To steak & to tango !!
20 feb. 2011
🇦🇷
vanuit Argentinië
Yes !! Yesterday we really got the Buenos Aires flavour. Yesterday morning we first went to a museum we wanted to see, but it was unfortunately closed. So because it was closed we just wandered
into the Once neighbourhood. A neighbourhood that is last and least spoken of in the Lonely Planet, but it was really worth it! A lot poorer, but with old theatres and a museum about the Tango
legend, Carlos Gardel.
In the morning after breakfast we tried to book for a singing performance via internet. When we got back in the afternoon, we had no confirmation yet. So we called them, but they said they were
closed ?!?! They had a special program for that night on their website, including artists and all. Any way, maybe they were fully booked, they did not want tourists, they had a fire, they did not
feel well, I don´t know, anyway we were not able to come (my Spanish is still really bad). This should have been with dinner as well. So we had two new challenges: finding a place to eat, and
finding a new show! I was completely ´off the map´ (van het padje af), but luckily Suzan found a great place to eat just around the corner.
Let me tell you something about life in Argentina. Your breakfast is mainly medialunas and empanadas. Medialunas are sweet croissants and empanadas is dough with a meat filling. Anyway, this will
last only until noon. So around noon it is time for a warm lunch which will take you at least an hour. Afterwards, when you are really hungry around tea time you can eat little snacks like cake or
minutas (tapas) or ice cream (helados). But dinner only starts after 9 p.m. or even later. Porteños are really night owls.
So we were really hungry. Luckily the smallest steak was 280 grams :) I could have gone for 420 grams, but 280 grams was more then enough. The meat was absolutely fantastic.
We had a little time to freshen up before we went to our tango venue! Suzan found it and I booked a table, in Spanish, yeah! We walked there with our smart suits on. First it looked like an old
school party. Then it looked a bit like the night out for the retirement home. Our presence was good for bringing the average age down by some 20 years, hahahah! But then the Milonga starts!!!
Which is everybody goes onto the dancefloor and dances the tango! Like an open mic night at a bar. Beautiful! This is Buenos Aires! We ´ve got some very nice photos and videos. It´s wunderful.
People really dress up for these Milongas, and after an hour also young people started dancing on the dance floor ( we were obviously far too early, when we arrived at 11.30 pm)
There are three different kinds of tango songs: slow & passionate tango, really upbeat happy & quick tango (looks a little bit like a mix of quick step and Charleston) and a walse. And
during a Milonga night, there are many sets of these different kinds of tango music, which all consist of 3 pieces of music. So , first you would have a set of 3 songs of slow tango, then a set
of 3 walses, etc. The men ask the women to dance. When the next set of songs starts you start talking first until you don´t know what to say anymore and start dancing again. After the third song
they start music nobody wants to dance to and everybody leaves the dance floor (t.i. any other music than tango). After 30 seconds they start playing tango again and the routine starts again.
It was great! Did I say it was great already? The place was totally packed by 1 am. We heard a rumour about some famous tango dancers performing that night. I asked: at 2 a.m., so we waited. And
then: Beautiful again! Tango in it´s purest form. No fancy show, just the music and the dancing.
We were in bed by 4 a.m. You gotta love Buenos Aires :)
Today we went to San Telmo neighbourhood. A bit of a tourist trap, but with all kinds of great antique shops! Really nice. Of course it´s normal that all neighbourhoods are different, but it´s
really nice to see all kinds of different sides of the city. Retiro, the business district has all things you would expect in a business district, Palermo, where our appartment is, is cool and
artsi-farty. San Telmo is much more rough around the edges, just like Once. Our taxi driver took us through a very small part of Recoleta where all the rich and famous of BA are living, huge
houses, big gardens, big cars, etc. We will stay the last 2 nights in BA in Recoleta in a hostel, and are very much looking forward to staying in this totally different part of town. In the next
days, we will visit Belgano, where families live and things are a bit slower than elsewhere and finally we will go into La Boca, which is a really old BA neighbourhood, famous for its tango
joints, and multi-colored houses.
Hasta la pasta!
Reacties
Reacties
20 feb. 2011, 18:32
Ai Mami, que bien!!
Ik heb genoten van de mooie dansoto's en mis jullie!
Langere verhalen heb ik per mail gestuurd.
Heerlijk om te horen wat jullie beleven. Besos, Eva
20 feb. 2011, 21:52
In 1 woord: Jaloers!!
Geniet ervan, het klinkt allemaal zo geweldig!
X
22 feb. 2011, 10:58
ha! mooie verhalen. Ik volg jullie op de voet.
Zoen van Maria
22 feb. 2011, 16:38
Hoi Suzan,
Nou jullie vermaken je wel! Leuk om te lezen over jullie avonturen. Geniet van alles! Wij maken ons hier op voor Barcelona.....veel werk, maar leuk:)
Ciao!
24 feb. 2011, 10:27
Ola, como estas?
It's very good to read what you two are experiecing! BA sounds like a nice city to spend some time.
Hope you enjoy your trip and the hiking..
Good luck and happy stay!
Adios!
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