Back in Grey

I arrived in BA at half five in the morning. We drove along misty streets with bars still glowing on every corner, and Portenos casually having a beer, still deciding which club they should grace. It’s true that BA is a twenty four hour city! My classes start at nine and finish at twelve forty. Then, as in Quito, I can roam around the city in the afternoon. Unfortunately, it’s now winter here and rains quite a lot. On the other hand it’s pretty warm. This weather is pretty deceptive and I bought myself a lovely new winter coat which is slowly but surely cooking me!

As you would expect from a city which never sleeps, the nights out are lots of fun. The best club we’ve danced at is called ReggaeTron and has breakdancing competitions all evening. I like pretending I look like I’m part of the scene, but my Converse don’t really fit in with all the Nikes…otherwise the barrio Palermo is home to pretty bars playing music from Amelie Poulain, and there are restaurants literally everywhere selling literally the best steaks a girl can get.

The street style is awesome in BA. The Portenas are known for their confidence and fierce attitude (especially if they’re working in a shop when it seems most essential), and they all channel a rock chick look. Studded leather jackets, black wedge heels, long I-woke-up-with-perfectly-tangled locks and ‘save your time for someone who cares’ expressions. These people mostly live in the area that I’m living in- and where the school is, too. La Recoleta is the posh barrio where Americans and French have infiltrated, lined with gold and leopard print shops and tiny, little dogs. So. Many. Dogs. The dog walkers here are the highlight of my walk to school. I think I’ve worked out that they need at least ten pooches to make it worth the trip, and the more diverse the size, colour and age of the dogs the more impeccably they behave. If Poppy and Echo would join, there would be utter chaos! I’ve been really enjoying visiting the art galleries of Buenos Aires. At the MALBA, a little gallery of modern art, we saw some particularly disturbing exhibitions reminicent of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series. The Recoleta Cementario is almost like a sculpture exhibition, each grave is different and personal and deeply devotional. You can walk around for hours peering in through the windows of the mausoleums and deciding which of the many angels you would like to protect you one day. The botanical gardens have really pretty lilies and grecian statues, and on the first sunny day of my visit we could sit on a bench and eat some delicious ice cream. There are lots of Italian immigrants in BA, explaining the abundance of ice cream, coffee, pizza and pasta joints. One of my Italian flat mates at the residence works for an ice cream company and she visits the various factories to taste all of the flavours!

During my first week I stayed with a lovely grandmother to one, and BFF to all. She called me hermosa, amor, chickitika…and cooked wonderful mediterranean food. She hosted up to three students at any one time, and wanted to do all she could for each one. I felt very bad in that I hardly understood a word of her many rambling stories becuase she spoke so fast! She liked to Tango, and to get her nails and hair done every two weeks. Thank you, Alicia, for a wonderful stay!! And as my week is almost up, thank you to Buenos Aires for a lovely visit. I am definitely falling in love with this city! It reminds me of London with all the different areas, all of which have their own personality. There’s too little time to dance all the dances, try all la comida and see all the museums! BA was even named literary capital one year, I think. One of my favourite things to do is to find a cafe with waitors in bow ties and sit down with a cafe solo and my book, note book, or pile of postcards!

A word about my Spanish – it’s definitely improving, I’m currently working on the subjuctive, but I’m still met with confused expressions when I try and top up my phone or tell the taxi driver where I want to go. The classes are fun and the teachers are all dedicated. No problems waking up at seven forty five to get here!

Cold and Cool Quito

Polluted, busy, casi expensive, standing at an altitude of 2,800 metres (9,200 ft)… I absolutely love Quito! My school is in a pretty, colonial building on a quiet street with a ‘gourmet’ café just down the road. I have lessons from 8 30 to 1 Monday to Friday, and I have the afternoon free with the city as my playground. There are loads of museums, art galleries, coffee shops for people watching, parks and narrow streets with lime green, sunflower yellow and ruby red houses.

Being Lazy in Lima

So we’re now hiding out in Mierflores, Lima. It’s not really the ‘grungy’ side, as Anna from New Zealand suggested, as there’s a big café culture and a city beach just down the road…

It’s mid-twenties at midday (sorry to hear about the storms at home!), and the sea is providing pretty swell surf for Sophia to catch on her board. We decided to get to Lima early to chill out before Sophia goes home. We’re glad we did, it’s a good opportunity to detox from party-town Cusco what with all the healthy frozen yoghurt bars and enormous parks to laze in that we’ve found.

Yesterday, we actually ventured into the city to pick up some final souvenirs, and see the main square, but we couldn’t help but feel we wanted to make the most of the holiday aspect, as opposed to the cultural aspect, of this city. So, guiltily, we caught a taxi back and decided what to do next….um…beach??

At our lovely sociable hostel, they organized a Peruvian five course meal for us (yes- five!). Each round was basically a little morsel of potato carved into a different shape, and drowned in cream cheese sauce. Really good! Perhaps a little recklessly after a dodgy tummy, I tried the Ceviche (raw sea food, seasoned with lime) and the beef kebabs, hot off the barbie. I’m feeling fine today, happily, and it was interesting to see the contrast in the food to that of the highlands, such as tough Alpaca steaks and dry quinoa. So, I’m now off to recline in the palm-tree-park with a pot of Mango sorbet and my book before I begin school again in Quito, Ecuador. Even if Spanish isn’t my language, I think I’d be okay as a Frenchman…!