I know it’s my stubborn streak talking, but when someone tells me I have to do something, it makes me not want to do it. Last night I went to Le Bar for (my movie set extra friend) Laurel’s despedida and sat at a sunken table with her Korean-Argentine friend David. He chastised me for not having traveled much while I’m here, and said when I go to Las Cataratas (Iguazu Falls) I have to see the Brazilian side. Um, sorry but I can’t afford a Brazilian visa. It seems silly to shell out the cash for a 90-day visa when I only have 20 days left. He also instructed me (and walked with me) to take the C-Line subte stop because the walk to the D-Line at Catedral was “too far.” It’s how I always go, and his route had me backtracking down Calle Florida. He was nice, but just pushy. He wants all of Laurel’s friends to get together and eat Korean food and hit up some karaoke bar, but I doubt I’ll spend my last 20 days here hanging out with Laurel’s friends. Some of them were cool; some of them were not; most of them were lawyers. One was a particularly cute lawyer from New Orleans, but I’ve already forgotten his name. Nice guy. When he spoke Castellano you’d think he was born here, but when he slipped into English you could peg him as a Louisianan. He went to LSU Law. Geaux Tigers! Oh, and it turns out somewhere along the line we lopped off a zero in Le Bar’s Conde Nast rankings. It’s one of the Top 100 Bars of the World. Not too shabby, but still a big difference from Top 10.
So today I broke fast, jogged, dropped off a load of colored laundry and picked up my now spotless coat. Read some emails from Annemarie and now I’m sitting at Havanna for un café con leche. Café Martinez’s is pretty good as well, after a second shot the other day. Both of those chains model their colors after Starbucks’ as Leandro pointed out. Tans and forest greens. From here I’m headed off to San Telmo. Lunch at La Farmacia (self described atmosphere of “cocinca y arte,” or “food and art”) or some French place that was also written up in Frommer’s. Then I’ll pick up my paycheck (fingers crossed,) which will likely be cash, from either Sara, Horacio, or Fernando. Check out Manzana las Luces (Blocks of Enlightenment) even though there aren’t any tours available today, then go see a Dante’s Inferno-inspired Palacio Barolo. Jenny also wants to see it, but I can’t afford to wait for her anymore. I only have a couple of weeks; she can go see it when her family comes to visit. So I take the D-Line toward Catedral, and transfer at the C-Line where I’ll get off at San Juan. Lunch at La Farmacia (Bolivar @ Estados Unidos,) then pick up my money at Tacauri e/ Carlos Calvo y Humberto 1o. Then walk up Peru to Moreno and see Manzana las Luces – No wait. This would have me walking all across San Telmo in no particular order. Best to go to pick up my plata first, then walk down Carlos Calvo, up Bolivar to Estados Unidos. Eat lunch at La Farmacia. From there walk up Calle Defensa to have coffee at Petanque Brasserie (Defensa @ Mexico.) Then back up Defensa some more, turning at Moreno to see Manzana las Luces. Then walk along Av. 9 de Julio to see Palacio Barolo. Then hop the A-Line at Saenz Peña, then switch to the D-Line to get home. What a day. Let’s get this started.
2:23 pm
Well the best-laid plans never seem to work out. Made it over to Calle Tacauri only to find a text message from Jenny saying, “Tengo tu plata!” Seriously? I just got here. So I called her and she said, “You never text messaged me so I thought maybe you had a rough night…” I was home by 10:30 pm. And only had two drinks. But the gesture was nice and I should be appreciative. And now I have more time to play in San Telmo. So I walk down on Carlos Calvo to Bolivar to find La Farmacia has been shut down. Apparently for a while. But I passed La Coruña and remembered it was a bar notable, so I am here. Served by a hobbling old man and watching a tennis match on the only device in sight that was made after 1940. The place is actually really cool. “¿Qué vas a comer?” an old man chewing on his cigarette asks me as I walk toward the door. Uh… I look at the chalkboard menu outside, “Una tortilla de verduras. ¿Es rica?” He nods and let’s me inside. I’m still not sure if he works here, or is just a regular. The crowd here appears pretty mixed. And it seems more are here for the tennis game than the food. I still want to check out that French place on today’s route. A progressive lunch of sorts. Half a Bon-o-Bon alfajor on the way over (because I imagined I would have to wait a while for my money) then bread & butter and a vegetable omelette here at La Coruña, then window shopping along Calle Defensa before coffee and dessert at Petanque. I had circled it for its trout almondine, but in twenty days’ time I can eat French food at Toulouse. So a bar notable for lunch it is…
The sign on the window says “Comidas para llevar,” but this seems like the kind of place where you stick around for a while. Long wooden tables with bench and chair seating. It truly is untouched by time. I love it. The knife blade wobbles, detaching from its handle, and the bread is crusty and fresh. The vegetable omelette is green, not a potato in sight. Things really are cheaper in San Telmo. $13 pesos en total. My water was only $3! And a new brand for me: Panizza. This little old man is precious. I want to kiss him on the cheek when I leave. And his one-eyed square dog winks at me as he hobbles around at the same pace as his owner. They look about the same age. Ancient but sweet. Perhaps both are hard of hearing. No wonder there is a portrait of a dog wearing an eye-patch above my table. That must’ve been years ago. His red coat is now faded to a dusty grey blonde. My receipt was hand written on the back of a postcard flier for Niceto Club. Some band is having a party for the premier of their CD on Thursday. Perhaps we can go there after Peigari… So the longhaired guy watching the tennis match is French. Or at least speaks Spanish with a très French accent.
3:34 pm
Walked down Calle Defensa and stopped in a couple stores, both repeats (Un Buen Orden y Materia Urbana.) The search for art continues, and the man in Materia Urbana recognized my purse as being from there. “Back in November,” I told him. Petanque Brasserie has a great din. Nice atmosphere. The menu looks incredible. But I am here for coffee and dessert only, so it’s café con leche and profiteroles.
4:08 pm
So I got all the milonga advice from my new friend Derik from Houston. Originally from Houston or that was his last home? I’m not quite sure. He went to UC Berkeley but attended high school in Switzerland, then learned the tango in Paris and has been down here dancing for a year. He’s old enough to be my father and still have older siblings. But I let him have my number because he can keep me in the know regarding the tango scene. He says “tango” comes from an African word for drums. And that it’s actually the word for the party that took place on the farms when all the cows had been put away in the barns. I had never heard that, but then again I did not study the tango in France. Milonga, he says, is the actual dance. He used a simile of the orchestra: the man keeps time (he does not lead but interprets the rhythm) and the woman is the melody. She gets to improvise as long as she follows the rhythm. There are only three steps: front, side, back. The trick is to follow the beat. He chatted my ear off as my profiteroles started to melt. If I had known that were to happen, I would’ve ordered the crème brûlée. He says this place has better food than they have in Paris. Perhaps I will come back and try the escargot (they’re leaner here, according to Derik) but I will pass on the steak tartare. So perhaps Sunday night (my birthday) I will go to Plaza Dorrego and El Tasso instead of Amerika. Derik says wearing heels is the trick to having more dance partners. The boys will think you’re more serious about dancing, and they like it when the girls are taller so they can stand out above the crowd. So it seems like I won’t just be watching the tango. Derik says if I text him he will set me up with a good dancer so I can really learn. Tempting. And since the good milongas don’t really occur on Thursdays, maybe we (I) can do Amerika after Piegari. Tuesday night check out the 100 – 200 couples dancing at Practica X, where the young professionals go to steal moves, then head upstairs to La Catedral, where the orchestra plays from midnight to 4 am. Maybe grab Taco Tuesday and Le Bar first? I spy a new schedule email… And Wednesday night’s wine tasting will interfere with Maldita Milonga. Or will it? It’s over by 10:30 pm and the milonga’s orchestra won’t start until 11 pm. Yay! I love having plans. It’s like this creepy angel fell into my lap at a French restaurant.
a view of the obelisk on the walk across Av. 9 de Julio
exterior of Palacio Barolo
interior of Palacio Barolo
sconces and vaulted ceilings inside Palacio Barolo
So it turns out Palacio Barolo is only open for tours on Mondays and Thursdays during the afternoon. Ordinarily this would be fine because I can wander on my own (I actually prefer it that way,) but since the structure is an homage to Dante’s Inferno (the architect petitioned to have Dante’s ashes resting there but was rejected by the Italian government,) as well as an office building, I was denied access past the lobby. But Frommer’s says that’s the prettiest part. Frommer’s says a lot of things though, like La Farmacia is a haven for gays in the city and open. Well it might have been the former, but it’s not longer the latter. But I did take pictures of what I was able to see at Palacio Barolo. Maybe I’ll go back if the girls want to take a tour on a Monday or Thursday and it fits into my schedule. Everyone seems scared to take pictures of the transvestites, but I am dogged in my pursuit. Even if I have to go by myself. Or worse, ask Ezequiel to take me. But before Palacio Barolo and after Petanque Brasserie I stopped by Manzana las Luces. I knew I was missing the tours there as well, but I figured I just wanted to see them. No time like the present! Sometimes I just like to set foot where important people once stood, perhaps to soak up some of their greatness by osmosis. So I meandered over there via Calle Defensa (which I had forgotten is mainly antique shops) and walked in. Snapped a few pictures when I thought it appropriate, but some teenagers were setting up for an event and I wasn’t sure what parts were blocked off, so I tried to stay out of their way and out of trouble. But I saw it and now I can check it off my list. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed now that I’ve hit the less than three weeks mark. But now I’m feeling pretty good about my plans.
auditorium in Manzana las Luces
the tunnels of Manzana las Luces
But I saw it and now I can check it off my list. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed now that I’ve hit the less than three weeks mark. But now I’m feeling pretty good about my plans:
- Sunday 6/8: 3 pm birthday brunch @ Olsen; tango - Plaza Dorrego + El Tasso
- Monday 6/9: no plans yet.
- Tuesday 6/10: Taco Tuesday (7 or 8 pm) followed by Le Bar After Office drink specials, then tango @ Practica X + La Catedral
- Wednesday 6/11: wine tasting in Abasto with Expat Connection; tango - Maldita Milonga
- Thursday 6/12: possible art exhibit; 10 pm reservation @ Piegari followed by photographs with the transvestites and dancing at Amerika for any takers...
riding the A-Line subte home
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario