Our Apartment

We officially have a home, and the pictures to prove it. We really love the place and the neighborhood is amazing. I know it’s only been four whole days, but we already get a nod of acknowledgment from the people at the fresh pasta shop because we have been there so many times.

A note on fresh pasta:
I have always loved pasta; it’s almost a vice for me. I am deeply ashamed of myself though that I have been living these 22 years under the impression that boxed pasta was an acceptable alternative to the real thing. I am enlightened. In the past it was all about the sauce for me, but now it is all about the pasta. Last night we didn't get enough sauce for the amount of pasta, but it was fine because the pasta tastes so good! I could even eat a whole bowl of it plain...but I won't. Things may be cheap here, but I cannot afford all new pants.

Last night we had our first night out. We went to an international bar which was mostly filled with Argentineans anyway, but there were some Irish guys and the young locals spoke English. For me it was a small relief to be able to talk to people without needing Josh to translate for me. We met up with our friend Tucker who graduated with us from GWU and who arrived the same day we did. He studied abroad here so he is a walking tour guide. I had started to write down his suggestions because I'll never remember them all, especially not on a full belly of pasta and wine. The bar was fun, and as the night unfolded more and more people showed up. Of course it’s all fun and games till the police show up. When Tucker and I came out of the bathroom the lights were on and the music off. According to Tucker, the police sometimes perform raids in bars just to collect money in fines. It made sense to me because everyone was smoking in the bar even though there is a smoking ban here. It turns out the guide book was right: Portenos (people who are from Buenos Aires) do not like to follow the rules. Also turns out we were lucky to see this display because everyone we talked to had never experienced it before. Not bad for our first night out so we cut our losses and went home at 4:30 in the morning. Today was mostly very lazy, but we went to the botanical gardens and tried public transportation out for the first time. The buses are amazing when you are on them, and while the Subtle (subway) is slow and not that convenient it served our purposes today. We napped in the rainy afternoon and had Tucker over for some eggplant parmesan and more of our favorite pasta.
Now Josh is on the couch "listening" to the red sox who are playing live on the TV but I have my suspicions he's really sleeping.

Below are two pictures from a park right in the middle of the city with the biggest tree I've ever seen in a city, in width anyway. The tree Josh is standing in front of has branches leaning out over the street that are being supported but crutches.















Here is also a picture we took at an electronics store. We were disappointed our apartment did not come with a Patrick fridge, but while a store employee was distracted with the search for the blow dryer I wanted we snuck in this photo of Josh going "schmeh." We miss you Patty!!!