Fiesta de la Flor - Escobar Buenos Aires Province

One of my students told me about the National Flower Festival, so being the little flower lover that I am, I decided to venture forth and enjoy what Argentina has to offer from a floral perspective!!

Firstly, the show was out in the province in the city of Belen de Escobar, which is situated 60km north of the Federal Capital. As we don't have a car of our own I had to find a way to get there. Thank god this country has a public transport system that is efficient and affordable. From our apartment I caught the subte to Plaza Italia and then caught the bus (no 60 -semi rapido). It cost 6 peso 50 cents, (about R13) and the journey took just over an hour.

The area around Escobar has very fertile soil and is the garden capital of the province. In 1924, a Japanese citizen called Gashu, discovered the goodness of the zone for the production of flowers. Along with a group of Japanese immigrant workers he started the first large cultivations. Just five years later producers of Portuguese, Italian, Belgian and Dutch origins were emulating him. Nowadays, with almost 400 floral establishments, this city is the main producer of flowers in the province. The numerous nurseries, with a huge offer in plants and flowers, have become a permanent attraction, especially during weekends.

Of course the highlight of the year is the Fiesta de la Flor which takes place between the last week of September and the first fortnight of October; besides the floral exhibition, there are car parades and the election of the National Flower Festival Queen. Year after year nurseries and growers showcase their plants and flowers.

After mastering the bus drive and getting off at the correct spot (all in my "spanish"), I walked through the town and headed towards the show grounds. Wow! truly fantastic. It is definitely a case of photos say so much more than words............ The Japanese influence in the plant trade is very evident, Azaleas, Orchids, Conifers and Bonsai and Lillies definitely dominated the show. The showgrounds themselves have a large man made lake with some big colourful khoi. Iris, and cherry blossoms hug the banks of the lake, giving it a very 'oriental' feel. The show is very well supported. It is a great place to take the family and picnic on the lawn under the pine trees. There were also many garden groups and other interest groups who arrived in coaches to enjoy the festival. The main exhibits are displayed over 2 enormous pavilions, huge big domes, rather spectacular really. They were filled with displays of flowers, brilliant colours - a bit like a kaleidoscope really! Then there were two pavilions selling garden related stuff, such as bulbs, fertilisers and pots. There was also 2 retail areas were the growing nurseries could sell their stock - a plant buyers dream, the selection and the prices, just fantastic! It was good to see the hardy South African plants making a show - the brightly coloured Gazania and the faithful and hardy 'vygie'!

My comments : a well organised show, brilliant colourful floral displays, amazing showgrounds that are brilliantly maintained. A definite must for anyone interested in flowers, plants and gardens! and a BIG thank to Claudio (my student) for telling me about it .

Cafe Tortoni

Yesterday Brad and I decided to visit one of the cities landmarks - Cafe Tortoni.

Cafe Tortoni is BA's most alluring cafe with its high ceilings, hardwood column, stainglass skylights, red leather chairs and fascinating picture covered walls. It is also the cities oldest cafe (opened in 1858). The cafe was a regular haunt of the great Argentine writer Jorge Louis Borges.

We caught the 64 bus downtown and got off one block from the Cafe. As we turned the corner we saw the cafe and a small queue at the door. We waited about 15 min and then were shown to our table. I ordered a submarino (which is hot milk with a chocolate bar added to it, which melts into the milk and is really rather yummy. Brad had his usual cafe con leche, we tried some churros (sticks of fried sweet pastry).

After the historical cafe experience we caught the bus down to Plaza Italia in Palermo and then caught a taxi down Plaza Serrano, which is just such a hip vibey wonderful place to be. Crowds of people, loads of restaurants, shops galore..... financial crisis!!! (not that evident here). We went specifically to a paper shop, then we went into a lovely bookstore and found a good selection of English books at reasonable prices. Then it was time for refreshments... sat down at pavement cafe, ordered a beer, a glass of wine and a bowl of papa fritas, and the watched the people walk by. A great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Making Empanadas...............

As a result of a few people back home not knowing about empanadas, I have decided to detail my empanada making episode, so here goes...........................

• From the supermarket purchase some ready made bases. (that's the easy part)
• Decide on the filling. Some traditional options include - cheese and ham, vegetable, beef or chicken.
• My filling - chicken, mushroom, garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of curry powder. Chop all these ingredients up really finely and the fry them up. When cooked, place a tablespoon full on each base.
• Fold the base over and the crimp the edge so as the filling doesn't ooze out!!!
• Egg the little fold-overs (empanadas) and then bake them in the oven at a medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Take out the oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy as a snack or as a starter to a meal.

Empanadas always go down well with some wine -

my recommendation Trapiche Merlot Syrah (2008).

A fantastic combination!

jardin japon / the japanese garden

The weather the last couple of days has been rather warm with temperatures in the late 20's early 30's.....so I thought that with spring in the air it was a good time to head down to the Japanese Gardens and take in the spring blossoms. I had also heard about the Japanese Tea Ceremony on Saturday afternoons.... dressed in my summer best I ventured off. Brad hasn't been feeling to well lately so decided to stay in the coolth of the apartment and rest up.

The gardens were donated to the city in 1979, by the small Japanese community of Buenos Aires as part of the preparation for the state visit by the Japanese Imperial Family. Once you've paid the 8 peso entrance and entered into the garden, you really feel that you have been transported to another country. The garden is surrounded by 2 main streets, but the you don't hear a thing inside the garden. It is so tranquil and immaculately tended. The gardens include a bonsai section and standing stones. I think my timing was a bit off (about a week early) to see the almond, prunes and lime trees in blossom and the azaleas in bloom. But there were a few early bloomers so I just used my imagination, might also visit again next week! The man made lake with its stepping stones and red lacquered bridges are so authentic. The Koi in the lake are huge and you can by packets of food to feed them, a favourite with the kids! The cultural centre which is positioned at the back of the garden is designed like a temple and also houses a Japanese restaurant and cafe. The panoramic views from the terraces are brilliant. There is also a little plant nursery and a library. I was really impressed by the whole set up. It was also lovely to see all the people in the garden, young lovers kissing under the pines, grandparents with their grandchildren feeding the Koi and families out enjoying themselves.

I stayed for the tea ceremony, it was really beautiful to watch the three women in their kimono's performing this ancient ritual. I did decided after that I know why tea bags were invented... if I had to wait 20minutes to get a sip of tea, I would rather turn on the kettle and pop a tea bag in a mug!!! I know I know not as romantic.... but sure is a lot quicker!

Augosto Tango

The month of August is synonymous with Tango. The city hosts the International Tango World Championships, and for the month a selection of Tango events are held at venues around the city. All the events are free, but do involve getting a ticket.... well that's a story all on its own.

In calle Florida, which is the main pedestrianised street down town, there is a building called "Harrods". Yes, it was part of the famous London store. In 1912 - Harrods opened its only foreign branch in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The store was modeled on the Knightsbridge store. It continued to be associated with the parent store until the 1950's when links were severed. It continued to trade under the Harrods name until the store was closed in 1998.

A little extract from the history book.........

" The fortunes of the store have mirrored that of Argentina. When Harrods Buenos Aires opened, it was among four subsidiaries of the London store, the others being in Manchester, Paris and Berlin. At that time Argentina, "the grainstore of the world" was the sixth-richest country on earth. The Buenos Aires store immediately became a symbol of exclusivity and refinement among Argentine high society.
Amelie Zanini, 95, remembers Harrods in 1930 when valets in green and gold brocade suits would open the car doors of patrician Argentine families and usher them in to take cream tea in the grand salon, where the shop's own orchestra played jazz. "All Argentine high society took tea at Harrods; it was a very posh thing to do." She recalls taking her children to the lavish Harrods Christmas party, where a Father Christmas would give out toys in Buenos Aires' sweltering December heat.
In the golden years of the 1940s and 1950s, when the Perons were in power and the country had got rich exporting food to a war-torn Europe, 45,000 people a day passed through the store. Eva Peron was a regular, always dressing impeccably in the height of European fashion like the Argentine high society she despised, while professing to identify with the "shirtless" masses.
During the 1960s, the shop became independent from the London Harrods Group, changing its traditional jagged signature for a curly version.
Argentina's hyperinflation crisis in 1989 was the start of its decline, when Mr Gibertoni, got into debt and was forced to close it floor by floor. Its fate was sealed as it struggled to compete during the 1990s with the US-style shopping centres that sprang up in the city. By the time it closed in 1998, only 50 people worked on the last floor."

Now the store is empty and the ground floor is used by the Ministry of Culture for various events. The building is huge, 6 floors and takes up a whole block, it still is very grand and one can imagine how it used to be in its prime. Anyhow, for this month, the whole ground floor has been transformed into various Tango Dance floors, a concert hall and a movie cinema. There are two restaurants and stalls selling all things Tango... it was really incredible to see. Apart from professional shows, there have been dance lessons, and public Milongas, wonderful concerts with Tango singers and orchestra and also Tango cinema, showing the old black and white features of the history of the tango. Tango is not just the dance. Tango is divided into 3 main areas, the music - the song and then the dance..... The Dance world champs were last night, it was free entrance, but you had to have a ticket to enter. Ticket collection was open 2 Sunday's ago, I went down to get us some tickets... (ha ha hee hee) I stood in the queue for over and hour and didn't move more than 1m. The line was so long, I was in block 7... I figured if this is the queue for the tickets, there will be another queue to get into the venue and then there will be so many people that we probably wouldn't see the dancers anyway... spirit of adventure disappears rather quickly waiting in line!!! Ah well there is always next year......................

Tigre

Tigre lies about 20km northwest of Capital Federal at the beginning of the Parana Delta. The name tigre is Spanish for tiger, but it is used in a romantic poetic way to describe the Jaguars who inhabited this region until the early 20th century. The town of Tigre sits on an island surrounded by 3 rivers - the rio Lujan, the rio Reconquista and the rio Tigre. During the early 20the century this town was the weekend getaway for the rich and the famous from Buenos Aires City, back then life revolved around events at the Tigre Club, home to Argentina's first casino. There are many rowing clubs and fantastic mansions in the town. We spent the afternoon in the Naval Museum, which was so interesting. It has a brilliant collection of all thing maritime, including one Fitzroy's journals from the Beagle. There is also a good documentation about the recent war on the Malvinas (the Faulklands). After all that walking we were in need of a caffeine boost and took a coffee in a lovely restaurant overlooking the river and the it was time to head back to the city...

San Isidro

The posts have been a bit thin on the ground lately but its strange when you get in to the daily routine of work, somehow there doesn't seem to be the time to do the fun things..... but despite that we have managed to get out and about this month.

The first main outing was to San Isidro and Tigre...with a lovely couple Jonathan and Claudia. Jonathan is an editor of technical journal and Claudia a language professor at UBA (University of Buenos Aires). Claudia is an Argentine and Jonathan is originally from England but has lived until last year in South Africa (25 years). The two met about 10 years ago in SA at a conference. Claudia was doing translations and interpreting... anyhow they are a lovely couple and fun to go out with. Although Jonathan hasn't been here long he has picked up the local driving habits!!!! Our first stop was San Isidro. This suburb lies to the North of Capital Federal. It is one of the most beautiful suburbs, the streets are cobbled and lined with beautiful trees. The houses are beautiful, many old, reflecting the past luxury of this neighbourhood. San Isidro has a beautiful cathedral, recently restored. The cathedral is neo-gothic in style, it was built in 1898. The cathedral is on the upper level of Plaza Mitre which on weekend, like most Plazas in the city, becomes an outdoor market venue. The market at San Isidro has some interesting antiques and collectables as well as some lovely crafts and hand made articles. After wondering around at bit and building up an appetite, we jumped back into the car and head down to the banks of the Rio del Plata for lunch at one of Jonathan and Claudia's favourites - El Pato (the duck). The weather had a definite air of early spring, so we decided to take advantage of that and sat outdoors in the sunshine. It was great to have an Argentine with us to explain the menu thoroughly. Brad and I both settled for the Matambre... I had the beef and he had the pork. Matambre is the cut of meat covers the ribs - mine was rather stringy, but very tender and the flavour was awesome. Brad's was a little more fatty than mine but equally as delicious.. Mine came with mash potato and Brad's with fried sweet potato. The meal was very rich and delicious, as we had had a selection of starters we skipped dessert and just had a coffee. (I sound like a bloody food critic!!) Then it was off to Tigre for the afternoon.

Colonia (part 2)

Colonia del Sacramento (Nova Colonia do Santissimo Sacramento) was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese (Manuel Lobo), sandwiched in between the Portuguese colony of Brazil and the Spanish Vice Royalty of the River Plate (later Argentina, Uruguay and Southern Brazil). Its strategic position and use as a smuggling port meant that its sovereignty was hotly contested and the city changed hands several times between Spain and Portugal. This history is evident in the architecture style of the old town which is also surrounded by a "city wall". The old city is about half a kilometre from the harbour, so I am glad that we opted for the "thrifty" golf car, also the weather was bloody freezing so at least we had 'cover' from the icy wind. The old city is filled with old colonial buildings and cobbled streets, and it has been given a heritage site listing by UNESCO. It felt that we had been transported back in time... I could just imagine how it must have been as a busy city way back when. There are several museums, lovely parks and the streets are cobbled with local stone and lined with massive trees - oaks, syringa and even orange trees.. the architectural style is very colonial and many building have also been built with local stone. Driving around we spotted a restaurant offering a Lamb Special for lunch..... yes we were in!!! being the carnivores that we are, we settled next to the log fire, ordered some Uruguayan Cab Sav, (pretty good stuff) and waited for our Lamb to arrive.... Holy Moley, almost quarter of a bloody sheep, I also made the mistake of ordering papas de creme. We ate.. and ate.. and ate, until we literally couldn't have another mouthful. We were stuffed!! And then the bill arrived........... they didn't take credit cards and we only had a mixture of US$ and Argentine Peso. The Uruguayan peso is 22-1 against the dollar and 6-1 against the Arg. peso. Well lets just say, once all the conversions had been done, it was probably one of the most expensive meals we have had so far. But then it was great, and we did thoroughly enjoyed it. We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon taking in the sites and taking loads of photos. We were back at the ferry ready to depart as the sun was setting... A great day out, and I will definitely visit there again.

Colonia del Sacramento (part 1 of the adventure)

Brad and I decided that it was time to take a trip across the Río de la Plata and visit the historic Uruguayan town of Colonia del Sacramento. We had actually booked a trip there last time (2007) but due to the accident never got there. So last week we went down to the ferry terminal and made our booking. We were really fortunate because it is out of season they were running promotions and we managed to get return tickets for only 125 pesos each. There are 2 ferries that travel to Colonia, we chose the slow boat (3hrs) it is just over 40km from Buenos Aires to Colonia, (remember this is across a river not the ocean!!) We left home early yesterday morning, caught the bus152 in Ave Santa Fe and arrived at the Buquebus terminal in time for a cafe con leche before boarding the ferry. This is one huge vessel, and it was also pretty empty so we stretched out and enjoyed the journey. The ship is on 4 levels. The lower deck is were all the cars go in, the next deck is 1st class and the entertainment court and duty free shop, the 3 deck is tourist class and the food court, and then the top deck is open and reserved for those crazy smokers who brave the icy wind and almost freezing temperatures to have a fag!!!! We were in tourist class, and apart from the seats (1st class recline 180degrees) ours only went as far as 120 degrees, there was not any notable difference to warrant the extra cost - very different from airline travel. Half way across the river we were entertained by a singer crooning away at Tango Lyrics.... (prefer the dancing to the singing!!) fortunately, he had a good voice and didn't out sing his welcome. We arrived in Colonia at about 1pm, disembarked from the ferry and walked out the harbour area. Being the true adventure seekers that we are, we did not pre-book any trips or tours. I was a little worried because I had read that the historical city was a bit of a walk from the terminal, and although Brad is doing really well with his walking , I didn't want him to overdo it. I thought that we could catch either a bus or taxi into the old town and then walk around..... but no even better!!!! Entrepreneurial spirit thrives - some enterprising individual has a golf chart renting company, so for only US$40 we hired a golf cart for the day - Brad was in his element, like a kid at the funfair with the 'dodgem cars....'

With Brad as the driver and me as the navigator, armed with map and loads of adventure we headed in the direction of the old city.

Alright, alright,... I know it has been over 3 weeks since I visited my blog, but life has been hectic!! Brad arrived on the 1st July. Wow it was so good to see him again. The two months that we were apart went by really quickly on one hand and really slowly on the other....but it is great to have him here with me. He has not let his lack of mobility slow him down at all- we catch the buses, taxis and underground relatively easily and he also does a lot of walking, which is really good. One of our favourite neighbourhoods is Belgrano with the Chinese Quarter, "China Town". We visit there regularly, there is a great market to but Asian food products and also some good organic and health foods. Brad has also found an acupuncturist there, so he now goes every week for a treatment. Today he has gone by himself... this involves him catching a bus (25min journey) the walking 7 blocks, having the treatment and then repeating the process fro the journey home. We live 2 blocks from the bus stop!! So he is really doing well. My English classes are going splendidly. I have 20 classes a week now. My students are all super, and I really enjoy my lessons. My Spanish is improving very slowly. In fact it was better before Brad arrived as I had no-one to speak English to, but I have made a deal with one of my students who wants some extra lessons - we will do a lesson exchange - one English for one Spanish!!! The weather at the moment is really cold , today the min. temp was 1 degree C and max was 8 degrees!!!! Brrrr..... I have bought a few pots and plants for our balcony and every day we put out some crumbs for the birds. We have about 12 little sparrows who come and feast daily!!! We are planning to cross the Rio de la Plata on Saturday, to spend the day in Colonia, Uruguay. Will definitely keep you posted on that.

PLAZA MAFALDA and surrounding areas....

Oops hit the wrong button, and now ended up with two parts to the story, anyway as I was trying to say. Mafalda is a comic strip written and drawn by the Argentine cartoonist Joaquín Salvador Lavado (pen name Quino). The strip features a girl named Mafalda (5 years old at the time of the comic's creation) who is deeply concerned about humanity and world peace and rebels against the world as it is. The strip ran from 1964 to 1973 and was very popular in Latin America, Europe and in Asia, leading to two animated cartoon series and a movie. On our last visit I bought Brad the 5 English Translated books. For those that don't know Brad is a cartoon junkie - anyway I just think Mafalda is so cute! and so I had to go to the Plaza. I caught the subte across town and then walked 12 clocks to get there. Unfortunately there was no Mafalda statue, but there were murals around the park, many defaced with graffiti tags - but I did get to hear a percussion band that was practising in the park. As I left the park, I found the most awesome Antique market - Mercado de las Pulgas. Wow! did it have amazing stuff and at very good prices too. So if I ever have to furnish our own place I know where I will head off...

I then decided to carry on walking to Palermo. Palermo is really one of the most vibey neighbourhoods in the city. So after walking another 13 blocks... to Plazza Sorreno, the heart of Palermo Viejo, I needed a drink. I thought that I would sit at one of the side walk cafe, drink some wine, people what and be cool!!!! I did and it was fantastic. The only "problem" was that the cafe I chose didn't serve wine by the glass only by the 375ml bottle!!! So then I decided that I needed to eat something, couldn't drink all that on an empty tum... I ordered "una hamburguesa solo" (roughly translated plain hamburger!) no problems, a dry toasted sesame bun with a grilled burger patty arrived, with some mayonnaise spread on the bun, it was rather tasty, but then anything would probably taste good after all the San Felippe I had drunk!

I once ordered a Hamburguesa complejo - it arrived with everything - lettuce, tomato, and the obligatory ham and cheese (jamon y queso). Argentines love their ham and cheese, it is on everything and sometimes for a change they have cheese and ham!!! Well at least there is no problem with deciding what sandwich filling to choose.

Came back to the apartment and watched a Julia Roberts Trilogy - Erin Brokwitz, Notting Hill and My Best Friend's Wedding! oh no I'm turning into a TV junkie!! After all that went to bed, and I must say I was very relieved this morning when I looked in the mirror and saw that my eyes had not turned square!!

I know its been a while since I wrote anything, but life just gets into a routine and ..... anyhow yesterday was Saturday, the sky was blue and so after my chores I decided to go and find Plaza Mafalda.

Feria de Mataderos

A bus trip right across the city and you have the Feria de Mataderos. This fair happens every Sunday. It's an authentic celebration of Argentine country life, folk music and gaucho traditions.

A great day out and all it cost was the return bus fare and a bite to eat! Excellent value.

I had fun watch people dance, sing and generally had a great time.