SELTZER--- It´s all in the intangibles....

I still am having trouble believing I am halfway across the world.... I´ve been having trouble processing my experiences. When I traveled alone there was lots of downtime to write, and think and soak in all that was around me. I´m learning there is a lot of beauty in having companions, in fact I love it. But I miss the downtime. Eating meals, sipping a coffee or un cerveza were prime journaling times, there was plenty of time to process. So now it seems whenever I steal a moment to myself I have all these thoughts and experiences I am trying to translate and it´s hard to do all at once.

The past two and a half days in BA have been enough for me to fall madly in love with the city. Hell, the first day was enough for me to fall madly in love with the city. So I find myself asking what is it that strikes me most about it. Certainly it helps that I felt immediately safe here. That the people have been nothing but friendly. And that the weather has been warm and relatively rain free. But really I keep coming back to something my coworker said shortly before leaving. He said, "lara you are going to love BA" and I asked what about it I was going to love and he said "It´s really in the intangibles".

And it is really in the intangibles. We haven´t done the tango, la boca´s painted houses weren´t really worth the walk to see them, and we really haven´t seen a lot of sights. What have we done? A lot of walking, exploring Barrios, neighborhoods.... San Telmo, Centro, Retiro, Palermo and we´ve just hit the tip of the iceberg. But already these are the intangibles that I find most appealing about BA. When you order your coffee (which is quite good) it comes with a small glass of seltzer water. Seltzer bottles are everywhere! So far we haven´t been able order an individual beer, it aways comes in a liter bottle with multiple glasses, you are supposed to share. The entire city smells like barbeque (And, by the way, I had the best steak/meal of my life here for $17). When friends greet each other they always kiss everyone on the cheek, same when leaving. And it doesn´t matter if they know you or not. If you are with their friends, you get a kiss, and an introduction.

It´s been wonderful, and brief, a whirlwind so to speak. Tomorrow we are off to Patagonia on a god early flight (we leave our hostel at 4am). So I will sign off for now and then post a few photos before we try to go see a bit of tango before leaving the city.