Day 18

 

Day 18, January 21, 2008

 

     36 years ago Dale and I arrived at the gorgeous Banff Springs Hotel on our honeymoon and there was "no room in the Inn". Dale likes to travel impromptu which sometimes offers great travel experiences but sometimes not! (Many of you have heard this story before) This week Dale surprised me in Buenos Aires and had previously reserved the corner suite at the magnificent Marriott Plaza Hotel on San Martin Plaza which is the grande dame hotel of Buenos Aires built in 1909. This stay has been like a second honeymoon.  He even reserved privileges at the executive lounge where we have breakfast and can snack anytime of the day or night. Well done Dale. From this location, we can easily stroll and watch the street scenes on the Calle Florida Street nearby, have convenient access to tourist sites and all the best restaurants. We watch locals line the street, pack the café terraces and stroll and kiss in the park. Things always take a long time here and we find we are adapting to this new rhythm of life. 

 

     Today we had a morning cappuccino at the historic Café Tortoni which has served as the artistic and intellectual capital of Buenos Aires since 1858. After a leisurely two hour morning stroll, we realized one of our cameras was missing. After retracing our steps, we recall a young man bumping Gail to offer her a brochure.  There are many young men and women trying to get your attention and hand you cards or brochures for discounts for tango shows or shops.  The crowds are so thick you are bumped all the time. It only took him a second to slip the camera from Gail's pocket.  Sadly that camera had a lot of great photos that had not yet been downloaded.  Dale's camera is also not working right, probably overloaded with photos.  We need to quickly figure out how to fix it or our blog will be short on photos. A beautiful city, but pick pockets are prevalent.

      We had a late lunch at Ligure, a romantic restaurant built in 1933 with French inspired cuisine. I was brave and ordered centolla with Parmesan which I knew was seafood but was not sure what; it turned out to be Argentinean King Crab. Dale's calamari was delicious but paled in comparison to my meal.  I agree Dale, sometimes those impromptu, unexpected travel experiences do turn out to be memorable. I know my lunch was a nice surprise.  Salut to another 36 years of marriage and travel!

     Looks like the labor strike in Nuequen is now settled so we are trying to decide what to do next…