We're OK

Quick update: We are still in Hawaii, so we're OK. We're not sure if we're going to go to American Samoa since an earthquake and tsunami hit there yesterday and there is a lot of devastation and deaths there. Our flight is supposed to leave tomorrow (Thurs.) for there and the airline is somehow still providing service. Tsunami warning was in effect for Hawaii yesterday, but we haven't seen anything.

Aloha and Tālofa!

We're off to Hawaii, American Samoa and Western Samoa for the next 2 1/2 weeks. If you're there, see you soon! If not, see you later!

Chocolate Boutique

This cute chocolate shoppe is a few blocks from my house. It looks so perfect inside -- white carpet, glass cases, chandelier, platinum-bob-haired shop owner. And the toile wrapping is so charming.

Maybe this place only seems cute because it's in Buenos Aires ... it IS the typcial kind of boutigue-y store I might see in historic Leesburg, Middleburg or Purcellville (VA). Hm.

Double Up

Don't you just love wearing panties over your thong?

Church Smooch

A lovely church we saw in San Telmo, an area of Buenos Aires.


But wait, what's that going on there in the foreground?

Another look ...

They DO say Argentines are a passionate people.

Memento

I never saw that movie, but this reminds me of the posters.

I was walking down the sidewalk by my house the other night and saw this. This was right after Stephanie was posting about vintage Pyrex, and I thought this photo was of some long-lost Pyrex pattern! But alas, twas not. But it still was an unusual little memento laying there on the nighttime sidewalk.

Fast Car

This taxi driver and this car don't really match. I mean, look at the guy ... and his wood-bead seat cover ... and then check out his pimped out race car ride -- look at all those dials! The racing-style steering wheel! And a GPS, just in case he veers off the race track.

Free Gluten!!!!

Because I was getting tired of paying for it ...

Sleeping On A Shelf

Some of you may know of Neil's shelf-sleeping days. Anyway, if he can't sleep on a shelf anymore, he'll make sure our pets can.

I came home the other day and he'd created these little nests for the cat and the dog, complete with light-blocking shades. This bookshelf is opposite his desk, since the pets like to hang out with him while he does school online during the day.

We Miss You

Dear Ne Ne,

Not that you will see this message, since you don't read my blog. But we miss you already. Hope VA treats you well! Bring me back some goodies, please :) All the best to MJ and Jeremy and all my love to our fam and friends you'll visit. XXooOOoxxOxoxxXo!

B

I GOT MY CAR!!!!!

Yay, my car came today!!!

I got a call at work to let me know that "In 14 minutes, more or less, ArgenMove will deliver your car to your house." Um, OK! So I gave Neil the heads up, and headed out in a taxi for the 10-min ride to my house.

On the way, we passed a flatbed truck ... with my car on the back!!!!!!!! Crazy!!!! I excitedly pointed to it told the taxi driver "That's my car!!!" He understandably was kind of confused, like "That's your car? (then why the heck am I driving you, woman?!)" And I explained it arrived on a boat from the States. I whipped out my camera and began documenting the final leg of the Rav's journey to Argentina. This was after we'd passed the truck. See my car peeking out from atop the flatbed?

Try to spot my car on the truck in the following pics as I snapped photos out the back of the taxi, and from the sidewalk by my house. I'm lame, I know, I know:



Yayyyy! Welcome home!!!




"Sign here."

I know you don't usually see pictures of me at more than arm's length -- I actually got Neil to take a picture of me for once!

And this one is a real Glamour "Don't." Especially the black tights, whoa.

Anyway, as you can see, I was excited to get my car. I don't have my diplomatic plates yet, but till then they said I could put Virginia plates on it and that would be OK ... hehe. The most recent plates were taken off for shipping, so I dug up my old Virginia - "S4LVRS" (get it?) plate I kept as a souvenir and propped that baby up on the dash. And then drove back to work!

It felt SOOOOOooo good to be behind the wheel again. And let me tell you, it was so tempting to turn right on red (illegal here). And I had to remember that the dotted lines on the road are mere suggestions -- you're dead if you try to stay between them; rather, you have to "go with the flow" of traffic, which is often ALL OVER THE PLACE.

But it felt good being behind the wheel. And even better when I got to park in my old bosses spot inside the Embassy compound, rather than hunting for a spot on the street (the new boss said it's OK since he and my coworkers take the train instead of drive). Boo yah.

A Building I Drove By

Or rather, rode by in a cab. It feels like summer is almost here.

Graffiti Mundo

We went on a tour with Graffiti Mundo. We walked around Buenos Aires, hearing the stories behind the art and learning about the artists behind the amazing graffiti murals.

The cops (and homeowners/downtown associations?) pretty much turn a blind eye to enforcing any law that might exist against graffiti art.

Our guide, Marina, was like an urban anthropologist who had been studying and interviewing graffiti artists to learn more about their world of expression and to share what she learned with the public.





The white, ghost-like paintings below are the kerchief-headed symbol of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a very active group of mothers and grandmothers of those abducted during the Dirty War. More about them here.


I like this jungle/elephant theme; the leaf stencils surrounding the elephant were made using real leaves off a nearby tree. I also like the dog just chillin' on a mattress.


More jungle animals and a demonic giraffe/goat/rat?


This realistic stencil of a girl's face was mesmerizing.

I saw these apartments during the tour -- they were made from converted industrial silos. Pretty cool!

'Rama'

Rama = branchBonafide Rama

Rama with dulce de leche.

Sometimes Neil gets experimental with new foods here; of course, only on the weekend when he can cut loose. You did know that Neil is a raw foodist Monday-Friday but he eats whatever (usually his normal diet punctuated by pizza and sweets) on the weekend, right?

Anyway, this one was the strangest by far. I am so disgusted by it and especially by dulce de leche. I thought they were cinnamon-flavored cookies or something. But no, they are ripples of milk chocolate, that are soft and flake apart delicately and easily when touched.

I won't eat it, but I am definitely going to use "Rama" if/when we make gingerbread houses at Christmas!!! As the name suggests, they would make perfect tree trunks!

Now, for the leaves -- a ball of mini marshmallows dipped in green food coloring? Can you think of something more realistic to match the awesomely realistic trunk??

Teen Drama

So this Argentine teen telenovela, "Casi Angeles," is like the "High School Musical" of South America. I think. I've never seen either show.

Anyway, I have been taking a class downtown for the past 6 weeks, and I always see these people on the street corner selling autographed photos of smiling teens. I had no idea what it was about. I finally captured them with my camera and I saw "Casi Angeles" on the pics, and I realized what these were. Weird.




This guy loves his job.

In the shadow of the Obelisko.
Lovely.

Chillin'

L-R: Boludo, Ellie, Neil.

This Makes Me Laugh -- A Lot

La Peña del Colorado

This one's for you, Mom. Just scouting it out for you. Don't worry, we will go again when you get here next month!

So we went to La Peña del Colorado, a local club/restaurant with live acts every night.

We ate copious amounts of amazing Argentine food, in a very rustic atmosphere. We started with meats, cheeses and olives on a slab of wood, morcilla spread on bread -- which I LOOOOVE, as long as I don't think about what it really is -- some sort of gaucho "french fries," and hot, cheese-filled rolls. YUM!

Then we had our main dishes; Mark had a lamb stew served in an earthen bowl,

Neil had locro, a traditional Argentine stew that I thought we would share, but it wasn't enough for the both of us. It was SOOOoooo delish, I should have gotten my own bowl.
Instead, and I really don't know what I was thinking, I got the brick-oven pizza. Super cheesy. I only ate this bite, and then I nabbed spoonfulls of locro when I could. Who gets pizza at a place like this??? Dumb dum dum.