04 July 2008

Lost Bags

We are finally home....but our luggage is not!!! All 3 bags are lost without a trace and to top it all I lost my passport which had the luggage receipt tabs inside it - Nightmare!!!!!!
All shoes, music, dvds, my hat from Salta, dulce de leche, bombillas and mate pots, my giant knitted strawberry, the pixie bag, Viktor's present, Johanna's old photos from the antique shop, and all clothes...all gooooooooone... luckily we had all 72 Alfajores in our hand baggage... so we can comfort eat and be FAT!

Roger and Nico



Veronica, Johanna and Simon risking food poisoning.

If you are ever hungry after an all-night milonga be sure to head to the fantastic diner in Villa Urquiza where you will be met by the sociable waiter Nico and his shy friend Roger. The food is terrible, the place is run-down and shabby and the prices are dirt cheap with the emphasis on dirt. It seems like the Argentine version of McDonalds(**or Buenos Aires' answer to Stippe's) with the waiters in uniform complete with matching caps and big name badges. Nico was very sociable and told us his brother lived in a big town in England but he couldn't remember the name of it, we said is it London and he said yes that's the name of it - he had even been there for a week to visit, but had forgotten the name. They run a customer service campaign here where the waiters give you a small paper to fill in to rate the service, food and atmosphere ad you can add additional comments about the waiters- now we knew why Nico was being so friendly. We were each given a small book of recipes written by the chef of the diner (probably not a best seller).
Quote of the evening "Roger...manteca por favor!"
**For those not from the south of Sweden be sure to visit Stippe's next time you are here.

01 July 2008

Buffet Libre


All the sanwiches, cakes, biscuits and buns you can eat! We were back at Marina Santa Fe 3666 for the second time in 24 hours. Between 1700 and 1830 they have Tea and cakes. They open the doors earlier but you cannot help yourself to the food until 1700 then it just goes crazy as hoardes of old ladies rush to the buffet to grab plates and plates of exquisite sandwiches and cakes. These ladies have sharp elbows and look like they haven't eaten for a week,it is very dangerous to get in their way. The buffet is a set price of 21 pesos and is great value. The Marocchi family joined us for tea. The night before we were at the same restaurant with Pablo and Cinthyia for the 'Tenedor libre dinner' again there is a set price this time 40 pesos and you can eat everything from pasta, sushi, pizza, salad, meat from the grill. Al the food is very fresh and cooked individually as you order it. I lost count of how many dishes Johanna ate but I know she had lamb, sushi and beef steak, among others - this place would be going out of business if Johanna had found it earlier during our stay. I have never known anybody eat, sleep and dance as much as her, I think she is still a teenager inside even though she acts like an old aunt.

Guess the age!

Carolina told us that it was her birthday on the 30th June. We were very curious to know her age so we tried to guess - we came to the conclusion that she could be anything between 25 and 33. I finally chose 32 as my guess and Johanna agreed. When we gave Carolina her present of new headbands (her favourite accessory, see the photos)I plucked up the courage to carry out the cardinal sin of asking a lady her age. She said that we should guess. When I said 32 she screamed NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I am only 29 everybody thinks I am older. Then Johanna dropped me in it by saying well I guessed that you were younger...so I was left to try to dig myself out of the big hole by saying that she looked a lot younger but I presumed she must be older due to her vast dance experience and method of teaching. I had forgotten the most elementary lesson of life... if you are so stupid as to ask and guess a lady's age take at least 5 years off your guess. Quote of the day Carolina: "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I am only 29"

Last lesson - Carolina




Now we have had all the lessons with Carolina Calas in Belgrano and we have our heads full of instruction and hours of taped moves to watch and practice - the hard part now is to get the body to instinctively do what the brain wants it to. There will be hours and hours of practice in Sweden to continue the training. Dancing apilado with amagues, apile, giros, adornos, voleos, rebotes, enrosques, calsitas, putting intonation into the dance, working on the balance, finding the correct posture and most importantly the walk which is 90% of the dance.

Wooly hat!

My new wooly hat a present from Pilar to keep me warm during the cold winter in Sweden. The hat is from Salta in the north of Argentina.

Villa Ballester



Last Saturday we travelled by train to the suburb of Villa Ballester to meet Cecilia, her mother Pilar, Batuque the dog and the cousins visiting from Spain. Pilar had been cooking for two days ahead of our visit and we were treated like royalty to a wonderful dinner, with lots of veggies for me. Batuque took a shine to Johanna and in particular her leg and he was banished to his little house under the fireplace for being a chico malo (bad boy). Later on at La Viruta Johanna told the story to one of the guys she danced with but he misheard the word 'dog' and he thought that during dinner there was a man under the table trying to have sex with her. The reputation of Argentinean men just got worse!! Quote of the day from Johanna's dance partner: "Yes, you have to be careful with the Argentinean men"

Pixie Bag



Now we have finally found Pixie's bag shop tucked away on a small street in Palermo. For anyone else with the same abstract taste as the Pixie the shop is called Puro amd is at Borges 2184 www.zapatillaspuro.com.ar