Emperador Hotel Buenos Aires

Monday, September 14, 2009

Another theme that became apparent to me during our tour of the city is that of poverty. I mean, of course I knew in my head that there was poverty in this country, after all there's poverty in every country. But I haven’t had to really think about that poverty until we actually got the chance to see it. And at that point it was like I suddenly remembered that, despite my ...

... cats than trees!. The city itself, however, i love it. Off out to try and get kid for dinner, i wonder...

Out of interest, you can get a liter of Smirnoff for less than 8 euros, even Johnnie Walker Blue and Green label are cheap.

Photos of last few days will follow shortly, i know you´re dying to see them.

... br>
With Jo's arrival imminent we decided to go shopping for some souvenirs for the ranch stay we were to embark and we stumbled across C&A (and you thought it was dead and buried!!) and we bought three gaucho scarfs so we look the part for our cowboy adventure in the hills. So there we were again at the airport, less screaming than before but still hugging to death we were so glad to see our little Jo who literally went through the wars to get to us ...

... hot when we were there. We also met up with people we had met in Ihla Grande. It´s actually surprising how many people you spot who have been in previous places we have visitied. Anyway my time is nearly up here so I can´t write much more but there are plenty of photos of the city attached. After BA we made our way to Santiago where we flew straight up to Calama - jeeped it to San Pedro to see the Atacama Desert. - photos etc to follow.. !!

... and improve my spanish and I have no doubt that all this will happen. I havent yet been homesick, but I know that it will happen. Mostly I just miss my friends, family and my dogs because everything else is here with me. I cant wait to see how the rest of the semester will unfold...only time will tell.    Now, in case I haven't bored you to tears yet, here are some more observations about Buenos Aires and the people and culture in general: ~The men here are the most forward men I ...

... hot tea when it's over 90F outside, I'll never know. But they do! And, on top of it, it's a communal thing. So, you pass it around--not for the germ-o-phobes! 16) Alfajores. They are really yummy when done right. Two cookies + dulce de leche+ coating. Not bad. 17) Spanish. They speak it here. But it's different from what they speak elsewhere (duh!). Argentines say 'vos' for 'you' and they pronounce "y" and "ll ...

... in the summer or spring; you can feel the sweat build up on your back and start trailing down your legs. If you too short, you noise tends to be armpit level with the person beside you, who had his hand raised on ceiling in an attempt to keep his balance. There are windows that open but they do nothing for ventilation.             Taxi's are a good way to travel if you stay out late and want to ride home safely. The price is relatively cheap, usually between 10-20 ...

... Wir werden nicht enttaeuscht. Anschliessend laesst es sich Matias nicht nehmen, uns nochmal per Auto einen grossen Teil seiner Innenstadt zu zeigen. Nachts sieht die Stadt fast noch schoener aus als am Tage. Wir fahren auf bis zu 9-spurigen Strassen und erleben noch einmal suedamerikanisches Verkehrschaos, in dem jeder so zu fahren scheint wie er gerade Lust hat. Die Spurmarkierungen auf der Strasse sind ohnehin nur als grobe ...

... our needs to the two shopkeepers. They looked at us like we were...well....foreigners! Have I mentioned to you that I keep a Spanish/English dictionary in my purse? Do you know how unfriendly that is to the user? So Katerina and I have developed a new way of communicating to the Argentines. If they don't understand us and give us a puzzled look, we add either an "o" or an "e" which sounds like a long a in restaurante at the end of the word. For ...

... dilapidated, as is the ancient waiter who seems to have worked there since opening day with the same off-white jacket. There's no British beer, but the local Guilmes is very acceptable. We are entertained by further copies of Carlos Gardel, who regale us with musical memories of past times. One can almost imagine that Carlitos played here before fame carried him into the higher stratus of Palermo and Recoleta. Parque Ledezma is a poor cousin of ...