Empanadas, scooters and Black Dog #1

Yesterday we spent the day getting settled into our neighborhood.

Decided to try and get breakfast out. HA! It was 11 and we didn't have much luck at first. We went across the street and though the door was totally open, they weren't ready for business until 12. So we decided to head out into our neighborhood and try one of the places my TA friend suggested, Rodi Bar (VICENTE LOPEZ 1900). We looked inside and there were some guys sitting down drinking coffee and again, the door was open. so we sat down. Our waiter came over eventually (as usual) :) and this time I asked if they were open. He said yes in a sort of Yah, sure, why not, sort of way. good enough for us!! We then noticed them putting top layer linens on all of the tables, setting out silver, etc. so no, they really weren't open, but were fine with us being there early.

I ordered cafe con leche, as I always do now, and a Tortilla Espanola. (* side note- Spanish "tortillas" aren't corn torts, like we are used to in the states, they are like flat omelette/quiche type things) I had no idea what was in it, but I kinda knew what I was ordering, so I was good. Greg got a fried egg on top of french fries, kid you not. We saw someone eating that at a different restaurant and thought was a fantastic idea! ;) My tortilla was AWESOME! I am telling you, my food karma is rocking on this trip. It had eggs, FRENCH FRIES, hard dry salami, onions and herbs-I think. Soooooooo yummy! I can't remember the prices, but they were pretty reasonable. Nothing pricey and service was totally friendly- AND they let us in early! Not super attentive, but that's everywhere. You just need to ask, they won't push you to do anything you aren't ready to do.

Walked all over the place, went to the big shopping area- Florida Street, but left shortly after. It was totally crowded and the shops were a lot of the same thing over and over. I felt like I was at The Alley in Los Angeles really. I wasn't in the mood to try on clothes, soooo hot, and we weren't looking for touristy items. so it was a bit much. we stopped in at MickyD's, of course they are everywhere here along with it's arch nemesis, Burger King. But this McDs was two story, had a coffee cafe area, internet area, ice cream kiosk on the street front for ice cream items, and a deli case for grab and go sandwiches, water, and salads. We sat down and did some people watching.

Dress-wise, the portenos (BA locals) love their jeans, even when it's 90 and humid. seriously, most of them are in jeans and tennis shoes or flip flops. You see some skirts, some with leggings under them, some cotton pants, lots of capris (women and LOTS of men) and a few kids in shorts. I notice a lot of the young, like 12ish, teenybopper girls are in some shorts with low top converse tennis shoes. Knock off Converse and Vans are everywhere to buy.

The younger set, like 20 something, girls almost all have looooong, loose hair, usually pulled back into a twist or something, or just all over and down. Tank tops rule. And they girls are all twigs and lanky. seriously. But I told Greg I actually don't feel as body conscious at I thought I would. Granted, we haven't gone out to a club, but really nobody acts like they care. You see granny's with thongs popping up over their pants, bra straps galore (the straps are different than you tank top's?- oh well) , shoes don't perfectly match?, not really a big deal. The few that are a bit chunky, still wear the leggings and clingy, long shirts and it doesn't really matter.

We also notice how affectionate everyone is. In general, you see girl friends holding hands or with arms around each other, siblings kissing and hugging each other all the time, guy friends hugging, etc. On the Ferry we saw guys laying on each other like pillows. just wasn't an issue and wasn't weird. couples are all over the place kissing, holding hands, holding each other.

Hit the local supermercado, Disco and didn't realize how far it really was to our place. We carried 2 bottles of wine, 6 1 liter bottles of water, milk, 2 smaller bottles of water and all of our staples (veggies, bread, butter, coffee, cheese, etc). Probably was about a mile away. uuugh. We should have used their handy delivery service where they stack up crates with your food and wheel it down the streets for you. Maybe they use trucks too, but we didn't see them in any.

We grabbed take out empandas from across the street, El Sanjuanino (Posadas and Callao, $2AR each for take out, $3 AR dine in). Awesome!!! We got onion and cheese and spicy beef. (* apparently my food karma is still going strong and we find a little dumb luck, this place is actually pretty well known for great empanadas. see review.) little homemade salad and we were set. Greg's friend from Australia, Peter, came by to visit. Then they hit The Shamrock for a drink.

We booked a day trip to Uruguay on buquebus at their Recoleta office- on Posadas before Callao. I'm glad we had the office close to us and we decided to book ahead, they were almost sold out and we actually had to get the first leg in first class ($10 US more) Total is was about $13o US for both of us, roundtrip. 3 hour ferry across the river, 6 hours in Colonia, then 1 hr. fast ferry home. The ride there was great people watching. We went to the top deck and everyone was just kicking it, even though the wind was CRAZY. people were just sunbathing, reading, enjoying the ride. so relaxing. too relaxing. I got fried before we even got to Colonia. :( And really crazy tan lines!

We really didn't know what to expect other than it was in Uruguay and it was a historical city. Exchange rate was $1 US/$21UR or $1AR/$6UR ($1US/around $3AR). We decided to just walk to town, but didn't turn when we were supposed to. so instead of walking two blocks up, we walked like a mile or so. At least we got to see where the townsfolk live! :) After figuring out where we needed to go, hint- follow all the big tour busses- we got on track and stopped at The Palacio (Calle Florida) for lunch. Note: it's about 4 p.m. and we are just barely missing the lunch rush. Greg orders a Patricia, local beer, and I get a Pepsi Light. The napkins are like rice paper and smaller than a cocktail napkin. We are supposed to really use these? More rice in the salt shaker than salt, but the drinks are cold and our waiter winks and smiles at us a lot. I like it here. I had a fantastic sandwich called a Chivito. In BA it's actually baby goat, but in Urugauy, it is a beefsteak sandwich with ham, cheese, a fried egg, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo topped with two olives. OH MY! so yummy. It's a speciality of the area. So of course we had to try it. Greg got a flat bread pizza with mozz. cheese, green olives and some kind of meat (salami/pepperoni type). very tasty.

Now I am feeling better. but after visiting the bathroom realize how sunburnt I am. Tomato face comes to mind. so we stop at the farmacia and get some sun block. and our cashier speaks perfect English. huh?? So in BA we haven't found anyone with great English, but in the sleepy colonial town in Uruguay our pharmacy girl does? So off we go exploring.

Beautiful! We spot a light house with people looking out from it, so we walk in that direction. They are letting people go up for $2AR. The staircase is TINY, winding, and crowded. we get off at the first level and realize we can go higher. I still don't know how Greg made it up and out. We got a lot of "OH MY!" type of looks. But we did it and going down the place was empty. weird.

We meander through the cobblestone streets and then decide we have had enough and wind our way back toward the general direction of the ferry.

Colonia is the land of motorbikes. EVERYONE was using them. gmas and gpas, families of FOUR, yes two parents and two kids or one parents and THREE kids, business men in suits, kids driving their parents and even the policia were riding double. It was hilarious to watch. so we stopped at another cafe, La Pasiva (Ave. Flores 444), couple beers and fries and we sat for about two hours. adopted a black dog who decided we were worth his time and attention, even though we weren't feeding him. but it was after lunch and waaay before dinner, so I guess that's why we made the cut.

This is also the land of old fiats and ford trucks, like from the 50s & 60s old. How so many ended up here and how they are still running is a mystery, at least to us.

After our snack we head back, pass by our first little cafe and our waiter sees us and waves (like we've been dear friends for years), shakes our hands, smiles, smiles and more smiles.

Thank God we are taking the fast boat back home, 1 hour.

We hit up El Sanjuanito again, salad and raviolis for take out again. d'ish of course. Off to bed!

Ciao!