Tigre

Hola chicos!

Just a quick update on whats been going on.

Taking advantage of the October long weekend (Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity?!) and the beautiful weather, we headed to Tigre. Tigre lies on the Parana Delta which is about 30km north west of BA - a very slow 1 hr bus or train trip. From the town of Tigre, the Delta is a maze of rivers and streams hosting everything from tiny shacks to mansions and more rowing clubs than one could ever imagine.

The Tigre Art Museum

Along the river

We stayed on an island in the delta at a BnB/resort - Amarran Sancho - in a beautiful self-contained wooden bungalow with all meals taken care of. Seriously, they took care of us. Breakfast, 3 course lunch, afternoon tea, and a 3 course dinner every single day, never once did either of us feel hungry. The place itself was incredible, with hectares of protected natural forests and all you could want for a relaxing long weekend. We spent our days having massages, walking in the woods, laying in hammocks by the water, swimming in the pool, sitting in the spa, eating too much, drinking, hanging with the friendly resident dogs, and playing heated games of volleyball, ping pong, Juego de Sapo and Metegol (foosball). All in all it was a great break with some well needed fresh air, sun and nature! It's hard to believe such a paradise exists so close to this crazy city.

Juego de Sapo (Frog Game)

Heading for a walk in the forrest with our very own tour guide

Double shower!

Asado for Sunday lunch 

The weather is starting to warm up now so we're starting to notice more and more tourists, especially in the area around the cemetery. We get so excited every time (okay - only twice so far) that we hear even a hint of the rare Aussie accent. Spring has officially sprung so we've been out and about enjoying the great outdoors. We even revisited the rose gardens (that were very disappointing back in August).

Paseo del Rosedal

Yep - much better than in August 

We are super duper extra excited to have some of Heather's family arriving here in January! But it's hard work trying to plan what to do - Argentina is such a big country! A trip to Iguazu Falls is definitely on the cards, as is a trip to Peru to see Machu Piccu. We're also tossing up whether to head to the coast to cool down and relax or to head south to Patagonia and visit the glaciers, check out the scenery and eat lamb. Again, super exciting to have visitors on the way, we're looking forward to showing them around 'our' city and eating Parilladas, helado and drinking vino.

Mmmmmmmmm Noodles from the new Fukuro Noodle bar in Palermo Hollywood

What else.... life is life here now, we go to work, eat, shop, go out and of course battle the never ending uphill journey to learning the language. As we're getting used to hearing the language it is becoming easier to understand, and as we speak the language more it becomes easier to speak. Heather has no problems listening and understanding, but is very hesitant/shy to speak. Whereas I am the opposite. So we've got ourselves into this weird situation where Heather translates and I respond. What can I say - we're a good team!

In other news, Heather recently (por fin!!) got her Argentine residency. She now has a bank account and will soon receive her DNI. Now she no longer needs to leave the country every three months, (but I still do).

Hope all is well for everyone back home - missing you all lots! We really appreciate those who take the time to read, share and especially comment on our blog.

Chau chicos!

Grandpa's Pills

Hola,

H here. I'm not going to write in Spanish because I do enough of that every day at work! But I guess I'll give you a quick update on what we've been up to recently. I was really sick (again) with sinusitis so had pretty rough couple of weeks and didn't really get a chance to do much more than lie in bed watching Teen Mom and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Fun stuff.  But all is good again now, and we've just welcomed the beginning of spring so the weather is finally starting to warm up! It has been a ridiculously cold winter - compared to Perth anyway, although I guess everywhere has a cold winter compared to Perth.

So we went to our first 'closed door' (puerta cerrada) restaurant last weekend. A puerta cerrada restaurante is a restaurant in someone's house, essentially like a dinner party that you pay to attend - very popular in BA! Some have private tables or in some you sit at one big table with all the other guests. So we went with some friends to ClanArtistik 610 Buenos Aires in Abasto. Osc and I got there a bit early as the taxi driver drove much faster than expected (you would think we would be used to that by now). Lucky we were previously warned as, from the street, you would have no idea that there is a restaurant there. We started with some really great wine in the (very cool) bar area of the apartment/restaurant and then on the rooftop terrace when our friends arrived. For dinner, Osc and I both had the 'Lomo Grille a la Mostaza' with potatoes and Ratatouille. And wow, was it amazing! The steak was delicious, as was the ratatouille. But I could have easily eaten an entire plate of those potatoes. I wish I had taken a photo so I could drool over it again now.  For dessert we both had the mousse de chocolate - not sure how I managed to fit it in, but it was also incredible. All in all, we had a great experience at our first puerta cerrada with some great company, wine and unbelievably good food (and at a reasonable price!).

The bar

Mousse de chocolate

"Yeahhhh buddy"

Saturday just gone we were spoilt by some friends who got us tickets to see her brother's band 'Las Pastillas del Abuelo' (in english - Grandpa's Pills). The concert was at a place called 'Tecnopolis' which is just outside of the city boundary. I still don't really know what 'Tecnopolis' is but it felt kind of like a giant, brightly coloured, flashy science theme park/government propaganda machine. Slightly weird. But anyway, back to the concert. I guess we didn't realise how famous the band is until we got there! There was 15,000 odd people in the crowd and the show was completely sold out. Thanks to our VIP wristbands, we got to watch the concert from a platform above the rest of the crowd with the family/friends of the band members.  It was a awesome way to see our first Argentine concert and the band was amazing! Even though we couldn't understand a word of the lyrics, the jazzy-rock music kind of reminded me a little of a South American, more rock, version of the Cat Empire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC7euSJKc0w

The crowd was absolutely insane! I have never seen a crowd in an Australian concert anywhere near as pumped as this crowd - and that was half an hour before the band even came on stage. They sung every single lyric of every single song, almost drowning out the singer. Crazy! So when the show finished our VIP wristbands worked their magic again getting us backstage to meet the band (who were all incredibly nice and down to earth) and even get a sneaky pic with the lead singer. Such a good night, thanks again for the tickets guys!

Las Pastillas del Abuelo

The crowd - flags, balloons, pyro and a lot of enthusiasm 

With Juan (the lead singer) and our buddy Marcus

Look closely and you can see one of the pancho (hotdog) sellers that walk among the crowd. Wish we had those in Oz.

Tecnopolis robot

I'll end this post with some sad news. Regrettably, Osc shaved off his chin-fluff manly beard on a whim. It's ok though, we are working hard on growing it back and hopefully I'll have my latin lover back soon. Anyway that's all for now. This weekend is (another) long weekend. So Osc and I are headed off to Tigre to spend the long weekend in a Bungalow on an island in the delta. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend of swimming, kayaking, hiking, eating, drinking and lying by the pool in a hammock. Fingers crossed this beautiful weather holds out.

Hasta luego,
H