I love summer here, despite the heat. The streets are quieter, you can get tables at restaurants, and Friday afternoons at the Embassy are very quiet, as most folks opt for “summer hours,” working longer days Monday through Thursday and leaving at noon or 1:00 PM on Fridays. It’s blissfully quiet and I’m also able to get to know some of the officers and local staff who stick around on Fridays with me. And sometimes we get a nice rain, like the one rolling across in the photo above.
Yesterday I biked down a few short blocks to the Bella Arts Museum to meet Lea. We were both blown away by it – such an extensive collection, including world famous painters from Renoir to Rothko, and spanning centuries. Afterward we went to a nearby cafe for lunch and enjoyed the lovely weather in the shade, as well as delicious salads (arugula, sautéed yellow peppers, burrata cheese, and avocado for me). Before coming home I walked through the street fair by Recoleta Cemetery. Later in the day I walked up to the park where a local group takes dogs and cats for adoption – I was tempted to bring home a beautiful old brindle Greyhound but didn’t think Flavia would appreciate it. I stopped to buy some cherries from a fruit stand run by Bolivian girls who were sweet and a bit chatty – the cherries are huge and delicious!
This morning John and I rode down to the EcoReserva again – it was a beautiful morning and we were back at home before it got too hot. We saw some huge birds that weren’t storks – I need to figure out what they were, and we saw some smaller parakeets.
I finished “A Gentleman from Moscow” this morning – it was wonderful. Thanks to John for flagging this interview with the author – it pointed out several things that I missed while reading it, including the “accordion” timeline (@Sarah, you might enjoy the interview….@Joan, I think you’d like the book!).