A new day, a new home

I had a rather uneventful last day at Caseron Porteno. It was a very cloudy, drizzly, cold day so I stayed in and worked on the computer most of the day. I did not go out until later afternoon. I found the apartment we will rent in Palermo Viejo in September and October. It seems to be a nice, quiet, residential neighborhood. I then had an excellent steak dinner at a parilla restaurant in Palermo Soho. The skirt steak was very good, the grilled vegetables tasty, and the healthy glass of Malbec was marvelous. Altogether a first rate meal. Total cost, $21. Really not a bad deal. I then walked back to the Caseron, climbed under two blankets on my bed to survive the chilly night (I think it got down close to freezing!)

I was up early to move. After a final tasty breakfast courtesy of Maria (pictured above), the heart and soul of Caseron Porteno, I took a taxi downtown to Barrio Norte where I met my new hostess, Senora Isabel Restelli. Her apartment is small, but cozy and comfy. I have my own bedroom and bathroom. Senora Restelli is an accountant, auditing judicial files and cases in Buenos Aires. She has three daughters and one granddaughter. She is a most thoughtful, insightful woman. After talking with her for a few hours, I have a better understanding of what I have been observing already. Life is very difficult for most people in Buenos Aires and Argentina. They have to work hard for not much reward; the government seems to be taking more and more and offering less and less; and times are very difficult economically. There seems to be a low sense of hope for the future in Buenos Aires currently, and a sense that these are hard days. That would explain much about the low sense of taking care of your surroundings and the hard faces without much joy. As I get to know more people, I will be interested to check out these observations.

If you want to check out more pictures of Senora Restelli's apartment, my home for the next three weeks, use this link to go to the Kodak gallery album: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.6nn1z4x6&x=0&y=bc46u2&localeid=en_US