Lake Travis

Two years ago, Lake Travis near Austin was so full there was some talk of water actually going over the spillway. There was so much water it was impossible to go boating -- docks and launch ramps were underwater.

A year ago, the lake had gone down considerably but there was plenty of water to enjoy. Ed got a new dock for his boat, and we enjoyed some fine sunsets on the lake.



Since then there's been a prolonged drought in South and Central Texas, and Lake Travis is at its third lowest level ever. Ed's new dock is high and dry, and fields of ragweed are overgrowing gullies that were once thirty feet underwater.

Time to Leave

We are flying back to DFW today, leaving late tonight and arriving in Texas early tomorrow morning. The weather is nasty, cold and gray and drizzly. We'll only leave the apartment for lunch at Panini Express, where the menu del día is A$26, muy barato!

It's always sad to leave. But at least on this trip we got to see the world's stupidest shoes. Click on the image for more, if you dare.

El Día de Primavera

Today is the first day of spring and the weather, at least here in Buenos Aires, has been gorgeous, pleasantly warm and sunny, the kind of day that makes you smile inwardly and think, it's so great to be alive.

We've been out and about, on our last full day here. Everyone seems to be enjoying the first taste of Spring: there's an air of frivolity, people are exchanging flowers, and everywhere there is laughter and joy.

About 8 p.m. we heard noises outside, a metallic clanging, at first isolated, that grew and grew. We went out to see what was happening and saw people out on their balconies, banging pots and pans. As we stood and watched, more and more joined the clamor, until it all became quite deafening. After about thirty minutes it died down.

Then a little after 9 it started again. A group of about 100 people marched down Callao, banging pans, shouting, and waving flags, protected by police cars with flashing lights, as more people came out on their balconies to encourage them by adding yet more banging to the din.

Edited to add: We talked to Valeria, who owns our apartment, and she told us that all the banging was another protest against the government. Tonight it was the media law controversy.

Today's Weather in Mumbai

In the United States, ninety-five percent of television news is focused on the U.S. and everything else is lumped together into a vague, mysterious Other. In this view of the world all the important stuff happens in the U.S., of course, and happenings in the Other are only reported when they affect the U.S. Some Americans were killed, perhaps, or an American company is plotting ways to gain market share in a foreign economy.

Here in Buenos Aires, we have cable television. Besides the expected Argentine stations, there's a group of stations that we run across wherever we travel: CNN International (US), BBC World(UK), Deutsche Welle (Germany), RAI (Italy), and TV5Monde (France).

There's a subtle but significant effect when watching these international channels. The U.S. is no longer the center of the universe, and the reports from Africa, Asia, and Latin America are included because they are important in and of themselves. Mugabe tries to woo foreign investors while maintaining his grip on dysfunctional Zimbabwe, Indonesian police kill a noted terrorist, and Argentina and Uruguay are still hotly disputing the envirnomental damage caused by a new paper mill.

Even the weather reports reflect this different, broader perspective: the forecaster points to charts of storms approaching Japan, winds across Africa, and cold fronts in South America. Then there's a bit of upbeat elevator music while the station scrolls a quick listing of high temperatures and sky conditions in major cities around the world. Mumbai will be hot again today; it's only 7 a.m. there and it's already 27°.

It's almost time to go

It's the bittersweet part of a trip. Our month in Buenos Aires has flown by and we can now count the days until we leave on the fingers of one hand. We've finished our Spanish classes, so no more tarea! And now, when we see posters or ads for some upcoming event, we realize that we'll be gone.

We don't really want to leave, but then again there's no denying the appeal of being back at our place in Fort Worth. I wonder if the car will start?

The weather has been nasty: cold, gray days in the 50s, with constant drizzling rain. But today, Saturday, we woke up to beautiful blue skies. I hope this lasts for the rest of our stay.

We're looking at what we have left, and what we might still need. Do we have enough coffee and milk and butter and bread to last us until Tuesday? Another package of cheese, maybe? Will we be able to use the remaining eggs? Do we need one more bottle of wine?

With only four days left, we're making lists of what we wanted to do but haven't yet done. We've eaten at some of our favorite places (Dashi Sushi, La Cholita, Cumaná, Panini) and some new places (Tandoor, MB, and Las Cabritas) but still haven't made it to Piola or Lola's. We've had ice cream at Volta, Freddo, Persicco, and Munchi's, pasta and sauces from Mazzeo, empanadas and tartas from San José, and way too many facturas frutillas from Winner, the pastry shop around the corner.

We've walked along Libertador -- I could walk along Libertador every day -- and sat in Plaza Libertad. We visited new places like Belgrano and Caballito and old favorites like the giant La Flor and Plaza de Mayo. We even got to tour the inside of the Casa Rosada.

In another day or two we'll have to break out the suitcases and start setting aside stuff to pack. It's almost time to return to Texas and start planning the next trip.

¿A donde?

Renting an apartment in Bs As: Alfredo and Valeria

One of the most striking ways that the Internet has changed travel is by opening up the market for short-term apartment rentals. Hotels may be fine in some cases -- we still use them for travel inside the U.S. -- but for any stay of a week or so or longer, we much prefer getting an apartment.

In Paris a year ago, we found a great apartment on Craigslist, in the 1er arrondisement, about two blocks from the Louvre (!) and a short walk to the giant Les Halles Metro stations. In London this year, we rented an apartment in Islington, close to Tube and bus stops.

A quick google will show a large and thriving apartment rental market in Buenos Aires, especially in established, well-to-do central barrios like Recoleta and Palermo.

In 2007, we had an apartment in el centro, on Paraguay between Reconquista and San Martín. It was very large and nicely decorated, but the neighborhood was noisy and congested.

Then in 2008 we got lucky: we discovered discover BA, or as we know them, Alfredo and Valeria. They own and manage a number of apartments, all in great locations at reasonable prices. Alfredo and Valeria are two of the nicest people we've met in our travels, always helpful and congenial.

Last year and this, we've rented their REC01 unit. We really love this apartment -- it's in a great location, it has everything we need, and it's just the right size for the two of us.

And next year? Valeria has shown us several of their other rentals, and we just might try something different.

Hablar con Marco

For several years now, we've come down to Argentina in August or September to escape the Texas heat and enjoy big-city life. While we're here we take Spanish lessons, in the wild hope that someday we will be able to speak another language.

Buenos Aires is a good place to learn Spanish, or castellano as they call their version of it. There are many schools and teachers to choose from, but there is very little English spoken out on the street or in shops and restaurants, so you are forced to at least try to speak castellano.

Although castellano is understood by anyone who speaks Spanish, it is a bit different from the dialects spoken in, say, Mexico or Spain. Here, they use 'vos sos' instead of 'tu eres' for the second person informal, and the 'y' and 'll' sound is a kind of shushing noise. For example, 'tortilla' in Buenos Aires is pronounced something like 'torteesha'. (And the thing they call a tortilla is nothing like the tortillas we're used to back in Texas.)

When we visited Barcelona back in January, I spoke one sentence of Spanish to the woman who was renting us an apartment, and she immediately said, "Argentina!"

Each year we try a different school or teacher. This year we've been lucky to find Marco Luccón, a young college student from the nearby town of Luján, now living in Palermo. (Thanks to our friend Dave for the recommendation; Dave took lessons from Marco when he and his family lived down here.) He has converted part of his apartment into a small classroom, and four days a week we spend two hours there, wrestling with the indefinido and the imperfecto, and trying to master yet another strange bit of castellano syntax. (Click on the photo for a larger version.)

Marco is an excellent teacher, patient and thorough. How he keeps from bursting into laughter at our outrageous mistakes is beyond me. If you come down to Buenos Aires and want to learn some Spanish, get in touch with Marco.

Here's Marco's website, Hablar en Bs As:

Hablar en Bs As