Buenos Aires, Argentina

This weekend has forecast rain for a long time, I kept hoping it would change but the promised rain came in gusto. I have been lucky with the weather and this is the first real rain in the daytime. I went out for brunch round the corner and finally discovered good coffee. Had a great baked eggs and tomato dish with a Flat White which was awesome. I even complimented the barista and told him it was the best in BA, which he smiled at! I have had the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) on my list for a while and though it is half price on Wednesdays, I figured it was perfect for such a miserable day. It is only a small museum but is put together well and showcases Latin American art alongside historic photos within the permanent Collection. The temporary exhibit was of a group called ‘general idea’ who formed in the late sixties. It was a collective of three Canadian artists, Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson. It is largely media-based art which was interesting, particularly their beauty pageant ‘miss general idea’ where applicants were given the same dress and asked to send photos of themselves. There was also a polystyrene installation with seal pups in one room that reminded me of Antarctica! The group also did a lot of work highlighting the aids crisis, Partz and Zontal died of aids in the 90s.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

I felt inspired today to find some new foodie places and set off after Spanish for La Cocina. Apparently they do some of the best empanadas, so I squeezed into this small bar and ordered 3. They were amazing, hands down the best I have eaten and they fully restored my faith in these being a good rival to the pasty post a few tasteless ones I have tried lately. I had a beef one, a chicken one and then one called ‘picachu’ which was a spiced chicken one. This was my favourite. Given I was doing well on the food hunt I headed down the street to Rapa Nui, a heladeria which had some interesting flavours. I particularly liked Frambuesa Nevada, that was a raspberry mousse with meringue topping. This evening I headed out for a wine tasting session in Palermo, with a few guys from class. We were drinking mainly a selection of wines from Salta that surprised me. Apparently the high altitude produces exceptional results and the white was particularly citrusy. My favourite was a blended Malbec called Amalaya which was really easy to drink. It is ‘Malbec week’ so the bar let us sample a range of wines and I couldn’t fault any to be fair. By midnight we were all drunk and hungry, so we piled into La Cabrera for a steak. This place is very popular and considered one of the best for steak. I talked Dan into sharing a steak which was good move given the size, we also had Provolone which I had seen on many a menu but not eaten. It is essentially a grilled round of cheese with herbs, not as exciting as I hoped. Steak was great, felt my expectations were perhaps too high or maybe I should try it more sober. Finally with a very full stomach, I caught a taxi home. The driver found my mispronunciation of my street ‘Ruggieri’ really funny…..still can’t see why what I was saying was so hard to understand!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Chatted today to Sarah, recently arrived from Perth. We decided to grab lunch and then I volunteered to show her the parks and Floralis generica (large steel flower). The parks of BA are perhaps one of my favourite things about this city. They have a varying degree of structure to them and they always have a cross section of people to watch. I particularly like early mornings in my local park when all the dog walkers are in. Owning a dog in BA is very popular, and so is paying people to walk your dogs. The dog walker can earn up to £10 per dog and you see them walking around 10-15 on mass leads. I digress, today is a scorcher of a sunny day and post a pizza & beer lunch we stroll up to the flower and then through the parks to Plaza Italia. Gorgeous afternoon!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

A haircut had been praying on my mind for a while. It’s been about 12 weeks, which is the longest I had gone without a cut & colour for years. I have my genius hairdresser at home, but he is refusing to fly out, so I decide a trip to La Peluquería is overdue. I have spent a few weeks eyeing up options and had spotted one that looked reasonably priced (budget conscious traveller that I am!). I made my way up there after class and politely asked if they spoke English….No?…google translate it is then. Suffice to say, they were never going to be as good as Barry but the colour is ok and the cut has taken the weight out. I think it is perhaps the shortest my hair has ever been and feel it is too short. On a positive at least I won’t need to go through that trauma again for a while, although I dread to think of what a good cut in Bolivia or Peru looks like….perhaps I will just grow it.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tonight I caught a bus south to Almagro and to a club called La Catedral. I met a couple of friends there for a group Tango lesson which started at 10.30pm…Apparently every night in Buenos Aires there are around 20 milongas that people can go to and dance across the city. This venue is a old church and feels very bohemian. I hadn’t realised that the lesson was in Spanish but manage to follow hand gestures. We learnt how to follow the rhythm, how to hold yourself (lean in, balance and allow the man to push you round the dance floor) and a few basic steps. Anastasia was telling me how if you miss a step or collide with someone, the woman never apologises, as the man leads, it is his fault. Always. It was basic good fun with smiles all round. I am definitely not a natural but would give it ago again in a friendly environment. We had a couple of beers to quench the thirst we’d worked up before heading home around 2am….on a school night!

Buenos Aires, Argentina

This is only about the second time it has rained during my stay in Buenos Aires, during the day. I wanted to spend the day exploring the Palermo barrio. After enjoying Eggs Benedict as a Sunday Brunch treat, I made my way down past the botanical gardens and along Thames Street. Palermo is a more up market area with boutique shops and cafes along big tree lined streets. The markets are good to look round, but in the rain the atmosphere is not as good and I tended to mooch around the shops to stay drier. There are hundreds of ice cream shops in BA and here there seems to be one on every block so I felt despite the rain I should test a few flavours. I stumble on Jauja, which features Patagonian flavours and enjoy a Passion fruit type one that reminds me of fruit salads. The guy in the shop is clearly pleased to meet a foreign face and helps me practice my Spanish a bit. I enjoy the early afternoon and take a few pictures of street art as I walk round before rain starts to get heavier and I retreat home. I spent the evening practicing my Spanish and trying to plan my next adventure.