Yesterday and today, (Monday and Tuesday) ended up as days I just spent "being." That is, while I did do some things, I did not especially "accomplish" anything, but have the sense that I spent the days just "existing" and enjoying life. I had intended, each day, to be more intentional about my activity. Both days I planned to go to the Ecologica Reserva, the large wild park on the coast of the Rio Plata (which looks like the ocean to me), but Monday I did not make it and Tuesday I took the subway all the way down to Plaza de Mayo (the end of the line) and started walking toward the Reserva, when I turned around and headed in another direction. (It was already 10:30 a.m., the day was totally overcast, windy, and very cool; it definitely did not seem like a day to go walk along the ocean.)
What I ended up doing each afternoon was to spend time in a garden in Palermo. On Monday it was the Jardin Botanico (the Botanical Garden) and on Tuesday it was the Jardin Japonese (the Japanese Garden). Both are marvelous spots, filled with feasts for the eyes and, even though in the midst of the city, oases of tranquility. The Jardin Botanico was created in 1897 by Charles Thays, French-born landscape architect. It has a wide variety of trees, shrubs, plants, etc., plus a very interesting collection of statues. The Jardin Japonese was created in 1967 to mark the visit of the crown prince and princess of Japan. Other Japanese royalty (or it may have been the same people, I can't quite keep the names straight) have visited Buenos Aires a number of times over the years, and they have a stone plaque in the garden to mark each visit!
In each place I spent time taking pictures, observing the surroundings slowly as I did, and then I took time to just sit on a bench, write some in my journal, soak up the sun (although Tuesday there were more clouds than sun) and just enjoy, as fully as possible, what each garden had to offer. It was nice. Along with those afternoon experiences, the rest of the day was spent handling small errands (like buying some small screws to repair the TV stand, and some pens and envelopes, and groceries each day), eating leisurely lunches out and fixing my own dinner in, working on the computer (handling email, including sending some email to friends in Spanish, writing in my blog, uploading pictures, etc.) The days are being spent at a leisurely pace, which is definitely needed by me, after the last six weeks. For while I was not working 50-60 hour weeks as I usually do back home, I was engaged in work with my language studies, with homework each night and a need to review the days lessons so I could move on to a new lesson the next day, plus make sure I soaked up as much of each location as I could in my "free" time. They were very busy weeks. This week has started off as full, but not with a sense of "busy-ness" or "urgency."
I read that the Buenos Aires poet and author, Jorge Luis Borges, spoke of "Palermo's unending siesta" and I quite agree it has that feel. After going down to the central city area today and experiencing again the narrow, crowded streets and sidewalks, the constant noise, the bus fumes, in contrast, Palermo almost feels sleepy. It is not, and there are busy streets in this barrio as well, but they are wider, the narrow side streets do not have nearly as much traffic on them as the city center does, and people move at a slower pace here. It definitely has a different feel about it, and the noise level, and the exhaust fumes, at not as oppressive here. I definitely like this barrio, and am very glad I am living here for this month. If and when I want to go into the city, it is only a 10-15 minute subway ride. But for the most part, I think I will spend most of my time here in Palermo the next two weeks, until Dianne gets here, when I am sure we will be visiting the central city area much more.
One of the habits I have picked up from the Argentines is my late afternoon coffee. Even before these last two days, it started during my first sojourn in Buenos Aires, continued in Cordoba, and in Bariloche. Each afternoon I find a cafe and get some form of espresso (which is the basic coffee in Argentina.) I must say, they make GREAT coffee here. I have yet to have a bad cup, even the coffee made at the schools was great. And the coffee in the cafe's is wonderful. I would put it right next to Italy's coffee in quality! It is strong and rich, but with no bitterness. I wonder what my schedule will be like when I return to Miami? Will I still find time for my afternoon coffee? Part of the problem is we do not have the cafe lifestyle as they do here. Starbucks is just not the same. (By the way, I did finally find a Starbucks in Palermo. It was in a huge shopping mall! I did not get coffee there. I do not think it would be able to compare with that available in the cafes.)
If you want to see pictures of the gardens follow these links to the Kodak Gallery Albums I have created. This first link takes you to pictures of the statues in the Botanical Garden: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.8j8bwjcm&x=0&y=-r893mo&localeid=en_US
This second link takes you to pictures of the plants in the Botanical Garden: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.7dveymd2&x=0&y=-fp7ep6&localeid=en_US
Finally, this third link takes you to pictures of the Japanese Garden: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.9unxh8fq&x=0&y=rxm91f&localeid=en_US
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