besos, Buenos Aires

Today I am leaving Buenos Aires for...an undetermined amount of time. I am sad.



This is what I will miss more than anything in Buenos Aires. And believe me, I will miss a lot.

saturday dins

I make a big feast at least once a week, and last Saturday I did the beer can chicken, a little trick told to me by a San Francisco urban planner one fine day on Angel Island. You don't need to season the chicken at all. You open an ordinary can of beer (Quilmes, pictured), pour out about two ounces and douse the chicken in it, then make holes on the sides about an inch below the top. Then you nest the chicken on it, vertically. As the beer heats, it comes out of the holes and keeps the chicken moist and delish...

laundry day

I'm not sure what is more work: doing the wash myself in the sink upstairs, or walking the four blocks to the lavanderia, and then having to pick it up later. I will say that doing the wash myself is more satisfying and somewhat relaxing (and saves me 10 pesos), but having it done means that my clothes seem cleaner.



That's why I do both.

playa repetto

It was 34 degrees C (93 degrees F) all weekend. Sunday we caught the last rays of sun on the terrace, drinking Quilmes and eating leftover tiramisu.


The other night we heard the train blaring and it sounded like a boat, and sometimes the wind rustling through the trees can sound like the ocean--so we've taken to calling the deck Playa Repetto--Repetto is the name of our street here in Villa Crespo.

And 'playa' (beach) is pronounced "pla-sha" here in Buenos Aires, of course.

el tableado de ajedrez casero

My roommate and I made a chess set yesterday out of an old drawing board and a cardboard shoebox.



Unfortunately I used an oil-based paint for the orange pieces, so it will be another day or two before we can play.