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Open 25 Hours A Day

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A visitor cannot understate how late Buenos Aires operates. Perhaps the most accurate observation is that it rarely closes other than late Saturday and Sunday morning. Our dining reservations at 8 PM found us in empty restaurants.  Eating at 11:00 pm at home or in restaurants is common practice. Bars open at midnight and folks apparently don’t really show up until 2 am. We wouldn’t know of course, because our American clocks had us wiped out by midnight. With this nightlife culture comes the need for beverages, cigarettes, snacks, and lottery scratch offs at odd hours. The chain “Open 25 Hours” dominates nearly every street corner, all with seemingly different offerings. We wondered why they even needed doors.  Our first adventure took us to the Museum of Latin American Art (known as as MALBA). In a very posh neighborhood by our American standards, the grocery store apparently comes to them rather than vice versa. Streetside was a nearly full service grocery (if you exclude ch...
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Diego Warps Space-Time

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After a recuperative nap, we struck out  for classic Argentinian food, a cuisine that mixes the best of Spanish style grilled barbecued meats with Italian cuisine.  Our restaurant offered us both.  The girls both enjoyed ravioli with salads, a fascinating variety of fresh breads, and table sauces like chimmichurri or roasted garlic in olive oil.  Joel and I ordered boneless pork ribs and skirt steak, both charcoal-grilled.  The steak was just nearly tender enough to cut with a fork.  We were deep into entertaining conversation and contemplating dessert when I checked the time  it was after 9:30 and our rescheduled tango show started at 10:00 in an entirely different part of town.  We ordered a cab and Diego arrived to take us there. When Jane translated the question “When do we arrive?” Diego understood the assignment. He drove like he was above the law, with techniques that disregard the personal safety of bikers and assume impotent law enforceme...
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Where are Christopher Columbus’s Pants?

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Having slept from takeoff to breakfast, I have nothing to report about the flight here.  It was entirely uneventful for me at least.  Immigration was equally uneventful, if not pleasant.  All of our bags arrived.  Our flight drama was apparently all concentrated on a single flight cancellation. Joel just stared at the map for the last hour of the flight.  We arrived!  Everyone’s first trip to the southern hemisphere.  Around 8 am, we arrived at the Doubletree feeling hungry and sleepy.  We didn’t cancel our hotel room for last night so we could immediately check in, shower and nap in our rooms before tackling the day. Croissants have been the theme of our trips, and finding one in Buenos Aires was a good omen.  Finding the best light for makeup.  Some of us were bothered by the drizzle more than others, but it quickly subsided.  We ventured out to exchange money, landing in an upscale mall.  Because Argentinian pesos are such a...
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Wheels up

TRAVEL UPDATE:  After a comfortable (if not short) night at the Hyatt, we had a hearty breakfast before heading to the airport. It’s a gorgeous clear sunny day in Chicago and delays were a distant memory.  We arrived at the airport early at 9:15, as there is no TSA published data on wait times at security. We didn’t want to be caught off guard. Pleasantly surprised, we made it through security in less than 10 minutes and spent the extra hours we should have slept at the United Club.  Not sure what precisely ICE is doing at the airport because we didn’t see them. We are now in flight, headed to Houston where we have a 3 hour layover. Our plane to Buenos Aires is already parked at the gate so chances of successful arrival in Buenos Aires tomorrow morning are high.  Next update will hoepfully have pictures of fall in Argentina  
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Going where the weather suits my clothes

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Our flight to Chicago was ultimately cancelled, with no alternatives offered today. We had a choice of taking an early flight out of Traverse City or driving to Chicago. It was unanimous, we drove. Captains of our own fate, we arrived in Chicago 5 hours later.  The $8.10 toll was Skyway Robbery Tomorrow we continue our journey, hopefully to Buenos Aires but ultimately to wherever United can get us that (1) suits the clothes we’ve packed (2) doesn’t require a visa. 
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Puerto Rico, Playa Del Carmen, Portugal… or Buenos Aires?

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 Welcome back, loyal readers, both new and returning.  A warm welcome to Teri and Thom if they’re following Teaghan’s adventures. School ended mid-day and the girls came home ready for us to go to the airport.  Despite our 4:30 flight departure, we needed to get to the airport early to straighten out our visas.  Our flight itinerary takes us from Traverse City to Chicago to São Paulo Brazil and then finally Buenos Aires.  For that, we had to have complete Brazilian visas, and United wouldn’t let us check in until they confirmed we had them. After a hearty lunch, we checked in our steamer trunk bags (and Teaghan’s modest size bag).   TSA had a 0 minute wait, and they were friendly too.   We boarded the plane and got notified that we were taking off 10 minutes early, even with deicing.  Superior!  We were off on our adventure, planning our Starbucks pickup order in Chicago on our way to our gate when everything changed. Our first clue that our ...
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