October 21 - Rhia from Rosario

Good gracious we´ve been busy! We did manage to dine with Howard that evening(the 18th), and it was really nice to catch up. Was still a bit tuckered with some kind of stomach thing (nothing serious, just tummyaches) so don´t know if I was good company or not!

We headed out the next day(the 19th) to visit every leather goods store downtown to find John his leather satchel. He fell in love with one eventually, at the fancypants Galleria Pacifica. We tried out Palermo viejo again after taht and poked through a good selection of terndy boutiques and designer/craft fairs while sneezing our faces off due to the fluff from some fancy sort of tree.

We ate in because I couldn´t face a restaurant menu, and then headed down to a place called Torquato Tasso for a tango show. We were a little disappointed to learn there´d be no dancing but the music more than made up for it. Tehre was a septet from Austria or something similar (who knew?) and then this virtuoso guitarist called Juanjo Dominguez. Staggered home at midnight under the weight of a bottole of wine.

The 20th was the first day in a good while I felt healthy. We had a lie in and skipped the unimpressive hostel breakfast, having our medialunas and cafe downtown instead. We descended to the nearest subte station and were delighted to discover we´d found Line A, the oldest in the city, perhaps in Latin America. The stations arerun down, but ornate aret-deco, and the carriages still have their wooden interiors, big mirrors, the whole deal. We had to transfer after just a few stops, unfortunately. We got bus tickets for teh following day at teh big bus station, then headed for La Recoleta. We had lunch before exploring the cemetery - it´s big, with lots of impressive crypts. Evita´s isn´t really very exciting, but we did eventually locate it wand were done with that.

We took a look at some of the impressive architecture and found our giant flower sculpture, which was sponsored by Lougheed Martin, and does, in fact, look quite like it was constructed from airplane parts. Being the middle of the day we did not catch it in motion, but it was impressive nonetheless. There was a giant crafts fair nearby and we stocked up on things to bring/send home before heading back to our suite for a rest. ç

We headed out around suppertime for the Cafe Ideal, where we were going to either see a tango show or a dance, whatever we could get our hangs on. The room was big and clearly once-impressive. It had descended to a sort of shabby magesty. The show was also a little gritty, though the singers and dancers were all very good. I enjoyed it a great deal. Our camera was out of batteries and we weren´t sure if taking photos at the dance was couth, but we managed to strike up a conversation with some othere visitors from New York, who were happy to share their photos, so hopefully we can show you a few.

We took our time getting up and out on Sunday morning, packing, etc. Then we got a taxi to the bus station and took our super-plush seats for the ride to Rosario. Not before waiting about 40 minutes for Empanadas and coffee.

Four hours later we were here and dragging around town with heavy bags - just like real backpackers. We took a look at one of the hostels recommended by our guide, and it looked pretty basic and more expensive than the book said, but acceptable, so we took it rather than haul stuff around any longer. Anyway, it´s the Rosario Inn, and if you find yourself here DO NOT STAY THERE. The room itself was OK, though the door didn´t lock, but not one of the three bathrooms actually worked properly. Ehn.

We headed our though, because it certainly wasn´t the sort of room you lounge around in, and we wanted to make the most of our time. Also we were hungry. Fortified with sandwiches, we poked around town a bit - mostly it was closed up tight and entertainment options for a Sunday night seemed slim.

We ended up going to see I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I didn´t really have any interest in that whatsoever, but it turned out to be surprisingly good. We had a parrilla for two for supper, which unfortunately turned out to be a wide selection of organ meats. I am still feeling a bit digestively fragile, so I mostly focussed on the ribs and let John be adventurous with blood puddings and kidneys and intestines and other exciting bits. I think I sampled all the pieces, but couldn´t make myself invest.

This morning after being sort of disgusted by the bathroom situation, we decamped to another place around the corner. This one was sort of cleaner, had private baths, and was 15 pesos a night cheaper. I think we´ll be happier tehre.

John´s researching our options in Cordoba as I write this. We´ll head off tomorrow morning. We plan to see a few sights now then head to the beach! Much love!