Rainy days in BA


We have had lots and lots of rain since we last blogged. The weather feels almost as unpredictable as the English weather! On Friday, our last day at school, it was incredibly hot and sunny and we had a power cut all afternoon so had no air con in our little classroom. That evening we had a really big thunderstorm, which continued virtually non-stop until Monday afternoon. The thunder was incredibly loud and incredibly long, the lightening very spectacular and the rain torrential! And it just seemed to go on and on and on. Every now and then there’d be a bit of a let up and then it just started all over again! There was a temptation to just stay in and read but in the end we decided to brave it into the elements.

On Sunday we headed for Puerto Madero, the old docks which have now become a very trendy area, with old warehouses converted into apartments, offices, restaurants, bars etc (the usual stuff!) but also (and the reason we wanted to go) there is a newly built gallery which houses a millionaire businesswoman’s private art collection, including works old and new by many famous artists, national and international. This is a woman who has so much money that she commissioned Andy Warhol to produce a portrait of her in Marilyn Monroe style. Unfortunately photography was not allowed so we’ve taken a photo of the picture on the leaflet, which has not come out in the best of quality, but it gives you an idea!

We hoped that it may stop raining whilst we whiled away the hours in the gallery but it was still bucketing down and we got very wet! We saw the rusty remains of a wreck in one of the docks and the fairly new El Puente de la Mujer (Women’s Bridge), which is supposed to be tango-inspired. It is quite elegant and simple and looked good even on a rainly day! We also spotted a skyscraper with a mansard roof. A nice little post-modern twist on a high-rise block!

We dived into a café at one stage and splashed out on their fabulous looking cakes. They cost us a fortune (in Argentinian terms) and actually didn’t taste half as good as the ones that we can buy for 1 Peso ( about 15 pence) at our local pasteleria (pastry shop). Incidentally, we’ve also regularly indulged in empanadas, which are savoury pasties with various different fillings. Our favourites are humitos, which have a sweet corn filling combined with nutmeg, onion or cheese, depending on where you buy them, but they are always delicious!

What we haven't tried is 'asado' - the Argentinian version of a BBQ, which involves huge lumps of dead animal and a lot of fire! This can take place in half an oil drum on a homemade stand on the road, or may be on a more refined spit in a 'parilla' restaurant, as in our photo. Nobody seems to do veggie skewers or quorn sausages!