BA at last!

This was the perfect day, and I have to admit that I slept until after 9:00 this morning, but when I woke, I raced out to the little store several doors down to discover that the owner is Chinese, so I was able to thank him and say goodbye in his native tongue; I think my Chinese may be better than my Spanish, which doesn't say much for my capacity for either language!

I walked from here in Abaso to Jean Juares and then on Corrientes down to Palestina where Jack is staying, but I don't know the address, so I turned around and decided to walk all the way up to Calleo and up to Plaza de Mayo; on the way I found the opera house and learned that Carmen was playing the last night tonight. I decided not to get a ticket and instead ask Jack if he'd like to go before I decided to go alone. I took photos of the Plaza del Congresso, which begins the Avenue de Mayo, the street on which demonstrations take place, one in particular every Thursday at 3:30 of the mothers of children who disappeared during the Guerra Sucia, The Dirty War, when the military came into power and young people disappeared - 13,000 to 30,000; they were kidnapped, tortured and murdered, and their children were gifts to military families who did not or could not have children of their own.
As I walked and walked, the doors got more and more beautiful, and the streets became elegant and full of outdoor cafes. The sky was gray, but it was deliciously hot. By the time I reached the Plaza de Mayo, I was ready to nip into the Metropolitan Cathedral where the remains of General Jose de San Martin - Father of the Nation - are located. I was staggered by the weensy floor tiling, all pattered in beautiful flowers and stories.
This is just a small piece of the entry hall, but the entire church is floored in these minute tiles, and when I left, I saw a woman on the floor with a high voltage lamp and a box of various shapes of tiles. She was retiling and repainting a whole section of the floor, right there in her dress. Here you can see the luscious tiles and some of the floral designs.
I cannot seem to get the photos to work again, so I will just convey my astonishment when I was prepared to leave and rain was coming down in buckets! People were huddled in the entrance to the church, and the wind kept blowing huge sprays of water into the doors. I couldn't believe how serendipitous was my venture into this church! As it was still dripping and spritzing, I took the Subte (subway) home to my wee apartment, contacted Jack on Skype to ask if he'd like to go to Carmen, and he said, "Yesss." I was So thrilled that I just changed my skirt, put in my grades, and hustled out to meet him at the subway we agreed to take. I was there for 30 minutes and then walked the half mile down to his Subte stop. No sign of him. At this. point it was getting close to 8:00 when the Opera was to begin, and we still didnt' have tickets...
I came home, disheartened, disappointed and dejected. I had tried calling him to no avail, tried Internat Skype cafe, but it was all in Spanish and nobody was willing to help me, so I came back, sent him some more messages, went out searching for him again, came back and had dinner at a local Italian place where the pasta was yellow, solid and doughy, but the beer hit the spot!