dale, amigos.

Hi again! Week two is off to a great start here in The Good Airs and I have seen/done many things since we left off...

First and foremost, I got to sink my teeth into my first famed Argentine cut of beef! Last week I went to restaurant in San Telmo with the Holland housemates and 2 girls they had met through a friend, one from Boston and one from London. I tried a very generous cut of jugoso (rare) bife de lomo (tenderloin steak) and it definitely lived up to its reputation. So tender and delicioso! The restaurants that serve the typical Argentine bbq feasts are called parrillas, which refers to the grill or barbeque where they cook all their almost always grass-fed meats. Oh, and this generous, tender cut of grass-fed beef? $5. Umm, yeah.


The parrilla restaurant Desnivel on the right, and one of many more pics of the colonial, cobble-stoned San Telmo neighborhood to come.

Unfortunately this weekend was mostly spent recovering from a short-lived but un-fun stomach bug of some sort (I blame the sub-par tapas) but I was able to get out on Sunday to explore some points of interest in my general "barrio." It was a lovely day- much milder than it has been so I comfortably basked in the sun in Plaza Lavalle and wrote. A little too comfortably, as I am now a bit of a lobster-shouldered mess. So, sunburned but back to full health again!


I exist, kind of! Half of me in front of BA's most phallic - El Obelisco.


A view of Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest street in Buenos Aires, or the world according to Portenos. This pic could be taken straight from my Madrid photo album.


A beautiful day in Plaza Lavalle...


Yesterday I found myself in my new favorite place - the second most fabulous library in the world, according to Britain's The Guardian. It is called El Ateneo Grand Splendid, and splendid it is. An old theater converted to cinema in the 1920's now houses a seriously incredible bookstore, 5 blocks from my apartment. I spent my whole morning there just browsing, wandering, and OH! Those theater boxes you see in the photo below are filled with chairs and couches to sit and read. So cool! And the part that used to be the stage is now home to a lively cafe where many people were enjoying coffee, books, and conversation. As impressive as the architecture and feel of this place is though I must say that the actual selection was a buzz kill.


I decided that since I am here and really trying to soak up as much spanish as possible that I must to read at least one classic novel in spanish, start to finish. Top 2 on my list were Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cien Anos de Soledad, and Isabel Allende, La Casa de Los Espiritus. Ummmm, this place didn't have either one!!! Come on people... not ok. I asked an employee if the Marquez and Allende sections were really as puny as it appeared, and he told me that yes, that is all there is. Lame. I can find them elsewhere obviously, but it was just funny that the Grand Splendid's Latin American author section wasn't so grand, or splendid. I settled for a spanish novel that looks like a fun read, by an Argentina named Laura Beilin called dicembre-dicembre. I also bought a fabulous big and sturdy map of Argentina, which I really need for my travel planning and bus journey that I will embark on in the beginning of March. My spanish teacher was laughing at my sketches of Argentina that I have been using in attempts to plan my route of exploration. Hurray for new friend, the map!

Not to worry though, I have met some humans to hang out with as well. Today was a fabulous day wandering the city with a new partner in exploration, Susi (also from Holland!) who started at my school this week. We have a lot in common and both solo travelers who just began our respective journeys, so I think we might be able to coordinate for some destinations beyond Buenos Aires. Pictures below show our visit to the popular tourist destination El Cemeterio de Recoleta. This wild labyrinth holds the most opulent burial "homes" ever. Among them lies Evita, which was actually quite controversial because not only did she lack aristocratic roots she also fought the good fight for the poor. Truly a unique place, like a miniature city of Argentina’s wealthiest dead. Bizarre, fascinating, beautiful, and eerie all all at once.

Walking down one of the “streets” of El Cemeterio. My sister, if she is actually looking at my blog (yes sisterface, I am publicly calling you out for not yet commenting on my homage to cats, hehe) will enjoy my trademark “flinging of the arm” captured here.


Burial home of the Duarte Family where Evita now rests.

Today I'm off to check out the MALBA- Museum of Latin American Art, the Japanese Gardens, and Evita Museum. Sightseeing like it is my (very fun) job over here! :) Tonight is a night dedicated to tango at one of the famous milongas (tango halls), and a skilled dancer here in BA is going to take a few of us with her to learn a little more about the dance and culture. Fun!

Chau, chau! xoxo

p.s. If you were curious, the first most fabulous library in the world is apparently the Boekhandel Selexyz Dominicanen in The Netherlands, a library inside an 800 year old church. Who knew?