Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 6:53pm
Ok.. So this blog is going to work a bit backwards. The nights here don't really end till 8 am, and when I return home I'm in no condition to write a blog. Therefore, every blog will describe the previous night, and what I did in the daytime on the day that I'm writing the blog (today).
So, last night I met up with Lucas and two of his friends that he met. Lucas is a bad ass, he already made two authentic Argentine friends! They came by my hostel to pick me up for dinner, (it was 10:45pm), and we began our search of a worthy restaurant. We walked and walked and walked, and finally decided to stop at a place in Palermo Hollywood. Palermo Hollywood is so trendy, it's ridiculous. Everyone's dressed nice, bars are everywhere, music is playing, and people are sitting out in cafes enjoying meals in the late hours of the night. By the time we decided on a restaurant, it was already midnight. Of course, this is Buenos Aires, so no problem there. I ordered ravioli stuffed with cheese and beef, and topped with a marinara meat combo sauce. Also, i ordered a Heineken, and of course they bring me the biggest damn beer I've ever seen. I looked really weird sitting there at dinner at a classy restaurant eating pasta and drinking a 1 liter beer. It was bigger than a 40! We had fun talking with the Argentines, they were pretty awesome. They ended up being 27 and 33 y/o and I felt like a little child when they asked me how old I was. Really? I'm still 21? Really? Anyways.. the night died down a bit and we all walked home.
When I got back to my hostel, I guess the beer hit me because I was in the party mood. I put on my party clothes, and left out the door and took a taxi to a nightclub recommended to me by some people I met from Argentina. The cab ride was only 3 dollars and it was far as hell! I'm loving this. Anyways, when I get there, to my surprise, its all you can drink! 13 dollars (40 pesos) and it's all you can drink. Liquor, wine, beer, whatever... Order 6 beers, order 12 glasses of wine, there's no limit. Needless to say, I was completely obliterated but I was having a blast talkin to some people from the hostel. We went out to the dance floor, and out of nowhere it turned into a foam party. at this point I'm totally sandwiched in between some sweaty Argentines (this happens alot here) because the dance floor is so packed. When I leave the dance floor, I come back and I'm chatting with some people I met when I realize my wallet is gone! I went and told the police officer immediately and he told me to check at the coat check. Apparently it's pretty common to get your wallet stolen here, but if they steal it they o nly take the cash and return your credit card and drivers license to the coat check. I guess that's some form of courtesy, weird/cool? Of course, my shit is not at the coat check but since I'm in Buenos Aires, Argentina , on vacation, and at an all you can drink club, why go home and pout? My solution: keep drinking until the sun comes up and forget about it! At this point I'm totally obliterated, the club is so big I can't find the people I came with, and people keep grabbing me and speaking to me in Portugese because the only blacks that visit Argentina are Brazilians apparently.
I leave the club around 8:30am and I'm staggering on the street, wondering how the hell I'm going to get home because I spent my last peso buying a bag of chips instead of a metro ticket. Totally forgot my metro pass was in my stolen wallet! Solution: Ask for the cash.
I go over to this shadeball, who's like 50 or so years old, hairy, and kind of disgusting and ask in my best argentine accent "Tenes 70 centavos para el subte?" (Do you have 70 cents for the metro). To my surprise, he glady gives it up but I guess this comes at a price.. He began to talk to me as I walked to the metro station. Then out of nowhere, he's like, I'm going with you.. I'm like, um, where do you live and apparently he lives really close to where I live. Since he gave me 70 cents i decided to just suck it up and keep being nice till we part. Now the weird stuff happens...
He asks can he see my cell phone and since I just got my wallet stolen, I didnt really feel like getting that stolen too. I actually said no, but he begged and said it was an emergency. I gave in and let him use it, but defo kept a close watch over his shady ass. Anyways, when he hangs up, he told me that he couldnt get through. When I asked who he was calling, he said he was calling his mom to tell her he was on his way home. WHAT THE HELL is a 50+ year old man doing out partying and drinking until 9 am, and better yet, why the hell does he have to call his mom and say he's on his way home?!? Why does he still live with her and how is she still alive?!? Anyways, even weirder, he tells me that he's a club promoter and starts handing me free passes to local discos. When I get off, of course, he follows me , and acutally follows me to my front door of the hostel. I'm like.. um, ok, I live here, gotta go, cya! and I get buzzed in by the reception and shut the door on him. I quickly tell reception not to let him in under any circumstances, but at this point I'm not in much of a state to talk.. Luckily I made it in time for the hostel breakfast... since I was drunk as sin and it was arond 9:30am, I quietly drank my orange juice and ate my croissant with shame.
Ok, that was day 1 night.. Here's what I've done today.
Woke up at 4pm, but thank god the sun stays out here till 10pm otherwise I would have wasted a valuable day in Buenos Aires. I shower and head out the door. Today was kind of uneventful, just walking, lots of pictures and getting to know the city well. I walked on the largest street in the world, Avenida 9 de julio, walked on the beautiful Puerto Madero, and stopped at a bakery for two pastries. I had one thing similar to bread pudding and a big pastry stuffed with Dulce de leche (Argentine specialty) and it came out to j ust 1 peso. 30 cents. Awesome. I was acutally on a quest for CBC, california burrito company, because I hear its amazing. Who comes to Buenos Aires and eats burritos that are supposedly similar to Chipolte? Really? Don't judge me. Anyways, I walked for abotu 2 hours looking for the damn restaurant, and when I arrived, it was closed. Heartbroken, famished and tired, I ended up just catching the subway home and here I am. Tonight, I have nothing on the agenda so far, it's kind of weird not knowing what your plans are when it's 9:50pm, but keep in mind I didn't even arrive at the club until around 3am yesterday. I'll keep you guys posted and I'm hoping for another night of mayhem. I love Buenos Aires.
Weirdest moment of the day: I'm walking in the downtown area, Microcentro, when out of nowhere, this guy looks at me while I"m taking a picture and says in English "Come here". I walked over there like a dumbass (secretly hoping for some kind of crazy adventure because strangers are weird) and he says "Hey man, I'm Irish. I'm as drunk as they get and I can't even walk. I'm trying to find my way home, help me" and literally throws the map at me. I gave it back to him, did a nervous chuckle, and started to walk away. He calls at me again and comes up to me, and grabs my shirt pocket in a non-violent way. He says "In Ireland, we take the shirt pockets and rip them so you wont have any more" Me: "What?" Him: Nothing.. I'm just kidding, see you later.." and he stumbles off. Freak.
Peace,
Rob
So, last night I met up with Lucas and two of his friends that he met. Lucas is a bad ass, he already made two authentic Argentine friends! They came by my hostel to pick me up for dinner, (it was 10:45pm), and we began our search of a worthy restaurant. We walked and walked and walked, and finally decided to stop at a place in Palermo Hollywood. Palermo Hollywood is so trendy, it's ridiculous. Everyone's dressed nice, bars are everywhere, music is playing, and people are sitting out in cafes enjoying meals in the late hours of the night. By the time we decided on a restaurant, it was already midnight. Of course, this is Buenos Aires, so no problem there. I ordered ravioli stuffed with cheese and beef, and topped with a marinara meat combo sauce. Also, i ordered a Heineken, and of course they bring me the biggest damn beer I've ever seen. I looked really weird sitting there at dinner at a classy restaurant eating pasta and drinking a 1 liter beer. It was bigger than a 40! We had fun talking with the Argentines, they were pretty awesome. They ended up being 27 and 33 y/o and I felt like a little child when they asked me how old I was. Really? I'm still 21? Really? Anyways.. the night died down a bit and we all walked home.
When I got back to my hostel, I guess the beer hit me because I was in the party mood. I put on my party clothes, and left out the door and took a taxi to a nightclub recommended to me by some people I met from Argentina. The cab ride was only 3 dollars and it was far as hell! I'm loving this. Anyways, when I get there, to my surprise, its all you can drink! 13 dollars (40 pesos) and it's all you can drink. Liquor, wine, beer, whatever... Order 6 beers, order 12 glasses of wine, there's no limit. Needless to say, I was completely obliterated but I was having a blast talkin to some people from the hostel. We went out to the dance floor, and out of nowhere it turned into a foam party. at this point I'm totally sandwiched in between some sweaty Argentines (this happens alot here) because the dance floor is so packed. When I leave the dance floor, I come back and I'm chatting with some people I met when I realize my wallet is gone! I went and told the police officer immediately and he told me to check at the coat check. Apparently it's pretty common to get your wallet stolen here, but if they steal it they o nly take the cash and return your credit card and drivers license to the coat check. I guess that's some form of courtesy, weird/cool? Of course, my shit is not at the coat check but since I'm in Buenos Aires, Argentina , on vacation, and at an all you can drink club, why go home and pout? My solution: keep drinking until the sun comes up and forget about it! At this point I'm totally obliterated, the club is so big I can't find the people I came with, and people keep grabbing me and speaking to me in Portugese because the only blacks that visit Argentina are Brazilians apparently.
I leave the club around 8:30am and I'm staggering on the street, wondering how the hell I'm going to get home because I spent my last peso buying a bag of chips instead of a metro ticket. Totally forgot my metro pass was in my stolen wallet! Solution: Ask for the cash.
I go over to this shadeball, who's like 50 or so years old, hairy, and kind of disgusting and ask in my best argentine accent "Tenes 70 centavos para el subte?" (Do you have 70 cents for the metro). To my surprise, he glady gives it up but I guess this comes at a price.. He began to talk to me as I walked to the metro station. Then out of nowhere, he's like, I'm going with you.. I'm like, um, where do you live and apparently he lives really close to where I live. Since he gave me 70 cents i decided to just suck it up and keep being nice till we part. Now the weird stuff happens...
He asks can he see my cell phone and since I just got my wallet stolen, I didnt really feel like getting that stolen too. I actually said no, but he begged and said it was an emergency. I gave in and let him use it, but defo kept a close watch over his shady ass. Anyways, when he hangs up, he told me that he couldnt get through. When I asked who he was calling, he said he was calling his mom to tell her he was on his way home. WHAT THE HELL is a 50+ year old man doing out partying and drinking until 9 am, and better yet, why the hell does he have to call his mom and say he's on his way home?!? Why does he still live with her and how is she still alive?!? Anyways, even weirder, he tells me that he's a club promoter and starts handing me free passes to local discos. When I get off, of course, he follows me , and acutally follows me to my front door of the hostel. I'm like.. um, ok, I live here, gotta go, cya! and I get buzzed in by the reception and shut the door on him. I quickly tell reception not to let him in under any circumstances, but at this point I'm not in much of a state to talk.. Luckily I made it in time for the hostel breakfast... since I was drunk as sin and it was arond 9:30am, I quietly drank my orange juice and ate my croissant with shame.
Ok, that was day 1 night.. Here's what I've done today.
Woke up at 4pm, but thank god the sun stays out here till 10pm otherwise I would have wasted a valuable day in Buenos Aires. I shower and head out the door. Today was kind of uneventful, just walking, lots of pictures and getting to know the city well. I walked on the largest street in the world, Avenida 9 de julio, walked on the beautiful Puerto Madero, and stopped at a bakery for two pastries. I had one thing similar to bread pudding and a big pastry stuffed with Dulce de leche (Argentine specialty) and it came out to j ust 1 peso. 30 cents. Awesome. I was acutally on a quest for CBC, california burrito company, because I hear its amazing. Who comes to Buenos Aires and eats burritos that are supposedly similar to Chipolte? Really? Don't judge me. Anyways, I walked for abotu 2 hours looking for the damn restaurant, and when I arrived, it was closed. Heartbroken, famished and tired, I ended up just catching the subway home and here I am. Tonight, I have nothing on the agenda so far, it's kind of weird not knowing what your plans are when it's 9:50pm, but keep in mind I didn't even arrive at the club until around 3am yesterday. I'll keep you guys posted and I'm hoping for another night of mayhem. I love Buenos Aires.
Weirdest moment of the day: I'm walking in the downtown area, Microcentro, when out of nowhere, this guy looks at me while I"m taking a picture and says in English "Come here". I walked over there like a dumbass (secretly hoping for some kind of crazy adventure because strangers are weird) and he says "Hey man, I'm Irish. I'm as drunk as they get and I can't even walk. I'm trying to find my way home, help me" and literally throws the map at me. I gave it back to him, did a nervous chuckle, and started to walk away. He calls at me again and comes up to me, and grabs my shirt pocket in a non-violent way. He says "In Ireland, we take the shirt pockets and rip them so you wont have any more" Me: "What?" Him: Nothing.. I'm just kidding, see you later.." and he stumbles off. Freak.
Peace,
Rob
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