The eye of "El Tigre"

Dear Chicago,

Saturday was a cold, rainy day in Buenos Aires. MC and I braved the mist to take 2 trains north to El Tigre. It was far form the most glamorous way to see the city, but it was cheap and a good day to be inside looking out a window.

El Tigre is a town on a delta of the Rio de La Plata. Filled with vacation homes and rowing clubs, the little rivers have created islands accesible only boat. Mike and I took an afternoon boat ride through a few of the channels to see the cottages that dot the island. As it is winter here, most were closed or empty but it was a great little ride nonetheless.



On the boat:


Long lunch to warm up:


Tigre feels a lot like the Jersey Shore - in relation to a big city nearby, its a great getaway in the summer. We didn't get the full effect, I'm sure, but it is always nice to get outside of the city and take a peek around.

The highlight of Saturday night: Thelonius Bar. Mike picked this jazz club out from his guidebook -- what a great choice! This place was way out of the way and we pulled up chairs for a few hours of live music. The atmosphere was awesome - we could have been in any city in the world. A pizzeta and some Malbec kept up in check - we had a great night out in Buenos Aires.


besos - Tess

Camino

Dear Chicago,

Today, Mike and I WALKED. We covered about 5 miles of the city. It was a gorgeous, sunny day that began at the Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve:




Next we walked the length of Puerto Madero to see the Puente de la Mujer:



The widest street in the world:


We walked through two barrios up to the National Congress building. Our plans for a free tour were thwarted by the swine flu - tours remain cancelled due to 'Gripe A'. A long lunch at cafe Victoria across the street was relaxing, followed by a long train ride home. This proved to be the first stumbling block in our trip together: in the business of the rush hour subway cars, Mike managed to get on, while the doors closed in my face... as the train pulled away, I yelled the name of our station and hoped for the best. Thank goodness he found the map on the train and remembered an intersection in my neighborhood - we met up successfully in the station about 15 minutes later! Crisis averted. Mike regained his confidence to go shopping by himself around the corner - he picked up flowers and ice cream for my senora. We headed to the house for dinner with Cristina, her daughter Maria Eugenia and son-in-law Ferr. Mike did great - his spanish got him through the whole dinner just fine! We ate well and discussed sports, the price of electronics in the US, shopping, tatoos, politics and the city of Buenos Aires. He was a big hit and, as always, charmed the crowd. I was very proud of his Spanish! After dinner we met up with friends from my program for live music in Palermo. From there it was off to a club for an authentic porteno night out - LOST was a big hit and Mike got the true Friday night flavor of the city.

Ciao Chicago!

Tess

URUGUAY!!

Dear Chicago,

MC and I hit the road well before sunrise to get to the ferry terminal. Tickets were easy to buy and we were on our way by 9:00AM. Sunrise over the Rio de la Plata (it is winter here, so the sun comes up very late) was beautiful. The funniest part of the entire day: trying to figure out the Uruguayan peso! A cup of coffee was $120 pesos, but our gourmet lunch (filet mignon, potatoes and a glass of wine) was about $900 pesos... we finally did the conversion and realized MC took $1500 pesos from the ATM and it was only $60 US Dollars - unbelievable!


Sleepy on the ferry:

We spent the day exploring Colonia, taking in the vistas from the lighthouse and having an amazing lunch. We took a trip up the light house to see the view, checked out the downtown and old church, which was beautiful. Lots of portuguese influence, no surprise there.




Old fortress wall:



A beautiful house on the 'street of sighs'



Uruguay was amazing day trip but the cold got to us and we hopped a ferry home. A few hours later we were off to another amazing dinner in Plaza Serrano! It is so wonderful to have someone here to share the adventure.

Ciao Chicago!

Tess and MC in BsAs

Dear Chicago -

Yet ANOTHER great day in the city! MC and I started the day off right: we went back to our zoo-camper roots and hit the zoo! The guidebook set low expectations, and boy were they wrong:

Amazon Chinichuras:


Black Swans:


A few US dollars got us a bag of animal feed, which we were allowed to give to any animal in the zoo! It was wild!

Sea Lions (these guys got sardines):


Giraffes:


From the zoo, we were off to Buenos Aires Design, lunch at La Biela, the Recoleta Cemetery, Recoleta Chapel, the Cultural Center, the National Museum of Bellas Artes and dinner with live music at Lena de Colorado in my neighborhood. Michael met my senora Christina, who was enamored with his handsome good looks, unusual height (for BA) and his "cara de nene" - baby face!

It was a cold and rainy day in the city but we packed in as much as we were able to!!

Look for a guest blog by MC himself.... Ciao Chicago - Tess!

Martes = Michael!

Dear Chicago,
I cannot believe MC arrived this morning!! He had about 23 hours of travel, bless him. I had an awful time this morning getting the car I ordered to show at the right time and after a nervous phone call from MC on a payphone, we finally met up! Many thanks to the 'vecino'[neighbor] who lent a very special "Crew Member" ID to MC's suitcase - what an awesome way to travel! (I cannot wait to meet you!) From the airport, we checked into our apartment and made a quick turnaround to get the most out of our first day.

Lunch at 'El Argentine' bakery in my neighborhood was adorable - empanadas, bocadito sandwiches and cafe. We hopped the subway to the center of the city to knock out the main tourist attractions: Plaza de Mayo, Casa Rosada, Avenida Florida, the National Cathedral - I noticed something here this time. In one of the alcoves of the Cathedral, there was a big frame of passages from the book of Genesis rescued from various locations after WWII. The frame was a tribute from Jews who were welcomed into Argentina after persecution. Amazing to read in Spanish.

After a solemn visit, we walked the length of Avenida Florida, the pedestrian mall and "Times Square" of Buenos Aires. MC has his first alfajor - cookies filled with dulce de leche. A visit to Galeria Pacifico and the Cento Cultural de Borges and we were finally wiped out. We window shopped and talked our way to a bus stop to head home. The ride was long but we finally made it back in time to enjoy some Malbec before dinner. While relaxing and unpacking, MC fell asleep - I couldn't blame him! He had traveled for about 24 hours. I ducked out to get some Quilmes and a giant calzone from the shop around the corner - sometimes the most random cheap meals end up being the best.

There is no translation, so once again I have to say it in English - I live a very, very charmed life.

xoxo
Tess (and Michael!)

My first visitor!!

MICHAEL GETS HERE TOMORROW MORNING!!!!

Fin de Semana

Dear Chicago,

This weekend was a blur. Once again full of culture, great food and drinks and lots of late nights! On Friday I had my last class with Analia. Friday night dinner at home with Maria Eugenia and Fernando was great. Salad, giant grilled pork chops and a leek-and-proscuiutto tarta. From dinner I was off to meet MVM and his friend Julian, the guys from the states. We met for drinks at Le Bar in El Centro. Very cool place, I enjoyed my cocktail and it was great to see MVM again!

Saturday - I ventured out to the Museo Fortabat at the urging of Cristina, my 'house mom'. Her girlfriends had been raving about the space and I found myself on a beautiful Saturday afternoon without a destination, for once. Off to Fortabat I went! The museum is comprised entirely of the private art collection of a very, very wealthy woman. (I live on the street of her maiden name and there is a skyscraper here emblazoned with her married name).
I have to say, I was blown away by both the collection and the space! Her image was painted by Andy Warhol:

I had seen the image many times before without knowing she was a powerful Argentine socialite. Her collection contains scupltures and sketches by Rodin and the Turner painting "Juliet and her Nurse" was guarded by as many cameras as the Mona Lisa. I can only imagine. Beruti did portraits of her grandkids and there was more Egyptian art than I would ever have guessed. The building is a beautiful space right on the water in Puerto Madero. The arched glass ceiling has panels that shift as the sunlight moves during the day. An overall pleasure (as was the cafe and 'scon' with chantilly cream I had while waiting for the tour to start. Si, si, I live a charmed life).

On Saturday night I met up with J, C and E for a girls night. We started with a few bottles of red wine in J's awesome apartment - always a great time. From there we went to a bar recommended by a friend of J, "Kim y Novak". A fabulous night of Fernet&Colas, dancing in a random basement space, good conversation and new aquaintances. J taught me more about Guam than I could have imagined, a conversation for which I remain grateful. Home at 6:30 - well done, team!!

Sunday - After a late night out, it was barbaro to sleep in. I awoke to an invitation by my senora and her daughter: they were off to El Tigre for the day, and I was invited! What a joy. Cristina, MariaEugenia and her husband Ferr and I piled into their Renault and were off. An hour drive north is the suburb of El Tigre.



Originally a summer-vacation town for the wealthy of BsAs, El Tigre is the Lake Geneva/Cape Cod of Argentina. Most of the homes are accessible only by ferry, and the downtown is gorgeous. The four of us went to the local art museum and the giant fruit market. It took all my strength not to leave there with a puppy...

After the long day outside and a long drive home, I met MVM from Iowa for dinner. We tried a place that came with a recommendation from a friend, but upon arrival it was less than satisfactory. MVM thought of a place near his hostel in San Telmo and we were off. What a pleasant surprise! We spent a long evening at Del Plata eating some amazing food - chorizo, morcillo (yes, I tasted blood sausage) and a giant rib eye. That, along with a giant Provoleta, rosemary fried potatoes, a bottle of good Malbec and 2 desserts: less than $40US each! Unelievable.

Buenos Aires and the people I have come to love here: thank you for another unbelievable weekend!

Ciao - Besos - Tess