la lluvia, lluvia sale. se vuelve otro díae

My first day to explore Argentina on my own and on my own schedule and ITS POURING (and cold)!!!!!!! You didn't think that would stop me did you? Good. Ha! I was motivated to explore and refused to give into the bad weather. I couldn't tell how badly it was raining until I got down to the lobby and the door man asked in spanish "you know its raining right?". I politely smiled, pulled out my raincoat, said "Si, claro" and walked out the door. On the way to the subte station I brought a snack and was eating it as i walked and again everyone starred at me. I didn't realize that eating on the run was an American thing as well. geez....

I took the Subte all the way to the end of Linea D to the Catedral stop. My plan was to conquer Plaza de Mayo, Avenida de Mayo, Puerto Maderno, and 9 de Julio. It was ambition, but I was motivated. I had my iPod, my map, my camera, and my journal so I was ready to go. The subte ride took a good thirty minutes and when I arrived at Catedral it was raining harder. Eh, I retraced my steps from our first day of touring to take the pictures that accidentally got erased on that first day. As I walked around the Plaza de Mayo I realized that nobody was around. I was virtually alone with all the homeless, gypsy people. That was the moment I realized i should put my iPod away and try to "blend in" with my bright red raincoat. I was confused, it was 12:30-1pm and this tourist destination was DESERTED. strange, I guess when you go out until 8am the next morning you really don't start your day until 3-4pm. I also noticed that people don't really rely on raincoats, they all use umbrellas. Well, now I know.

I next headed over to the port area to take pictures of Women's Peak. The locals say it looks like a woman dancing the Tango. Frankly, I don't see it but it is pretty. (See Picture)

From there I decided to conquer Avenida de Mayo. Well to my disappointment there really wasn't much to see. I guess all the artisan shops were closed because of the rain. I saw some of the famous buildings the tour book mentioned like the Tango Museum and some famous architecture, but all in all i wasn't that impressed. I guess I need to go back on a sunny day. Also, the rain and the wetness started to get to me and I was ready to call me trip off. Not to mention I was wearing flip flops, which wasn't a big deal because i always wear flip flops in the rain, but I had stepped in some suspicious puddles and my toes were turning an interesting red/purple color so I told myself to make it to the Obelisco and call it a day. I was also starving but I just wanted to go home so I decided to try and get food once i got off the metro. 

Well when I got back to Belgrano I was so wet and cold i told myself I would check out the little cafe next to my apartment. Yeah, all it had were pastries. errrrrr Well I got home and was happy that Elizabeth was there so I could ask her how to order Empanadas. So baked empanadas are AMAZING!!!!! I put on sweats, uploaded my pictures then joined Elizabeth in watching some tv. She and mimi had told me that normally the weekend has the worst tv shows and movies, but yesterday they were playing really good stuff. The day started with Shakespeare in Love and ended with Boondock Saints. The empanadas ended up taking a really long time so my stomach was growling very loudly. When they arrived, it was amazing. I had Pollo and Carne Suerte empanadas. I highly recommend the Carne Suerte. We then watched Mean Girls in Spanish and talked for a few hours. After that I headed to my room and watched Iron Man/napped. Then I skyped with mi madre and relaxed for the rest of the day. It is amazing how weather makes a person lazy. I was proud of the fact that I went out despite the rain and accomplished something for the day. I can only image what the rest of my program did today since they got home at 8am??!?!!?!