travelswithalice

January 27, 2017

The Food Report II

I guess we've just about given up chasing down authentic local cuisine. Our recent successes don't qualify as local finds.

At La Pecora Nera, in Recoleta, I had a Capri salad, an osso buco risotto, a chocolate ice cream with candied orange peel, and a glass of Malbec. The three- course set lunch at $260 including wine is good value for leafy Recoleta, a welcome change I must admit, from gritty San Telmo.

At Sottovoce, in Puerto Madero, the only Argentine item on the menu was the wine, which came free with the $389 three-course menu.

There was a cool breeze blowing from the river and a cloudless blue sky. Plus a welcome glass of champagne. All on the house! It was a perfect Italian lunch in beautiful Argentina.

We stumbled onto a cafeteria style place in Recoleta that served delicious, ridiculously cheap food yesterday when everywhere else had closed for lunch. Checking out the name of the place for future reference, we discovered as we walked out that it was called Restaurant Beijing. Most un-Argentine!

At La Biela, the landmark salon de te on the square in front of the church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar, the staff cheer and applaud whenever one of the senior waiters drops something. Go there for the Sunday afternoon vibe in the shade of the mythical 18th century gum tree. You can skip the lunch.

A note about wine...

For the hard-core one-glass-with-meals kind of wine-lover that I am, South America is happy wine heaven.

Choosing wine has never been easier. In Chile, I go for Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. In Argentina, Malbec. Simple!

Labels: Buenos Aires, food, restaurants, wine

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 27, 2017

January 25, 2017

The Food Report

If Argentine tango be food for the soul, what food for the travel-weary body then? We're looking to taste something new, truly delectable, and local.

Aye, but there's the rub! For those of us who don't worship at the altar of Steak & Potatoes, there's not much joy to be had.

In San Telmo we have yet to find something about local cuisine to get excited about. Still exploring the world beyond empanadas and milanesas, our mission has been hijacked by the local Freddo ice cream outlet where a scoop of mascarpone over dulce de leche granizado is addictive.

Our restaurant list is very much still a work in progress.

Cafe Anselmo. The hotel has a small curbside setup, only three tables, which is perfect for watching plaza goings on with a glass of wine. However, it's not the ideal place for a quick meal. Yesterday, it took an hour for our set lunch to arrive at our table. We didn't mind though. The filet mignon was perfect, the afternoon glorious: blue skies, a soft breeze, and dreamy tango in the park.

Cafe San Juan, a godsend, less than a ten-minute walk from our hotel. Superb food, efficient friendly service. They have a blackboard menu (they have two actually- one for desserts) which is usually a good sign. The place is tiny, and popular, so reservations are necessary especially at dinner.

Desnivel. Wildly popular, always packed, extremely noisy, a permanent long queue waiting for tables or for takeouts. Good meat dishes, low low prices.

Labels: Buenos Aires, cuisine, restaurants

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 25, 2017

January 22, 2017

Iguazú Falls

We walked into the hotel lobby and there it was, like artwork behind the check in counter.

It looks like a painting! I said.

The front office lady smiled.

Is it real? I asked, smiling too.

Nodding slowly and emphatically, she replied: Yes, it is real.

Iguazú Falls really does look like a painting. Or a movie shoot. Like a scene from Avatar or Maleficent, complete with soaring eagles and sparkling rainbows.

Brazil's Iguazú River joins the Paraná at a point where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet. It then barrels out into the Iguazú Falls where part of the Argentina-Brazil border runs through its reversed J formation. Eighty percent of this, the largest waterfall system in the world, is on the Argentine side, counting anywhere from 275 to 300 separate falls at various times of the year.

South America is most emphatically a continent of superlatives. In the three weeks we've been here, we've driven through the Andes, the world's longest continental mountain range, and had a peek at Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Southern and Western Hemispheres. We've seen some of the finest street art ever, come up close and personal with the most beautiful rainforest flora, and also met the strangest looking fauna.

And think of it: we were actually at the spot where Indiana Jones had hurtled down the deadliest, most cinematically spectacular waterfalls ever!

Labels: Argentina, Iguazú

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 22, 2017

January 15, 2017

A modern hotel in old San Telmo

Anselmo Buenos Aires sits unobtrusively at the edge of Plaza Dorrego. Its location in the heart of the historic town of San Telmo couldn't be more desirable for a first time visitor like myself. It's drenched in atmosphere and local color and crammed with shops, cafes, bars, and restaurants.

That's our room above the ground floor. The balcony looks out onto the plaza.

It's a spiffily designed space- lots of curios, artwork, and the inevitable portrait of an icon:

Early afternoon on Plaza Dorrego, the view from our balcony:

That evening:

Although there is almost nonstop partying in the park- Argentina after all is touted as a place that never sleeps- things tend not to get rowdy. The music drifting in from the plaza, sometimes live, sometimes recorded, is always lovely. For me anyway. I realize tango music and jazz are not everyone's cup of cortado but happily, they're mine.

Sunday's weather has turned bad, raining on Plaza Dorrego's fabulous antiques market and causing the evening's Milonga to be canceled after a few false starts.

There's no music in the park tonight. And everyone has gone home.

Labels: Anselmo Hotel, Buenos Aires, Plaza Dorrego

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 15, 2017

January 14, 2017

Buenos Aires Graffiti

I get the impression there's more street cred in the graffiti of Buenos Aires than in those of Valparaíso which I felt tend more towards the artistic or decorative. Generally.

I'm out on a limb here as this tentative conclusion is based on a single afternoon's exploration of the grittier precincts of Palermo and Colegiales.

The city is plastered with graffiti. It would take the better part of a year to sort through the various genres of this in-your-face art form.

And to attempt to ascribe any philosophical, political, or artistic merit. Or to dismiss the lot as mere vandalism.

My favorite of course is this:

Alice hurtling down the rabbit hole. It most probably has no political or philosophical significance but it's masterfully drawn and deliciously colored. Plus it illustrates the feeling I sometimes get when traveling to strange and wondrous places.

Labels: Buenos Aires, graffiti

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 14, 2017

January 13, 2017

Tango in the park

Plaza Dorrego for a late lunch. And some tango.

Labels: Argentina, Plaza Dorrego, tango

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 13, 2017

January 12, 2017

Full moon over Rio de la Plata

Wednesday, 7:40 evening.

Buenos Aires welcomes us with a wondrous moon over the Rio de la Plata.

There's something special about this place. I can't wait to get into the life of this city. Beautiful buildings...grand boulevards...tree lined cobbled streets...lots of parks, trees everywhere.

And in front of our hotel on Plaza Dorrego in the heart of San Telmo, there's a party in progress.

I'm going to like it here. 😊

Labels: Anselmo Hotel, Buenos Aires, full moon

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 12, 2017

January 11, 2017

Mendoza, Argentina

Exciting drive through the Andes in search of a sighting of Aconcagua, the highest peak of the world's longest mountain range. No such luck though, the notoriously shy summit remained shrouded in cloud.

The next day, a short drive took us to wine country. At forbiddingly named Casa El Enemigo, an exquisite wine appreciation lunch in a lovely setting.

Back in town, a sour note on our last day. Restaurant La Lucia on Sarmiento Street was an unfortunate lunch recommendation of the Park Hyatt concierge. My tenderloin steak was mostly gristle; the steak knife was no match for it. Neither was the hake they replaced it with any good. The lemon ice cream was the best thing about the Executive Lunch, but even it could not take away the stale fish taste in my mouth.

Labels: Aconcagua, Argentina, Restaurant La Lucia

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 11, 2017

January 08, 2017

Valparaíso- 2 restos and a shop

Sabor Color
The dining room walls are painted a sickly green. My lamb is paired with dark chocolate- an intriguing concept but the execution doesn't quite make the grade. And a really nice dessert is unattractively presented- it looks wan and underdressed. The best part of the meal is the mini bread rolls served with garlic mayonnaise.

Is it any wonder we are the only diners here?

Cafe Algeria
A charming little cafe teetering on the edge of a precipice. Seems to be run by a couple of college kids with a laptop and some rickety furniture. It has seriously good food.

Must have ceviche of course and the cheesecake with berries.

Next door is a tiny craft shop where I bought a copper and lapis lazuli necklace and a silver brooch. They had lovely sweaters, jackets, shags, and stoles of beautifully distressed pelt, in colors ranging from folkloric brights to impressionist washes.

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 08, 2017

January 07, 2017

On the Streets of Valparaíso

Colorful they may be and fascinating to look at but climbing up and down these steep streets is something else altogether.

We much prefer taking the 140 year-old ascensors. Lucky for us, the city chose to close down our one, Ascensor Del Peral, for much needed rehabilitation only on our last day there.

The signs showing official tsunami escape routes make me nervous but Stuart quips that judging by the presence of hills all around, escaping tsunamis here wouldn't be too difficult. We hope not to test that theory anytime soon.

A vast army of dogs has taken up permanent residence all across the city: in the streets, pavements, parks, plazas. They are everywhere. So why isn't the city piled high with their mess, I wonder? There must be very dedicated street cleaners here on the job 24/7. Or dogs that clean up after themselves.

Most of the women here have sad faces. I don't think they're sad, they just have that look. Like sad madonnas.

Maybe it's the collective sad experiences that are etched on their faces: devastating earthquakes, tsunamis, the bloody coup that launched the repressive Pinochet regime, and the economic hardships that followed.

That's probably why they brighten up their lives with aggressive paintwork all around. On walls, doors, benches, stone steps.

These may have served also to galvanize their strong community spirit. They feed the stray dogs; they set out water bowls for them; I'm told they even clothe them in the winter.

They readily chip in as hats are passed around by street performers. And there are performers everywhere:

An itinerant singer at dinner...

...a drum band in a plaza...

...a belly dancer at a curbside cafe.

On the train to Viña del Mar, the old lady on the seat facing me drops a few coins into the hat of the ukelele playing singer who had just finished his gig. Smiling impishly, she now dances in her seat to the beatbox music of the next busker.

Labels: Valparaiso

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 07, 2017

January 06, 2017

The writing life: Neruda's houses

La Sebastiana was Pablo Neruda's house in Valparaíso. The entire structure suggests how the writer/poet/diplomat/politician/dissident/national treasure reportedly lived.

There's s metal chaise longue in the garden that suggests the lifestyle.

For Neruda, writing was his job. He worked on it according to a set routine.

In the morning, after breakfast, he read and did his correspondence. At lunchtime, friends came to join him for a meal. He hated to eat alone. After lunch, he went to his study and wrote for two hours. Afterwards, he went to his bedroom and slept for several hours. In the evening, friends came to join him for cocktails, which he loved to mix himself, and then dinner.

He enjoyed looking out to the ocean, from many vantage points in the multilevel house, but most especially sitting on "The Cloud," his nickname for his favorite leather chair.

Neruda: "The Pacific Ocean overflowed the map. There was no place to put it. It was so big, unruly and blue that it fitted nowhere. That's why they left it in front of my window."

It's a lifestyle I wouldn't find hard to get accustomed to myself.

La Chascona in Santiago, the second of three of the poet's houses, was built for his then secret lover and future third wife, Matilde. Its recurring design motif is a woman's head with wild flowing hair. Chascona means disheveled or ruffled. Matilde's wild mane of long curly red hair was said to have prompted Neruda to sometimes call her Medusa.

Like it's name suggests, this home is quirky, disorganized, and unmanageable. It's suggestive of carefree abandon and utter disregard for rules governing both interior design and social behavior. It was a love nest, a hideaway; private and personal.

Labels: Chascona, Neruda, Sebastiana

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # January 06, 2017