Bus, San Telmo, Subte, Palermo, long walk...

Yesterday was a busy day.

But first, to ease a couple curious folks out there. No, Julieta #1 or #2 are ¨interested¨... hahahaa! Nor am I. They are my buds. Plus, they are both in serious relationships. Done. Hahahaaaa! (or) Jajajajajaa! P.S. Here´s what Julieta #2 calls me:


So, my roomie, Ivan, told me about the orange/grocery store situation. I guess, in grocery stores, you have to look around for a person that´s hangin´out in the produce section to weigh your stuff. He/she weighs it and then gives you a little piece of paper to hand to the cashier. Cashier enters the info. For me, no idea. Ooops. I´ll let you know if I´m successful at buying a single orange next time.

One story of success... I managed to join that little gym, all by myself. I asked how much the gym costs per month, in Spanish (thanks Ivan!). 50 pesos! That´s like $16-17 dollars. Sweet. Filling out the application/info sheet was tough though. Have you ever had to fill a form out that asks about your health history? Yours and your family. All those very hard words, even in English. Woah. Luckily for me, the gym clerk fella was nice and we just skimmed through it. In the end, success!!!

Last evening, I was ready to also brave the bus system, all by myself. I decided to go check out a neighborhood, San Telmo. Then to Palermo. I hopped the bus, got off and took a bunch of pictures. A lot this really reminds me of New Orleans. It´s quite neat. Take a look:



And I kept walking. I eventually ended up in a park that looked very familiar... ah yes, this is Recolleta, where Ivan´s mother lives, where he took me sight-seeing on NYE last week. Cool.

Hungry. Sat down and had food. I was noticing my coffee mug (not mug... cup, they´re little): ¨American Grille¨??? Dang, I had chosen some place called American Grille! And I´m not speaking Spanish because like, I´m from the US. I wondered why the menu was in English. Silly me. But I had my first ¨empanada¨, it´s like a pastry with various stuff inside; mine had ¨poe-sho¨ (chicken, and that´s how they say it in Buenos Aires.). Pepsi, si? (I mean, not for me, but wow, they´re sponsors, wouldn´t ya say?)

After this, I ventured to use the subway system for the first time. And you know what? Totally had it down. Easy as pie. Loved it! Only costs 30 cents (US). Headed to Palermo, where I was the night before.

And I love Palermo! What a cool area! Filled with restaurants, bars, neat houses, and lots of people. I hear lots of languages in these parts. And for the first time, I heard English and almost yelled, ¨hey, hey!!!, will you talk to me? About anything really. Just talk!¨ But didn´t. I walked around for a while, mostly around this little block: Plazoleta Cortazar. Dig a few photos:

A little note about the next photo... During the shooting of this long-exposed shot, these two girls/women eating behind me, like 15 feet, were taking pictures of me taking pictures. I do believe they were trying to be undercover, but when I was all finished, I stood up and caught them taking one more shot. I mean, they were using a big camera with a big flash. They signalled me over and said something in Spanish. ummmm.... ¨No entiendo.¨ (¨I don´t understand¨... my favorite phrase to this day!!!). So they both gave me a kiss, and off I went. Hahahaa! Funny and fun times.Everyone now: In and out, slower.... Innnnnnnn and ooooooooouuut....

Good idea:
Two self-portraits inspired by my travelin´ friend, Jose Lopez!

And after hours of walking around, I decided to sit and reflect the day/evening. Ended up at ¨Serrano 1549¨, that´s the address. Listening to some street musicians playing jazz: two guitars, tenor sax, and percussion. It really wasn´t worth writing home about, but I guess I already have, haven´t I?

Journey entry:

Here after, I thought I had the bus system down. I mean, I knew what bus I needed to get home, #15. But realized that I had no idea where it actually picked up. I had no more cash on me, just enough for the bus. So I spent another hour looking for my bus. Nope. Okay, guess I´ll just walk home. I don´t really have a choice. But it´s far. Well, in the direction of home, I went. About another 45 minutes later, I see the little bus posting for my bus, 15! And two seconds, later it was there! I hopped on. Now, was it going in the direction I needed it to. Wait, wait, wait... YES! I was in luck. Or maybe I was just awesome? Nope. Lucky.

Good night. 3am.

And now, today. I leave you with that. It´s off to the gym I go. Yoga later today with Ivan. Peace.