Leaving Good Friends

On our last night in Buenos Aires we went around to our Spanish teacher's house for dinner. Mariano, our teacher is hilarious and we've thoroughly enjoyed our classes with him.

Mariano is an interesting chap and as we've had our many hours of Spanish conversation with him over the last two months, we've become very fond of him and discovered a lot about this his life. He's a great teacher, mainly because he tells us a lot about his life too, breaking down the usual teacher-student barrier. It's been great, as we've been able to see a real snapshot of Argentine beliefs.

Mariano, 39 is married to a very beautiful, young 24 year old Equadorian girl. They've been married 6 years and she's now 3 months pregnant. From their own admission they fell in love at first sight as Mariano was a good friend of her father. As her father was dying, she used to type out all of his emails for his friends. Mariano was one of these people and she loved his witty, dark humour. Then, when she saw him, she actually fell in love with him as well, without knowing that he was her father's witty friend. After her father died, they got married to her mother's disgust, under a tree on a hill in Equador. A very simple affair.

He's got the same sense of humour as Stuart and a love for travel as well. I think we'll be seeing him again. As you can see from our last dinner, we managed to polish off a few bottles of wine. We left his house at 4am in the morning in the lashing rain. We were soaked! When we woke up the next day, our clothes were still wet!

Last Tango In Buenos Aires

We've been to some great milongas over the last two weeks. Some of our favourites include Nino Bien, a milonga only 3 blocks from our flat (pictured here). It's a grand, traditional hall that gets very busy. The space available for each couple is very small, so you have to take very small steps. It's also quite dangerous and I walked away from the dancefloor bleeding. I've now come to learn this is an occupational hazard with the popular milongas!

Another favourite is Bien Pulenta. A hall that is used for one of the tango spectulars. It's a little gem in the middle of Once - an area quite rough around the edges. Both these milongas offered up live orchestras to dance to. Truly beautiful.

El Beso (The Kiss) is a very small milonga, with a tiny dancefloor. A large pillar obstructs the flow of the dancing a little, but isn't too imposing. The photo's of dancers here are taken in El Beso. This was the favourite club of Belen, our landlady - she goes about 2-3 times a week until the early hours of the morning. It's difficult to get a good seat here. The regulars reserve the best tables round the edge of the dancefloor and because the venue isn't big, foreigners tend to get tucked away in a corner or at the back, making it difficult to get eye contact for dances.



My favourite milonga was a social club in Flores, a residential area a little out of the centre. Here, families come together to eat, chat, catch up and dance, so it's got a much more relaxed atmosphere. We went with Aurora, our dance teacher. She has a regular table reserved for her. We were blessed that night with a lovely show from a couple of German tango teachers living in Buenos Aires. They were lovely dancers.

Belen's Crazy Cats

Our land lady Belen lives on the floor above us and she's got these two crazy cats, Juanita and Carlito. They're brother and sister and are long haired ginger cats with a really cheeky personality. The funny thing is though is that Belen has long curly hair and has a cheeky personality too. You know what they say, pets look like their owners.

Unfortunately, its very difficult to get a cat to stand still, let alone two, so the photo isn't great.

Our Last Week

Its now our last week in Buenos Aires and we're doing lots of tango classes. We've really made an improvement and now thoroughly enjoying the milongas - which we've been frequenting late into the night.

We've been busy buying presents for our teachers and going out to dinner with friends. Its been really nice and everyone has been lovely to us. Hopefully we've got some lifelong friends. :o)

Chinese Giant

Strange, but true and we thought this was worth a mention. In our local laundry shop, there is a Chinese giant. She's well over six foot and has fangs. I think she has a bit of a thing for Stuart as she's always smiling at him. The funny thing is, she keep on shrinking Stu's t-shirts on the boil wash!

Damn and Blast!

I've had my bag stolen, right from under my desk! Tapping away at the computer the light fingered thieves took my bag. The most annoying thing was that I had two pairs of beautiful dance shoes in it! So now I have no shoes to dance in! Damn!

Two good things though. First, I'm not hurt and didn't even notice it (rather that than be attacked) and second, I get to buy some more shoes!

Other than that we're well.

Wandering Around Buenos Aires

Here´s some photos from our walks around Buenos Aires.

Recoleta Cemetery

One sunny afternoon we went to Recoleta Cemetery. We had been doing a city tour and this was where the tour ended. The cemetery itself is very small, but the headstones and crypts are huge, with each competing against the next to be the most grandiose, most sculpted, have the most adornments or simply, just be the biggest.

This graveyard is home to past generations of rich and famous Argentinians. From generals, actors, presidents to the elite - they're all here with their families.

Some of the crypts are huge with up to 50 people buried beneath the ground. It's strange, because from street level all you see is the doorway and a small stairwell going down, covered in cobwebs and dust.

Those that don't have the chambers beneath, often have the coffins clearly on display with photographs, flowers and gifts littered around the small chamber. Iron bars protect the dead behind the glass doors, often stained or decorated glass, while stray cats lie out front to guard the dead.

The most famous person buried here has to be Eva Peron - Evita. Her body was moved from pillar to post before coming to rest in this cemetery and ironically, she is buried alongside the very people she fought against whilst living - the rich elite. The crypt she lies in is quite modest in comparison to most and doesn't bear her family name. A small plaque showing her name denotes her location and that's all.

Los Reyes Del Tango

One night we decided to take our visitors to experience a real milonga. We were very lucky to come across an advert for Los Reyes del Tango - a tradition tango band with four bandeleons and about 6 other members. They're renown for their energy and it's often quite difficult to see them.

They were on at the Confiteria Ideal, a famous dance hall in the centre of Buenos Aires. It's in a beautiful building that gives you a sense of the what a tango hall would have been like in its hayday. Now though, the hall needs some attention to the floors and ceilings. Regardless, it's still full every night with dancers, while tourists sit at the edge watching the dancers take to the floor.

Señor Tango!

In the evening of Stuart's birthday we went to the most glitzy, showy, extravagant tango show in Buenos Aires - Señor Tango! We were picked up from a hotel in town and then bused out to the theatre in La Boca (a little too unsafe for walking about). As we arrived we were shown to our seats - a private booth and then seats over the balcony for a birds eye view of the stage.

Some guests had been there all evening and were finishing off their dinner when we arrived at 9.30pm. By 10pm everything was cleared away, the dry ice was filling the air and the orchestra were setting up. The lights went down and then the stage in the centre of the room was filled with Indians on (real) horseback, fighting against the Spanish invaders. This was the start of the show - certainly setting the tone for the rest of the spectacular we were about to enjoy.

The show had a similar feel to Moulin Rouge, especially as they had one of the main dancers come down from the ceiling a la Nicole Kidman for a rendition of 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend', this was later added to by the Rozanne Tango, again danced in a similar way to the Moulin Rouge. The show was just as spectacular and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

The show ended with a glass of champagne and a toast to Argentina as the cast sang 'Don't Cry For Me' and flags and glitter fell from the rafters. A little much for me, but the locals loved it!

Stuart´s 30th Birthday

The poor fella turns 30 today. Bless. No longer a wipper snapper, but now a man looking forward to middle-aged spread and nights in. So, to celebrate we went out in style by stuffing ourselves silly with steak (well, pasta for me the vegetarian) and then the mother of all tango shows in the evening - Senor Tango.

Lunch was great (for the meat eaters). Steaks all round at La Cabrera, a restaurant that is one of Palmero's best guarded secrets. This time the steaks were different. Instead of the usual mannar of simply grilling the steaks on the parilla, they came with different flavours. Cooked with thyme, crushed black pepper or a variety of other subtle flavours really enhanced the meat. Then the waiter just kept on coming with the accompaniments, dips and relishes. 24 in all. 6 each for each meat dish. Some where repeated, but in total there were 17 different condiments or relishes on the table. Lush.

Since the pasta was really bad (not suprising since this is a parilla) I happily nibbled on the accompaniments, salad and bread. We washed down the meal with a lovely Malbec and thoroughly enjoyed the ambience. An hour or two later, we agreed that that was probably on the best restaurants we've been too so far. I would certainly go back and happily nibble on accompaniments to the boys steaks. Yum.

La Boca

On our return to Buenos Aires we did a tour of La Boca, an area of Buenos Aires Capital which is notorious for football, tango, coloured corrogated iron houses and street crime!

Firstly, La Boca is home to the Boca Juniors, the team made famous by Diego Maradona as it was where he played. The stadium is a few blocks into the neighborhood and is not the most pleasant of walks. They say it´s perfectly safe, but some of the looks from the locals and the lack of other tourists around the stadium made me feel quite unsafe. We spent a quick five minutes around the outside of the stadium (to satisfy the boys) and quickly returned to the busy touristy streets of the main drag.

La Boca is also famous for the painted corrogated iron houses that line the streets. La Boca is a very poor area, inhabited by the first imigrants to the city. They found a lively hood working in the docks and with the left over paint from the ships they painted their houses. Hence the coloured houses that line the streets. Now the two main streets near the docks are filled with tourists every day and the locals, dressed up as tango dancers, tout to have their picture taken for small change.

The real Boca lies beyond the stadium and closer into the center and is certainly not a place for tourists.

Meet The Parents

Stuart´s parents and brother arrive later today and we´re both excited. We´ve been saving most of the touristy stuff in and around Buenos Aires to do with them over the next two weeks. We´ve got a packed itinerary of trips and restaurants to get through. Off to the airport to pick them up.

Antique Heaven

The cobbled streets of San Telmo are filled with hundreds of antiques stalls selling all kinds of memorbilia from gramaphones to postcards. The selection and quality is incredible, but of course, there´s always the tat as well. I suppose though, one man´s tat is another man´s treasure! Here´s a selection of some of the stalls.

A Sunday Stroll through San Telmo

Yesterday we went for a stroll through the cobbled streets and market vendors of San Telmo. The area is now famous for it´s antique market and tango dancers on this street. At every corner you turn, you´re confronted by tango bands, dancers, models dressed in tango regalia or street artists all vying for your attention. Mixed in with this is are old relics left over from the golden years of 30´s and 40´s that fill the antiques stalls and shops. It´s a real feast for the senses, the visual appeal of the stalls, dancers and colonial architecture, the sound of the music filling the air, the heat from the sun and the smell from the antiques on the stalls. It all combines together to creates a great vibe, that is special to this area.

If you take away the performers and the vendors, San Telmo is stripped back to reveal the grandiose, colonial buildings with intricate ironwork and pretty facades. Coupled with the cobbled streets and old tram lines, you get a glimpse of the what the grand Buenos Aires was like. Now though, that grandeur has gone, only to leave crumbling paint. The only new paint in this area is now graffiti.

I do like San Telmo. It offers a most pleasurable way to spend a Sunday. I think we´ll end up there a few more times before leave.

Perfect Pastries

We pop into our local panaderia, Confeteria La Campana, every day, whether for a small little sweet snack, a tarte for lunch or some bread rolls. I´m sure they think we´re mad as we´re always popping in. They´re really friendly and very chatty. It turns out that they make everything on the premises, including the chocolates, pastries and tartes - all of which are delicious.

The Women and Food in Buenos Aires

I have been in awe at the women here in BsAs. They are so thin and toned. Not only are they thin, but they´re generally very petite. After seeing what they eat I´m not surprised. Steak and salad. So without knowing it they´re all on Atkins! Even with this slim build, they´re looking after themselves as well. There are lots of toned women of all ages around - it´s such a contrast to the ever increasing waistline of Britain.

The women in the milongas are especially thin, mainly because they dance tango all night and don´t drink alcohol. The simple reason is that it´s almost impossible to dance after couple of drinks, so if you want to dance, you avoid the drinks and sip soft drinks or coffee.

The Argentines don´t just eat steak and salad. There´s lots of lovely pasta from the Italian heritage and they also do fabulous pastries and biscuits. The panaderies (bread shops) stock hundreds of different kinds of petit fours, tarts and cakes and they really are fabulous. But because they´re all so small, you can easily taste just one, without having to buy a dozen and then eat them all in one go! Alternatively, you can go for a coffee where they will provide a small glass of water and a couple of the petit fours as an accompaniment.

A couple of things they don´t do very well is fish and cheese. Firstly, fish. Because meat is such high quality and so cheap, fish doesn´t really get in a look in. And if you find fish on the menu, the restaurant often won´t have it in. If they do, then they don´t cook it very well or the quality isn´t great. This is true even on the coast. In Argentina meat rules. Secondly, cheese. They´ve got all these cows and then the European influence from Spain, Germany and Italy, but still the cheese isn´t that great. Their cheese shops double as delicatessens and these are often overrun with hundreds of varieties of sausages. Damn! Not that great for a fish eating vegetarian.

Moved into our Apartment

We´ve moved into our little apartment in San Cristobel, an area between Once and San Telmo. Once is great for local milongas and San Telmo is perfect for living and breathing tango (for tourists). It´s also only a few stops to the centre of town, so a perfect location all in all. It´s nice to have our own space, own kitchen and own sofa to chill out. We´ve found a language school a few blocks away, a great coffee shop, a fast, cheap internet shop and generally a lovely, little neighborhood. As you walk down the street, you can hear teh old classic tango songs coming from porteño´s radio. The locals sit on their door steps and watch the world go by as the smell of coffee shops and parillas (Argentine BBQ) fill the air.

It´s quite different to the UK. The set up is quite traditional with small shop keepers providing different services - from laundry shops, greengrocer, small supermarket and panaderia (special bread shop). Since they´re all close by, we´ve been shopping as we need it. We go into the same shops every day and so we´re building relationships with the owners. People smile, talk and have a conversation with us. It´s quite a leap from the unfriendly areas of London where the large supermarkets dominate in a huge cold and clinical warehouse (not a big fan of this - bring back local services!).

Our First Taste of a Milonga

In the evening of New Year´s Day we met with our soon-to-be landlord and Bridget and Leo, our tango teachers from London, in a lovely, traditional ´salon de tango´ in Once. Once is an area of Buenos Aires close to the centre. It´s a bit rough around the edges, but there are lots of milongas (tango nights) held around here. (Photo here by Carlos Alkim).

The tango salon was a traditional old tango hall with a four large marble columns supporting the ceiling which also marked out the edge of the dancefloor. Tables and chairs were laid out around the edge of the dancefloor and a waitress provided a slow, Argie style table service. The club was frequented by porteños (the term used for people who live in BsAs) and not for foreigners. As we arrived at the door, the organiser checked us out and offered us a table in the worst spot - at the back, against the wall and close to the door, so we would have been distracted and annoyed by the comings and goings of the club. As it happened, our porteños had reserved a table, on which we were included, so we informed the organiser and he allowed us to wander freely to find them. Throughout the night, he asked us three times if we found our friends, with a slight feeling of mistrust I think!

Our porteños had a great spot, right on the edge of the dancefloor and close to the bar. After greeting our friends we put on our shoes and took the dancefloor, whilst it was still not too busy. The music was all the old tango classics that we´re familiar with. After four songs, there is an intercession of 50´s rock and roll to denote the end of the session and to change partners.

By 1am, we´d had enough (New Year´s Eve catching up with us) so we headed back to our hostel and went to bed.

Happy New Year!

Well, we were at a bit of a loss about what to do for New Year´s Eve. Thinking Buenos Aires was one of the party capitals of South America, it seems that NYE is family time and believe it or not, the bars close! Yes, you read that right. There are only two nights of the year that bars and many bistro type bars are closed - NYE and Christmas Eve. The Argies celebrate by eating late (as usual) with the family and then maybe wandering to a bar on the way home or perhaps a club - but the bars and clubs don´t open until 2am.

So where does that leave all the tourists? Mainly, stuck! You can´t get into a restaurant for love nor money, so a group of us from the hostel ended up down in the port on the waterfront. There was a small kiosk, which sold crappy wine and beer, so we chilled out and watched some fireworks. By 1.30am, we decided to go a club nearby - Opera Bay - which, I have to say is one of the coolest clubs I´ve ever been in. It´s kind of like a squashed Sydney Opera House and it looks over the port. There are five large rooms, stylish water features, a decked area outside and fabulous views over Puerto Madero. Great for summer, but I imagine it to be a little chilly in the winter!

Stu and I crawled home at about 5am - quite a strange night. Here´s us at the end of the night...