Walking, Dancing, Marching, Honking & Banging on Pots

Today was one of those days.
In the winter when it gets grey and cold and damp, you forget just how amazing the skies are here, when the sun shines and the clouds are gone.
The skies were that blue again, that amazing blue that I will always think is only here, never this blue anywhere else.
There were a few clouds, white , fat , puffy things that came and went .. serving their purpose as a little contrast for the blue.
No wonder the Argentine flag is Blue and White.

We decided to get out and walk like we do when the weather is agreeable.
And walk we did. Miles.
My feet are no longer speaking to me and my back is considering going on strike.

We walked from our neighbourhood, down a quiet side street to another neighbourhood, called Palermo.
Palermo Botanico to be exact.
Once in Palermo , we wandered through the little streets, crammed with shops, and cafes and book stores and beauty parlors and pet shops and more cafes and   boutiques.
We walked down the little street that is divided by a small park with giant palm trees , where people can relax on benches and children can play in a tiny playground .. on an "island" between streets.

We went to the Evita Peron Museum.
Not to the Museum itself but the Cafe.
You can have just drinks, just dessert or a salad or a big meal, served by the nicest staff.
And all the while, listening to great music.
That is one thing we noticed as soon as we arrived here, the music they play in stores and restaurants and cafes. It is always good.
I like shopping at our Chinese market for the music too.
Mostly American songs from the 60's and 70's.
Yeah, that was me, on the pasta aisle, dancing .

We walked home along Libertador, the huge great avenue that leads to our house.
We had good appetites at dinner time, needless to say.
Then we got to enjoy the Protest.

Not to get into all the political this and that and whatevers, but everyone is unhappy with the Presidenta and they made it known tonight.
Starting at 8:00 pm, everyone who wanted to ( which means everyone ) took a pot or kettle or something similar and went outside and banged on it.
Taxis going down the streets, honked their horns ..
So you sort of have this cacophony of pots clang , clang, clanging while  horns toot, toot, tooting and then you have a few buses and trucks who let loose on air horns.
At first it is funny, then it is really ( at least for me) very touching. These people have been through so much, through the years, with their governments and people in charge and horrible things have happened and they are still cheerful, smiling, kind and ready to laugh and just want a President and government that will work for them. And when things don't work, they make themselves heard.
God Bless the People of Argentina, I love them all and I hope they don't need to bang anymore pots after this.

                                Another reason why it is easy to love Argentina .... the music.

Wherever you go, there you are ....

We spend our days walking.
We spend our walks talking.
We start slowly with many cups of coffee, perhaps a scone , then bundle up against the winter wind and off we go.
Some days, lately, have been bright and sunny and not quite so cold.
Those are the days that lift spirits that are a wee bit low from what seems like an endless winter.

Plans and anticipation for other places and other people cause anxiety and restlessness, best fought off by long walks and stops for hot tea and perhaps something sweet.
Evenings are spent with movies, catching up on last years Masterpiece Theatre, last years BBC specials and a few bloodthirsty television shows from Fox.
We snuggle in with pillows and soft blankets and watch television in a dark room.
We could be anywhere, New York, Florida, Oregon, but we are in Buenos Aires... Argentina.

Today gave a small hint of Spring .. there were more flowers in the trees and bushes.
I thought I found a cherry tree, covered in pink flowers, beautiful.. full of promise of warm sunny days .
The big, fat, white clouds skid across these impossibly blue skies  , it is chilly but you can sit at a cafe outside and turn your face to the sun and close your eyes and know it won't be long.
Summer will be here before you know it.

The birds are busy.
Doves are building nests outside the neighbours windows.
Parrots come down the boulevard, squawking and carrying on , now they like the tree outside our living room window.
I have lived here for over 5 years now, I still get excited when I see bright green parrots in the Plane trees outside the living room window.

The trees used to cheer me, they look so Paris-like.
Plane trees, planted here by plan by a Frenchman who lived here, worked here, planned parks and avenues and is buried here, in one of his parks.
Now the Argentine parrots live in the trees .. while ex-pats look out the windows and admire them.

I comfort myself with the chore of storing away all the memories as best I can, in photographs and writing it all down.
Some day, I will be so glad that I did.

Impatiently Waiting

The US welcomes you back with open  slightly judgemental arms ..

My favorite quote of the day , no ... of the month !
We are waiting for our buyer to show up.
The realtor emails me and says, Today at 3, I come with a buyer. If Only !!
They come, they look, they smile and chatter away with the realtor, discussing this and that then they leave.
Never to be heard from again.

We have sold 2 homes before this .. they sold fast and easily.
Of course, the President of the US didn't decide to change the laws and rules and way of doing things forever, just to suit his/her mood .. or the mood of her friends who are Presidents of other countries.

So we sit and we wait.
The mover sits and waits.
The House in the Country in the US,  with a fireplace and lots of property, that I have not seen yet, sits and waits.

I shop, I go to the doctors and have various things cut off of me, stitches put in , stitches taken out, new things for doctors to look at.
There is Shopping to do .. I am sick of winter clothes.
I bought a pair of beige ballet flats. If we move back to the US in the next couple of months, those shoes will have to wait another year before they see Summer or get to be worn.
What a depressing thought !

I wanted to have some kind of summer back in the US.
But now it looks like we will just have    2 winters in a row... and that is if we are lucky !

Be prepared for lots of whining.
It is the price you have to pay.....

We had big storms last night.
The sort that come with thunder so loud, the television could not be heard.
The sort that the lightening lights up the rooms.
The sort that goes on and on and someone falls asleep counting the seconds between lighting and thunder to see just how close it really was.
I was again happy that we have no car, there was a hail storm in the night also.
Lots of new dimples in some cars today.

We took a walk and I took photos
What I would like to be doing is shopping and going out to dinner ... in a warm New York.

I was never famous for being patient.
Just to show you that it was not altogether a wasted day ...
We walked here ....

And I briefly contemplated the possibilities of Me wearing This...

Let's hope someone comes to buy this week... or you might have to live through more whining ..

Friday Photo

                   Winter in Buenos Aires

Perhaps ...

A cold grey winter day in Buenos Aires should only be spent doing one of a couple of things.
Shopping or staying in  and being cozy with warm drinks and good music.

Not one to be satisfied with making a  choice , I am enjoying my hot tea and good music while I admire my new shoes.
Let us not forget that I can do many things at once, this is a talent I am proud of.

Looking out the windows, I see that the sun gave up and just said, Here, Cloud, you can have it today but I get it tomorrow.
Let's hope Señor Cloud doesn't get all selfish and want to stay around for the whole week !
Although I appreciate Señor Cloud much more than Señor Rain who came around the other night    and didn't stop  .
So let it be cold and grey and raw, I can listen to nice music, keep my new shoes company and plan on when I will get to wear them.

Perhaps the lady that came to see the apartment today, who is coming back again with her husband, will be the ones who will fall in love and move in to this lovely old apartment.
Perhaps my husband and I are getting that little bit closer to packing up our belongings and memories and shoes and moving back to the US.

Perhaps, dinner will be delivered since we all know it is a bad idea to cook when someone might come look at the house.
You don't want it to smell of cooking and what if I miss cleaning up a spot ! ??
No, Take - Out might be the way to go .. only for the sake of the sale of the house, you understand.

Time to Go

It is raining here.
This is August.
When we arrived in Buenos Aires ( to live) , it was April  .... sunny, bright, dry and cool.
I thought this was the place where the weather would not be as cold as New York, not as hot as Florida and not as wet as Oregon.
I was sort of right but .... the Summer lasts for about 6 months ( or so it seems)  and Winter can be as dismal and grey as any London winter, complete with damp.
Bone chilling damp because we live in a great draughty building with high ceilings and big high French windows and doors that are never really air tight and the radiators just never keep up ..

But there is so much charm, when I am really fed up with wearing all my sweaters at one time, I just sit  down and look around the room and remember how I fell in love with this place the day I walked in the door for the first time.

How my dreams of living in France, in an old building with high ceilings and French doors came true .. all but the living in France part.

My neighbours continue to warm my heart each day, with their shows of concern, their friendliness and making sure we actually understand the notice they slipped under our door.
Like the one we got yesterday.

The one telling us that the tree that houses my doves outside my bedroom window, is going to be cut down. Soon.
The tree has roots that are growing under the building next door, causing trouble.
And you know what that means, a tree that causes trouble, has to go.

No more naps in the summer with the windows open and being lulled to sleep by the sounds of doves cooing.
No more shade and calm green outside the windows.
Now there will just be the other building, with windows.
So my windows will always be closed, the curtains closed.
It is time to go.

Our days have a routine that is lovely, it is so pleasant not having to be somewhere, not having to do something that one would rather not do , not having any obligations.

But this is only good for a certain amount of time.
Then life intrudes and that is good.
You don't want to look back on time and say you Drifted that long !

A small bit of drifting is good .. what comes  next will be anything but ... packing, arranging movers, packing, flying, hotels, cars, reunions with loved ones, shopping, real estate .. decisions .

But for now, we are in a lull.
And I am enjoying it while I can... before it is time for us to go.

The Doors of Buenos Aires

                     The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Friday Photo

The School of Engineering

At the Cinema

The movie theatre in our neighbourhood is beautiful.
It was is the lower level of a large mall that was renovated a while back and thankfully, they left the old theatres alone , same big comfortable seats, same carpets with stars on them, blue padded walls...
I feel quite tucked in and happy in a comfy dark theatre with those padded walls and big plush seats.
Hmmmm ... padded walls, happy ... have to think about this a while.

Today is the day our housekeeper comes and it is best we stay out of her way.
And best that we don't have to listen to her non-stop tuneless little whistle that she makes... as if she were a little tea kettle that is losing steam ...

Last week she did not show up.
We got an email from her daughter, describing the terrible accident where a bicyclist hit her.
She is a tiny woman, we cringed at the thought of a mad bicyclist, pedalling like crazy, crashing into our poor little Nely.
We sent kisses and get well wishes.

There was no note from her daughter this weekend or this morning so we were sure she was all better and we would see her.
To stay out of her way, we went to the movies.
We went to see the Woody Allen film.
I have not been to Italy. My husband has.
He had an apartment in the area that was a location for  a few scenes in the movie.
I am sure he enjoyed seeing Rome and his old neighbourhood.

I was happy to see Rome , the Spanish Steps, Penelope Cruz and well, that is about it.
I finally can say that I have seen a Woody Allen movie that I hated.
I was bored to tears, irritated with the silly dialogue and everyone looked terrible.
Woody needs to stop starring in his own films.
Even Judy Davis, whom I adore, looked dreadful.
She had no chance to be funny, which she really is.
And then that (awful in my opinion) man Alec Baldwin was in the film.
Looking and sounding exactly the way he does in "real life" .. just with a nice suit on.

It only made me wish that I could see a good Pedro Almodovar film.

And there was no heat on in the theatre so by the end of the movie, my feet were blocks of ice at the end of sticks of ice ..

We came home to No Nely.
No call, no email.
No excuse for not showing up and forcing me out of the house to see a lousy movie.
I will never forgive her.
Not showing up was bad enough, but sitting through a bad movie ? Unforgivable.

Friday Photo

Autumn in Buenos Aires

Aahhh ~ Life in Buenos Aires

The hustle, the bustle, the music, the dogs, the men, the women, the children and the Traffic.
I write this to the sound of one million people , stuck in traffic, honking their horns.
Anyone with half a brain knows that no one is going anywhere, Gridlock has happened.

Thanks  to heavy rain, bad drivers and unforeseen Acts of God, they are all stuck in traffic and they won't sit there quietly and suffer, they want the world to know how they feel.

Occasionally there is the Ambulance that comes along and gets stuck, siren going, no one can move ,
so they honk at each other some more.
My hat is off to the Ambulance Drivers of Buenos Aires!

I imagine myself driving to a hospital, stuck in traffic where people don't know or follow basic rules of driving ..
I think I would just ram the guy in front of me, see how fast the rest would get out of the way.
This would make a good reality series.
We can call it Death Race 2012 .. or Get The #@$@  Out Of My Way ..

Why is it that when it rains, people forget how to drive ? If they ever knew how to begin with.

foto

So the rain is pouring down, I have checked all the windows .. I am always on the look-out for a leak .
This never used to be so but after living here for 5 years, water and I have an uneasy relationship.
I like it, I want it and yet, I don't want to see it in certain areas ... under the windows, up around the ceiling or puddling on the floor.

My psyche has forever been damaged by the ordeals over the past 5 years of Water Issues.
It might not sound like much to you, but it is surprising to know how Water Issues can change a persons life.
I will write a book about it one  day, a best seller, everyone will look at rain and the upstairs neighbour in a whole different way.

Being stuck in with rain and this and that, I have turned to the kitchen to avoid boredom.
We now have macaroni and cheese , made with a healthy dose of Dijon Mustard , cooling on the counter.
One of us has had a nice big cup of hot broth to chase away symptoms of a cold.
Both of us have had our scones and one of us is now staying away from the kitchen to avoid a second scone, another taste of macaroni and perhaps some M&Ms ... this is why Rainy Days are fattening.
Yes, Rainy Days are fattening, you didn't know that ?
Ha ! in some countries they are worse than others.

At least here, leaving the house and ending up in a cafe, restaurant, diner would mean walking through the rain ... in the US ( for example) you can hop in a car and be anywhere that you wish without getting soaked. .. making certain countries worse when it comes to Rainy Day fat.

No one is looking for a house to buy today, that's for sure !
Over the sound of rain and horns, we can sometimes hear a faint cheer going up from somewhere, a futbol game is being won ... happy people will be dancing in the streets ( as soon as the rain stops) and a happy team will get a big cup and there will be much happiness in futbol land.

Meanwhile in my land, would someone please send me a chocolate cake.

Friday Photo

Just in case you think life in Buenos Aires is all fun and games and walks in the park.

Our local supermercado

But we do walk in the park every day ~

Plans ..

As I sit here preparing to turn off the computer , I hear the shutters in other apartments being closed.
It is a sound that I now associate with bedtime.
Great white shutters that cover the French doors and windows, locked  and keeping the inhabitants safe and  offering some protection from the bright early morning light.

We went downtown today, ( imagine Wall Street NY ... but much smaller, dirtier ) and did some boring things that one is required to do in places like that .. then home to think of what to do next.

It has been cold .. Winter is here and it feels like it, especially at night.
I had plans for tomorrow, they involved shopping.
Now I hear that the Teamsters are striking until the weekend when the Presidenta comes back from her meetings here and there.
Petrol is getting low, tempers are flaring, in one place, shots were fired.

I think this means that instead of a taxi ride to Palermo for  lunch and shopping  , the plan for tomorrow will be Museum Day.

We can start out at the Belle Artes, that will take a while.
They spent months and months renewing things, making new rooms, new exhibitions and painting , it is time we took a look at the results.

Then a few blocks away, is the Palais de Glace, an ice skating rink in the "old days", now a wonderful round building that holds art exhibits that constantly change.
It is free, the art is usually interesting at least and sometimes wonderful.

From there we can walk up the hill to the Recoleta Cultural Center and see what they have on exhibit there.
Lunch or just coffee at the Gout Cafe ( our new favorite place) and there you have the day.

Wishing you a Good Night and a Fun Friday ~

Today was Flag Day

I admit that we did not know until we realised that it was awfully quiet outside, there were no horns honking, no sounds of traffic or work being done somewhere.
It was quiet.
How very odd !
I looked out the French doors and there, across the street ... a flag on a balcony. Then a taxi went by, a flag on his antenna, more flags on more cars !
There you have it, Flag Day.

Most food shops and grocery stores were open, cafes and restaurants were open, there was something large and loud and musical happening at the park ..
Slowly we made our way to the shops, picked up goodies for dinner then having dropped those at home, decided to wander.

We are experts at wandering.
We decided down the block that it was a bit too cold and windy to wander far, so we just meandered .. This means we only went a few blocks, through another park, then home again to hot tea, scones and deciding what movie to watch tonight.

Yes, life as an ex-pat in Argentina can be almost   too exciting sometimes.

(flag photo taken by my husband)

Friday Photo

view- Summer

view - Now

A Look Around the Neighborhood

A Sunday Walk

Most Sundays are very lazy days for us. 

Well, one of us , the other is industrious, full of energy and ambition and gets Things done. 

The other one of us, watches , admires and appreciates.

We make a good couple.

So in the afternoon, we figured we would go out and at least take a walk, get some fresh air, see what is going on around the neighbourhood.

I asked this little fellow but he wasn't saying.

As you can see, Autumn is definitely in the air... and the trees. 

I love it!

I also love the fact that there are two blooming seasons here. 

Spring and Fall.

So we have trees that have lost their leaves already but they are blooming flowers.

I'm telling you ... this place is Magical.

I take a lot of photos of buildings. 

I never realised I loved architecture so much until we came here.

Imagine how I would be if we lived in Paris.

Or London or Italy or ... well, you get my drift.

Sunday night   dinner - Take-out.

That is the law. 

Well, not really The law ... but I made it a house rule.

One of my favourite rules, now that I think about it.

What is Buenos Aires to Me ?

Taking a note from Paris Breakfast who asks what Paris is to her, I thought I would see if I could tell you in photos, the answer to the question, what is Buenos Aires to me ..

The Monuments

The Architecture

The Skies

the Parks

the Doors

the "Frenchness"

the Dogs

the Memories

I am freezing

Winter seems to have arrived.
I didn't notice that Autumn was very long, we hardly had time to enjoy it, it was very warm then , now   it is very cold.
My blood has thinned since living here.
I am freezing.

We went for a long walk today, wandering farther in areas we don't spend much time in.
I had the cell phone in case ... In case someone is still in the city and not out in the countryside  , after all, it has been something like a 5 day weekend, recently declared by the Presidenta.
With much honking and ado, everyone left town last Thursday and I imagine later tonight , they will all arrive back .. hopefully with less honking.
Some people do love their horns.
Some people should be thankful I have no paint balls handy.

My feet are frozen.

It really was nice, walking on Santa Fe, a huge street that is generally jammed with people .. shops and stores and offices and markets side by side.
I try not to go to Santa Fe, I dislike getting knocked around by people seemingly fleeing a fire or at least a dragon, knocking people aside in their rush.
I always seem to be the one getting knocked aside.
I should gain some weight, that'll teach 'em.

There was plenty of room and time to stand outside various windows and look at .... Shoes.
I see a few pairs that I guess I will just have to bring back to the States with me.
I have no idea if they are wearing them there yet but I will bring them anyway.

Suede.
Black of course.
High platform, picture the Birkenstock clog , 1970's,  with just a front , they are open backed.
Everyone wears them and they look comfy and they will make me taller.
Nothing wrong with that.

And people will say, Oh where did you get those darling shoes ?
And I will shrug and say, Buenos Aires ... how worldly I will seem ~
And then there are the boots .. soft leather, a pair of short boots with metal bits on them, a little Rock 'n Roll looking and a few pairs of soft leather Ballet flats..
I have 2 pair, I think at least 2 more should do it.
One has to be in a leopard print, I think .. maybe the others cream with a black toe.

I am cold.
I think a cold day like this calls for pasta for dinner.
Sorrentinos .. filled with chicken and green onions.
Good, that is settled.

Let's all cross our fingers that when everyone gets back from their holidays, that they all have this sudden urge to buy an apartment !

Friday Photo !

In my favorite park, near our home, is my favorite monument.