The Rest of the Trip

Sorry I never finished the rest of the Buenos Aires trip. After getting home I was very tired, then got busy. I'll now fill in on the rest of the trip.

Friday was the first time I had seen rain in South America. It was raining when I was getting ready for work, but stopped for the commute. After we got inside the building it was pouring like I hadn't seen in a long time. A long, sustained drenching, accompanied by some glorious thunder. See what happens when you overstay your welcome??

I wasn't feeling well all day - I was hoping I wasn't coming down with anything - but it turns out it was just a day thing. I think the sprite from the previous night was the culprit.

Lunch was the same as the previous day - empanandas on site. No more Lion's Cafe. I was disappointed, but busy, so it didn't really bug me all that much.

We worked until around 6, when the dweeb's boss said "we're leaving". He had to leave for his flight at 9pm and he wanted to take us out for a nice dinner first. Who was I to argue??

We went to a different restaurant - near where we had been going all week. I have the details written down at home. I'll have to fill you in later. I was still not feeling all that great, but I figured this was my last opportunity for a big meal in Buenos Aires, so I had to make the most of it.

We did the normal grouping of appetizers - the sausage being the best. I didn't eat too much of it as I wanted to save my energy for the steak. We had some great wine - again, I'll have to get back to you on it.

Dinner was Bife de Lomo. So damned yummy! We also ordered a bunch of different kinds of fries - thin cut, Spanish chips, and the little balls like I had during one of my first meals the previous trip (scroll down and read!). We had the second bottle of wine with the meal, and it did not disappoint.

Unfortunately, Boss man had to leave for his flight, so we finished the meal without him. Dessert was Panqueque con dulce de leche - where panqueque is a crepe. That was sooooo good. Filling, but delicious. I will really miss the desserts from there.

After dinner, the remaining colleagues and I (there were 4 of us) decided to just walk that dinner off and strolled around down town. Since everyone was kinda waiting for someone else to figure out where to go, I just stepped up and lead. It was rather uneventful, just walking around Buenos Aires. It was nice to walk though...I hadn't been able to do any exploring on this trip for the most part. Even though it was with other people, it was still nice.

After checking out the next day we headed to the new building one last time. We tied up any loose ends, did a little extra training, and said goodbye to our gracious hosts. I was given a bottle of wine, which was unexpected. They really are a nice group of people down there, and it was a pleasure working with them. I hope to get a chance to get back there.

We headed back to the hotel to drop off the bags we brought with us and had a few hours before we had to leave for the airport. The dweeb had arranged for a party bus to take us there. 4 of us had 10pm flights, and 2 had 11pm flights, so we planned to take the bus at 7 to give us enough time to get checked in and whatnot.

Shopping downtown was fun, but I was feeling a little confined with the group. 4 of us went to Calle Florida while the Dweeb and Pink Panther went to Recoleta. I broke off from the group and found a cool little leather shop to get a belt for my father (and one for me too!).

After meeting up with the group, we headed to a music store. One of my colleagues was tasked with bringing his wife some Tango music. I purchased some as well, and it was at this time that I realized that I no longer had my credit card!! Oh no!!

I immediately realized that I had to have left it at the leather shop. After giving directions to the group on where to go for lunch (La Rienta) I ran back to the shop, where the guys had my card locked in the cash register. Whew! Crisis averted!

The grill at La Rienta was closed for lunch, but we were still able to get tenderloin sandwiches, which were really good. After lunch we stopped by Havana to get some Dulce de Leche and afrijoles to bring home, and we might have stopped by a cigar shop, where someone might have bought a Cuban or two...but I don't remember that.

We get back to the hotel at about 10 to 7. At a few minutes after 7, our driver showed up, but he said (in VERY limited English) that he had a car, not a bus, and he could take 3 people. After getting a hotel worker to help with the translation, we learned that he could take 3 of us with bags, and he could get another car in 45 minutes. Now, the dweeb was late at this point, and no one was stepping up to do anything.

I went to try to find out how much a cab would be - and was talking with the hotel desk about another car. A car would be $130 pesos (not bad - about $45 US) but you had to either pay cash or charge to the room. I couldn't do it as I hadn't stayed at that hotel for the past few days, and when I brought it up no one seemed to want to put it to their room. Figuring the Dweeb should have to deal with this, I said fine, wait for him.

He finally showed up around 25 minutes late, and I called him over to bring him up to speed on his screw up and his tardiness. He tries to find the confirmation email on his Treo - I guess figuring that showing this to the drive who speaks no English will cause him to magically get a bus? I don't know either. The driver again says (now through me, who apparently in times of stress can speak pretty decent Spanish) that it will still take 45 minutes to get another car - maybe 40. The dweeb pushes his luck, saying "how about 20 minutes"...I guess not realizing that you can't negotiate physics, and that if the car would get there in 45 minutes, 40 if it speeds, 20 is out of the question. Finally, we agreed (or I said - I don't remember which) that the 3 of us that were there on time that had the 10pm flight would leave, and the others (the 2 that were there on time for the 11, and the dweeb that was late, on the 10) would leave with the second car.

The driver and I had a nice laugh at the dweeb's idiocy and we had a pleasant, traffic-free ride to the airport.

The check in line was stupid long, but it was okay. I got my flight, paid my airport tax and headed to the duty-free shop. I only bought one bottle of wine this time, and headed for the gate.
The other car had arrived and everyone was now at the airport.

The flight home was okay. American oversold the flight AGAIN. They bumped 2 before we boarded, then one more once we boarded, so we were late getting out again. Stupid American Airlines. Beware of them and their poor bumping skills!

And guess who got to sit next to a 2-year-old for an 11-hour flight?!? Would you expect anything else? I wouldn't. I'm convinced that my seat on the flight Thursday night was next to a single, Argentine model who has a thing for tall, bald, sarcastic Americans. ConVINced.

The 2-year-old was fantastic (as far as 2-year-olds go) and it was nice not to have to fight for the arm-rest. Those 2-year-olds are pushovers! I slept most of the time.

So that's my trip. Sorry for the rambling, and for the delay in getting this up. I am glad that I had a chance to cool-off from the dweeb's mess-up with the airport arrangements. I learned a very valuable lesson from this - arrange my own transportation to and from airports. It is amazing the difference between the two trips. Last time I was more on my own whereas this time it was more of group-movement. Both had it's pros and cons, but I think I liked exploring on my own better - a lot less stress.

I hope to have more tales from the road here soon. I'm thinking California soon (hopefully before the end of the hockey season) and maybe Florida - I'm itching to go to Disney!

Check out the first few posts from last trip - I have some photos up now!