Scared French passsenger on the plane

I forgot to blog about our trip home from Buenos Aires. Besides the fact that it took over 30 hours to get home and 4 planes....we had a sweet seat-mate on the flight from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile. Her name was Lucie and she is an interpreter. She was so scared to fly that as we were taking off she asked me if it was okay if she held my hand. It was very sweet, and the flight (and Lucie) were both fine!

And now I wonder how and where she is...since she got off the plane and was staying in Santiago...

I am thinking about and praying for the people in Chile. I hope that Fran's family are all okay!

Racing Scores!

YouTube - Futbol Game - Racing vs. San Lorenzo - Buenos Aires

Finally - the video - Racing scores and wins the game against San Lorenzo!

Jane's Favourite Photo - February 14, 2010

San Telmo.

Jane's Favourite Photo - February 23, 2010

A colourful window in Boca.

Jane's Favourite Photo - February 16, 2010

El Obelisco and the Argentine flag in Plaza de la Republica - where the flag was flown for the first time in Buenos Aires.

Jane's Favourite Photo - February 15, 2010

Door graffiti - Palermo.

Jane's Favourite Photo - February 22, 2010

A beautiful building in Colonia, Uruguay.

Jane's Favourite Photo - February 21, 2010

A woman at the market in San Telmo.

Jane's Favourite Photo from February 20, 2010

Alex, Jane and Miguel at the Racing vs. San Lorenzo futbol game! Racing won!

The last blog from 5168 Costa Rica

Well, we are packing up and getting ready to leave - this trip was much too short. We had such a great time and saw some wonderful things. We are sad to leave Buenos Aires. Hopefully it was fun to join us here and see what we were up to. Chao!

Our last Buenos Aires dinner - Lele de Troya

This was our last dinner. At a very interesting restaurant 3 blocks from our place. There was a red room, a yellow room, a blue room and a green room...we chose the red room. Again, great food and a great way to end a great trip!

Boca - Caminito

Well, it was our last day in Buenos Aires today. We had to see Boca before we left, so we headed out there today. I guess we got there too late...we were told almost immediately that we should be careful taking photos, as someone may steal our camera, so we pretty much left after 7 minutes...seriously...but we are glad we got to see it.

Colonia - Uruguay

Today we had to get up at 6 am to catch a ferry to Colonia, Uruguay. We managed it and had a great day there - it is a beautiful little old town with lots of beautiful buildings. We rented a golf cart and drove around to see the beaches and an old abandoned bullring and other really cool things. And then...it started raining...again...a lot... We ended up in a downpour once again, and the risk of another flood - our third. It all actually turned out okay because we had seen all that we wanted to see and were just about to head back to the ferry terminal.

Anyway, we grabbed a taxi and headed back to Palermo so that we could get some dinner. That's when it happened. I was the victim of the scam that everyone warned us about and both Ann and I realized that it was happening, but there was nothing we could do. The taxi driver gave me 5 fake 10 peso bills as change. They are the most ridiculous fakes. I hate being taken advantage of. But after all, I did manage to keep my camera that pickpockets tried to steal.

Futbol - Racing vs. San Lorenzo!

Well Ann and I have been very busy the past few days doing amazing things here.

First, and foremost we went to a futbol game! Two of the top five teams in Argentina - Racing Club and San Lorenzo - and Racing won! That was the team that we were rooting for! My brother-in-law Francisco's uncle Alejandro lives just outside of Buenos Aires and so does his son Miguel. They are both card-carrying associates of the Racing Club. They managed to get Ann and I tickets and then picked us up and took us to the game on Saturday. I can't even explain how amazing and fun and exciting it was! First of all to see Argentina through the eyes of some people who live here, who are also part of my extended family, and to go to a real futbol game! Wow. And to top it all off they won. I only wish that Fran could have been there... Your uncle Alex loves and misses you all very much and hopes you can someday come out for a visit! We are so grateful that Alex came all the way to Buenos Aires and arranged it all for us - it was the highlight of the trip!

YouTube - Flood on Gurruchaga, Palermo, Buenos Aires.MP4

YouTube - Flood on Gurruchaga, Palermo, Buenos Aires.MP4

This is our very own footage when we were caught out when the rain started. It turned into another major flood but somehow that video was deleted from my camera.
We were out shopping and were in a store for 10 minutes. When we came out, this is what it looked like!

Jane's Favourite Photo from February 17, 2010

Jane's Favourite Photo from February 18, 2010

A very interesting door at the Recoleta cemetery.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore

Wow! I honestly could not believe how beautiful this old converted cinema was. Spectacular. Somewhere I read that it is the second most beautiful bookstore in the world. It was the most beautiful one I have ever seen. Buenos Aires really seems to appreciate books. There are bookstores everywhere!!

Recoleta cemetery

The cemetery in Recoleta was one of the places that everyone mentioned we should visit. It was not disappointing. I have never seen anything like it. So beautiful and huge and impressive. Of course we visited the grave of Eva Peron - the main tourist spot in this cemetery. Yesterday we were at a museum dedicated to her as well.

There were a few feral cats here and there.

Grocery store adventure

Dinner at Demuru Restaurant on Honduras

I wanted to post some photos from the best dinner that Ann and I have possibly ever had. We happened upon this restaurant and decided to give it a try - Demuru in Palermo. It's in our awesome neighbourhood! The people were fantastic, the food was honestly the best and the portions were huge! We each ate a steak the size of Towagh's head...to quote Kemi. Unreal. Towagh and Kemi, we thought that when you go back to Buenos Aires, you guys should definitely go there - you would appreciate the plating of the food.

Florida pickpockets!

We were strolling along Florida - a pedestrian shopping area - when I felt someone tugging at my purse. I quickly turned around and there were two girls right behind us trying to look very innocent. They realized that we had caught them and they didn't manage to get the camera out of the pocket (thankfully!) so they left and went the other way. The purse above is the evidence, and the reason not to have your purse hanging behind you, or to have easily accessible things in the zippered pockets in areas of high petty crime and pickpockets. We decided to stop and have a glass of wine and rest (see wine above).
SO, as we sat there just relaxing and watching the shoppers walk by, I witnessed the same two girls succesfully grab something from another girl's backpack outer zipper. I ran over to the girl and her two friends to tell her she had been pickpocketed and sent her after the girls. She actually managed to catch them, get her wallet back and then demanded the money that had been in it! It was amazing- and I felt vindicated!
Quite an interesting afternoon.