Oleander, Jacaranda!

Finally, I have discovered what a Jacaranda flower looks like! For years I have remembered a line from a Penelope Lively novel when she was driving from Alexandria, watching the trees along the road, and she said to herself, "Oleander, Jacaranda..." I know Oleanders from Florida, but I never knew Jacarandas; here it is! For some reason I cannot upload any photos tonight. Things just seem to be much easier in Asia, I'm afraid to say....

Today I walked up Corrientes to Florida, a major tourist drag with loads of shopping but no cars, which was a nice change of pace. I walked to Plaza San Martin where I found the jacaranda trees, still not knowing what they were, but as I left the plaza, I saw a huge circle of those pre-made bear statues like we have all over Chestnut Hill, only these were decorated and named for every country that is a member of UNICEF. Some were beautiful, some hilarious (the U.S. is a bear statue of liberty in green), and Malaysia was not even there, which I couldn't figure out until I realized that maybe they aren't part of the UNICEF program, OR does this mean they are not in the UN? I suppose that is feasible, but I thought unlikely. Hmmm, another problem to work on.

Then I walked back down Lavelle, which has a quieter, more consistent feel to it - not as many holes and breaks in the pavement. On the way back, I stopped at a store to buy some things to cook Jack breakfast, silly me. I also bought some Mate, the tea that everyone drinks here. Jack never woke up until around 5, so I waited from 2, as was the planned time to chat, to 3, drank some tea, ate an apple, answered my door to help a neighbor named Ferdinando with something he didn't have in his apartment for his grandparents (Jack warned me that I was stupid to let him in), and then headed out again in a different direction, up Aguero to Sante Fe and then onto the Botanical Garden, which is loaded with cats lolling around in the sun and shade. This was where I learned about the Jacaranda trees.

After my visit to the gardens, I went up Las Heras to Lafinur where I went to the Evita Peron museum, which was compelling in a mish-mash sort of way, displaying her elegant clothing, her childhood photos and even some of her films from before she married Peron. The building itself is lovely with marble floors, iron gates and railings, and red carpeting along the corridors.

Then I walked back to my "house" and checked in with Jack, who looked the worse for wear on Skype. We agreed to meet after we both showered, and this time it worked. We moseyed along Gallo Street, looking for a cafe where I could sit down - finally - and drink a beer and he could eat some food - breakfast? It took us awhile to settle on something, and by that time it was almost 8, but I didn't want to eat dinner at this sidewalk spot, so he wolfed down a sandwich, I scarfed down all the peanuts and a draft beer, and THEN we took the Subte to Humboldt Street where we walked 3 blocks to Bio, an exceptionally good organic vegetarian restaurant that was painted in the soft light green and white; the food was delicious, but Jack kept saying, "There's too much stuff that gets stuck in my throat," and "This isn't really my style of food," but he did manage to choke down a fair sampling of his meal, the rest of which I helped finish. Bread was to die for, and I shall go back to buy some as I am getting really sick of these thick, doughy rolls I bought two days ago. I just cannot throw them out because I'm Stan's daughter, so I will probably stuff down another in the morning with my full component of eggs.

I cannot think of eating again. This eating a meal at 9, 10 or 11 at night cannot be good for you, and I think I will just start eating dinner at the usual time (okay, I confess that I like to eat at 5) and then just do more exploring at night...

Sorry about no photos. It's an awful long read, I know, but evenings seem to be difficult for sending; I'll try to tack some on in the morning. Sleep tight!