Park crawl

Ever had a desk calendar that you had to roll over every day?  Spare a thought for the person who has to change the Francés Garden flower calendar.  This calendar is made with plants that have to be changed on a daily basis.  I can imagine the gardener reciting 30 days has September… repeatedly in his head.

Depp is a boy, and as such he likes to run and jump and climb and wobble things and run and jump.  All he wants to do is find the next park so he can expel some energy and not have to hold someone’s hand.  We hope that his school this year will keep his hands and mind busy.

Airbnb is a new experience for us and we’re finding that there can be a little creativity to how the ads are written.  When we first pulled up to this apartment, Steven Spielberg was scouting around the location for his next movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Rosario.  The first section needs a skeleton key to open the iron gates, which lead down a gloomy alley way with fern covered walls and crumbling bricks.  Before entering the courtyard, one must hurdle the hole in the ground.  Spindly little sticks hold a sheet of timber and larger lumps of timber (why aren’t they doing the support work?).  Wheeling suitcases over that shouldn't be a problem.  Inside is the shower of penance.  All those years of having warm showers are washed away as the water dribbles out of an incomplete shower head in either scalding hot or slightly frigid water.  The gods say you can have one or the other but shall not combine the two to make warm water.  Nor shall the water wet all of your body at once. 

Last night we went to Abasto restaurant and had a fantastic sample of Argentine cuisine.  We also didn’t quite know what we were ordering and had enough food for two families.  When it came time to pay there was a problem with our credit cards.  The joy of being able to pay for something on the other side of the word is taken for granted until you can't, so you don't.  I ran to the nearest bank that had four ATMs, none of which were dispensing efectivo (cash).  I ran to the next ATM, which would not accept my card.  In the end I told the waitress the problem, gave her all the money in my wallet and promised we would return the next night.  She let us go in good faith.  We returned tonight to pay the remainder of our bill and enjoy some more local food.  We’re tempted to go back tomorrow night but know we need to try somewhere different.

After dinner we strolled down to Parque Urquiza so Depp could get his playground fix.  There were hoards of people stretching, puffing, running, squatting and sweating the night away.  With so many people exercising in groups it’s the safest we’ve ever felt in a park at night time.  Much like big corporations invest in carbon banking and carbon credits to offset pollution, we spoke to some joggers about calorie credits to help offset the extra ice-creams and media lunas (croissants) we’ve been eating.   They agreed to run a couple of extra laps for us, and our waistlines.