Buenos Aires (Day 6): Would You Like That Supersized?

Today was the big showdown with our landlord. Damn, what happened to all those tenant rights we have in San Francisco? The concierge from the company we rented the apartment from, the apartment owner, and the two of us agreed to meet at the apartment at 4:30pm to discuss our moving out.

Before the meeting, Johnny and I decided "Ok, stand firm. We want out; we want our stolen $350 back; and we're not leaving without our money!" When the meeting started, everything was going well. The concierge was airing our grievences to the apartment owner, and there were a lot of grievences: no internet, no electricity, no phone, and the topper: $350 stolen.

The apartment owner then made us an offer we couldn't refuse. He said he'd move into our current apartment and we can move into his place 4 blocks away. But, the conditions are that all would be forgiven, including our stolen $350. The owner is an interior designer and he showed us pictures of his suped up apartment. Damn, of course we're going to take that.

We totally walked into the meeting expecting to get the hell out of Dodge, but in the end we wound up with a totally bad ass apartment at an additional cost of $350. Well, at least we finally have reliable internet access! That's worth $350 to me already.

And Now, A Word From the Hubby...

Yeah, I wasn't too thrilled about taking over dude's apartment. I mean, that's just kinda weird, right? I wasn't really cool with it... that is, until he showed us his pictures. The apartment is fabulously decorated, like only a gay Argentine man could. Umm... ok. Yes, please. I'll take it. Hey, he seemed okay with it... plus he said he just moved in three weeks ago so it's brand new. The place is like a model home showroom, a designer's (or Chandan's) wet dream. I'm almost expecting an sales agent to barge in with clients while I'm sitting here in my fluffy slippers and pajamas. Hey, you never know what might happen... the vacation's still young.

Anyhoo, we spent the afternoon trying to take our minds off the impending showdown by strolling down one of Buenos Aires's grandest boulevards. Avenida de Mayo was designed to rival Paris's Champ Elysées and runs 13 blocks from the Casa Rosado (the Pink House) to the Plaza Congresso, thereby symbolically linking the executive and legislative branches of government. Neat, huh? Sorry Agentina, it's nowhere near as awesome as the Champ Elysées, but it's still pretty cool with all the Belle Epoque, Art Neouveau, and Art Deco facades that line the street. For a second, you really do feel like you're in Paris. Muy magnifique!

Random Stuff:

• We take our dirty clothes down to the laundry mat run by an old Chinese lady. I think she tried to speak Mandarin to us, but we just ended up speaking sign language and Spanish. For only 10 pesos (about $3), we got our laundry washed and folded. Now my undies smell fancy fresh!
  
• Taking the old classic trains on the A-line. These trains have been in use for like 100 years.
  
• More steak dinner at Miranda. This time, ribeye... omg, hella good.
  
• In the new apartment, there's an automatic squirt air freshener. It goes ppsshtt every 5 minutes and kinda smells like a smelly Euro dude.
  
• Feliz Cumpleaños, la Priscilla!

Click here to see our Flickr pics!

Picture of the Day
Nacional Congreso