Is a fascinating disease.
It has affected my grandpa and to be honest I am afraid it will get my dad too at some point. I went to visit my grandpa today. He doens't know what day of the week it is, nor who I am. I told him that I am his granddaughter. 10 minutes later he was asking me who I am. In the course of the two hours we were there... I think he said about 13 times where he comes from, his age when he arrived in Uruguay (3 years old) and that Uruguay is a small country. He repeats himself very much. My grandpa is such a sweet man. He was an architect and an artist. He built around 100+ buildings in Montevideo and Punta del Este. They say with age you become like a child again, and that's exactly how my grandpa is. I am glad that for his 84 years he seems to be in good health, apart from having moderate dementia (stage 3 of 4). I never had the chance to really be a part of my grandpa's life since, we always lived in Austria. If I get the chance to visit him more frequently, maybe he will recognize me eventually. I wish I could play cards with him or find out more about his history, but he seems to be confunsed about a lot of facts. For example he said that he finished studying architecture at 14. I find that hard to believe hehe. He gets sad when he realizes he forgot something. He wasn't sure about his age even... he knows he is in his 80's.
It would be great if someone could find a cure for Alzheimer's, but I can't imagine anyone will ever be able to stop a brain from deteriorating... the medicine can only help to slow down the process. The most comforting thing about all this is that my grandpa isn't suffering from depression. He is always in a great mood and it seems like he is the one suffering the least from the illness.
Andi went to take the written Spanish test yesterday and the oral exam today. He got 4/8 points, which means he is an intermediate Spanish speaker. I am so proud! I hope I learn Italian as quickly as Andi is learning Spanish. I wish I had some interest like Andi's soccer fascination. He reads the sports section in the El Pais newspaper whenever he can.
Donnerstag, 25. März 2010
Dienstag, 23. März 2010
Die Bicho! Die!
We started cleaning the apartment... and we had noticed before that they exist,
but wtf... I think we killed 6 cockroaches today. They appear out of nowhere like
little toy cars. Andi managed to step on a crunchy one and we saw it's white internals... Gross! Hahaha. I found out that Julio has a cleaning lady supposedly... To think the heart attack my old landlord would've gotten if she had seen this place ^^
(Don't worry mom and Sofia, we are doing our best to make this place more inviting).
There is a mosquito epidemic right now in Montevideo. The military gets together and they fumigate the city getting all into white suits and spraying some insect repellent. Everyone's biggest fear is the Dengue. Andi and I went for a walk today after spraying the apartment and we were constantly attacked by mosquitos so we had to go back home :(
I think there is almost nothing worse than mosquitos. Well, maybe rotting food in the fridge, which we also had a nice amount of :D
The nicest part of living here is probably the couch, the bed and the soundsystem. The couch and the bed were made by Julio personally. The bed is fully iron except the mattress of course.
I would love to have money and decorate our future apartment with all sorts of craftsmanships from La Compania del Oriente. I like stuff from the sea and a lot of wood, especially darker wood. That stuff is a lot cheaper here than in Austria. I don't want to have an Ikea apartment anymore... Thankfully Andi and I have the same taste in furniture :)
but wtf... I think we killed 6 cockroaches today. They appear out of nowhere like
little toy cars. Andi managed to step on a crunchy one and we saw it's white internals... Gross! Hahaha. I found out that Julio has a cleaning lady supposedly... To think the heart attack my old landlord would've gotten if she had seen this place ^^
(Don't worry mom and Sofia, we are doing our best to make this place more inviting).
There is a mosquito epidemic right now in Montevideo. The military gets together and they fumigate the city getting all into white suits and spraying some insect repellent. Everyone's biggest fear is the Dengue. Andi and I went for a walk today after spraying the apartment and we were constantly attacked by mosquitos so we had to go back home :(
I think there is almost nothing worse than mosquitos. Well, maybe rotting food in the fridge, which we also had a nice amount of :D
The nicest part of living here is probably the couch, the bed and the soundsystem. The couch and the bed were made by Julio personally. The bed is fully iron except the mattress of course.
I would love to have money and decorate our future apartment with all sorts of craftsmanships from La Compania del Oriente. I like stuff from the sea and a lot of wood, especially darker wood. That stuff is a lot cheaper here than in Austria. I don't want to have an Ikea apartment anymore... Thankfully Andi and I have the same taste in furniture :)
Montag, 22. März 2010
Big Momma is coming to town
Hey there my favorite Blog readers!
How is everyone out there?
Yesterday was Andi's birthday. We celebrated the best way you can having a birthday during the summer-time in Uruguay... we made a Bbq! Aia (my godmother) made some "ensalada rusa" which is russian salad... you know potatoes, carrots, peas and a whole lot of a mayo? Yeah. yum! It meant a lot to Andi.
Then there wasn't just one cake... but two dulce de leche godesses! (Stefan... du waerst gestorben!) They were from tienda inglesa which makes the best cakes you can buy... (you can't buy Mariana's cakes yet). Then we went to a kids soccer game which was canceled because of the rain :( Nacional played and Andi watched the game with the guys. Then we went home and sleeeeept.
So I posted some pictures on the blog. It is impossible on Facebook when your
internet is this slow. Andi and I have slowly been settling into our new apartment.
Tomorrow we are going to spend the day cleaning. A couple of days ago we went to the academy where Andi will go to practice Spanish. They have a nice fancy schmanzy getup going on. You wanna hear the best part? Well... I picked the Academy the day we met with Julio, which was Friday the 5th. Coincidentially the academy is on the exact same street where we live! It is just 3 Blocks away! Cool huh? For 200 Dollars a week Andi can have 20 hrs of group lessons. That's a pretty good price if you think about the fact that it's 10 Dollars an hour. The "groups" are tiny even. We also found out when we there that they work together with NGOs, which is also where Andi would like to work for an internship. Things are looking good for Andi. Now I just have to get myself settled into some internship.
I have been thinking about my Master's paper recently. I think it might not be a bad idea to write a comparison about the social care systems Austria and Uruguay. Focusing primarily on psychiatries. I am pretty sure that no such paper exists, although I haven't done any research on the subject yet. Who knows... I could be surprised :)
Sofia and Maria Pelufo a.k.a. big Momma are coming to town. Hopefully big momma won't be working ALL the time and we can do some touring and fun stuff! I still have a whole part of the family I haven't seen. My aunt and her 5 grown up children.
Why am I calling my mom big momma? To be honest I don't know. It sounds funny. It could be because she was chatting with Andi yesterday and told him he isn't the only one who needs a spanish course... so maybe this is my way of getting back at BIG MOMMA! :D
I will have to take some pictures of the apartment when it is *hopefully* nice and shiny tomorrow. There are a lot of cockroaches in Uruguay who like to come out from no where... Let's hope to find them all tomorrow and kill kill kill! Especially those stinking mosquitos. They bit me twice on the face yesterday, once and today as well.
How is everyone out there?
Yesterday was Andi's birthday. We celebrated the best way you can having a birthday during the summer-time in Uruguay... we made a Bbq! Aia (my godmother) made some "ensalada rusa" which is russian salad... you know potatoes, carrots, peas and a whole lot of a mayo? Yeah. yum! It meant a lot to Andi.
Then there wasn't just one cake... but two dulce de leche godesses! (Stefan... du waerst gestorben!) They were from tienda inglesa which makes the best cakes you can buy... (you can't buy Mariana's cakes yet). Then we went to a kids soccer game which was canceled because of the rain :( Nacional played and Andi watched the game with the guys. Then we went home and sleeeeept.
So I posted some pictures on the blog. It is impossible on Facebook when your
internet is this slow. Andi and I have slowly been settling into our new apartment.
Tomorrow we are going to spend the day cleaning. A couple of days ago we went to the academy where Andi will go to practice Spanish. They have a nice fancy schmanzy getup going on. You wanna hear the best part? Well... I picked the Academy the day we met with Julio, which was Friday the 5th. Coincidentially the academy is on the exact same street where we live! It is just 3 Blocks away! Cool huh? For 200 Dollars a week Andi can have 20 hrs of group lessons. That's a pretty good price if you think about the fact that it's 10 Dollars an hour. The "groups" are tiny even. We also found out when we there that they work together with NGOs, which is also where Andi would like to work for an internship. Things are looking good for Andi. Now I just have to get myself settled into some internship.
I have been thinking about my Master's paper recently. I think it might not be a bad idea to write a comparison about the social care systems Austria and Uruguay. Focusing primarily on psychiatries. I am pretty sure that no such paper exists, although I haven't done any research on the subject yet. Who knows... I could be surprised :)
Sofia and Maria Pelufo a.k.a. big Momma are coming to town. Hopefully big momma won't be working ALL the time and we can do some touring and fun stuff! I still have a whole part of the family I haven't seen. My aunt and her 5 grown up children.
Why am I calling my mom big momma? To be honest I don't know. It sounds funny. It could be because she was chatting with Andi yesterday and told him he isn't the only one who needs a spanish course... so maybe this is my way of getting back at BIG MOMMA! :D
I will have to take some pictures of the apartment when it is *hopefully* nice and shiny tomorrow. There are a lot of cockroaches in Uruguay who like to come out from no where... Let's hope to find them all tomorrow and kill kill kill! Especially those stinking mosquitos. They bit me twice on the face yesterday, once and today as well.
Mittwoch, 17. März 2010
The Apartment
I haven’t written in a couple of days. On Friday we met with the guy about the apartment. We went to see the apartment, eat some “biscochos” (Uruguayan pastries) and drink some “mate” (traditional tea). We really liked the guy even though he who seemed a bit nervous about the whole meeting. He was speaking really fast and switching from theme to theme. We ended up going for some pizza with him and got to know him a little better. We agreed on everything about the apartment (which really does have a beautiful view!) and Andi and I pretty much told him we want to move in right away. We moved in on Sunday afternoon. The apartment reminds me of a bachelor pad. The only thing missing is heating. You would think it doesn’t get cold in Uruguay… but believe me… IT DOES! Brrrrr. It is so windy around here because we are right by the Atlantic ocean that no matter if it is 10 degrees C it still feels like a lot less. I know everyone in Canada is laughing… but hey… no one is forcing to live in that cold version of gringolandia! :P
About the apartment: Andi and I have a room with a view of the Ramblas which is right by the coast and we can see the beach. The water right now looks pretty brown, so I would not suggest going for a splash. The apartment is located in the Cuidad Vieja which is right by the main street. To me it feels like living right near Mariahilferstrasse except with a beach too… weird thought. There is a room next to us with a bunk bed. The living room has a supposedly kick ass sound and I am too naïve to really appreciate it. The couch is comfy and there is no T.V. Andi will have to go watch soccer somewhere else on Saturdays. The bathroom needs some fixing… as I am writing this I can hear the water dripping from somewhere into somewhere. It is slowly making me crazy. The kitchen is nice in its bachelor pad way. There is linoleum on the counter and I think it doesn’t meet hygiene standard (hihi) but, I am working on that!
The guy: Julio is a character! He is 35 and really nice! He is into Buddhism and has a looooot of interests. Practically everything in the apartment has some sort of history. He doesn’t buy new mostly because he likes stuff from the 50’s, 80’s… whatever! The toaster which I haven’t tried out yet is from the 50’s. The sofa and bed he made himself years ago. The cutlery in the kitchen is oooold and it grosses me out . Andi and I already bought some new cutlery. Overally it is pretty cool living here. Julio seems like a nice part time roomy because, most of the time he is in Buenos Aires.
I must admit though I do miss seeing Aia everyday but, I am sure my grandma is glad that I am 4 blocks away. :)
Saturday: On Saturday we actually went to a couch surfer meeting. Mom would be proud. We met some nice Uruguayans and some nice Germans, a French girl and her Mexican bf. It was fun getting to know some people finally. Andi and I have been isolating ourselves a little… not so much on purpose because I think it happens when you are new anywhere and have a friend or partner around to keep you company. You end up being almost everything for eachother. So we are working on getting things back to normal. Andi needs a soccer friend to accompany him to all the soccer games and he will be good to go! I do enjoy the games somehow I just don't want to go ALL the time. I do like our Uruguayan team Nacional a lot.
Andi and I are doing good. I feel like we can get through everything if we stay open and honest and are kind to each other. We like living with new people because there is so much to learn from others. Let's take Julio for example... he gave us like 50 GB of documentaries and movies. From Verena we learned to cook! From Stefan we learned to fix the floor :) Take things as they come.
About the apartment: Andi and I have a room with a view of the Ramblas which is right by the coast and we can see the beach. The water right now looks pretty brown, so I would not suggest going for a splash. The apartment is located in the Cuidad Vieja which is right by the main street. To me it feels like living right near Mariahilferstrasse except with a beach too… weird thought. There is a room next to us with a bunk bed. The living room has a supposedly kick ass sound and I am too naïve to really appreciate it. The couch is comfy and there is no T.V. Andi will have to go watch soccer somewhere else on Saturdays. The bathroom needs some fixing… as I am writing this I can hear the water dripping from somewhere into somewhere. It is slowly making me crazy. The kitchen is nice in its bachelor pad way. There is linoleum on the counter and I think it doesn’t meet hygiene standard (hihi) but, I am working on that!
The guy: Julio is a character! He is 35 and really nice! He is into Buddhism and has a looooot of interests. Practically everything in the apartment has some sort of history. He doesn’t buy new mostly because he likes stuff from the 50’s, 80’s… whatever! The toaster which I haven’t tried out yet is from the 50’s. The sofa and bed he made himself years ago. The cutlery in the kitchen is oooold and it grosses me out . Andi and I already bought some new cutlery. Overally it is pretty cool living here. Julio seems like a nice part time roomy because, most of the time he is in Buenos Aires.
I must admit though I do miss seeing Aia everyday but, I am sure my grandma is glad that I am 4 blocks away. :)
Saturday: On Saturday we actually went to a couch surfer meeting. Mom would be proud. We met some nice Uruguayans and some nice Germans, a French girl and her Mexican bf. It was fun getting to know some people finally. Andi and I have been isolating ourselves a little… not so much on purpose because I think it happens when you are new anywhere and have a friend or partner around to keep you company. You end up being almost everything for eachother. So we are working on getting things back to normal. Andi needs a soccer friend to accompany him to all the soccer games and he will be good to go! I do enjoy the games somehow I just don't want to go ALL the time. I do like our Uruguayan team Nacional a lot.
Andi and I are doing good. I feel like we can get through everything if we stay open and honest and are kind to each other. We like living with new people because there is so much to learn from others. Let's take Julio for example... he gave us like 50 GB of documentaries and movies. From Verena we learned to cook! From Stefan we learned to fix the floor :) Take things as they come.
Dienstag, 9. März 2010
what´s new?
Hey so it´s been a whole 3 days since my last post...
you would imagine a bunch has happened and that we´ve diligently been looking for an apartment... and yes part of that is true, but it is really nice having Aia´s company too! Just kidding. We don´t want to be 6 months "schmarozzer" or leeches. For now it looks like Andi and I have agreed to find a "WG" or shared apartment. It´s the best we can do since here you need a guarantee which no one will give us for 6 months. Plus in shared apartments everything is already included! There is internet and beds and dishes! We shouldn´t have to buy anything and that is a way bigger luxury than having our own apartment. In Vienna we will finally get to see what it's like living alone. There we won´t really have to buy much furniture anyway that is if it survived 6 months of Mariana´s mouldy basement... hmm! Thursday or Friday will meet a guy who wants to rent us out his room since he studies in Buenos Aires and who will be sleeping on the couch when he comes every two weeks. Let's see if it works out. We are very curious to see the nicely located room with a view?! But, we will keep looking elsewhere in case it doesn´t work out. We still need to find out if Andi will be able to study here (which to be honest I doubt). We talked about him being content with a spanish course and an NGO internship. Which is a lot actually. I sent some e-mails today about an internship for myself.
So that's it for today folks!
Stay tuned!
you would imagine a bunch has happened and that we´ve diligently been looking for an apartment... and yes part of that is true, but it is really nice having Aia´s company too! Just kidding. We don´t want to be 6 months "schmarozzer" or leeches. For now it looks like Andi and I have agreed to find a "WG" or shared apartment. It´s the best we can do since here you need a guarantee which no one will give us for 6 months. Plus in shared apartments everything is already included! There is internet and beds and dishes! We shouldn´t have to buy anything and that is a way bigger luxury than having our own apartment. In Vienna we will finally get to see what it's like living alone. There we won´t really have to buy much furniture anyway that is if it survived 6 months of Mariana´s mouldy basement... hmm! Thursday or Friday will meet a guy who wants to rent us out his room since he studies in Buenos Aires and who will be sleeping on the couch when he comes every two weeks. Let's see if it works out. We are very curious to see the nicely located room with a view?! But, we will keep looking elsewhere in case it doesn´t work out. We still need to find out if Andi will be able to study here (which to be honest I doubt). We talked about him being content with a spanish course and an NGO internship. Which is a lot actually. I sent some e-mails today about an internship for myself.
So that's it for today folks!
Stay tuned!
Freitag, 5. März 2010
passed
Oh b.t.w. I passed the exam I spent about 4 hrs studying on during the moving out process... I got a good grade even! :D
Just had to mention that... oh and it's been disappointment after disappointment today in the apt. searching process... I hope I will be able to post some good news soon!
Just had to mention that... oh and it's been disappointment after disappointment today in the apt. searching process... I hope I will be able to post some good news soon!
Donnerstag, 4. März 2010
Goodbye ex roomie, hello Montevideo
After breakfast and checking out and Andi and I stored our luggage, we took Stefan to the bus which would take him to the Airport. We had a hard time finding the freaking thing... but once we did we were fine. Stefan made it on time to the airport. It was sad saying goodbye, since he had been accompanying us for the past weeks. After being sad for about an hour... Andi and I recovered, since we still have eachother <3 (cheese alarm)
We went to the Buque Bus to buy our tickets for the boat/bus leaving at midnight and arriving at 6 a.m. That´s one of the cheapest trips to take to Montevideo from B.A.
The rest of the day was also spent killing time.
- Internet Cafe to update my blog and check E-Mails.
- Fried, delicious empanadas for lunch at Andi's favourite place (where they went the third day when I was sick with a fever).
- In search of a cool bar for about 2 hrs where Andi could watch the soccer game Argentina vs Germany (1:0)
- Dinner at a mexican restaurant in Pallermo
- Pick up luggage
- Fancy schmanzy Buquebus trip to Montevideo (ferry from 12:00 - 3:00, bus from 3:30 - 6:15)
- Aia's house... SLEEP!!
Today, March 4th, Andi and I looked online for apartments... so now you are up to date!!!
We went to the Buque Bus to buy our tickets for the boat/bus leaving at midnight and arriving at 6 a.m. That´s one of the cheapest trips to take to Montevideo from B.A.
The rest of the day was also spent killing time.
- Internet Cafe to update my blog and check E-Mails.
- Fried, delicious empanadas for lunch at Andi's favourite place (where they went the third day when I was sick with a fever).
- In search of a cool bar for about 2 hrs where Andi could watch the soccer game Argentina vs Germany (1:0)
- Dinner at a mexican restaurant in Pallermo
- Pick up luggage
- Fancy schmanzy Buquebus trip to Montevideo (ferry from 12:00 - 3:00, bus from 3:30 - 6:15)
- Aia's house... SLEEP!!
Today, March 4th, Andi and I looked online for apartments... so now you are up to date!!!
Mittwoch, 3. März 2010
Homeless
We slept in the car in the town where Che Guevara spent his adolesence. The town is called Alta Gracia and is about 100 km away from Cordoba. Parked by some houses on some road we were awoken by barking dogs and some mean man who knocked on the window at 3 a.m and told us we couldn't park there. We drove off to park near the freeway where we slept til 8 a.m. By this point we were so close to Cordoba we drove into the city to return the car undamaged. The only extra cost was 32 ARS because the tank was only 5/8 instead of 6/8 full. Damn! So here we homeless and tired with our luggage and no place to stay and a 200 ARS fine we aquired driving with the lights off in the freeway by day... So we did our best to figure out which bank to go to. It was hell. We went to 6 different banks with our luggage til we reached the right one. It was the first of the month and consequently everyone wanted to pay their taxes and pick up their retirement checks and so on... so as you can imagine... the line was HUGE. I waited an hour in the tax/fine payers line.
We left our luggage at the bus station and left to find a place a place for lunch.
We were pretty beat after sleeping in the car. After lunch we fell asleep on some benches in a nice area. There was a fountain infront of us and it felt nice to hear water dripping while drifting off to sleep. The area we were at used to be a womens prison. Stefan was the only one who didn't sleep because he decided to study for his exam coming up. It was such a gorgeous, hot summer day. We really enjoyed just laying there in the peace and quiet. When we finally regained some energy we walked back into the city center to look for some ice cream. We ended up buying postcards and finding a cafe to write the postcards in, instead.
(If you want a postcard send me your address...ehem Ale and Mom)
When we were done writing postcards we went out in search of ice cream. The boys can´t go to an ice cream parlor without ordering dulce de leche ice cream. I really enjoy the fact that they appreciate it so much.
The we shopped around a bit too. Stefan found a really nice argentinian Rugby shirt (which reminded me of Ale when I saw it) and he bought it. It looks really good on him and brings out his blue eyes. Hehehe. It´s true!
We went out in search of a bar for some beer and some card games. We ended up almost accross the place where we had had our nap before. Throughout the trip we played Remmi and Scheisskopf (our favorites) all the time in bars and any place we had the chance. It was getting late and we started heading for the bus terminal to take our bus to B.A., when Stefan discovered a Pollo Parrilla! I had been eyeing those Chicken bbq joints when I was still too sick to eat any. I think that's a specialty of Cordoba. We took some chicken to go with chimi churri (sp?) sauce and lemon.
It was soo good. Amazing! Too bad we don´t make this here in Uruguay.
We ate the chicken with our hands at the bus terminal and literally licked them clean. Our bus left at 22:00 and was even more comfortable than the first bus.
The seats were wider and the buses were brand new. We slept the whole 10 hrs to Buenos Aires and were pretty startled when we arrived. We were the last ones off the bus when it arrived at 7 a.m.
We hadn't reserved a hostel so we headed out to our familiar one Hostel Suites Pallermo, which we had satayed at the first 3 nights in B.A. We took the subway to the hostel and were disappointed to find out they were full for the night. They sent us to the Backpackers Tango Hostel just a couple of blocks away. We paid our dues, filled out the forms and enjoyed the benefit of using the showers! I think by this this point it had been 3 days for me... 2 days for the boys since our last showers.
I felt pretty gross! I really like this hostel. It is well organized and has enough bathrooms and showers for their capacity which is not what I can say for other hostels (*cough* Cordoba Backpackers). I give this hostel 4 stars... and only 4 cause the staff was a bit... ehm rude? Well not as attentive as in Hostel Suites Pallermo... where the staff is pretty cool.
I am thinking about working at a hostel maybe in the near future... I think it would be fun!
After getting ourselves together and storing our luggage we left to go in search of a rain jacket for me and a retro argentinian jersey for Stefan's dad, the kind Maradonna wore in 1986.
I finally found the kind of jacket I had been looking for since the trip began. It even cost half of what I was willing to spend. I was happy!
Happy and content we ended up having a great lunch at a "green" restaurant where they lay great inportance in fresh ingredients. Stefan and I had a gucamole-chicken burrito each, which were delicious. Andi had some sandwhich with brie, sun dried tomatoes, rucola and prosciutto.
We played some cards and then soon after we found the jersey Stefan wanted for a great price. Afterwards it was all about killing time.
- Botanical Garden (sooo beautiful with kitty cats all over!! The boys were woken up by security guards for sleeping on the benches).
- Bar & beer on the way to the Japanese Gardens, where we played cards.
- Japanese Gardens (not so spectacular), more card games
- Hostel to settle in and pack up
- Parrilla goodbye dinner at Estillo Criollo (yummy!!!)
- Sleepy time
We left our luggage at the bus station and left to find a place a place for lunch.
We were pretty beat after sleeping in the car. After lunch we fell asleep on some benches in a nice area. There was a fountain infront of us and it felt nice to hear water dripping while drifting off to sleep. The area we were at used to be a womens prison. Stefan was the only one who didn't sleep because he decided to study for his exam coming up. It was such a gorgeous, hot summer day. We really enjoyed just laying there in the peace and quiet. When we finally regained some energy we walked back into the city center to look for some ice cream. We ended up buying postcards and finding a cafe to write the postcards in, instead.
(If you want a postcard send me your address...ehem Ale and Mom)
When we were done writing postcards we went out in search of ice cream. The boys can´t go to an ice cream parlor without ordering dulce de leche ice cream. I really enjoy the fact that they appreciate it so much.
The we shopped around a bit too. Stefan found a really nice argentinian Rugby shirt (which reminded me of Ale when I saw it) and he bought it. It looks really good on him and brings out his blue eyes. Hehehe. It´s true!
We went out in search of a bar for some beer and some card games. We ended up almost accross the place where we had had our nap before. Throughout the trip we played Remmi and Scheisskopf (our favorites) all the time in bars and any place we had the chance. It was getting late and we started heading for the bus terminal to take our bus to B.A., when Stefan discovered a Pollo Parrilla! I had been eyeing those Chicken bbq joints when I was still too sick to eat any. I think that's a specialty of Cordoba. We took some chicken to go with chimi churri (sp?) sauce and lemon.
It was soo good. Amazing! Too bad we don´t make this here in Uruguay.
We ate the chicken with our hands at the bus terminal and literally licked them clean. Our bus left at 22:00 and was even more comfortable than the first bus.
The seats were wider and the buses were brand new. We slept the whole 10 hrs to Buenos Aires and were pretty startled when we arrived. We were the last ones off the bus when it arrived at 7 a.m.
We hadn't reserved a hostel so we headed out to our familiar one Hostel Suites Pallermo, which we had satayed at the first 3 nights in B.A. We took the subway to the hostel and were disappointed to find out they were full for the night. They sent us to the Backpackers Tango Hostel just a couple of blocks away. We paid our dues, filled out the forms and enjoyed the benefit of using the showers! I think by this this point it had been 3 days for me... 2 days for the boys since our last showers.
I felt pretty gross! I really like this hostel. It is well organized and has enough bathrooms and showers for their capacity which is not what I can say for other hostels (*cough* Cordoba Backpackers). I give this hostel 4 stars... and only 4 cause the staff was a bit... ehm rude? Well not as attentive as in Hostel Suites Pallermo... where the staff is pretty cool.
I am thinking about working at a hostel maybe in the near future... I think it would be fun!
After getting ourselves together and storing our luggage we left to go in search of a rain jacket for me and a retro argentinian jersey for Stefan's dad, the kind Maradonna wore in 1986.
I finally found the kind of jacket I had been looking for since the trip began. It even cost half of what I was willing to spend. I was happy!
Happy and content we ended up having a great lunch at a "green" restaurant where they lay great inportance in fresh ingredients. Stefan and I had a gucamole-chicken burrito each, which were delicious. Andi had some sandwhich with brie, sun dried tomatoes, rucola and prosciutto.
We played some cards and then soon after we found the jersey Stefan wanted for a great price. Afterwards it was all about killing time.
- Botanical Garden (sooo beautiful with kitty cats all over!! The boys were woken up by security guards for sleeping on the benches).
- Bar & beer on the way to the Japanese Gardens, where we played cards.
- Japanese Gardens (not so spectacular), more card games
- Hostel to settle in and pack up
- Parrilla goodbye dinner at Estillo Criollo (yummy!!!)
- Sleepy time
Auf der Suche nach dem Hut
After breakfast at the Hostel in San Juan we headed off to Barreal which is close to the Andes Mountains. Some bicyclists told us that we would have to take like a 200 km detour since the road was closed. Plan B was driving the other way through Mendoza. We didn´t get to see much of Mendoza (sorry Maci) but our lunch was pretty good...
We had to leave right after lunch since we were short on time; the rent for the car was from Saturday morning til Monday morning. On the way, Stefan lost his hat taking a picture from the car. He was very sad!! We made it all the way to Uspallata, went the wrong way, took some pictures with the Andes and went back. We wanted to go a national park near there but, once we saw that it was a dirt road we figured that our Chevrolet Corsa wouldn´t make unharmed. We headed down right back to Uspallata which is such a cute little town. Stefan bought a Mate (traditional Uruguayan/Argentinian tea "cup") for his sister (his third one on the trip) and a scarf for his mom. Andi bought a llama... i still don't get why... but it´s for his collection and he liked it best :). Of course we went back the way we came in order to step out of the car and look for Stefan's hat... no luck!
We had no choice but to head back to Mendoza. On the trip Andi and Stefan decided they wanted to drive through to really close to Cordoba. We stopped in San Luis to buy empanadas and water and drove til 2 a.m. By this time we had arrived in a little town where Che Guevara spent his adolesence...
We had to leave right after lunch since we were short on time; the rent for the car was from Saturday morning til Monday morning. On the way, Stefan lost his hat taking a picture from the car. He was very sad!! We made it all the way to Uspallata, went the wrong way, took some pictures with the Andes and went back. We wanted to go a national park near there but, once we saw that it was a dirt road we figured that our Chevrolet Corsa wouldn´t make unharmed. We headed down right back to Uspallata which is such a cute little town. Stefan bought a Mate (traditional Uruguayan/Argentinian tea "cup") for his sister (his third one on the trip) and a scarf for his mom. Andi bought a llama... i still don't get why... but it´s for his collection and he liked it best :). Of course we went back the way we came in order to step out of the car and look for Stefan's hat... no luck!
We had no choice but to head back to Mendoza. On the trip Andi and Stefan decided they wanted to drive through to really close to Cordoba. We stopped in San Luis to buy empanadas and water and drove til 2 a.m. By this time we had arrived in a little town where Che Guevara spent his adolesence...
1 car, 2 days, 1800 km
So we rented a car. Andi was our main driver and I had to pull out my visa card for some insurance! Yeah it's wierd the way that works.
We got up and had a pretty suprisingly good breakfast at the Backpackers Hostel in Cordoba. I was still sick and it is pretty horrible having to wait 10 minutes for a bathroom, being asked "how longs it gonna be" when you finally get into the bathroom... and yeah. I wanted to kill that snobbish Oxford british bastard... At breakfast he asked the people using the internet "how long you gonna be?"... No manners! After checking out we picked up the car and drove out of the city.
We drove off first of to San Juan which is 560 km away from Cordoba City.
We had dinner at a really nice restaurant and overall liked San Juan.
We slept at a hostel called Hostel Zonden which was really beautiful for a hostel!!
Breakfast was also great. (Andi gave the hostel 4 stars and Stefan 3... I agree with Andi it deserved 4... but the bathrooms were not so pretty!)
More summing up later since now it's off to lunch!
We got up and had a pretty suprisingly good breakfast at the Backpackers Hostel in Cordoba. I was still sick and it is pretty horrible having to wait 10 minutes for a bathroom, being asked "how longs it gonna be" when you finally get into the bathroom... and yeah. I wanted to kill that snobbish Oxford british bastard... At breakfast he asked the people using the internet "how long you gonna be?"... No manners! After checking out we picked up the car and drove out of the city.
We drove off first of to San Juan which is 560 km away from Cordoba City.
We had dinner at a really nice restaurant and overall liked San Juan.
We slept at a hostel called Hostel Zonden which was really beautiful for a hostel!!
Breakfast was also great. (Andi gave the hostel 4 stars and Stefan 3... I agree with Andi it deserved 4... but the bathrooms were not so pretty!)
More summing up later since now it's off to lunch!
I heart Cordoba
We arrived in the Cordoba bus terminal at about 10:30 a.m.
The first thing we did was use normal toilets. The one in the bus was seriously traumatizing. Then we bought a map of Argentina and we went to the Backpackers hostel. If you plan on staying in hostels around Argentina or anywhere in the world you can save some serious cash by becoming a member of Hostelling International.
We got a private room for the three of us. After freshening up we went to take some "pflicht" photos. The plaza San Martin, the jesuit church, the university, the "manzana jesuita", the rathaus "casa cabillo" and so on. We ate lunch near the plaza and afterwards asked about renting a car. Afterwards we went back to the train station to ask about tickets to Buenos Aires. We got them for a great price on an overnight bus. I have to say that South Americans REALLY know how to travel by bus. The chairs are wider and can be made into beds... It is luxury!
We went to the zoo, to eat ice cream and shopped around.
After regaining some energy at the hostel (which b.t.w. gets 2 1/2 stars from Stefan, 2 1/2 stars from Andi and just 2 stars from me) we went to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant called "La Nieta y la Pancha". I wasn't too happy but the boys really liked their pasta,
Then we went in search of a techno bar for some famous techno-tango which we never found... and off to bed!
The first thing we did was use normal toilets. The one in the bus was seriously traumatizing. Then we bought a map of Argentina and we went to the Backpackers hostel. If you plan on staying in hostels around Argentina or anywhere in the world you can save some serious cash by becoming a member of Hostelling International.
We got a private room for the three of us. After freshening up we went to take some "pflicht" photos. The plaza San Martin, the jesuit church, the university, the "manzana jesuita", the rathaus "casa cabillo" and so on. We ate lunch near the plaza and afterwards asked about renting a car. Afterwards we went back to the train station to ask about tickets to Buenos Aires. We got them for a great price on an overnight bus. I have to say that South Americans REALLY know how to travel by bus. The chairs are wider and can be made into beds... It is luxury!
We went to the zoo, to eat ice cream and shopped around.
After regaining some energy at the hostel (which b.t.w. gets 2 1/2 stars from Stefan, 2 1/2 stars from Andi and just 2 stars from me) we went to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant called "La Nieta y la Pancha". I wasn't too happy but the boys really liked their pasta,
Then we went in search of a techno bar for some famous techno-tango which we never found... and off to bed!
Montevideo
So we spent a couple of days in Buenos Aires... looked around... and I got sick for some unknown reason... maybe the airconditioning and heat "schwankungen"
resulted in me having fever on the last day in Buenos Aires. I spent the whole day at the hostel (thank god we had a private room) and the boys explored and came back to check on me every once in a while.
Thankfully by the next day I was feeling better and we took the "Colonia Express" to Colonia and the bus to Montevideo. Later we found out that a couple of days before when the weather was pretty stormy a lady lost her baby (she was preggers) on the Colonia Express because it's a pretty tiny boat. Well we made it safely!! From now on we will travel with the Buquebus which is bigger and cheaper anyway.
Once in Montevideo (Thursday, February 18, 2010) we went straight to my godmothers house... where else???
We set up camp for the boys who were sleeping in the garden (most days) and we just hung out... pretty tired from the trip.
Day two we walked around the city center and went to "La Passiva", a Uruguayan style Diner, where we ate some Chivitos! YUM. Other things we did in Uruguay were seeing my grandpa and my aunt, going for lunch at the "Mercado Libre" with Gustavo where you can eat "Parrilla" (BBQ) and where tango lessons take place. This is behind the main street 18 de Julio.
Aia (my godmother whose name is actually Ana Maria) cooked delicious things for us like "guiso" (Uruguayan stew), "carne al horno" (roasted meat and potatoes), "milanesa" (w. schnitzel- beef style), and we had an "asado" which you make on the "parrilla".
All the while we all got some sort of stomach illness which resulted in visiting the facilities quite often... It was painful! Especially not being able to eat the delicious food!! I remained sick for about a week only figuring out pretty late that it was due to a sort of vitamin deficiancy from too much meat and no fruits and barely any veggies!! Whoops! haha
Once we started adding salad to our meat we all got better. A miracle... I know!
The day before we left to Cordoba, Argentina on the 24 of February we got enjoy the Uruguayan carnival! It takes place all throughout February. It's a bit different than that of Rio and we didn't really get to see all of a show but just the "murgas" which are according to Gustavo Fischer, the "best part". They are kind of like the Austrian "Kabaret". I think there is nothing like any where else in the world. They dress up in bright carnival costumes normally and they practically describe what life is like as a Uruguayan living in Uruguay. They reflect on what has happened throughout the year in a comical way. For example there was one group of murgas who started their song/story with the statement that Carnival is becoming popular in Argentina and that this is their chance to be discovered for "Buenos Airessssssss" (Argentians prolong their ssss's). Then they continue with "you invented the tango and the dulce de leche" and continue sucking up. It's one of those things where you had to be there to really understand it. It was the first time I've seen that and I must say I really enjoyed it.
To see the view of Montevideo from the highest point you have to go to Cerro. There are buses which take you pretty close and then you have to walk through a bit of a shady neighborhood... but the view is worth it!
The next day it was off to Cordoba by bus. A 17 hr bus ride.. yeay!
resulted in me having fever on the last day in Buenos Aires. I spent the whole day at the hostel (thank god we had a private room) and the boys explored and came back to check on me every once in a while.
Thankfully by the next day I was feeling better and we took the "Colonia Express" to Colonia and the bus to Montevideo. Later we found out that a couple of days before when the weather was pretty stormy a lady lost her baby (she was preggers) on the Colonia Express because it's a pretty tiny boat. Well we made it safely!! From now on we will travel with the Buquebus which is bigger and cheaper anyway.
Once in Montevideo (Thursday, February 18, 2010) we went straight to my godmothers house... where else???
We set up camp for the boys who were sleeping in the garden (most days) and we just hung out... pretty tired from the trip.
Day two we walked around the city center and went to "La Passiva", a Uruguayan style Diner, where we ate some Chivitos! YUM. Other things we did in Uruguay were seeing my grandpa and my aunt, going for lunch at the "Mercado Libre" with Gustavo where you can eat "Parrilla" (BBQ) and where tango lessons take place. This is behind the main street 18 de Julio.
Aia (my godmother whose name is actually Ana Maria) cooked delicious things for us like "guiso" (Uruguayan stew), "carne al horno" (roasted meat and potatoes), "milanesa" (w. schnitzel- beef style), and we had an "asado" which you make on the "parrilla".
All the while we all got some sort of stomach illness which resulted in visiting the facilities quite often... It was painful! Especially not being able to eat the delicious food!! I remained sick for about a week only figuring out pretty late that it was due to a sort of vitamin deficiancy from too much meat and no fruits and barely any veggies!! Whoops! haha
Once we started adding salad to our meat we all got better. A miracle... I know!
The day before we left to Cordoba, Argentina on the 24 of February we got enjoy the Uruguayan carnival! It takes place all throughout February. It's a bit different than that of Rio and we didn't really get to see all of a show but just the "murgas" which are according to Gustavo Fischer, the "best part". They are kind of like the Austrian "Kabaret". I think there is nothing like any where else in the world. They dress up in bright carnival costumes normally and they practically describe what life is like as a Uruguayan living in Uruguay. They reflect on what has happened throughout the year in a comical way. For example there was one group of murgas who started their song/story with the statement that Carnival is becoming popular in Argentina and that this is their chance to be discovered for "Buenos Airessssssss" (Argentians prolong their ssss's). Then they continue with "you invented the tango and the dulce de leche" and continue sucking up. It's one of those things where you had to be there to really understand it. It was the first time I've seen that and I must say I really enjoyed it.
To see the view of Montevideo from the highest point you have to go to Cerro. There are buses which take you pretty close and then you have to walk through a bit of a shady neighborhood... but the view is worth it!
The next day it was off to Cordoba by bus. A 17 hr bus ride.. yeay!
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