Mi Argentina Quierdo
Hola! Happy New Year! It's been a while... my blogging hasn't kept up with my peregrinations.
Argentina was amazing: fantastic food, fashion, mountains, wine, people. Within hours of landing in Buenos Aires, Double Black Diamond (nee The Professor) and I were scheming about how we could spend an academic break there sometime. Now that we've got a house (yes, more to come on that) in the oh-so-desirable Bay Area, we might be able to swing a home swap.
This is the street we stayed on in Palermo Viejo (which is already 'over' according to the New York Times, but felt very hip and happening to me).
Beautiful tile work. I wish this were my bathroom.
One of Argentina's many outsize claims to fame: the widest avenue in the world: 9 de Julio. Eight or nine lanes in each direction.
A billboard displaying the famously wry and dry Argentinian sense of humor.
Mendoza, in the wine country at the base of the Andes, where my friend Tina lives, was perhaps even more lovely than Buenos Aires. It's a relaxed city full of wide leafy boulevards, pleasant plazas, lush parks, and snow-fed fountains. The pace, ease, and greenery reminded me of Mysore, India.
Perhaps it was the mosque that made me think of Mysore...
Or the yellow flowers...
Delightfully, it was spring in Argentina, while the winter rains were just closing in on California, and the streets were littered with flower petals.
We hired a guide one day to take us around to the sites. Martin, an eight-thousand-meter peak mountain guide, used to leading clients up nearby Aconcagua, was vastly over-qualified, but good-natured and great company. He took us to Salentin Winery, spectacularly-located at the foot of the Andes.
Then we went on a short hike to a waterfall. Maybe it was the elevation, or the wine tasting, or the flu that Eric had recovered from days before, but neither of us were very light on our feet, despite claiming to be rock climbers back home.
Back in Buenos Aires, we continued stuffing ourselves with delicious food: dinners followed by gelato. Guido's Bar, an NYT recommendation, delivered the best meal I've had in months. As soon as we sat down, an array of delicious appetizers arrived at the table, along with a bottle of the house wine. There's no menu, just a continual flow of incredible dishes from the kitchen.
Argentina was amazing: fantastic food, fashion, mountains, wine, people. Within hours of landing in Buenos Aires, Double Black Diamond (nee The Professor) and I were scheming about how we could spend an academic break there sometime. Now that we've got a house (yes, more to come on that) in the oh-so-desirable Bay Area, we might be able to swing a home swap.
This is the street we stayed on in Palermo Viejo (which is already 'over' according to the New York Times, but felt very hip and happening to me).
Beautiful tile work. I wish this were my bathroom.
One of Argentina's many outsize claims to fame: the widest avenue in the world: 9 de Julio. Eight or nine lanes in each direction.
A billboard displaying the famously wry and dry Argentinian sense of humor.
Mendoza, in the wine country at the base of the Andes, where my friend Tina lives, was perhaps even more lovely than Buenos Aires. It's a relaxed city full of wide leafy boulevards, pleasant plazas, lush parks, and snow-fed fountains. The pace, ease, and greenery reminded me of Mysore, India.
Perhaps it was the mosque that made me think of Mysore...
Or the yellow flowers...
Delightfully, it was spring in Argentina, while the winter rains were just closing in on California, and the streets were littered with flower petals.
We hired a guide one day to take us around to the sites. Martin, an eight-thousand-meter peak mountain guide, used to leading clients up nearby Aconcagua, was vastly over-qualified, but good-natured and great company. He took us to Salentin Winery, spectacularly-located at the foot of the Andes.
Then we went on a short hike to a waterfall. Maybe it was the elevation, or the wine tasting, or the flu that Eric had recovered from days before, but neither of us were very light on our feet, despite claiming to be rock climbers back home.
Back in Buenos Aires, we continued stuffing ourselves with delicious food: dinners followed by gelato. Guido's Bar, an NYT recommendation, delivered the best meal I've had in months. As soon as we sat down, an array of delicious appetizers arrived at the table, along with a bottle of the house wine. There's no menu, just a continual flow of incredible dishes from the kitchen.
Comments