The rain in Spain .... - Nov/Dec 2018

Typical tapas bar, Barcelona

Our journey from Buenos Aires to Barcelona was fairly uneventful.  The funniest thing to happen was that we bought heaps of food in BA before we left thinking we had a cheap flight with no frills.  Having just polished off some lovely sandwiches and snacks, the flight attendant came around to serve our dinner!!  Hmmm, seems James had forgotten he had upgraded the flight on some deal or other.  Never mind, our snacks were much nicer than the airline food. 

Arriving in Barcelona, we took the bus into town quite close to our hostel so only had to walk a short way with our full rucksacks.  James is really great at researching the cheap way into town so that we don't get ripped off with inflated taxi fees, which is typical at most airports.

 We were staying in the Plaza Espana area which had the central underground line running through it, which made getting places really cheap and easy. Venturing out on our first night to check out our hood, we found a crowd forming a queue at a bar across the road from us.  Not wanting to miss a trick, we googled it to see if we should be there too.  The reviews were dreadful.  Pretty much a tourist trap with an undeserved reputation of somewhere you must visit in the area.  Thanks, Google, good to know.  Moving on.  Dislike queues anyway ;-)

We only had two days in Barcelona.  So much to do!  First was Las Ramblas.  We arrived a little early for the stalls to all be set up but James did mention that the whole area had become a lot more touristy than when he was last here ... around 20 years ago!  To escape the light rain that started to fall we ducked into the market. Again, quite touristy these days but fascinating nonetheless. 

Up the top of the road we were reminded of the terrible tragedy which took place here in August 2017 when a young man drove a van into pedestrians, killing 14 and injuring 130+.  Moving on quite quickly .....

Off we went to see some of the amazing architecture on offer here .... Gaudi of course!

We walked to Casa Batllo, not letting a little light rain thwart our enthusiasm.

The building beside it is very pretty too, so much detail to the facade.

Then, of course, La Segrada Familia started in 1882 and still under construction.  If you ever see a photo of this amazing building without cranes and scaffolding, trust us, it's photo-shopped.  This detracts not a jot from the detail on every surface.  You can stand and stare at the same place for half an hour and still see something new.  Beyond comprehension really!

 

A bit closer to home we came upon the MNAC museum

The Magic Fountain of Montjuic

These rather imposing columns

James has never looked so short!

And the Arenas de Barcelona, which is a disused bullring turned shopping mall

At the top of which we found this cool interactive floor which changed colours depending on the pressure placed.  The children were having a ball on it!

Although Barcelona was a flying visit on our way to our next house-sit in Andalucia, it was well worth the stopover.

Buenos Aires and beyond .... Oct/Nov 2018

Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires

We had found the perfect sit for the last few weeks of our six month South American adventure on the Buenos Aires Expats Facebook group.  Whilst we belong to four or five mainstream house & pet sitting websites, we have discovered they aren't always the best option for sits in 2nd and 3rd world countries.   Sits in these countries are almost always for expats.   Locals a) do not have the resources or reasons to travel (expats like to go back to their home countries each year to see family and friends) & b) are more likely to have extended family to care for their homes and pets while they are away,   So we find it is also a good idea to join the expat facebook group/s of the countries or cities we wish to go to as well. In this instance it worked a treat.  We managed to get a sit in an apartment in Polermo, Buenos Aires with two cats.

Button and Portobello ... mushroom cats!!!

The young american couple we were sitting for were going back to the states for a couple of weddings ... including their own :-)

The kitties were inside only cats and hadn't been in Argentina very long so everything was still new and a bit scary to them.  It took a couple of days to win them over after which we had a lovely time together.

Helping with mum's knitting

Sitting for kitties only leaves a lot of spare time for exploring the city.  Apart from feeding time there is not much to be done.

Polermo turned out to be the perfect neighbourhood from which to explore the city.  It is on the underground system and on one of the main bus routes, both of which are very easy to use with a Sube card.

Polermo underground station is quite pretty

Our first adventure was a walk to MALBA or Museum of Latin American Art.

Neither of us are particularly interested in art so are probably not the best critics but .... some we liked

The desperation of poverty

Some we didn't ....

And others we just didn't understand how anyone would think them art worthy of display ....

The Illumination of Light!

We also enjoyed a visit to Puerto Madero, the revamped dockside.  It is an interesting mix of old and new construction.  We were particularly struck by the fabulous old red brick buildings that have been repurposed as upmarket steakhouses and lunch venues for the surrounding office workers.  Apparently the only people who can afford to live here are CEOs and drug dealers!

Yet the most interesting thing to be seen here is the Puente de la Mujer, the rotating footbridge which is a sight to behold although the planks of the bridge itself are in some disrepair.

Our visit also coincided with a visit from a 1927 Norwegian sailboat which was crewed by quite a few 16 & 17 year olds on a round the world adventure.

Of course, a visit to BA would never be complete without a visit to one of the many markets.  We chose San Telmo.  It went on forever and although we didn't buy anything (we usually only by consumables as we don't need anything else in our lives and if we buy we have to carry!) we enjoyed seeing all the wares on offer and the people touting them.  One guy even asked Clare if she was from NZ even though she (unusually) hadn't said a word, when she stopped at his jewellery stall.  He had spotted the pounamu (NZ greenstone) necklace she wears.

After the market we walked up to the Plaza de Mayo where we got talking to some Kiwi tourists who recognised Clare's accent ....  this time she was definitely talking :-)  La Casa Rosada, the offical residence and offices of the President, needed photographing ....

La Casa Rosada in the backgroung

Along with the other points of interest in the square

As we wondered home we were again taken with the gorgeous colonial architecture everywhere we looked.

Clare was delighted to discover that we were living within walking distance of a number of yarn shops.   The interesting thing about shopping in South America is that all of the same types of shops, or stalls in the market, are in the same street or row.  Kinda makes life easy.

It would have been rude not to purchase this lovely
array of very cheap cotton!

Some of which was used to make a wedding
gift facecloth for the happy couple :-)

 Argentine, and more specifically Buenos Aires, is know for the wonderful bakeries on every corner.  The standard breakfast is coffee and medialunas .... half moon shaped pastries similar to a croissant but different in texture.  We thoroughly loved them and it was a challenge not to over indulge.  We even enjoyed looking in the shop windows at them all!

We were equally delighted to discover that we had arrived mid strawberry season and were buying big luscious strawberries for NZ$2 per kilo or UK 1 pound.

We were also fascinated by the dog walkers which we saw every day.  Just such a shame about the abundance of doggy doos EVERYWHERE on the pavements.   We never saw a stray dog so can only imagine there is not 'pick up' culture here.

Something else we saw in abundance on the streets of Buenos Aires were police.  They were very relaxed and affable mostly just standing around smoking but didn't seem to be doing a lot.  James commented that maybe they could be put to better use picking up dog mess!  It was such a pleasure to be able to discover the city from a housesit perspective rather than as a tourist.

Just more cute kitty pics :-)

At the end of our sit here we had five days to fill in before flying out to Spain.  James wanted to go fishing one last time so booked a hostel and a fishing guide in San Pedro, on the Rio Parana, the second longest river in Argentina.  It was around a three hour bus ride away.  We left the city on a Saturday morning intending to walk toward the bus station before catching a bus the rest of the way.  Unfortunately one of those things that you don't know about till it's too late happened that day.  La Boca were playing their main rivals at football at the stadium in the city and the buses were packed to overflowing.  No matter.  We had left our main rucksacks at the housesit and only carrying hand luggage so a longer walk was no problem.  Until the heavens opened .... another one of those events you don't find out in advance!  Ho hum, a bit of wet never hurt anyone.

It rained all the way to San Pedro.  This turned out to be a weather bomb which not only postponed the days football match but also meant we never got to go fishing in San Pedro.  A bit disappointing, but the town itself turned out to be a lovely place to hang out for a few days.

Jacaranda trees in full bloom

The river in flood

 Still, we got to enjoy some lovely food with the money we saved from the failed fishing venture.

Well fed stray dogs at the bus station

We had one more night to spend in Buenos Aires before flying.  We have had an amazing journey  packed with fabulous adventures and experiences, meeting new friends and old.  It is with fondness that we farewell this varied and interesting  continent.