Querido Chicago: Adventuras

Dear Chicago,

A great Friday after class. Six girls and I went out for the best dulce de leche ice cream I could have imagined. From there I headed home for a nap, a great dinner of salad and Milanesas. I dressed up and had the girls meet me at a bar in Las Cañitas called 'Von Koning´. A Dutch bar in Buenos Aires was a risky move but we ended up staying there for a few hours and enjoyed it. A very cute place, great cockatils. From there we ended the night at a sleepy little martini bar, where the 'old kids' went to bed early at 3:30am.

Came home by taxi, took the elevator up to th 14th floor and was looking forward to curling up in my little bed. To my surprise and horror, the bolt was thrown on the door. Cristina had locked me out! I yelled a few times.... rang the doorbell, knocked, rang the doorbell 10 times... yelled her name, stuck my camera around the door and took a picture of the kitchen to make sure she wasn't laying there dead, had the man who sits at the front desk use a hanger to try and break in, had the man who sits at the front desk use a screwdriver to try and break in , had the man who sits at the front desk use a paint chipper to break to try and break in, went outside the building and rang the buzzer, came back in and knocked, rang the doorbell 20 times.... FINALLY she woke up to let me in. At 5AM.

After a few hours sleep and another delightful breakfast served on a little tray, I met up with girls from class to see the Museum of Bellas Artes. I was impressed and surprised to see Degas ballerinas down here. From there we walked through a big open market and up to Recoleta cemetery. We had a great lunch at a place called La Biela, a famous old local cafe. A great chicken lunch with dessert and coffee for abou $9 US. The cemetery was HUGE and we followed a tour in spanish for about an hour. It was freezing and we broke off to explore and attempt to find Evita's grave on our own... the place is like a maze! We finally found it, paid our respects and headed out to catch trains to our respective homes.

Evita Peron

Recoleta Cemetery

After a short nap and a great dinner of homemade veggie quiche, I met up with the kids from the program at a place called ACA Bar. I was expecting a lame turnout but drinks ( cost was on the program) were actually great. There were about 35 of us and we stayed for hours. Next, a girl pulled out her guidebook (which she did indeed bring to the bar) found a random place to go next, which ended up being a long walk away behind an unmarked door. 878 Thames is an awesome whiskey bar (at which I had red wine) and half a dozen of us hung out and had a great late night. A successful cab ride home brought me to my door again in the middle of the night... which I opened without a hitch.