My pants are getting tight after only a few days of eating with Diane. I don't know how that is possible. It's not like we are really stuffing ourselves, or even like we are eating a lot, but the reality is, my pants are getting tight.
Diet and exercise begin when I get back to SF. For now, it's time to enjoy one last time what Buenos Aires has to offer.
On Tuesday evening we ordered a "picada fria" from the Sirian-Lebanese Club and had it delivered. We didn't finish the whole thing, so there is still some left for us to snack on today. It has hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli, chicken with tahini, falafel, feta cheese, olives, and my favorite thing - myadara - which is lentils and rice topped with fried onions. Super yummy.
Yesterday Diane came by for lunch and I made penne with tuna, olives and sun dried tomatoes. It was a healthy lunch and we didn't overeat. We went to the Disco to pick up some stuff for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners, went to my little produce market on the corner, and then went one block in the other direction to get ravioli and sauce (for today) and some little cakes (that we didn't need).
There is a bakery one block from here (I think that one block in every direction from here there is a bakery), called Aries. I can see the back wall of the bakery from my window with a big sign painted on it with their number for delivery.
Only recently I stopped in and saw that they have these little cakes called "masas finas". I just looked in my dictionary and "masa" is a combination of flour, eggs, and yeast. I guess it is dough. So these are "fine doughs?" Somehow that doesn't describe them, so I posted a picture.
They are really yummy little cakes with cream, mouses, fruit and dulce de leche. I got an assortment of 12. We each ate 2. The rest are in my refrigerator calling me to eat them for breakfast instead of fiber cereal and fruit.
After relaxing a bit it was time for our Christmas Eve spa treatments at 3. I had massages scheduled for us. We went to Aqua Vita and it turned out our appointments were for 1, and I had a 3 p.m. appointment on Monday (which I thought was at 1). I got the two days mixed up, even though I had a card in my wallet with the times on it.
They were very nice, however, and let us get massages at 3. They even called Leiban, the guy who gives killer massages, to come back. Diane had another guy who gave her a light, relaxing massage, while I received Leiban's torture. He used his elbow and body weight to dig deep into my muscles, and when I'd scream, he'd dig deeper. It's the kind of massage I need and it is what I like. It was perfect. When we left at 4:30, we were the last ones there. Things had begun shutting down for Christmas Eve.
We took a nice air-conditioned taxi over to the Alvear Palace Hotel for our tea. I made a reservation, but we didn't need it. The place was pretty empty. It was not filled with its usual gaggle of conchetta's spending their husband's money, but instead, by an assortment of foreigners, like us. I guess all of the Argentines were at home doing whatever they do on Christmas Eve.
We started off with 4 crustless sandwiches. Then they brought out a three tiered plate with scones, little cakes and some savory pastries. After that, they wheeled out the thing that Larry calls the Iron Lung. A big glass case filled with cakes. We choose the Alvear palace specialty, which was a pastry made with layers of flaky filo dough with a layer of dulce de leche and a layer of creme inside. We could hardly make a dent in it, we were so full. As we were about to roll out of the restaurant, Mariano, our server, came back with two plates piled high with truffles. We declined.
We walked through the Recoleta, which was now deserted. The streets were very quiet and there was hardly any traffic. Diane went back to her apartment and I rested here.
At about 9:30, Diane came back and at 10:30 (or later?) we had our dinner. Usually I make the 7 fish dinner that my family does on Christmas Eve. Actually, my godmother used to make 13 fishes, but my mom did 7. I don't even think there are 7 possibilities of seafood here. I counted the tuna and penne we had for lunch and I think we ended up with 5 or 6. We had salmon which I crusted with black sesame seeds and pan seared, and topped with soy sauce, ginger, cilantro and chilis. It was very good. And we got two salads at the seafood shop because the shrimp were all cooked and frozen (our original plan was to make garlic shrimp). So instead we had octopus a la provencal, which I think just had parsley and oil. I added garlic and lemon, but it still needed something. The octopus was very tender though. And we had a seafood salad "a la caribena", which basically just had some red pepper chopped in it. I added some red chili, cilantro and lime juice. It turned out really good.
It seemed like a healthy dinner, but I felt really stuffed afterwards, even though we didn't eat a lot. I think the cakes from the afternoon tea were still in my stomach!
A little after midnight I walked Diane home because I wanted to see what the streets were like.
It felt like we were walking through a war zone. The streets were deserted. There were one or two taxis cruising down Santa Fe, but no cars. There were hardly any people on the streets. Some guys from the corner kiosko were standing outside of their store. A few people were outside of a restaurant smoking. Most restaurants were closed.
But the scary thing was the firecrackers. Loud booms could be heard all around. Some very close. People were lighting them on their balconies and dropping them. I imagined one dropping down the back of my shirt and us spending Christmas Eve in the Emergency Room of the Hospital Aleman. I was really afraid to walk Diane home but I didn't want her to walk home alone with the streets so deserted and firecrackers raining down.
I think Buenos Aires has a very dangerous element to it, even though I have not had any problems. I've been super cautious, and really haven't been in any position where I might be in danger. But Diane makes me worry. A few nights she insisted on walking me home, even though it was late. When I protested, she insisted more. Then, she'd insist on walking back to her place down Beruti, which is dark and does not get much traffic, instead of Santa Fe, which is well lit, had lots of people walking and has plenty of traffic. Even though I tell her it is dangerous, she insists on walking down Beruti. I just hope her luck holds out and nothing happens.
As I said good-bye to Diane, she suggested I walk home down Ecuador, which would bring me to Beruti. I thought it was funny that she was suggesting on this scariest of nights, that I walk down an even more deserted street with people dropping firecrackers from their balconies!
I walked down Santa Fe and was very glad to make it back to my apartment safe and sound.
Merry Christmas!
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