Did you know that for the first half of the 20th century, Argentina was one of the wealthiest countries in the world? You'd never know it with the Peso being as weak as it is now. But taking a look around Plaza de Mayo, the city's main plaza, we can see evidence of such wealth in the old grand and opulent buildings that line the streets. There are neo-classical, Greek revival, and Spanish colonial style buildings all around us, and we're sitting right in the middle of it all... people-watching while enjoying our empasadas and trying our best to look like locals, or porteños as they call themselves here. Unlike in China though, we obviously have no hope of blending in as porteños. But that's not gonna stop us from trying.
There's nothing more porteño than riding the metro, or the Subte as they call it here. It gets pretty busy and we somehow manage to purchase a 10-ride ticket from the station agent without much ado. At $1.10 pesos a ride (about 29 cents), it's quite a bargain. Funny thing is, some lady comes up to us and asks for directions in Spanish. For some reason everywhere we go, people always seem to ask us for directions... maybe we just look like we know where we're going. But here? Really? C'mon lady, in a city of 18 million Argentines you ask the two chinks with no clue? Really? I think she figures out her mistake by the looks on our faces. Maybe we do look like porteños afterall.Personally, I think a big part of the fun of coming to a foreign place is trying to figure out our bearings. The whole point is to be out of our comfort zone... and to someday say, "What the hell were we thinking??"
Case in point: drinking maté. Apparently, it's an Argentine pastime to be drinking this bitter tea from Uruguay. Go figure. They love it here and it's usually sipped from a gourd shaped cup with a metal straw and passed around the table... kinda like smoking and passing the crack pipe around your group of buddies. The friendly waiter was kind enough to show us the ropes and give us a crash course in maté 101. It's bitter as heck and kinda tastes like feet. Ok, I exaggerate, but it's definitely an acquired taste... but if you drench it with sugar, it's not too bad. Sitting in the patio of a 200-year-old historic building called the Cabildo sipping a cup of maté. How Argentine of us.And Now, a Word From the Wifey...
The Pink House
If I ever became the President of a country (hey, it could happen), then I'd have a place like the Casa Rosada. Not only do they paint it pink...but at night, they light it up with bright neon pink lights. It's like the Barbie Dream House on steroids and with real working lights. I can't stop staring at it.Oh yeah, and Eva Peron gave her famous speeches from the balcony.
Random Stuff:
The food here is cheap and hella good, especially during their version of "happy hour" which is from like 4pm to 8:30pm. The dinner crowd doesn't start coming in until 9pm at the earliest. Works for us.
We order a tasty pollo [chicken] dish at Cafe la Puerto Rico, restaurant with lots of charm and old friendly waiters. Té con leche [tea with milk] is excellent.- At La Catedral Metropolitana, we just happened to be there during the changing of the guard. The guards are stoic, just like in the UK... which makes for great pictures! (see below)
Smile, Mr. Happy!
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