RTW Adventures of J&M

We've been in Buenos Aires for 6 days now. Here are some of my thoughts on the city.

The sights aren't very impressive. Having just come from Paris the major sites in Buenos Aires have failed to WOW us. We spent our first Saturday covering more than half of the major attractions in Buenos Aires. We'd go, snap a few pictures and move on. So far, the most interesting site has been the Recoleta Cemetery, the resting place of Evita. We've avoided going to cemeteries so far (even the famous ones in Europe). However, we decided to go to this one because we seemed to be running out of places to see on our second day here! There is a National Museum of Art here, but can the Van Gogh, Monet and Renoir collection top what we saw in Paris and Amsterdam? Rest assured, this situation is perfectly fine for us because we're a bit exhausted from running around Paris trying to hit all the "must see" sights. Buenos Aires will probably be a chill stop for us - eat Argentine steaks with some Malbec wine, enjoy the local ice cream on a hot day, picnic in the parks, do some people watching and catch up on blogging.

 
The city is... different from what we're use to. Buenos Aires is separated into a couple of different neighborhoods - Microcenter (downtown), San Telmo (more traditional), Recoleta/Retiro/Norte (wealthier), Palermo (young and chic), Puerto Madero (waterfront) and La Boca (dangerous and poor). Before coming to Buenos Aires I had imagined the city to be pretty big and developed. Afterall, it is the capital of Argentina. However, after walking through some of the neighborhoods it is obvious that they still have a ways to go before being able to compare to other world cities. Honestly, I don't really feel that safe walking the city streets - even in touristy areas such as San Telmo. I'm sure that what I consider is deserted and run-down, others would characterize it as old and charming. I feel lucky that our apartment is located in a better part of town.

The people are nice. We've already met some nice people. The owner of our apartment is extremely friendly and helpful. Although, J overheard her telling some people (in Spanish) that we don't speak Spanish because we're Chinese - I fail to see the correlation. Most people know a little bit of English and the ones that don't will put up with our poorly spoken Spanish.

Beware of children. It's sad, but true. We've been lucky so far to have not encountered any child beggars or pick-pockets, but came across both within 15 minutes of each other while taking the metro in Buenos Aires. First, a kid (7-8 yrs old?) tried to pick my pocket, but since I already noticed her odd behavior (following us into the station) I was prepared. Granted the station was crowded, but what are the chances that the person I was already suspicious of bumps into me and so happens to have her hands at just the right height to brush against the left pocket of my shorts? As Professor Moody would say, "Constant vigilance!"

The language is Span-talian. The majority of the locals, or Portenos, are either ethnically Italian or Spanish. Therefore, there is a huge Italian influence on the local Spanish language. Bon dia!

The food is cheap! 30 USD for two of the best steaks we've ever had, garlic fries and bottled water. That was at a higher-end restaurant, too!

1. Avenue Corrientes (Retiro/Microcenter border)
2. University of Buenos Aires in Recoleta
3. J giving me the biggest flower in the world! (Floralis Generica in Recoleta)
4. A typical row of tombs in the Recoleta Cemetery - if you peak in through the doors of each tomb you can often see the coffins!
5. One of the more ornate tombs in Recoleta Cemetery
6. A cat lying near Evita's tomb. He/she is probably just as visited as Evita herself because all the passer-bys stop to take pity on him/her.
7. Casa Rosada - the White House equivalent of Buenos Aires
8. A tango performance at Plaza Dorrego
9. The inside of Cafe Tortoni - a historic cafe
10. Helado (ice cream) and cafe (back to the expresso!) at Cafe Tortoni

This is a non-travel related blog post.

I just learned today that I use to go to the same personal trainers as Jason Mesnick, the single dad looking for love on ABC's The Bachelor! I knew he was from Seattle and lived in Kirkland, but I didn't know he worked out at Elite Fitness. It's a very small gym, but I have never seen him there - probably because he goes to work out some other time of day. My guess is that he probably only recently started going to Elite to get ready for the show. I bet some of those stalker-inclined/possessive bachelorettes would be jealous to know that I likely laid on the same exercise mat that he laid on earlier in the day!

The title of this post is borrowed from a chapter title in Rick Steve's Europe Through the Backdoor 2009, a book which I picked up from Barnes and Nobles two weeks before we left Seattle. At the time, I dismissed this piece of advice because I felt our trip is different from the type of trips the book's target audience would be taking. I mean - we're traveling for 8 months through different seasons and J needs to bring everything to set up an office remotely! Hence, we left Seattle with 4 pieces of checked luggage.

In the 2 months we traveled through Europe our luggage became more and more annoying. It was hard to manuever our huge luggage pieces along small European balconies and elevators. Our duffle was really hard to carry because of the weight and lack of wheels. And, we were almost forced to pay nearly 300 USD for checking in two pieces of luggage per person instead of the usual one piece because the airline representatives at the check-in counters aren't familiar with the rules of the OneWorld Explorer Fare.

Therefore, while we were in Boston J and I decided to shed and repack our stuff into just two pieces of check-in luggage - one per person with a maximum weight of 23 kgs per piece. All of our winter clothes got cut, which was the plan anyhow, and all of our backup and "what if" items got left behind too.

In the end, we did it! It's pretty amazing if you think it. We still have in there 3 laptops, a shoebox of electronics, a huge 220V power strip and two cooking pots!

1. Luggage on Day 0 vs. Day 62

2. The stuff we left behind in my parents' basement - 3 boxes and a small suitcase worth.

I was so sure I was going snowboarding in the Alps. So sure. To that end, I packed and lugged snowpants, a ski jacket, ski googles, ski socks and gloves across the Atlantic Ocean and halfway across Europe. Big surprise - I didn't go.

Now, just imagine how excited I was when my brother asked me if I wanted to go snowboarding at Wachusetts Mountain. All that effort would not have been in vain! So, I put on my wearable gear, throw the rest in the trunk of his car and off we go. After parking his car in the resort lot, I get out of the car and excitedly go to retrieve my gloves and googles from the trunk. I put on my googles and started to slip my hand into the gloves when suddenly a confused look spreads across my face.

What is wrong with this picture?

After being on the road for 2 months spending a week at my parents' home in Boston felt so luxurious - 3 meals per day prepared for us, people to talk to other than each other, a nice bathroom, having people understand us when we speak English and not having to worry about our budget. It was hard to leave and we seriously contemplated staying an extra week or two, but we knew we had to push onwards. It's so easy for inertia to set in.

Here are some highlights from our Boston stay:

Accompanying pictures

1. Pile of presents

2. My mom receiving JK Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard

3. My brother finding a present to culture his hobby of wine: a wine decanter

4. My cousin determined to play Guitar Hero immediately after ripping open the wrapping.

5. My grandma receiving massaging slippers

6. My mom and dad admiring the free calendar J and I brought to add to their collection. Tell me if I'm wrong in saying that Asian parents looooove the free calendars given out by Chinese grocery stores at the end of the year. This one is from Paris!

7. My sister-in-law, who spent the week with us, receiving an iPod Nano from her brothers and me.

8. My brother carving/hacking the Christmas turkey

9. One of many feasts that week

10. We made dumplings from a meat filling made by my brother

11. My sister brought home a huge platter of sashimi consisting of white tuna, tuna and salmon.

12. Dumplings and sashimi

13. Everyone who was at dinner that night

14. My brother doing some dual-shovel plowing of the driveway

15. A collection of snow on his head after 30 minutes outside

16. Starcraft LAN party with more cousins

J and I are seeking advice/recommendations for Buenos Aires. Where to visit? What to do? Especially, where to eat?!

Thanks!

J and I have set foot in the Southern Hemisphere - a first for both of us. Here, where we shall remain until our trip crosses us back over the equator again sometime in April. Aside from the month we spent in Paris and the week we spent in Boston, we are effectively skipping winter this year. *self-pat on shoulder* for excellent planning.

We were well-prepared for the summer temperatures, but completely forgot about the accompanying daylight. Last night, we were exhausted from our travels and wondering why we couldn't stay up past 4PM (because the sun hasn't set) when J suddenly realized that daylight actually ends well-past 9 PM! We then checked the clock - it was 8:30 PM.

Current Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina