Every friday night a group of Portenos get together to practice their English. They invite native English speakers to join them (local expats as well as travellers). I went last Friday and had a really nice time, we chatted for a couple hours and then went to dinner. They are a lovely group, very friendly and welcoming. They are not partyers.. this is not a pub thing but it is a nice way to get to meet some locals. To get the address you need to contact them directly (this is too weed out the sexual deviants): Grupo de Ingles
I had my first day of Spanish lessons today at Ayres de Espanol in Palermo. It´s a small school in a cute old building and but it´s main attraction for me is that it´s not a schlep away in San Telmo. Their methodology is somewhat bohemian but I´m pretty much level 0 so it´s fine for me. After working behind the scenes in language learning for 8 years and not having been an actual student in 9, it was a strange feeling to be sitting in front of a whiteboard with my new notebook cracked open. We started as 3 students in the class but we were already down to 2 by the end of the first session (and I´m not sure how long my remaining colleague is going to stick around). I think I might need to find a school that´s a bit more structured… I want to establish a foundation so that I can really learn Spanish and I´m starting to wonder if maybe this school is more geared towards people who just want to be able to get around better. Stay tuned..
It seems there are a few of these types of maps floating around, but having tried a few I think this one is the best: Mapa de Buenos Aires. You can even enter a street address and see exactly where it is (Buscador General in the left menu for the Castilian-impaired).
Nothing bugs me more than negative experiences that could have so EASILY been avoided…
I was sitting at this outdoor cafe in a trendy area with TONS of people around reading when this guy asked me (in Spanish) for directions, I was distracted for 1 MINUTE and his partner must have come and nipped my bag 😦 Camera, phone, (new) wallet – todos gone. Thankfully I always keep my keys in my pocket, my passport was at home and I had just uploaded all my pictures from the trip so far. The people at the cafe were lovely (will need to go back and pay them..) I went to the police station and they were GREAT! They insisted I try maté, we had a little language exchange, they wrote a list of wines for me to try and restaurants (they were v upset I hadn´t had Asado yet). I must have been the most excitement they have had all weekend, we hung out for a while. The Commandant (or whatever) joked he would call his wife and tell her he was taking me out on the town tonight. He asked if it was true that the head of the FBI gets paid 7 Million a year and did his impression of an American cop. Overall it was as pleasant an experience as can be.
This is still a WIP (consider it v1.0)
Toptable is your friend – check here before you venture to anywhere upmarket, they have great deals (like 25% off if you are out the door by 7)
$ Borough Market – if you´re a foodie, this is heaven. GO EARLY (get there by 10) you can eat there or buy food and make a picnic (weather permitting)
$$ Levant – beautiful restaurant, good Middle Eastern food. Skip the seafood platter and get the meat.
$-$$ Lots Road Pub – good for lunch, brunch or dinner. What a gastropub should be. Make reservations.
$$$ Bluebird Cafe – it´s an institution but I still like it. They do a good brunch.
$$$ Nobu – the best deal is to go at lunch and have the Binto box. OR get snacks in the bar, not really worth the money for a full dinner.
$$ Electric Bar and Brasserie Notting Hill – Great people watching on Notting Hill (and good food). Excellent for brunhc/lunch
$$$ Arbutus – A reasonable Michelin Star restaurant. Worth the splurge. They do wine by carafe/half carafe as well which is cool. Book well in advance
$$ Tsunami – Excellent (reasonably priced) Japanese fusion food.
$$ The Bombay Brasserie – I had been told it was the best indian food in London and I have to say, I think I agree. It´s pricey but they do a good lunch special (14 GBP)
$$ Admiral Codrington – another good Gastrobpub. They specialize in Seafood (yum crabcakes)
$ Beirut Express – Maroush has Lebanese restaurants all over London but I usually go to the one at South Ken. The Hummus Beiruty is rocking. We generally get the shwarma sandwichs.
$ Bagels on Bricklane – 24 hours real bagels..the best thing at the end of a long night. Or a shopping break snack.
$$-$$$ Hunan – my favorite restaurant in London. There´s no menu but you will be asked for any dietary restrictions you have then then you will eat some of the best Chinese food you ever had (ask for the pork with prunes). Let Mikey pick the wine for you.
$ Dim Sum place in Bayswater – the most authentic Dim Sum we found in London.. They don´t take reservations so get there early. (I need to confirm the name with Ann)
$-$$ Jakob´s – Organic predominantly vegetarian Armenian deli/cafe (try the falafel sandwich)
Hummingbird Bakery – REALLY good cupcakes (my fav is the red velvet).
Bars:
Janet´s bar
Bohemian Kitchen on Old whatever street (need to check this one again)
Misc:
Upstart Market (Sundays only) – an indoor market for emerging clothing and accesarry designers. Some cool ethnic food stalls as well.
If you like markets, this is a good listing: http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/markets.htm
My Peruvian friend´s comment is starting to make sense to me: ¨You´re going to learn Spanish in Argentina? But then you will talk like them!¨ Imagine the limited English you spoke had been learned by watching American sitcoms and then you wound up in Scotland…. This is how I feel about trying to understand people here. Since I speak German like a Berlin adolescent and Chinese like a Shanghainese taxi driver I think it´s fitting I learn to speak Spanish like a Porteña.
I wanted to give a big Xie Xie to Angeline for inviting me to Peru, Augusto for hosting us in both Lima and Asia and showing us an awesome time in both, Alonso for babysitting us and Manuel for making sure we got fed.
The first accolade is not only based on my personal experience but also on the advice of my Liman friends. Unlike some other Pisco Sours we tried, it wasn´t too sweet or syrupy. It still packs a serious whallop, definitely the strongest cocktail I ever had. La Gloria is not cheap, even by international standards, but if you´re going to splurge on one meal in Lima – this is the place (but you can also just drink at the bar in the front room). Make sure to order the grilled calamari!! (reservations are a must)
For those who don´t know: A Pisco Sour is a cocktail which contains Pisco (a regional brandy), lemon juice, egg whites, simple syrup, and regional bitters (like Amargo bitters, though Angostura bitters work if regional bitters are unavailable).
I arrived in Buenos Aires VERY early yesterday and settled into my studio apartment I rented for a month. I think I´m in Barrio Norte but different maps seem to tell me different things… today I wandered around Recoleta and had the cheapest afternoon at the salon ever ($3 to get my brows dealt with – and it was a pretty nice place!!). Not speaking Spanish made it interesting and before I looked in the mirror I imagined myself with Greta Garbo eyebrows, which thankfully was not the case. Tomorrow I will try to sort out the Spanish lessons and SIM card (apparently I need my passport to get one..who knew?).
Luckily my corner store is run by Chinese people, otherwise I would have starved. OK, that´s an exaggeration but Mandarin did some in handy – esp when I went to pay and realized I forgot my wallet at home. The staff were pretty surprised (and entertained) to hear a gringa bust out the Putonghua .
This is totally unrelated to my trip but this came up in conversation so I wanted to post it. If you are on Koh Phi Phi I HIGHLY recommend Pum´s cooking class (or at a minimum eat at the restaurant, it´s MSG-free and some of the yummiest Thai food I ever had).
Urbanomad 
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