March 5,

We were up and about, by 0700. Finally I feel about 85% better. Jeff is better in the mornings, still has a nagging – but improving – cough! We got around having our Javas and breakfast of French Toast, and fruit. From our rooftop balcony/terrace, the sky is partly cloudy.

Around 1030 we went out, ready for a big walkabout! We meandered some at first, ducking into a few shops along the way. We were looking for a drain for the kitchen sink. It has a large drain, and our trusty drain stopper is too small. Side story: we have used this drain stopper in many countries on our travels. It is one of our best investments, believe it or not! We finally found a place that had one, but it was in a set with a new drain. The owner was not interested in breaking up the set- can’t blame him. We decided to give up on this venture.

We left and stopped at another place, an olive shop. Olives are everywhere and widely used. We tried one kind of olive oil, and one kind of olives. We bought some of each. It was quite a ways, so we took two subway lines to get there. In Argentina you need a Sube card to ride subways and buses – I think I mentioned this before. Moving on to a big Coto Supermercado. Anyway, we arrived at the Coto and found the rest of our list, including a couple of things for the place. We noticed there was a large deli/cheese selection here. Finally, we found one and will come back just for this. We paid and left.

Right near the Coto was the large, iconic Central Supply Market or Mercado Central de Abasto. The building has been preserved and converted to a shopping mall! It’s a gem!! The structure of the original building dates back to 1893, but was redesigned and revamped in 1934 to an Art Deco design. We love Art Deco – and I guess Art Deco followers; and have been to many places with this archeological design…around the world! We went inside and did laps of the building. The ribs of the arching were exposed and visually stunning. There was a type of ferris wheel/carnival ride inside, but it was closed/under repair. The shopping mall was no different , many shops, and people all around. Then we saw Bot Coffee. It was a robot that served freshly brewed coffee, well I assume it would. A few people looked at it, but we never saw it in action – no one was buying it.

We left here and started back, and we stopped at a local place for lunch. We thought we were ordering hamburgers, instead we received a fried fritter (probably pork), a slice of ham, with cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with great fries. If I thought of it as a ham and cheese sandwich, it was good. We each had a grapefruit soda. It cost us 23,000 ARS, or $16.20. Lastly we stopped at our local fruit and veggie place. Finally back at our place, we unloaded our “bounty.”

For supper we had a French type meal – salami, cheese, olives, bread and wine. Good day.

     March 6,

Today I awoke and finally felt better. Jeff said he too felt better. We got around and Jeff received an email that his replacement credit card should arrive between 0900 and 1300 via Fed Ex, but was not out for delivery yet. So our morning was hanging around, again. We had avocado and toast for breakfast with our Javas. It was Yummy!!

Around 1045, Jeff got an update that the card had left the facility and should arrive between 1030 and 1330. So he went downstairs to wait. The apartment has a ringer, but we tested it and did not hear it. Also to get in and out of the building you need the key fob. So I stayed up in our place while he took a chair to wait on the entry ledge. He received it!!! It was about 1230. I could not believe it! This was on the second attempt this time. We went ahead and made lunch of mushroom, veggie stir-fry with rice. It turned out pretty good. Then Jeff had a siesta, as I blogged some.

Around 1630 we set out to get some steps. We went about 2 km north and over to the main street near us… Avenue 9th of July, which is Argentina’s Independence Day. We arrived at the Obelisk. It is a landmark monument, made in 1936 from Cordoba white stone, and it is 235 feet in height. It reminded us of Washington’s Monument. We walked in the promenade in the center of the divided road for a bit. It is a very busy road – nine lanes of traffic, divided into four and five lanes going one way; then two lanes of bus traffic going with two coming; and lastly nine lanes of traffic coming, again divided into five and four lanes. So essentially 22 traffic lanes but divided into four ribbons- if you will. We walked in a little oasis between two of these ribbons. It is not as chaotic as it sounds because there were many buildings and trees. The buildings here are taller and this dwarves the road some. The many trees lining the walkway we were on are flowering – pretty pink, yellow, white and purple. As we head south one particular, tall building in our view – that we can also see from our rooftop – was the Ministry of Public Works. It’s significant because it boasts two large outline murals of Eva Peron – one on the north and one on the south side. Eva Peron was a beloved first lady in Argentina.

Anyway, we finished our walkabout, and returned home. I had a small lettuce salad with mango. Jeff just had some of the mango. We both had some crackers and relaxed, turned in around 2200.