin and a choice of Coke, Sprite, aqua or cafe. Hola? Donde esta los cocktails? This is a six & a half hour flight after all. We read, chatted and watched a movie (a modern Horton Hears a Who which would have Suess turning over in his grave) and were prompted to wonder where dinner was by the ravenous rumblings of our stomachs.

At the Plaza San Martin
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About this time, I was made nervous by the seemingly unusual amount of turbulence we were experiencing. This nervousness was heightened by Todd showing me the lightening outside that was way too near for my comfort. Eyes shut. Hands grasp the arm rests. Mantra to self: Everything is going to be okay. And of course it was. The pilot had to fly around the storm which added an additional half hour or so to our flight and delayed our meal by at least an hour. A far cry from the steak dinner vision, we hungrily consumed our food and settled in for film number two.

Another Irish Pub
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We arrived at the Buenos Aires airport close to midnight, moved pretty quickly through immigration and customs, retrieved our bags and headed for the arrival lobby to book a Remis (private taxi) to our apartment in Recoleta. Even at night, we could get a sense of how large the city is. The Remis dropped us at the corner of Pena y Uriburu and we buzzed Refah. He came down to let us in to the building, took us upstairs and gave us keys and a brief tour of the place. He is kind, genuine and speaks fluent English. Gooooooal! The apartment is awesome. It is on the ninth floor (tenth in America) and has an almost 300sf balcony that is completely open to the night sky (many of the others are topped by the balcony above). We unpack, settle in and fall asleep despite our restless anticipation of beginning to explore the city.

Quilmes Grande
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Our first week in Buenos Aires has been amazing. The city is absolutely enormous and yet still extremely pedestrian friendly. We have walked for blocks and blocks and encountered only a few of the many neighborhoods. Recoleta is one of the wealthiest areas of the city and home to many swank restaurants, bars and shops, but there is still a welcoming, homey feel about the place. We have only to walk a few blocks to find the lavanderia, super mercado and a plethora of eateries and wine shops (did I mention that we are in wine heaven?!). Given the neighborhood's status, we can still have an incredible multicourse meal, vino and aqua de mineral con gas for less than forty bucks (on the high end). We have immensely enjoyed just wandering aimlessly around the city.

L'Iguane Cafe
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During our first weekend, BA hosted an International Guitar Festival and we made it out one evening for a local trio of guitarristas de Argentina y Uruguay and an eclectic musician from Japan. It was a small, intimate setting and I was amazed at how silent and respectful the audience was. That Sunday, we ventured up to San Telmo via el Subte por el Mercado del Plaza Durrego, an infamous artist/craft faire. The market centers around the Plaza, but an adjoining street is closed to vehicular traffic and the vendors and artists spill over for eight to ten blocks of paintings, antiques, hand made goods, street performers and a wealth of souvenirs. There is a more bohemian air to San Telmo and it's free spirit soars: drummers, dreadlocks, hippie skirts, costumes, tango dancers, lovely! It is like an Argentine Eeyore's. :)

Nappy time near the statue
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Todd bought some vinyl, I found an India-inspired long sleeved shirt (as our predominantly Caribbean packed suitcases do not serve us well in the chilly onset of Spring in BA) and we selected a few gifts to add to the package we will send home before departing for Bariloche. After all of the walking and shopping, we appeased our hunger with a few empanadas con mozzarella, tomate y albahaca (basil) from a small cafe in the indoor market area. We took them to go as Todd had earlier spotted a couple of sidewalk tables outside that he wanted to sit at. I picked out a bottle of wine from the shop owner who popped the cork and brought it to us with a couple of glasses. We joined a handful of older men at the tables that already had several litres de cerveza y un otro botello de vino underway. Enter Silvio.

Seltzer fantasia
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The oldest of the men welcomed us to the table, held up his glass in a toast to our empanadas and our vino. Provecho! Salud! He proceeded to engage us in conversation completely in Spanish and I held up surprisingly well. He made friendly jokes about Todd's lack of espanol and we chatted about where we were from, how much we like wine and what our impressions were of Buenos Aires. Silvio was well into his own bottle of wine, mind you. There was much Salud!-ing going on and Silvio insisted on pouring a splash of his wine in to our glasses (much to my chagrin as I am a wine purist). Salud! As the wine flowed, so did my spanish speaking and comprehensive abilities. I dazzled a lushy Todd with my mad skillz. :) As we were downing the last of our bottle, Silvio gets up and goes into the shop. In the glow of our wine buzz, we decide it best to find a taxi back to the apartment. I go in to hand the shop owner a few more pesos for use of the table and glasses, but am held at bay by both he & Silvio, who is buying us another bottle of the wine we had been drinking. Mercy. Not wanting to insult the kind gentleman, we once again take our seats, pour a glass of wine and Salud! At this point, the Chilean friend of Silvio's that had been sitting at the other table joins us in conversation. I tell him we are traveling to Chile in November and he begins to make me dizzy with his descriptions of Santiago, Valparaiso y Vina del Mar. I am understanding about half of what he says, but with the combination of gestures and facial expressions, the conversation is pretty fluid. I think Silvio is a little hurt that I am now talking more with the Chilean man. Oy vey. Todd and I share one of his Marlboro Reds and about that time Silvio gets up from the table. Not an alarming movement of it's own accord, however, he begins to stumble towards the shop and his Chilean friend jumps up to assist him. Apparently he was trying to find the bathroom (which I assume he knows very well as he is definitely a regular at this idyllic sidewalk spot) and decided the wall would do just fine. Did we perpetuate Silvio's drunkenness? I am guessing not, but feel a little bad nonetheless. Silvio was escorted to the bathroom, but did not seem to manage as his pants leg was wet when he returned to the table. If I remember correctly (things tend to get fuzzy after this much wine), Silvio sat back down for only a few moments and then stumbled off in the direction of his apartment. Pauvre Silvio. The shop owner comes out to talk to the Chilean about Silvio and they have a brief disagreement about whether or not he headed off in the right direction to his apartment. After determining that he would make it home okay, they both join us at the table and all seems well. We finish off our wine and continue conversing with the two men. The shop owner asks where we are from. I tell him we are Americans from Texas and, in what will be one of the most memorable moments of our trip, he tells me that he would not have thought so because Americans are usually cold. In an initial moment of misunderstanding, I proceed to tell him that Austin no es muy frio pero Dallas, en el norte de Tejas, puede estar frio en invierno. Then he ponders my response and tells me that he meant the People of America are cold and we are different from that. I blush, thank him and feel a warmth in my heart on that chilly October night. Bienvenidos a Argentina.

San Telmo street fair
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After sleeping off our wine-aches from the night before, we have some toast and coffee in the apartment before heading out for a leisurely afternoon in Recoleta. We decide to visit the Cemetaria de Recoleta which is only a few blocks from the apartment and which every guide book, website and person has mentioned we should see. It houses such icons as Eva Peron (Evita) and many revolutionaries and politicans de Buenos Aires. It is a maze of mausoleums and the air is thick with history (and pollution - more on that later). We have a late afternoon lunch/dinner at a lovely little Chilean restaurant, wander the area a bit more and opt for a quiet night in.

Open air tour bus
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Yesterday, we headed back towards San Telmo to end up at a music showcase of the LAMC (Latin Alternative Music Conference). On the way, we had pizza at Filo (which had been recommended by many). The waitress spoke English, but asked if we wanted to practice our Spanish. Claro que si! The pizza was perfectly thin crusted, lightly sauced and topped with fresh spinach, pancetta (bacon in Argentina) and shaved parmesan. Accompanied by an Argentine Strong Red Ale (Otromundo), a nice Malbec and followed by a decadent italian dessert with Pistachio ice cream, it was yet another great meal in Buenos Aires. Afterwards we strolled along the Puerto Madero admiring the sailing vessels and interesting architecture and eventually ending up at La Trastienda, the venue for the show. There were three bands set to perform beginning at 8pm. We bought our tickets and wandered around a few blocks shopping for a jacket for Todd as the night grew colder. With Todd bundled up, we headed back to the place for un cerveza y un cafe con leche before the show. The venue was small, but had a decent size stage, tables and chairs for the audience and an upstairs area with couches. As the first band started, Todd went to the bar for a beer and came back with two - for free! Everything was in cans, but sodas and Quilmes (the Argentine Budweiser) were given away during the entire show. Needless to say, free Quilmes goes down a lot more quickly. The first band was pretty standard alternative/indie fare with a cute female bass player and uninspired vocals. The second band was definitely more interesting and had sort of an ethereal, jazzy vibe going on. And finally, Udi took the stage in all of their Argentine, rasta-groovin' glory. Tepid, Warmer, Hot! Todd could not keep his intoxicated ass in the seat and had to get up and shake it (free Quilmes also loosens inhibitions). Udi had the whole place funkified and on our feet dancing. What a fabulous ending to the night and to our first week in Buenos Aires!