Saturday, July 15, 2017

The Wandering Writer lost her heart in Argentina!!!

Hello there to you all, and welcome to another adventure. As you have understood by the title, we are going to the land of the Gauchos, tango, food, wines and easy living.
The first interesting fact, at least for me it was, is that over the 60% of the population has Italian roots. and the first impression as I reached the city by taxi was the feeling of being, finally, home. That is the word I would describe Buenos Aires, and there isn't any other that comes to my mind. I could forget everything where I came from and the fact that I was on holiday, as everything felt like I returned from a long journey.
The city reminded me of my childhood in Italy, perhaps because in so many aspects it resembles it far in the 70's. I indulged in the smell of the air, that distinct smell that tells you "welcome back home; you have been missed."
I was overwhelmed with those feelings of a lost time, memories of childhood, of something that I thought I'd lost.
I was in awe, as I walked the streets and looked at that perfect blending between old and new, glorious old buildings, even if sometimes not taken care as they would deserve, and new ones following audacious designs to project the country to the next century and beyond.
However, something that will never change is the old passion of the people for art and tradition, and also street arts is something that everybody must enjoy.
Something about those that really impresses is the size, as they can cover an entire building. There is not a particular theme; they are pure decoration, political, or even connected to their passion for the sports ;-) What it seems important is to express your own feelings through art, and I have to admit, I stopped on more than one occasion, sitting down on a bench, looking amazed at the great work of those artists.
Another great passion for the Argentine is tango, which is one of the things why Argentina is known in the whole world. You can find dancers and performers in every part of the city, wherever there is enough space to dance, there you might easily find someone dancing.
At that point, I think I started to see things more clearly in the direction of my life, and as the time for leaving started to get closer, my husband and I, made a critical decision. Either we wouldn't have come back home, or we would have returned for good.
Despite how intriguing was the first option, it would have been a little complicated, so we reached the final agreement that as soon as possible, we  would have sold each of our properties and retire in Argentina.

And now a funny fact, because there must be one of those things that happen during a trip.
It was a rainy day (surprise!!) and it was not just raining, it seemed that all the water of the world was pouring from the skies of Buenos Aires.
Worthless to say that we didn't have any umbrella with us and running like hell we tried to reach the subway because someone told us that there was a place where we could have bought an umbrella.
Not being able to find it nor with the navigator or with the map, we decided to ask someone.
We stopped a young man, who seemed to know the city; you know one of those guys that walk the street with that air of confidence like to say "ask me whatever; I know it!"
"Hey, sorry, do you speak English?" I asked as to first ascertain that we would have understood each other.
"Hmm, yes, but I am in a hurry,"
"It won't take long, do you know where is the subway?"
His eyes brightened up with the good old confidence and smiled, "yes, it is just behind that corner."
Satisfied with the answer, we ran to the place. However, our excitement was destined to find disappointment, as there wasn't any entrance to the subway, but the fast food chain "Subway."
When the language is a threat to your dryness.
Nevertheless, the weather, despite that single day has been amazing and the evening's strolls to the harbor brought us inspiring views.
And once again, with these lovely sunsets, I wish you all a great weekend!



2 comments:

  1. Beautiful pictures. Love the mural and the tree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Lidy. There is something in Argentina that can really capture the heart. It is something like the so-called Africa blues; that feeling of nostalgia that sweetly grabs your soul and makes you come back over and over again. Stay tuned as there will be other great experiences!

      Delete

The long road of writing a book.

Publishing a book is a journey on a rocky path that involves several stages, from writing and pre-editing to editing, formatting, selecting ...