Pure exhaustion

I'm getting a bit behind the times here, so I'm going to start condensing and collapsing. Condensing the posts, and collapsing from sheer exhaustion.

Day 3:

Things are beginning to blur together a bit. Day 3 was a Friday, and we walked up to a cafe called Clasica y Moderna for brunch. Actually lunch. Even after 5 days in town we still haven't managed to get up before 11 am. But this doesn't seem to be a problem. Classica y Moderna is a cute cafe with a bookstore in the back. Really nice "old-school" feeling to it. From there, we wandered our way back toward our apartment, taking in some of the shops in Barrio Norte and Recoleta along the way.

We decided to go out to the cabaret show at the theme-park like Faena "Hotel and Universe" in Puerto Madero, co-designed and art directed by famous architect & designer Phillipe Starck. The experience was exquisite, which is a good thing because it was also extremely expensive. Even by San Francisco standards. Let's just say that we dropped more money on this night than we did on my birthday a few years ago at Masa's. Those in the know will know what I mean.

The show itself was top notch - great tango dancing, and excellent musicians. One of the singers reminded both of us of our friend Adam in Seattle. The food was very good, although the lomo I had on our first night was definitely better. But that's to be expected at these tango shows. However, given that the meal reservation gave us access to a table right in front of the stage, I would say that it was well worth it.

Beyond the show, I can't even describe how amazing the rest of the space was. The theater was draped all around in red velvet and made me think of a David Lynch film. To get into the theater patrons walk down a very long hallway with several bars, a restaurant, and a gift shop along the way. The entire hallway has a long black velvet bench cutting up the middle. Looking into the restaurant next to the theater, I could see porcelain unicorn heads lining the walls, with white linens on the table. I can't do it justice, and didn't have my phone to take photos, so you'll just have to take my word for it. The effect was stunning and fantastical. The pool bar was also amazing in a completely different way. Nice and loungy.

Anyway, it's clear that the Faena-Stark team have built something exquisite and unique for the 1% to enjoy while not seeing anything else in Buenos Aires. Why bother checking out the bustling city when you could stay relaxed in your little bubble of a "Universe?"

Day 4:

After seeing Puerto Madero by night, we decided to walk there by day. The focus/highlight of the trek would be the Puente de la Mujer, designed by Santiago Calatrava. It was a long walk, made even longer by the little detour we made up through Plaza San Martin. It's a bit of a blur now, but I'm sure walked up into Microcentro in search of a specific cafe C read about in one of the guide books. I think we were also lured in by the prospect of seeing the inside of Casa Rosada, the presidential palace akin to our White House, only much cooler because it's Pink. :)

We walked through the gallery of the house, but decided not to get tickets and wait in line to gain further access. Instead, we walked back down to the river and crossed over to Puerto Madero. Along the way, we saw a lot of runners in Nike shirts that said "We Run Buenos Aires." Wondering if there had been a race earlier that day, we took a break at a waterfront tourist trap where we could enjoy views of the rivier and the famous pedestrian bridge. As we enjoyed our bebidas, we saw more and more of the runners making their way along the river. As we were paying our bill, we heard the cry of announcers over a loudspeaker somewhere across the river, and then we saw masses of runners moving along a parallel street. We made our way across the bridge, taking lots of photos, and toward the sound of the loudspeakers. As we got to the place where the race had started, we saw the runners near the front of the pack that were coming in to the finish. C said it was a 10K, and it appears the first runners completed it in under 40 mins. At least, I thought I could make out a clock at the finish line with a leading 4 in it. [Edited to add: I looked on the website and it appears the first runner clocked in at 28 minutes!]

Later that evening, when we got home and decided to veg in front of the TV, I got out my trusty google maps and calculated our wanderings. According to my calculations, we walked at least 10K in well over 4 hours. Maybe not as impressive as the run, but I felt some kinship with those runners. And as I made my way up the stairs to our loft bedroom, I definitely felt like I had run a race.


Las Observaciones de los Dias:
- Portenos are really into their 80's Americana. We've been to an "American Diner" in Palermo SoHo with impeccable 50's era furnishings, serving somewhat American-style milkshakes and food, and projecting 80's music videos on the wall. Almost every cab ride has featured some hits from the 80's on the radio, and we wandered into an entire mall devoted to American skate punk style, with lots of shirts and gear featuring bands like the Ramones. We've even heard a nuevo-tango version of Blue Monday by New Order.
- I do not look at all like a Porteno. This was made abundantly clear by the 3-4 year old girl from another apartment in our building who stared wide-eyed at me as we were passing in the hall. Her dad had to chide her not to stare.