Epilogue: The BA Confessions II

We spent the last 24 hrs in Buenos Aires having dinner with some friends at Bar Uriarte (Wednesday) and enjoying the warmest and the most beautiful winter day by strolling around the city (Thursday) in short sleeved shirts.

The month have come to an end and it's time to head back to what we call home. The experience has forever changed us, to the better I think. The luxury of having time to explore, reflect and think is priceless. Especially together.

The mission of life is to get to know and understand thyself with the result of personal insight and growth. But it's also to connect with your fellow neighbor. Traveling accelerates that process and forces you to process much more data, often very conflicting, at a higher speed.

Our stay in Buenos Aires, as well as our time off, has been a very healthy and productive mental katharsis. A lot of the negative byproducts from a life in the fast hi-tech lane (stress, urgency, competitive disease, machiavellian encounters, greed, fear...) are flushed out and left is a lot of positive energy.

I realize that everything that I have experienced over the past few years and especially over the past year was a must, a necessity to get me to where I'm today. It started out as a feeling, evolved into an intuitive thought and then into action.

Many a times I've doubted the decision as well as felt anxiety beyond my wildest dreams but realized that this experience is essential. A life withour context and purpose is a very poor life.

The positive energy, the great kharma, the ecstacy I'm feeling as I write this (partially derived from an excellent bottle of Bordeaux as well as jetlag) is few and far between and can only be described as the elixir of life.

We are back to our beloved San Francisco, writing this as we watch the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge. The palm trees are swaying outside our windows and the sky is filled with a warm haze. There is a sense of unity, of divine connection and of happiness that makes all the sacrifices completely and utterly worth it.

Our next phase in life is about to begin!

Santa Rita - Saving The Best For Last

Third time is truly a charm and we - finally - succeeded in booking a night at a real Estancia - Santa Rita outside of Lobos on Pampas. Santa Rita was built in 1790 by the Ezcurra family who sold it to senator Carboni in 1890 whose grandchildren then sold it to Isabel Duggan and Franklin Nüdemberg in 1988.

The estancia was in dire need of restoration after more than 70 years of negligence. Today the former staff building is almost completely restored and the main building (picture) is partially restored. The resoration is financed by having a few visitors at a time.

We got to Santa Rita on Tuesday afternoon after a 90-minute bus ride and a 40-minute cab ride on a very wet dirt road. We were greeted with wine and then a 45-minute horse ride around the 200 ha property.

We had the opportunity to hang out with one of the owners, Sr. Franklin Nüdemberg, who gave us a quick tour of the buildings and it's history. We learned that there are secret tunnels under the property, from the main building to the stables, to make an easy escape if attacked. Scary!

Gimme Some Sugar

Traveling is, believe it or not, hard work. Impressions, new cultural biases and strange rules take a lot of energy. So once in a while it's really nice to just revisit an old culinary friend - Sucre.

This excellent restaurant is among our top three favorites in Buenos Aires and is owned by the team behind Bar Uriarte (Palermo Viejo) and Bar Danzon (Recoleta).

They serve a fantastic Ojo de Bife and an exquisite Chocolate Volcano but have lots of other great meals on the menu as well. The only negative is that the location is all the way over in Belgrano, a 20-minute taxi ride (AR$10-12). And it can be hard to find a return taxi on slow evenings.

The Next Phase In Life

It's the silence in music that defines a masterpiece. It's the reflection in life that creates perspective. It's the failure / success that generates experience.

Life is a marathon with a lot of more or less important races. Inbetween the races there is need for charging the engine, refocusing and consolidating one's world view.

I feel that I've processed the past enough to be able to charge ahead with the present towards the future.

Crisp, Cold But Sunny - The Best Of BA Winter

A crisp and sunny winter morning saluted us as we left our pad for a brisk walk to San Telmo - the old Italian neighborhood. By now, the city map is tucked away and we solely navigate on memory, street names and compass direction.

We started out on Pechego de Melo, to Callao, Arenales and then the east and sunny side of Avenida de 9 de Julio, all the way down to the famous Obelix. There we took Avenida Corrientes to Balcarce and followed it down to the center of San Telmo for a great lunch at Abril. To tell you the truth, it's quite a walk. Took about 2 hrs.

Abril is a great low-key bistro with a very affordable lunch (AR$12-16). The food is well thoughout, original and well-tasting without being pretentious. I had curry meatballs with potatoes and the Missus a very tasty pasta with tomato sauce. Wine and coffee (Cortaditos) included.



Our walk back (oh yeah) went past Casa Rosada (The Pink House) which is the presidential palace on Placa de Mayo (Celebration of the independence day May 25, 1810), on Diagonal Norte up to the Obelix via Teatro Colon, Talcahuano, Arenales, Las Heras and Pechego. That took about 2 hrs, as well.

I'm not big on hiking but walking in a beautiful sunny city when time means nothing is a great adventure. We took about 60 pictures of all different kind of interesting things, people and buildings that we ran into on our walk.

Everything is Not What it Seems to Be

We finally got to Malba today to enjoy a somewhat obscure - but free - exhibition of Roy Lichtenstein's drawings. It wasn't that great and I almost got thrown out for taking pictures but a museum is a museum. We then walked to the intersection of Avenida Libertador and Sarmiento, and turned down towards Plaza Italia to find a good spot for lunch in Palermo Viejo.

The weather has been great (high 60's with blue sky) but we are expecting rain anytime now. Today we hit 72 degrees with a lot of humidity and dark grey skies.

We ran into the thinnest house in BA on the way back from lunch at Social Paraiso. It's in Barrio Norte on Arenales and could not be deeper than 10-12 feet. It looks like a Hollywood facade. Very unusual.

Being Foreign Ain't That Bad

[This image doesn't really have anything to do with the story except to illustrate the change, growth and challenges that the Porteños are experiencing. We took it today on our walk from Recoleta to Puerto Madero's Faena Hotel where we had lunch.]

When I ran down to our local Bodega - Armesto - to chat with my homies (the wine guy and the cheese guy) I realized that we are really settling in here. Sure, people look at me as if I came from Mars and insist to speak English with me eventhough I'm speaking Spanish. The general response - which I don't really know how to interpret - is "Wouldn't it be easier if we all spoke English?". Well, a kick in the balls would be more subtle.

Anywho, once you have graduated from the misery life of being a tourist to a traveller to a human being new doors open, both physical and metaphysical. The only way to create trust is to walk the talk, i.e. being here and keep on keepin' on. People start to accept you after a while. Accept the fact that you won't go away or that you are different. Worthy of getting to know and different from the fannie pack wearing crowd.

At the same time the language starts to work for you. All the TV watching and magazine reading is paying off. You start to construct sentences on your own that actually makes sense. It's nothing fancy but people understand. You connect. There is love. No wonder that you are so tired every night. All the impressions are exhausting.

Back to the wine and the cheese guy. We discussed wine and cheese for quite some time. Not bad. The conversation was rather simple but we connected and they send me off with a bottle of Lagarde, a Camembert and a smile. Sure, it was a monetary transaction but I felt something. A sense of beloning.

And He Smokes A Phattie...

I don't need more proof of character than Italy's coach Marcello Lippi lighting up a cigar and shedding a tear. The Italian team - except for a few players - has been great (talent + character) all through the tournament. They have played very well, been humble and finally celebrated the win like true champions. The Italians penalty shoot out was the most professional in this tournament. They simple nailed it as they should.

Zidane's unforgetable and unforgivable assault resulted in a great let down of his team, a loss in the shoot out and the sad end of a great career. Just shows that talent is not always accompanied with great character. ¡Viva Italia!

My Name is Pepe

Kharma is a funny thing. Two days ago I had an epiphany, or a breakthrough insight if you will. The solution to the challenge that I've been struggling with suddenly seemed very clear. Almost effortless. And it had everything to do with great kharma.

The half empty pint of Guinness suddenly became half full. It also meant that my journey is about to come to an end. The things I set out to do on this time off hiatus are almost completed. Sure, there are always room for improvement but the goals are met.

So right after I had the realisation as described above, three things happened. First, we got an offer to rent one the the coolest penthouses in Pacific Heights. Second, we wrote the outline - effortless I might add - to the book we are planning to write. And third, I got a very interesting job offer at a killer high tech company.

So do I believe in good kharma? Oh yeah - it's all about the kharma. Kharma is the currency of life, it's the glue that connects everything, it's why we are here.

Lomo - When You Want The Best Meat in BA

One of our favorite restaurants is Lomo on Costa Rica and Almería in Palermo Soho. Lomo means tenderloin in Spanish and is supposedly the best cut of meat. I personally favor both the Ojo de Bife (rib eye) and the Solomillo de Pulmon (hanger steak). That said, the Lomo grilled a punto is great.

Lomo - the restaurant - is a very unique place, a mix of a bar, a restaurant, a lounge and a music store. The only negative is that their main courses are quite pricey. Lomo a la Lomo, which is their signature dish with tenderloin, potato gratin and sauteed mushrooms will set you back AR$38 and the Lomo Mulata with tenderloin marinated in soy sauce and honey AR$35.

Unfortunatley they don't allow for free sharing of main courses but charges an additional 50% if you care to. That is silly and to my knowledge the only place that does among our favorites. Sharing a dinner, being able to try more things is one of the true joys of eating out.

The result is that we usually skip starter and the desert to make up for choosing two main courses instead of sharing one. There is no way we would be able to eat a three course dinner each. That said, their dishes are delish, the enviroment pretty cool and the service excellent.

"Big Fat Hairy Deal"

Religion serves as guidance for most people in the world. It's a source of stability and security in times of uncertainty and doubt. To be part of something bigger than your own personal dreams, wants and desires - what ever that might be - creates a sense of purpose. Purpose, or what some people call mission, is crucial to happiness. Once you've found your purpose in life everything becomes simple, almost effortless.

But happiness and religion are two different things. Maybe two sides of the same coin. Since I'm much more of a disciple of Russell than Jesus or Mohammed, I prefer the filosofical reasoning than the religious. That said, it's all good as long as either process brings out the best in us and lets us find why we excist.

Today, my mind opened new doors to celebral places that I've never visited. It was triggered by our daily lunch discussion but a result of being in a different place than before. It was a Heureka! moment. Things started to come together which was the whole reason for taking time off. There was clarity created from chaos, risk and intuition.

I forgot to mention that in addition to religion and filosophy you need science. Or at least some kind of reason. Doesn't have to be mathematical or logical but it needs to make sense from a thesis / antithesis kind of way. Ah, and emotions. That's what usually stires up the mix and creates chemical imbalances.

The analysis leads to comprehension via synthesis. You face the uncertainty, the unknown, the fear and then you understand and move on. What freaked you out in the past might just be your saviour.

So back to the new door; it just confirmed that the intuitive action of taking time off to earn (yeah, you really have to earn it) perspective was the right thing to do. I should have done it much earlier but now I know when to do it next time. :)

Buenos Aires Warmer Than San Francisco

July is official winter in Argentina and Buenos Aires - as told by our friends here - used to be chilly if not cold. Today, not knowing that it's actually winter, you would think early fall or late spring. The sun came out right as we were having our first outdoor lunch at Croque Madame at El Palacio Errázuriz Alvear on Avenida Libertador (a 20-minute walk from our pad). The temperatured reached the high 60s with a 69% humidity.

The Palace is one of the most beautiful private residences in Buenos Aires and one of the few opened to the public to show how the power elite lived in the beginning of the 20th century. It was designed for the Chilean diplomat Matías Errázuriz and his wife the socialite Josefina de Alvear in 1911 by a French architect René Sergent who actually never visited Buenos Aires. It was left to the Argentinian state in 1937 and became a historic monument in 1997.

The palace is halfway to Malba (El Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) and well suited as an excellent pitstop. Malba was unfortunatley closed today so we'll just have to do it all over again tomorrow. ¡Maldición!

"C'est la Samba Bleue..."

France beating Brazil in the quarter final was the biggest things that has happened in France since... France beat Brazil in 1998.

We are yet again celebrating with the best cheese in the world - the French - and the best wine in the world - the Argentinian. If France gets it to final we'll have a St. Julien from Bordeaux and some Tallegio from Lombardy.

Alemania Afuera La Copa Mundial

¡Qué día linda! Italia ganó a Alemania por 2-0 en un muy divertido partido. El fútbol de Alemania sería muy aburrido and el equipo es finalemente afuera la Copa. Gracias a Grosso y Del Piero.

Close II Home

Well, for some people home is just where they were born and/or grew up. For others, home is wherever they lay their hat.

For me, it's when I find my favorite online resources: bookstore [www.musimundo.com], music store [www.10musica.com], grocery store [www.discovirtual.com.ar] and TV-Guide [buscador.multicanal.com.ar]. That is, to quote one of my buddies, key technology.

They Net has become a part of my DNA. It's no longer a nice to have or a need to have. It's a essential part of life and sometimes it's life.

That makes every trip to a new country a challenge. I need to research books and music before I go to the book or music store (in places where the iTunes store is not yet).

I want to read the reviews on the evening's dinner place. I want to compare products, services and shops. I want to be informed before venturing out in the real world.

It's therefore extra sweet when I find the local iTunes, Amazon, Safeway, Travelocity and Yahoo! TV. I did today! :)

That extends the question: Can the Net make an inefficient economy efficient? An 60GB iPod cost US$870 in Buenos Aires and US$399 in San Francisco. When can we connect all comparison sites to create real global free trade?

Keep On Keepin' On

Today felt like a great day to venture outside of our current favorite Barrios (neighborhoods). We had heard so much about Villa Crespo - a very proud, middle-class neighborhood south of Palermo Viejo. It's known for the leather outlets on Calle Murillo and for the bohemian and intellectual residents.

We decided to burn off the Sunday Asado by walking to Villa Crespo via Avenida Pueyrredón and Avenida Corrientes. It took little over 90 minutes which is the furthest we have walked one-way in BA. Once we got to the leather outlets, we were too exhausted to actually care about all the leather ware and just quickly browsed a few stores and headed for one of our favorite lunch restaurants, Central in Palermo Hollywood.



Central is an amazing restaurant. The food is very well-tasting and inexpensive, the staff super friendly and the place very well-thought out with comfortable lounge sofas and a wall full of magazines. Their Menu del Día runs at about AR$ 16 (US$ 5) and includes a starter, main and a glas of wine.

One of our favorite things with Central is that you can hangout there for hours with no pressure for turning tables. The lounge sofas invite to both reading and power napping. And if you happen to stay there for a few hours I highly recommend the afternoon sandwiches with cheese and ham - deeelish!

The walk home was anything but enyojable and probably took about 90 minuts as well. We made a few pitstops in Palermo Soho then via Avenida Santa Fe and our local grocery store Disco.

Our First Asado With Friends

Argentinians love their weekend Asado (barbeque). Yesterday we were invited to our friend Luis' asado with his friends and family. The morning sun gave good hopes for a beautiful Sunday in the burbs of Buenos Aires.

We were picked up at about 10:30am for the ride out to Escobar, about 25 miles north of Buenos Aires. There were hardly any traffic this early but with a strong weather report everyone expected a lot of porteños to leave the city for a day out on the beautiful country side.

Our host started to prepare the Parilla (the grill) as soon as we got to his house. There is a special ritual how to light the fire, heat the grill, prepare and cook the meat. It's a very active process and takes about 2-3 hrs from start to finish.

A real Argentinian asado offers much more than the usual burgers and hot dogs. It usually concists of several different sausages, inner organs and several different cuts of meat. We had (in this order) Chorizos, Morcillas (blood sausage), Mollejas (pancreas sweatbread), Matambre de Cerdo (brisket), Asado de Tira (ribs) and Vacio (flanksteak). You usually start with the sausages and organs and continues with the meat on the bone and steaks.



An asado is the true feast for a carnivor eventhough there is salad, bread and wine served. The meat is only prepared using salt, nothing else.

Eventhough it's winter down here we were sitting outside, in short sleeved shirts and enjoying the warmest day in weeks. The aroma from the grill got us all hungry and we nibbled on some cheese and cured hams. I think mentioning that we also had some really great Navarra Correas wine (Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon) might be superfluous.

The feast was beyond our wildest expectations. The asado turned out to be a fantastic fiesta with new friends and foods. All the different meats were fantastic, grilled to perfection.

We enjoyed the afternoon digesting the meats in the sun and learning more about Argentina's economic and political history. We learned that our host is not only a great Asador but also a brilliant conversationalist.

The sunset called for our siesta and we headed back to the city in rush hour like traffic on the seven-lane Autopista. What an awesome day!

The Big Blow

There is not enough wine in the world to make this day go away. First England gave in thanks to Rooney's stupid red card, Crouch's moronic play and Beckham's injury and then France-on-crack kicked the crap out of Brazil.

England played well and held their own through most of the game. They had a lot of opportunities to score but made it harder for themselves than needed by Rooney's red card. Portugal wasn't that great but eleven against ten takes its' toll during 120 minutes. A penalty shoot out is as random as a dice game. Portugal got lucky. I so wanted Eriksson to bring his team to the first semi-final since 1990 (it would have been the third after '66 and '90). He deserved it.

France played on par with Brazil through most of the first half but elevated their game to a class of their own during the second half of game. Zidane was brilliant and Henry's goal was superb. It was like a well temperatured aged wine from St. Julien. I take back everything I've ever said about Henry. What a goal. A classic.

Brazil played like a bunch of school girls compared to the team performance by France. That said, Brazil is a great winner and even better loser. I love the way that Roberto Carlos, Ronaldhino, Ronaldo, Kaka and team smiled all through the game, showing that it's just a game.

To be honest, I've been wrong all through this WC and only one of "my" teams went the whole mile: Italy. So here is the last bet: France will beat Germany in the final and Italy will beat Portugal for the bronze.

That said, this WC kicks butt. The games are awesome and Buenos Aires is a wonderful place to watch them from. Our local hangout - Bar 6 - is generous enough to give up their best chairs for us to watch football for 4-6 hrs per day. I'm trying to drink as much wine as I can to support their business as payback. Barefoot is best!

Tricks of The Taxi Trade

Taxi is a convinient, inexpensive and relatively fast way to get around Buenos Aires. The only exception is during rush hour when it pays off to walk or just have a siesta.

But one should be careful when using taxis in Buenos Aires since it's not a very regulated industry and that opens up for bad apples. There is no training which means that everyone and his uncle is driving taxis. The taxi drivers aren't very friendly and have in most occasions no idea where restaurants or other destinations are.

The first thing to think about is to always use the Radio Taxis. They are more reputable and safer than the street taxis (very often run by the local mob). You recognize them by the the Radio Taxi sign on the roof and on the passenger doors. To call them is the best thing but you can also hail them on the street. Just be sure that it really is a Radio Taxi.

The street taxis are known to prey on tourists, outside the airport, outside banks and restaurants. Never grab a taxi that is waiting outside any of these areas. You'll be asking for trouble.

The most common ways of releaving tourists from their hard earned money is:

1) Pick them up outside a bank or a restaurant and then robb them. People tend to be safe when they are in a taxi but the truth of the matter is the reverse. Ever heard of captive audience?
2) Fake an engine breakdown and ask the tourist to take the taxi behind (which is driven by a mob friend) and then robb them.
3) Use counterfeit money as return change.

Here are the main things to think about:
1) Only use Radio Taxis. If at a restaurant or hotel ask them to call one for you, especially if you are a little intoxicated. Otherwise only hail moving Radio Taxis.
2) Give directions by street and cross street, not by restaurant name. For example: Calle Uriarte (street) con Honduras (cross street) en Palermo Viejo (neighborhood). That said, once at the location, ask him to drive all the way up to the hotel or outside the restaurant. The driver is less likely to pull any tricks while other people are watching.
3) Always have exact change. Once you have paid, get out of the taxi. If the taxi driver is making an argument, just walk away.
4) Check that your bills are valid by looking for the water stamp. Do this so that the taxi driver can see that you are aware of the counterfeit tricks. A common trick is for the taxi driver to exchange your bill for a counterfreit and then return it too you saying that it's counterfeit. That has happened to us twice, fell for it once.
5) If the driver is pulling any crap like engine breakdown, need to stop to check the oil, fill up gas, pick up something on the way et cetera just get out and walk away.
6) Ask the driver to take the major streets and then observe where you are going. It's a great way to get to know the city as well as knowing where you are at any moment.
7) Chit-chat with the driver. Football is always a popular subject as is weather. That gives you an idea of what kind of person the driver is and shows that you are not just the average dumb tourist.

Stick with these rules are you'll be fine. We have taken about hundred taxi rides in Buenos Aires and only had trouble twice: the first time the driver argued counterfeit and we just left and the second time (after a visit to a restaurant at nightime) we fell for the counterfeit + letting us off in a dark spot around the corner of our hotel trick. Lost AR$10 (US$3) which is a small price to pay for an important lesson.

The Night That Keeps The Darkness Away

Once we had accepted the fact that Argentina was out of the WC it was clear that we needed some culinary healing. Our minds weren't in the mood for trying something new but revisiting an old favorite: Bar Uriarte in Palermo Soho. So we grabbed a radio taxi and drove through the warm winter night and got their around 10.30pm - they had one table left.

It's the perfect restaurant with a long buzzing bar, open spaces, high ceilings, great food and decent prices (AR$120 for two if sharing the courses). But the most fun are the people there; very vibrant, stylish and interesting. It's everything from the accidental tourist (very few) to families, couples, young crowds, fashionistas and semi-celebrities.

We had Carpaccio Clásico, Ojo de Bife and Chocolate Fondant with some Trapiche Roble. The food is well thought out in taste, portion and display. Sharing works great, gives us the opportunity to try more dishes.

Bar Uriarte also have a coat check and a security guy that can hail a safe cab for you. It all adds up to a very pleasant dinner out.