Spanish....and Kosher Meat

We began our explorations beyond the one mile radius of our apartment by taking the Subte (Subterráneos) to its southern end in San Telmo, the oldest part of the city. Each fare: the equivalent of around 30 cents. Crowded, yes. But also speedy and efficient. In San Telmo, at the Bar Britanico, we met Tatiana, our teacher from Espanol Andando. She will be our teacher through Sunday, teaching us Spanish by exploring different parts of the city. It turns out, one of her grandparents is a Russian Jewish emigre who still treats Tatiana, who was not brought up Jewish, to gefilte fish and kreplach.

She was endlessly patient with our squirmy (though knowledgeable) Spanish learners. We left the bar and took a bus up to the Retiro train station (where we had to employ our halting Spanish -- safe for Eve -- asking about various trips and costs), before heading briefly to Plaza de Mayo, the very heart of the city. I will no doubt be returning to witness the circuit of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo around the Obelisk, in front of the Casa Rosada, their pink version of our White House. It is a remarkable story, how the mothers and grandmothers of the "disappeared" under the dictatorship, led a social movement to gain justice, and who they have not let up, but rather have broadened their pursuit of human rights.

We left Tatiana and managed to find what felt like an authentic lunchroom for the businesspeople of Microcentro -- packed tables, waiters who appear to have spent many years elegantly managing the daily crowds, including a few tourists now and again, and simple fare (including provaleta, a traditional form of, well, melted cheese).

We returned home for long enough to rest and prepare for dinner at a long-imagined place: a kosher meat restaurant on the neighborhood a mile away, past the heavily fortified U.S. Embassy, on the other side of the zoo. Eve (the true vegetarian among us)) indulged her flesh-eating family members, and much satisfaction was found in beef chorizo, hamburgueasa, fried pollo and entraña, something on the order of flank steak. All were happy....and looking forward to the next fleischig meal. Perhaps that kosher McDonald's [sic] in the Once neighborhood...

The apartment and a nap beckoned.