Cemeterio de la Recoleta

Today was dedicated to sleeping and designing for the Kansan, so no photos were taken. ( I think this was the first day the whole trip?) Maria and I made chicken shish kabobs for lunch, I made some progress on Kansan logos, and then we decided to get out for some dinner. We went to this Peruvian/Japanese mix restaurant called Sipan. It was delicious and very interesting. We did a little walking on Calle Florida after, and then discovered where all the leather stores reside after a failed attempt at buying a chaqueta for dad on Avenida Santa Fe. Maria and I had a good talk about where our lives are going...and about moving on. It's hard sometimes.

Anyway, thought I would share some photos from a while ago from Recoleta Cemetery--spooky, scary?

Dad's diggin the dead.

A Christian Jew? 

Gato negro

Of course, Maria made friends with the black cat walking around a cemetery. 

Y ya está.

Uruguay

Today, the family took a ferry ride across Rio de La Plata to Colonia, Uruguay. I know that rhymes when you say Uruguay with an English accent (but it's really OO-ROO-GWAI).

It is a little colonial town with picturesque streets and artisans selling hand painted ceramics and musicians playing live music. A nice escape from the hectic city.

Leaving the port of Buenos Aires. Look at how brown that river water is. Yum.

There were a lot of old cars throughout the town? Not really sure why, but it certainly added to the rustic feel.

Live music at a café

The Spanish and the Portuguese really stamped this place.

Here I go with the bike pics.

Small town life

And, of course, no Latin American town is complete without stray dogs.

Hola, amigo

Livin' the life

Heading back to Buenos Aires. Great last full day with the padres. Hope to return to Uruguay soon.

Even though the padres leave mañana, we have a lot to look forward to! We are going out with our cousins Rodrigo and Santiago on Saturday--to "tomar unas cervezas..." in Palermo. Sounds like a blast to me.

Chau, amigos. Hasta pronto.

I'm behind

I have so much to show you! But recently, I have been lazy, so maybe on one of these days when I have nothing else to share, I'll get to the stuff that's been placed on the back burner.

But today; today was the bomb.

First of all, the padres were able to experience what it has been like for Maria and I the past few days: we sleep in till noon, eat a little, hang out at the apartment, and then decide to go out mid-afternoon. That's exactly what happened today, and it was fantastic.

Dad had wanted to see some architecture and plazas, so we went back to Recoleta for a version of the free tour that Maria and I had taken a few days earlier. Afterwards, we ended up in Plaza Recoleta near the cemetery--but also near La Biela. We decided to pop into this historic café. The up-and coming of Buenos Aires have been sipping their mid-afternoon café for over 100 years so we joined them.

We had a platter of meats, cheeses, olives and tomatoes. It was delicious. We were pleasantly surprised to find prosciutto/jamón serrano (I lived in Italy/Maria lived in Spain; they are basically the same).

La comida

Viejas ricas

Mom, pondering the spice of life

Looking out the window

Viejos amigos

After La Biela, dad wanted to get a better look at Plaza Congreso, so we took the Subte and took a quick walk around the plaza. On a side note, the Subte ride was probably the most crowded train I have ever been on in my life (rush hour in a city of 14 million).

Rainbow, Plaza Congreso

The view of the plaza was worth it though. We even got a little arco iris.

The real highlight of the day, though, was the tango show we saw this evening at Complejo Tango. Take our advice and the advice of others, and don't go there for dinner. The "copa show" of just drinks and the show will do you just fine. The appetizers we had were not very appetizing.

Bailando el tango

Drinks and a show

Maria gettin' her groove on

Great show; great day.

Hasta pronto, amigos.

It's my CUMPLEAÑOS

I turned 21 today. In Argentina.

I am so damn lucky I can hardly believe it sometimes.

A fantastic meal at the Gioia restaurant at the Palacio Duhau Hyatt in Recoleta.

I'm tired, and it's my freaking birthday. More tomorrow.

Around town

I'm lazy today. So I'll just throw some photos your way.

These photos again remind me of a time passed. Enjoy.

La Boca.

La Boca.

San Telmo.

La Boca.

La Boca.

San Telmo.

La Boca.

And there it is. I officially turned 21 six minutes ago (in Argentina)! We will celebrate by going to Tigre, just outside the city. 

Hasta mañana.

Más Pirottes!

Today was another lazy one, but we were able to meet some more Pirottes that live here in the Buenos Aires area: Anna Maria, Susana's sister, and her family. We met downtown and walked to a fantastic Italian restaurant Las Cuartetas where we had pizza. Here in Buenos Aires, there is a lot of Italian influence. Anna Maria's husband Roberto has Italian blood, as does Anna Maria on her mother's side. Also, interestingly enough, they have both Argentine and Italian citizenship.

We talked a lot about travel, as their family enjoys visiting other places like we do. It would have been interesting to note my level of Spanish at the beginning of the night, and then at the end. I know it improved drastically. Nicolas, their son, spoke English, but didn't talk too much (but knew every word I struggled with)! He probably is more skilled than I am.

Our time with the family took us, again, to Puerto Madero, which is fine with me. That area is one of my favorites in Buenos Aires. Tonight, we went to a place to tomar un poco before going back home. I had a café porteño, which had coffee, a liqueur, and some cream. Similar to Irish coffee, but with a different liqueur than Bailey's.

We were since invited to go to an "asado" at the family's casa on Wednesday. Roberto said he would pick us up in his car since he works in town. I'm looking forward to seeing their house and how their lives are in "las afueras" de Buenos Aires--much like our suburbs.

Anyway, thought I'd make this blogito a little short tonight; I'm tired. I have some great photos from a tour we took yesterday, and from Recoleta cemetery (creepy!) that I will post mañana. Time to dormir.

I'll leave you with some pictures from our visita.

From back left to right: Dad (Patrick Pirotte), Nicolas, Roberto.
Front: Anna Maria (Pirotte was her maiden name), Mom (Andrea) and Maria. [After stuffing our faces with pizza.]

Only difference: substitute Roberto for me.

Dad y Anna Maria talking about the family "arbol". It was almost eerie when Anna Maria busted out an old photograph that she has at home...that also sits in Grandma and Grandad's basement. (Peter and Susana Pirotte. We're original with names...) It's weird to know you have family half a world away that you're meeting for the first time.

Hasta miércoles, "Pirottes"! Can't wait for nuestro asado. Hopefully, I'll be posting more pics tomorrow from our recent adventures.

"Chao," amigos.

Los Padres llegaron!

It was about 10:30 and I heard a buzzing noise. I knew it had to be mom and dad, so I jumped out of bed (Maria did no such thing) and looked for how to let them in. Unfortunately, I never found it, so I had to run down 8 flights of stairs to open the door for them. They probably thought they had the wrong address for a minute.

Pat, doing what he does best: talking. (What else?)

Andrea, doing what she does best: cleaning. (What else?) "I'm going to have to tidy up in here." Good thing the maid came yesterday...not sure what would have happened if she saw it a few days ago.

But, despite my unusually early wake-up, we still didn't end up leaving the apartment until around 4, after the parents got some well-needed rest. So, in some senses, it was like any other day.

Since it was too late to do anything organized, we decided to dar un paseo through some of my favorite parts of Buenos Aires. We walked through Palermo, mostly. One of Maria's signature traits is to coo at every dog that walks by. "Aww...mira ese perrito...hola, perrito!" This time, a little black schnauzer came a-sniffin', and Maria (and I) were more than happy to oblige. When we asked the old man that was walking him what his name was, he told us. "Cau. It's an indigenous name from the Guaraní tribe." When we asked him what it meant, he told us "borracho." (That means drunk). When I asked if that meant he was drunk all the time, he replied, "No, only at night." A drunk black schnauzer puppy walking around with an old man? Couldn't get much funnier.

After a while, we ended up in Parque Febrero III. It was gorgeous--and so were the people walking through it. Porteños really care about their looks--and so they have to work on keeping their bodies in shape. We saw un montón de runners and people exercising.

Mom and la jardín 

Great sunset

After the parque, we walked around Palermo a little more until we found a great parilla called El Estrebe. It was delicious. We had wine (called Benjamin, HA) with some carne. Dad and I split stuffed beef with jamón, queso y tomate, and also had fried onions, also stuffed with ham, cheese and tomato. But the best part was dessert. A "panqueque" with dulce de leche and ice cream. I about shit myself from pure bliss.

Did you know dulce de leche is from Argentina? THANK YOU, ARGENTINA.

YUM (or as they say in 'Spanish,' "ÑUM!"

All in all, a fantastic day. Hasta pronto, amigos.