It was just a matter of time...

Within three days in two cities in Argentina, I have found two 'other' Barney's.

Once in Salta, in northern Argentina. The image is poor (similar to pictures of the elusive Sasquatch in Canada) but I was able to catch a quick glimpse of it using a camera phone.And once on a Sunday afternoon, I was able to get a great shot of another Barney here in BA - standing in front of the Botanical Gardens.

I am not sure if there is room in this country for three of us.

B.

Alice's Restaurant

When guests come to visit, it is an opportunity to become a tourist yourself.

In late October, we joined a group of about 14 ex-pats and went to an estancia - Don Silvano's Estancia Turistica. Many said it was quite touristy (I dont know how you would come that conclusion). A friend, Alice organized the trip for all of us.Things started off slowly and then just got more fun, more interesting and very entertaining by the time we left at the end of the day.

My brother and his wife were here for three weeks from Montreal. It is great to see them and to start taking the trips we have looked forward to while we are here.

An estancia is like a ranch. Ok, it is a ranch complete with horseback riding, an asado, the traditional Argentine BBQ and entertainment. Something like going to a sugaring off event in Quebec.

As part of the entertainment, there was traditional dancing from many regions of Argentina...this couple would change outfits and would perform dances from across Argentina...

At one point, I was called up because I took a photograph. The leader of the group performing did not appreciate it.He was upset......because he wanted the entire group to pose for the photo I had taken! It also included performing the tango which originated here in Buenos Aires...After the meal, we watched a demonstration of horseback riding skills by the gauchos.. which included the gauchos holding a stick the size of a pencil....race towards a ring suspended from a string and try to capture the ring on the stick in a full gallop.

They then traded the ring for a kiss from a woman in the crowd.
These guys were good.

Springtime in Argentina........

B.

50 is fun!

This birthday party started out as 'jeans and a Mexican potluck' and evolved into a grand event in a beautiful apartment here in BA. We were there to celebrate Sheridan's 50th birthday.

I was asked to take pictures. Mimi was asked to cook. I took about 200 pictures, I think Mimi cooked about that much asparagus! It was a black & white affair but there was no mourning for this birthday girl....
Our party hosts, Jamie & Jane did an amazing job of decorating the apartment, organizing the potluck and cutting Ian loose with his mastery of trivia for an event like this.

Yes, there was some Mexican elements to the evening including Corona beer!

Mimi and I also made ribs. Damn good ribs.

I have to admit, it was the 'shiniest' potluck supper I have ever been to.

And it was a lot of fun.

Gifts were kept to making a donation to SACS (Send a Child to School) but Gary did give Sheridan a trip Antarctica to see the pinguinos!

B.

Ok...here is the secret to 'our' ribs. Take the remis to the Kansas restaurant, head into the lounge, have a beer and then order 8 dinners of 'Houston' ribs with sauce 'para llevar' (to go). We skipped the salad and fries.....just the ribs 'por favor'. We sat there, enjoyed the beer and then out came with bags of ribs, containers of BBQ sauce and off we went to the party.

Election Night In Canada....in Argentina

We were invited to the Canadian Embassy as guests of the Canadian Ambassador, Tim Martin to watch the results of the federal election.


It was a fun night.

The Ambassador is a pretty laid back guy and his wife, Fatima & Mimi got along really well....go figure. I think they make great representatives of Canada here...but then I think we do too!

It was a buffet dinner and free beer - a bit different than the last time we got to the 'Canada Club'.

We watched the results via streaming CBC video on the internet on a ~ 90" BIG screen TV. We left the party at close to midnight when the Conservatives were 'leading or elected' in 144 ridings. It was a school night after all.

A majority sounds like it slipped away from Harper although most of Alberta voted his way.

There were a few Argentine Members of the Senate in attendance - I think they were there to watch democracy in action.

Harper may have a minority government, but not like the minority Cristina finds herself in down here these days.

B.

More golf....yesssss!

I got to enjoy another round of golf. This one was at the Ituzaingo Golf Club. A beautiful clubhouse and not a bad course overall. We had expected to enjoy a beer after the first 9 but this course is built like some courses in Saskatchewan (so I am told) where the Front 9 is actually 10 holes and the Back 9 is 8 holes. Nevertheless, the size of the beer made up for it. One litre bottle of Stella for 10 pesos (about 3 bucks).

I was thinking I was looking a bit chunky in the photo until I saw the next photo......

Note to self...if you want to look thin, stand next to the big guy! Meet Buddy here.

B.

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving evening this weekend. It was more than just a dinner - it was an event. Our hosts - Gary & Sheridan searched the city (three grocery stores) to find a turkey...
One guest, Jamie jumped right in to tear the bird apart (yes, after it was cooked). I think she learned this in New Orleans. No one can ever accuse Jamie of not getting her hands dirty....




Mimi was responsible for preparing the potatoes and asparagus.
My responsibility was to carry it all to our friends' apartment. So there I was, carrying a box with cooked asparagus (ready for serving) and a casserole of Elsie's Potatoes and wearing a backpack filled with two bottles of wine, camera, butter, a lemon and my jacket. This allowed Mimi to have two hands free to safely navigate the sidewalks of BA.


Dinner was for 7 of us - This included 2 Brits, whose son won the silver medal in the rowing 8's in Beijing and who are on their 23rd posting in their ex-pat career. Ian was showing us that moving 23 times requires balance in your life (ha ha ha ha!).
Jane just smiled. I am sure that her response might be a bit different...There were also 4 Canadians (we were two of them) and one stray American whose husband was back in the US on business. We had a great time.
We concluded that Elsie's Potatoes are a hit in any country (but please ensure you have a potato masher before attempting to make them!)
After dinner, we played Mexican Train Dominoes (we certainly got on this train with Go Cups!!!).....
There was no joy this night. Nope, none at all as Jamie & Sheridan can attest. I have no idea why Gary was trying to keep score..... because we all know who won!

The next morning, we had to check the photos to see what made our heads hurt. Mimi was convinced she had bumped her head. I assured her that it was something else that "bumped" our heads from the inside.

Thank goodness it was a long weekend here.

B.

Our first Canadian guest

We have hosted our first Canadian visitor!

Darcy has been touring Brazil and Argentina for a couple of weeks and stopped into Buenos Aires twice. We know Darcy from the Lake Louise World Cup events where she volunteers as well.

She came to the apartment for dinner on one evening. On her second time in BA, we met her for an early dinner before her airport shuttle picked her up at 2 am for her long flights to Bhutan to join an Operation Smile medical team. It was fun to get caught up on things back home and share experiences about Argentina.

After her return from Mendoza (wine country), I said we would meet at the corner of Maipu and Marcelo T. Alvear to go out for dinner. While I was waiting for her to arrive, I took this (poor) camera phone photo of the sign in the window.

Notice the bottom right hand corner of the photo.....small world.

B.