Channeling Our Artistic Energies

Even though Karlyn and I both have not had much experience in the kitchen (well me for that matter), we will be returning to the US with a whole repertoire of traditional Italian cooking. Today, we went to our second cooking class and learned how to make pasta from scratch. I was amazed at how easy it was- not just one pasta dish, but three, with sauces included. They also were anything other than the ordinary dishes you can find at every other Italian restaurant in town. They were works of art and that’s why I think half the struggle of cooking goes into presentation. I’ve always considered myself a terrible cook, but in truth maybe I just lack the practice? Karlyn and I have sworn to try out our new dishes on our upcoming visitors and (hopefully) wow them with our adept presentation of Italian cooking in Buenos Aires. See descriptions below to get a good idea of the masterpieces we created today.

After stuffing our bodies full with a full course of hearty pasta, we continued our quest to find the best vintage stores in Buenos Aires. Usually the Internet is a very valuable source for this type of information, but it has been entirely unsuccessful here. I’m a sucker for great vintage stores, but more than not I end up finding them the day before I head off for a new city. So this time we are trying to start early and be able to take the visitors when they arrive.

As we tried to fight off the rain clouds since we forgot our rain jackets, we searched our first destination: Juan Perez. It was a messy collection of hilarious assortments. It was the perfect spot for crazy Halloween costumes, but seeing as how Halloween isn’t widely celebrated here we need something that’s a little more obvious that our “costume” is not our daily guise. Karlyn came across two adorable jackets both with skeptical top-notch designers. None of us felt our designer investigation skills were up to the level necessary to outweigh the hefty (even in pesos) price. Besides that, we left with a few mouthfuls full of dust and completely uncertain as to our upcoming Halloween costume.

Afterwards, Karlyn and I stumbled across an American bookstore to our surprise. We have had some difficulty finding anything other than American classics (which we have both read most of), crime thrillers, and the overstocked bestsellers. As two avid readers, we spent a half an hour trailing the various bookshelves filled with only books in our native tongue. I am on the hunt for a Pablo Neruda book of poems in English. I am currently attempting to translate the book of 100 Love Sonnets. However, it’s been a little difficult to interpret the overall message in my broke down translations and I’ve been running into each bookstore I come across desperately hunting for an English version. Karlyn is the lucky recipient of my daily-convoluted translations and I can’t say that she has taken too much from these poetry recitals. The book remains to be unfound, but we did stock up on some interesting new reads and Karlyn was able to purchase her first book to help her with Spanish! She has conquered a few essentials, such as basta, which will hopefully prove handy in our food servings (but rather unlikely).

With our new collection in hand, we ventured to our last spot: La Quinta Avendida. This location was a gallery filled with small stores with a blend of random items. We lacked the energy to rummage through the jam packed collections and vowed to return another day. I still have yet to find my go to vintage store and if anyone has any advice, please do share, so the search can come to a halt.

Other than that, we had the pleasure of having an asado with an entirely French and Argentinean group. It was hilarious to hear the variations of French, Spanish and English all pulled into one. Most people in attendance only spoke French or Spanish, so as far as Karlyn was concerned she was out of luck. She tactfully managed (or feigned she did) to understand the conversations. Most of the people there, were working for companies in Argentina and it was fascinating to hear about their experiences cross-cultural work experiences. Many of the people had worked in multiple countries, so they gave us amusing renditions about how it was to work in each country. In the background of this hodge podge group, we had a boy trying to dj on soundboards, people randomly taking candid shots with a massive Polaroid camera, and others trying to tell us about their work in fashion. It was quite an artsy clan and we felt inspired, but disappointed in our own lack of obvious creativity. We may have also met the last piece to the puzzle of our future plans- we shall see. However, check out this site to see one of the girl’s latest collections: http://www.facebook.com/pages/MONA-AMOUR-chemises-de-nuit/47949491622?ref=mf.

We’re off for the night. Please feel free to post any comments you might have. We do LOVE hearing from you. BESOS

Today’s Masterpieces:

1) Pici alle Briciole - Pici with Breadcrumbs - Siena

Pici, or pinci, is “poor people’s pasta”, is a thick, irregular, hand rolled strand pasta, usually served with a simple sauce or seasoning. Today we cooked this particular pasta with a simple garlic, red-pepper, olive oil, and bread crumbs sautéed sauce.

2) Baked Anglotti

Anglotti are made from two thin, square pieces of pasta that are sandwiched together around a filling. Egg-based pasta dough works best for this form of pasta. Today we filled the anglotti with a provolone cheese and then baked them inside the oven until they were glden brown. For the sauce we made something a little spicy and modern: a central American style salsa of pureed tomato, green pepper, green onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

3) Langanelli con I Ceci - Irregular whole wheat Pasta - Non-traditional recipe

For the whole wheat pasta, we cut these into I Celi shapes which resemble a trapezoid type shape. For the sauce, we sautéed chickpeas, onion and celery together with olive oil, and added the pasta directly into the pan.

Buenos Aires - Director's Cut (A Tribute From Ferdinand- THANKS FRANZ!)

As my time in Buenos Aires slowly comes to an end, I have the great honor to post a little entry on Karlyn and Jessica's blog so followers get a little more in-depth insight on how life in Buenos Aires really is, uncut.

Our joint adventure began with a Saturday night out and some follow up drinks on a Sunday. Mentioning that I am looking for a place to stay for 3 weeks in a Bar at midnight, I was offered a room around 2am after Karlyn and Jessica must have thought they are dealing with a more or less decent guy, followed by a late night apartment viewing with rooftop drinks at 5am. It was probably the easiest and most enjoyable way I have ever found a place to live.

After I was so proud to have found a room and new friends, I noticed my fortune changing after my first night. The building next door seemed to be being demolished and not a tone had been mentioned that any sleep post 8am is blatantly impossible. Luckily the demolition ended after a week, however my roomies have this incredible ability to set alarm clocks for early mornings and NOT respond to them. I am a big friend of the snooze function myself, but rarely have I seen people use it for over two hours while refraining from showing up at work. But instead of calling it a Duvet Day early, it is absolutely necessary to have an alarm clock going off in the entire flat for at least two hours before showing any kind of reaction :)

That actually brings me to a next great topic: WORK. When Jessica and Karlyn arrived in Buenos Aires, Jessica had a job and Karlyn was still looking for work. I never really understood what Jessica was doing (and still don't), but it was called "My special book". Now MSB to me seems to be an even harder sale then selling sand to the Arabs or ice to inuits. I am guessing that Jessica's track record in selling MSBs might prove my point. Luckily, she gets paid on a full commission basis. But Jessica has come to senses and is getting first hand experience in: How to I negotiate a better salary (or any salary at all)? and How do I quit politely although people at work are so nice? Karlyn had managed to find a job in the mean time as a real estate marketing "director" (titles in Argentina are very important). It sounds like a lot of fun and meets her skills and interest, and also pays the rent. So the girls swapped roles in who gets to go for late breakfasts with me before I head out to my Polo adventures, and the sunny outside mornings were definitely a highlight with both of them. I am sure though that Jessica will find a work worth her while in no time...

Never having lived with two girls at once, this was also proving as an interesting experience for myself: Cold water showers, hour long dressing sessions and no beer in the fridge. At the same time: Clean baths and kitchen, fresh towels and smoothies. The cleaning lady definitely helps making this much easier for all of us. All in all I can say we lived pretty civilized. One fact I also found astonishing was that despite American satellite TV, it was not once turned on during my three week stay.

Obviously one topic that cannot stay untouched in my little post were our nightly trips to various Buenos Aires clubs: While Karlyn and Jessica are both surprisingly able to hold their drink, they did sometimes need to forfeit to the German crowds excessive behavior (thanks Tanksi). "Una mesa con alguna botellas" led to many wild nights and new acquaintances. No evening ended without at least 10 new guys surrounding the girls (I am not sure their phone memories still have capacity for new numbers), but they honestly behaved and came home every night (except for once where I am sure there is a perfectly legit explanation, right?!).

All in all, I must say I am impressed how these two American girls manage to survive so well in Argentina. By now, they have made plenty of friends, found and lost jobs, are traveling from North to South and are also improving their Spanish (go Karlyn...). They know Buenos Aires much better than others who lived here for years and are making sure not too miss out on any event that sounds like a party. One thing that they are still missing is their first Polo lesson. Please don't leave without at least having tried once... and don't fall off the horse.

At this point, it is time for me to pack my bags and continue going West. I want to thank you both so much for making my time in Buenos Aires even more memorable and wish you all the best for your further stay here. Stay in touch and I am sure our ways will cross again.

All the best, F

Argentina At Its Finest

Little by little Karlyn and I are slowly being exposed to the real world of Argentina. It is pretty easy to manipulate it in your mind to be this picture perfect world when you are a tourist. After being here for over three weeks, I think we are finally coming to grips with the reality of the day-to-day life here. Not that it isn't all picture perfect here for us, but there are so many problems ingrained in the structure of the government, politics, and society.

Karlyn and I were able to face this head on while coming back from Iguazu and we experienced a bumper to bumper standstill on one of the major freeways coming into Buenos Aires. Startled by the interesting commotion we didn't know what to think at first. As we slowly creeped our way up through the lines (creating our own road so to speak) we finally encountered the reason for the chaos. There, we saw a makeshift line of men with their faces covered standing across the road with their cars strategically placed to prevent any access from cars or people. At first, I was very startled and immediately thought back to the wild wild west movies where the horse drawn carriages are attacked by random assailants as they make their way down a treacherous road. Our driver, a three year Argentine veteran, consoled us explaining that this was a typical occurrence and it was completely peaceful, just meant to boldly broadcast their overall goals. It turns out these men were protesters from a nearby factory of Kraft who were unhappy with the recent layoffs at the factory and would not end the freeway standoff until all the protesters were able to resume their previous jobs. I was baffled by the fact that the police refused to intervene and that they were able to maintain their post for over two eight over periods that lasted two days. Due to some strategic persuasion from our driver, we were able to take an extreme detour on back roads following a random car with GPS throughout the countryside using trial and error techniques to evade the blockade. I felt like we were straight out of a movie and the car grew silent as we drove down one dirt road to the next only to finally reach an unbarred highway over an hour and a half later!

After returning home, I was very intrigued and perplexed by the whole situation. As I read through the paper, I saw many similar stories of strikes all throughout the city in protest to the government. As a seriously garrulous individual, I find every reason to talk and I am always very interested to learn about people's opinions on everything and I mean everything. From what I have learned, most people hate President Cristina Kirchner here. Some even claim that she is the worst president that they have ever had before. She is a Peronist leader and acts as a figure head while her husband, Nestor Kirchner, the former president here maintains power.

Throughout her time as president, she has crippled their primary product of beef by implementing a huge tax on all farmers for their cattle. This has resulted in Argentina having to import cattle from other countries for the first time in over a century and has simultaneously encouraged farmers to kill of their cattle in order to refuse the vast tax inflicted on them in a very dry season. Many people claim this will consequently trigger a major crisis, greater than the one now, in ten to fifteen years. She has also placed a huge tax on grain that normally is not maintained in bad seasons, like the previous year.

She was able to be elected because the Peronist party represents mainly the poorer sect of Argentina, which encompasses the majority of the country. They are often paid off for their votes and their livelihood virtually depends on it. Many people here receive some type of work pay (I am not sure of the name) and for this they receive an amount to "work". However, they are often not provided with work, so they are given an amount to live without doing anything. These people will not receive these contributions unless they continue to support the particular candidate who has the power to distribute them. Therefore, the majority of middle to upper class individuals are overpowered in vote size and cannot sway the overriding force of votes to counteract the Peronist tendencies. The vote often goes to those who are uneducated on the subject or are voting because of bribes. In fact, many also claim that she intentionally pays the majority of picketers here in Buenos Aires in order to bring about chaos in the city and portray the image that people from Buenos Aires are deeply unsatisfied with their government. She does this because her party and decisions constantly come in contention with the mayor's demands and the two have faced political standoffs since their time in office. Not to mention, a share of everyone's taxes go to the small city where Nestor is from in Argentina, which is definitely not a coincidence as his wealth has gradually accumulated throughout their time in office. (I apologize if I am slaughtering the politics here or wrong in any sense. This is just what I have learned from talking with other people.)

So this is the current state of affairs and I am fascinated to see what will happen. It's interesting to be right in the forefront of it all since the majority of the economic and political life in Argentina lies in Buenos Aires. For some reason, all of these events are a little too reminiscent of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I keep thinking back to the images of unrest she described when the US came shattering down and it seems like she seriously could have been using Argentina as her inspiration. From everything to the locals tearing up railroad tracks to secure the bus system to getting severance for doing absolutely nothing, I think many could gain a great deal of incite if they were to read this book. I, too, would like to read it again just to see the many similarities.

On the other hand, Iguazu was absolutely incredible. As Karlyn mentioned, it's hard to put words to something so vast and amazing. It is a masterpiece of nature and the pictures do not do it justice. We stood in awe as we crossed one bridge to the next constantly perplexed how they were able to build the bridge in the first place. We still have yet to figure it out and I would love for someone to explain how you would even go about starting a feat like that. In addition to Iguazu, we were also fortunate enough to see much of the Argentine countryside. It was beautiful and many pictures to come to illustrate this. However, the rest of Argentina is much poorer than Buenos Aires. I was truly able to feel the huge difference between the two parts as we drove through the small towns and I finally got the feeling that I was actually in a third world country. I am sure El Calafate will have much to teach us as well about the country, so much to come after the weekend.

Anyway, time to get back to the festivities. The birthday girl is just waking from a little snooze and it's about time we continued on with the festivities. I do believe tonight will be her fourth night being sung happy birthday. Needless to say, she is not very happy about this. I'll make sure to make it nice and embarrassing for her.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Hola!

Well we have officially been here three weeks which is so hard to believe! How time flies. We had yet another wonderful weekend full of food and fun that we would like to update you all on! On Saturday we actually accompanied our friends Ivan and JD for a lovely dinner at a usually frequented club here, Asia de Cuba. Between the live belly dancer, strawberry daiquiris, champagne, and raviolis, the dinner was very entertaining on top of being delicious. After a couple of dances on the dance floor Jessica and I headed back to our part of town and met a couple of friends at a place called 'TIKI' for a more bar-like experience. The next day we woke up with a craving for a big american breakfast so thought we'd try out a place called Oui Oui that is located only a few blocks away. I will have to say that Oui Oui may have the best breakfast to offer here in BA. It was pure bliss. For 8 dollars you are given a plate full of tasty eggs, a bagel, some (undercooked- unless otherwise mentioned) bacon, and a delicious pot of homemade lemonade that is just indescribable. (Our experience here was so good that we managed to make it back the next day for the exact same meal... plus a homemade banana muffin that was incredible). Sunday night Jessica and I decided to lay low as both of us had to be on our A-game for work the next day, and entertained ourselves with some good ol' movie watching on our laptop.

Today also officially marks my third day of work! I have yet to write about my new job so I'll give everyone a brief synopsis. I am now working for a company here in Buenos Aires called RentInBA, and basically they manage a lot of properties here in the area and rent them out both long and short term to mostly foreign travelers. It really is a great company and I adore the people I get to work with- they couldn't be nicer ( / more accepting of the fact that I don't know Spanish well at all!) Anyway the office is located very close and in the mornings I usually take a 12 peso cab ride there and enjoy a 40 minute walk home in the afternoon. My boss is an Israel native who spent some time growing up here as both of his parents are Argentinean and is a pleasure to work with.

Tomorrow Jessica and I leave for IGUAZU! Woop Woop! We are so excited yet a bit apprehensive about our 14 hour bus ride there (should be interesting!). Rumor has it that the buses here really are rather comfortable so we can only hope for the best... Here is the link to where we will be staying so check it out. We will be sure to take plenty of photos to entertain you with upon our return.

I am also happy to announce that our first traveler has officially booked her flight: GO GRETA!! Greta is planning on coming in the end of October so we are already planning the fun week she is going to be spending with us.

Today after work Jessica and I went to Puerto Madero to check out a rather highly spoken of hotel here called Faena. Here we enjoyed a delicious glass of wine with a rather large cheese & cold cuts plate. The hotel is absolutely incredible and is a must see (at least for a glass of wine) if you are ever here! The design is like nothing else and once we become workin' (money making) women we are going back to treat ourselves to some massages in their extensive spa... ahhhhh.... Tonight we may make the return to the bar around the corner, Fetish, which adds a bit of a different feel to the bars here in BA. Located here in Palermo Hollywood Fetish has a huge square bar inside (the biggest in the city I believe) that seats 50 people if not more! It's a really neat ambiance and the owner is actually a friend of my boss's (who is the person who first introduced us to the place!)

Wish us the best of luck while we're up in Iguazu- we are going to try and avoid the mosquitos as much as possible... we are a bit unprepared in the malaria meds area... and we look forward to filling you all in when we return.... BESOS!

Jessicka & Caroline

Little did we know that Buenos Aires would be such an international mix of people. Each day our group is continually expanding and includes quite a variety of individuals (to say the least)! It has been an eye opening experience to hear about the cultures, traditions, politics and habits of the people we have met here. I have had my palm read by our Italian friend Danny, salsa lessons from our Venezuelan friends, late night discussions about Oktoberfest with our German friends, and so many more interesting times. We even ended up at a German/ Argentine mixer where we were assigned name tags and given either a Spanish or German word where we had to find the other equivalent! Karlyn and I did our best to transition from German to Spanish and back again and answering the many questions of why we were there. I was able to fit in as a probable German, but the people there were dumbfounded when it came to Karlyn. Needless to say, our names were butchered in the process and we ended up with name tags bearing the name Caroline and Jessicka, but figured it was easier to submit to these names then attempt to change them.

As far as the Argentine front goes, I could not love Argentine people more. They have been so kind and eager to assist us in adjusting to the Argentine life. It has been an incredible experience to now be working for an Argentine company. I work outside Buenos Aires in San Isidro, the residential area here. The office is a renovated old stable that features art work throughout and has an open air garden in the middle. Each day I am greeted with besos from each employee and there is a major emphasis on personal relationships in the workplace. They move at a completely different pace and take the time to develop these relationships at a deeper level than common in the American corporate world. Every day all of the employees gather together for lunch and we eat together at one big perfectly set table with a beautiful flower arrangement. We have had some hilarious discussions ranging from typical holiday traditons to some necessary words for women to know here. It feels like a small family. When remarking on the environment to one of my coworkers, he responded, "Why of course! We're in the business to make people happy. How could we not have this environment?" I am responsible for bringing MSB into the US and am thoroughly enjoying bringing the company into the US thus far.

On a different note, each day I am supposed to be taking the bus to and from work. The only problem is that San Isidro is 40 minutes from the city. Each day I wake up a little too late to try out the buses and metro, so I have been forced to take taxis. I have learned so much from these daily rides because this is the time when you truly learn about the people. It's been surprising to see how much the people here hate the government. I have yet to meet one person that has a positive impression of the government. I have resorted to the typical American question often when attempting to keep up with these debates by asking, "Then, why don't you change it?" No one here really has known how to seriously respond to that, besides the fact that the corruption is completely ingrained into the whole political structure. It's in all parts of the judicial system- judges, attorneys, politicians, government, business, and the list goes on. This is one reason why they feel there is a crisis here every five years. I have always been one who believes in trying to learn from your mistakes and for some reason BA is unable to do that. When I questioned about this all participants responded, "Are you willing to make the commitment to change Argentina?"

It seems as though everyone wants to change Argentina, but does not possess the urge or eagerness to do so. It's almost as though they think it's impossible to change it. Maybe it is for that matter, but I am a strict believer that anything is plausible if you truly believe in it. Here we have met a great deal of entrepreneurs who have all given us stories about how they have had to "deal" with the government. One of their biggest complaints is the large export and import tax and how it is virtually impossible to transfer funds outside of Argentina. Regardless, there is a huge market of possibilities, but you have to be willing to work out the disorganized fragments and get creative.

Only having been here two weeks it is hard to epitomize the Argentine people. I always try to avoid this because you can't possibly try to stereotype one large group of people. However, in saying that here are a few things we have learned about men, or Argentines, for that matter. All men and women here cheat. People are very straight forward and will tell you a passionate account of what they are truly feeling, often featuring the three magic words the first time they meet you. People here like to voice their opinions, whether it be by honking, whistling, or screaming out interesting phrases they want you to know they are interested. Argentine people are very family oriented and spend a great deal of time with their families, especially on Sundays when they have their "asados" or steak barbeques. These are just a few of the recurring details we have heard personally when others describe Argentines. Who knows how our experience will be, but it's always interesting to hear the various interpretations.

Sunday @ The Plaza

Jessica and I rose sunday afternoon after a wild night on the river. The gathering attracted a variety of global travelers like ourselves, and made for a wonderful opportunity to meet new friends. Between the Italians, French, Venezuelans, English, and German, Jessica and I had no problem dancing the night away. Arising with a desire to further explore the city, Jessica and I made our way down a new subway line to a new part of town known as San Telmo. San Telmo, the oldest barrio in Buenos Aires, is known for its antique stores, historical cafes lining cobblestone streets, and an ancient tango history. On Sundays however, San Telmo holds a 'must see' Feria de Antiguedades (antique fair) in its main public square, Plaza Dorrego. Exiting the subway we found ourselves among freeway overpasses, and thought that perhaps we had gotten off at the wrong station. After double checking the map we headed in the direction we presumed was right, and after a couple of turns found ourselves among the small cobblestone streets surrounded by the colorful and authentic homes. The streets were rather quiet but once we were within a block of Plaza Dorrego we knew we were in the right place. There we found hundreds of other curious amblers stopping by to watch either a local tango taking place in the middle of the square, or browse the abundance of antique stands covered in ancient yet unique paraphernalia. Jessica and I immediately got caught up in the hustle bustle of the square, going from stand to stand where Jessica found two antique bangles for a steal of a price, watched the local street performers, and quickly worked up an appetite! To satisfy our hunger Jessica and I moved upstairs to an exclusive table on the patio of a restaurant called 'Amici Miei' that landed us a view of the entire square. After ordering a delicious bottle of white wine, a spinach and parmesan ravioli for me, and a local fish similar to sea bass for Jessica-- we found ourselves in heaven! We would both have to say this was one of the best meals we have ever eaten and are certain we will find ourselves back there again.... probably very soon!

After the fair (which was still going strong when we left at 8pm) we wound our way back to Palermo where we met up with our German friends Helge and Ferdinand- whom we met through local friends. Strangely enough, Ferdinand was on a hunt for a place to stay for his three week stay and needless to say Jessica and I went home that night with a new roommate! Ferdinand has been a great addition to our wonderful apartment and has already agreed to treat us to some home cooked German meals.

On monday Jessica and I travelled to Recoleta, a very chic part of town, where we met with a travel agent to book our trip to Iguazu! We are traveling with a group of 50 (again, friends from a variety of countries) and could not be more excited! Our trip is planned for September 17th and we will be sure to blog all about it!

Last night we met up with our Italian friend Leonardo who treated us to a little bit of the underground Argentina flavor. Us and hundreds of others gathered in an open area theatre known as the Konex to watch a local drum group called La Bomba de Tiempo... The experience is undescribabel which is why I have added a link to their page! Afterwards Jessica and I went with our friends to a Japanese restaurant called To which is located right around the corner from our house. The food here was also incredible and Jessica claims to have eaten the BEST salmon she's ever had (even I thought it tasted good- now thats got to say a lot!)

Today I have an interview for a company downtown so instead of writing further I think I better go study up! Stay tuned...

For a little excitement click

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv8NDTIdh5I

Saturday Night In BA

JESSICA & KARLYN'S SATURDAY NIGHT COURTESY OF OUR NEW FRIEND JUAN DAVID

TONIGHT TOUR Launch

"Every winter a frenzied excitement fills the air as we approach the final event of the season. As the temperature starts to soar, Buenos Aires' hottest 'it' crowd will flock to the riverside to the most highly anticipated event of the year. When the doors open the crème de la crème of BsAs arrive in their hundreds to the lush Terrazas del Este." click here

Tonight Tour brings to you and all of your friends VIP tickets to this event with our famous Train Parties.

Attire: Smart

Event Details
10pm – Meeting Point
• Meet at Esquina Santa Rosa bar (Uriarte 1657)
• Happy Hour: 2x1 drinks
• Free Sushi Cocktail
• Once there, exchange ticket for exclusive VIP Tonight Tour wristband giving you train access and VIP entrance to Sabado Fiesta

11.30 – 11.45pm – VIP TRAIN PARTTYYYYYYYYY!
• Board the train for the infamous Tonight Tour Rock-Star ride, with free drinks, music and partying!!

12.45am – SABADO FIESTA

• VIP entrance and queue jump for all guests with Tonight Tour wristbands.

• 3 different rooms:
- Main room – Reggaeton, latin music, 80' 90'
- VIP Lounge – Progressive House
- Oval Room – Commercial House and Dance

• 4 bars and a terrace overlooking the river

• Party until the sun comes up!

Downtown

After waking at a rather shocking hour, Jessica and I decided we should probably do something productive with our day... We made our 10 block walk to the subway where we rode it to the downtown center. Walking up the subway stairs we emerged to find ourselves surrounded by some of the most beautiful European buildings. I thought to myself "now this is where the phrase 'Buenos Aires is the France of South America' comes from"! We walked around the Plaza de Mayo and eventually landed at a historical Tango Cafe. (The tango environment has encouraged us to sing up immediately for some classes!) Founded in 1858, Cafe Tortoni hosts nightly Tango shows and seems to be a must-go-to spot for both the Porteno's and tourists. Jessica and I enjoyed a delicious meal topped off by a delicious slice of apple pie (yum)!

After our meal we took the subway back to Palermo and we truly feel like we are getting our bearings in this rather large city! We picked up four bottles of wine (for $10!) and are catching up on our daily dose of the internet before heading to a farewell party for Jessica's friend Lindsey (DON'T LEAVE US LINDSEY!!). Lindsey and Mikki, fellow Americans, have now lived in BA for a total of 16 months or so and have already taught us many things about this magnificent city (note picture to the right). After the going away party Jessica and I are going to a club called Asia de Cuba (we also went here last night) which is a popular spot located on the river! We will probably find ourselves dancing well into the night.... Stay Tuned for what we have planned for tomorrow!