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Later the same day …

As if lunch at Museo Evita wasn’t enough, another opportunity for fun later presented itself last night. It was billed as Wine and Flamenco, so four of us decided to go for it. It was more than just a wine tasting though, as there was also good food to go with each wine.

Unfortunately there was no flamenco dancing, but the singing and guitar music was lovely.

Undoubtedly, though, the star of the show was the place itself. It’s called El Jardin (the garden) and it’s another of those San Telmo gems you don’t see from the street, but when you get inside it’s absolutely beautiful. We climbed some lovely stone steps to the second level, which was where the wine tasting and show were. The tables are in a long narrow space surrounded by flowers and trees, and being outdoors we could look up to see the sky above us. We all said we’d like to see it during the day, but right now they are only open for special events in the evening. Fingers crossed they will open for lunch soon.

The place has an Andalusian vibe, which was perfect for the Flamenco music.

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Social Life Revving Up Again!

Yesterday we had a lovely lunch in the courtyard cafe attached to the Museo Evita. Because of social distancing we had to divide our party of eight between two tables, but other than that it didn’t feel very different from normal. The food was good — although the waitress didn’t write anything down and I don’t think any of us got our steak cooked the way we asked for it!

I haven’t been in the actual museum, and of course it’s closed right now. It’s on my list of things to do when I can, though. As you can see, the outside of the building is quaint, and I love this staircase with all the plants on it.

We call ourselves Ladies Who Lunch, but Lynne’s husband, Paul, is often a nice addition, as he is a great story teller! Unfortunately, Lynne took this photo so she doesn’t appear in the group — but she was there!

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Another Good Sign

When I went for my morning walk today I saw the local farmers’ market is open again after being closed since the beginning of the pandemia back in March. It used to be in a park called Plaza Vicente Lopez, which I pass through on my way to the cafe for breakfast, but now they have closed off a small section of the street beside the park instead. I don’t know why, but it’s still very handy for me.

Another good sign of better days to come.

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I Finally Did a New Sketch

Part of my resolve yesterday was to get back to sketching. I have several sketchbooks full of things I’ve done in my travels over the past several years, as well as in Toronto and other parts of Canada. But for some reason I haven’t been moved to sketch at all for some time. The last page in my book was something from my trip to Bariloche in January! I don’t think it was anything to do with the pandemic, although of course that didn’t help.

Anyway, I decided to force myself to do something yesterday in the hope it would get me back on track. I had noticed on my walks that the Starbucks near me had a few tables outside, with a good view of one of the typical corner buildings of Buenos Aires. I don’t normally frequent Starbucks because I hate their coffee, but I ordered some sort of creamy concoction and settled in for half an hour at one of the tables. This sketch is the result.

I’m definitely rusty, and it was a struggle to produce this less-than-satisfactory result. But let’s hope it’s the first of a new wave of sketches to come.

 

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Finally — a Night Out!

Even though I’ve met a few friends for coffee or lunch over recent weeks, we’ve all been feeling desperate to go out for the evening. As Lina put it, “I didn’t move to Buenos Aires to stay home at night!”

Sasha is a young Peruvian friend who used to be Venetia’s room mate several years ago, but she is now part of our larger group of friends. Venetia and I went for a glass of wine at her place on Monday evening and then we all went out in search of a place for dinner. They live in Palermo, which is a very big barrio and I’m not intiminately familiar with it, so I left the choice of restaurant to them.

We ended up in a very nice place called Velvet. It has a kind of local feel to it, and the food was excellent. As is often the case, there was way too much food, and we all took half home for Tuesday’s dinner! It was peppery chicken with Spanish potatoes (kind of home made potato chips but a bit thicker, and quite delicious).

Before I went to meet the chicas, I had heard from my sister-in-law, Elise, that she has officially retired, so here we are drinking Malbec to toast her happy retirement! (Venetia is beside me and Sasha across the table.)

I hope this was the first of many more nights out as summer approaches in Argentina!

 

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Beautiful Traditional Artwork

A couple of weeks ago Venetia and I were invited to visit Mercedes, a friend of our friend Lina, who lives in the lovely old barrio of San Telmo. I was delighted to see the door to her place was painted in traditional Fileteado Porteño.

Then when we got inside I was reminded of something I found out one night before the pandemic, and that is that many of those old buildings in San Telmo hold lovely surprises inside. Mercedes lives in a hidden complex, with several floors of quaint homes, and a swimming pool in the yard. She owns several of these places, which she rents out to tourists (when there are any of course!).

So I wanted to share a couple of pictures of this unexpected gem.

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This Must Stop

A few people have written to say they missed my blog posts, and wondered if I was OK. When I looked, I was quite shocked to see the previous post was on October 12. My excuse is always that nothing is happening, but the truth is there’s a big laziness component there. There’s always something I could be writing, but I’ve just been too lazy.

Today I heard Marie Forleo interview Seth Goden — two of my favourite online people — about Seth’s new book, “The Practice — shipping creative work”. He talks about the myth of writer’s block, and says you must create a practice around writing and get it done whether you are in the mood or not. So that’s what I’m going to do, starting now.

I do, of course, have to give priority to the writing I have to do for my clients and my business, but there’s no reason I can’t do more on this blog as well. I don’t promise a post every day, but at least three a week — and you can hold me to that!

 

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Well that was a surprise

It’s a beautiful warm, sunny spring day. I’m just in the beginning stage of work on a new client’s book. At this point it’s all about thinking and planning, and I don’t need my computer. So I decided to take a  note book and pen and walk up to La Biela, have some fizzy water and do my thinking there.

Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t get a table — on a Monday! The whole outdoor patio, as well as the spillover tables on the sidewalk, were full of people enjoying their “freedom”! There are lots of cafes in this area near me, so I just kept walking. I walked past four others, all full!

But it’s good to see people out and about again, even though it meant a change of plans. Now I’m home and am going to do my thinking on the balcony, amidst my plants and flowers, with a nice cup of tea!

 

 

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This Could Change My Life!

I know I should eat healthy salads more for lunch, but the truth is I don’t have the time or inclination for all that washing and chopping every day for lunch. Well, the other day I found the solution online — salad in a jar!

Here’s what it looks like in the jar and on the plate.

I just emptied the whole jar onto a plate, it all came out nicely mixed and the dressing (which is on the bottom) drizzled beautifully over everything. I made three jars, just the one mason jar size and two smaller. This was one of the smaller ones and it was enough for me.

Apparently you can make enough for five days (all the same or all different, your choice) and it will all keep in the fridge. So I figure an hour’s work on Sunday night makes five lunches which take 30 seconds to prepare!

I think I’ve got this!

In case you’d like to give it a go, here’s a link to the site where I found the information:

Salad in a Jar

Buen apetito!