A Change of Seasons

Springtime in Buenos Aires brings purple blossoms to the jacaranda trees.
(seen from Elisa and  Christian balcony)

Once again, I’ve traded seasons, and it’s a bit disorienting.  This past Tuesday, I was walking down the streets of Buenos Aires, breathing in the warm spring air (along with a lot of exhaust from the cars and buses) and gazing up at the jacaranda trees, which were just beginning to bloom.  Then, two days later, I was following a wooded trail in northern Virginia, breathing in the pungent smelling air of autumn and crunching my way through the crisp, colorful leaves.

It was less than 48 hours ago when I turned the key in the lock of my front door and stepped inside the house for the first time in over two weeks.  Rather than feeling exhausted after a long, long day of travel from South America, I felt elated, even as I dragged a pair of overloaded suitcases across the threshold.  How good it felt to be home again after another trip to Buenos Aires!  And yet I knew that as soon as morning came, the yearning to be back with Elisa, Christian and Sylvie would overtake me. 

In truth, I felt very much at home during my two weeks in BA.  Since this was primarily a family visit, I wouldn’t be focused on tourist activities and I already knew the neighborhood well.  I had a very comfortable apartment, much more spacious than the apartment where I’d stayed last July.  Being right on busy Avenida General Las Heras, it was quite noisy.  On the other hand, it was just a block away from Elisa and Christian’s place.

An afternoon promenade with Sylvie (and baby Anna) on Agenda las Heras

Sylvie’s schedule dictated the rhythm of my days.  I was eager to be as involved as possible, so I often helped with getting her off to school in the morning and picking her up at lunchtime.  On many days, we all ate lunch together.  This would be at Elisa and Christian’s apartment, as Sylvie, who is now two years old, doesn’t sit still long enough to make dining out an enjoyable activity. 

Following Sylvie’s naptime, we took afternoon walks in the neighborhood, went to the playground, or stopped into a local heladeria for ice cream.  

There are playgrounds everywhere.

Sylvie helping Christian prepare his maté in the Botanical Gardens

Then it was family dinnertime, followed by a bath, several stories, and the inevitable struggle to get Sylvie to settle down for the night.  At that point, all of the adults were exhausted.  I’d stroll back to my apartment and read for a while.  Looking back now, I realize that I read four books in two weeks – not bad.  There wasn’t much else to do in the evenings. 

It’s funny how memory works.  Although I’d raised two children of my own, I’d forgotten what life was like with a two-year old in the house.  But I got a crash course in toddler psychology when, a few days after my arrival, Elisa and Christian went off on an adventure to Patagonia, leaving me in charge of Sylvie for four whole days.  To be fair, I had offered to stay with Sylvie to give them an opportunity to get away.  How naïve I was, though.  On my own, I had to deal with the sudden (and often inexplicable) mood swings, the lack of impulse control, and the stubbornness and restless energy of a typical two-year old. Just as I was thinking that I was too old for this, I realized that Elliott had willingly become a father again in his 70s, which is completely amazing.  Again, perhaps it’s that memory thing that allowed him to forget what was involved.  In any case, my sympathies go out to all exhausted parents, especially single parents, everywhere. 

Sylvie loves helping prepare food.  Here, we're making pumpkin muffins from a Trader Joe's mix.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m actually very grateful I had the opportunity to spend so much time with my granddaughter.  One of the joys was hearing Sylvie become very verbal.  As a former language teacher, I found it exciting to hear her slowly and deliberately string words together into longer and longer sentences, in both English and Spanish.  Just as gratifying was the experience of snuggling up with her for naps on Mama and Papa’s big bed.  But I have to admit that I was often counting the days, then hours, until Elisa and Christian finally returned.   

Of course, being with Sylvie didn’t consume all of my time, especially after the Patagonia trip.  On most weekdays, I was able to take long walks while she was in school from 9-12.  I tried to take a new route everyday, venturing into barrios I had yet to explore. 

One day, I walked down to the historic Abasto shopping mall, one of the largest in Buenos Aires.  The enormous building dates back to the late 1890s, when it served as the city’s wholesale fruit and vegetable market.  Today, the mall houses a variety of kiosks, upscale shops, and a children’s museum and amusement center.  There is the obligatory food court where you’ll find the only kosher McDonald’s restaurant outside of Israel.  The Abasto mall is located in a neighborhood which had a large concentration of Jewish residents in earlier times. 

The Kosher McDonald's in Abasto Shopping Mall

The Abasto Mall food court

Just a block from the mall is a small museum and an outdoor memorial devoted to legendary tango singer and composer Carlos Gardel, who was killed in a plane crash in 1935. 

Homage to Carlos Gardel 

Another day, I spent the morning strolling along Avenida Alcorta, one of the main east-west thoroughfares in the northern part of the city.  Jacaranda trees showing purple blossoms lined both sides of the broad boulevard. 

My goal was to get a close look at the Floralis Genérica, a landmark in the city.  This enormous flower-shaped metal sculpture by Argentine architect Eduardo Catalano sits next to the law school of the University of Buenos Aires.  What makes this work of art so unique is that the petals of the flower slowly move throughout the day.  They begin to open at sunrise and they close at sunset.  

After viewing the Floralis, I came across a group of taxi drivers taking a morning mate break. 

The day was warm, and I was getting thirsty, too, so I ducked into a nearby café where I found a Brooklyn-worthy bagel sandwich (with cream cheese, lox, arugula, chives and fresh dill) to go with my café con leche. 

And speaking of food, during this trip, I was on a quest to sample as many alfajores, those Argentine sandwich cookies with a dulce de leche filling, as possible.  Before I left home, my amiga Marcela had recommended Pasteleria El Progreso, a bakery/café on Avenida Santa Fe, which gave me a destination for another morning walk. 

The window display at El Progreso

Christian took charge of Sylvie’s afternoon activities one day, allowing Elisa and me to do some city exploring on our own.  We hopped onto the always crowded Subte (subway) for a ride to the San Telmo neighborhood, which I’d visited back in July.  This time, our focus was on tango dress shopping.  Elisa picked up the dress she’d previously purchased, which was being custom tailored to fit her like a second skin.  It will be perfect when she and Christian attend their next milonga.  I browsed through the racks of dresses, fantasizing about taking tango lessons myself.

Springtime in San Telmo

Shopping for tango clothes at Maria Jazmin in San Telmo 

Afterwards, another quick Subte ride brought us to the Libertad Templo, the oldest Ashkenazic synagogue in Buenos Aires.  The Templo is located in a bustling area of the city, just a block from the famed Teatro Colon.  We had tried to visit the synagogue and its museum on my previous visit, but it seemed to be closed for renovation.  Scaffolding still covered most of the façade, but Elisa and I were able to find an inconspicuous entrance.  Like all Jewish buildings in the city, the Templo is very security conscious.  A guard examined our passports before we were admitted.  

The Libertad Temple interior

In the entrance foyer, the first thing that struck me was the sound of organ music.  This immediately indicated that the Templo didn’t follow Orthodox or Conservative Jewish tradition.  In fact, as our guide explained, the synagogue was started by two immigrants from Alsace in the late 1800s. At that time, the Reform movement of Judaism was gaining popularity in Germany, and Reform synagogues adopted many of the features of churches, including organ music.  Not surprisingly, the interior of the sanctuary is somewhat reminiscent of German and French churches of the 19^th century. 

The current membership of the synagogue is about 1000.  In addition to holding regular services, the Templo offers weekly mid-day concerts that are open to the public.  The acoustics of the sanctuary are so good that musicians from the nearby Teatro Colon use the Templo as a rehearsal space.  The building, which also houses a small Jewish museum, wasn’t completed until 1932, and has recently been declared a national historic site by the Argentine government.  As a side note, the current organ was a recent gift from Germany.

With Elisa and Sylvie, I made a Saturday visit to the trendy Palermo Soho neighborhood, which is full of boutiques, restaurants, and bars.  We browsed in shops, played in the playground (of course), and stopped for a bite to eat at the very pink Panera Rosa. 

A walk in Palermo Soho

Sitting still (briefly) in La Panera Rosa

Sylvie on the carousel (Plaza Armenia in Palermo Soho)

Towards the end of my stay in Buenos Aires, Elisa joined me for a visit to the Puerto Madero neighborhood.  On a beautiful spring day, we walked across the modern Puente de la Mujer and enjoyed a seafood lunch at an Italian restaurant along the waterfront.  Elisa enjoyed a complimentary glass of champagne and I sipped a crisp Argentine chardonnay with my meal.  Many thanks to Christian for making this child-free outing possible. 

Along the waterfront near the Puente de la Mujer

First course of lunch at La Parolaccia del Mare

Dessert at La Parolaccia del Mare

We returned the favor by taking him and Sylvie out for ice cream later that afternoon.  I ordered my two new favorite ice cream flavors, café with cognac and coconut with dulce de leche. 

And I can’t possibly forget Halloween!  The Porteños don’t traditionally celebrate this holiday in the American fashion, but the custom of dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating is starting to catch on.  We participated in an American-style Halloween celebration organized by a group of expatriates.  I was surprised at how many costumed revelers (children of all ages and many parents) showed up at the outdoor event, which featured kids’ games, trick-or-treating, a bake sale, and an Argentine parrilla (barbeque). 

Sylvie was excited to dress up as Minnie Mouse in a pink and white dress specially transported from the U.S.  Elisa and Christian looked stunning as a couple of tango dancers.  Sylvie didn’t quite get the idea of trick-or-treating.  Elisa and Christian had been talking about the holiday for several days and “treat” had become Sylvie’s new favorite word.  However, at the Halloween party, she was shy about working her way through the mob of children and going up to strangers to ask for candy.  Once she managed to get a piece of candy in her treat bag, she just wanted to sit down and eat it right away.  In fact, she popped it into her mouth with the wrapper still on.

When my final morning in Buenos Aires arrived, I looked out over the jacaranda trees from Elisa and Christian’s balcony one last time.  I was excited to see more purple blossoms on the branches, and I was sorry that I wouldn’t be staying long enough to see them at their springtime peak.  But at the same time, I knew that the brilliant fall colors of northern Virginia would be waiting for me when I returned home.

Farewell to springtime in Buenos Aires