POR AMOR AL ARTE

10 days/10 hermosos dias en/in argentina and southern uruguay. never did i imagine such visual bliss, two countries with history and architectural beauties, filled with narrow cobblestone streets and a love for the past. my camera went crazy, never a dull moment for the shutter and as i sort through my pictures realize there are over three hundred.  the truth is, ten days was not nearly enough to take it all in.  the highlight of the trip, however, was staying at casa ruchi b&b in el tigre where i finally got to meet Ale

it's as if i had known her all my life!

i got to see her art & her home firsthand

and this is one of the presents ale gave me as we bid farewell

and this is one of the piecs i fell in love with on her walls

yes, ten days was a pitance to see it all, especially southern uruguay where we spent only two days in a mini paradise called colonia de sacramento. i loved this little sleepy town so much that i could actually live there. 

colonia has beaches, and bike paths, picturesque streets and funky bohemian restaurants, art galleries and pubs, countryside and millions of trees. ad ofcourse a flea market. it is slower-paced than buenos aires and only an hour away if you cross on the ferry.  we ate at a gorgeous restaurant owned by jorge paez vilaro, the cousin of the famous carlitos paez  (rugby player) one of the 16 survivors of the milagro de los andes and became a legend in the film ALIVE. 

i still remember this day as if it were yesterday since i'm an old grangeonian myself (old girl from the grange school in santiago) and they were to play rugby against our team before the tragedy.

jorge is a painter and his daughter valentina a talented artist herself. actually art runs in the family since the grandfather is also a famous painter and carlitos has designed his own line of pottery for restaurants. we exchanged emails and blog addresses and new friendships were born. 

estos son mis bototos de cuero de cabritilla que me hicieron las caminatas mas placenteras. amo mis bototos.

these are my booties made of cabritilla leather that made walking a breeze, and believe me, we did ALOT of walking.

i have written today about the things that impressed me the most about my trip.  as i settle back into a normal routine, unpack, catch up with laundry and watering the plants, i will try to make a picture journal of our days in buenos aires.