14th Jan 09: Another leisurely start to the day. It is sunny outside but nice and dark in the corridor outside the bedroom. There are shutters on the outside of the glass panelled doors, and then there is a big white canopy hanging under the open corridor, that diffuses the light. A simple but tasty breakfast, with lovely warm bread. We then head off to have a look around the area we are staying in, the barrio of San Telmo. This is one of the oldest areas of BA, with a load of relatively narrow streets named after latin american countries. We are on Peru and slowly make our way to what is supposed to be the heart of the barrio, Plaza Dorrego. Walk along the streets admiring the balconies and the individuality of the different houses.
Stop off to admire a little tobacco shop. Tempted to invest in a cigar or two, but stick to taking photos instead. Then we are passed by the first of a number of dog walkers. These men and women seem to be well sorted, hanging onto the mass of mutts and carrying lots of bottles of water. Even see one on a bicycle.
We arrive at the Plaza, which is pretty quiet at this time of the morning. Just a few people sitting drinking coffee. Assume that the famous tango sessions only occur on a weekend. The square is surrounded by a few hotels and some quirky shops, evidently aimed at the tourists, but not too tacky.
Have a short walk around the area, popping in to look at some of the curiosity/antiques shops.
We then head back past the hotel into the main central area of BA. Arrive at the Plaza De Mayo with the sun at its height. It is now pretty hot and I am starting to struggle a bit. As we stand by an orange juice stall, Mandy and I decide to go our separate ways for a while, this being the first time we feel we need time to ourselves, which isn't bad going considering we are both strong characters and we have been pretty much living out of each others pockets for the best part of 3 weeks.
I decide to head up Avenida De Mayo, slowly meandering up the wide avenue, admiring the architecture. Have a look in Cafe Tortini, which is a recommended sight, being an old tango haunt. Have to say that it looks magnificent indoors, but is full of tourists, so I carry on. I head up to the Congress Building, where I sit in the shade for a while, watching the world go by, well apart from the load of workers etc, kipping in the park.
I then carry on to the house which was the home of Carlos Gardel, the most famous Tango singer in Argentine history. He was actually Spanish, but spent most of his life in BA. The house is on a small street and is full of curiosities and a small screen playing some of his old hollywood black and white movies. Then it is back down towards El Centro to admire the Casa Rosada, the place where the Perons made their big speeches to the masses. This is also the area where the mothers of the missing come once a month to demonstrate. It is evidently a place where there are a number of demonstrations, from the presence of riot police.
Just as I am leaving the square, I spot a doorway with a sign above indicating that this is the entrance to one of the oldest buildings in BA, so in I head. Initially I am faced with a long thin room full of little stalls of old bits and bobs, from lamps, through plates to swords etc. But I step out into a sunny courtyard. There is no one here apart from some young woman having a siesta.
In the alcoves on the far side are a couple of workshops, in which artists are working away. One is a workshop for guitar makers. What a cool environment to ply one's trade.
Back to the hotel, where I find Mandy snoozing away. Chill out for a little while before getting changed and making our way back down to the docks again. It is a bit of a walk to find the restaurant Las Lamas, which was recommended to us by Roshin and Eddie, the Irish couple at Ecocamp. We have arranged to meet Colin and Tim from the Ecocamp. In the end it is just Tim that turns up to what is evidently one of the more upmarket restaurtants in BA, La Lilas. This is one of my rare occasions where I try some meat. I have to say that the tenderlion steak does not disappoint, especially when washed down with a lovely Malbec. In fact the wine is so good we have a second. To finish off we are offered some lemoncello and grappa. The others have the lemoncello and I proceed to have a few glasses of grappa. I don't know what it is about this stuff, which most people hate, but I do have a strange attraction to it. We then pile into a taxi and head off to a Tango club.
The club is a big place, above a restaurant, in the north side of El Centro. We pay our £5 to get in and grab ourselves a table. There are not that many people in the place, but then again it is only 10pm, so a little early. Within the next 45 mins the place does fill up, but not by much. think the guide book has sold us a bit of a bum deal. There are at most half a dozen couples dancing. 
Most of the guys are pretty old, one or two with that Bobby Charlton throw over haircut. They are dancing with relatively much younger women, most of whom are on their own. In a lot of cases the guys are shorter than the women, so there is hope for me yet.
We order up a bottle of the most expensive wine... OK so there are only 2 options and neither costs more than £10 but have to say it is a bit dire! However, drinking it is not a problem after having already consumed a fair bit of alcohol during the evening. I spend a lot of time trying to get some arty shots of the dancers and the 3 piece band, but the small camera and my shaky hands are not a good combination. We get an American woman sat on her own behind us, Maria to join us. She is a doctor from New York. I do know that I spent some time chatting to her and even had a dance (more salsa than anything else) but I admit I don't remember much about it. It is 2am when we stagger outside and pile into taxis. Bed/sleep comes easily......
Why do I look the worse for wear????
No comments:
Post a Comment