I met Rob in one of my favourite restaurants just over a year ago. I was getting ready to go back to Canada, and he was going back to London to collect Alex and bring him back here. They now live here — new Porteños like me!
They invited Venetia and me to their absolutely beautiful home and served us an amazing dinner of middle eastern salad with Haloumi cheese followed by a tasty beef tagine — which Venetia pronounced even better than the one she had the other night at Abdala!
Rob decided to look the part for us, and wore a great white outfit from the same part of the world as the food. Great night — thanks Rob and Alex.
About a five-minute walk from me there’s a building on a corner that always intrigued me. It has a definite Arabian look to it, and I’d always wanted to see inside. Well, last night I did.
Turns out, the place is called Abdala, and it is a club for the Sirian and Lebanese communities, with its own restaurant open to the public. Wendy, one of our BAIN folks, canvassed our little circle to see if anyone wanted to go, and it turned out eight of us did.
The food was excellent, and there was so much of it some of us brought home doggie bags — I had Persian rice for lunch today, which was an unexpected treat! Dessert was an amazing ice cream flavoured with cardamom, with an intriguing texture — yummy! Several of us said we’d go back, but now we know not to eat for about three days before!
There was a belly dancer and a traditional male sword dancer, but Hugo, one of our group, rose to the occasion when invited, and got right into the spirit of the thing! Check him out in the video — thanks to Venetia for this part.
One of our friends is called Montserrat. She is originally from Barcelona, but lives in England and is a professor at the University of Canterbury. She is here for six months doing research on the Catalan community in Argentina and other South American countries. She is also an avid tango dancer.
Today, she invited Venetia and me to have lunch with her at Casal Catalunya, which is basically Catalan House. It’s a lovely old building, with a great restaurant in it. We were treated to a selection of little dishes chosen by the chef, Damian, and it was a very different, and lovely, way to enjoy lunch.
The elegant entrance to Casal Catalunya
Our friend, Montserrat
Closeup of the lovely Catalan tiles on the walls
This is the biggest pepper mill I’ve ever seen!
Now I’m home relaxing a bit, because later I’m going out again to a dinner party at the home of some friends. I will definitely be rolling into bed tonight after all this eating and drinking and talking!
Some time ago, Venetia and I signed up for a tour of Caballito, a barrio neither of us knows very well. It included a ride on a vintage tram, which is what we both were really interested in. Yesterday was the day, so off we went, using a combination of buses and quite a bit of walking, and eventually we found the tour.
The first part, and for me the best, was a visit to La Época, a very old barber shop that has been converted into a museum of barbering. Yeah, I know. We all filed into its very narrow interior and were immediately fascinated by the artifacts, all connected in some way to the art and business of barbering.
Then the star of the show arrived. He was Barnes Miguel Angel, who owns the museum as well as the barber shop, which still serves customers today. He was a real showman, and he gave us a great, funny history of barbering, right from the days when the barber not only cut hair but also pulled teeth and performed minor surgery!
He explained that the red and white stripes in the barber shop sign represents white for the sheets and red for the blood — I’ll bet you didn’t know that either!
Here I am sitting outside the shop, waiting for the tour to begin, and this is the old sign above the shop door.
Then we walked around a very ritzy area of the barrio, with some amazing homes is a variety of styles. I took just a couple of photos of some of the ones I liked best — and I loved this old mailbox!
Finally, we arrived at the tram. They only have two, and the trip takes almost half an hour, so we had quite a wait, but it was a fun experience in the end.
Thanks to Mara, a young woman we met in the line, who helped us understand when our Spanish failed us.
On the way to the tour, we both noticed that there are some interesting looking shops in Caballito, so we will definitely go back by ourselves to check those out, and we are looking forward to meeting up with Mara again for a coffee sometime soon.
I belong to a great group called BAIN, or Buenos Aires International Newcomers. It’s a lovely mix of expats from many countries and Argentines. Once a month we have a wine and tapas night at a member’s home, and last night it was here at my new place. If I do say so myself, it was a great party!
People brought tons of great food and a lot of wine. Venetia took charge in the kitchen and did any ongoing tidying that needed doing, leaving me to entertain my guests and generally enjoy the evening. Here are some photos Venetia took. I know you don’t know these people, but I hope the photos will give you some idea that everybody was having a good time.
Back a few weeks ago, we wen to Miramar and were hosted by Cecilia’s cousin Carlitos. Yesterday he arrived to stay a few days with Cecilia, and she invited Venetia and me for lunch. It was also the birthday of her sister Hemilce, who was also there. It was fun to see Carlitos again!
Cecilia’s familiy really is my Argentine family.
When we all get together, it’s a challenge for me to understand what’s going on, but it does get easier, and it’s always fun! Venetia, as always, did photo duty — Gracias Venetia.
Yesterday, May 1, was Labour Day here, as in much of the world outside North America. It’s a holiday, and pretty much everything is closed.
However, it’s also the day they hold the Gran Premio Republica Argentina horse race and a few of us decided to go. We were blessed with one of those beautiful summer days that sometimes interrupt fall, so that was a bonus.
There was also a street food fair in the grounds of the Hipodromo, so we managed to have some tasty lunch between races. You don’t pay to get into the horse racing here, which makes it an even more attractive day out.
Here are just a few photos of our afternoon.
The horses strut their stuff in the paddock before going out to the track for the race.
The view from our seat on the steps, where you get a better view of the race than down at track level.
The Winner’s Circle!
There was also a feature on sustainable hats — not sure what that actually means, but they were fun. Here some lovely young women show them off.
Having a seat after the exhausting activity of watching the races!
Yesterday there was a festival of coffee at the Plaza de Peru, one of the many green spaces amongst all the buildings in the city. Venetia and Lolly and I went along in late morning, and as soon as we got off the bus beside the entrance, we could smell the coffee! There were dozens of stands all around the sides, many of which had freshly brewed coffee, and the blending of all the aromas made for a heady aroma!
At the first stand we were offered a taste of something called “coffee marmalade”, which was actually quince jam strongly flavoured with coffee. Oh my — I bought a jar immediately and enjoyed more than I should have after dinner last night!
One of the most famous cafes in Buenos Aires, Las Violetas, had a very imaginative stand that was really a miniature cafe, complete with a waiter in white jacket!
Here are some photos of the goods on offer, as well as the people enjoying a late summer day and a cup of great coffee.
Well once again I haven’t been diligent in keeping up my blog, so I now find myself on Saturday morning having to think about what I’ve done all week — heaven knows it’s not that I haven’t done anything!
Saturday
I’ll start with last Saturday. It was a lovely warm, sunny day, one of those that reminds us that summer hasn’t given up yet— and which usually finds me wearing the wrong clothes! Venetia and I went off to Palermo, one of the largest barrios in the city. It has a distinct bohemian vibe, as well as some excellent shopping.
Our destination was the fair, where we both shopped quite a lot. I got some great pants and a very funky bracelet. I’m inspired by Argentine women who wear tons of big jewelry all at once — and of course if you know me, you know I need absolutely no encouragement!
We also had a very nice, healthy lunch in a great restaurant I will definitely go back to.
Sunday
Sunday was, of course, Easter. Cecilia, who loves nothing more than having her house overrun with guests, issued a lunch invitation to a Facebook group we have called “Fun in Buenos Aires”, and there were three takers: Venetia, Wendy and me. She also had Renee and Ximena who were visiting from Chile, as well as Nicole and her mother, Amalia, from Peru — they are both staying with Cecilia for a while yet. Then of course there was her own family — Joaquin and Corina were there for the meal, and Pia and Valentin dropped in for a moment on their way to Valentin’s family dinner. It was festive and fun.
Monday
Our Easter holiday here is Thursday to Sunday, so on Monday I was back at work. I did take time out, though, to go and buy calendula and arnica creams for my bruised face and knee. My face has actually healed remarkably well, and as I write this it has faded to the point where it’s not noticeable with just a touch of makeup. The knee is another story — but after I started with the arnica the healing has speeded up a bit.
Tuesday
Tonight I did a couple of paintings. As I think I mentioned before, I’m having trouble getting the paint mix right because down here I can’t get the stuff I used in Toronto. I used to buy it on Amazon, but alas Amazon doesn’t operate here — one of the things I miss most! Anyway, I did these two small canvases and they are not bad. I’m having a big party on May 10, and I want to have some large ones on the wall by that time, so need to get on with it.
Thursday
Thursday is my usual tango lesson day, and today it was even more fun than usual. Renee told me she would like a tango lesson while she was here, and I’m always happy to refer people to Alejandro. So we all went together. My lesson was first, and then he gave Renee an introductory lesson afterwards — she did very well. Ximena made a video of part of my lesson, but I won’t post it here because Alejandro and I plan to do one next week and I think it will be better. Love tango more and more!
Friday
Yesterday began with a visit to the hospital to see Cecilia, who was having some surgery. She went home this morning and is feeling fine.
The early part of the evening was the monthly BAIN event (Buenos Aires International Newcomers, which I’ve mentioned before). I always enjoy the socializing, but this time there was an extra surprise. Out of the blue, these two young women began to sing — and sublime singing it was. They performed three or four opera songs, and then everybody’s favourite Neapolitan song, O Sole Mio. It was such a lovely surprise and so typical of what happens in Buenos Aires! They are opera students, and apparently they perform free every Sunday at the San Telmo market, so we’ll definitely be going to see them there. Thanks to Venetia for sharing one of her videos of this extraordinary event.
After the BAIN event I was invited to a small dinner party at the home of two new friends, Rick and Lily. Rick is Argentine and Lily is Bolivian, but they live in the US. They come here for several months every year, and I was honoured to be invited to their home. There was an interesting collection of guests, and Rick was masterful in the way he invited each person to tell their story and encouraged interaction among the guests. They live just about a ten minute walk from me, which was a good thing because it was about 1.45 am by the time the party broke up!
And that brings me up to date. Oh, I almost forgot — I got a marriage proposal in the park last Saturday! A man invited me to sit down with him and enjoy the sun, so I did — why not? It’s Argentina after all. He told me all about himself and said he was looking for a woman to share his life. Someone beautiful, intelligent and adventurous. Then he said I could be just the one for him and what about it? I said I’d keep an eye open for the right woman, but it wasn’t me! Only in Argentina!
Last night I went with three friends to the Parque Centenario to see an outdoor performance by the ballet company of the wonderful Teatro Colón. It was sponsored by the City of Buenos Aires, so that means it was free. I love how these events are totally free for everyone here, instead of only for those who can pay for expensive tickets. A night at the ballet in Toronto can easily set you back a hundred bucks.
The other thing I love is that there are often families at these events with small children, who are being introduced to culture at an early age. A few weeks ago at an orchestral concert in another park, I watched a little boy of about seven as he conducted the orchestra from his blanket on the grass!
Anyway, the video is what you might expect from using a phone in an amphitheatre (although Venetia’s is a tad better than mine), but I hope you get a taste of what a magical night it was — under the stars on a warm summer evening in this magical city!
