Fun With Uncle Ted & Aunt Kyra

We are now in our post-visitor lull after Jon's brother Ted and his girlfriend Kyra spent a wintery, rainy week with us.  As a side note, they were the last planned visitors we had before Baby Brother arrives, so it's not a total lull, just withdrawal from having so much activity packed into the last few months.

We had such a wonderful time with them!  As usual, Gretchen was the big winner as both Ted and Kyra spent lots of time playing pretend, indulging her obsession with Dora the Explorer and (by far the favorite...) taking her to Arkakao to get ice cream.  The entire 4 block walk there, Gretchen chanted "I looooove ice cream, do you love ice cream?  I just looooove ice cream!"

Instead of traveling outside of Buenos Aires, we decided to bring our visitors to some of our favorite (kid friendly) places around the city.  Lucky for me, Aunt Kyra is a photos-on-social-media-guru so I actually make some appearances in these pictures!

Giving the camera our best "cheeeeeese" faces

On Saturday, we reserved a "Dia del Campo" at estancia La Candelaria, a place we've been before for a weekend, but we opted to just stay for the day on this trip.  This is a nice option if you are looking to leave the city for a day, about 1.5 hours away from Capital, and for a set price per person (under 3 are free, 3-10 year olds are half price, full adults are AR$350 as of our visit) you have the use of the grounds for the day (10:30am - 6:00pm), a full asado lunch, a 1 hour dance show, gaucho horse games and afternoon tea.  The asado was a bit long for a 2 year old, but the show at the end was perfect to keep her attention.  The food was really good, though limited to your traditional Argentine lunch: meat, salad and bread.  Just like on the campo.  This is a great activity all year long, though rain will certainly inhibit the amount of activities available.

Strolling through the zoo

We also visited Temaiken Bioparque, and though a zoo is usually not the first activity we think of for two adults traveling without children, this one is nice enough that everyone can enjoy.  We went on the early side, which meant we were leaving the zoo right as Buenos Aires was getting going in their day.  Avoiding the crowds is crucial for this place, there is a lot of space to share, but when it's crowded, it can be pretty miserable.  

The vast majority of the zoo is fantastic, the only exception, which we learned on this visit, is the 360 degree theater and the movie that goes along with it.  We went to the 1:30 English showing of the movie and left 5 minutes into the show.  The sound is extremely loud, the video is at least 10 years old and the strange, electronic animals surrounding the theater are comparable to a Chuck E. Cheese performance.  Gretchen was not digging the loud video and dark theater, and for the rest of the week referred to it as the "bad, bad movie".  The hilarity of hearing her talk about the bad movie was worth us spending 5 minutes in the theater - but if you're visiting, be sure to skip this attraction.  

The playground at the back of the park was a new discovery for us this trip, Gretchen loved it!  It was difficult to get her back into animal-viewing mode after all of the fun she was having on the giraffe slides, tunnels through the rock, and these spider web climbing courses.  

This is easily our 5th time to Temaiken and this is the first time we realized that this playground existed. If you want a tired chico - this is a great place to wear them out!

The white tiger was another cool attraction, he was pacing in the water while we watched, then jumped in all the way and swam for a bit.  It was really neat to watch such a beautiful, enormous cat swim - not something you see every day.

We, of course, did lots of eating great food with our San Francisco-foodie visitors, showing them what we know of great food around the city.  We visited Puratierra, a favorite in Belgrano that continues to deliver high quality, unique food each and every time we're there.  There was a new restaurant on this visit, which also was fantastic, though I will discuss that one at length another time.

Thank you so much to Ted and Kyra for coming across the globe to spend time with us.  It's not often that people pay to visit you and then do things like set up your new dryer, help unpack a baby shipment filled with heavy items and cook multiple dinners.  It was pure joy to have you here, and Gretchen (along with Jon and I) miss our playmates!

Gretchen on the Farm

Our recent trip to the US marked our longest stretch between trips back since we moved to Buenos Aires in 2009.  This also was our first trip where we felt the need to entertain Gretchen - beyond just  tagging along with our visits and activities.  Luckily, we have parents that live in toddler-theme-park houses and there are plenty of child-friendly options close to each of the grandparents' houses.

What we quickly found out is that our little city-girl is quite comfortable on the farm. Grammy has a horse named Casey, who lives 5 minutes from Grammy and Papa Mas's house.  The man who runs the barn, Jose, is known for taking in stray animals and making them feel at home on the farm.  This mean's that Casey's barn has a million things to do for a little girl, there are bunnies to feed, roosters to pet, eggs to gather from the hens, and of course, the horses.  While Mommy and Daddy were sneezing their brains out, Gretchen was busy feeding treats to Casey and his friend Moe.

We also saved up lots of leftovers to bring and feed to the chickens in the pen.  Gretchen had a great time throwing the food, especially the rice, and she loved bossing the chickens around.  "Don't go out the door, chicken!" or "Stay in there, chicken!".

Not to leave all of the farming fun in one place, we also visited the farm of a friend of Gran & Poppa's while we were in Lexington.  These friends are pretty remarkable, they raise baby goats, milk the mamas and use that milk to make their own goat cheese.  They grow fruits, vegetables and herbs year round with their homemade greenhouse.  They grow their own wheat, harvest it, then use it to make flour that they bake into pizza in their homemade pizza oven.   So, it was a privilege to be shown around their place - and to be given carte blanche with Gretchen.

She fed the goats.
She sat on a donkey.
She pet a 500 pound pig.

It was a little girl's dream.

She followed these ducks around hoping to pet them.  They were not so keen.

The highlight of the visit was definitely the strawberry picking.  Gretchen loved locating the ruby red ripe ones, picking them and then handing them out to everyone else to eat.  She wasn't shy about trying some for herself, too.

It was a wonderful, sunny day on the farm, and we hope to return during future visits to Lexington - it was an amazing place to visit along with really nice new people to meet.

If that isn't enough, Gran and Poppa's house has a tractor!  Gretchen went on a few rides with Poppa and though it may have given her a little shock at first, this was a clearly memorable experience for her because she still talks about it whenever someone mentions a tractor.  

She looks quite comfortable in the driver's seat, no?  She also enjoyed picking asparagus from Gran & Poppa's garden, walking the dogs and getting the mail.  This little one makes herself right at home pretty much anywhere, be it the downtown streets of Buenos Aires or the country roads of Lexington.

It is pretty great for us as parents to watch Gretchen have these experiences during her limited time with family.  The even better part is that she has a memory like a steel trap and says things like "There's a horse like Casey!" or "I ride the tractor with Poppa!", which warms our hearts.  These pictures and the stories that accompany them have burned their way into her memory because she had a wonderful time surrounded by people who love her.  Trip home = Success!

Barrio Chino

It's true that there are lots of items from home that you cannot find in Argentina - our unbelievably full luggage on the way back from the US can attest to that - but there is one place that seems to have more variety than anywhere else in Capital: China Town.

If you're looking for something, and you have exhausted all other options, venture on over to Barrio Chino - you may just find what you're looking for.

Barrio Chino is located in Belgrano, a little area that is (at the most) 4 blocks of stores, restaurants and kiosks.  Most of the grocery stores smell pretty foul.  Most of the kiosks have cheap toys and little knick-knacks that you don't really need.  All in all, pretty much what I think of when I imagine a China Town in the US.

I will say that the prices are far better than anything I've come across in my neighborhood, and the fish quality is regarded as the best in the city.  So, when I need to stock up on seafood, Barrio Chino is worth the trip.  My favorite shop is Casa China, Arribeños 2173, which is one of the few places that is open 7 days a week (most shops are closed on Monday).  They have remodeled within the last year or so, so the place is a bit more spacious and organized than before.  I prefer it because it is one of the cleaner markets that I have seen in China Town, especially the seafood department.  Don't get me wrong, it still smells weird and there are always flies in the summer months, but the preparations areas are clean and the staff is more or less friendly.

In the seafood department, if you're buying fish, you can purchase whole fish or have them filet the fish for you.  Salmon can be ordered with or without skin, the price goes up the "cleaner" you want the fish.

Here is the guy filleting my salmon order today:

 There are also lots of other seafood options to choose from as well, many of them are things I don't recognize.  If you are an adventurous chef who cooks mussels, whole squid, clams and snails, look no further than the seafood section...

Looking for feta cheese?  They've got it.  Soy milk (sweetened or unsweetened).  They've got it.  The only place I've been able to consistently find jalapeños - Casa China.

This has also been the sole source of our supply of soy sauce, coconut milk, rice noodles, rice vinegar, sesame seed oil, brown sugar (when I'm not making it myself), bags of uncooked frozen shrimp, lots of herbs and filo dough.  They also stock items you wouldn't expect in Asian food like salsa, peanut butter, cream cheese (used in most sushi here - so this is considered an Asian dish ingredient) and nuts, that are significantly cheaper to purchase in this area of town versus closer to home.

There are a few catches, most places are cash only, the is no delivery so you can only purchase what you can carry, and items are generally imported from Asia so you need to know what you're looking for - you may not recognize the label.  It's a great place to go for some key items, or just to peruse the aisles and see what goodies you can find.

La Granja Chocolatada

We have recently returned from a multi-week trip to the US, which I will write about soon, and we have been in mild withdrawal of the fun outdoor activities we had during our vacation.  With this in mind, we have been searching for a kid-friendly place to visit that has animals, outdoor space and is not too far from Capital.

Our first option, La Granja Loma Verde, regretfully told me that their lovely estancia is closed until further notice.

So we looked for another option, and with only one day to figure it out we stumbled upon La Granja Chocolatada.  Now, the emblem for the place is a frog drinking chocolate milk from a straw so we based our expectations accordingly, but this Granja fell a little short in my book.

La Granja Chocolatada is located in Pilar, about 45 minutes outside of Capital.  They open to the public  at 11:30am on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays and stay open until 5:00pm.  Entrance fee is AR$60 per person, kids under 3 are free if accompanied by an adult.  There was also a promotion on their website, 2 for 1 entrance fees, but we needed to print out some sort of coupon to capitalize on this deal - which I have yet to locate on their website.  The location is immediately off of the highway, so it's a little strange to get there, it seems as though you're pulling onto a highway onramp instead of into a parking lot.

The park lacks greenery, the ground is dirt and the animal pens are floored with brick.  Gretchen, and the other children there, didn't seem to mind.  When we arrived we were given a timeline of events during the day, where one of the employees would ring a bell, bring everyone together and talk about one of the animals.  This is a nice gesture, though it was really crowded where the talk was taking place, so we used that time to vist the other animals uninterrupted by the crowd.

Unafraid of the roaming goats

Gretchen was less interested in feeding the animals than just looking at them, though there were bags of feed available for purchase.  While we were watching other children feed the sheep, a pack of 5 or 6 goats got free and ran amuck around the children - not in a dangerous way, but scared the daylights out of a few kids.


There were lots of chickens and ducks running around the park as well, another source of joy for our little one.  She couldn't imagine why they wouldn't want her to pet them.

Many of the less fortunate ducks were confined to this cage area. It seemed a little extreme for ducks, the gate was 5 feet high, perhaps the gate is to keep the kids out of the water.

I found this sign particularly amusing, it is on the cage with peacocks inside.  Once again, the chocolate-milk-loving-frog and his buddy the peacock King Turkey.  The small print reads: Me Cuidan: You care of me, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me in either language.

The park also has these mini houses, which was Gretchen's favorite attraction of the day.  She loved having these little places her size, and loved the roaming chickens in the neighborhood.  After she tired of looking at the animals, these houses and the other playground-style equipment was where we spent the rest of our time.  

There were a few different places to purchase food, all of which were reasonably priced but basic fast-food style choices.  We brought some snacks, and only stayed a couple of hours so we didn't end up buying anything additional.  I think if you stay for the full program of presentations, there is a cup of chocolate milk given at some point - but we didn't make it that far.

La Granja Chocolatada was a fine way to spend the morning, but far from a must-do event.  I think we would need to be pretty dire to return, instead going to the Palermo Zoo or Temaiken instead.  Perhaps the Granja Lomo Verde will reopen sometime soon and we can give it a shot.  For now, Gretchen enjoyed her morning, and was exhausted and ready for a nap when we returned home.  Win-Win for all!

My Portero Hates Me

One of the first things I noticed when walking around Buenos Aires is that there are a lot of men lingering in doorways.  Like, every single doorway has someone just hanging out, watching people go by.  It was a bit unnerving.

Then we moved into our apartment and I realized that these folks don't just hang out in doorways for their health, they are paid positions that virtually every apartment building has.  It's called a portero, a doorman.  Perhaps you have lived in another big city where this is customary, but it's my first time, so outside of what I've watched on Seinfeld, I really didn't know what constitutes the responsibility of a doorman.  I'll just put it out there - I'm still not sure.

As far as I can ascertain, there are two types of doormen; the kind that go out of their way to help, open doors, help with groceries, give parking advice in difficult areas of the city, take care of minor fix-its within an apartment or care for animals while you're out of town, OR the kind that stand in a doorway checking their cell phone and chatting with the guy next door who is also standing in a doorway.  We were blessed with the latter.

His name is Rito.  This is not an actual photo of him, but you get the idea - the man spends his "working" hours: 8:00 - 12:00 and 5:00 - 10:00pm standing in our doorway watching time pass him by.  Sometimes he polishes the postcard-sized piece of brass that frames the door buzzers.  Sometimes he shoves our mail under the door.  But most of the time, he just stands.  He inexplicably changes into a suit and tie for the latter half of his shift.

I'm pretty sure he has disliked me from day one.  This was the day I tried to "buzz" someone in from our apartment and couldn't figure out how the button worked (I have since found out that it is disabled due to security concerns, but again, this was day one).  He knew I was foreign, he knew I was new, and as I stood on the street with my Spanish/English dictionary trying to figure out how to say "open door with phone", I'm pretty sure he was enjoying watching me struggle.  3.5 years later, he is the only person in this city that consistently cannot understand my Spanish.

He does have moments of enlightenment.  He understood me perfectly when he requested we bring him running shoes from the US, or when his daughter needed to borrow a large suitcase for a trip to Disney.  He turned ignorant again when I said that I wouldn't buy his son an iPhone.  You can see how this works.

This general dislike has turned to full blown hate within the last few months.  I can pinpoint the day.  After a series of issues: our coffin-like service elevator had broken down twice, with our beloved empleada Candy inside, the same service elevator would open without the elevator being at our floor (presenting just an empty shaft, and we're on the 4th floor) and I has asked Rito on multiple occasions to let me know if there was an issue with the elevator, write a note, knock on the door, send a smoke signal, whatever.  Just let me know.  So when he didn't, and the elevator broke again I expressed my frustration.  It was something along the lines of "It is disrespectful of you to not advise me of this problem.  I am very bothered." In Spanish.  And by some miracle, he understood.  And now he hates me.

Aside from the annoyance that a man paid specifically to open the door for residents watches while a very obviously pregnant woman, generally traveling with a 2 year old and a multitude of miscellaneous bags struggles with the keys to enter our building, this is not an issue for me.  Jon takes the far more practical view that a man with a motive, that is intimately involved with our apartment building, is a perfect storm for getting robbed.  I understand, but refuse to make nice.  Call it being stubborn - I cannot bring myself to grovel to this waste of a decent salaried position.

So, while most of our experiences with the people of Buenos Aires have been overwhelmingly positive, this bloke is a daily reminder of one of the few people that I will gladly leave behind when we eventually move. And until then, let's hope he doesn't hate me enough to rob us...