Navidad en Argentina

Yo celebraba navidad en Lujan con la Familia Montiel. Navidad empezar aca en 24 de diciembre y familias y amigos reunir juntos a pasar el buen tiempo, compartir comida y vino y para hablar. Usualmente hace mucho calor y este navidad fue no excepción.
Elías empezó el asado aproximadamente a las 17. El encendia el fuego y encima de parilla fue Señor Cerdo. La aroma de asado llamar a la puerta, esta tiempo! vamos a comer! Y en la mesa pusimos pobre cerdito.

Miran los fotos.

I celebrated xmas with the Montiel family in Lujan. Xmas begins here on 24 December and families and friends get together to have a good time, sharing food, wine and talking. Usually it is very hot and this xmas was no exception.

Elias began the asado at approximately 5pm. He lit the fire and on top of the parilla was Mr Pig. The smell of the asado knocked on the door and announced, "its time, lets go and eat". And on the table we put poor piggy.

The Çorrection
Yo celebraba la navidad en Lujan con la Familia Montiel. La navidad (se celebra aqui) empieza aqui el 24 de diciembre. Las familias y amigos se reunen aqui para pasar un buen momento, hablar, compartir comida y vino. Usualmente hace mucho calor y esta navidad no fue LA excepción. Elías empezó (A HACER) el asado aproximadamente a las 5 (de la tarde). El encendió el fuego y encima de la parrilla, (PUSO/fue/apoyo) el cerdo. El aroma del asado golpeó nuestra puerta, y estaba listo! Vamos a comer! En la mesa servimos el pobre cerdito. Miren las fotos! (you all look at them)

Note

Aqui and Aca both mean here. In Argentina most people appear to use aca - i think in Spain it is more common to use aqui, pero some folk aca use aqui also. Entonces, aca o aqui...eso es la cuestion?

Hace Muchisimo Calor

Hay solamente una palabra a describir Buenos Aires en este momento - calor - estoy muriendo. En realidad estaba mucho calor desde el fin de octubre y a menudo la temperatura esta entre 30 - 38 grados. Gracias Dios por aire condicionado - esta necesario a dormir con el aire condicionado andando. Espero que estar valiente a saltar en el fuente con esta personas.

Right now there is only one word to describe Buenos Aires ' hot ' I am dying. Really is has been hot since the end of October and often the temperature is between 30 - 38 degrees. Thand God for air conditioning ' it is necessary to sleep with the air conditioning on. I wish I was brave enough to jump in the fountain with these people.

I took this photo from El Diario La Nacion

Los Taxistas y las problemas con monedas

Mi experiencia con los taxis durante mis viajes es que ellos son muy caros. En Nueva Zelanda yo nunca uso taxis.
En Buenos Aires hay muchos taxis – la mayoría de ellos conducen como los maniaticos. Esta muy sorprendente que no haya mas accidentes….pero, bueno - me encanta los taxistas en Buenos Aires - la mayoria de ellos son muy amistoso y amable aunque algunos son gruñones. Hace un mes cuando fui al aeropuerto para buscar Adam, el taxista me canto un tango y tambien me ayudo con el idioma....fue muy bueno.

Even the smallest excursion to the kiosco requires careful planning of the finances almost down to the last cent. Por que? Porque, no hay bastantes monedas en Buenos Aires. Es un gran problema porque necesito monedas para el subte, el colectivo, para todo. Dos veces en la semana pasada fui en el subte gratis porque no habia monedas para cambiar.
Muchas personas apuntan sus dedos en direccion de las companias de colectivos quien ocultar algo – pero, no se. aLa unica buena cosa sobre este problema: los taxistas a menudo cobra $10 cuando vale $10.20.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1859249,00.html

My experience with taxis during my travels is that they are very expensive. In NZ I never use taxis. In Buenos Aires there are lots of taxis - most of them drive like maniacs. Its surprising that there are not more accidents. But, well, I love the taxi drivers in Buenos Aires - most of them are very friendly and kind but some are grumpy. Last month when I went to the airport to meet Adam the taxi driver sang me a tango song and also helped me with speaking....it was really good.

Even the smallest excursion to the kiosk requires planning down to the last cent. Why? Because there ae not enough coins in Buenos Aires. It is a big problem because you need coins for the subte, buses for everything. Twice last week I rode the subte free because they had no change to give.

Many people are pointing fingers at the bus companies who hold onto the coins - but I dont know. The only good thing is that taxi drivers often only charge 10 pesos if the ride was 10.20 because they have no change either.

Chimmichurri :)

Me encanta chimmichurri, especialmente en choripan :). Me encanta choripan tambien...esta muy sabroso especialmente en el asado. El flavor es muy riquisimo y queria aprender como hacerlo. Que suerte que yo se el mejor Chimmichurri maker en el mundo.

Las fotos dice el historia. No se todas las palabras en castellano pero necesitar parsley, ajo (garlic), pimenton, oregano, pimiento, sal, aceite de soja, vinagre. Esta mas rico cuando left por dos o tres dias.

I love chimmichurri, especially on choripan. I love choripan too...it is very tasty especially on the asado. The flavour is delicious and I wanted to learn how to make it. How lucky that I know the best chimmichurri maker in the world.

The photos tell the story. I dont know all the words in castellano but you need parsley, garlic sweet pepper powder, oregano, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. It is best left to sit for two or three days.

The Correction

Me encanta el chimichurri, especialmente en el choripan :). Me encanta el choripan tambien...es muy sabroso especialmente en el asado. El sabor es riquisimo y queria aprender como hacerlo. Que suerte que yo conozco la persona quien hace el mejor Chimichurri en el mundo.
Las fotos cuentan la historia. No se todas las palabras en castellano pero se necesita perejil, ajo, pimenton dulce, oregano, pimiento, sal, aceite de maiz y vinagre. Es mas rico cuando se deja macerar por dos o tres dias.

Muchas gracias Elias

Sharing Mate

Mi amigo Fernando hacias mate por Adam y yo. El flavor de mate es muy distinto de otro te's. Me gusta mucho tomando mate pero algunas personas piensan que mate es un gusto adquirido - como Adam :)

Tomando mate esta muy comun en Argentina y esta un signo de amistad. Casi five kilogramos de promedia por persona por año esta consumido - más de 4 veces la cantidad del café.

La palabra hierba es espanol para herb y yerba es un diferente spelling uso en Argentina. La palabra mate es do Quechua y significa taza (cup). Entonces Yerba mate por eso esta simplamente "cup herb".

My friend Fernando made mate for Adam and I. The flavour is very diferent to other teas. I like drinking mate but some people think that it is definitely an acquired taste - like Adam :)

Drinking mate is common in Argentina and is a sign of friendship. On average about 5kg per person per year are consumed - more than four times the quantity of coffee.

The word mate is from Quechua and means cup. Yerba mate therefore simply means cup herb.

At the Zoo

Alguien dice me....todo pasa en el zoo. Creo que si, creo que si, es verdad
Es un viaje liviano y animado, desde el lado este hasta el parque

Un lindo y animado paseo - al Zoologico

Y los animales se encanta que si haces.

Someone told me...Its all happening at the zoo. I do believe it, I do believe its true.

Its a light and tumble journey, From the east side to the park;

Just a fine and fancy ramble - To the zoo.......

And the animals will love it, if you do.

Tuve el mejor tiempo ayer en el zoologico de Lujan - el mejor zoologico en todo el mundo para mi.

Check out the photos to see why.......

A Happy Meeting

Scottish Country Dancing - A Very Happy Meeting Indeed

Hace mucho calor pero, que divertido! Hacia aproximadamente 30 personas bailando todo la noche

This entry is a work in progress. I am trying to put everything from the trip north into Castellano. So, it will be added to and changed. :)

Hace dos semanas, me dirigí al noreste argentino por nueve dias. Tenia mucha emocion porque quería a ver a los monos en su hábitat natural. Sin embargo, los monos no queria jugar el partido conmigo. Cataratas del Iguazú es un lugar muy especial y muy hermoso, con muchos animales y aves autóctonas de Argentina. Vi carpinchos, coaties toucans y mariposas de muchos colores. En Iguazú hace más calor que en Buenos Aires, por eso es muy dificil a dormir. Fui en la lancha a ver tres fronteras. Estaba muy interesante porque poder ver tres paises en el mismo tiempo.

Despues Las Cataratas, visité Minas de Wanda y Ruinas de San Ignacio por un dia. Espectacular, pero la mayoría de la gente es muy pobre, lo cual es triste en un pais con muchas posbilidades.

En Esteros del Ibera habia mucha lluvia, yacaré esta en todas partes y carpinchos fueron caminar en la calle.

Durante mi viaje, encontré muchas personas simpáticas.

Esteros del Ibera

El mejor cosa sobre viajando esta que encontrar personas muy amable y amistosa. Tenia encontrar muchas personas muy buena. También esta grande para mi español porque necesite que hablar mucho a la gente.

The best thing about travelling is the kind and friendly people that your meet. I have encountered so many very nice people. It has also been very good for my Spanish because I needed to talk alot.
Much as I would like to, I cant take the credit for this monkey photo. My camera just couldnt see them in the trees....I promise they were there 'monkeying' around. The only reason I knew to look up cos there was probably something there, was because something hit me on the head. One of them threw something down at me.....Little Monkeys!

Esteros del Iberá Natural Reserve is located in the province of Corrientes. The word Iberá is formed by two words of the guaraní language: ¨Î¨, water, and ¨berá¨, brilliant. The Castilian translation is something like Shining Water. It is another truly magical place where you can find many species of flora and fauna native to Argentina. Many Yacare (alligators), carpincho, curiyu (yellow anaconda) - I didnt see any of these as it wasnt the right season for them to be around much, and many impressive bird species.

Ruinas de San Ignacio

The Ruinas de San Ignacio are also a declared UNESCO site. They are located at San Ignacio which is about a five hour drive in the collectivo from Iguazu along the road to Posadas, going along the border with Paraguay. It is a very small town, probably quite alot of poverty but they have the wonderfully well preserved ruins there. The photos show the mission at night, me sitting in one of the rooms and the main street down to the ruins with the street vendors all along the footpath. We stayed the night there and next morning caught a bus to Posadas. I sat next to a very lovely local lady named Marta who happily chattered away to me in Castellano for the journey - very encouraging because I could understand and speak with her with little bother.

Cataratas

Parque Nacional Iguazú was created in 1934 and the sub-tropical rainforest covers an area of approximately 67,620 hectares. It is now a declared UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This natural sanctuary is located in the far NE and experiences extremely high levels of humidity. The Iguazú River flows for approximately 1320km until its outlet in the Paraná. Its width generally varies between 500 and 1000m however within the park it broadens to 1,500m. A sudden drop in altitude here is the reason for the impressive water falls which form the main attraction of the park. Iguazú (Yguazu in Guarani) means Y = agua and Guazu = grande, entonces translated means Big Water.

The park is renowned for its natural heritage. There are numerous varieties of butterflies, the most impressive are bright blue and as big as your hand - spectacular! The Toucan, which you would swear is an enormous stuffed toy...until it flies - stunning. Tambien, many plants and other birds and animals, insects abound. Carpinchos, Coaties, Monkeys - the list goes on! So very impressive. One of those things you really cant describe the splendour of - you need to see it for yourself.

Went on a launch boat with two very amiable chappies - Nelson and Oscar - we shared the mate, and also went to Los Tres Fronteras, which is the confluence of the two rios (Parana y Iguazu). There, you can almost reach out and touch three countries - Brasil, Paraguay y Argentina. All very close to each other. If it wasn't for the Yacare (alligators) you could swim betwewen all three in a matter of half an hour or so. See the photo - Argentina is on the left, Brasil on the right and Paraguay straight ahead. And thats us sharing mate in the launch. Later that evening we shared an asado together - great way to end the day.

Temaiken

Rosemary y yo fuimos al Temaiken. Temaiken esta el mejor zoologico en el mundo - en serio! Para mi, los flamencos eran el mejor....muy hermoso, barbaro. No podria creer el color - muy intenso. Era como un pequeño niño - mis ojos no podrían parar el mirar de ellos.

Rosemary and I went to Temaiken. Temaiken is the best zoo in the world-seriously! For me the flamencos were the best...very beautiful, amazing. I could not believe the colour - very intense. I was like a little child - my eyes could not stop looking at them.

Tambien, el mono - he tenido siempre una fascinacion con los monos. Este mono no tuvo gusto de su foto tomada y él saltó en mí - afortunado el vidrio estaba allí.

Also the monkey - I have always had a fascination with monkeys. This monkey did not like having his photo taken and jumped at me - luckily the glass was there. Check out the link below.

www.temaiken.org.ar

En Buenos Aires es que bueno donde puede a ir para un peso. Nosotras viajemos por una hora y quince minutos en el collectivo para conseguir ahi para solamente cinco pesos. Para un peso puede ir dondequier en el subte - muy barato.

In Buenos Aires it is amazing how far you can go for one peso. We travelled for one and half hours on the bus to get there for only five pesos. For one peso you can go anywhere on the subte.

Calath en el Cruzat

Becripes mis amigos – estoy en mucho ‘flitters’ (una Marian palabra)…esta fantastico cuando paso algo excelente. Cuando fui el Fahy Club encontre Elias quien esta en un band se nombre Calath y hacia cosas escoses y irlandes. Mi amiga Silvia y yo fuimos a ver Calath en viernes en la noche – muy bien amigos, muy muy bueno! Mirar el foto de Elias – el saltado en la silla – yo fui muy positivo el fue caer en mi regazo, pero no suerte para mi…

Ellos tienen bueno repertoire de canciones y tunes (no se la palabra en castellano), y tocar fiddle, guitarra, acordeon, tin-whistle, bass, banjo, mandolin - disfrute mucho!

Muchas gracias to Elias para el correction below:

Elias:Becripes mis amigos – estoy en mucho ‘flitters’ (una palabra de Marian)…es fantastico cuando pasa algo excelente.Cuando fui al "Fahy Club" encontré Elias quien está en un banda que se llama Calath Mi amiga Silvia y yo fuimos a ver a Calath el viernes a la noche– muy bien amigos, muy muy bueno! Mirar la foto de Elias – el saltado en la silla – yo estaba muy segura que el iba a caer en mi falda, pero por suerte, no lo hizoEllos tienen un buen repertorio de canciones y tunes (melodías)y tocan (for they play) fiddle, guitarra, acordeon, tin-whistle, bass, banjo, mandolin - disfruté mucho!

Cumple Dolores

Mi cumple regalo …de mi, a mi… fue un visitar a el dentist – muy procrastination (no se la palabra en castellano) amigos. Quien gustan voy a dentist – no yo seguro!! Si, mientras en Salta y Jujuy mi diente rompio – no solo uno, pero dos – increible!! Por eso 600 pesos y mucho duele despues, tengo el mejor dientes en Buenos Aires. El mas peor cosa cuando no puedo comer el riquissimo empanadas para cuatro triste dias.

More Teacher Speak

I love the little primary class I am in - I am observing the teacher and helping the kids who I notice are a bit stuck on something. Here are a some more words that I hear the teacher use often with the children:

Entendiste? Did you understand? (to one student)
Entienden? Did you understand? (to the class)
Terminaste? Are you finished? (to one student)
Terminan? Are you finished? (to the class)
Puedes pegar en el libro Can you glue it in the book
Miren el libro, pagina ... Look at page ... in your book
Sentate bien! Sit down nicely, properly (that kind of thing)

I will note down the classroom rules and post them soon.

Nueva Oficina

I have a funny story - well we (Silvia y yo) think it is funny and I think you will too. I really hope its not one of those occasions where "you had to be there"...........
Whenever we have a break - Silvia y yo that is - we nip down to the fab cafe which is only five minutes walk away (and has very handsome waiters I might add) for a quick cafe con leche. Well, we always sit at the same table ... a little apart from most other tables so we can take up more room without disturbing others. Silvia usually sits on a bench seat so we can put down the monton of papers and books that we seem to carry around with us, and spread out using two tables, so we can mark childrens work and have professional discussion, as well as partake in the very fine cafe that the establishment offers - our very own little "office space away from the office" you might say!
Anyway, ayer (yesterday) someone was sitting in our seat - can you believe the cheek of it. We stood for ages (15 seconds) just looking in disbelief...we chose another very little table to sit at and before we even got sat down our 'usual' waiter came over and pushed the table next to us to join our table so we could have another office space - it was really very funny and then, as I was putting the papers together I asked if they had scissors that I could use - well, Silvia nearly fell on the floor laughing because that probably seemed quite cheeky. Well, I got my scissors and next time I might try for a stapler too :)
Once we got settled, the handsome waiter, instead of asking what we would like, (they have stopped bringing la carta (menu)), asked "would we like cafe con leche mas leche y medialunas dulces - we are that regular and predictable...its great!
Well, that was part of our day at the office...made us smile, and provided a chuckle during the remainder of the day as well. I will take my camera next time and take a photo to post down the side.
My job now is translate all that into castellano.

Teacher Speak

What would I do without Pablo - a true godsend! I have not been able to get into any Spanish classes in the school that I work in, but Pablo last week organised it for me - so for the last couple of months of the school year I will hopefully learn alot from the Spanish teachers. Today was my first day and I loved it. The children were 6 turning 7 and of course their English is better than my Spanish but they will be a big help for me. I will learn alot from the teacher about teaching, and lots of new vocabulary from the children.

Here are some of my 'teacher speak' observations from today:
Que ti parece? What do you think
Que dice? Que dice aca? What does it say/What does it say here
Vamos a poner la fecha, prolijo Put the date, tidily
Vamos a cambiar el libro/cuarderno rojo Change to the red book
Escuchenme Listen to me
Mira Look
Buena Good
Ta! This is a gap filling word - means ok or something like that
Vamos a ver Lets see
A ver que dice? Lets see what it says
Levanto la mano por favor Put your hand up please
Muchas gente caminando ... Too many people walking around the classroom
Tarea para la casa Homework

I thoroughly enjoyed myself today. I have a whole new set of names to learn, but the little children are great. What was interesting to me is this: Second Language Learning here is given three hours per week, and we have to struggle to provide 90 minutes a week - priority needs to be placed on time - these children speak well and they have been only learning for one year. They are also very good at their other subjects and are not below par because of having to learn English and the time taken to do it ... very interesting.

Bebiendo el Mate

Mate is the traditional beverage of Argentina...it is a fundamental part of life. It is a strongly caffeinated tea like drink which is drunk from a hollow gourd about the size of an apple. You fill the gourd with the herb, it is then filled with hot water (not boiling) and then drunk through a metal straw (bombilla) that has a perforated end so you can drink the liquid without getting the leaves into your mouth. I need to make clear that the mate is both the drink and the gourd that you drink from.
Mates can be fashioned from anything - wood, with intricate traditional silver carvings, a bulls horn, metal-but most are made from a gourd. The actual herb is called yerba and it is grown in the warm provinces of Misiones and Corrientes in the north.
Mate customs are vary from person to person, but there are some fundamental practices that are important. There is one server - called a cebador - who takes charge of serving the mates. The server serves themselves first (presumably to make sure it is just right), the mate is then passed from person to person. Each person drinks the entire contents of the mate and then passes it back to the server who refills the mate and passes it to the next person. You do not say gracias until you do not want any more mate. After several rounds the mate becomes diluted or llavado (washed) so the server will either change a portion (ensillar) or all of the yerba in the mate. This continues until the last person has decided they have had enough mate...which could be the better part of a day sometimes. When it is your turn to have mate you are not to take too long over it or you could be reminded the mate "no es un microfono!".
Last week we shared mate in class. Pilar, a chica en la clase es el mejor maker of mate. It really is a nice littel ritual, but does go against everything we teach children in health about not sharing spit. But I will continue to drink mate while I am here because I like the social interaction and the drink - if Pilar makes it.

My Feet

Oh What Bliss - Barefoot - Estoy seguro mi soul esta en mi planta. Silvia y yo fuimos el rio de la plata y I would never have believed I was just outside the centre of Buenos Aires. We took our zapatos off y nuestra pies disfrutamos el gentle mimos del cesped. Nosotros caminamos el parque para tres horas. Fue muchas cometas - this string was particularly eye catching!

El Mundo de Empanada

Whether they are cebolla llenado salteñas, cebolla y choclo con salsa blanco llenado san juaninos, tomate y varioso quesos en la tucumanas, cordillera y champignone de Patagonia or finely ground cabra en el jujenos …yes I ate a poor wee cabrito … empanadas esta el mejor comida en el mundo. El San Juaninos y La Morada en Bario Norte tenes el mejor empanadas en Buenos Aires if you ask me. Mi mejor favorito empanadas esta choclo – muy rico!!
Y, Mayumi y yo cocinado nuestra primer choclo empanadas hoy. Riquisimo!! Nosotros sentimos orgulloso de nuestra cocinando aptitud.

Salta y Jujuy

Argentina's north west ... El Noroeste ... is a landscape of infinite beauty, wonder and variety. Deserts with flocks of llama, vicuña and guanaco, blindingly white salt flats, cerro los siete colores, sugar plantations, tobacco fields, montaña's that go on forever.

This region is the birthplace of Argentina - the Spanish colonised and thrived here while Buenos Aires was a struggling trading post on the Atlantic Coast.

From Salta we went to Cafayate ... where I bought four bottles of good wine ... when I say good they had better be because they added a significant weight to my luggage and I lugged them around the whole week. Cafayate has the perfect combination of temperature and humidity that provides the ideal environment for the growth of sweet and deep flavour of the grape. The streets, its houses and mainly its people was a pleasant experience - we were lucky enough to encounter a foclori (spelling?) fiesta when we arrived. It was a real treat. The drive to Cafayate from Salta was a feast of paisaje increible - we passed through the Quebrada de Cafayate where we were treated to a visual symphony of rock formations, Cactus spiking the scenery, La Garganta de Diablo (The Devils Throat), El Anfiteatro - a natural amphitheatre where one lady from our tour started to sing - beautiful! There were musicians and all sorts of artesans - of course...you know me...yo compre mas earings y jewellery.

Climb Every Mountain, Ford Every Stream

The pueblo de Iruya is 2800 metres above sea level in the Andes. Access is by collectivo - a bone jarring bus trip on a narrow dirt track which crosses stony river beds and winding through a stunningly beautiful and narrow valley from the town of Humahuaca. The road (track) is so narrow that you question how you are ever going to be able to get past the oncoming bus, but you do - albeit with views from the dizzying height of 3900 metres at Abra del Condor pass which where you cross from Jujuy province back into Salta province.

Iruya is such a beautiful pueblo snuggled into the hillside with steep (very steep!) cobbled streets and a timeless atmosphere. Nosotros dined for every meal at Tina's place - check out the photo opposite for a picture her with her ricissimo empanadas.

We went to the pueblito of San Isidro by caballo, a two hour walk away and then returned. This was a highlight for me porque on our return we saw four condores pasando overhead. Truly graceful birds riding the warm thermal afternoon winds. Very special to see the Condor...now I can really relate to my favourite pieve of music El Condor Pasa.

Muy loco conduciendo

Esta muchos reparacions en mi calle y los calles cerca a mi departamento. Hay muy grande problema con el trafico. En el calle los coches tocar la bocina todo el dia. Muy Loco. Yo sace los fotos de la ventana en mi mansion. Its like they think that tooting horns is really going to make a difference. It is very loud in the apartment - funny thing is the man next door just went out onto his balcony (right beside me) and started shouting at the motorists down below - one of them wound down his window and was shouting back and this carried on for a good five minutes until the traffic moved another three meters down the calle.

Ahora yo estoy empezando mas (more) seguro en mi castellano. Yo siento la lengua tener mas sentido para mi. Thank goodness because I was beginning to feel muy desperado, even though yo se enseno mucho.

Brasilenas y Kiwis

Chris y yo visitamos el lugares de interes de Recoleta ayer con ella's companeras de Brasil. Me encanta caminando la feria Recoleta. Yo estoy mirando un hombre de Africa quien hace bolsas de cuero... pero no suerte :(
Nosotros terminamos el dia con cafe a Acassuso - of course! (pictured)

El Espectaculo - Hairspray

WOW! El noche pasado Chris y yo fuimos a el spectaculo 'Hairspray'. El espectaculo estara muy excelente. Me encanta el interpretacion de Enrique Pinti (Edna) y Deborah Dixon (Garganta). Por solo 50 pesos, que barbaro!

Los Vistas, Suenas y Olores de Buenos Aires

Las Vistas

Ponchos, challinas, buffandas, gorros

Las Suenas

Street musicians, tango, mucho gente, muy hermoso edificios

Los Olores

Garrapinadas, chorizo, incense, cafe

Antes ayer Chris y I fuimos La Rural ... que es Field Days Argentine estilo ... mucho caballo's, vacas, gallos y gallinas, conejas, artesanals, musica, vino y queso (yum...nosotros compramos tres botellas y un pequeno queso y aceitunas). Check out the photos down the side opposite.

Ayer nosotros fuimos la ferias de Recoleta (again) and San Telmo. It is impossible not to be seduced by the sights, smells and sounds of la ferias. We hadn't been to the feria de San Pedro Telmo before and we were completely taken with the appearance of decaying luxury and the theatrical nature of this barrio.

A little history... The grand mansions in San Telmo were owned by the wealthy of Buenos Aires but were abandoned after the outbreak of the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1871. These mansions have mainly been converted into bars and antique shops of which there are many and the superb architecture of the barrio attracts many artists and bohemian types. Un hombre daba gratis abrazos :) Check out more photos opposite.

Nosotros ademas visitamos el museo 10 minutos de mi departamento. El fue gratis y hay pinturas de Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, sculptures by Rodin - muy intersante.