As the 90-day mark drew nearer Stuart and I tried to plan a small get away for our next visa run. 1 trip to Colonia is enough to last a lifetime. 4 times would start to feel like torture.
A few days after Chip left Stuart and I booked overnight ferry/bus tickets from BA to Montevideo. The fact the Uruguay has a population under 3.5 million compared to Buenos Aires’ 13 million made this trip a great opportunity to unwind.

That is until we arrived and I discovered I had to leave the next night to be back for a wine tasting…

We made good use of the time we had. On the first day we explored the city stopping at a few museums and lingering in Plazas. We found the Uruguayan people to be very friendly, laid back but also curious.

With Stuart blonde hair and our travelers’ backpacks people stopped to ask us where we from. On one occasion we met a very jovial fisherman who had lived in the states but is now retired.

The next encounter was an Italian dj working in the city. He talked with us in a main plaza and gave us all sorts of advice. His flattery about our language skills and his eagerness to help were well received at first.

He offered to show us the beach. Wrapped up in conversation we followed. When we came to a part of the city with not many people around we began to feel uncomfortable. He was nice enough, but the empty beach and run down apt buildings felt how most bad stories must start.

To give a made up example of how the conversation went
“You like squirrels?”
“I know everyone who sells squirrels in the city, come with me and I get you a squirrels.”

When he told us he had to make a call to one of his contacts Stuart and I decided it best not to follow him any longer. When the call was finished we said good-bye and bee-lined back for the city center.

Once there we stopped for lunch; ordering a Chivito and a cold Patricia beer.

Back to the museums Stuart found the Montevideo Carnival museum. We practiced our Spanish reading plaques and exploring the museum. It sort of reminded me of Las Fallas in Valencia, Spain, especially the harlequin in the entrance.

They displayed typical costumes, photos and floats. My favorite of all had to be the feathered centaur legs.

Pretty exhausted from the journey we stopped at an information office to make plans for the next day. I highly recommend using these tourists’ offices. Usually they are government run and give great advice. We walked away with maps and plenty of information about what to do and see.

One focus of the trip was to explore part Uruguay’s wine trail. Heading the advice of the friendly travel agent we rented a car. It is only fitting that our first car rental experience would be in South America.

Keys in hand we called our Couch-Surfing contact and arranged a time to meet. We were given directions to his office and met at 5 pm. Getting there was an adventure. Stuart’s adrenal glands went into over drive and we dogged buses and mopeds in the busy city.

We arrived unscathed and met our host; a certified doctor who opted not to practice but to go into marketing for himself. He instructed us to follow him. Rather than heading straight to his home he wound us around to several of the city’s parks and places of interest.

We took Las Ramblas which hugs the beach back to his house in Ciudad de la Costa, about 15 min outside the city. Sun sand and water (dirty water, but water.) I could not be happier to escape Buenos Aires.

We arrived at his lovely home where he showed us our room.  He invited us to have dinner with him and his wife. And left us to get settled in.

As our first CS experience as surfers we were very lucky. Dinner meant a full-blown asado! He and his wife returned later with steak, sausage, cheese etc.  He heated up the grill, which uses sticks not carbon like in Argentina. We drank wine and stayed up late chatting with them.

In regards to Couch Surfing I am always to hear strange stories. Most experiences are hardly negative, but being a nice person does not keep others from finding you strange. Our hosts once had a 50-year-old man live with them who had been couch surfing in Montevideo for a long time.

At one house he moved from the house to the backyard construction a small box or shed. On another occasion they hosted a famous jazz musician and his estranged wife who practiced healing with crystals…

We had a good laugh and turned in for the night.

Eventually after staying a in city long enough the question arises “Who has the best pizza?”

Hungry for the answer Stuart and I gathered up a group of friends to go on a pizza tour. Av. Corrientes is famous for theaters, old cafes, book stores and pizza. Many of the city’s first and most famous pizzerias are tucked away in this bustling street.

We started in Micro center and worked our way past the Obelisk to 4 or 5 pizza places.

In a traditional set up you can sit or stand. I prefer to belly up with a big slice and a cold beer. During the weekdays you can see all the business men rush in for a quick bite, with plates pilled high of cheesy deliciousness.

1^st stop, Palacio de la Pizza. 751 Corrientes. I had been here before. The dough is thick…almost as thick as the cheese. I gave a high score, other members of the panel felt we could do better. I submitted only account on our poor beverage selection. Bruce swears by the classic combination of Muscato and pie.  Taking his professional recommendation we committed to an entire bottle: 8 people, $15 pesos, 45 minutes lost attempting to down the sweet viscous fortified wine. 3 stars total

2^nd Las Cuartetas, Corrientes 838. Had less selection of pizza by the slice than #1. Greasy crust, overly salty cheese and bad service left me leaving a lower score. The group had mixed reviews, in part because the pizza did have a thinner crust than Palacio. I think the ice cold Quilmes helped as well. 2.5 stars total

3^rd. Banchero, a classic in the city. Av Corrientes 1300.- Stuart and I split a big slice of spinach and white sauce pizza which I liked a lot and wound up not sharing. Other in our posse went for traditional cheese and were not impressed. Once again cold icy beer. 2.5 stars total

4^th Guerrin Corrientes 1368- Now there is a reason why Guerrin makes every guide book. It is the best; great pie, great service and environment. We huddled in around the center island and worked to finish our final slices. Full and happy we gave Guerrin 4.5 stars.

We opted to quit while we were ahead.  #5 or Los Immortales- Corrientes 1369 is still on the list. Next time I plan to get my pizza to go or “ a llevar”. As a wine lover and a pizza lover I find the wine lists at each of these dinosaurs limited and I wind up getting beer, or in some unfortunate cases cheap Muscato.

But for me a good pie deserves a good bottle of wine. Pizza can be a difficult match; I tend to go by the toppings. A pizza with sausage or pepperoni goes great with a fuller body wine like Malbec or Pettite Verdot.  Another great combo is cheese, pineapple and ham (Hawaiian (sans tomato sauce!) with Torrontes.

If you visit Buenos Aires be sure to try the pizza. Keep in mind this city oozes Italian heritage and cellars some of the best wine in the world.

      I am looking at our cats lay peacefully on the kitchen floor next to a suspicious looking yellow toy dog. The smiles on their faces tell me just how strung out on cat nip they are.
      Stuart and I experienced a similar sensation of lethargy this past week induced by large quantities of steak, cheese and wine. Stuart’s dad came to town for a few days.
      There are several sites on the internet listing things you must do while in Buenos Aires. As you can imagine I have accomplished several; 30. Sprinting across Av. 9 de Julio in one bolt,

 31.Spending an afternoon reading in Ateneo’s book store,

32. Eating pizza from Guerrin on Av. Corrients etc http://www.pizzeria-guerrin.com.ar/      

      But even with all my time in Buenos Aires there were a few I had missed. Chip’s visit motivated Stuart and I to get out and cross of a few more experiences. Thursday morning when Chip arrived, we walked around to 1.Plaza 1.Plaza de Mayo and up Av. de Mayo to Café Tortoni.
      
2.Café Tortoni http://www.cafetortoni.com.ar makes everyone’s list. I’d passed it with long lines of tourists waiting to get in. The interior of the space remained a mystery however, as all the windows are closed with heavy curtains.  We walked in and my jaw dropped, marble, wood stained glass and waiters in tuxedos. We took a seat and ordered a 3.traditional Argentine breakfast; 3 media lunas and café con leche. .

      Afterwards we walked through our neighborhood of San Telmo and showed Chip a few of our favorite spots like 4. Plaza Dorrego , , and 5. Defensa Street  before stopping in at his hotel. Later that afternoon the two headed for 6. Recoleta Cemetery, http://www.recoletacemetery.com/   another staple on the list. I stayed in to work, something that you should avoid at all costs if visiting BA.

      7. La Cabrerra, BA’s most famous steak house. http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/central-and-south-america/argentina/buenos-aires/60725/la-cabrera/restaurant-detail.html , We heard the rumors. We read the reviews online. But nothing could prepare us for the monster cut of steak and smorgasbord of sides they put before us. We walked out with half a cow in a doggie bag. Stu read recently that Argentina has a per capita consumption of beef per year of 143 lbs. I am convinced La Cabrera has something to do with this. http://worldfocus.org/blog/2009/07/20/meat-lovers-mourn-argentinas-disappearing-beef/6393/o

      But no matter how much steak you eat there is always room for 8. Gelatto  We tried to walk a bit of it off by passing 9.BA’s narrowest house in San Telmo.
      
      
      The next morning we woke early. I made crepes, delicious and not on the list but the 10. Dulce de Leche I filled them with was!  We boarded the bus and headed for 11. The Mataderos street fair. Sadly death took on a new meaning in Mataderos as we took the 45 minute bus ride out to discover there was in fact no fair that day. We wandered a few blocks noting the roughness of the barrio; dead dog, broken glass, cracked pavement and headed for the nearby safety of 12. a Hole in the wall parilla, where we 13. ate asado and 14. drank Quilmes.  
      On the way home Stu and his dad repeated # 8.
      
      
      15. We napped. Naps are universal for all travel lists.
      Around 6 we  went to 16. The MALBA  for some modern art. On top of the permanent greats like Frida Kahlo and 17.Plastic Potatoes we swung to the top floor for a peculiar temporary exhibit. Lots of multimedia including a frustrating video of an “artist” stacking Styrofoam blocks. We walked out scratching our heads as one should when leaving a modern art museum.

Potato

      
      We walked around a bit before heading back to our place. We made the night extra special by opening Stu’s 18. Good bottle of wine, the Las Perdices Don Juan. The boys taunted the kitten with more catnip and small chunks of cow from the night before.
      

      For Chips last day in town we walked around 19. La Boca, probably my least favorite on the list aside from 20. Dog poop. It continues to amaze me how exhausting two blocks can feel when you are harassed by people trying to sell you something. “No I don’t want to buy a pair of jeans for my dog. And no I would not like to “prove” a cup of coffee”.

      From there we took a taxi for # 21. Conversation in broken Spanish with a Porteno cabi- This one includes several parts or cannot be considered complete. You must talk about a) Politics, both Bush and Obama. b) asado and meat. c) Soccer and currently d) Michael Jackson.

We exited at 22. Plaza Serrano in Palermo. The afternoon was spent walking around the neighborhood with a stop for lunch in one of the city’s top rated restaurants; Sarki’s. We enjoyed some wine and excellent food. This place makes my list at # 23.

We continued walking and made our way through Alto Palermo and past the 24. The Pollo Fields. We showed Chip the Anuva Head Quarters and experienced a rare phenomenon in this city, rain, not on the list.

Walking some more we all felt the need for a little caffeine. Stuart indirectly repeated #8  again with a coffee milk shake. We warmed our bones and relaxed a bit before splashing through the streets to La Cava Jufre.

We made reservations for a jazz concert and arrived early to snag the giant velvet couch. We ordered a terrific bottle of wine and waited for the show to start. We could not have asked for a better night. We enjoyed a Jazz quartet’s long set with the best seat in the house.

By 2 am we made it back to our apt. The 4 days flew by so quickly it felt weird to say good bye. But we felt proud for accomplishing so much. Next time we will have a few more things to cross off; including 25. Peruvian Chicken with Bruce, 26. Wine Tasting and oh yeah maybe 27. Tango, 28. Leather, and 29. Mate.

After a nice lazy Sunday rise at 12 pm Stuart and I made coffee and planned out our day. We felt a bit cooped up this week and jumped at Bruce’s invitation to take a day trip to Mataderos.

In English Mataderos translates to “slaughterhouse”. Mataderos is a section of Buenos Aires traditionally known for its live stock market and meat packing. Cattle were brought to Mataderos to be killed and shipped to other parts of the country. Some times Mataderos is refered to as the new Chicago.

Our day however had much more to do with merriment and gaiety rather than carnage and gore.

Every Friday and Sunday the neighborhood of Mataderos hosts a bustling street fair.

We descended into masses. Street vendors, artisans, and entertainers packed in around the center square as passer bys made there way through. Unlike San Telmo we saw far less tourists, mostly just Argentine families spending a day outside for great food and shopping.

We were surrounded by smoking grills, traditional song and dance, artisan wines, massive knives, leather goods, mate gords, trotting horses, leather faced toothless gauchos with riding crops the size of base ball bats. At one point we even saw a performer charging people $2 to beat a fake cat with a stick.

We stopped to watch dancers perform Zamba, a traditional folk dance. Couples line up facing each other stepping forward and back. Quick steps take them circling around eachother as the women playfully wave scarves above their heads.

Stuart and I were impressed by the quality of the crafts. Especially  the hand made leather bags and engraved knives. We wandered around admiring the artisanship before looking for the group. We were told “ 3 pm pink café on the corner.” And laughed when we discovered half the buildings are one shade of pink or another.

We found Bruce waiting on the corner of the hot pink café directly across from the band stand. We all agreed to be hungry and headed for the smoke. Mataderos is a great place for parilla. You can also find traditional foods from the province like tamahles (steam corned husks stuffed with xyz) and locro ( a delicious meaty white bean stew). 

We opted for churipans and an $8 peso bottle of Vino Patero, Cab Sauv. The vendor informed us they produce less than 4,000 liters per year. Fruity but better than what I could produce in my basement.

Much more talkative after having been satiated we made our way to the track. We missed the spectacle but Gauchos, which are essentially Argentine cowboys line up and bolt like bats out of hell towards the finish line. Each carries a small metal spear which at full speed they must pierce through a metal loop dangling from the finish line. They charge closely past grandmothers, bundled babies and clumsy children, very exciting.

As they wrapped up gauchos paraded around on their horse as a few children pranced around on ponies and mules. We even saw a dog riding a horse. We made our way back and finished out the afternoon with a beer at the hot pink café.

Tonight I met Nigel, whom I ignorantly referred to as “some fool on a bike” in a previous post. Turns out there is a lot more to his business than a bike and a few bottles of wine. Nigel is a Sommelier with a bike and a gorgeous wine cellar.

0800 Vinos delivers to their clients and hosts tastings near the Abasto shopping center. -I particularly enjoyed the novelty ponchos offered to guests to keep warm in the temperature controlled space.

The tasting was started with a few light and friendly party wines referred to as “credit crunch” values. About 20 people attended. We moved on the featured wines, Sur de los Andes. The wines were varietals wines with grapes from various sub regions in Mendoza.

My top pick for the night was the Bonarda. Very juicy, fresh blueberry bomb all the way. (Stuart try this wine) 45 pesos?

Earlier in the day I had gone to Starbucks with Sophia and Andrea. Just like old times. We drank large coffees and buzzed away on our own projects. It turned out to be a very productive morning. We worked for almost 4 hours before leaving for lunch. Andrea and I went to California Burrito Company which put me into a burrito comma, A beautiful lethargic hour ensued.

Just another day in the life of Ashley. Finding my Italian roomies filming a cooking lesson for Tiramisu in our kitchen… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU0Fm78tDj8

The whole week had the same Easter feeling. Argentina is getting ready for fall and winter. But the changing of the seasons always creates a familiar stir. Most people get sick from the fluctuation in temperature.

The flu that has been sweeping through the city finally caught me. I can’t remember the last time I was sick; possibly last year. Just after commenting how healthy I’d been I came down with a sore throat and a congested head.

The fever always makes things more interesting. Like the time I went to Walmart in Christiansburg during the early stages of bronchitis and left, my gloves, hat, and sweater on some shelve. I walked around the store laughing/coughing and wound up at my house with a 6 boxes of granola before ending up in the emergency room.

This time it was my witness to a meat delivery at my local supermarket. The surreal image of a shirtless man with a heavy unpackaged frozen half cow on his back running to the meat locker seemed completely normal. I stood there smiling deliriously and was nearly knocked over by the next cow.

Alcira confirmed my illness when I went to her house for lunch yesterday. One motherly look at me was enough for her to assess the situation “You are pale, thin and sick. Go sit down”. On my way home I grabbed a “get better kit”; orange juice, jello, soda, crackers and soup.

Last night I tried to move Pluma and Carlos. I made a new home in the unused living room. I normally don’t have allergies but I have no windows and feel like I am chocking on fur. Pluma became very angry and went directly back to my room with her chubby baby dangling from her teeth.

In the last few days of its life the baby’s belly has tripled in size. His scrawny little legs can not support his milk filled midsection. He spends most of the day drinking and rolling around awkwardly.

I felt bad evicting them from my room. Stuart endured my complaining until 5 am when I finally gave up and let them stay the night.  This morning Helen helped me set up a new nest for them. I plan to take all of my bedding and clothes to be washed this afternoon.

Today I felt more like myself.

I woke up early. I missed being a morning person. So I didn’t mind the  45 minute commute at 8am in a packed subway car to Las Canitas; where met Daniel (my boss) to strategize over coffee and media-lunas.

After our chat I rode the rails back to my apartment, checked my email and hoped on a bus to teach a few classes. I am starting to really like my students. They have the best stories and always share new perspectives on Argentine history and culture. I love learning how they process information and how our languages relate to one another. I often flash back to the first time entomology entered my life.

Working in a lumber factory and doing mindless manual labor permits your mind to wander. I found myself constantly thinking about words. This hobby chose me. Wood came down the ramp and words entered my head. I thought of words and tried to think of as many synonyms as possible.

Now when I teach I often give to many words; but try to find as many true cognates or Latin bases as possible.

After classes I took the bus back to San Telmo. I walked up Av. De Mayo in jubilation aware that my new bank card awaited me.

I didn’t mention my recent livelihood. My cash flow ran dry when my bank card expired at the end of February. My  new card got lost in the mail. So I lived to weeks on fumes, borrowing from my room mates and eating pasta.

Once I received my card I took out enough cash to cover my debts and headed to the nearest supermarket. For 100 pesos (30 dollars) I bought 3 bottles of wine enough groceries to choke a pig.

Thanks were in order. I cooked a nice dinner for my 6 room mates to show my appreciation for all their assistance.  A seared a roast beef and put in  the oven  with root vegetables and wine. For desert I drizzled red wine poached pears with dulce de leche.  It felt great to do release some creative energy. At the end of the meal Sophia’s boyfriend, Flo proposed marriage to me.

PS I think Pluma is preggers.

Living with international kids has fostered quite the cultural exchange. We often talk about idiomatic expressions and language as we try to communicate in Spanish. Andrea translates video games from Italian to English and is always using uncommon expressions he finds in the scripts. Dinner is an experience; if someone cooks, they food they prepared surprises the others.

I seldom think of American food as exotic or unique. In fact most people claim we have no real food culture. But in the past two days I have introduced tex-mex burritos and grilled cheese into our flat. Andrea had tried a burrito a few years ago but they were completely foreign to Sophia.  Most people have had a cheese sandwich, but my Italian friend marveled at the “crunchiness” of the pan pressing. I feel authentic Kraft processed cheese or Cambell’s tomato soup would have gone too far. Maybe someday I’ll make Mac n’ Cheese or Ramen.

Stu and I arrived back safely from Mendoza. The bus trip was cozy and included all the before mentioned comforts. However on the next excursion I might consider another bus line. We used Chevalier. I passed on my greenish steak served at dinner. Life is too short for such risks. We noticed they turn off the AC in the middle of the night then crank it 1 hour before arrival. The sensation of being cooked alive can be easily justified as a nightmare. Stu was drenched when he woke up.

 I offer no sincere complaint because I was still elated from the vacation in Mendoza and slept well. 

We spent the next day lounging around the apartment before going to Cristina’s house. Cris’ family invited us for an asado, a traditional argentine bbq. Niether of us had experienced one and were enthusiastic about the invitation.

We brought a bottle of wine from our trip and greeted Cristina’s parents and siblings. We sat outside in the courtyard at a big table. The stars were out and as we looked us we noticed the massive roof top parilla,. Most Argentine homes have a large grill for such an event.

An asado takes hours to prepare and is some what of an art form. Senora Alberti set out salads and home made breads while her husband labored over the meat. Cristina’s dad made his way down the steps carrying a large silver tray of meat including several types of sausage, ribs and inards.

Half way through my plate Stuart had to intervene. I had trouble breathing. As I explained my satisfaction Cristina’s brother informed us these were only appetizers. Moments later a second platter of thick cuts of steaks and more intestines appeared before us. The table began to look like the diagram of a cow.The food was remarkable. The wine we chose was quite manly and worked perfectly to cut through the grizzle of the meal.

As at most Argentine dinners a political discussion arose. They asked a lot of general questions that are nearly impossible to explain in English let alone Spanish. I let the political science major approach many of the questions. However I abused my power as translator to interject my own opinions which occasionally differ from Stuart’s. These broad topics were intersected with many tangents including the social dilemmas of native Americans and reservations.

Their questions stem from an innate curiosity. They wanted to know all about life in the US from the education system to the availability dulce de leche. We talked about our trip to Mendoza.

I could not think of a better last night in Buenos Aires for Stuart. His partiality to Carolina bbq did not overcome his obvious approval of Argentine style. Cristina’s dad said he felt honored to see only bones left on Stuart’s plate.

We came back to my apartment and stayed up for a bit discussing the trip. We woke up and spent the day relaxing before his flight. We opened a bottle of wine I bought on the trip. I finally made a good choice! Stuart 5- Ashley 2? The Weinert 2002 Gran Vino is one of my top picks from the wines I have ever tried.

It felt weird loading his suitcases into the taxi. Goodbyes are always hard but the weight of the wine bottles made me excited for him to share our trip with people back home.  Argentina is a pretty amazing place; my envy of the Blacksburg winter exemplifies the concept of greener grass. I plan to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing before resuming a normal pace of life on Monday. I laid in my bed listening to the watermelon truck make its rounds and thought about what a great time we had together.