Late nights

So the other night, we mosey out of our apartment and walk to a nearby restaurant for dinner. We get there and find the place is empty except for the staff. We're not open for another hour, the waitress tells us. Come back then.

It was 8 p.m.

The people of Bs As like their night life. Dinner before 8? Escandalo! It's the equivalent of the senior citizens' discount meals in the US. No one who is anyone dares eat before 8, and the preferred time is actually 9 pm. And it's not just the hipsters who are eating late. There are entire families, children in tow, sitting down for the start of their meals at 9:30.

It's quite an adjustment for hungry Americans, who start to feel peckish around 7pm.

Last night, though, we did really well: We didn't even leave the apartment until 9 pm. It was a Wednesday night so we figured we wouldn't have that much trouble getting a table at a recommended restaurant down the street. Who goes out on a Wednesday?

The lines were out the door every where we looked.

How does anyone get to work in the morning?

I think what I'm figuring out is they don't get to work early in the morning. Today, we tried to go to MALBA, one of the big museums there. We got there at 11 a.m. It didn't open until noon.

We eventually got into the museum and broke our own record for speed museum viewing: We were out in 30 minutes. Whole museum and a walk through the gift shop. We're just not the museum types.

Other things we've been doing:

1) Recoleta Cemetery: Love it! A city of the dead very much New Orleans style but even more elaborate. We got a guided tour so we heard charming stories of the bride who was killed on her honeymoon, the teenager who was buried alive and who allegedly haunts the city to this day, etc. We also saw Evita Peron's final resting place, which they say always has flowers on the gate.

2) Evita Peron Museum: Worth it to see the clothes. (Yes, I am shallow. I also went to see the traveling exhibit of Princess Diana's clothes in Philadelphia.)

3) Graffiti tour: Awesome! I'll have to write a longer post on the difference between public art here and in Philly. This wasn't just tagging. This was really beautiful art works done on buildings, usually unauthorized.

Some other observations:

1. The double L in words like “pollo” is pronounced as “sh” here, not as a ‘y’ sound. A 'y" as in Mayo is also a "sh." It’s weird. “J” is also pronounced “sh,” so “Shordan” has a new nickname.

2. The advantage of having a fractured foot: I only had to pack half as many shoes – left shoes only – and I didn’t have to worry about dress shoes or heels as it’s impossible to walk in anything other than flats with the surgical boot. Plus, some man gave up his seat for me on the Subte.

3. The disadvantage of having a fractured foot: It tends to swell up after a day of walking, resulting in J.K. Swellington III. It could wreak havoc on our tango lessons. Will advise.

----NXP