A mall off Florida street.
The ceiling.
A store I can't afford.
Cafe Tortoni on Avenue de Mayo.
The dinner show area.
The Tango.
The dancers after the show. Kuly is on the left. The great tango dancer is second from the left.
These huge trees are all around town.
This is a stainless steel flower that opens during the day.
My hair stylist, Jorge Luis.
Our window at the Mundial: the one on the top, left.
The tango painting in the second floor lobby.
An art lesson in La Boca.
Finally, we find a Canadian flag.
Domingo Agnese playing the bandoneon.
The old bridge in La Boca that the little artists were drawing next.
Cafe Tortoni on Avenue de Mayo.
The dinner show area.
The Tango.
The dancers after the show. Kuly is on the left. The great tango dancer is second from the left.
These huge trees are all around town.
This is a stainless steel flower that opens during the day.
My hair stylist, Jorge Luis.
Our window at the Mundial: the one on the top, left.
The tango painting in the second floor lobby.
An art lesson in La Boca.
Finally, we find a Canadian flag.Domingo Agnese playing the bandoneon.
The old bridge in La Boca that the little artists were drawing next.
Wednesday, Oct. 3
A day of falling in love.
My appointment to get my hair coloured and cut and to have a pedicure is at 12 noon. Being Canadian, I arrive early. Jorge Luis is cutting a lady’s hair, so we smile a greeting and I pull out my book and read while I wait. Between regular clients arriving for cuts and friends just to chat, Jorge gets to me at 12:45. Of course, he does not do the pedicure or colour, so the pedicure lady begins on my toes. The colour lady is busy finishing a hair straightening. In breezes another young lady who needs a straightening, so she gets done. Finally, the colouring begins, and the dye is to remain, normally, 30 minutes. But, of course, when the 30 minutes are up, the pedicure lady is at such a stage that we can’t interrupt her. So, the dye stays on an hour - which doesn’t seem to make a difference as the colour is fine. Now, Jorge is in the middle of a cut, and then a conversation with a client/fiend, so he begins my cut at 1:45! The result is, I have nice soft feet and tidy toe nails, hair that is no longer white at the roots, and a hair cut I love. So, Jorge gets my thanks, and he is my first love of the day.
We wander the downtown and have a rest before our 7:30 dinner reservation at Café Tortoni. The atmosphere is very intimate in the cellar of this famous café. The dinner is okay, nothing to write home about, but the Tango show is great. The master of ceremonies and singer is Gabriel Dominguez and he is so expressive you forget you don’t understand the words. One of the couples captivate me and I watch them instead of the others. In the middle is a folklore dance by Kuly Gomez, and I am in love for the second time today. Kuly has so much energy and his feet tap so quickly it is captivating. Anyway, I am glad we have chosen a small venue for the performance as there are lots to choose from in Buenos Aires.
Once we leave the café after taking pictures in the main café, I spy the dancers, especially Kuly and the other great dancer that I enjoyed, sitting on the curb by the building resting and smoking before their second show. Yes, they kindly stand so we can get a picture and I get to kiss the two stars! A perfect ending to a perfect day.
Thursday, Nov. 4.
Today is to be museum day and there is no rush to get mobile. Unfortunately, all the guide books gush over the MALBA museum and we have missed the free Wednesday, but we venture on the bus, get off too early, and walk a bit to get there. Wrong! I am an art lover, but this private collection would be better kept private and not cost 20 pesos each to get in. Afterwards, we figure the investment of the day is worth the expense, but we wish the money was to support El Belles Artes.
After a short visit at MALBA, we walk over to El Belles Artes, which is the free art museum of the state, and we both enjoy it very much. I skip the final modern art section as I do not want to lose the excitement of the earlier stuff. The pieces start with examples of art from 300 b.c. The early paintings and sculptures are extraordinary, but the impressionists are my favourites! Besides the Rembrandts and the Robins, there is a series of Degas’ dancers, Cezanne pencil sketches, Renoir still-lives, and Monets. I think I am ready to leave Buenos Aires, but of course, only after completing the evening with a pizza from El Continental. (Half becomes tomorrow’s breakfast.)
Friday, Nov. 5. Happy Birthday, Patrick
Douglas - Hope # 15 was a great day on the 1st.
This is our final few hours as our bus to Mendoza leaves at 8:55 tonight.
We return to La Boca as Peter saw a shirt there he wishes to purchase. Everyone will get to see it when he wears it to the golf course next summer. We take a stroll to the football stadium and around the area back towards the tourist streets. As we approach the harbour, a young man approaches and, I finally understand, warns us to turn right at the corner because it is dangerous to go in the other direction! We thank him and follow his advice.
We take the city bus back to the hotel, with a short stop on the way for a final “super” dulce de leche ice cream cone, but this time I try a scoop of the very dark chocolate as well. I would love to bring some dulce de leche home but there is no room in my suitcase or in my diet!
The bus depot is amazing! There are seventy-five gates for buses. We are told that our bus will leave from one of five gates so you need to watch the board. We find a quiet place to sit, and Peter periodically checks the board. With fifteen minutes to departure, or bus is not yet posted, so we go downstairs to the area near the five gates and stand, shoulder to shoulder with the other 200 people in this area. With five minutes until departure, just as our bus rolls in, the gate number is posted. But, the people need to get off the bus and retrieve their luggage as we need to put on our luggage and get on the bus! Everyone knows how Peter loves crowds, so it was not a pretty sight. The interesting thing we discovered was that, amid all the so called confusion, the system works extremely well and we are soon on our way.
It is the usual bed, dinner, night-cap, and breakfast deal, all while you are getting to your destination. Tomorrow, Mendoza.
A day of falling in love.
My appointment to get my hair coloured and cut and to have a pedicure is at 12 noon. Being Canadian, I arrive early. Jorge Luis is cutting a lady’s hair, so we smile a greeting and I pull out my book and read while I wait. Between regular clients arriving for cuts and friends just to chat, Jorge gets to me at 12:45. Of course, he does not do the pedicure or colour, so the pedicure lady begins on my toes. The colour lady is busy finishing a hair straightening. In breezes another young lady who needs a straightening, so she gets done. Finally, the colouring begins, and the dye is to remain, normally, 30 minutes. But, of course, when the 30 minutes are up, the pedicure lady is at such a stage that we can’t interrupt her. So, the dye stays on an hour - which doesn’t seem to make a difference as the colour is fine. Now, Jorge is in the middle of a cut, and then a conversation with a client/fiend, so he begins my cut at 1:45! The result is, I have nice soft feet and tidy toe nails, hair that is no longer white at the roots, and a hair cut I love. So, Jorge gets my thanks, and he is my first love of the day.
We wander the downtown and have a rest before our 7:30 dinner reservation at Café Tortoni. The atmosphere is very intimate in the cellar of this famous café. The dinner is okay, nothing to write home about, but the Tango show is great. The master of ceremonies and singer is Gabriel Dominguez and he is so expressive you forget you don’t understand the words. One of the couples captivate me and I watch them instead of the others. In the middle is a folklore dance by Kuly Gomez, and I am in love for the second time today. Kuly has so much energy and his feet tap so quickly it is captivating. Anyway, I am glad we have chosen a small venue for the performance as there are lots to choose from in Buenos Aires.
Once we leave the café after taking pictures in the main café, I spy the dancers, especially Kuly and the other great dancer that I enjoyed, sitting on the curb by the building resting and smoking before their second show. Yes, they kindly stand so we can get a picture and I get to kiss the two stars! A perfect ending to a perfect day.
Thursday, Nov. 4.
Today is to be museum day and there is no rush to get mobile. Unfortunately, all the guide books gush over the MALBA museum and we have missed the free Wednesday, but we venture on the bus, get off too early, and walk a bit to get there. Wrong! I am an art lover, but this private collection would be better kept private and not cost 20 pesos each to get in. Afterwards, we figure the investment of the day is worth the expense, but we wish the money was to support El Belles Artes.
After a short visit at MALBA, we walk over to El Belles Artes, which is the free art museum of the state, and we both enjoy it very much. I skip the final modern art section as I do not want to lose the excitement of the earlier stuff. The pieces start with examples of art from 300 b.c. The early paintings and sculptures are extraordinary, but the impressionists are my favourites! Besides the Rembrandts and the Robins, there is a series of Degas’ dancers, Cezanne pencil sketches, Renoir still-lives, and Monets. I think I am ready to leave Buenos Aires, but of course, only after completing the evening with a pizza from El Continental. (Half becomes tomorrow’s breakfast.)
Friday, Nov. 5. Happy Birthday, Patrick
Douglas - Hope # 15 was a great day on the 1st.
This is our final few hours as our bus to Mendoza leaves at 8:55 tonight.
We return to La Boca as Peter saw a shirt there he wishes to purchase. Everyone will get to see it when he wears it to the golf course next summer. We take a stroll to the football stadium and around the area back towards the tourist streets. As we approach the harbour, a young man approaches and, I finally understand, warns us to turn right at the corner because it is dangerous to go in the other direction! We thank him and follow his advice.
We take the city bus back to the hotel, with a short stop on the way for a final “super” dulce de leche ice cream cone, but this time I try a scoop of the very dark chocolate as well. I would love to bring some dulce de leche home but there is no room in my suitcase or in my diet!
The bus depot is amazing! There are seventy-five gates for buses. We are told that our bus will leave from one of five gates so you need to watch the board. We find a quiet place to sit, and Peter periodically checks the board. With fifteen minutes to departure, or bus is not yet posted, so we go downstairs to the area near the five gates and stand, shoulder to shoulder with the other 200 people in this area. With five minutes until departure, just as our bus rolls in, the gate number is posted. But, the people need to get off the bus and retrieve their luggage as we need to put on our luggage and get on the bus! Everyone knows how Peter loves crowds, so it was not a pretty sight. The interesting thing we discovered was that, amid all the so called confusion, the system works extremely well and we are soon on our way.
It is the usual bed, dinner, night-cap, and breakfast deal, all while you are getting to your destination. Tomorrow, Mendoza.
There are so many things to do in Buenos Aires! I hope I can go there some time!
ReplyDeleteThis year I'm planning to go to Ecuador Galapagos tours because a friend of mine told me it is a really great place!