This day at sea was spent relaxing with Trivia, eating, gym, eating, pilates, eating, drinking, eating. You got it. Went to the show that evening which I thought was OK, others didn’t like it so much.
For those who watch Fox Discovery Channel the town of Ushuaia is no mystery. It is the southernmost city in the world with a population of 60,000. We decided on a rail and jail tour. This town was a prison town from 1902 to 1947. Prisoners were just below life sentence. As part of their labour they built a prison railway which carried the prisoners to various work areas.
We then moved on to the National Park which was very much as one would expect. Finally to the prison and city museum which was very interesting and fully explained the history of Ushuaia.
We mooched around town and back to the ship for lunch at what has become known as the Hakoah Club – a cafeteria style restaurant where older people push you out of the way to get to mediocre food. OK the food is not too bad but the people are very pushy.
Sleep, eat, show and then bed.
Next day we arrived early at Punta Arenas – our first Chilean stop, a relatively larger town with 130,000 people. It seems to have much to do with the Chilean Navy. Much excitement today as Justin and Michael go off on their Antarctic tour. A 2½ hour flight to Frei Base, a Chilean Air Force Scientific Research base. This was followed by a zodiac (small boat) trip to Ardley Island, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). There they were allowed to walk among the Penguins (Justin even patted one). Some were disappointed as only one boatload made it there and back before bad weather set in – luckily including Justin and Michael.
The others took a tour to Otway Penguin Colony which was fascinating getting so close to where the penguins live and breed. They are such sweet animals and their ecology and history was quite absorbing. Gerda was convinced (easily) to take a motorised scooter for the 2km trek to and from the colony – good value at $US15 including somebody who followed her around to make sure she was OK driving on the pathways.
Danielle and I returned to town for internet, lunch etc while Jerome and Ludmila did a city tour and Anna went kayaking. All met back at the ship for a birthday celebration for Michael who turned 23 today. We were joking that he would be the only person celebrating his birthday on Antarctica that day – well they came back saying he was the only straight person celebrating his birthday on Antarctica that day. The celebration took the form of a dinner at Le Bistro, a fine dining French Restaurant where we had a superb meal including foi gras, beef, bouillabaisse and other great delights. This was followed by the 22:30 chocaholic buffet where not too much was eaten - by us at least.
Next morning the gym was full with those who participated in the night before chocolate buffet. None of us had breakfast but met at 11:45 for International Trivia – led at the turn but faded in the straight – before the sushi lunch which was rated at seven out of ten.
Ludmila gave Danielle a facial before everybody had a rest for the afternoon. Dinner expected to be low key.
The next day was the only time we had two consecutive days at sea. Activities included eating, trivia which we won from about ten other teams, eating, a Disney Dali cartoon which was interesting, eating, gym, eating, a truth or lie show which was good, a history of dance show (hohum) and a Motown show which was great.
What is Pisonia:
A pea based soup from the Pisa region
An Australian bush with aphrodisiac qualities
What is Erectarine
A West Indian instrument made from mops and bells
A constellation
A listening device
A relatively late night with early morning stretching classes as we arrive in Chucabuco. Danielle, Justin and I elect for no tours today which seems a good idea as it is raining. Being a township of 1,400 people we will probably wander into town have a look around and come back for more eating – I mean shipboard life.
Only Friday and Saturday and our trip will finish on Sunday. I have arranged 2 vans to take us the 80kms from Valparaiso to Santiago where Justin and I leave that night, Danielle the following night and everybody else the following night with Anna to Buenos Aires and Mike to New York.
Anyway catch you all soon
Love XD
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Port Stanley (Falklands) and Cape Horn
The next day is at sea as we head towards Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands. Everybody decides to take it quietly. A bit of reading, sleeping, trivia, casino (and no not me I am retired injured). Mish has taken to the spa and the gym on board and can usually be found at one or the other.
The kids are well (Justin recovering from his cold) and it is lovely to see them bonding more strongly than they already were. Mish and Justin are looking forward to their Antarctic tour aboard a Chilean transport plane to a Science Station. It is subject to minimum numbers so they are sweating that one out.
The next day we wake to find ourselves in Port Stanley. The Falkland Islands is home to around 3,000 inhabitants of which 2,100 live in Port Stanley. I asked the guide how one can live in the Falklands and he indicates that it is not possible at this time unless you are a shoe repairer – which they are obviously in need of.
All schooling, hospital, medical and dental is free on the Islands and the guide explained the tax system which is 13,000 pounds no tax up to a maximum rate of 26%. The main industries are wool and tourism (60,000 per annum).
The island is quite desolate and why one would fight a war over it in which 250 English and 600 Argentineans would die is a little amazing. It is of course very English with the currency, the Falkland Pound being interchangeable with the English Pound. Mum did a walking tour??, we did a two hour familiarisation tour by bus in the morning and Jerome and family did an ornithological (bird watching) tour in the afternoon.
After the tour we had lunch at the brasserie – I am guessing the only one apart from the two pubs in Port Stanley. Danielle tried the local delicacy of Upland Goose (as a pie) while Justin and I opted for the fish and chips – all quite tasty. We then headed back to the ship.
The weather is getting colder as we head south. It was a very pleasant 14 and sunny in the Falklands – much better apparently than we could have expected.
In the tender towards Port Stanley we met a gay couple from New York aged 65 and 81 one of whom was a ‘yackner’ and Jewish while the other was quite reserved and I though not Jewish. Lo and behold we decide to go to Shabbat services and the two of them were running it after asking the ship if this would be OK. The ship had siddurim and kosher wine and cooked two challot. More interestingly there were about 40 people there – even with three Sterns missing – guess who?
That evening we ate at the Steakhouse and I invited the two New Yorkers to join us. They were very interesting – both very active in the Jewish Reform movement in America. The older was an attorney while the other was a painter. One even had a 26 year old nephew who he thought would be suitable for Danielle and who, as a sports producer for Fox with access to sports tickets throughout America then very much interested Justin.
I don’t know what it is but this doing not very much is very tiring. I decided to head for bed – bear in mind it was 23:30 at this stage.
A little about the ship. We are on level 10, one below the penthouse suites. The newer ships are very different – they are built with 5 decks of balcony cabins and only two decks of porthole/window cabins – about the reverse of what it used to be. The cabins are exceptionally well laid out with plenty of storage areas, a mini bar, couch, coffee table. The TV shows CNN, Fox News, movie channels, ship information channels, kids channels etc.. The only minor disappointment is how small the TV is – 11 or 14 inch.
Facilities on board include 11 restaurants, various bars and lounges, a coffee shop with Lavazza coffee (could be hotter but taste is OK), an internet lounge with around 20 computers or wi-fi if one wishes to use their own computer. Internet charges range from $US0.75 a minute down to $US0.40 per minute if one buys a package. There is cellular reception via satellite on board which I found surprising.
As one would expect everything runs very smoothly on the ship from the tours to the tendering ashore when not moored at a wharf.
So it is now morning of our day at sea and tonight we arrive at Cape Horn at 18:30 this evening when sunset is 22:04 and sunrise tomorrow will be 04:55 – so long days.
More soon after Ushuia
David
The kids are well (Justin recovering from his cold) and it is lovely to see them bonding more strongly than they already were. Mish and Justin are looking forward to their Antarctic tour aboard a Chilean transport plane to a Science Station. It is subject to minimum numbers so they are sweating that one out.
The next day we wake to find ourselves in Port Stanley. The Falkland Islands is home to around 3,000 inhabitants of which 2,100 live in Port Stanley. I asked the guide how one can live in the Falklands and he indicates that it is not possible at this time unless you are a shoe repairer – which they are obviously in need of.
All schooling, hospital, medical and dental is free on the Islands and the guide explained the tax system which is 13,000 pounds no tax up to a maximum rate of 26%. The main industries are wool and tourism (60,000 per annum).
The island is quite desolate and why one would fight a war over it in which 250 English and 600 Argentineans would die is a little amazing. It is of course very English with the currency, the Falkland Pound being interchangeable with the English Pound. Mum did a walking tour??, we did a two hour familiarisation tour by bus in the morning and Jerome and family did an ornithological (bird watching) tour in the afternoon.
After the tour we had lunch at the brasserie – I am guessing the only one apart from the two pubs in Port Stanley. Danielle tried the local delicacy of Upland Goose (as a pie) while Justin and I opted for the fish and chips – all quite tasty. We then headed back to the ship.
The weather is getting colder as we head south. It was a very pleasant 14 and sunny in the Falklands – much better apparently than we could have expected.
In the tender towards Port Stanley we met a gay couple from New York aged 65 and 81 one of whom was a ‘yackner’ and Jewish while the other was quite reserved and I though not Jewish. Lo and behold we decide to go to Shabbat services and the two of them were running it after asking the ship if this would be OK. The ship had siddurim and kosher wine and cooked two challot. More interestingly there were about 40 people there – even with three Sterns missing – guess who?
That evening we ate at the Steakhouse and I invited the two New Yorkers to join us. They were very interesting – both very active in the Jewish Reform movement in America. The older was an attorney while the other was a painter. One even had a 26 year old nephew who he thought would be suitable for Danielle and who, as a sports producer for Fox with access to sports tickets throughout America then very much interested Justin.
I don’t know what it is but this doing not very much is very tiring. I decided to head for bed – bear in mind it was 23:30 at this stage.
A little about the ship. We are on level 10, one below the penthouse suites. The newer ships are very different – they are built with 5 decks of balcony cabins and only two decks of porthole/window cabins – about the reverse of what it used to be. The cabins are exceptionally well laid out with plenty of storage areas, a mini bar, couch, coffee table. The TV shows CNN, Fox News, movie channels, ship information channels, kids channels etc.. The only minor disappointment is how small the TV is – 11 or 14 inch.
Facilities on board include 11 restaurants, various bars and lounges, a coffee shop with Lavazza coffee (could be hotter but taste is OK), an internet lounge with around 20 computers or wi-fi if one wishes to use their own computer. Internet charges range from $US0.75 a minute down to $US0.40 per minute if one buys a package. There is cellular reception via satellite on board which I found surprising.
As one would expect everything runs very smoothly on the ship from the tours to the tendering ashore when not moored at a wharf.
So it is now morning of our day at sea and tonight we arrive at Cape Horn at 18:30 this evening when sunset is 22:04 and sunrise tomorrow will be 04:55 – so long days.
More soon after Ushuia
David
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Puerto Madryn and Thereabouts
Next morning the Jerome Sterns and mum gather early for their tour of Montevideo. Unfortunately Justin is all stuffed up with a cold and spends most of the day in bed while Danielle takes me on a two hour walking tour of the “old city” part of Montevideo which she had recently visited. This city didn’t do much for me – a sleepy Spanish style town with significantly less affluence than Buenos Aires.
Back to the ship for lunch with Justin and a general mooch around the ship till it departed at 16:30 – seemingly they worked out it wasn’t worth a late departure. At 17:30 we meet for Trivia where we scored a big 4/20 although in our defence the winning score was 8/20. Try these:
- who was the first Soviet president born AFTER the revolution
- which two countries still manufacture the VW beetle
- what are the three most successful box office movies of all time
- who officiated over Giuliani’s 2003 marriage
- what was discovered to share 70% of DNA with humans in 2006
OK so now you know why we flunked this test.
Drinks in Gerda’s cabin before dinner. Now there are eleven restaurants (and eleven bars) on board of which five have a supplement of between $US10 and $US25 per person. Some have lobster and it was Jerome’s task to find out which two nights had lobster in the non-supplementary restaurants – bingo – tonight was the night. Everybody ordered various appetisers and mains after which we sheepishly asked the waiter to bring 6 lobster ‘solo’. He came back apologising that the lobster was finished – he wasn’t apologetic enough for my liking and turned up with 6 tails which were devoured with gusto.
Now many won’t know that Gerda has two birthdays, 28th December (actual) and 5th January (registered) so being the latter the waiters brought a birthday cake and sang happy birthday along with everybody else in the restaurant.
After dinner some went dancing and we quickly visited the stargazing session with a very knowledgeable instructor who used a laser pointer very effectively to assist his discussion. Surprisingly I am guessing there were 300 people at this activity at 23:00 which I found surprising.
Anyway off to bed, watched some TV shows I brought with and a relatively early night.
Next morning 07:00 and Danielle and I had coffee before we fulfilled our agreement to go to stretching classes and a short gym session. Shower and breakfast. Basically we then spent a day of light activities and sleeping punctuated by the ship listing dramatically to one side and stopping suddenly. Nobody was too concerned as the alarm did not sound but it was more than a little disconcerting – that is until the captain announced that there had been a problem with one of the rudders but were soon underway again.
That evening there was a breakup of the group when Danielle, Justin and I went to the steakhouse and it was exceptional. I went through a series of appetisers including
- beefsteak tomatoes with onions and balsamic which the waitress kindly explained that despite its name it didn’t come with any beef.
- Portobello mushrooms with blue swimmer crab
- Rockefeller oysters
- Lobster bisque
- Prawn cocktail
All of which I would rate as 8.5/10 or better. Justin reported that his rib eye was superb as was Danielle’s double cut lamb chops with rosemary. Needless to say that the desert matched the mains. Certainly worth the $US20 supplement or in Justin’s case $US30 as his rib eye was accompanied by lobster tail – yes folks Justin eats lobster.
We all met up afterwards in the lounge to listen to some music and another late night.
Next morning the ship docks in Port Madryn, a town of 90,000 people 1,400 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. It’s black beaches are popular as siesta time arrives and interestingly the tide has a depth of 4 metres from top to bottom and even 10 metres further south.
Jerome, Ludmila, Anna and Danielle have booked a tour to a penguin rookery. As that tour involved three hours each way on a bus each way for just one hour there Justin, Michael, mum and I booked on a tour which took us to a sea lion colony, sheep shearing on a ranch – yes folks we travelled exactly half way around the world to see sheep shearing – and an eco museum. The sheep shearing was in fact very interesting and Justin fell in love with the two lamas who enjoyed being approached and petted while the other group reported that the penguin colony was also a great tour.
Back to the ship before our 18:00 departure, check for email – yes there is internet on board but quite expensive so I do two runs a day to receive and send my emails and of course post my blog. A family dinner in the large restaurant and some light evening activities finish off the day.
As the ship moves south we certainly feel the weather cooling down – 23 degrees today but more importantly the wind seems the norm.
Back to the ship for lunch with Justin and a general mooch around the ship till it departed at 16:30 – seemingly they worked out it wasn’t worth a late departure. At 17:30 we meet for Trivia where we scored a big 4/20 although in our defence the winning score was 8/20. Try these:
- who was the first Soviet president born AFTER the revolution
- which two countries still manufacture the VW beetle
- what are the three most successful box office movies of all time
- who officiated over Giuliani’s 2003 marriage
- what was discovered to share 70% of DNA with humans in 2006
OK so now you know why we flunked this test.
Drinks in Gerda’s cabin before dinner. Now there are eleven restaurants (and eleven bars) on board of which five have a supplement of between $US10 and $US25 per person. Some have lobster and it was Jerome’s task to find out which two nights had lobster in the non-supplementary restaurants – bingo – tonight was the night. Everybody ordered various appetisers and mains after which we sheepishly asked the waiter to bring 6 lobster ‘solo’. He came back apologising that the lobster was finished – he wasn’t apologetic enough for my liking and turned up with 6 tails which were devoured with gusto.
Now many won’t know that Gerda has two birthdays, 28th December (actual) and 5th January (registered) so being the latter the waiters brought a birthday cake and sang happy birthday along with everybody else in the restaurant.
After dinner some went dancing and we quickly visited the stargazing session with a very knowledgeable instructor who used a laser pointer very effectively to assist his discussion. Surprisingly I am guessing there were 300 people at this activity at 23:00 which I found surprising.
Anyway off to bed, watched some TV shows I brought with and a relatively early night.
Next morning 07:00 and Danielle and I had coffee before we fulfilled our agreement to go to stretching classes and a short gym session. Shower and breakfast. Basically we then spent a day of light activities and sleeping punctuated by the ship listing dramatically to one side and stopping suddenly. Nobody was too concerned as the alarm did not sound but it was more than a little disconcerting – that is until the captain announced that there had been a problem with one of the rudders but were soon underway again.
That evening there was a breakup of the group when Danielle, Justin and I went to the steakhouse and it was exceptional. I went through a series of appetisers including
- beefsteak tomatoes with onions and balsamic which the waitress kindly explained that despite its name it didn’t come with any beef.
- Portobello mushrooms with blue swimmer crab
- Rockefeller oysters
- Lobster bisque
- Prawn cocktail
All of which I would rate as 8.5/10 or better. Justin reported that his rib eye was superb as was Danielle’s double cut lamb chops with rosemary. Needless to say that the desert matched the mains. Certainly worth the $US20 supplement or in Justin’s case $US30 as his rib eye was accompanied by lobster tail – yes folks Justin eats lobster.
We all met up afterwards in the lounge to listen to some music and another late night.
Next morning the ship docks in Port Madryn, a town of 90,000 people 1,400 kilometres south of Buenos Aires. It’s black beaches are popular as siesta time arrives and interestingly the tide has a depth of 4 metres from top to bottom and even 10 metres further south.
Jerome, Ludmila, Anna and Danielle have booked a tour to a penguin rookery. As that tour involved three hours each way on a bus each way for just one hour there Justin, Michael, mum and I booked on a tour which took us to a sea lion colony, sheep shearing on a ranch – yes folks we travelled exactly half way around the world to see sheep shearing – and an eco museum. The sheep shearing was in fact very interesting and Justin fell in love with the two lamas who enjoyed being approached and petted while the other group reported that the penguin colony was also a great tour.
Back to the ship before our 18:00 departure, check for email – yes there is internet on board but quite expensive so I do two runs a day to receive and send my emails and of course post my blog. A family dinner in the large restaurant and some light evening activities finish off the day.
As the ship moves south we certainly feel the weather cooling down – 23 degrees today but more importantly the wind seems the norm.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Well off to the Tango show with unknown expectations. We are surprised to arrive to an art deco styled restaurant and are ushered to a table adjoining the stage. The meal is quite acceptable considering the meal/show plan and the service is exceptionally efficient - I am thinking they have done this all before.
The Tango Show is much as to be expected. Classic 1950's dress with very talented dancers and singers. It exceeded my expectations and everybody enjoyed the experience.
The next morning we went for a walk in anticipation of Justin's arrival. Danielle, still on the hunt for black work shoes goes down to the shopping district yet again fruitless. Justin’s flight is delayed by an hour but he arrives at the apartment at 13:15. I prepared Justin’s favourite lunch – roast beef and potatoes with cucumber salad. I think it hit the spot with him after 22 days on the road.
That afternoon was a bit tense as we learned that Anna’s flight from Tel Aviv to Israel had been delayed, then learning that the late arrival meant she missed her connection to Buenos Aires and finally that they had lost her luggage. Anyway some resolution when they got her on a later flight arriving in BA at 10:35 in the morning with ship boarding starting at 12:00. Through my friend Pablo we arrange for Horacio a driver to collect her at the airport and deliver her to the ship.
That night we arranged to go to a Peruvian style Japanese (think President Fujimore) restaurant called Osaka – for anybody visiting BA note this down as a must do. The unique style and flavour of the dishes was remarkable, Much of the meal had passionfruit (or their equivalent) flavour. For example salmon sashimi with passionfruit crème fraiche, prawns with passionfruit honey and nuts. And don’t miss the strawberry and passionfruit vodka cocktails which Australia’s number one and two vodka drinkers rate as the best ever. We even ventured the deserts Tapas style and they were sensational. I would love to import this restaurant into Australia – it would kill it.
The problem here is that you rarely get to bed before 01:00 and the sunrise at 05:00 means early mornings so if you are like me you walk around slightly sleep deprived.
Anyway next morning is pack up time and we learn that Anna is on the flight but without luggage. At 12:00 we get three taxis to take the seven of us down to the ship. One driver got slightly lost and the other two got hopelessly lost but as with most things in life it finished well with everybody meeting dockside, clearing Argentinean immigration and the various boarding procedures we find our cabins. Everyone is delighted, the cabins are relatively spacious and have a lovely balcony on them. They are well appointed with small colour TVs with CNN, ESPN, Fox and Movies. With the situation in Israel everybody is happy with this facility.
A mooch around the ship and we gather in Gerda’s cabin for our smuggled aboard Vodka pre-dinner drinks followed by dinner. Some then go to the casino and others to the show.
Kids get to bed early while others wander off to bed around midnight.
Anyway enough for now
XD
The Tango Show is much as to be expected. Classic 1950's dress with very talented dancers and singers. It exceeded my expectations and everybody enjoyed the experience.
The next morning we went for a walk in anticipation of Justin's arrival. Danielle, still on the hunt for black work shoes goes down to the shopping district yet again fruitless. Justin’s flight is delayed by an hour but he arrives at the apartment at 13:15. I prepared Justin’s favourite lunch – roast beef and potatoes with cucumber salad. I think it hit the spot with him after 22 days on the road.
That afternoon was a bit tense as we learned that Anna’s flight from Tel Aviv to Israel had been delayed, then learning that the late arrival meant she missed her connection to Buenos Aires and finally that they had lost her luggage. Anyway some resolution when they got her on a later flight arriving in BA at 10:35 in the morning with ship boarding starting at 12:00. Through my friend Pablo we arrange for Horacio a driver to collect her at the airport and deliver her to the ship.
That night we arranged to go to a Peruvian style Japanese (think President Fujimore) restaurant called Osaka – for anybody visiting BA note this down as a must do. The unique style and flavour of the dishes was remarkable, Much of the meal had passionfruit (or their equivalent) flavour. For example salmon sashimi with passionfruit crème fraiche, prawns with passionfruit honey and nuts. And don’t miss the strawberry and passionfruit vodka cocktails which Australia’s number one and two vodka drinkers rate as the best ever. We even ventured the deserts Tapas style and they were sensational. I would love to import this restaurant into Australia – it would kill it.
The problem here is that you rarely get to bed before 01:00 and the sunrise at 05:00 means early mornings so if you are like me you walk around slightly sleep deprived.
Anyway next morning is pack up time and we learn that Anna is on the flight but without luggage. At 12:00 we get three taxis to take the seven of us down to the ship. One driver got slightly lost and the other two got hopelessly lost but as with most things in life it finished well with everybody meeting dockside, clearing Argentinean immigration and the various boarding procedures we find our cabins. Everyone is delighted, the cabins are relatively spacious and have a lovely balcony on them. They are well appointed with small colour TVs with CNN, ESPN, Fox and Movies. With the situation in Israel everybody is happy with this facility.
A mooch around the ship and we gather in Gerda’s cabin for our smuggled aboard Vodka pre-dinner drinks followed by dinner. Some then go to the casino and others to the show.
Kids get to bed early while others wander off to bed around midnight.
Anyway enough for now
XD
Friday, January 2, 2009
New Year's Day Bust
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After getting to bed at 02:00 it was good to sleep in till 09:30. The day was basically a bust. I spent the day cleaning up my 2008 computer files and archiving them, fiddling with my computer and watching episodes of Prison Break Series 1. Danielle as usual had arranged for two friends to come over for a Gossip Girl TV marathon compliments of Justin's downloading skills.
Jerome and Ludmila on the other hand took Gerda for a 5 hour tour and lunch at Palermo (no not the capital of Sicily) Soho. Dinner was a past and sauce and having slept for three hours in the middle of the day I went for a two hour walk at 21:30 which I must confess included a few McDonalds Pollo Nuggets.
Mish on the other hand had a movie date with the attractive Columbian lady who joined us from the adjoining table on New Years Eve. She comes from Medellin in Columbia but lives in Florida where she is studying Psychology.
Next day and we have moved away from NYE. I wake up latish to the news that Bailey now weights 11kgs (down from 15.6kgs just 3 weeks ago) thanks to the strict diet our vet has placed him on. He also had to go to the vet because he has been biting an itch raw. But Epsen does report that that dogs are all well and I suspect he has fallen in love with them - which is of course understandable.
Danielle and I go for a pre-activity walk and coffee and around 11:30 we all mobilise for a visit to the Latin American Art Museum. Enjoyable but nothing special. At 13:30 my good bridge-playing friend Pablo Lambardi meets us for lunch which we decide to have at the museum cafe and which Danielle rates as one of the best meals she has had. Pablo then walks us through an adjoining neighbourhood which was so Parisian with stunningly beautiful houses which Pablo explained were from the early 1900s when Argentina was one of the ten richest countries in the world. He also explained that the exteriors belied the magnificence of the interiors.
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A short walk around a nearby mall followed by a walk around Palermo Soho for Danielle and I while Jerome and Ludmila take in the Japanese Gardens and Michael and Gerda head back to the apartment for a pre-dinner rest.
Tonight we are heading for a dinner and tango show combination at El Querandi http://www.querandi.com.ar/. I hope the meal and show will be good but I will report more next time. Justin arrives at 11:15 tomorrow morning and Anna at 21:50 tomorrow night. I bought some 'bife' to cook him a roast lunch and we are planning to do something that is generally off limits for Danielle and I which is mixed cuisine restaurants. Funny that Danielle had read about Osaka, a Peruvian Sushi Thai restaurant which it looked like we would not get to and that Pablo indicated that it is current favourite so we will be going there tomorrow night.
Anyway - tired fingers
X to all D
New Year's Eve
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On New Year's Eve Ludmila and Mish go to a booking office to try and get a ferry ride to Colonia, a lovely resort city in Uruguay which turned out to be a waste of time while Jerome and I went with Gerda to book for New Year's Eve at the Montana Argentinian Grill.
We met up and wanted to go to the Museum of Fina Arts but it was closed till Sabado (Saturday) so we went and had an excellent late lunch at an Italian Restaurant nearby. We didn't want to venture too much as it was spitting and we feared some rain to come.
Got back to the apartment around 16:00 to ready for New Year's Eve. Arrived at the restaurant at 21:00 to find it quite empty but no worries by 22:30 it was 'completo'. The entertainment was a solo singer who did a mixture of Latin American numbers (great) and Ricky Martin and Elvis covers (not his forte). The dinner comprised a choice of salads or sausages for entree, a sirloin, rib or chicken for main and mousse or cheesecake for dessert - which was all fine for the type of occasion.
Ludmila as is her want looked around and honed in on a young lady sitting by herself at an adjoining table. She speculated that the lady was a lady of the night and we had some discussion on ths matter. Ultimately Ludmila started talking with her to discover she was a 23 year old Columbian tourist who was left stranded by her tour company and had decided to come to this restaurant. Anyway she joined us for the remainder of the meal and left with Danielle and Mish at 00:30 to go clubbing till they got home at 04:00.
Gerda was in the swing of things dancing and yes of course drinking. We walked home or in the case of some of the Stern females sort of stumbled home although they swore the next morning that they were totally sober - yeah yeah.
More later
XD
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