Hello from San Telmo, Buenos Aires and welcome to our first semi-weekly blog posting. It´s for real, yo.
First off, it´s true and not exaggerated: Buenos Aires is still extremely cheap, especially for a cosmopolitan locale. Argentina´s peso crashed in 2001 and it still sits around 3:1 with the US dollar. Here are some items from our first grocery receipt (converted to US dollars for your convenience):
Very drinkable bottle of red or white wine: 80 cents
Beef Tenderloin: 3.50 u$s / pound
Big bag of addictive cookies known as Pepitas: 1 u$s
You can get a cafe con leche with 3 medialunas (croissants) for 2 u$s and a 3 course steak dinner for two with a bottle of wine and 10 percent tip for about 25 u$s.
We don´t really know what anybody is saying, until they take pity on us for our deer-caught-in-headlights expressions and either slow down or speak in English. Not that we aren´t trying to use the bit of Spanish we have learned, but the (blended) words come at you rather fast... We´ve had some successes, but our favorite mistake so far is probably: Excuse me, can I use your salad? Luckily, they figured out that salt is easier to share than salad.
So how do we feel? Pretty darn good if we´re talking about the feeling of a bidet vs. toilet paper. Seriously, it just makes sense. We will be the first family in Bend, Oregon with a bidet.
We like our neighborhood, San Telmo (picture left). It´s a bit gritty, the old-world architecture is beautiful, the streets are cobblestone, and it is known for Tango and antiques. We saw some free Tango dancing in the Plaza on Sunday (hot!), and took in a Tango music show with a famous bandonen (tango accordion) player by the name of Leopoldo Frederico. The music is very passionate and grand - the lead singer (a gentleman of 60 or so very well-dressed with silver hair) was actually beating his chest intermittently. Of course, we're not quite sure what he was so riled up about, but I'm thinking it had something to do with a woman!
About to get bounced from this Internet Cafe but need to mention the Lord of the Flies scene we encountered. Check out the last pictures below. We stumbled upon thousands of mostly middle school aged kids while taking a walk to the waterfront´s ecological reserve. One of the niñas told me there was no school in honor of the first day of Spring. All the kids seemed to know where to go, and the adults seemed to know to stay away (we did our best to play it cool). Kids don´t organize like this in the States. Occasional whifs of mota were in the air. The kids seemed largely separated based on which side of the tracks they were from. To the south, there were edgier dressed little folk wearing not so pricy clothes, and to the north, preppy; which, as far as we can tell so far, seems to mirror the city itself, with upscale and middle class Recoleta and Palermo in the North, and La Boca in the south.
You can see more of our first week pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronboydyo/200709170924BuenosAires
Till next time...
xoM+A
First off, it´s true and not exaggerated: Buenos Aires is still extremely cheap, especially for a cosmopolitan locale. Argentina´s peso crashed in 2001 and it still sits around 3:1 with the US dollar. Here are some items from our first grocery receipt (converted to US dollars for your convenience):
Very drinkable bottle of red or white wine: 80 cents
Beef Tenderloin: 3.50 u$s / pound
Big bag of addictive cookies known as Pepitas: 1 u$s
You can get a cafe con leche with 3 medialunas (croissants) for 2 u$s and a 3 course steak dinner for two with a bottle of wine and 10 percent tip for about 25 u$s.
We don´t really know what anybody is saying, until they take pity on us for our deer-caught-in-headlights expressions and either slow down or speak in English. Not that we aren´t trying to use the bit of Spanish we have learned, but the (blended) words come at you rather fast... We´ve had some successes, but our favorite mistake so far is probably: Excuse me, can I use your salad? Luckily, they figured out that salt is easier to share than salad.
So how do we feel? Pretty darn good if we´re talking about the feeling of a bidet vs. toilet paper. Seriously, it just makes sense. We will be the first family in Bend, Oregon with a bidet.
We like our neighborhood, San Telmo (picture left). It´s a bit gritty, the old-world architecture is beautiful, the streets are cobblestone, and it is known for Tango and antiques. We saw some free Tango dancing in the Plaza on Sunday (hot!), and took in a Tango music show with a famous bandonen (tango accordion) player by the name of Leopoldo Frederico. The music is very passionate and grand - the lead singer (a gentleman of 60 or so very well-dressed with silver hair) was actually beating his chest intermittently. Of course, we're not quite sure what he was so riled up about, but I'm thinking it had something to do with a woman!About to get bounced from this Internet Cafe but need to mention the Lord of the Flies scene we encountered. Check out the last pictures below. We stumbled upon thousands of mostly middle school aged kids while taking a walk to the waterfront´s ecological reserve. One of the niñas told me there was no school in honor of the first day of Spring. All the kids seemed to know where to go, and the adults seemed to know to stay away (we did our best to play it cool). Kids don´t organize like this in the States. Occasional whifs of mota were in the air. The kids seemed largely separated based on which side of the tracks they were from. To the south, there were edgier dressed little folk wearing not so pricy clothes, and to the north, preppy; which, as far as we can tell so far, seems to mirror the city itself, with upscale and middle class Recoleta and Palermo in the North, and La Boca in the south.
You can see more of our first week pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/aaronboydyo/200709170924BuenosAires
Till next time...
xoM+A
11 comments:
Wow, this sounds SO amazing! Yay for blogging! Seriously, your blog makes the whole missing-you thing that much more bearable. :-)
it's crazy how much some of the bldgs buildings (in your photo album) look like ones you'd find in paris. i want to quit my job and travel too!! can't wait to see more... xoxo
Hi Mellie & Aaron!
I know we speak all the time but I was so anxious just to see pictures ... Everything looks really cool and you are right - some places like NY. Enjoy the adventure ... can't wait to see Tango lessons. :)) Love you!
Wow, thanks so much for sharing your blog with us! It looks fantastic! We look forward to experiencing your travels and adventures with you! Con Carino and happy trails...Stef
Holy wow - It sounds really crazily-wonderful. Thanks for sharing. Of course, it makes me want to quit and run around the world too:)
Excuse me, can I use your salad. Im going to use that!
Much Love! You're both in our thughts!
k
Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us! Can't wait to hear more and live vicariously through you guys :)
Love,
Amanda and Matt
The best Malbec and red meat in the world as I recall. Can't wait to be there in person again in a few months! Be safe and get out and explore the city and environs in all the ways I did not!! ;)
Aaron
I'm glad you are experiencing that part of the south unknown to many. Buernos Aires has the best of both worlds *modern yet very inexpensive*. Try to get some leather goods they are cheap and the quality is excellent. Let me know when you'll be arriving in Chile so I can give my family the heads up...
Regards,
Connie and Sebastian
Hola! Aaron - I personally love the "Eh, Eh, Eh" song - just kidding but she did win an MTV award for something ... and Mellie, you should have sung at "Open Tango" ... they would have loved to hear you I am sure. Looking forward to seeing you in two months.
Much Love,
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