BA-day 3

It was bound to happen. We packed individually. Some of our color overlapped  and thus today we are twinners in our yellow shirts. We have been known to color coordinate in the past, but today was unplanned and neither one of us was willing to change. 

The day started with another nice, free breakfast at the hotel. Chris took another photo, because he was "so impressed with breakfast." I have rediscovered my enjoyment for tea with honey. Chris had 3 "breakfast pastries" and I tried my best to stick to those foods with protein. I will admit we packed a ziplock full of Medialunas for later. 

We packed up our packs, made another run for water, and checked out of the Wilton. The bellhop teased us when he saw the backpacks. He said backpacks are always heavier than suitcases. We are thankful the Wilton was able to hold our luggage until we are able to check into our next hotel. 

In packing, my big question was about bringing my rain coat. It's light. Fits into it's own pocket and could be really useful. We looked at historical weather patterns-rains 5 days per 3 months in each of the countries we were traveling to. Thus, for the first time in 5 years, I set off without my raincoat or umbrella. Bad decision.  

Since the weather forecast was thunderstorms, we planned on visiting some museums. The morning was gray and humid. We started to walk the 15 blocks to Casa Rosada. Part way there a few drops. Within 5 minutes we were huddled under an awning during a downpour. 

See the cafe with the red awning? We were able to cross the street and head there to wait out the storm. The rainstorm had me very thankful for the cafe culture-and very thankful Chris is a coffee drinker. Once I managed to get over my initial disappointment with "wasting time" due to weather, we connected to the wi-Fi, posted some blogs, and played two games of cribbage. As we played Cribbage, the rain would subside for a bit and then pour again. 

We decided to change direction and walk to the Evita museum. It's the one museum I wanted to see again and Chris wanted to go as well. We then walked the million blocks down Libertador. My friend Karen and I used to walk the same route when we were working in BA. I am thankful for the sweet memories and familiarity. As well ad the surprises. I will remember bits and pieces. Like I knew there was a giant flower (think the bean in Chicago) but not where. We stumbled upon it. 

There was no more rain and we made our way to the museum. As we were walking, Chris admitted that he'd never seen Evita. I brought my husband to Argentina without checking to ensure that he'd seen the well done chick-flick Evita. And the man loves politics. I gave him a run down of the movie, sang a couple of my favorite lines (because everyone listens to musical soundtracks when living over seas, right?) and introduced him to Evita. 

Technically before the museum we had lunch at the restaurant at the cafe. A delightful meal. Well done. Excellent service. I had shepards pie with merengue on top. Chris had ravioli in a perfect sause. 

Before we entered the museum Chris was forced to put his bag in a locket, yet I was allowed to keep mine. Truth be told-they were both my purses that I'd travelled with. I had to smile because for as many times as I've incorrectly referred to Chris's bag as a purse, to the outside world it is a bag. The world is not yet ready for the man purse. 

 

The museum had large gaps (nothing about how she met Perón, her illness, the stolen body, or her critics) and when we return to the states my next biography will be on Doña Eva Perón. I think she was an incredible woman who paved the way for women in politics (Argentina's current president is a woman). The museum is housed in one of the women's houses she created and there were photos of Evita in the foyer. The house itself is beautiful. The museum has added technology since my last visit and you now can listen to her speeches and see footage. He song lyric is true: when you die, demand to be buried like Eva Perón. 

It was close to 5:00 pm when we left the museum bag headed back to Recoleta. 

We thought we'd hit the cemetery and the artesian market stalls. I saw the cemetery walls. I'd spent 3 months in this area-I knew where we were...except that I didn't. There was all these new businesses-most of them Western restaurants. This was a massive complex. I would've remembered it, right? Turns out they built a mall (Recoleta Mall) since my last visit. 

The cemetery was no longer allowing entrance. So, I had to make good on an ice cream promise. And that made someone extremely happy. 

We walked back to the Wilton, collected our packs and grabbed a taxi over to the Park Towers. I cashed in all my hotel points for 3 days at the 5 star hotel. I'd been waiting for this hotel stay since Peru. The pictures speak for themselves. I think the hotel room is larger than our living/dining in our apartment back home. 

We even had a dulce de leche/alfajores snack waiting for us. 

We settled into the hotel & unpacked our bags. I was tired of my clothing smelling like the plastic bags I use when traveling. We headed out to dinner, up Avenida Florida. This is a pedestrian mall. This is so the place to be if you want to change your money. Men and women stand on the street yelling out "cambio" and "dólares." They are so aggressive. They'll be quiet, chatting up a buddy in the street. Chris and I pass and they start yelling "cambio cambio! change dólares. You want to change your money? Where you from?" Drives me nuts. 

1. There is a HUGE black market for dollars. (Their street worth is 33% more than the official exchange rate.)

2. Argentina has a large problem with fraudulent Argentine pesos. 

3. It's rude to ask someone where they are from. (That could be an entirely different blog post.)

Once again, the spot we were headed to for dinner was closed. I was ready to hit up the McDonalds or Burger King that we'd passed (dependable prices, I know what I'm getting, and no table sitting fee). But we found a little place and I had hake with mashed potatoes. They even baked it for me rather than fry it. The best part about dinner was the bottle of Malbec. The waiter taught us to stick to younger wines since I like my reds sweeter & less dry. This was another wine we both enjoyed. 

As we were paying the bill, our waitress brought over two flouts of sparking wine. Just what we needed after an entire bottle. And then the downpour began. People were running in the streets. Our waitress said the weather predictions were unreliable (let's hope that means no rain tomorrow). We had underestimated the rain for this evening. When the rain subsided to a sprinkle, we walked home. Turns out our hotel is in a better location than originally thought-probably our shortest walk home. And it's green at night. 

We climbed into a bed of heaven (did you see all those pillows?!?!). We were even able to watch two episodes of Grey's Anatomy while lying in bed. Needless to say, it was a great day. 

Side Note:

Traveling has also made me very thankful for Chris. As a wise friend pointed out, if he was just like me, we wouldn't balance each other (and I wouldn't "need" him). I am thankful for his perspective. That in the midst of the downpour he is glad to be able to just sit at a cafe (and that he brought the cards). I'm thankful for his flexibility. Sometimes, traveling with him I feel like an OCD freak. And then I smile because I get to travel with him. For all the intercontinental conversations, text messages, and "Wish you were here " pictures I used to take-I finally have Chris with me. So I might not tour a museum or see everything on my list, but I have him. And he is pretty great.