no wonder argentina is considered the most european city in south america.  the air breathes la boheme. more than italian (most of the immigrants were from italy) the city has a french feel to it.  i attribute it to the tremendous influence of the tango.  come to find out the king of tango, carlos gardel, was born in france and moved as a child to argentina since his mother had had him illegitimately and she did not want to embarass the father who happened to be her cousin. carlitos brought with him the bandoneon,  an instrument much like the accordeon but with a subtler sound.

the city is  filled with street cafes, many on cobblestone streets, people read the morning newspaper, visit the bookstores, walk alot, dress elegantly and eat well. 

we had breakfast at the famous cafe tortoni

and had a parrillada in la recoleta

and stopped to drool over the sweets at the confiterias

 

being alot bohemian myself and loving street fairs and antique flea markets, my favorite places in buenos aires were san telmo and la recoleta.  it rained and poured that sunday as we visited san telmos antique fair but umbrellas in hand we did the rounds anyway ending up for lunch in a charming resto-bar that served a spectacular grilled salmon. here are vintage finds. on the street corner a small group played the concierto de aranjuez.

guess who i remembered when i saw this?

what i bring back with me plus the virgen de junin pictured above

what do you think of this tree?

and then the crowning jewel of buenos aires, the recoleta cementery.  i could have spent the whole day there taking photographs  was getting cold and i was getting hungry.

at night, a total contrast, again in san telmo, where we went to see a tango show beyond description at "la ventana".  photographs were prohibited so all i have is a little photograph i bought at el caminito art fair to remind me of the sexiest dance move in life.

 

El bandoneón tiene aquello especial que hace que quien lo escuche caiga en un sueño lento y profundo, sus requiebres y susurros hacen que no se conciba tango sin bandoneón. Abraza con su melodía a la mujer como el más fiel de los amantes hasta convertirse en poema hecho canción. Sin lugar a dudas es para los poetas del tango su querido y amigo compañero de tristezas.

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.