criplomats

We celebrated John’s birthday Sunday by going to the famous El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore — and it was, indeed, splendid! It’s a huge bookstore housed in an old theatre and it’s really breathtaking. A co-worker’s great, great grandfather owned the theatre (over 100 movie houses), and we could see his initials in the crest above the stage. The place was filled with happy people buying books and taking photos — and, of course, drinking coffee in the coffee shop (housed where the stage was).

Afterward, we went across the street to Parrilla Aires Criollos for an early dinner; it was the best steak I’ve had here. The place was nice, not fancy, and seemed a bit old school — we really enjoyed it. Earlier in the day, we ran an errand in the car and ended up having lunch at a charming bar/restaurant while the car got a much-needed washing. El Octavo (the Eight) in Palermo is an old family place — kind of a diner of sorts. Not fancy, simple good food and a relaxed vibe with some charming touches.

Monday was Halloween and we opened the embassy late afternoon for kids to trick or treat. Different sections of the embassy went all out with spooky decorations.

Big news of the week was that I started driving my car! I finally got my diplomatic license plate. Driving in the city is OK so far, although I haven’t gone far or had to navigate too much traffic. The biggest challenge is getting down the corkscrew to the third sub-basement where my parking spot is in our apartment building – talk about scary! You basically just have to have the steering wheel turned all the way to the right to get down it. The scrapes all along the walls are not confidence inspiring!

Last Sunday John and I continued working on the house, then I met Lea at the Park Hyatt for a fancy lunch on a chilly, rainy day. Today she and I met at a cute place in Palermo called COWI – just a week later and we were enjoying sunny 71 degree weather. We walked around a bit afterward and checked out the Sunday street vendor fair.

Also this week we had a team of folks visiting the consular section from DC. It was a whirlwind trip and we packed in a lot, including dinner out on Wednesday night at a cute place in Las Canitas neighborhood. Finally, on Friday, we had an admin day at work, and we had an asado at the Ambassador’s residence outside in the quincho (grill area). It was a lovely day and everyone had fun.

John and I flew home from Iguazu last Monday, and went back to work Tuesday. The photo above is from the small hummingbird garden we visited last week.

We watched an excellent movie last night, “Argentina 1985.” It’s about the trial of military officials accused of human rights offenses here in the 70s. I don’t know much about that period of time, but it didn’t matter – it was an incredible movie. (Watch it!) We also finished season one of the Swedish crime drama, “The Hunters.”

We worked on the house all day yesterday and are making progress under Flavia’s watchful supervision:

John and I flew to Iguazu Falls Thursday morning – wow! We love being back in a rain forest, and the waterfalls are gorgeous. We went to the Argentine side Friday, then to the Brazil side the following day. Both were spectacular in different ways. The area has had very heavy rains, and the falls were full and muddy.

We walked under the Devil’s Throat Fall on the Brazil side – thank goodness our guide brought sturdy rain jackets for us, although we still got pretty wet! Yes – we were out on this walkway with the water flowing right under our feet!

We’re staying at a lovely resort and have a private villa and plunge pool, all surrounded by green jungle – it’s really wonderful and I may not ever leave! In the late afternoons, we’ve taken a couple of short excursions: one to a small hummingbird garden where we saw some beautiful birds and another to an animal/bird rehab center. I caught this howler coming in from the jungle to steal a snack and check us out:

We were tickled to see a toucan right before we entered the national park on the Argentine side:

Today we drove about 45 minutes to the small town of Libertad where we got on a boat and went birding. We were on the Parana River on the border with Paraguay, then took a couple of smaller tributaries to see birds. Everything was lush and green, and there was a waterfall, too!

Our household goods arrived Friday! We’re spending the weekend (and then some) putting things away and making the apartment feel like home. Despite LOTS of purging before leaving Liberia, it still feels like a lot of “things”! While the apartment is large, there’s not much storage, so we’ll have to get creative!

Last Monday was a holiday and John arranged a guide to take us urban birding. Not far from the house is an EcoReserve – we strolled along the sidewalk and saw lots of birds, then went inside the park for a while. We spotted over 50 kinds of birds – lovely. My favorite was a huge stork flying overhead!

I had a good video chat with James and MaryBeth on Saturday. John and I watched (and loved) “Bad Sisters” (thanks, Pamela, for the recommendation!). We also thoroughly enjoyed “Elvis”! We’ve started season two of “London Kills,” a good crime drama.

Here’s a shot from San Telmo last weekend:

It’s supposed to be spring, but the days have alternated between warm/sunny and cold/windy! Today was beautiful – John and I walked to Cafe Mushugein for a yummy brunch.

We came back home but it was too pretty to stay inside. I hopped into a taxi for San Telmo and hit the antiques fair – a hopping place on Sunday afternoon. Afterward I met John for a drink across the street at Invernadero with Maura and Ben, and their cute baby Magnolia. It was a gorgeous afternoon.

Lea and I had a couple of outings this week – last week we went to a fancy Japanese-Peruvian place for sushi, and this week we went to the Evita Museum, followed by lunch in the courtyard there. I had forgotten everything I’ve read about Eva Duarte Peron, so I read a biography of her yesterday and today – so interesting. (I also finished “The Colony” and re-read “Under the Banner of Heaven.”)

Thursday the Ambassador sponsored “choripan day” – sausages (on buns) on the grill outside the embassy. Big fun and delicious.

And big news! My Honda arrived! I can’t drive it until I get my license plates, but she’s in country safe and sound!