Living the life...

I had the great pleasure of hosting first, my cousin, Elizabeth and then my friends from Fordham, Katie and Mary. So if Elizabeth took to the cuisine at lightning speed, then Katie and Mary took to the laid back lifestyle of long lunches at cafés like Argentine pros.

Mary arrived without any problems; she went up to the taxi stand inside the airport and arrived a half hour later with a discount return trip. Katie, on the other hand, made the mistake of going to the taxi stand outside the airport and she was charged an arm and a leg and had to step out of the vehicle while the taxista put gas in the car. We’re still a little unsure as to why she had to exit the car, but in true Katie Carroll style, she was ready to jump and hang on to the roof of the taxi in order to keep her luggage, if need be.

The first order of business was lunch and the girls quickly realized how quickly 3 hours can fly by in Argentina. After lunch, we took in some highlights: the Recoleta Cemetery, including Eva Perón’s mausoleum , the Floralis, and Avenida Alvear where you can see all the beautiful French inspired architecture and also some old mansions, where high society once lived. Then the day ended with a nice long dinner accompanied by wine.

Basically, we followed this routine for the rest of the week. Wake up at a leisurely hour (even Katie slept past 7:30am), ate breakfast, took in some sights, enjoyed a long lunch, took in some more sights/shopped, had a merienda, relaxed until dinner, went to dinner, repeat.

A few distractions and honorable mentions from the normal routine…

Mary learned to always keep your bag on your lap. While we were enjoying a nice lunch at an outdoor café someone pulled up a chair behind Mary. I noticed that the person she was walking with continued on so I thought that was strange, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Finally, I saw the strap of Mary’s bag moving and I very calmly said to Mary “grab your bag,” Mary looked at me quizzically and I said again “grab your bag” and finally I was able to blurt out, “she’s taking your bag.” And just as Mary grabbed her bag the waitress flew out of the restaurant to see if we had all our things. Apparently, these people were working a scam, but they obviously have some kinks to work out, since we got keen to them pretty quickly.

After days of ogling boots in the shop next to my apartment Mary dragged Katie for some shopping. Three hours later they were back: Katie with four leather bags in hand and Mary in need of some translation assistance for her boot purchase. While Mary tried on her boots again, Katie managed to find two pairs for herself. I have to admit you cannot find better leather products anywhere else.

On Friday, a guy I went to high school with was in town with a friend, so we rented bikes in San Telmo and rode out to the Reserva and Puerto Madero. We lunched on the costanera and had choripan and bondiola sandwiches—the bondiola was DELICIOUS! I used to always only get the choripan from the outside parrillas, but my teacher recommended the bondiola and it was super good. I will never go back to the choripan again. Goodbye, old friend.

We also found time to take in an 11pm Tango lesson at La Viruta. I got to dance with a 16 year old (and I am being generous, when I say he was 16) and the girls cut the rug with other locals. We went for a nice dinner after the lesson, at Lo de Jesus. I’d never been there, but we all really liked it and agreed it was the best dinner of the week.

Another great find, were the picadas. I thought this word existed in English, so every time my Argentine friends served a picada and asked for the translation I always said that I think that we say the same thing. For the record, we don’t. Anyway, a picada is basically the spread before the meal: cold cuts, hard salamis, cheeses, and sometimes tortillas and empanadas. We had a few of these as late leisurely lunches and were pleasantly surprised!

I am in the home stretch. It was great getting visitors the month before my homecoming; the visits really made me realize how long a year is and how much I really miss my friends and family. When I collect my thoughts on this past year I will write my final post, although at this point, I think it’s only my mother, when reminded, who is reading the blog. This became apparently clear when I asked Katie and Mary to write a post and they both said in unison “you have a blog…oh yeah.”

Guest Blogger: Elizabeth's Five Favorite Things about BA

Alimentos y bebidas

As previously mentioned, the ubiquitous and delicious Argentinean beef and plentiful, cheap red wine are a given favorite for any visitor. But here are a few of my other favorite food discoveries:

• Potatoes: I was amazed at how many different ways Argentinians can fry potatoes: classic thin-cut French fries, waffle-style fries, and, my personal favorite, tortilla de papas – a pancake-like concoction of potatoes, eggs and cheese. I thoroughly enjoyed Don Julio’s version.

• Ice cream: The gelato-style ice cream or “helado” served in BA can be found all over the city and comes in a delectable array of colors and flavors. On a visit to Un Altra Volta in Recoleta, Caitlin sampled the passion fruit helado, which had a goldenrod hue and actually tasted like real fruit, as opposed to a laboratory approximation. I opted for a scoop of dulce de leche on top of a scoop of “banana split” (pictured below). It was rich and sweet, but not sickeningly so. Later, after lunch at Cafe Rivas in San Telmo, I tried the “crema americana,” a popular pick best translated as “vanilla,” but that doesn’t quite capture the flavor.


• Eggs and olives: Eggs and olives are two of my favorite foods. I eat an egg for breakfast every morning, and I sneak olives into pizza, pasta and salads whenever I can. In BA, it was a rare meal that did not incorporate one or, even better, both. At Cumana, I was delighted to discover green olives in my empanada and, at Pizzeria Guerrin, there were hard-boiled eggs in my empanada. At La Cholita, the fries came topped with a fried egg! The cold buffet at Rodizio, a Brazilian-style steakhouse, contained not one but two types of deviled eggs, as well as several egg salads and mini boiled eggs. A local market even offered a turkey loaf stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and pickled carrots (pictured below).


• Dulce de leche: I tried this flavor in yogurt, ice cream, candy, cookies, and a waffle, and I was never disappointed. Pictured below is a dulce de leche waffle filled with chocolate from WaflesSur in San Telmo. Back in Buffalo, I continue to enjoy my supply of alfajores—shortbread cookies filled with dulce de leche and sometimes covered in chocolate. These treats are found in pretty much any café or market, and taste best paired with a nice café con leche or cortado (coffee with a little milk).

Museo Evita

I’ve known all the words to “Don’t Cry for me Argentina” since my childhood sing-alongs to Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Masterpiece Collection” CD, but I knew surprisingly little about Eva Perón before trekking to her homeland. Her museum is housed in a former shelter for low-income women and children in Palermo, created in 1948 by the Eva Perón Foundation. In Perón’s words, “The poor are not cared for out of mercy or commiseration, but because they are also Argentine citizens who find themselves in despair, and who are as much worthy of attention as the rest of the citizenry” (Eva Perón, 1949). These days, the museum houses photographs, writings, and, of course, some of Evita’s dresses (pictured below). Among other causes, Eva Perón championed women’s suffrage (achieved in 1947), and founded the Women’s Peronist party.

Buenos Aires by Bike

One of the best (and scariest) things I did while in BA was a bike tour organized by La Biceleta Naranja (the Orange Bicycle) through BA’s lakes and woods. The tour started in Palermo and weaved through Parque Tres de Febrero, a 62-acre city park with beautiful rose gardens (El Rosedal) and artificial lakes; El Monumental (River Plate Stadium), home of the 1978 World Cup; and BA’s (very small) Chinatown. The true fun was dodging taxis, motorcycles, buses and pedestrians while winding through the city’s crowded and cobble-stoned streets. Now that I’ve survived, I can honestly say this experience should not be missed. And that you should ask for a helmet.

Dracula, El Musical

Another highlight of my trip was catching the production of Dracula at Teatro Astral on Avenida Corrientes, BA’s Broadway. Of course, the show was entirely in Spanish and I caught only a few words: Muerto (dead), for example, and amor (love) were often repeated. Nonetheless, we caught the gist of the show, and the music and staging was wonderful. Plus, you can buy kettle corn (for $2.50!) and other refreshments to enjoy during the show. Broadway, take note!

Art and architecture

I could (and did) spend hours wandering the city, staring up and around at all the beautiful buildings: the School of Law of the University of Buenos Aires, the Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nacion (the Supreme Court), the Congress building, and the stunning residences in Belgrano, to name a few. I also loved getting lost in La Recoleta Cemetery, a city within the city of intricate statues and mausoleums. A few of my favorites are pictured below.

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Of course, the true highlight of my trip was spending time with Caitlin, the best host, tour guide, cook and translator I could hope for. It was great to meet Caitlin’s friends, all of whom were so welcoming and tolerated my high-school-level Spanish, and to get a little taste of Caitlin’s life as a porteña. Thanks again Caitlin!

La noche en vela

So I've been meaning to post this song from an event I went to a few weeks ago. At the end of March, Buenos Aires held La Noche en Vela, to raise awareness of environmental issues, we have in NY and I know that it is held in other cities around the world. The big push is for everyone to turn the lights off for one hour. Well in BsAs in order to really push people to turn there lights off they offered tons of outdoor art events: there were concerts, art exhibits, plays, etc. I heard Elena Rogers sing and also the philharmonic orchestra...and others. I really enjoyed the night and saw lots of awesome shows, but the song below was my fave. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it too!

Ok, so I will write more later or post more later, my cousin was here for my birthday week so hopefully she'll serve as a guest blogger! Sorry'it's been awhile since I have written I will try to be better in my last month!

Feliz Día de San Patricio!

While there was no parade like NYC, there was definitely a celebration- green beer included, as seen below. The crowd poured on to Reconquista, the well known Irish street in town so that Argentines and ex-pats alike could raise a pint in the Kilkenny Pub to wish one another a muy Feliz Día San Patricio!

This was just a quick share to show BA represented the Irish well!

Hope yo were all able celebrate St. Paddy's Day in your own way! Besos!

Long weekend get-away: Mar del Plata

For the first time in 35 years, the Argentine governments declared Carnival a national holiday- so Argentines had both Monday and Tuesday off. Now I’ve been in Buenos Aires on 3 day weekends and the city pretty much shuts down: stores are closed, the streets are deserted and Amy and I often felt like we were the lone men standing. I imagined that a 4 day weekend would convert BsAs into a ghost town. Since this was my first weekend without Amy, I was thrilled (and un poco relieved) when my friend, Nora, invited me to go to Mar del Plata with her and two other people for the finde largo.

Mardel, as the locals refer to it, is about 4 hours south of Buenos Airies without traffic, but going to Mardel for Carnival is like going to Southampton for 4th of July- you need to add at least 2 more hours to your travel time to account for traffic. Fortunately, in Argentina you are able to ride in nice comfy reclining seats so it makes enduring traffic a little easier. We left for Mardel at 5:30AM and arrived by 12 noon. We were in our bathing suits and ready for the beach by 12:30.

Sitting along the coast.

Nora and I found a great spot on the coast that had beautiful view of the Atlantic ocean and an infinity pool to enjoy! We spent the day relaxing on lounge chairs and sipping on smoothies, I couldn’t have asked for a better day. That night, we met up with our other two friends for dinner; we of course went for asado. The Argentines of the group seemed to be able to sniff out the best asado restaurant in the city. We found a popular steak house and after a short 2 hour wait, we were seated for a delicious asado at 11pm.

A view of the pool from the first day.

The next day we decided to go a beach outside of the city. The beaches there were beautiful. They reminded me exactly of the beaches in the Hamptons: there were kids building sand castles, people playing paddle ball, surfers; I really felt like I was back on Long Island. I also introduced my friends to my favorite beach activity which is combing for sea glass. For me searching for sea glass is almost instinctual, I can remember combing the beach for hours with my Nanny as a kid and for me it is like searching for a treasure- a true simple pleasure in life. By the time we left, my travel companions were combing the beach for sea glass too; I think I may have turned them on to a new pastime. While walking back to our hostel, we saw a crowd outside a restaurant, we figured in must be good so we decided to see how long the wait would be. It was going to be an hour at least, so we put our names down on the list, went back to the hostel to shower and returned just in time to be seated. We couldn’t have planned better! I thinking I am finally figuring out how to work the waiting system down here.

Pablo, me, Jon at the beach!

Day 3 was rainy so we did what we had to do- we took in a movie. El Cisne Negro starring Natalie Portman, it is one the few Oscar nominated films I have seen. I haven’t really been following the movies this year so I had no idea what to expect. I thought the movie was going to be an uplifting story about a ballet dancer, I was way off, I am still having nightmares.

Nora and I enjoying pizza! (Ame, found others who love Roquefort!)

Our last day we went to another pool on the coast and enjoyed are last plate of rabas (fried calamari), we ate many rabas this weekend (apparently the city is known for them). After that we were on our way home, back to Buenos Aires.

Last moments of soaking up the sun!

Guest Blogger: Courtney visits BA!

Wow.


What a fantastic trip.  Muchísimas gracias to Amy and Caitlin for putting up with me for 9 days and showing me the best of BA (and Iguazú).  I thought that instead of going through the details day by jam-packed awesome day, I would share my Top 5 highlights of my trip, plus some honorable mentions as well.  In no particular order, here goes...


Top 5:


1.  Beef and red wine.  And then more beef, and more red wine.  I had heard great things about the beef in Argentina, and I have to say that it exceeded my already very high expectations.  I'm drooling just thinking about it.


I learned an important word: jugoso.  It's supposed to indicate medium rare, but I discovered that it seems to have a different definition depending on where you are.  The first jugoso steak that we had, at La Brigada, I think there was still a heartbeat on the plate.  Possibly the rarest that I've ever eaten steak, but still wonderfully delicious.  And for those of you who've ever tried unsuccessfully to share a steak with Amy unable to convince her a little pink in the center is delicious, you'll be happy to know that she's now moved over to the dark (pink) side.  After confirming that the purple steak on our plates was safe to eat, she promptly devoured it.


La Cabrera hit the mark with a perfectly cooked medium rare, and even though it was well past midnight and we had already stuffed our faces with the most amazing prosciutto (and mozzarella for Ame), we enjoyed every last bite.


Ame's favorite restaurant Don Julio interpreted our request for jugoso completely different, and brought us out a steak cooked medium. Still very tasty, and we were just thankful that they seated us at all given that we showed up after midnight on a Sunday night smelling like sweaty soccer fans.


And oh, the wine! A bottle of a delicous Malbec that costs the same as just one glass costs in NYC... might as well just order another bottle!


2.  Iguazú Falls.  Ame and I were completely blown away by Iguazú Falls. We've seen many a waterfall in our travels and were a little skeptical as to whether these would really impress us, but they surely delivered. I could not stop taking photos (and videos), I just had to capture it from every angle.  We walked along all of the various paths (and somehow timed it perfectly to avoid the massive crowds of tourists), got soaked in the spray of the waterfalls, saw incredible rainbows, hiked down to a more secluded waterfall and ate our picnic lunch at the top of the waterfall, saw lots of wildlife including pretty butterflies, surprisingly cute coatis, adorable monkeys, ginormous spiders and a large snake (thankfully we did not see it cross our path ahead of us and only realized it was there when other hikers pointed it out to us after it returned to the forest) and went on a very fun and refreshingly wet boat ride right up to the base of the falls.  Small world story: As we were rolling our eyes at the annoying American school group that just happened to be sitting next to us on the boat, one of the adults in the group started talking to us.  Turns out they are from Mattituck, the town over from Riverhead, and one of the women used to be a teacher at Riverhead High School.  They seemed less annoying after that.

3.  Brazil.  Even though this could technically roll up under the Iguazú Falls section, I think it's worthy of it's own Top 5 shout-out.  There was a lot of back and forth whether we’d be able to make it across the border to see the Brazil side of the falls, but in the end all signs seemed to point to Brazil.  And we were so thankful that it worked out.  The views of the falls were different from the Brazilian park and we could see more waterfalls than we realized existed from the Argentine side and were thoroughly impressed yet again (and took another 100 or so photos).  We saw another awesome rainbow, got soaked in the falls once again, attempted to dry off a bit, and then had an amazing buffet lunch before venturing back to Argentina.  Also very cool was the bridge connecting Argentina and Brazil; half of the bridge was painted with the Argentine flag, and the other half painted with the Brazilian flag.  Unfortunately we couldn’t catch a photo of that, but I think it’s ingrained in our memories along with the adventure of our few hours in Brazil.

Amaaaazing buffet

Amaaaaazing rainbows

4.  Shopping in Palermo.  I went a bit overboard with the shopping in Palermo.  It got to the point where I was rather embarrassed by the number of shopping bags that I was holding, and tried to consolidate so that it wouldn’t look quite so excessive.  Though all the bags came back out for the Pretty Woman photo op.  TRIVIA: Name that Pretty Woman quote [Hint: It starts with “You people work on commission, right?”]

5.  Amy's Fiesta de Despedida.  I was lucky enough to be in town for Amy’s Fiesta de Despedida (= Going Away Party).  Amy picked a fun bar in San Telmo and we arrived early and stayed until closing.  It was so great to meet so many of Amy and Caitlin’s friends, they packed the bar and gave Ame a proper send off.  And while it was a sad occasion for the rest of the guests, it was a happy occasion for me because Ame saying “Adios” to BA meant she was returning home to NY!

Honorable Mentions:


The weather – mid 80’s and sunny every day, a very welcome contrast from the NY winter

C. A. River Plate v. Independiente Soccer Game – This just barely missed the Top 5, though I think I look back on the memory of the game with more fondness than the actual experience.  Packed in amongst the Argentine soccer hooligans in the “Popular” (aka INSANE) section of the Independiente stadium was not the most comfortable or pleasant 90 minutes of my life, but it certainly was a memorable and truly unique experience.  I’m very glad I did it, but definitely do not need to experience the Popular section ever again.  For those familiar with the 4/5/6 train at rush hour, picture that level of crowdedness, standing on bleachers, with everyone chanting and cursing at the top of their lungs while chain smoking cigarettes.  For 2 hours.

This was before the insanity started!

Riding bikes around Palermo parks and neighborhoods (and related: learning how to fix a slipped bike chain) – Fun AND healthy way to explore the city

Eating dinner at midnight, staying out until 5am, sleeping until noon – I love vacation.


Once again, a very big thank you to Amy and Caitlin.  I’m so happy I was able to visit and you both made my trip absolutely perfect!

Time flies when you're having fun ...

... as evidenced by the fact that my first blog post was almost a year ago -- ONE YEAR AGO!  Crazy for me to try to comprehend.  Also crazy to think that these 9 months of living and breathing Buenos Aires are nearly done.  Caitlin always says that BA is somewhat of a time warp -- you often feel like you've just arrived because you can remember your first days so vividly, but very early on you feel like you've been here forever.  The city really has a way about it.  I leave tomorrow, and what an experience I've had ... truly indescribable.  


So, some final thoughts from South America from me (Cait I'm sure and hope will continue this fine blog!).


Everyone here's been asking me what I will do for "mis ultimos dias" in BA (now down to 1).  Truthfully, since my wonderful friend Courtney visited me last week from NY, I got to do all my favorite things then, leaving me time to pack and roam around in the sun for my last few days as a wannabe porteña.  She's promised to write a lovely blog post, so I won't fill you in here, but obviously another fabulous visit!  

Court and I at an insane futbol match that she'll fill you in on

I know it's super cliche, but it really feels like yesterday that I had my going-away party in New York, and that was back in May. Just had another one here this past Saturday and felt like a celebrity - people from all over my life here came out for a drink or 5.  It rocked!  Anyone up for a welcome back party when I'm back??  Just kidding ... I think I've had enough parties for myself in the past year to sustain me for a while. :)


You might be wondering why I'm spending my 2nd to last day inside on the computer, but rest assured, I wrote most of this post old-school style, outside in the park earlier today (in the shade of course - way too hot for the sun, especially when one forgets to put on sunscreen).  I don't even want to think about the weather that awaits me in NY.


I'm staring at my bags now as I type this up and they are officially packed (if you can call it that ... stuffed is more like it), to the point that l will definitely be paying a fee for either a heavy bag or an extra bag.  Can't wait to find out which!  


As a final thought, it's going to feel really strange/bizarre/sad to leave my other half Caitlin here and I will probably go into withdrawal in the weeks to come.  On the plus side, I'll see her in May or June either in LA or NY, and as we know, time really flies.  I'm also looking forward to hearing about her last 3 months here.  I know they'll be awesome.     

Cait and I on Saturday

Muchas gracias for listening to me ramble here - still crazy to think this is my last post!!  xoxo