Meeting Up With Julie-Anne

Besides each other, Julie-Anne is our only other friend in Buenos Aires. Our butchered Español seems to prevent us from making fast friends with the locals (not sure why...?) Plus, we don't really know how to say, "Will you be our second Argentinian friend?" Not yet. So, no new local amigos for us, however, there are indeed plenty of friendly people here.

On our way to meet up with Julie-Anne, we try chatting to our taxi driver. In our little black Spanish phrase book, we have written down a number of important sayings and expressions to help us get through our day. On the page entitled, Taxi Questions, we've scrawled several inquiries in order to converse with whomever our taxi driver may be. Questions such as:

• How is your day going? (Como es vos dia?)
• How long have you lived here? (Cuanto tiempo ha vivido aqui?)
• Ha visitado otros lugares on Argentina? (Have you visited other places in Argentina?)

During our fifteen minute ride to Julie-Anne's apartment in Once (pronounced "aun-ce") we learn that our speeding chauffeur is from Boliva and has lived in BA for 15 years. He has travelled to Cordoba, Mendoza and Mar del Plata, the beach region. This is his favourite place in Argentina.

Not bad at all for fifteen minutes of VERY active listening.

Now, onto our visit with Julie-Anne. Once we'd decided to come to Argentina, my parents graciously reminded me that we have a family friend who lives right here in BA. Contacts, contacts, as my Dad likes to say. And a great contact it is! Julie-Anne is the daughter of Alan and Vicki Cosgrove — Alan and my Dad were friends who worked together long ago. I met Julie-Anne years ago when I was a mere boy of 12 and we stayed at their house for a night before heading off on our family tour of Europe (also in a camper van — I'm having odd an deja-vu moment as I write this...)

After buying our plane tickets to fly from Australia to Buenos Aires, we get in touch with Julie-Anne and plead for HELP! Where should we stay? How do we get from the airport into the city? Can you recommend a good Spanish school?

It's Julie-Anne to the rescue! She patiently assists us with all our questions about BA, helps us find our apartment and even arranges for Nico, her trusted taxi driver, to greet us at the airport and bring us into the city. It's a huge relief for us to have this support.

Last night, we finally have a chance to meet up, thank our patron and then pester her with all our other questions about BA life. Julie-Anne suggests we come out to Once and meet her at her apartment so we can see where she lives. The building itself is an architectural marvel, over 100 years old and wonderfully maintained. Here's a quick look at the outside (photo pinched from the blog link below):







If so inclined, you'll find more on the building and architect here:

http://virginiocolombo.blogspot.com/2007/03/rivadavia-3216-36-la-casa-de-los-pavos.html

And now some pics from the inside:

The building main foyer. (Yes, that's the foyer!)






















The classic elevator:








And then the apartment itself. Note the amazingly high ceilings and original old doors which create the warm and inviting space filled with old world character. (Heck, I could write for Home and Gardens...)






















The old servant's quarters and kitchen...







Julie-Anne owns her incredible place, having sold her flat in London a few years back in order to move to Buenos Aires. She tells us about the buying process, which was ALL IN CASH (standard procedure when buying property here) and how it took over two hours for the seller to count all the bills! "And then I had to pay half the charge for an armoured car to come and pick up all that money," Julie-Anne adds with a chuckle.

After our tour, we hop a cab back down the avenue to a local restaurant and have a great and unhurried dinner (It's past 1:00 a.m. when we get home — early by BA standards). It's truly pleasant (and a bit of a relief) to have an authentic conversation with someone in a shared language we all feel comfortable speaking In between our questions ("What's up with tipping and why are Argentinians so nosy?"), Julie shares with us her love for tango dancing which brought her to BA and her fascination with the local architecture. She also reveals some inside scoop on the Recoleta Cemetery which is the inspiration and focus for her stunning "reflective" photo work which can be viewed online here. Definitely, not to be missed:

http://julieannecosgrove.com/

The rain begins to fall when we leave the restaurant, but that doesn't stop us from visiting two more magnificently designed buildings in the neighbourhood. We are so happy to reacquaint ourselves and spend time with our charming friend who helped us get set up in BA — a highlight of our visit so far!

Coffee, Class and Recoleta

Along Bolivar St, just past Ave de Independcia and on the corner of Chile St, is the literary cafe La Poesia, a very traditional cafe with wooden tables, a brick interior and enough old world European atmosphere to make you think you're going to see Balzac himself walk through the door.




It also serve the best coffee we've had so far in BA, so we make it a stop on our way to class in the mornings. Note the accompanying glasses of sparkling water - so civilized...








How are those Spanish classes going, you ask? It's a challenge. Today we had a new instructor, Professor Macerena Couso, who continues to talk to us in non-stop Spanish for two hours straight. Jenn said tonight, "I only understand about a fifth of what she is saying." If I could understand even a fifth, I'd be ecstatic... She is very patient and works with us on the board and our practice sheets — we even have homework! We find it very frustrating at times and wish that our six hours of classes would begin to show results when out on the streets in the city. Nevertheless, we persevere.




(**can you see the fellow on the roof?**)


After class today, we grabbed some lunch at Matilda's, a little take away shop, and then hailed a taxi for the barrio of Recoleta. A very upscale address, it is also home to the famous Recoleta Cemetery, an old and remarkable burial ground located in the heart of the city. The huge vaults are organized in avenues and it is like touring a little city comprised of a variety of architectural styles and fashions. The tombs themselves range from simple headstones to ornate masterpieces. Often the families who owned them would try to outdo each other by constructing the most glorious shrine money could buy for their deceased family members. Many of the vaults have been updated and cared for; others fallen into disrepair with glass broken and doors askew (complete with musty who-knows-what smells emanating from within).














































Certainly an experience — quite beautiful and serene in the middle of such a chaotic city. It is also home to quite a few cemetery kitties...





Recoleta Cemetery is also the final resting place of Evita (Eva Peron), and of course visiting her family vault is on the list of everyone who visits.

At least we laugh?!?

We start our day with a walk down to the old port, the area known as Puerto Madero. Our sleep is still all confused and thus, so are we. Our morning didn't leave us much time to explore, but we got a little taste of the now gentrified port area and the " tango leg."





Highlights from Day Two of Spanish class:
*Jenn asking for "scrambled Thursday's" ("huevos" sounded quite similar to "jueves")

*Keir saying our teacher had 53 anuses instead of 53 years (años not anos). We were ALL crying at that one!!




In the restaurant where we go for dinner, we meet a kindly fellow from Montreal who encourages us to remain patient as we try to figure out "what next" (in the grand scheme of our life that is!).





(Yet another daily dose of one of BA's many churches!)

School Daze

Yes, that's me, heading into class for our first Spanish lesson of the week. Note the school's front doors... you don't see them like that everyday...




We have signed ourselves up for a week (maybe two) of Spanish classes — two hours each day at the Instituto de Español Rayuela with Professor Alejandro Michel. Merely five minutes from our front door, the school is located on Chacabuco St. in San Telmo in an old world architectural masterpiece filled with high, high ceilings, a marble staircase, an old school elevator and a maze of beautiful rooms.

I had assumed that there would other people in our beginner class, but IT'S JUST US. We sit in front of the professor's desk in our chairs while he writes on the board and speaks ONLY in Spanish. Thus the title of this entry...

It's very good though. The Professor is very patient and seems to know we want to (need to) learn quickly how to get along on the streets of Buenos Aires, so we're right into learning how to ask questions such as "Como se dice 'laxative' en espanol?" (What is laxative in Spanish?) and "Que significa 'cortado'?" (What does 'cortado' mean? — we discover it's a wicked kick in the pants coffee with mostly expresso and some hot milk).

It's fun. It's challenging. The two hours go by quickly. We even get homework. I am Pedro. Jenn is Mercedes.

Pedro: Buen dia, Mercedes
Mercedes: Hola. Qué tal?
Pedro: Todo bien, che.

We have no idea what we're saying, but it sounds good, especially if you're holding a big glass of Mendoza malbec as you speak and playing with your mustache. Keir plays with his mustache... the one he's growing...

Trying to grow.

Anyway, that's day one of school. Good stuff and we look forward to a full week of classes. If we stay on in Buenos Aires for a second week, we'll take another week of classes too. The school is being very flexible and good to us.

Oh, did I mention the babelicious Buenos Aires, Spanish goddess receptionist who works at the school? (Better leave that one alone in case Jenn's reading this...)

Our other big challenge today was getting some very much needed laundry done. The lavanderia, we are told, is located up the street, but this is not one of those put-your-coins-in-wait-for-it-to-wash-and-dry lavanderia. Most of the laundry places in Buenos Aires are full serve, meaning you leave your shirts, pants and tightie whities with the lady in a bag and four hours later you go back to pick it all up — washed, dried, folded and smelling like fresh lavender — all for a whopping $4 Canadian.




Can't beat that!

We spend some time using our iTranslate app on the iPad to type out what we want to say and then have the app translate it for us into Spanish which we copy into our Spanish Sayings notebook (bible). Works quite well and the lady at the lavanderia seems to understand what we're reading to her. She nods like she understands, but maybe she's just being polite?

The laundry is done — probably better than we could ever do it and we're sitting in class learning espanol while the clothes get clean. Pretty darn good deal, we think.

After class and the laundry pick up, we walk down into the centre of town along cobblestoned Defensa St., then the very commercial, touristy Florida Ave. (won't do that again) until we reach the Plaza St. Martin. There, we pick up the other Free Tours Buenos Aires option, this one an architectural and cultural walk through Recoleta, learning about all the old 'castles", estates and other massive, classically designed buildings. Tonight, our host is Ceceilia, also born and raised in BA.





Highlights of this tour include:


Plaza San Martin



Monument a los heroes de la guerra de las Malvinas (The Falkland War Memorial)






Torre de los Ingleses





Lovely French and Italian style buildings in Recoleta and Retiro (along the Avenida Alvear)















The tour ends at the gates of the Recoleta cemetary which we will visit on another day so we can pay our proper respects to Eva Peron.

Oh my! — it's after dark and we're out on the streets of Buenos Aires! Feeling a little more confident after our day of classes, fresh clothes and guided tour, we hail a Radio Taxi and ride back to our barrio, about a twenty minute drive. The cost — $8 Canadian.

Pretty darn good deal, we think.

Easter Jet Lag & The San Telmo Market

We wake up AT 1:38 P.M.!! Shocking. We look at the clock three times in disbelief before it sinks in. Yes, the jet lag is in full gear.

We find we are exhausted by 11:00 p.m., (when all our neighbours are going out for dinner) but wide awake at 3:00 a.m. (when they all come home). We flop about for a couple of hours, trying to get back to sleep, and finally do so, only to awake late in the morning. 1:38 p.m., however, is a new record. We are instituting a new plan to get us back on schedule.

Our late rising gives us only a short time to shower up, eat a quick breakfast (lunch) and head down the street to the San Telmo Sunday market.










Recommended as one of the top events in Buenos Aires, we spend a couple of hours wandering around, taking it all in. It goes on for blocks — artwork, crafts, jewelry, antiques, street performers, food — it's all there and then some.













































Afterwards, we stop in at a Middle Eastern restaurant for falafel. 70 pesos for falafel, tapas and sparkling water — under $20 for both of us. Can't beat those prices!

And then onto the Modern Art Museum, just around the corner. 1 peso (25 cents) to get in — refreshing to see a gallery making art so accessible. It's a small exhibit with Argentinian artists alongside works by Miro, Klee, Kandinsky and others.

Walking home, we pass through the market area again, which is now packing up. But that doesn't stop the locals from whipping up a make-shift dance floor and practicing their tango steps.