Ah, tranquilidad. To come from the madness of Buenos Aires to this place of beauty and tranquility is an experiential traveler's dream. The sky is pure blue interrupted only by the sun, the birds are chirping (well, shrieking almost); there' s a soft breeze. Jim is relaxing by the pool when the the four friendly dogs aren't bothering him for a belly rub. As a friend of Jim's used to say, "It doesn't get any better than this." He also used to say, "It's five o'clock somewheres" - which is why we opened the wine at about noon.
I was sad to leave Posada Palermo in Buenos Aires, which was also a lovely inn. The hosts were very congenial, as were the other guests. I especially enjoyed one morning's conversation when an Argentine, a German and an American (me) were discussing the finer points of "The Girls Next Door." (For those who spend time on better things, it's a "reality" show starring Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends. Bizarre doesn't begin to describe it.) But of course we also shared travel stories, and we Americans envied the Europeans who travel for 5 and 6 weeks at a time. I already know our 10 days is way too short.
So much of what I read about the portenos (people who live in Buenos Aires) proved true - they are very friendly. They kiss each other on one cheek – our hosts greeted us with a kiss our first morning. (I loved seeing the guard at the presidential pink house kiss other guards and staff as they came and went.) They drink mate (an herbal tea) – it looks gross, but tastes good with the right amount of sugar. They have a sweet tooth - which makes me feel less guilty about mine. The place is hustle bustle crazy, but they take time to enjoy life. They make eye contact - everyone seems to be checking everyone else out. On a 50-minute train ride to the delta town of Tigre, three entertainers passed through the cars - a singer, a juggler and a musician. Rather than avert their eyes and hold them in scorn, the passengers applauded when each finished their 'acts' and tossed coins to the entertainers.
As readers can tell from our substantial blog posts today, this is the first R&R we've had on our trip. We quickly got into the Argentine lifestyle of sleeping late, chatting over breakfast and starting out to tour around noon. Which means, of course, dinner around 11 pm and bed at 2 or 3 am. It's probably good that we moved to the country, though I'm certainly ready for more BA when we go back - the most 'colorful' part of the trip - San Telmo, awaits.
I'm looking forward to our wine touring the next few days, and we already have a substantial list of wines to look for from an accommodating sommelier who had very few customers last night. (Like in the U.S., Sunday isn't a big dining-out night.)
I'm guessing our next wine-tasting dinner will feature Malbec...
I was sad to leave Posada Palermo in Buenos Aires, which was also a lovely inn. The hosts were very congenial, as were the other guests. I especially enjoyed one morning's conversation when an Argentine, a German and an American (me) were discussing the finer points of "The Girls Next Door." (For those who spend time on better things, it's a "reality" show starring Hugh Hefner's three girlfriends. Bizarre doesn't begin to describe it.) But of course we also shared travel stories, and we Americans envied the Europeans who travel for 5 and 6 weeks at a time. I already know our 10 days is way too short.
So much of what I read about the portenos (people who live in Buenos Aires) proved true - they are very friendly. They kiss each other on one cheek – our hosts greeted us with a kiss our first morning. (I loved seeing the guard at the presidential pink house kiss other guards and staff as they came and went.) They drink mate (an herbal tea) – it looks gross, but tastes good with the right amount of sugar. They have a sweet tooth - which makes me feel less guilty about mine. The place is hustle bustle crazy, but they take time to enjoy life. They make eye contact - everyone seems to be checking everyone else out. On a 50-minute train ride to the delta town of Tigre, three entertainers passed through the cars - a singer, a juggler and a musician. Rather than avert their eyes and hold them in scorn, the passengers applauded when each finished their 'acts' and tossed coins to the entertainers.
As readers can tell from our substantial blog posts today, this is the first R&R we've had on our trip. We quickly got into the Argentine lifestyle of sleeping late, chatting over breakfast and starting out to tour around noon. Which means, of course, dinner around 11 pm and bed at 2 or 3 am. It's probably good that we moved to the country, though I'm certainly ready for more BA when we go back - the most 'colorful' part of the trip - San Telmo, awaits.
I'm looking forward to our wine touring the next few days, and we already have a substantial list of wines to look for from an accommodating sommelier who had very few customers last night. (Like in the U.S., Sunday isn't a big dining-out night.)
I'm guessing our next wine-tasting dinner will feature Malbec...
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