The Silver River

Labels on both sides to help you find the sauce you're best suited to. Predictably the mildests is best "For Argentines". Sweet.

Chris and I went to watch X-men Origins tonight... I know! Although it's not my kind of film I really enjoyed it. Fun and games. One Friday we are going to watch Hedwig, which they are staging here. I'm rather looking forward to that... we're going with Alejandro and Julio. Today Chris and I took the train up to Martinez and took a stroll down to the river, it was all very pleasant indeed. It's Chris' last week so I think this weekend will be quite busy, Julio is it town too.

Last night Chris and I went for dinner at Dada and I have to say that this time it wasn't great. My steak was really bad, fatty and stringey! Disappointing. After that we popped to Jamie's bar and had a couple of drinks, all in all a pleasant evening.

This used to be a theatre and as such is one hell of a bookstore. It's remarkable.

Last night I went to Standard in Palermo Hollywood for dinner and it was divine. I had the best pasta I've had in Buenos Aires, really delicious. It's also quite small and sweet, maybe a little too well lit, but gorgeous. It's odd that I have never gone there before now but will hopefully be able to squeeze in another visit before I leave. This weekend has been quiet and slow, I have been working on my London photo blog, trying to work up a new template. I'm a bit thick with those things so it's taking a while. Tonight, Chris and I are taking Janer (our Peruvian friend) out for dinner at a Peruvian restaurant. I have to confess I don't know what Peruvian food is like, but am interested to see. I suspect it will be quite an early night, which is a good thing!

Last night Chris and I met up with Rienk and Elserieke for a quick drink or two at the Shamrock in Recoleta. That place is way too loud... or maybe I'm way too old. Anyway, we had a nice night, despite the venue. Chris and I popped to Rosario on Tuesday for one night. Although I'd been before, Chris wanted to see it. It's only a 5 hour bus ride, so really close. It's a sweet town.

Yesterday Chris and I took a long stroll. Along the way we came across and area (just near Abasto) with thousands of shops selling store manequins. It was very strange indeed. In this city it seems that stores of a type seem to be located in the same area... all medical supplies in one place, all wool shops in one place and now these.

Last night I went with a friend to watch La Fantasma de la Opera. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the musical but it was fun to see. The art deco theatre (El Teatro Opera) was beautiful and the production was good too. Good fun.

Spotted this poster on my walk this morning. Three South African plays being staged next week at the Borges Cultural Centre. Will have to check it out .

I'd read about construction workers and the sort making impromptu asados wherever they fancied, but I didn't think it was true. As mentioned earlier, it seems to be the season for roadworks so I guess I'm more likely to witness this particular local custom now, while the streets are full of road workers. This guy (on Gurruchaga) was obviously expecting quite a rush.

Spotted this fella on Honduras.

What's with all the roadworks in Buenos Aires? Everywhere I look the streets and pavements are being dug up. Although, I also recall that around this time of year in London the same thing happens. Something to do with the end of the financial year and local authorities frantically using up their budgets. I wonder if it's the same story here. Annoyingly when they dig up the pavement here they tend not to replace the floor slabs they just removed with like, but instead whack down concrete. The pavement outside my building was pristine until two days ago.

Okay, so since, I've been here I've been wanting to go to Sucre. It's considered by many as the place to go. "The" restaurant of the moment. I was disappointed. The design and ambiance of Sucre is gorgeous, all concrete and brutalist, sadly it's a bit of a tired design and is almost becoming the norm for restaurants of this nature. The huge bar that everyone raves about is gorgeous and very big, but that's kind of it, just a big old backlit bar with lots of colourful bottles, you can see that in so many places in Buenos Aires and anywhere in the world. The cockroach walking up the wall next to our table was a particular delight and at times the service was so slow I was tempted to see if he could take out dessert order. The menu was varied and covered a lot more than just steak. However, I had the Ojo de Bife (Rib eye) and it was kind of gross. Ribeye steak varies dramatically and I would have thought ordering one in a restaurant of this calibre would have...

Well, I'm better! My ailment didn't last long, thankfully. As a result I was able to enjoy the weekend. On Saturday we went to Parque de la Costa which is in Tigre, large amusement park. Chris has a friend visiting and we thought we'd head up that way. Janer came too. It wasa fun day although I think I might be a little old for that sort of thing. It was 48 pesos to go in and that pretty much included all the rides. In the evening we went to Ambar la Fox, which is always fun. Yesterday was quite low key for me, I had a delicious avocado and bacon salad at this little café down the street from my apartment a long walk. After an afternoon snooze I met a friend of a friend (from London) who is here on holiday and we went for dinner at the restaurant, Sucre.

So, I'm sick. Buggery bollocks. I had a fever last night and glands the size of golfballs. It's all very pleasant. So I've been laying low, which is a pain because I had such high hopes for the weekend. Had to cancel my cocktails with Mia on Thursday night, but it was for the best. I stayed in and slept. I'm hoping it will pass soon and I'll be able to enjoy the tail end of the weekend.

Happy Birthday!

Last night I went out with my friend, Daniel. We went to Sitges for a couple of beers. The place was packed, I guess it would be considering it is the start of a loooong weekend. The show was the same, but somehow I'm enjoying the old acts over and over again. Perhaps I'm becoming conditioned. It was good to see all the fab waiters again, although I think they were getting quite stressed at one point.

Today I went for a long walk. I walked from my apartment to Abasto where I met a friend for lunch. Then I walked down Corrientes to 9 de Julio, along and back up Alvear. All the way home.

Tonight Chris and I went for a quick beer and bite at UNICO in Palermo Hollywood. We seem to be spending a lot of time in that part of town these days. It was a very uneventful and pleasant evening, we sat and chatted and took some slow shutter pictures.

Last night, I went to the cinema with a friend and then for dinner at a gorgeous little bistro type place called, Santé in Recoleta. It was all very sweet and charming. Good to have a relatively quiet evening, the past week has been very busy and now I think I have a slight cold. Nothing serious mind, but presumably the product of too many late nights. I think I'm becoming aware that my time in Buenos Aires is limited and am keen not to miss a moment's opportunity to enjoy the experience. Today I am going for a stroll to take some more photographs.

Last night was nice and slow. I went to visit Chris, who made me dinner (I know). And then we went to Bulnes Class for a couple of drinks. It was very pleasant and quite low key. I was home by three. Then I stayed up watching TV for hours... I truly am turning into a night owl. Today I'm going to go to San Telmo and then to Puerto Madero, I want to take some photos of the sunset.

Well Ølsen last night was great. It's in a stunning old warehouse with extremely tall ceilings and Scandinavian simplicity. The garden is a particular treat and a delight to enjoy when arriving. The food was good, although I wouldn't say that best and possibly not worth the price, it's not cheap, but the sharing starters with mini vodka shots were very good. After Ølsen, I came home and watched telly. I seem to becoming nocturnal.

I could only watch this once, it's too painful for words. The video speaks for itself.

It feels like it's been a busy couple of days. Yesterday Chris and I went to the cinema in Recoleta, not thinking that it was right next to the cemetery and on the day they were burying Alfonsín. There were crowd lining the route, waiting for his body to arrive. We hung about a little but still went to the movie. In the evening went out with Elserieke and Rienk to a wine tasting in Palermo, which was very pleasant indeed. It was in Spanish and English and the other attendees were very friendly, so a good night. I went out after to meet a friend for a drink and joined Chris later at Sitges. Tonight, we are going for dinner at Olsen with Mia and Benjamin. I'm rather looking forward to it, I have heard good things about the restaurant and of course the company will be divine too.

Today is the anniversary of the Argentine invasion of the islands. A public holiday in Argentina.

It's been a long day today, well action packed. I started by meeting Mia at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. It's huge, we wandered around there for a while before grabbing a quick lunch at what I think was a Ferrari themed restaurant behind it. Then I jumped in a cab and back into Palermo, I had a massage booked! It was sore. The lady kept asking if I was in pain, and when I said I was she pressed harder. Sadist. After the massage I popped to Chris' house and we decided on a little tour. First stop was the monument at Plaza San Martin for the war in Las Malvinas (Falklands), tomorrow is a big day in the history of the islands so I thought I'd take a couple of pics. Then we headed to Congresso to see the crowds gathered to pay their respects to Alfonsín. So many people. Then home.

Last night I went to Milion in Recoleta. This place is swanky. It's a an entire restored turn of the century French house, grand, expansive and gorgeous, oozing sophistication. It's a restaurant and a bar. I enjoyed a delicious mojito in the bar area upstairs. Not cheap at 25 pesos but worth it for the atmosphere. The only downside was that later in the evening it seemed to morph into the US embassy dining hall and we were suddenly surrounded by inexplicably loud nasal chatter. We had to move to a different part of the bar to escape.

This pic was taken on Santa Fe at around 1.30. Earlier there were many more people gathered to pay their respect to former president, Raúl Alfonsín who died earlier. More on Alfonsín here .

Spotted the latest in the Starbucks invasion at Abasto Shopping this week. This is the third shop I've noticed opening since I have been living here. It looks and feels like every other generic Starbucks in the world. Does anyone know if this infestation has reached South Africa yet?