Anyhoo, the last few days have sort of run together. In addition to going to 2 malls, a museum and many very delicious restaurants, we have managed to squeeze in 2 spin classes with the "Spin Nazi" and a very hot run on the treadmill. The heat on Monday and Tuesday was suffocating. Over 100 degrees and lots of humidity made it impossible to run! Or even be outside all together. Even our subway rides on the "Subte" were stifling, but short. One day, we made it to the local "Palermo Mall", where I found a beauty salon from which I needed a hair trim and manicure. The manicurist was a grumpy older lady, who seemed annoyed with my American-ness and lack of the Spanish language. For the most part locals have been very kind to us in this regard and very willing to help us out with communication. This person was the exception. The haircut was OK, the guy chopped the layers a little sloppily. "James" will have to fix when I get home. All in all the mall was "just another mall" as H put it. We did however score some Starbucks coffee to make in the mornings...:)
Another trip was to the "Jumbo Mart", the place where the ex-pats (a person who is voluntarily absent from home or country; "American expatriates") do their shopping. I can see why,.. With the isles and isles of perfectly lined up products from baby items to fish markets to any kind of food imaginable, it was quite an experience even to visit. Almost made me want to load up on supplies myself although a load of "Jumbo" items is a little too much for our humble abode and the short time we will be here. We did find some plastic storage bags, an oddity here it seems. What do people store their food in? Maybe the locals shop everyday and have no leftovers? Jumbo is somewhere between a Walmart and Costo, only nicer..We wandered around the huge place and had some tea and "postres" in the store cafe.
As I said before, there are demonstrations almost daily in B.A. We inadvertently were part of one. Seems the subsidized Subway tickets were no longer being subsidized so Subte tickets went up 50% a few days ago. The locals are protesting this by blocking the ticket machines in the Subways, while the sympathetic subway workers let people in for free at a nearby gate. We joined in and went in the free gate so I suppose we are in on the cause now. Very strange to see all of this. We may not have to pay anything for rides anymore for rides this week, they are having emergency legislation about all of this soon.
Two nights ago we went back down to "Puerto Madera" the ritzy part of town by the Port area. There are restaurants lined up for blocks in this area, many of them with nouveau rich design. We lost our way as we walked and walked down the line of establishments trying to find the "cine" (movie theater). After a sweltering ride on the subway and walking about 3 miles, we managed to ask enough people in our very broken bad Spanish and arrive just in time for the movie. We saw "Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol", which it was actually just that at times. The Russian words were translated to Spanish in the subtitle, if that makes any sense. So during Russian words we had no clue. Otherwise the movie was in English with Spanish subtitles. The movie was excellent, I am not usually into these "Spy gone Bad, lots of action and saving the world" kind of movies. Kind of Jack Bauer-ish ( I love 24), and Tom Cruise is not hard on the eyes either..
After the movie, we enjoyed our first "All you can eat" restaurant in B.A. It is popular especially for it's "Parilla", a large on-site barbecue, which delivers to you all kinds of meats there as you wait. We have decided the beef here is definitely too fat free, if there is such a thing. The meat is tough and hard to chew no matter how they cook it. The restaurant itself had a great waterfront atmosphere though. The food: mediocre. The feel of the place: excellent! The sky opened up with a big rainstorm just as we left so we hailed a cab in the pouring rain. After a harrowing ride home in with a crazy driver in the rain, we arrived home before midnight, an early night as I mentioned.
A bridge down at Puerto Madera:
"This Museum evokes the life of a worldwide icon: Eva Perón. The museum, which was founded in 2002, is established in a notable building of the beginning of the 20th century, which was purchased by the social assistance foundation called Fundación de Ayuda Social María Eva Duarte de Perón in 1948 ... An undeniable icon. With the exhibition of objects, photos, and images of that age, the museum is an invitation to get to know better one of the key times in Argentine history. The museum also offers a magnificent café & restaurant."
I had the best meal last night not even a block from our apt. I had a "torte", the Portena word for Quiche only this was better! An Italian dish that is soooo delicious it is making me hungry talking about it! This place is home of the best ever pizza also. Their phone was ringing off the hook last night as we dined. Seems their delivery business is quite profitable as well..
Yesterday, we decided to go to the "Evita Museum". We took partial subway, partial walking. On the way we discovered a beautiful place right in the heart of the city-the "Botannical Gardens". Peaceful and green, it is a respite inside a very busy part of B.A. In recent years, the Botanical Garden has become home to a large population of cats. The cats are not feral animals born in the Garden, but are all domestic cats abandoned there by owners who wished for unknown reasons to get rid of their household cats. And believe me, there are cats galore-Hundreds of them! It almost appears to be more of a "cat sanctuary" than Garden but it was a serene -place to walk around, amoungst the felines:
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Lots of Nekid People Statues in this Park!
Then off we went to the Museum. Despite the whole you either hate or love Evita thing-you must admire the fact she did so many things for the country of Argentina, including pioneering the women's right to vote here. Although never elected officially except her time as vice President to her husband, she did many works for the poor, foreign relations and children. She died of cancer at age 32. Lots of courage for a young woman in the 1950s! The only thing I knew about Evita before this was the Madonna movie. I would like to see the Argentian version of "Evita". It would probably be more of the real deal. The museum was awesome! This is an intelligent description:
A statue honoring Eva Peron.
I took such few pics at the museum, I tried to take a video of one of the many dated videos that we observed throughout the museum. They hauntingly played in the background and on the walls of the many rooms in the museum. My videos didn't turn out well unfortunately. Evita Museum is a must see in B.A.
As I mentioned, we have been doing spin classes here at the local gym. The regular instructor that we initially met is on vacation. His substitute, "Leandro", speaks zero English but gives a killer class. I am convinced he is a long lost cousin to Roy, our spin Nazi in ABQ! His classes are 90% standing on the spin bike, not an easy task. I am getting better at it, seems to be helping train my core. I leave the class completely drenched in sweat and exhausted. The best part is most of the men in the gym, including the spin teacher look like they are on break from their modeling jobs! The young men of BA in general are so handsome-a single young woman's dream location..of course this is just an old lady's opinion! :)
We had to run on the "dreadmill" in the heat of Tuesday. I ran 7.5 miles while dripping sweat in the stuffy gym. No personal "fans" on the dreadmills here! Was still better than outside.. We will most likely not have these amazing running, spinning opportunities in Brazil-which we leave for adventure in 6 days. I figure if I run and spin enough, I will get ahead of the eightball, continuing to eat my way through South America!
Speaking of training, we signed up for the "Boulder 70.3" half Ironman race in Colorado in August. This will be a training race for us in preparation for Ironman Arizona. We are hiring a coach when we return. I just hope I can keep my fitness level up a bit before the real training starts!
It is much cooler and sunny this morning in B.A. One more stop at the laundry, maybe two before we leave this beautiful city..I am somewhat sad to leave, we have had such a great time here, living a small slice of life here, although brief. I am, however looking forward to beginning our new set of adventures in Brazil in 6 days. No more apartment, unpacking for long parts of the vacation. We will be staying 3-5 days in each stop in Brazil. I will have to bend a little with my sometimes annoying rigid daily life routines..and apparently "pare down" my luggage to meet weight requirements of the country's airline-Aeolineas. Gaahhhh..
We hear tales of sellout crowds of cross country ski racing in Chama, NM this weekend-the annual "Chama Chile Classic" has become quite popular over the years. This is very close to our place in the mountains of NM. Ahhh, a twinge of homesickness hearing this news..Maybe next year!
We have Skyped with all our kids and grandkids recently. I miss all of them soooo much! Our little 7 year old granddaughter saved her money and bought a "family cell phone." She is so cute-texting us while we are away-quite precocious for her age I must say..wonder who she inherited that from? :)
Onward to our long run of the day. Tango lessons scheduled on Friday night, where we will dip our feet into the dance culture one more time before we leave!
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