Feauto's in BA

Th 1.24.13

• welcome to Hotel La Liberté mom, dad, Uncle Pat, Aunt Cathy, and cousin Kelly! (that's right, 7 total people in our departamento)

• we totally got this under control, in our one-bedroom apartment with a queen bed, two air mattresses, twin sofa bed, and what started out as 1.5 bath that turned into a 1 bath (stupid flusher)
• I must say though, these people know how to make it work...maybe it's because they all come from big families, or because they all are camping connoisseurs, or maybe because they're avid travelers...I don't know, but they sure do know how to be quick in the bathroom, keep their things organized, help clean up, and get out the door in a relatively quick manner...WAY TO GO!
• yes, we made it work...

• but not without some minor hiccups
• here's the semi-quick story of how my dad ended up on the patio:
• so maybe my dad kinda snores, but luckily he has a sleep apnea machine that makes the snoring disappear...but wait, has the voltage conversion ever been easy for us here? no. so first night, ~5 hours into his deep sleep, dad's machine stops, he starts snoring, he feels bad, so outside he goes with pillow in tow (only his pillow) and slept on that red, dirty, cold tile...so being the nice daughter that I am, I gave him my yoga mat and a blanket, and being the nice wife that she is, my mom joined him on his 3rd and 4th night out there...thank goodness it's summer here, so most nights were pleasantly cool (but some were super humid)

sorry mom and dad, it's just too funny not to share

• now our neighbors really think us foreigners are weird! and now we refer to our patio as Rick Feauto's bedroom
• back to Thursday evening...family arrived safely, relaxed a bit, unpacked goodies, then went to an all-you-can-eat steak place, Rodizio  (quick review: not my favorite...if you're looking for Brazilian steakhouse style all-you-can eat, save it for Fogo de Chau in the States...stick with Argentine style beef when in Argentina...just my opinion)
• we enjoyed our meal...salad bar was decent, meat was good...brought around typical strange Argentine cuts like blood sausage and sweetbreads...but I think some enjoyed being adventurous and trying new things
• service was a bit slow, so took a while for the guy with the good ribeye to come back around

F 1.25.13

• Jake went off to work and I went to my last Spanish class at the institute while Kelly was in charge of the wise-folk (aka parents)
• they went with the yellow double decker bus tour, and really enjoyed it! (they only have 4 days in BA, so it was a quick way to get a general overview of the city)
• For dinner that night, I cooked: salad, rolls, pasta, helado (went out for this)...nice, little dinner on the patio

Sa 1.26.13

• today we made our way to Recoleta Cemetary, the perfect backdrop to re-enact MJ's Thriller

gosh, my family's cool

• continued our walk through Recoleta to Retiro where we had lunch at Dos Escudos, good café near where we used to live

yummy lunch scene!

• there's something about us Americans and loving the thrill of drinking on the streets in countries where it is allowed...so of course we bought large Quilmes bottles to sip on while strolling around classy Recoleta

Plaza San Martin

along Florida Ave.

• after lots of walking, we continued on to Plaza de Mayo where we took the free tour of the Casa Rosada (president's office, ~white house)

EVITA!

exiting out the back

• then we hopped on a bus for almost an hour to Mataderos, a neighborhood on the edge of the city, to attend the fair
• *be sure to read their site carefully (unlike I did) to know exactly what to expect at the fair...I thought we were going to a gaucho show/fair...instead we encountered a concert/fair...
• which didn't start until about an hour after we arrived (oops), so we got beers, empanadas, and some other treats until things got hoppin'

waffle cone-like roll filled with dulce de leche...mmm

some good looking meat (and amazing smells)

• this lovely pot was rolled through the fair, trailing a suspicious liquid all the way....ew

• was fun to experience the folk music and dancing

• as well as local bites like locro, empanadas, and tamales

this barrio's nickname is Nueva Chicago, of course had to snap a shot

• even with my mis-information, it ended up being a fun Saturday afternoon/evening at Feria de Mataderos

Su 1.27.13

• today we started with a mini-brunch at home...

p.s. this is how Kelly dries her hair...just thought she might want me to put an explanation

• Kelly shared her $2 wine, purchased the night before at Mataderos, and we also enjoyed some bread rolled with dulce de leche to go with our eggs and toast
• then we were off to the big Sunday San Telmo market...lots of fun and local purchases were made
• we then made it to the racetrack, the Hipódromo to have lunch and bet on some horses

my lucky #9 kept getting spooked and jumping/kicking, etc.

picking out our faves

• this is when I thought I had the winning horse:

• but it really was a photo-finish and Cathy and Pat actually took home the big $$$

grrr....

• we walked home from the track to do some mate tasting on our patio
• dad loved it:

• so did mom and Pat:

• and Cathy, and Kelly

• that evening, dad took the ladies to Salon Canning to experience a bit of the tango scene
• embarrassingly, we did our "American"ized version of not even tango, just crazy dancing, and because we only had one male with us (my dad) he was in charge of dancing us all around, first mom, then Cathy, then me, then Kelly...
• then for some reason, we thought it'd be a good idea to conga line/dance our way out the door...a grand exit...locals for sure thought we were SO strange
• it was fun though...drinks, empanadas, and dancing...now I need to talk Jake into taking me there on Sundays

M 2.4.13

• fast forward to after our Salta/Jujuy trip (detailed in posts to follow) and here we are, family's last day in BA which consisted of a Teatro Colon tour for Kelly, last minute shopping for the rest of us, and meeting Jake at the office to have a bondiola lunch at the stands near the nature reserve

bondiola = heaven

• we told the workers it was his birthday (not really until the 10th though) when I asked for a lighter to light the candle we had brought along, and the super sweet owner brought out sparkling cider and champagne glasses, and he also paid for his meal...SO nice!

SALUD! 

• what a fabulous whirlwind of a visit...I miss you all already...THANK YOU for making the journey to come visit us, THANK YOU for the sweet gifts, and THANK YOU for being super travel buddies
• you are a great bunch to travel with*, can't wait for our next adventure! (Kelly, we'll be seeing you back here in a few months, right? your couch is waiting ;)

*I had the pleasure of traveling with Cathy, Pat, Kelly, and my mom and dad while I was studying abroad in Rome...we had a blast train-hopping around France and Germany...always a good time, always good memories with you guys