Hola mi amigos,
I was thinking I needed to gather some energy back for my two weeks of work ahead, so decided to not rush around yesterday. I had tried to find some amigos to play golf with but the $150 US for the round had put anyone off who was even slightly interested. I had also looked into staying out of town at a winery but again it would have been very expensive and a hassle to shift. I like my little apartment now!(except for the large coakroach I chucked outside)
No alarm to sleep through, and so woke at around 10am feeling quite refreshed. I wandered down to the corner for my desayuna (breakfast), which I can now order off pat -"un cortado, chico perfavor y dos medialunas" (a short espresso coffee with a splash of milk and 2 small croissant type things). The bloody buses are so noisy rumbling past so you get covered in soot and noise pollution.
Interesting watching the world go by, and reading the sports section of the paper where I saw 2 mendocino chicas had been chosen for the Argentine women's hockey team, and they were playing Uruguay in the final of some tourny in Montevideo, Uruguay.Plus of course futbol and rugby.
I then went shopping down the main street, just browsing...but bought some golf tops (entirely in Spanish) and then some cds from Musi de Mundo (music of the world). I got Amy Winehouse and I am in love, plus the latest Jack Johnson, and The Sons of Cuba...Buena Vista next generation. Only $14 NZ tops for the latest, less for the Cuban one.
I then walked yet again to the other side of town to this one shop where I want to get a t-shirt from but for the third time it was closed. It is a designer one, so they obviously work designer hours!
I really want one of the "Show me the Malbec" one with a gun.
Walking a few more kms as it was only around 1pm and lunch doesn't start until say 2, I finally collapsed at a different cafe, Azafran (as in saffron). It is on the strip on Sarmiento, the block behind Plaza Independencia. Their by-line is:"almacen de exquisiteces y vinos"..I think you can work it out.
What usually happens in Argentina is you sit for say 15 to 20 minutes before they come and greet you and give you the menu and wine list. You then wait another 15 mins before they return and you can order water con gas and vino tinto and your order. They do bring a complementary starter usually at this point, of breads and a nice dip or something. In this case it was a delicious eggplant dip. There are at least 5 different types of bread too, all handmade and in very small portions eg bread sticks with olives in, cheese or tomato, and brown rolls, white, some with onion or nuts in etc. You don't need to try many of them!
I wanted a salad and it seemed dangerous to choose the Ensalada tibia de salmon y longestinos,con palta,caviar. The translation was worm salmon and shrimps salad with avocado and cavier! I thought worms? can't be right. Sure enough, beneath was a different translation of the same word...warm.
It was delicious, as you start craving vegetables and fruit here. I sopped up every last drip of the dressing infused with the cavier, as it was so nice.
By now about 2 hours had passed and many pages of my interesting book, One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He has won the Nobel prize for literature,he wrote the book about In the Times of Cholera? and there is a movie about that book, set in Cartagena on the Carribean coast of Colombia, where I will spend a weekend in 2 weeks time at the end of this trip. I am looking forward to it.
The wine I was drinking by the glass was Le Garde Syrah 2006.You don't get much choice when drinking by the glass but it went down nicely.
Stretching out the meal I ordered a coconut and dulce de leche tart with dulce de leche icecream, just to go full out Argentine, as they do have dulce de leche with Everything. God I was stonkered and I can hear Dad spluttering now. You just keep running those marathons Dad. I will do the hard yards this way!
The salad was $15 NZ, water $1.50, dessert around $5. You can live very cheaply here. My apartment is only costing me $24 NZ per night, I think. That is what the reception told me, but on-line it was more...whatever.
After around 4 hours I strolled home via Plaza Independencia and an hours read on a seat in the shade. I was finally home after having gone out for breakfast about 6 or7 hours earlier.
It was 30 degrees plus, but a dry heat so bearable. atumn is on its way. As I was sitting, as though in heaven at the table, a single leaf fluttered onto my plate as though a sign from above! Divine.
So that was the sum total of my day! I read and wrote my blogs, spoke to Barry via Skype and webcam and had a shower just in case I had the inclination to go to the Jazz concert in Teatro Independencia . He used to play in New York etc and was on the Johnny Carson show etc...or as he raved on to us. A real old timer, Hayden would have loved it. The principal had invited us ( Johnny Orozco www.johnnyorozco.blogspot.com) but my legs were just too tired and the blisters were annoying. I should have gone but I was thinking it was only Dixie jazz as it was advertised as New Orleans jazz but when I have looked more closely it was also blues, quicksteps, swing scat, gipsy swing..."clasicos del Hot Jazz". Bugger sleeping.
I did have in my mind however to go back to The Soul bar tonight for Tango and marengue? dancing. We will see.
The photos are only off my phone so not good quality but made the decision to not bring a camera this time around. Barry's camera is too big to put in my pocket. I mostly just need to document the work part of my trip..which is from now on.
Hasta luego,
Suzette
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