Having checked out the San Telmo fair last weekeend, it seemed time to visit the far closer Recoleta fair this weekend. Ben, Mocao, and I wandered among the booths and vendors until the sunshine and heat grew too oppressive. Then Ben bought himself a cup of cut fruit. He was surprised when the woman selling it to him proceeded to squeeze several oranges over it. I had been raving about how amazing the cut strawberries in fresh squeezed orange juice are here, but I'm not sure he actually understood the extent of it until he tried his fruit salad doused in orange juice. I was still determined to find the "just strawberries" version instead of the mixed fruit and we eventually tracked it down at a reasonable price, after a bit of haggling. This vendor was actually a really nice guy; he gave us sample of both the strawberries and the juice before we actually purchased the combination. Macao couldn't resist and got some too. It was just as good as I remembered - maybe even better.
Around that time Zia called to say that she and Mel had just arrived, and we went to meet them. Since we had already spent some time at the fair, we all decided to check out the cemetery, which was actually open this time, instead of diving right back in to the fair.
Finally the rain stopped, the sun returned, and we emerged to walk through the fair some more. Wasn't long before I was thirsty again, though, and this time I settled for the same mixed fruit with orange juice that Ben had first gotten. Didn't keep me cool for long, though. Soon we were all looking for a shady spot to sit down.
At some point a plan was hatched to go see Barbara in San Telmo. She lives at Entis, a dorm for international students there, instead of residing in homestays with porteño families like most of the the rest of us. The advantage to the dorm is that you can invite people over and hang out together in the common area there, which you cannot do in a homestay without specific permission from your host family. After a long morning in the heat, the idea of relaxing in the air conditioning was very tempting, especially once the idea of watching Bollywood movies and playing monopoly were added to the scheme. Ben decided to head home and Mocao stayed behind to go to the movies. We had discovered a movie theater on the basement level of Recoleta Mall and she lived at Entis, so it was no new thing for her to go back there and relax. Maria had been coming to walk around the cemetery and the fair but instead arrived just in time to catch the bus with us. It was the first time I've used the buses since coming back here, and I felt pretty disoriented but Mel and Zia seemed to know what they were doing.
When we finally arrived at Entis, we found we were all more tired than we thought. After sitting around in some of the couches in the Entis common room for a while, it was all we could do to rouse ourselves and go out for food, despite how hungry we all were by this point. Barbara showed us a great little bakery and café, and we grabbed empanadas to go. Mine was filled with corn and pumpkin. Maria and I also bought a slice of torta de ricotta to share.We took them to Plaza Dorrego, just a couple blocks away, and sat on the steps there to eat. It was great place from which to people watch. The restaurants around the plaza have completely taken over any open space. There are tables, chairs, and umbrellas everywhere, and we felt lucky to find what little room we did on the steps. Kids were running all over the place, music was playing, and a woman in a gorgeous red dress, a tango dancer, was handing out fliers for a tango show nearby.
Having finished our empanadas, Maria and I unwrapped the torta de ricotta. Basically, it's a cheesecake - but made of ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese. I've since learned that that is actually very Italian, which is no surprise considering the heavy Italian influence here. It's not as smooth or sweet as a regular cheesecake, but it's very rich and very good. A very small slice is enough for anyone, but the "slice" we ordered at the bakery ended up being a whole quarter of the cake! Moments after we took it out, a couple of the kids came over and asked if they could have it. I didn't understand his Spanish at first. I thought I heard "peso," assumed he was asking for money, and immediately shook my head no. He and his friend slunk off, and almost instantly, replaying it in my head, I realized he'd been asking for a bite of cake. Maria and I both looked at each other, holding our respective cameras, poised to photograph this amazing-looking dessert in the most touristy manner possible - and felt pretty bad about refusing these kids with their slightly dirty little faces. If I had known they had been asking for the cake right off the bat, it would have gone differently. We both agreed on that.
Around that time Zia called to say that she and Mel had just arrived, and we went to meet them. Since we had already spent some time at the fair, we all decided to check out the cemetery, which was actually open this time, instead of diving right back in to the fair.
This little guy had fallen asleep behind the statue adorning a mausoleum. He reminded me of someone...
It began to rain while we were walking around the cemetery so we didn't get that much exploring done. We fled to Recoleta Mall, located just across the street, and spent some time there until the rain stopped. I hadn't realized before that the glass walls of the mall provide some really excellent views of the cemetery. The picture above was taken from one of its upper floors.
Finally the rain stopped, the sun returned, and we emerged to walk through the fair some more. Wasn't long before I was thirsty again, though, and this time I settled for the same mixed fruit with orange juice that Ben had first gotten. Didn't keep me cool for long, though. Soon we were all looking for a shady spot to sit down.
At some point a plan was hatched to go see Barbara in San Telmo. She lives at Entis, a dorm for international students there, instead of residing in homestays with porteño families like most of the the rest of us. The advantage to the dorm is that you can invite people over and hang out together in the common area there, which you cannot do in a homestay without specific permission from your host family. After a long morning in the heat, the idea of relaxing in the air conditioning was very tempting, especially once the idea of watching Bollywood movies and playing monopoly were added to the scheme. Ben decided to head home and Mocao stayed behind to go to the movies. We had discovered a movie theater on the basement level of Recoleta Mall and she lived at Entis, so it was no new thing for her to go back there and relax. Maria had been coming to walk around the cemetery and the fair but instead arrived just in time to catch the bus with us. It was the first time I've used the buses since coming back here, and I felt pretty disoriented but Mel and Zia seemed to know what they were doing.
When we finally arrived at Entis, we found we were all more tired than we thought. After sitting around in some of the couches in the Entis common room for a while, it was all we could do to rouse ourselves and go out for food, despite how hungry we all were by this point. Barbara showed us a great little bakery and café, and we grabbed empanadas to go. Mine was filled with corn and pumpkin. Maria and I also bought a slice of torta de ricotta to share.We took them to Plaza Dorrego, just a couple blocks away, and sat on the steps there to eat. It was great place from which to people watch. The restaurants around the plaza have completely taken over any open space. There are tables, chairs, and umbrellas everywhere, and we felt lucky to find what little room we did on the steps. Kids were running all over the place, music was playing, and a woman in a gorgeous red dress, a tango dancer, was handing out fliers for a tango show nearby.
Having finished our empanadas, Maria and I unwrapped the torta de ricotta. Basically, it's a cheesecake - but made of ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese. I've since learned that that is actually very Italian, which is no surprise considering the heavy Italian influence here. It's not as smooth or sweet as a regular cheesecake, but it's very rich and very good. A very small slice is enough for anyone, but the "slice" we ordered at the bakery ended up being a whole quarter of the cake! Moments after we took it out, a couple of the kids came over and asked if they could have it. I didn't understand his Spanish at first. I thought I heard "peso," assumed he was asking for money, and immediately shook my head no. He and his friend slunk off, and almost instantly, replaying it in my head, I realized he'd been asking for a bite of cake. Maria and I both looked at each other, holding our respective cameras, poised to photograph this amazing-looking dessert in the most touristy manner possible - and felt pretty bad about refusing these kids with their slightly dirty little faces. If I had known they had been asking for the cake right off the bat, it would have gone differently. We both agreed on that.
This was the torta de ricotta. Neither Maria nor I could even finish a full half of it, and there was about a third leftover, even after we picked at it for a while.
I wrapped up what remained of the cake, figuring I'd take it home. A few minutes later, one of the kids from before, along with some others, came back again, asking for a sip of water, an empanada, whatever we had. They were just leaving when I held out the rest of the cake, a slightly stern, grudging look on my face. They grinned, and the same boy who had asked for it earlier was quick to snatch the package from my hands before his friends could reach for it. They all ran off after him, laughing and shouting. I think we both felt better about the whole exchange after that, though we also agreed that a simple thank you would have been preferable to the somewhat smug expression the boy had worn on his face just after I handed him the cake.
We hung around the plaza a while longer and then set out to wander San Telmo a bit, sans the big Sunday fair and its crowds. The first thing we came across was the San Pedro Gonzalez Telmo Church.
The San Pedro Telmo Church, shown above, is also known as the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Belén, Church of Our Lady of Belen.
The church was designed by Jesuits, and they started building it in 1734. There have been a number of additions and restorations over the years, though, so its style, especially that observed from outside, is a bit eclectic.
View from inside the church, looking out across the street. It´s actually pretty difficult to photograph from outside due to the trees and the narrow street in front of it. To take the picture a few photos back, I had to press myself flat against that green fence in the background, in front of the red archway, and even then I couldn't capture the entire exterior.
Taken from the front steps of the church, just outside the doorway.
We turned down this street a while later, and I thought all these bright colors in one place were really something else.
San Telmo is home to some really exceptional graffiti.
I snapped this just as we were heading back to take the subway home. I was again attracted by the bright colors, though Barbara later warned me that she once ate at this restaurant twice in one day and became really sick afterward. "Don't even look at it!" she warned, which I thought was pretty funny for no particularly obvious reason.
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