This one's for McTyre

In between the spotty rain showers on Monday (nothing like the torrential downpour of a week ago, thank goodness), we took our 15 peso umbrella (purchased from a strolling vendor on Ave. Florida downtown, where we were caught...again...when the drops started to fall) and walked over to the Hipodromo about a mile from our apartment.

Ladies and gentlemen...the Hipodromo is no Emerald Downs.

Monday's event, the Handicap La Maltrecha, was clearly not a major horse race, judging by the size of the crowd, which made it easier for us to stroll around this magnificent piece of architecture. We'll post more photos on our Flickr page when we get a chance...totally worth a look, because the building and grounds are stunning. So stunning that they are on the country's historical register and a national monument. Which apparently means (so we've read) that we weren't allowed to take photos (the place is private property, too, which plays into it). So we didn't take a lot, and tried to be discreet.

The racetrack is huge, which is a bit of a disadvantage when you really want to just lay eyes on some gorgeous horseflesh. We placed one bet each on the 6th race, J on number 8 (Bob Ricardo) to win (he came in third) and C on number 16 (Shadow Magic) to win (no comment). Minimum bet was 1 peso. We bet 2 pesos each, which meant we went home a whopping $1.16 poorer. I'm not sure we can handle that kind of financial devastation ;-)

Speaking of financial devastation, we took a brief walkabout in the massive casino underneath the Hipodromo. Acres of slot and video poker machines. Makes some Vegas casinos look puny. We didn't play, mostly because we couldn't figure out where to buy the cards to stick in the machines, thanks to our limited Spanish skills. Probably just as well.

The latest Persicco flavors are...

[Cue drumroll]

Mango y tiramisu (pictured) and frambuesca (raspberry) and mousse de chocolate.

Who knew that mango ice cream could be so full of mango flavor. We brought home a menu so we can plot our choices for the next seven days. So much flavor, so little time!

It's really a shame that the United States is deprived of Persicco. The quality of the ice cream is amazing. Places like Cold Stone (which really has mediocre ice cream hidden by piles of toppings and flashy preparations) and Baskin & Robbins pale in comparison. The closest we have would be places that make gelato in smaller batches. Plus, Persicco is such a happy place: clean, shiny and bright, with the convivial cafe atmosphere that helps make Buenos Aires so wonderful. It made us realize how sad and slightly scary being inside a Baskin & Robbins is...

The odd couple

It's no mystery that anything wrapped in bacon tastes good. However, even we were surprised to discover that prunes wrapped in bacon are delicious. Who knew?

We went to La Imprenta Cafe y Bistro Monday evening, intending to get salads, but instead got this collection of goodies. We chose the place in part because of it is conveniently located right next to the Persicco in our 'hood, but we were so full from dinner that we ended up going walking back to the apartment, waiting a few hours, then walking back to Persicco. So not so convenient in the end. Oh, well.

Sorry, H-Dog

We'd like to post this apology to our faithful hound...not that he'll see it, since he lacks computer access and opposable thumbs.

Sorry pup, but we've been adopted by a South American hound.

We watched this little girl trot up and down the street by herself while we were enjoying cafe con leche and tostadas at our favorite morning cafe. Then she curled up behind C's chair. When we got up to leave, she decided to accompany us.

We hissed and cringed each time she was nearly hit by a car, crossing uncontrolled intersections ahead of us. But she always knew just when to stop, even if it was only with a few inches clearance (seriously). She stayed with us for several blocks, until we went into a bank, and lost her. I'm sure she'll find us again.

Two observations about dogs

1. There are a LOT of golden retrievers in Buenos Aires.

2. In Buenos Aires, people apparently prefer their dogs male and unneutered.

Flora vs. fauna

We love gardening. We do it often. Anyone who has seen our yard won't doubt that in the slightest. And since I am a former Master Gardener who spent about four years working in plant nursery this millennium, you would think that, on a trip to a botanical garden, nothing could distract me from the plants.

Plants? What plants?

It turned out to be all about the cats.

The Buenos Aires Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanico Carlos Thayes) is home to more than 5,000 varieties of plants and, I would venture to say, about 10,000 cats. (OK, maybe not that many.) Suffice to say that, despite my declaration to J that I was going to pet each and every one of these cats, I quickly realized that my attempt was futile. There are dozens of them...everywhere. Napping on ledges, frolicking in hedges, sitting on benches, sprawling on the grass next to sunbathing humans.

Despite being feral, every cat I petted was very friendly and relaxed. May I present Exhibit A:

Right after J took this shot, the cat blinked lazily and rolled over on his back. Clearly a connoisseur of the good life. The population of cats that decided to inhabit the gardens several years ago is receiving free food and veterinary care (thanks to volunteers) while they live out their nine lives, but no new cats are to be allowed in. Well, we saw one litter of tiny, frisky kittens and one sweet orange tabby who was clearly preggers, so I'm not sure how that "no new cats" rule is working out for them... .

Note: J reminded me that the airlines do have rules against transporting live animals in suitcases. Sigh.

Cats aside, the garden was lovely, and free to enter. It has a gorgeous, enormous glass greenhouse in the art nouveau style (which we didn't photograph since this time of year they have shade cloth over it, subduing its glory) and a wealth of classical statuary. Since I complained in a previous post about most statuary subjects having such serious expressions (maybe that's what the Joker was talking about in the last Batman movie...), I felt it was fitting to include a look at this not-so-serious statue. Ciao!

TV in BA

Our first morning in Buenos Aires, I was a little surprised to discover that the local TV offerings included little more than subtitled or dubbed United States TV shows ("Gilmore Girls," "The A-Team," "Seinfeld," etc.) and really, really bad weight loss infomercials. Seriously bad...I can't even begin to describe them.

While I was sad to not discover any programs along the lines of what I imagined to be a "Good Morning Buenos Aires" type of show, I am happy to find that TNT delivers movie after movie. Last night we watched "Signs" (and opted not to watch "The Village.") Tonight, we caught "The Borne Supremacy" just as it was ending, and "The Minority Report" is just starting. So, ciao for now...