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!

Buenos Aires II, Night 5

I wrote this on the plane after leaving Buenos Aires:

I'm trying to remember where I left off. I believe it was Thursday morning. I checked out of the hotel at around 8:50 am in the area just outside of where we always meet for breakfast. I planned to run inside real quickly to get a few muffins for the road, but while I was waiting for a to-go tin I saw the rest of my colleagues there eating, so I joined them. After wolfing down a few muffins, I was all set to leave, but the dweeb had to run back to his room. Because of this, we didn't leave until around 9:30 - past the time we were supposed to. You'll note who's fault this is, and that he was the one that was pushing for a 8:30 departure. Dork.

We're about 10 minutes into our ride driving adjacent to the Rio de la Plata when we get told to pull over the Argentine Naval police. THAT was fun! I had all my bags as well as my passport, so I wasn't all that worried. They had the party van pull over tot the side, and the diver gave him his carefully organized papers. An officer came on the bus and walked up and down the aisle. It was relatively uneventful, but kind of a cool story to tell.

We got to the new building and I began working. Working through the day actually. For lunch, we had empanadas. Very yummy, though we had takeout. I would have rather left the building for a little bit to take a break, but no worries. It was just before this time that I received an email from my boss. As you saw in earlier posts, I wound up staying. At this time, my boss is scrambling to find coverage for me, and I'm dealing with our Travel department to see if this is do-able. Turns out the flight would be a LOT more, and our hotel was sold out. Fantastic!

After getting approval from the proper executives, they changed my flight and I was booked in the Park Towers, which is the luxury hotel adjacent to the Sheraton. After we left the building for the day (which didn't happen until around 8 I think) we went back into the city and I checked in. After plopping my bags in the room, we met out front to head out to dinner.

We went to La Parolaccia, the Italian place, again. If you'll recall, this was the scene of the great Gnocchi-feast of January. I decided not to repeat that. Best line of the car-ride there? One of my Argentine Colleagues drove us, and in his VERY broken English he mentioned that he has twins…10 months old. The dweeb actually asked this: How old is the older one? Our colleague laughed it off…and he asked AGAIN! I swear, you all should really meet this guy. You'll laugh and cry at the same time.

We get there and one of our Buenos Aires friends from the new building joins us for the evening. That was cool. He's a really cool dude, and his English has gotten much better since the last time I was down there.

I ordered the Fettucini Verdi con Quatto Formagi. It was really good. I have a picture of it on my phone, I think. Very filling, but not as much as the gnocchi! We had some white wine along with it. For dessert I had tiramisu. I had to. I was going to get this other dessert, but the waiter said it would take 10 minutes to make. I decided that was enough reason to go with the old standby. I was not disappointed, but again, I really didn't really have room for dessert anyway. I was quite full when we left the table.

After that, we went back to the hotel. I went to my fancy new room. It was huge! I think the bathroom was bigger than my room in the other hotel. Separate little rooms in the bathroom for the toilet and the shower, and a separate tub. It also had a speaker in there hooked to the TV. I had some sprite (which I think was bad) and went to bed.

I'll have to write more tomorrow as the light are out on the plane and I'm a little tired.

Hasta luego!!

A long few days

Sorry for the lack of updates. Yesterday was a long day and I wasn't feeling well at all. It was either sleep, as short bug, or something I drank, but I feel much better now. I have some more training to do, and I fly out this evening, but rest assured, more updates are coming. I plan to write them while waiting for the plane, or while on the plane, and get them posted ASAP.

Thanks for reading them! I hope you enjoy the tales. I'll write more when I can.

Buenos Aires II, Night 4

Last night we didn't leave work until very late. It was almost 9pm (BA Time) when we finally got out of here. The Dweeb's boss had just flown in and he was taking us all out to dinner (the Boss, not the Dweeb). We went to an awesome place called Cardon Nuestra Cocina in this suburb where our new building is. Was a cool looking, giant brick building. Very nice ambiance!

We had a very big table for 12. The tables were wooden with some sort of leather table top. Interesting. We ordered some wine, first was a Gran Lurton, Cabernet Sauvignon (Mendoza, 2004). That was very tasty. We had an impromptu status meeting with the Boss (not my boss, the Dweeb's Boss) and then started having some entrée's. A piece of sausage, some toasted bread…all standard. They served these awesome home made rolls - probably the best bread I've had down here.

The big thing for the night, I tried Sweet Bread. I'm not a hundred percent sure what it is…but I know that I don't want to know. If you feel the need, perhaps google it? And it wasn't what it sounds like. It was fried I think - but it was okay. I just tried not to think of what it could be that I was eating!

The discussion of progress continued and we ordered dinner. I went with the Ojo de bife de 380 grs (rib eye), con tartar de veruras y hojas de runcula. I'm not sure what the rest of that means either. It was basically leafy vegetables…maybe something like spinach. I went with the Rib eye since I only really have had Lomo since I've been here. It was good - but I think I got it cooked to long. I said medium - but it was more like medium-well. I wish it was a little juicier. But the wine made up for that! The second bottle was a Luigi Bosco - the same kind we had the first big night of this second trip.

During the meal, we went out onto the back terrace to check out the lunar eclipse. Well, I went out to check out the cute waitress, but the eclipse was cool too. I also saw the Southern Cross, which is as impressive as it sounds. After that, we headed back in and ordered dessert. I had the Flan con dulce de leche since that was the only thing I understood on the menu. It was not translated into English, and we had a bunch of people with us that I had never met before, and I was playing it cool. The Dweeb was constantly checking his Spanish/English phrase book and looking like…well…a dweeb. It really is a very appropriate name. I knew what I was in for, so I just acted like I've been there before…which is always a great rule.

Some discussion was had earlier in the evening about when to start work in the morning. Since it was to be my last day, the though was to start early so they'd have me for as long as possible. We had planned to have a car waiting at 8:30. Check that - the DWEEB suggested the car pick us up at 8:30. I knew that I still had to pack, check out, and try to grab a muffin before then, and after airing my initial protest, I let it go. I won't be a squeaky wheel.

I must say, after dessert, it was absolutely stuffed. It was after midnight, and I saw the dweeb back outside taking pictures of the eclipse (yes, I know…it looks like a little dot. Didn't make sense to me either). I mentioned "there's no way we're all going to be ready by 8:30" He said "oh yes we are - I already arranged the car service". I replied "You do realize that it's after midnight and we're still not done eating. We still have to finish and get back to Buenos Aires. There is no way we'll be back by 1:30. There is no way we can do 8:30" His reply "Yes we are, I already arranged the car service." Sigh.

After that meeting of the minds, I went back inside and sat at the table where I heard Dweebs Boss basically say "there is no way we can do it that early, let's say 10am to start." Ha! Great minds DO think alike! The Dweeb walks back in and is informed by his Boss that we'll be starting at 10 (which is a 9:15 car). His response "I already called the car service." Boss: "Call them back". The Dweeb's Boss instantly became one of my favorite people.

In the party van back to the hotel, the Dweeb's Boss told us tales from the road, and was generally an interesting person. At one point, the Dweeb interrupted (after a comment by the Boss that there were many people along the edge of the Rio de la Plata for 1am) saying that "the Argentineans keep an interesting schedule. When I go for my walk tonight I'll see families out in the park hanging out." Boss (deadpanned): "Great. Give us a full report tomorrow." Love this guy! Another colleague surprised me by catching my Pink Panther reference about a Minkey (his reply…"did you say "Minkey"), so we had a laugh-filled ride back to the hotel.

We got back around 1:30. After packing as fast as possible, I was in bed around 2am.

On the next Blog Update - Nick check's out and has a bite to eat in the Club Room - and the Dweeb was late and almost missed it (Irony - table for 1). And, the party van was pulled over by the Argentine Navel Policia

Bravo American

I spent much of a previous post bashing American Airlines due to their practice of and handling of the over-sold flight that I took down here to sunny Buenos Aires.

A few hours ago I recieved an email from American applogizing for the delayed service. They said that they wanted to make it up to me by giving me 5,000 miles credit as a way of saying they were sorry.

While I won't get back the afternoon I could have spent exploring the ciudad, I am impressed that they offered this to me without my having to write a complaint email. While American still won't be tops on my list of carriers to fly, they are not on the bottom.

Then again, they never were. United has set up shop down there.

Why go home?

Welp, I was supposed to be flying home tonight, but due to circumstances beyond my control (work) I will be here a few more days, leaving Saturday evening. Stay tuned for a post about last night's dinner - it was a big one! And look forward to more tales of great food and greater wine.

Now if I could just find someone to feed my fish...

Buenos Aires II, Day 4

Today I woke up and wanted to go back to sleep. That's usually the case though, so I got up and burned my retinas when I opened the blinds. Stupid me. Melrose was on the TV again, and I met my colleagues for breakfast again at 8:30. You might as well scroll to yesterday's breakfast, because it was basically the same thing.

The van took us back to the new building where I hit the ground running. Made a ton of progress again. So glad. Lunch was later - and I was starving. We went back to the Lion Café that we went to yesterday as there are not many restaurants in this suburb. I had a regular steak this time and it was okay - not the best that I've had, but still better than most. Papas Fritas, of course! Y una Coca Light!! And then I capped off lunch with an espresso. I may have to look into purchasing one of these machines and just dealing with the ridicule when it comes. It's so good!

Lunch conversation was fun as our Argentine hosts were asking a little of America - weather and such, as well as our elections. We explained our system a little - then we all had a nice belly laugh.

After that we came back to the building and I've been working ever since. It's about 8:30 now (5:30 ET) and I'm tired and hungry. Not sure what dinner will bring, but I bet it will be a new place!

One day left.

Buenos Aires II, Night 3

Sorry for the late entry - it's been a busy morning.

Last night after work, we got back late to the hotel. We returned around 9ish. It was a long day, but I got a lot accomplished. Our host was not coming out with us, so we were on our own. I knew of a couple of places, as did the dweeb. He seemed a little insistent on going to a place called Dora. Some dude on some airplane recommended it to him at some point, and Frommer's had it rated well, albeit expensive. Here's the problem. Dora is a seafood restaurant. Cuz when you go to a country that is world renowned for it's beef, naturally you want to go out for seafood. Dweeb. I had suggested the joint I went to last time I was here that had really good beef…but I didn't push it, just threw it out there.

He seemed a little insistent, so I backed off. I was fine with going to Dora, but one of the members in our party doesn't do seafood. He graciously backed out, though I felt bad about it. But it wasn't my fight to fight - and I wasn't paying the bill, so I just went with the breeze. I also figured that I hadn't been there - which is always a good reason to try a new restaurant - no matter what the cuisine.

The five of us get there and sit down. We had a very pleasant old waiter, who did his best with our language gap. We ordered a cold calamari dish, which was interesting. I'm not the most adventurous eater, especially with seafood, but I threw caution to the wind. It was okay - though slimy and tough. I don't think I'd go for it again, but I lived. Then we had another appetizer of crab meat wrapped in a what I think was a crepe. That was really good. I wish I had just stuck with that!

My main dish was Bife de paz espada: Swordfish. I….was not impressed. I have only had swordfish one other time in my life, and it was fantastic. Perhaps I didn't like the way it was prepared. Perhaps it didn't juxtapose well to the awesome crab dish. Perhaps I was too focused on the dweeb across the table that strong-armed us into going to a seafood place in a beef city. Don't get me wrong…it was okay, but I've had better…and I've only had it once before.

The wine for the evening was a Lagarde Viognier, 2006 out of Mendoza, Argentina. That was good. And strong! I was definitely feeling it last night. We capped it off with a lemon liquor that I know I shouldn't have had, but it did finish of the meal well. The conversation was good too - for the most part. Most of us talking about traveling around and vacation plans. Good stuff.

We returned to the hotel, and the night pretty much ended there. I went back to the hotel and just about passed out. It was a long day, and I was a little tipsy. I figured it was a good time to call it a night.

Until next time...

Buenos Aires II, Day 3

This morning I woke up to my alarm at 8am and hopped in the shower. We had a car coming to pick us up to bring us to the outskirts of Buenos Aires to the new building, and I wanted to get some food in my belly! After finding Melrose Place dubbed in Spanish on the TV (yes!!!) I got ready and headed down to the breakfast in the club room and met some of my colleagues.
I had a few rolls with some dulce de leche, as well as a muffin filled with dulce de leche (do you see a theme??). It was a nice, simple breakfast. After that, we headed down to the lobby to get in our car.

The car can only be described as a party van! 4 rows of seats, it was really like a mini-bus. We rode to the suburbs in style! One of my colleagues is a little dweeby and kept running his mouth trying to prove how traveled he is. He's been doing that since last night. Having nailed exactly what he's doing, it has gone from annoying to absolutely amusing. I keep prodding him to go on. What he doesn't realize is that I read Frommer's two. He's not well traveled. He just read Frommer's. Dork. (I know that this whole situation makes me the bigger dweeb, but please keep that to yourself)

We got to the new building and the others went on the 25 cent tour. I logged on and started to get some work done. After our meeting, I kept working. I actually got a lot accomplished during the morning, so I am pleased with that.

For lunch, we went to the Lion Café that we went to last time. It really is the only restaurant around here…for now. I had something similar to what I had last time…what we would call Chicken-fried steak, but I didn't have it with the cheese on top this time. I watched others (and followed suit) squeeze the juice of a lime onto the steak. That was a very good idea! It added an interesting little zing to it. Perhaps I'll try that again sometime. Some papas fritas really rounded out the meal. Dessert was another espresso. I hope I don't get addicted. So tasty.

The afternoon found me continuing to run around and get things done. As was the case earlier, I got much accomplished. We are now winding down (it's after 8pm here) and will be going back to Buenos Aires shortly. Not sure what dinner will bring, but that's the story for another entry.

Hasta luego!

Buenos Aires II, Night 2

Hola.

Things are moving down here in Argentina, and it's great!

Last night after work I headed back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of the Bristol group that came down. After dropping my bag off in the room we headed out to dinner.

We went to a place called Happenings (I know - sounds like a singles bar, right?). I didn't see it in Frommer's, but it was pretty good. We ordered the traditional bar-be-que again with all the different samples. One sausage this time, which was tasty, and another helping of Blood Sausage. I liked it at the other place better. This one had a different, softer consistency - kind of mealy. But it was fun watching the rookies' reactions. I had a helping of Bife de Lomo, because I love it! It did not disappoint. I tried a different type of potato - I think it was like a Spanish potato that was sliced thing (like chips) and then covered with herbs and butter, then baked. VERY tasty. Much lighter than papas fritas. The wine was Luigi Bosca reserva, Malbec 2005. Very tasty as well.

Afterwards I tried espresso for the first time down here. It was good, but not the best thing to be drinking at 11:15 at night. That was a dumb idea. The rest of the Bristol crew looked like they could have fallen asleep at any moment, so we didn't linger too long. Our host brought us back to the hotel and everyone basically went to sleep.

I tried to go to sleep, but stupid me just HAD to try the espresso. At 11:15 at night. Dumb. I watched something on the Discovery Channel about a couple of Americans going to Africa and participating in fights with other tribes (like wrestling matching). I'm not sure exactly what they were doing - I started halfway through. The one benefit of the late night espresso was some very fun dreams. But, there's nothing more boring than listening to someone else's dreams, so I'll keep that to myself.

I'll write more later.

¡Buenos Días!

A good night's sleep is the perfect cure for all that ails you. After a nice hot shower and shave this morning, it was down to the complimentary club room to grab a quick bite. Muffins with dulce de leche filling are the greatest thing in the world! A few of thoses, some bits of bread, and a Coca Light is a pretty good way to start of the morning.

I took a nice stroll through the park on the way into the office. It's hotter than it was last time - more humid. I hope this is not the trend.

Well, it's off to work. I am at our old building now, but I'm just about to head out to the suburbs to the new building. I'm curious to see how much developed.

I have a bunch of colleagues coming in tonight - I'm looking forward to seeing how my host here tries to impress them as he impressed me last month. Stay tuned for more updates!

Well That Sucked!

So much for having a nice easy return to Buenos Aires. I got a voicemail from American Airlines as soon as I got into the car on the way to the airport informing me that my flight was delayed. I appreciated the phone call, but it did me no good at that point. The bad part was that my 10:10 flight was not due to leave until 3am. ¡Ay Dios Mio! ¡No bueno!

I get there and check in, because I have nothing else to really do, and just kind of wander around. At this point, I still don't have a seat assignment as I booked the Saturday flight on Tuesday of the same week. I paid a lot of money for this last minute booking. Of course when I say 'I', I mean 'work'. But keep this in mind.

I wonder into the little bar next to the gate because they had the Islanders game on. I figured if I'm gonna be stuck I may as well watch some hockey...if you can call what the Islanders play 'hockey'. I wind up hanging out there until it closed because 1, I had no where else to go and 2, Kim rocks! (shout out Kimmy!)

When the gate agents first show up, I run up to get my seat assignment. Of course, it's a middle seat. Not only is my flight 5 hours late, but I have a middle seat. Yuck! I ask the gate agent if there is anything she can do. She said to stop by around 2am when the flight check-in closes, and if someone doesn't check in she could switch my assignment. Kim and I started praying.

2am rolls around and I get called up to the desk with a new seat assignment! She got me any aisle seat - I was happy and very grateful.

We start boarding a few minutes after 2, and I start thinking we may get out a little bit early. Badass! No...I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

Thanks to my helpful new friend Kim, I learned that there was a music group of about 60 kids on the flight. This would explain why the flight was sold out. As I get on the plane (I'm one of the last...cuz honestly, why rush to get on the plane just to sit down and have someone's ass in your face as they try to find overhead room) and I see a handful of these music people at the counter. I could tell because they were all wearing matching t-shirts. Yeah. I held my tongue...barely.

At about 3am, an announcement is made on the plane: the flight is oversold. By 9 passengers. They are asking for volunteers to be bumped.

Let that sink in for a moment. We sat around the airport for 5 hours...and American did not realize that they oversold the flight? Even if they found out by 2am when check-in closed they could have asked before we boarded the plane, right? But when you think about it a little more (as I did amidst an 11-hour flight) it gets better. I was assigned a middle seat, but was given an aisle seat, which means whoever originally had that aisle seat did not check in. That means that the plane was oversold by MORE than 9 people. Further, I paid a TON of money for my seat on Tuesday...which means that I am one of the people that bought a ticket on a sold out flight. Even with the vouchers that American was offering to the people that volunteered to be bumped, there is no way that it cost more than my ticket. American just made money by doing that.

That's all well and good, but here's the part that really ticket me off for that 11-hour flight. By doing all of this stuff, and waiting until the entire plane was boarded to figure out that there just weren't enough seats, they had to then take the bags of the passengers that bumped off of the plane. We didn't leave the gate until 3:50am. After being delayed 5 hours, we were delayed again for almost another hour so American could make a buck. That was unacceptable. I understand delays for equipment issues and weather...I worked for the airlines once-upon-a-time...but this is just plain wrong.

We finally land (the obnoxious, similarly-garbed music group actually CLAPPED for the landing...ugh) and I get off the plane. Thanks to my previous trip, I knew that they weren't too stringent on the "Tourists vs Argentines" separate lines for customs, so I was able to blow by the gaggle of musicians by going on the Residents line. That was nice.

The ride to the hotel was uneventful. I checked in and showered. I'm on the Executive floor of the Sheraton. I'm not sure what that means, but I have a view of the Rio de la Plata this time, which is cool.

I went out after my shower to grab a bite - but the 2 restaurants that I wanted to revisit were both closed (Sunday). I walked around and got some Sprite for the room, then headed back to the good ole Lobby bar for the Turkey Club sandwich. It did not disappoint.

I'm going to bed now. Hopefully my next entry will be more fun and less bitchy.

Stay Tuned!!!

Like General MacArthur, I am making my triumphant return! But not to the Philippians - I'm returning to Buenos Aires. And I never really vowed that I'd return. Actually...this is nothing like General MacArthur. Scratch that part.

I leave this evening after work for another looooong flight to South America. I don't have a seat assignment yet, so let's all pray that I don't get stuck in a middle seat. That would be bad for me as well as the two people adjacent to me.

Keep an eye out here for updates. I will try to update each morning, but I have to see how busy I'll be before I make any promises.

See you soon!

Buenos Aires - Day 4

Yesterday was mostly work. I woke up, slightly hungover, at 9:24…I was supposed to meet my colleague for breakfast at 9:20, so this posed a problem. I ran up to the floor where we were meeting to tell him I wasn't going to breakfast, and we decided to meet in the lobby around 9:45. A quick shower later and I was on my way! The walk through Plaza San Martin was pleasant…the weather really is beautiful down here.

Work was uneventful…we did what we needed to do. For lunch we went to a pizza joint. We walked through all of these plaza/malls to get there. That was interesting because it seemed this is where the locals were eating, less touristy…though we passed a few McDonalds' along the way. The pizza was good - flat crust, brick oven style. The first one we got was with mushrooms, but the second was very interesting. It had cheese, bacon and eggs! It was my choice, just because it sounded so odd. It looked as though they made the pizza with the cheese and bacon, and then right before putting it in the oven, they cracked an egg in the middle. Basically a bacon egg and cheese sandwich on a pizza. It was very good. Our host was telling us how the waitresses at that place used to be a little off-putting/unattractive…then there was a Victoria's Secret fashion show somewhere and the girls wound up at the pizza place (I think something was lost in the translation here) and the place was packed, so they started to hire more attractive waitresses. Not sure if any of that was true, but the waitresses weren't bad!

We worked into the evening, slowly getting our stuff done. One of my colleagues left for the hotel because he had nothing to do until the next day. We finished up around 8ish and then went to dinner.

We went to the same general area as the night before (a plaza behind the Casa Rosada), but this was an Italian place. We showed up around 8:30 and the place was almost empty. I figured it was because it's the middle of the week in the summer and most of the locals are on vacation. We ordered - I had the gnocchi a patata with a cream sauce, ham, chicken and mushrooms. My meal was by far the biggest on the table - I swear it was for two! I couldn't believe it! My American colleague had lasagna and was done before I even made a dent in my plate. Not wanting to insult our host, and not wanting to hear it from the other American, I put my head down and finished the whole plate! Afterwards, the dessert menu came. It contained tiramisu...so I had dessert. I am still full at 10am the next morning as I write this! I swear I'm hungover from the food! But the meal was excellent. By the time we were done it was about 10:30 and the place was packed! Every table was seated. It turns out that most Argentines don't eat dinner until around 9:30. They seem to have a very care-free attitude down here - we were always the first to arrive in the morning as everyone else would breeze in around 9:30, 10am. They'd work until around 6 or 7 usually and then head home. I guess it works for them, though our host was saying that they eat such a big meal and then go to bed a few hours later. That's not the best thing!

The restaurant was along an inlet from the Rio de la Plata. We had a table right on the window (imagine an outdoor section of a restaurant, but enclosed in glass) and had some nice people-watching on the walkway between us and the water. On the little island/peninsula (isthmus?) they are building tall towers full of condos. Our host was telling us that they were going for about $3,000 (US) per sq ft. He said it was by far the most expensive housing in Buenos Aires. He also told us of the political turmoil from about 7 years ago when they had 5 presidents in about 2 months. I couldn't even imagine what it'd be like to go through that. He said that the economy was at it's worst point then, and they have been stable and growing ever since those events calmed down. The booming tourist industry has helped this. It was very interesting to hear this kind of history from a local instead of reading it in the paper or in a book. To hear how the people all basically came out to protest and oust one of the Presidents was very cool.

After dinner we were dropped off at the hotel. After freshening up, my buddy and I walked around Buenos Aires a little bit. We walked a different route than the night before, but most of the places were shut down. This was a little troublesome as my colleague doesn't seem to know how to not act like a loud American. Here we are walking around downtown Buenos Aires at night and he's talking English to me as if we were at a NASCAR event and he was screaming over the engines, wearing his shorts and white sneakers with his New England Patriots t-shirt and his Superbowl ring he got from when he used to work for the Pats. I, on the other had, am dressed a little more conservatively and was keeping my head on a swivel to make sure no one started trailing us since we could obviously be pegged as tourists. We wound up back in the same area as the night before, but in a different bar. The place we went to had a Pirate theme…but it really just felt like we were in a Chilis. But they had a Sprite Zero, so that helped the digestion of that mammoth meal.

We only had a drink and then headed back to the hotel. I was so freakin tired I just about passed out upon entering the room. I scheduled a wakeup call (didn't want to make THAT mistake again) and fell asleep watching the Sharapova match from the Aussie Open Semifinal. I really didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but that's a story for tomorrow.

Buenos Aires - Day 3

Yesterday I woke up a little early so I could check out the breakfast up on the club floor. I just went in real quick and grabbed a couple of rolls and a muffin, then I headed into work. The muffin turned out to be really good - it had some sort of cream in the middle, which was a nice surprise. I'm not sure what that cream was, but me gusta!

Work was uneventful - got some stuff done, but not much. For lunch we had empanadas...yet another food I have never had. They're like a cross between a giant perogie and a taco. All different fillings are put into a pastry type "shell" and then sealed. The way that the shell is folded tells you what is in it. The beef one was good...I tried the cheese and (I think) ham, and it was okay - there was another one that was cheese and onion...but it was a VERY strong cheese...I only had one bite of that!

From there, we hopped in the car, picked up a colleague that had just gotten to the hotel and headed off to the new building that they are constructing in the suburbs. It is still very much under construction, but we got a tour of it and had a meeting to get everyone on the same page of what is happening. Quite an interesting experience being in a meeting conducted in English, but every once-in-a-while breaking into a cavalcade of Spanish that can make you go loopy. I tried to follow - and every now and then would pick up on a word or phrase, but mostly I just checked my email on my Treo.

After we left there we headed back to the office as I had left my bag and laptop there. We finished up and went off to dinner!

We went to a place called Cubana Las Lilas, which Frommer's lists as very expensive but a great experience. We went with the traditional Argentine BBQ - which would give us each a sample of different meats and then steak at the end. We had two types of sausage to start, followed by blood sausage. The blood sausage wasn't that bad, but I doubt I would ever order it on its own. The bread they were serving was fantastic, and I noticed the locals would eat that sausage on a piece of bread. The beef in the end was good, as is all the beef down here, as I've noticed. The wine for the evening was Malbec, as usually, but this one was especially good. It was a DV Cantana, 2004.

After the main course we had dessert. I discovered the Argentine delicacy dulche de leche. It's like a sweet rich, slightly chocolate/caramel/dark custard. It came in a custard form or as ice-cream. I had the ice-cream, but we also had a plate of the custard there as well, so I was able to sample both. Turns out, the cream in the muffin from breakfast was dulce de leche! Muy bueno! We also had a lemon liquor which was very nice. My colleague, however, misunderstood what it was and drank it like a shot (it was in a small glass). Afterwards, while everyone else took a sip, he said "that was good" to which our very gracious host replied "how would you know? You didn't even taste it!!" A hearty laugh was had by all...even our guests that didn't speak English! There was another plate of dessert that was served...this one with little white chocolate balls (but not white chocolate) covered in cocoa powder. Those were good as well!

We got a ride back to the hotel, and my colleague and I (the one that had just arrived) decided to head out for a nightcap. After speaking with the concierge, we headed out a few blocks. Unfortunately, our concierge was mistaken on where I could find a Cuban cigar (hey, I HAD to try one!) and we walked a few more blocks. I found a bodega, and I'm sure I overpaid for it...but it wasn't too expensive. We then walked another block as my buddy wanted to sample a local beer.

We pass one bar that looked cool, but the next one said "Jaz" in the window. I figured it meant Jazz, so I said, "hey, what's this?" As we got closer, there were two guys that looked like bouncers or something outside of it, beckoning us closer, and I noticed that there were thick curtains on the windows and you couldn't see in. Well, my spidey senses kicked in and I decided - let's go to the first bar...that we can see in. After the guys kept saying "no no, venga aqui" I think we made the right call.

High school Spanish helped again as we ordered a glass of wine for me and a Quilmos for my buddy. The prices weren't bad and we stayed there for a half-hour or so. The big rivaly match was on TV - Boca vs River. Very big Futbol rivalry!! After that I showed him Plaza San Martin we decided to call it a night and headed back to the hotel.

So that was day 3 of my great Argentinean adventure! Stay tuned for another installment tomorrow. Hopefully I'll shake off this slight hangover I have right now.Hasta manana!

Buenos Aires - Day 2

Yesterday wasn't as eventful as I had to work for most of the day. The people that I've met here are very nice - my main contact speaks English very well, so that offered some relief. His 2 employees don't speak it very well, but we seem to be able to get by with their broken English and my broken Spanish.

Lunch yesterday was great! I tried Argentine beef for the first time. Bravo! I had a piece of meat that is similar to sirloin I think, in a mushroom sauce, and these awesome french fries. Imagine taking a melon baller to a potato and then frying it. French Fry Poppers! The sauce was a little overwhelming, but the meal was very delicious.

After work I headed back to the hotel to freshen up and try to figure out what I was doing for the evening. My colleague had asked me if I had visited Calle Florida yet, and that I should check it out, but just look. He said it was a bit of a tourist trap and catered to that. Well, I took a walk, and he was right! It's a long street that had the feeling of street fair meets Times Square. Many little souvenir shops selling the same crap that you can buy in Times Square, but made for BA, not NYC. I think I may have to get the I Heart BA shirt for irony purposes. They had other shops along it as well, but they are very expensive, even with the exchange rate. And on every corner before crossing the street are guys with their little handouts "Chicas muy bonitas!" Nice to know the hand wave "no" signal is universal!

There were some cool parts to it. There was a street-performing couple dancing the tango which was nice. I actually found myself watching for a few moments. There also were some embarrassing parts...like the 5 McDonalds I counted along the street. America's Greatest Export, eh? Ugh. Many other street magicians etc. I wonder how you say rube in Spanish?

The Good: Tango in the streets

The Bad: Need I say more...

When I got to the end I veered left (because I didn't want to wait for the light) and wound up walking to the Casa Rosada (the Pink House). This is where the president works. This is also where Evita made her famous speeches to the masses. The government actually let Madonna use the famed balcony in the movie (to increase exposure of the city I suppose). I was struck, however, by the fact that it didn't really look pink. I mean, it stood out from all the other buildings, and the color was unique, but it seemed more of the color of a terra cotta pot. I snapped some photos like the good little tourist I am, waived off a couple of beggars (remember, the waive is universal!) and started heading back.

La Casa Rosada

There is an area outside the Casa Rosada that is barricaded off for protesters. There were many signs and pleas left there...I can only assume they said "We don't like the government" and that was a little wild to see. I know Frommer's mentioned that there is a group of mothers that protest there every week (I think on Thursdays?) because at some point, the government was censoring protesters and a whole lot of students "disappeared." This was back in the 70's I think. Each week they march and protest. Others protesters are those who were victims of the decline of the Argentine Peso and lost everything.

You can see the barricades - the blue on the right and left - with white in the middle. The white is boards with protest messages.

I walked along the Diagonal Norte to a monument that looks like a shortened version of the Washington Monument. I don't remember what it is or what it represents. I walked along that street (Ave 9 de Julio I think) back toward the hotel. Several more McDonalds and Burger Kings, as well as other eateries. I took a right at one point (again, didn't want to wait for the light) and walked back toward Calle Florida. After some more exploring, I found a cool little Cafe/Steakhouse for dinner.

The Oblesce

It's called La Rienda. I walked in and sat down, and the guy immediately gave me an English menu. I looked at him and he smiled. Do I really give off the "I don't speak Spanish" vibe? I guess I should take off my American Flag hat.

I ordered the 1/2 beef tenderloin with french fries (papas fritas), a glass of Ruca Malen Malbec and Agua sin Gas (Uncarbonated water). The beef was out of this world! I ate while watching the local news on the TV there before he switched it to SportsCenter. For dessert I had Flan Casero. On the English menu it said Custard...but I think it's more like rice pudding (I never really had rice pudding before, but it had that bumpy texture). After I got over the initial reactions to it, it turned out to be a very good dessert. All of that, plus another glass of Malbec, came to $75 pesos. About $25 American. I love this place!

It was a short stroll back to the hotel where I hopped on the bed to unwind. After watching the Spanish version of Woody Woodpecker (that crazy bird!) I put on the tango network for a few, then fell asleep watching the Democratic Debate. That was some good watchin!

So that was Day 2 of my great Buenos Aires experience. At some point I will try to download my pictures from my camera and share them. I hope you enjoyed my report!

Buenos Aires - Day 1

Originally composed on January 21, 2008

Greetings from sunny Argentina! It is 80 degrees and gorgeous down here.

I landed yesterday a little after noon Argentina time and took a car service to the hotel. On thing that was cool - all along the highway, people were pulled over and having picnics or just laying out. It seemed like every tree had a car parked next to it and people sitting below it...very cool.

I checked into the hotel and took a shower...slathered on some SPF-45 and hit the town! I'm staying right across the street from Plaza San Martin...they have a clock tower there that resembles Big Ben and was a gift from (appropriately) the British. It's one of the only things remaining from Britain, as the Argentines are very bitter about them ever since the Falkland Island War (Or, as it's called here, Las Minevas). There is also a monument to those who died in that war, resembling the Vietnam Memorial with the names on a wall.

This was the view outside my hotel window of the British Clock Tower.

I also took a walk to the Recoleta Cemetery. That's where Evita is buried. The cemetery is very different - it is all cement, with cobblestone roads and mausoleums everywhere. It actually looks like a little town. Most have doors with glass on them. When you peer inside, it looks like an altar containing usually one or two coffins...then, most of them have a little stairwell to an underground chamber that contains more coffins...family plots. Evita is buried there under her family plot - with little fanfare. I guess they didn't see the Madonna movie. There are a ton of very impressive building in that cemetery. I took a couple of pictures - most people there were, but it felt a little odd, so I didn't take many.

Recoleta Cemetary - it looks like a little town.

The Duarte Family Plot (Evita's maiden name)

This is the gate to the tomb

Public displays of affection are very common in Buenos Aires - even in a cemetary.

Right next to the cemetery is a church from the 1700's. I took a small tour of that. I remember reading something about it in Frommer's, but I don't remember much. I have to go back and research what I toured. They did have a little music room in the back with a giant chant book. The book used a very old style of music writing that I remember learning about in college. That was kinda cool to see.

This is the view of the cemetary from the church. You'll notice that the window is open. That is not glass, but a very thin sheet of marble - not see-through but it lets light through.

Notice that the "notes" are blocks, not circles, and there are no stems or clefs. These are called "numes" and it deals with relative pitch - mapping the interval from your current pitch.

On the way to the cemetery I passed through a crafts fair. That was fun - I wanted to buy tons of stuff but I didn't know how I'd get it all home! It was a lot of pottery and glass stuff.

On the walk back to the hotel I stopped in a bakery to get some local pastries. It boiled down to me point at the cookies and saying "dos por favor, y uno por favor". Ahh, high school Spanish - finally paying off!

I got back to the hotel and took a nap while watching the Patriots game dubbed in Spanish. After that I went down the hotel bar to grab a quick bite (I was so exhausted) and wound up watching the whole Giants game there. There were a few Americans - one from Green Bay and a couple from Jersey, so we watched the game - again dubbed in Spanish.

This morning I got up and found my way to the office here. It wasn't too far and was a nice walk - right by the park in Plaza San Martin. I felt like I was in NYC with the park, and the lights, and the traffic, and the people speaking Spanish....

Well, that's all for now - I just figured I'd give a little update!

I'll write more if anything cool happens.