Day Two:
After a luxurious and much-needed night of sleep, we had a late start and just barely made it to breakfast before it closed at 11:00. They have a nice buffet with lots of fresh fruit. Got caught up on email and then gathered our “stuff” and headed out on the street. We decided to walk to the museum area but took many detours along the way. We had read about the first place we stopped – their mission was to share cultural artifacts made by natives. I got a couple of pieces of lovely silver and horn jewelry.
As we wandered, we popped into various interesting shops and finally arrived at the museums just about the time we had to go back to the hotel for the opera tonight! We did have a lovely late snack at an outdoor garden area in one of the most exclusive shopping galleries in the city. One interesting thing we noted in the whole “Rodeo Drive” of Buenos Aires was that so few people in the shops spoke English, completely unlike all the small shops on Florida Street where it seemed almost everyone knew our language.
As we walked, we were fascinated by the detailed architecture of the buildings and especially the handmade doors, lovely gates, and balconies with lots of flowers.
When we got to the museum area, we were distracted once again by an outdoor craft fair and spent our last few minutes combing the booths for special treasures. I found some handmade mate holders that were very interesting, but most of the things were quite folksy. We grabbed a taxi and came back to the hotel to get ready for our evening.
The concierge suggested to Nancy that we attend Opera Pampas that evening which included dinner. As we were waiting in the lobby, an older gentleman came up, introduced himself as a judge from Milwaukee, and invited us to the Executive Lounge for a glass of wine. (Hooray!) I think it was the first time we were reminded about time in different cultures. Although the bus was supposed to pick us up at 7:00, they did not come until about 7:40; however, at that point we had gone upstairs for hors d’oeuvres and wine, so it didn’t really matter.
The bus ride to the Opera was very interesting as it gave us even more of a feel for this wonderful city. When we arrived at the outdoor arena for the opera, we were first invited inside for more wine (we LOVE the Argentinian red wine!) and empanadas. There were small stalls and I tried on a gorgeous silver silk shawl coat which everyone there decided I should buy! The Opera was not at all what we had expected, but it was extremely well done. It was the story of the history of Argentina with a large cast, many beautiful horses, and extremely talented singers– a collaboration of dance, song, and horsemanship. It was a lovely setting under the stars with the skyline of the city in the background. The only thing that could have made it better is if we had had an English translation or if we had had time to read the program since it was all in Spanish.
We continue to be amazed at what a small world it is! When we were seated for dinner inside the arena where huge carcasses of beef were cooking in an open pit, we discovered that everyone at our table was in some sort of HR. We continue to discover that although we come from different cultures, we seem to always find great similarities in the issues all of us face in our work and lives. A couple with a little girl had their own company in Buenos Aires, and the other gentleman at our table was from South Africa and had just retired as head of worldwide Human Resources for Volkswagon. We had some very interesting and energetic conversation even though the food left a lot to be desired! We took the bus home and got to bed about 1:00 am. The only downside to the day was my discovery that I had left the battery charger for my camera at home, so one of the tasks for today is to try to find a camera store to buy a new one.
