Watch the world go by

Along 'the stroll' near the Recoleta cemetary is a strip of restaurants & cafes. They have redone the area where all their patios are set up.

I had gone for a walkabout one afternoon and sat down at La Biela (a well known cafe right on the corner) to watch the world go by - and it does. There are locals and tourists and buskers and entertainers. You can sit down on the patio of a cafe like La Biela and order a coffee. The staff are professional.... and they are quite happy to let you sit there all afternoon. All that world-watching does generate quite a thirst. La Biela has pretty nice mugs too (and that isnt a coffee mug).

B.

Pisco Sours...

Played golf on Saturday and then afterwards went to friends for chicken wings & Pisco Sours (yes, the night before the 10 K race).

Pisco would be one of those national drinks that you have to be careful with (alcohol content aside). You know how with champagne, you can't call it 'champagne' if it isnt from the Champagne region of France - well two countries (Peru & Chile) are in a dispute over who has the right to claim the name (or origin or home) of pisco which is an aclcohol distilled from grapes.
Whoever claims it, it makes for a good mixed drink (which will sneak up on you and hurt you) called a Pisco Sour. The variation we enjoyed consisted of: one part (a really big part) pisco, one part fresh squeezed lemon juice - from lemons picked from their tree in the back yard...one part water, 8 teaspoons sugar and one egg white. Throw it all in a blender with ice and spin it all up.
Dangerous - tequila dangerous.

Down here the champagne (I mean, sparkling wine) is also very good.
B.

Family

Family is culturally very important here in Argentina.

There are the usual celebrations for Father's Day and Mother's Day (there is the unique one here that I like - Friend's Day) BUT there is another special one.

It is called Children's Day.
The brunch at the Alvear to celebrate it sounds like it will be a blast.


Paying 240 pesos (about 70 bucks) for your 3 year old to have brunch sounds like a bit much..........but hey, the wine is included.

B.

Just for the t-shirt (not really)

I did it.

I have started to fight off the accumulation of extra weight that has come with moving to Argentina. The lomo and Malbec does take it's toll. I ran in the Reebok 10 Km race this morning.

My extra 5 kg put me in the Clydesdale division. So with 5448 of my closest friends... I ran the 10 km loop in the middle of BA..... I haven't run 10 km in at least 10 years. Doing triathalons seems forever ago.

I finished in 1 hour and 4 minutes (finishing 4183rd out of 5449).
Not a record, but I didnt stop and walk, I got the shirt, got the (participation) medal and got really sore. I celebrated with a plate of empanadas when I got home.

B.

Friday Night Lights

Mimi is back in Canada visiting with the kids. It was Friday night so I went for a walkabout in the neighborhood to take some pictures. The weather has cooled off this week - it is refreshing.


This is our apartment building....

Here is the Alvear Palace....someone important is staying there this weekend because there was lots of security and an ambulance parked out front the whole time. They must have been old, sick or important...or all three.One of the local flower vendors.....



The Palacio Duhau (the Hyatt hotel)......



Here is the Santa Sede - the Vatican Embassy in BA....


This is the Disco - our local grocery store - which is the home to the 45 minute plums.



The Basilica del Pilar next to the Recoleta Cemetary - built in 1715 (lights installed later).




And right on the corner next to the apartment is Vitto (Pizza Resto Cafe) - I think I have had at least 50 Napolitana pizzas here.

B.

First it was the Dengue Fever....

Then it was the Swine Flu (now affectionately called H1N1)....but I think there will be reasons to consider Avian (Bird) Flu next.

A fresh 5 degrees over the last few days will keep the germs at bay...but not the pigeons.

B.

It was 2.2 degrees on the apartment terrace this morning. I got to wear my Descente Coach's coat for the walk to work this morning. The heat has been turned off in the apartment because of some gas pipe problems. It is down to 19 degrees in the apartment.

And it snow here yesterday.

I have a tee time for Saturday.

It feels like Calgary in July.

B.