Ciao Buenos Aires

It's been an amazing two and a half months, but the time has come. Our bags are packed, our flight is tonight, and tomorrow we land back in Ann Arbor.

But I still have so much that I have not posted. Guess I know what I'll be doing next week:)

Here's some shots I want to share before we go.

The gorgeous city flower which opens and closes each day at sunrise and sunset.

Our order of a light snack the other day.

Our last dip in the pool yesterday

Our last night out at the plaza with our partners in crime down here, Andrew and Sandra.

One of us

Ann Arbor here we come.

I Love this!

We don't usually forward on links, but this was just too much

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cds7lSHawAw&feature=player_embedded

I hope it works, tears from laughing so hard!

Some Things

Here are a few shots from the last two weeks.


Circus Practice in the park? Why not?

Little Deer/Bunny/Hamster Creatures that are allowed to wander the zoo on their own
(or with a friend in this case)

Yummy fresh fruit available all on almost every city block.

Sandra proudly showing off the finished product at cooking class, handmade wheat ravioli stuffed with roasted squash. Sandra is here from Ann Arbor too with her husband Andrew. We've been spending a lot of time with the two of them.

New Ways to Use Old Things

Here are some old things that have new purposes in BA.

Constanera Suris an area of the city that is now an ecological reserve, but it once was landfill. It reseeded itself and is now a lovely escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, especially on a bike.

The Abasto mall is housed in a 1930's art deco market building. And yes there is a Ferris Wheel inside, because how could they go without.


This bookstore is housed in an old theater. You can curl up in one of their balconies with a book. If you look close enough you might just spot me in this picture.

Can I Keep Him?

Please?

I'll be good, I promise.

I gave him a name and everything. It's Gris. That's Spanish for Gray, creative right?

The stray cats here are killing me I want, scratch that, need them to be mine.

OK last cat post, for this week anyways

Thirty Three

Yesterday I drank too much coffee and forgot to eat something with it.

Result- Crazy Anxious Lindy.

So how did we solve this problem?

We went straight to the Botanical Gardens and counted kitties.

Guess how many we found?

Thirty Three


Twenty minutes later, anxiety was gone. Thirty Three kitties will do that.

Comida!

You could say that we are eating quite well down here.

Cheese from the grill, can you say amazing?

Homemade Pasta

Patagonian Lamb and Oven Roasted Potatoes

Steak & Fries with Fresh Chimichurri Sauce

And somehow we always need a little something sweet.

How about a cookie filled with homemade Dulce de Leche? Not at all joking, this cookie was the size of a hamburger. I say was, because this cookie is gone now. It found a nice home in two tummies.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream also hits the spot

And because we have to drink something with our meal WINE, wonderful WINE

I promise we sometimes eat vegetables too, sometimes:)

Care for a Walk?

A few photos from Sunday

Dog Walker

Kris' School

Our Studious Student

Along the way.

Colonia

Last week our friend Aimee came to visit and we had a great time showing her around Buenos Aires. One day when Kris was in class Aimee and I hopped onto a ferry and headed over to a small town in Uruguay called Colonia del Sacramento.

Colonia dates back to the 17th century and was originally a Portuguese settlement. It's a beautiful old city and is declared a World Heritage Site by UnESCO. Here's a few shots of our trip. It ended up being an extremely hot day!

The original entrance to the city from the port.

After the short walk into town we were so hot that we immediately sought refuge and refreshment. Luckily we found this cute little cafe and sipped on some lovely pomelo lemonade... so perfect for such a hot day. Did I mention it was hot?

After our lemonade we climbed the lighthouse where we could see Buenos Aires in the distance. We got a good look at the lay of the land and took off on foot to explore the town.

Is this not the sweetest view?

In case we got lost I held onto the map

Table for two?

How cute is this little guy? They sell hot water in case you need some when it's 95 degrees out with incredible humidity... just in case.

The town was strewn with old broken down cars. This one was filled with plants.

This one was parked outside of the aquarium and had some nice fishy friends driving.

This one had a nice table for two.

No caption necessary...

This is what Buenos Aires looks like at sunset from our rooftop deck...

Glacier Trek

Finally, a post from the end of the world, or nearly the end I guess. Internet connection has been spotty, so these pictures are about 2 weeks old now. Better late than never, right?

Kris and I returned to El Calafate, a small town in Southern Patagonia, with our friends Ellen and Dane in tow. It was so spectacular that we had to return. This time though we added an extra adventure; a trek on the Perito Mereno glacier. This glacier is the one that we sent out a picture of us in front of for a Christmas Card a few years ago.

To get there we took a boat over to the shore. The small dock where we were to get off was blocked by floating pieces that had broken off of the glacier. The experienced captain and crew performed some amazing moves to get the ice out of their way. Some of the crew even had pool stick like tools that they used to push the ice away from the boat!

Once we landed on the shore we had a spectacular view. Ellen and I attempted to take an action shot jumping off of some rocks, but as you can see it didn't quite work out.

Kris' picture is much better.

We hiked out a bit, strapped some crampons onto our feet and were led out to the glacier. We even got to check out an amazing cavern in the rock that was the brightest aqua blue deep inside.

Since the glaciers were so pure we were able to drink directly from the streams. Dane gave a nice demonstration.

It was an incredible experience to be out there and just see white all around!

As our trek came to the end they led us to one last little valley. There were two small tables set up and glasses and what else but whiskey! They took ice directly from the glacier, put it in a glass and then poured some "Famous Grouse" brand whiskey on top. It was nice little treat after the trek!