March 14, 2006
We woke up late today to attempt to train for the 5 hour change in time. After packing and storing our bags, Terri checked her email while I hit the grocery store. I found the GREAT wine we had with dinner last night, for the whopping total of about $9 a bottle. Again, the US$ to Argentina Peso is roughly 3-1. So the dollar takes you far, and prices here are consistent with what you'd pay in dollars. Except, gloriously, we pay in pesos! With a limit of 6 bottles allowed on the plane, we opened up the Lonely Planet guidebook and headed to Palermo Viejo for another walking tour. First off--WHAT HAPPENED to the sun! It was overcast and rainy today, despite the perfectly warm sun yesterday. Oh well--I guess this is just a way of transitioning to Lord-knows-what in Seattle. Palermo is a neighborhood quite similar to where I live in Seattle. It is downtown living, with highrise apartments and condos. Restaurants and small grocery stores dot the corners, and there are plenty of parks and entertainment options available as well. After failing miserably to communicate with a cab driver, we gave up and took the subway. Why we didn't try sooner, who knows? Following 3 different maps, we finally found our much-needed destination---->Rio Alba, the area's famous steakhouse. The parilla did not disappoint either. Appetizers of chorizo sausage, more provoletta cheese, and a MASSIVE basket of bread started us off right. Terri dug into a giant filet, and myself, a ribeye. This was some of the best meat we've had in all of Argentina. I'm starting to realize one of the main differences in the way steak is cooked here. I like steak in the US too, but many times it's the seasoning or marination that makes it taste good. In Argentina, they are all about the flavor of the meat. If anything, it comes underseasoned. But the meat is always so fresh, lean, and flavorful, it doesn't need all that salt. That's probably the major difference between a great steak place in your nearby city and any parilla available on any street in Buenos Aires. Terri and I have joked that some day in the future, we'll just jump on a dropped-rate fare to B.A. for a weekend, have 2 or 3 huge steaks, and come right back. They really are THAT good.The rest of the day was spent trying to walk-off our giant caloric intake. Although the Latin Art Museum (MALBA) was closed, we did check out a Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, and dove into some Italian-style ice-cream. It was a nice lazy day, and a great way to finish off the trip. Terri and I both decided there was no way to top today's steak, so we just had dinner on our respective planes.We left for the airport at 7:15. Upon arrival, we thanked our lucky stars we left 3 hours before flight-time. The lines were the worst I've ever seen. Arriving at the airport at 8, I BARELY made my flight at 10:30 (American). Terri made it just in time as well for her earlier flight (United). Just 5 zones to cross back and the trip is over!
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