June 2, 2003
Breakfast at the hotel we're staying at in Buenos Aires is always good. Sometimes you do get what you pay for - at least we're not paying the full rate :-)
Anyway, we began the day by taking a walk to Puerto Madero, which was basically right down Avenida Corrientes from the hotel. It was a little windy and cold, but Michaela was bundled up pretty well and seems to enjoy a little wind. When we finally reached the water, we sat on a bench and let Michaela walk and crawl around a bit. She saw a pigeon and gave chase, but she's still mostly crawling - not quite walking yet.
We saw a tall buildings nearby with "Microsoft" and "Sun" in big letters at the top of each. Funny how some parts of the world just seems eerily the same. We also saw a building that looked a lot like the opera house in Sydney. So we walked towards it and sure enough, it's an opera house. We both thought it would be better for the opera house to have its own unique design. We soon found ourself by the ferry to Colonia, Uruguay, and in an area which is more conducive to trucks than walking tourists so we headed back to the more pedestrian friendly area.
In this area, we spotted the Fragata Sarmiento, which is now a museum and we crossed the water over a beautiful white suspension footbridge but skipped the museum as we had Michaela in the stroller. Instead we continued walking and looking into the expensive-looking restaurants that lined the waterfront of Puerto Madero. These restaurants included (I am not making this up) TGI Fridays and McDonald's.
Later on in the day, we met with one of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo at Vesuvio, a little cafe close to the hotel. I must say this about the staff of Vesuvio (and of nearly every eatery we've been to in Argentina): they are great with Michaela. We have never been made to feel unwelcome or that Michaela is an inconvenience or somehow unpleasant, no matter how loud she has been or how big a mess she has made. Now we have never traveled anywhere else with a 14-month old, but Argentina has been absolutely great. When Michaela cries or fusses, instead of nasty stares, people nearby ask her what's wrong - or, as Michaela has learned, they might give you a cookie. At Vesuvio, first the waiter gave her a little cookie. Then a gentleman at a nearby table. And then the waiter gave her another one. And they never seemed to mind when she was crawling or walking in their way as they waited on tables. In the US, nobody has ever said anything, but their faces usually say it all: shut the kid up, get her away from me, etc. At first it was a little bit weird for me to have strangers touching her face and hand, but it has been great....really.
Posted by mike at June 9, 2003 08:06 PM