Going Out With A Bang

Jen arrived a week ago, and we've been trying to squeeze all that BA has to offer out of my remaining time as an expat.  I know the city marginally better now, and we've been blessed to have a few serendipitous encounters with the kind of random awesomeness that make this such a great town.  On Friday we stopped in Plaza Dorrego for some sangria, and my favourite caricaturist Leonardo was there to sketch our enormous chins and pointy elbows.  Just two more drawings, and the next one is free!  On Saturday we were walking between Recoleta Cemetery and the Big Ass Metal Flower, and stumbled upon a band in the park playing covers of 70's hard rock.  They ignored our request for Black Sabbath, but the singer did an amazing Robert Plant, so we let her off easy.  On Sunday we managed to score one of the coveted balconies for two at Amici Miei.  Our Italian feast was complemented by an impromptu drum-off between two rival gangs of hippies.  The streets below us turned into a mass of barefoot ravers, but we were high enough that we could enjoy the spectacle without having to smell the patchouli.

On Monday, we took the ferry to Uruguay for two nights at Posado De Campo Gondwana.  It's a winery/orchard/guesthouse just outside of Colonia, and was a welcome respite from the claustrophobic streets of San Telmo.  I had become accustomed to the broken, garbage-strewn sidewalks and screeching, exhaust-spewing buses of San Telmo.  Two days of laying in hammocks listening to the distant buzz of cicadas and the occasional thrum of a hummingbird was almost too bucolic for words.  There were bicycles and horses to ride, but we ended up just lazing around the saltwater pool most of the time.  Gondwana was run by a Swiss couple named Andy and Isabella, and on our first night there they cooked up a traditional Uruguayan asado.  We had grilled goat cheese, choripan, two kinds of blood sausage, baked potatoes, several salads, a stuffed chicken loaf, and a few different steaks.  After dessert, Andy brought out shot glasses along with bottles of homemade Limoncello, Grappa, and walnut liqueur.  As the bottles got emptier, Andy's German accent got thicker.  When the conversation started veering towards eugenics, Jen and I decided to call it a night.

Since returning to BA, we've been making big plans for a wild night out at one of the the many clubs that are open until dawn.  As each night wears on, we start dragging our feet, neither wanting to be the one to wuss out, but not really in the mood for crazy party action.  We're in our thirties, there is nothing to be ashamed of!  We had another tango lesson with Enriqueta, and have been practicing our moves on the roof.  Not sure if we can do it in public without embarrassing ourselves, but tonight is our last night here so we might try to hit up a milonga.