A Day in the Capital - Saturday, April 24, 2010

We slept in an hour until 7:00 just because we could. It seems like the appropriate thing to do because it's Saturday, even though I would get more done if I got up at the usual 6:00 hour.

The fumigation guy was coming to spray for bugs at 10:00. They come once a month and with a hand held tank and wand, they spray along the floor and walls and corners. They do all rooms and the balcony. I said to Rich, "Well, we don't have bugs." and he said, "Yeh, that's because they spray." Duh!!

Rich went to get the laundry (sheets and towels) that we took last Saturday to the Lavadero. They are now only open for a half a day, closing in the afternoons. We used to walk by on our way home from the office to pick it up, but now have to wait until the next Saturday morning to get it. While he did that, I cleaned the bathroom and in all three rooms, moved things away from the wall, so it would be easier for the "guy with the wand."

Our plan for the day was to leave around noon to spend the day up in the Capital doing a little sightseeing before we ended up at the Fuqua's apartment at 7:00 for movie night with the other matrimonials. So we vacuumed, mopped floors, and I did a load of white shirts in the wash. Right before we left, Paul and Denise skyped us for a Saturday morning chat. That was good timing because 20 minutes later we probably would have been gone.

Our 40 minute ride to the Capital, and end of the line for the train, was interesting. We never find a place to sit down right when we board the train. Then as people get off at various stops, we usually manage to find a seat, although sometimes not together. Today, we found seats sitting across from each other with men seated next to us by the window. There was no evidence that they were traveling together at first, but then as time went on, they would exchange words. The young man next to me was consuming a can of beer, and the man next to Rich would pull out his pint size whiskey bottle and take a swig now and again. By the time we reached our destination where all passengers had to exit, my "friend" had consumed three beers (one right after the other), and Rich's partner had downed the whole pint of hard liquor, leaving the empty container under his seat. So now when Rich is asked how long it takes to get to the Capital on the train, he said he's going to tell people, "Three beers and a pint of whiskey." It was quite an interesting ride.

When we left the Retiro train station in the Capital, Rich said our first stop, a fancy shopping mall, was just about 6 blocks down the road. I would have preferred to take a Taxi as the blocks looked pretty long to me, but Rich said, "Let's try it" -- walking that is.

We found Patio Bullrich without any problem and the hike wasn't too bad. It is suppose to be the most expensive shopping mall in Buenos Aires. It used to be an old auction house for livestock that was gutted and turned into a shopping mall. It wasn't huge, but the stores did look expensive. There were three levels of stores featuring clothing, shoes/boots, jewelry, and leather goods. There was a fancy liquor store, places to eat, and tucked back in, not on the main drag, was even a McDonalds and Starbucks Coffee shop.

We walked around just doing a "look see," and didn't go into any stores. They had personnel standing around waiting to get their hands on a likely customer. Since we had heard about this mall and our interest had been peaked, we wanted to check it out. It was a fun place to visit, but too costly for our pocketbook.

Outside the mall, we jumped into a taxi with our destination being Puerto Madero. It is an old port that was redeveloped in 1999 and turned into a tourist attraction. The warehouses along the port have been renovated and are now a variety of elegant houses, offices, private university, luxurious hotels, and restaurants -- a LOT of nice restaurants. It goes for blocks!

There is also a Yacht Club there where small fancy yachts and boats were docked along the edge. Two old time sailing ships, the Sarmiento and Corbeta Uruguay, were docked and turned into museums for the public to tour.

We chose to tour the Corbeta Uruguay. It was the first ship in the Argentine Navy 1874.

This ship has seen the world, and participated in rescuing a Swedish expedition in Antartica in 1903. Later it was a school for sailors, and in 1954 turned into a museum and stands as a national monument for Argentina.

It had two levels, and the Captains quarters are down below.

Behind Rich on display, is the ship's original wheel for steering

Also located here is a well known Buenos Aires landmark called The Bridge of Woman. It was built in 2001 and is intended to be an abstract representation of a dancing couple. It reflects the fact that all the streets in Puerto Madero are named after important women.

The bridge swings open like a gate instead of rising up to let ships pass. It is also a bridge for walking to get to the other side of the river, and is a link between the east and west docks of Puerto Madero.

We chose the restaurant Sorrento to have dinner. It wasn't the most crowded, so we were a little worried when we entered. There were tables outside that had some patrons, and only three tables occupied inside, including us.

It was almost like private dining as we were off and away from others. Perfect!! Rich chose a Filet Mignon with papas fritas (fried potatoes), and I had Salmon with rice. Absolutely delicious in every way!!!! Tossed salad and an assortment of breads with cream cheese to spread on it were added. The flavored cream cheese spread was wonderful. I kept eating bread so I could have the cream cheese. At most restaurants here you select the meat on the menu that you desire, and then every side dish like potatoes, rice, salad etc. is an additional cost. Every item is a separate price. But no worries here that few patrons meant low quality. It was a wonderful meal, and since my birthday is next week, this was my birthday dinner.

After dinner we walked a few blocks to the famous shopping area, Calle Florida, and wandered up and down the outdoor walking mall which is a street blocked off to cars -- pedestrians only. We, then, got a taxi to take us to the Fuqua's apartment and met with the Andersons, Fuquas, Grieves, and Walls. The movie that was selected was 10,000 B.C. Never heard of it, but it was a good movie.

We took the train home and walked in at 10:30. It was a great day and lots of fun!