Buenos Aires pretty much became my home base while I was in South America because it was relatively cheap to fly in and out of. Therefore, since I had decided not to go to Iguazu Falls, I headed back to the city after my week in Brazil. I bit the bullet and ended up taking a car home from the airport because the next shuttle bus to downtown didn't leave for over an hour after my arrival. Then I still would have had to take a city bus back to Palermo and I was already exhausted.
On Sunday, I was so tired from traveling (and barely sleeping) the day before that I slept in rather late. I was still fighting a cold so I ended up just spending most of the day walking around the neighborhood. I think I had reached a sightseeing saturation point and just needed to take a break. Close to where Adela lives is a small Armenian community so I did have a nice dinner at a local Armenian restaurant.
On Monday, I took the subway to Tribunales armed with my video and digital cameras. I had lunch in a nice cafe in a pedestrian plaza right off of Avenida 9 de Julio and then went out along the main street to get some shots of the Colon Theater, the Obelisk and the huge portrait of Eva Peron. I had planned to also go back to Puerto Madero to cross over to the other side of the harbor, but I just ran out of time. I had to get back to Palermo because I was meeting Lisa who had just arrived the day before from Rio. I met her at the Plaza Italia subway station and we walked from there back up Armenia toward Adela's house until we picked a place to stop and get some dinner. We then found a bar where we had some drinks and got into a ridiculous conversation with a local Argentinian guy and his female German exchange student friend. Neither of them spoke very good English so I think they were using us to practice. Once it started getting late, Lisa caught a cab back to her hostel and I walked home to Adela's.
On Tuesday, it was my last full day in Buenos Aires before heading out of town for the final time. I didn't do anything too ambitious because I had some last minute things I needed to get organized before I left. I walked down to Plaza Italia to get some things from the drug store and thank you cards and gifts for Mateo and Adela. On the way there and back I stopped at several real estate agencies that I had previously spotted so see if they had any potential clients who might want to apply for House Hunters. Some spoke better English than others, but it was definitely a big challenge trying to explain the process of the show in my broken Spanish. I did get a bunch of business cards, though, so I figured I would e-mail them with the details when I had more time.
In the evening, once I was back at Adela's, Mateo stopped over to say goodbye. Antonio was sick at home with Greta so he couldn't stay too long. We did share a cup of tea and he helped me to arrange a car to the airport for my flight to Lima, Peru, early the following morning. He then found a milonga where I could go to watch tango that night. Fortunately, it was right down the street, but unfortunately it didn't start until after 11:00pm. I knew I had to get up pretty early so I packed all my bags to make sure I was ready to go before I went to bed.
The milonga was a few blocks away on the main road in a large open space with a dance floor. When I arrived shortly after 11:30pm, recorded music was still playing. I picked a table off to the side and ordered a glass of red wine. Sitting there watching the couples spinning around the dance floor I soon became almost mesmerized. It was nearly 1:00am before the band arrived and finally started playing so I decided to stick around a little longer and order a second glass of wine. Tango is such an intimate and sensual dance that I had the sudden urge to learn how to do it. Several older men actually did approach me and ask if I wanted to dance. However, even though I was slightly tempted, I was way too bashful to get up in front of everyone. Besides, instead of wearing heels like all the other women, I was wearing flip flops.
It was nearly 2:00am before I finally pulled myself away and headed back to the house. After two glasses of wine and hours of being lulled into a trance by the dance, I was feeling rather mellow. Then something happened that snapped me back awake. I put my key into the old fashioned lock on Adela's imposing wooden door and it just wouldn't budge. I'd had a bit of trouble with the lock before, but nothing quite this bad. I stood outside for at least 15 minutes jangling the key till my fingers ached. I didn't make any progress. I finally resigned myself to my fate and knew what I had to do. I had to ring the doorbell and wake up my gracious, snoozing hostess. After several buzzes, a drowsy and confused Adela finally arrived and I explained the situation through the divide. She tried to open the door from the inside, but had no luck herself. In the end, she unlocked the window in the front salon/drama room and I crawled inside through there. I felt absolutely awful for waking her up, but I had no other choice unless I wanted to sleep on the sidewalk.
.jpg)
Five hours later when my taxi arrived, I feared I would have to wake Adela again since I didn't want to leave the window unlocked. When the driver came to the door I tried opening it from the inside again, but still had no luck. At just that moment the cleaning woman arrived and she tried as well from the outside. Nothing was working so I went to grab my bag and handed it out through the window before climbing out myself. The good news was that since the cleaning woman had come I didn't have to wake up Adela. The cab driver and I gave the terrified middle-aged woman a boost through the window and with that I was off to the airport.
On Sunday, I was so tired from traveling (and barely sleeping) the day before that I slept in rather late. I was still fighting a cold so I ended up just spending most of the day walking around the neighborhood. I think I had reached a sightseeing saturation point and just needed to take a break. Close to where Adela lives is a small Armenian community so I did have a nice dinner at a local Armenian restaurant.On Monday, I took the subway to Tribunales armed with my video and digital cameras. I had lunch in a nice cafe in a pedestrian plaza right off of Avenida 9 de Julio and then went out along the main street to get some shots of the Colon Theater, the Obelisk and the huge portrait of Eva Peron. I had planned to also go back to Puerto Madero to cross over to the other side of the harbor, but I just ran out of time. I had to get back to Palermo because I was meeting Lisa who had just arrived the day before from Rio. I met her at the Plaza Italia subway station and we walked from there back up Armenia toward Adela's house until we picked a place to stop and get some dinner. We then found a bar where we had some drinks and got into a ridiculous conversation with a local Argentinian guy and his female German exchange student friend. Neither of them spoke very good English so I think they were using us to practice. Once it started getting late, Lisa caught a cab back to her hostel and I walked home to Adela's.
In the evening, once I was back at Adela's, Mateo stopped over to say goodbye. Antonio was sick at home with Greta so he couldn't stay too long. We did share a cup of tea and he helped me to arrange a car to the airport for my flight to Lima, Peru, early the following morning. He then found a milonga where I could go to watch tango that night. Fortunately, it was right down the street, but unfortunately it didn't start until after 11:00pm. I knew I had to get up pretty early so I packed all my bags to make sure I was ready to go before I went to bed.The milonga was a few blocks away on the main road in a large open space with a dance floor. When I arrived shortly after 11:30pm, recorded music was still playing. I picked a table off to the side and ordered a glass of red wine. Sitting there watching the couples spinning around the dance floor I soon became almost mesmerized. It was nearly 1:00am before the band arrived and finally started playing so I decided to stick around a little longer and order a second glass of wine. Tango is such an intimate and sensual dance that I had the sudden urge to learn how to do it. Several older men actually did approach me and ask if I wanted to dance. However, even though I was slightly tempted, I was way too bashful to get up in front of everyone. Besides, instead of wearing heels like all the other women, I was wearing flip flops.
It was nearly 2:00am before I finally pulled myself away and headed back to the house. After two glasses of wine and hours of being lulled into a trance by the dance, I was feeling rather mellow. Then something happened that snapped me back awake. I put my key into the old fashioned lock on Adela's imposing wooden door and it just wouldn't budge. I'd had a bit of trouble with the lock before, but nothing quite this bad. I stood outside for at least 15 minutes jangling the key till my fingers ached. I didn't make any progress. I finally resigned myself to my fate and knew what I had to do. I had to ring the doorbell and wake up my gracious, snoozing hostess. After several buzzes, a drowsy and confused Adela finally arrived and I explained the situation through the divide. She tried to open the door from the inside, but had no luck herself. In the end, she unlocked the window in the front salon/drama room and I crawled inside through there. I felt absolutely awful for waking her up, but I had no other choice unless I wanted to sleep on the sidewalk.
.jpg)
Five hours later when my taxi arrived, I feared I would have to wake Adela again since I didn't want to leave the window unlocked. When the driver came to the door I tried opening it from the inside again, but still had no luck. At just that moment the cleaning woman arrived and she tried as well from the outside. Nothing was working so I went to grab my bag and handed it out through the window before climbing out myself. The good news was that since the cleaning woman had come I didn't have to wake up Adela. The cab driver and I gave the terrified middle-aged woman a boost through the window and with that I was off to the airport.
No comments:
Post a Comment