not always a winner
January 31, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
I hadn’t been disappointed yet in my Estanislao Pirovano Quest. But after seeing this former apartment building at Güemes 3950, I wonder what Pirovano was thinking when he designed this. There’s nothing wrong with it… it’s just very blah compared to all his other buildings I’ve posted about so far. Maybe he was just fulfilling a client’s request:
No Tudor, no Neocolonial, no dragons, nada. I actually thought I’d written down the wrong address, but as I got closer the signature came into view:
The most decorative part of the façade is the pediment with lots of frilly bits & curves to look at through the trees. It still didn’t do the trick for me:
Although disappointed, I’m nothing if not a completist
Pinamar, Argentina - For Pine Trees and Beaches
January 31, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
Pinamar is considered to be the high-brow choice for beach goers on the Atlantic coast. A five-hour, luxury bus ride away from Buenos Aires, Pinamar boasts a wide, dune-covered beach replete with balnearios (beach bars/nightclubs), a shopping center, and steak houses. Pinamar is no Punta Del Este - true there are some beautiful homes along the beach reminiscent of Cannes, Malibu or any other affluent coastal destination, but Pinamar is most of all a clean, relaxing alternative to its neighbors Mar Del Plata and Villa Gesell. It’s commercial enough to be accessible to tourists and pristine enough to offer ideal refuge from the city. (more…)
Chris Jeffries Wins Mar de Plata Slam Dunk Competition
January 31, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
On Tuesday, Texas small forward Chris Jeffries won the annual slam dunk competition in Mar del Plata. Jeffries took the prize for the first time in Argentina, and the second time in South America. He previously won the award in Venezuela last season.
The event, known as “El Juego de Estrellas,” is similar to the NBA’s all-star game, with a 3-point competition, dunk contest, legends game, and current stars game. The current stars game is played in a foreigner vs. national format.
Jeffries’ accomplishment adds some encouragement to his team Obras Sanitarias, which has bolstered its position to #2 in the national standings. The regular season resumes in less than a week, so look out for more highlights and scores to come.
Vacations: Malargüe revisited: Last day
January 31, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
On our last day in Malargüe we repeated last year’s trek to the dam on the nearby Malargüe River, 8 km from the hostel, only we set off in the morning, as early as we could manage to get up, after a delicious breakfast of home-made bread and jam. We took a more direct route, so we arrived earlier, but then we spent a lot of time leisurely lying on the grass and sipping mate.
On our way back to the hostel (in fact, right before the entrance gate), we found an overflowing irrigation ditch and had to walk on the little wall that formed the edge of the bridge crossing the ditch. By lack of attention or sheer bad luck, I stepped on the wrong spot and found my right leg sinking into the cold water of the ditch along with half of my body. The other leg must have […]
hoy es el día, no?
January 30, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
Imagine one of the most beautiful girls in Buenos Aires high society—no more than 16 years old—& married off to a much, much older man. It was 1862 after all, & the odd couple was Felicitas Guerrero & Martín de Alzaga. Felicitas had one son from the marriage, but he died at the age of 6… hubby Martín passed away the following year. Nothing very out of the ordinary so far.
Felicitas still had her beauty & had also inherited a huge fortune. No wonder she became the object of every man’s attention in Buenos Aires. One of her suitors turned out to be extremely jealous. When he found out that Felicitas might have feelings for someone else, he went to her estate in the neighborhood of Barracas to demand an explanation. Felicitas obviously wasn’t very convincing because he shot her twice & she died the following day, 30 Jan 1872. […]
Pesticides: A Bit of Current Events
January 30, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
Todays Seattle P-I caught my eye and I thought I would pass on the information. A recent study based on Mercer Island Children in a study on pesticide levels in school children revels some scary facts about non-organic produce. I must admit I don’t always go the organic route as a poor student except where the taste is noticeable (like carrots and such), though this article has made me re-think my naughty-eating ways. Here is a link:
Harmful pesticides found in everyday food products:Mercer Island children tested in yearlong study
By ANDREW SCHNEIDER P-I SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
Andy Rogers / P-I: Chensheng Lu, holding an apple from Pike Place Market, studied the pesticide levels in Mercer Island children. In the study, the children ate a variety of conventional produce from area groceries and then switched to organic. (Picture from the PI Website)
Loads of New Guide Pages!
January 30, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
Thanks for this picture to Guslight
Hello readers! I want to take a break from our regular programming to tell you about our Guidebook. The short of it is that it’s growing. A lot. Our guidebook content is longer-lived than our articles, and as time goes on it will be kept up to date. But you won’t find the guide pages in our regular flow of articles. To read them, simple browse the gray navigation bar at the top of the site. (more…)
Vacations: Malargüe revisited: Valle Hermoso
January 30, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
On our second day in Malargüe, we went to Valle Hermoso. This is really a package tour of several locations, with superb-looking landscapes and plenty of opportunities for photography, but not much else. First the van starts climbing and climbing up a dangerously winding dirt road, and (a couple of hours later) you get to see colourful mountains…
… and you get to the top of the tour, at about 3,100 m above sea level. You get off to stretch your legs and take pictures, and then you go down for a while and you’re taken to the posh ski resort of Las Leñas, where celebrities are said to walk among normal folk without causing so much as a sideways glance.
Las Leñas, though superficially just a bunch of ugly expensive hotels and gift shops parasiting on one of the best places for skiing on Earth, actually owns half of the beautiful […]
VOTER HOTLINE!
January 29, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
contact@democratsabroad.com.ar Get your answer fast!
Get a Free Pocket Guide for Your Family Vacation
January 29, 2008 | Filed Under Argentina | No Comments
Dear moms & dads: we’re proud to announce the release of our free pocket guide, The Top 10 Family Outings in Buenos Aires! You will find it chock-full of useful info on 10 of the best places you can take your family while vacationing in Buenos Aires. Learn how to get there, when to go, how much it will cost, and why your kids will love it.
We like to keep things simple, so we’ve formatted it as a handy 7-page PDF, which you can print out, fold up, and stick in your pocket. To get your copy by email, click here.
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