Dia 18: Artisans, Circuses, and 4th of July Celebrations! 4 de Julio

Today was quite a long day indeed. It was so long, in fact, that I am writing this update on Sunday, July 5. The day started off good enough. The usual morning routine was kept, followed by a short time of being able to upload a few more photos on Facebook from when we went to Uruguay last weekend. There are still quite a few Uruguay pictures left, so I am hoping to be able to upload them sometime soon…we shall see.

Around one thirty, I left the apartment and went to the Recoleta Artisan Fair where I met up with Thomas, Adam and Bridget. While there, I got some lunch and we watched an interesting “radio” man. I don’t know how to describe this man, other than to say that he was decked out in…metal? Copper…fake silver…aluminum maybe? And there was a radio by his feet and that playing music. He would move occasionally for a photo op, but other than that, just kind of stood there. He was quite strange. There were also a couple of statue-esque tango dancers. They were completely painted silver: their faces, clothes, skin, everything. For those of you in Oklahoma who have gone to the Ford Center and seen the copper looking cowboy statue that moves occasionally to startle people, that’s what these two were like. They were completely still and then, out of nowhere, they would do a slow moving tango dance, and then freeze again. Don’t worry, I got plenty of pictures.

Then we went into the heart of the fair. There were rows and rows of artisans selling their work. As any fair, there were the typical touristy things, like t-shirts, coffee mugs, magnets, etc. There was plenty of handmade jewelry and what not. There were also mates and bombillas. I bought a few things, you know, necessary things for the family back at home! =) I have been having a hard time finding picture frames though. Well, not normal ones, I have found quite a few of those, I just can’t seem to find any touristy frames. I’ll keep looking though!

After the fair (and after a delicious chocolate covered, dulce de leche filled Churro) we found a bus to take us to the Circus!!! However, little did we know that the bus finished its route about ten blocks before it got to the park where the circus was being held. So then we got to walk…some more…as we usually do! Then… we arrived at the Buenos Aires Polo Circo Festival! And…it was somewhat disappointing! Ha ha. I know… for starters, it was definitely more festival-esque then it was a circus. And there were no animals! No elephants, camels, tigers, lions, monkeys…nothing. And these are circus performers from around the world (including the US) and I just cannot believe they did not have any kind of animals. I was very disappointed about that. Sigh. According to the activities announcement in the booklet, there were a few free shows in the center ring tent. However, they changed them to be outside. It wasn’t too chilly, but by the time we sat there for awhile, it had gotten pretty chilly, so it was harder to enjoy the show. It was basically an acrobatics show with people jumping and flipping and flying. It was pretty impressive. I took plenty of pictures and some video of it as well.

After the show, we decided to start heading to where our 4^th of July party was being held. It was still a little early (it started at 8, meaning we didn’t need to get there until at least 8:30 or later… you don’t show up on time in this country) so rode the subway and had to change trains on it about three times. Luckily, it wasn’t busy and filled with people. Once we got to the right neighborhood, we stopped in a little café and shared some Sambuyon flavored ice cream. Let’s just say…it wasn’t the best ice cream I’ve had. Thomas had some in Colonia and had been looking for some since. Apparently, its wine flavored, although there is no wine in it. So we went ahead and got some because Thomas really likes it… I do not really like it. Thomas thought it was pretty funny watching my face wrinkle in disappointment when I tried it. After a few bites, it got a little better, but I will not be getting that flavor again. Also, to add to it, Thomas and I had ordered coffee and forgot to order it “con leche”. If you just order coffee, that’s what you get: straight black coffee. Now, this doesn’t sound so bad, except for the fact that they don’t have creamer or milk just sitting around for you to add to your drink! There was plenty of sugar, and I poured an entire packet in mine (the packets here are huge). Then, I thought I’d go ahead and put some ice cream in my coffee…it actually helped the flavor. I was so proud of my little chef intervention there. But the time spent in the café itself was pretty fun, even if the coffee was too strong and the ice cream was an awkward flavor.

Moving along, we finally walked towards the club (bar?) where the group was throwing a 4^th of July Party for all Americans who wanted to stop by. Just for RSVP-ing, we got a free drink and as many free hot dogs as we wanted. It was a pretty cool deal. We didn’t even have to pay for any part of that. And this bar was a pretty cool place itself. The walls looked like older stone, like you would find in an old castle and there were three levels to it. It wasn’t really that big, but just the set up made it seem bigger. We met a couple from California who are spending the month in B.A. just because they can. I thought that was pretty cool. My house mate, Serri also went and I talked with her for awhile also. It was a pretty fun time just getting to talk to other Americans and hearing their stories as to why they were in B.A. One girl actually had had Thomas’ sister as a teacher’s aid in one of her classes at her school. What a small world.

We finally went home around midnight. We weren’t too tired at this point, so we decided to walk until we felt like we should take a cab home. Before we knew it, however, we were already three blocks away from my apartment! It was a pretty far walk but it felt so good out and since it was a Saturday night, the streets were still busy and plenty of restaurants were open. We were walking along Santa Fe which is a pretty busy street as well, so no worries; I wasn’t walking on a random back street in the dark! =)

And that was my day…maybe it doesn’t seem like too too much, but it was a really long day, and sleep was so necessary last night!

I guess that’s all I have to share for today. More later! Love you and miss you all!