'The Takeover by Team Meatsmith'

Meatsmith trotted out a special one-night-only menu that was so different from their usual offerings. But the mains were still smoked, as what their kitchen does. Heh. It was themed as 'The Takeover by Team Meatsmith'. 

I didn't dare to drink too much since I had a tough gym class the next day. Did a modest two glasses of an Australian blanc de blancs, and drank loads of sparkling water to keep hydrated. The husband wasn't coming to this class; so he happily had a Boulevardier and a highball. 

Starters arrived together. There were cute cups of cornbread with fried chicken that held a welcomed bit of spicy maple syrup and jalapeño. I'm not a big fan of oysters but I didn't mind the coal-kissed oysters with smoked ikura and garlic butter. The last starter to be eaten was the beef tartare with herb emulsion on potato pavé. 

Had a 'salad' in the form of crispy rojak with smoked zucchini, fried asparagus and pickled radish. The addition of sun-dried tomato was really quite welcomed. The hae-ko was on point. I did miss the doughstick. Heh. 

It was time for the mains! Since we were two pax, the dishes came in a communal style. The assam fish was delicious. The moment I saw it on the menu, I already wanted to eat it! It came as a generous fillet of plank-smoked grouper with charred cherry tomato and ginger flower foam. 

The final protein was a Filipino-style chicken inasal. It was a big quarter with breast meat and drum stick. The meat was grilled and marinated in soda herb, lechon sauce (it's pretty much calamansi, vinegar, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and annatto oil) and served on a bed of garlic mash. The husband was very pleased with it. I didn't care about the skin. So he had all the meat. This version was less oily. Ha! 

To my own surprise, I didn’t mind the dessert. The pastry chef named it 'The Coal'. Heh. I didn’t fully embrace the sugar, but I didn’t mind the black sesame sorbet. I wasn’t hot about the accompanying carbone dolce, flourless cake squares or berry coulis. There were also petit fours of tiny tarts in two flavors of lemon meringue, and pistachio chocolate. 

Chimken Broth and Noms for Floofs

Since I’d be steaming up pumpkin for Choya and doing sous vide chimken breast for her as well as the husband, I might as well include broccoli and carrots for a little floof too. Of course the husband's portion would hold soy, cayenne pepper, paprika and such. The floofs' chimken would only have bits of dill and oregano and like five salt flakes.

When I spotted a small pack of chicken bones, I decided to boil up broth for the floofs. This wouldn’t be bone broth. Just normal broth. Choya loves broth, and she really likes chimken cooked and the smells and flavors of its broth. So does Ozi. 

This broth would hold just a tiny bit of garlic. In this amount it's nutritious enough without any sort of oxidative toxicity. I don't advise anyone to feed cooked garlic directly to dogs, and certainly not raw. But when stir-fried in with meats or done in soups, this thiosulfate in the allium family is perfectly fine for canines. #ImpieCooks2025

Choya could smell the prep going on in the kitchen. She didn't bother coming near till they were nearly done. Then she came out to ask for her allocated share. This girl! I don't know how she always knows that there's food for her. I think it's the smell and fumes of garlic and onions. If she doesn't catch those scents heavy, she can safely assume it's her food.

The floofs’ broth is split into freezer trays for pure convenience. A cube a day would work for both Choya and Ozi. It's nutritious and hydrating. Ozi’s broth would sit with her sous vide chicken. She's so tiny and the broth can also be mixed with water to induce her to hydrate farther. Choya’s broth would be frozen with mainly broth plus chicken bits and carrots. 

I would have the volume of exactly one bowl portioned for the husband. Hahaha. His broth had salt and pepper added into it. He also likes chicken soup. So he's happy having the 'leftovers' from the floofs as a late afternoon snack.  

Adiós Argentina

Right from the start, I knew it’s going to be an exhausting trip, but I’ll learn so much from it. At the end of the trip, it doesn’t seem to be so bad. Yes, it’s a long time away from home, and work frustrations have made me feel trapped for a bit, but it’s not horrifying. It’s just the shock of a new job coupled with an immediate lengthy work trip of which I don’t know shit about the agenda.

I’ve learnt so much about new destinations that I might otherwise not have taken the courage to travel this far on a vacation with limited time. I’ve had some fun working in different teams operating on polar frequencies, met many people, learnt the basics of a new language, come to understand my new boss and his preferred management style really quickly. I now know how the new job shapes up and the full extent of the tasks and responsibilities. As the days pass and fill up with quite exciting matters, I will last the 3 months of probation. Then the company and I will decide.

I like Argentina. If you notice, there're very few countries that I dislike. I firmly believe that as a traveler and not a resident, there's something nice and fun to be found in each country. Every destination has so much to offer. If you're in the right frame of mind and are prepared to embrace all inconvenience and a new set of culture, then you'll truly appreciate all that lies within the eye. The friends and I talked about Peru, and we might just be able to swing a trip. Shall probably offer my services as their exclusive travel concierge, not that I know Peru, but more of for the fact that I can do all the logistics so easily, with my eyes closed. Heeeeee.

I'd love to have a direct flight home. That would be really convenient and less of a hassle. Too bad SQ doesn't fly direct from Buenos Aires to Singapore. SQ has no foothold in South America at all. Com'mon! Let those negotiations on air services work its magic like how Sao Paulo has materialized! (You know that Barcelona's a technical stop, right?)

Unfortunately, I can’t buy any sort of wood or food items, dulce de leche, jams and whatnots. Flying through Sydney means I can’t take them in. Oz customs are damn vigilant about flights coming in from South America. But it’s okay. This is one of the fastest and kindest routes to and fro Argentina with no worries of lost luggage and induces minimal jet lag. I’m not keen on flying through Mexico to Sao Paulo or Santiago, then Auckland, or do the Frankfurt, Dubai or Johannesburg route either. I wouldn’t mind the London route, but that’s crazy unless I want a couple of days to chill out there. For now, this Sydney-Singapore route is ideal. The flight timings are kind, and don’t bother me too much because I sleep like a dead log on planes. And no matter how I bitch about Qantas, it’s bearable, and its economy class baggage allowance is two suitcases at 23kg each. Ha. That seals the deal for many travelers. Plus I get to fly SQ from Sydney to home, and that matters to me, very much.

As I zip up the suitcases, it’s with a pang of wistfulness that this trip is finally ending. I’d like to go home, but there isn’t thick homesickness. I miss sambal and chwee kueh, but no other food. If the man isn’t flying off on his work trip, I’d have asked him to come join me and we head off for another week to Mendoza and Patagonia. I don’t care about the shopping and having no gifts for friends. Trips aren’t about buying souvenirs. It’s to be selfish and hold those memories and experiences in your mind. The friends have been awesome in sending me lots of chirpy emails, links and photos. You guys on this blog have kept me company through late nights and early mornings. I almost miss those hectic days. :P

Argentina & Harrods

Before I came to Buenos Aires, the friends had just returned from visiting in the city. We had a discussion about the rich-poor divide in the city, and wondered how and why Argentine friends said that there aren’t any bank loans available in the city. We have all been warned not to be flashy and stride along the streets of Buenos Aires thinking we're safe.

The Argentines I met also mentioned about the crime rate in the Buenos Aires. It’s common to be robbed at least twice in your residence there. Now, that’s not an assuring idea at all. The locals are quite blasé about it. Not just one, but many said that it’s cool to wear fakes so that at least when robbed, the monetary losses are minimal. !!! There's a sort of warped logic in that, yes. I’ve been hanging out at affluent Recoleta, which is a chic and fairly safe area in the city. Even the areas of Palermo seem okay. Our trips to anywhere are chauffeured, and I haven’t really felt unsafe in this city even when walking around the adjacent streets. I’ve been traipsing in the better parts of the city. I saw the slums though. After the associate told me about it, I went out of my way to drive past the slums. Sobering.

After some weeks here with a fair bit of interaction with Argentines, and a lot of background information gleaned from the necessity of research for work, I’m beginning to understand a little more of this vast country. The city functions, of course, somewhat. It’s in the middle of the run up to the October Presidential election which seems to sway towards no changes to anything. A lot of it has got to do with its current economic policies. The financial crisis of 2007 remains painfully fresh in people’s minds when the government slapped a tight withdrawal limit that’s almost ridiculous. It has since lifted, but people remember, and fear. The banking system in Argentina is generally non-existent, rather, its structure leaves much to be desired. The official stats of 12% inflation don’t reflect the reality. Your money is best kept in foreign banks.

Harrods came in 1914, expanded in 1920 and went bust in 1998. Then it got tied up in a mess of lawsuits. The building now stands empty and a portion of its floors serves as a venue for cultural events. There's talk of Harrods re-opening in Buenos Aires. It's been a long time coming. Last I heard, that was in 2003. I peered through the dark dusty windows and the interiors were desolately empty. If they don’t finish the discussions to refurbish and re-open soon, in another couple of years, the building will be derelict.

Coffee in Argentina

The coffee at the hotel sucks. They should really change their silly machines which break down every other day. The cappuccino is made up of more milk than coffee. I'm forced to look for coffee outside of the hotel. The coffee served at the cafes dotting the city is much better. And luckily, the black coffee served at meetings work fine too.

There're many sidewalk cafes around the city and the provinces. Chilling out is quite the thing to do here. But, you'll have to try hard to ignore traffic dust and noise, including sewer stink at times. At cafes where there're no mozzies, we sit outside. The weather's great. Why not. I think we've been so cooped up in rooms that we simply ask for outdoor sitting each time we saunter into a cafe.

The closest to a flat white that I can find here is a café au lait , or as the language calls it, café con leche. Otherwise, I'll just stick to their cortado- black coffee with a dash of milk. I'm quite happy with it. It does give me the much needed caffeine. I'm careful not to drink it in the afternoons though. It's so strong that it can keep me awake past 2am, and I need to sleep!

A Most Talented Musician

My hosts arranged for a private showcase by some musicians. I was dead tired that evening. My brains weren't quite functioning. When the music came on, I zoned out, and didn't pay much attention to the musicians. Neither did our hosts go into details about them, except that they're very famous local musicians. The singer is good, but there're many awesome singers in the country. The bandoneon player isn't as enthralling as the other one. The outstanding musician is the elderly pianist. He is extremely experienced, talented and possesses the most nimble fingers ever.

The musicians had put together a cd and gave me a copy. When the evening ended, exhausted, I fell into bed and slept, and slept. I forgot about the performance till I saw the music cd in the suitcase last night. I put it on. Poor recording and mastering made the cd sound really raw, but the shiny talent of the musicians can't be masked. It sounds quite beautiful. As I listened, something clicked. I remember the fabulous sounds that came out of the piano from the pianist's hands. His playing and unique touch of the keys are unforgettable. I did some determined googling and almost fell off my chair at the results popping up on the screen.

OMG. OMG. OMG. This is way better than running into U2 and Muse at my hotel! Or catching The National two weeks later in another city after they cancelled on Singapore. The pianist I saw, is Armando Blumetti. OMG. Armando Blumetti! The maestro is 85 years old. He's one of the most talented tango/jazz/bigband pianists in all of Argentina. I had the fortune to hear him play for two hours in an intimate setting, and tragically, didn't recognize him till NOW! See what happens when ignorance takes over. ARRRRRRRGH.

Tango

Tango is a huge thing in Argentina. Anyone who first steps in must watch a Tango show. I haven’t been to those in the two mega theatres in Buenos Aires, but I’ve seen the dancers flit in and out at our dinners. 

Those. I wasn’t at all impressed. They were going through the motions of a paid performance for the night rather than genuinely dancing, or stepping well. Their facial expressions were fine, but the steps were not clean and sharp. The hand movements were not clear and decisive or soft and sensual, but half-hearted and not completed. And, the colors of the costumes were horrendously matched, and badly sewn. If they had passion for their craft, I didn’t see it. I’ve been enjoying the music more than the dancing. 

It’s annoying to see run-of-the-mill sub-par performances milking the tourist dollar at La Boca. Show ‘em some flesh, and the audience is hooked. There must be good tango dancers in Argentina of competition standard. But where are they?!! I was pointed to a dance studio in Buenos Aires which offers tango lessons, and also a shop selling dancing shoes. No tango can be done well without proper dancing shoes. So I bought a simple pair of heels.

I’m not very likely to go dancing in Singapore. The man doesn’t dance at all. Gaaaah. I took a two-hour refresher lesson. It was exhilarating. I’ve almost forgotten that I could dance. After hearing me mention about the poor standards at the tango shows, my dance instructor was highly amused and she took me to her favorite private dance club for a proper milonga. And woah, the good dancers were all there! None were professionals save for some anchor dancers to partner the paying customers. But the best are the ones who do it as a hobby. Very nice. But instructor sighed in disapproval at my short hair. She said long hair is much preferable to bring out the sensuality of tango. Duhhhhhh. What, can’t short hair be sensuous too?

Crizia

Before we leave Buenos Aires, we’ve somehow earned half an evening off. It was already 8.45pm. We heaved a sigh of relief. Neither of us wanted to stay in for dinner or do any sort of work on the laptop. I’ve largely left the choices of makan venues to the associate as he will sniff out the good ones. He decided to have dinner at Crizia.

The server said that all produce was local (but of course) and the oysters were from Patagonia. So I bravely ate two oysters. Not too briny. Pretty fresh. I skipped the appetizers and went straight to a main of saffron linguine with king crab. Creamy, but ooh so good. I like this restaurant.

It was an evening when we could finally wind down and not think about work, negotiations, reports or briefs for a few hours. So we ordered wine. We’ve tasted many reds from Mendoza. Tonight, we tried a bottle of Malbec from Salta. It was as expected- fruity and easy on the palate. I was doubtful that we could finish a bottle. But we did! Or rather, I had three glasses and the associate finished the rest! He’s way more into wine than I am. I’m so jealous of him because he’s not flying home via Sydney and he could take a bottle of Malbec in the suitcase.

At The Shops

Argentina is also famed for its leather. Quality varies from shop to shop, source to source. However, not all shops stock good stuff and not all styles are pretty. You need to be really selective to pick out the well-stitched ones.

Last week, my heels were killing me. Wearing heels all day, no matter how comfortable they are, hurts after a while. No blisters, but the bunions sent excruciating pain. I wanted to buy the soft leather moccasins which could ease that sharp pain. They're ugly shoes, alright, but some aren't too bad and they're practical. But you know what, they didn't stock the chosen moccasins in blue at this outlet, so I refused to buy them. Muahahahha. After all, a hot soak and a good 7 hours in bed will make the feet feel better. I never quite saw a pleasing design to buy. Or rather, I didn't want to go to the shops to find it.

The bags were quite interesting. The shops in Buenos Aires carry the well-made ones. But it's kinda odd to see all the Mulberry and Hermès designs replicated in other local labels. It's a little tough trying to find something of an original design in a shop. I didn't bother with the bags at all. I've too many bags anyway!

However, a leather jacket is what I want to buy in the country, if I should somehow stumble across one. They've an amazing array of soft leather jackets in various designs and colors. At the boutique with the work associates, I saw one, but hesitated because of the price tag and the only color in stock- brown. But it's well tailored and stitched. The price tag honestly, isn't as hefty as any from the designer labels. When I returned the next day, they found one in black for me. Perfect. I couldn't say no anymore. :)

Not That Royal China

There’re almost no Chinese restaurants in Argentina, but there’re some in Buenos Aires. One edible and presentable restaurant, to be precise. Royal China. It’s got no affiliation to the chain of Royal China we know. It’s just the name used that’s the same. A tad misleading, I would say. Whatever happened to trademarks ah?

When a restaurant of today has no website, I’m almost skeptical. We thought it's some dingy little eatery. We felt better when we saw it. The décor is assuring in the modern chic familiarity of Chinese restaurants. Located in the touristy stretch along the river at Puerto Madero, Royal China has its fair share of customers in the form of locals, expatriates and tourists.

It’s edible because the Chef is from Hong Kong. It was a little disconcerting to have the Chef walk out of the kitchen and speak in Cantonese-accented Mandarin to the manager who’s a Chinese lady. The rest of the staff is Spanish. They do speak a little bit of English. Aside from pointing to the menu when ordering food, it'll be a little tough to ask for other things unless you speak Mandarin or Spanish.

However, the steamed white rice used isn’t the jasmine fragrant rice we know. It’s Argentine long-grain rice. To me, I eat so little that I don’t quite care about it. But the others on the table scrunched up their faces at it and pronounced it “not nice”. Alamak, this isn't a white-rice eating city lah. Their rice is meant to be buttered rice or used in salads. Or as risotto. Duhhh. Anyway, the Chinese dishes were fairly good and OILY. Luckily I didn’t have to eat there more than twice, otherwise, I will not get to eat all the empanadas I want.

Royal China Restaurant, Tel: +54 11 4313-8121

Alicia Moreau de Justo 1808, (at Puerto Madero) Buenos Aires, Argentina

Empanadas!!!

By the end of this trip, my rudimentary grasp of Spanish grammar and vocab is sufficient enough to get me through most food menus, order still or sparkling water, and number of items, ask for the bill, location of washrooms, tell the driver where to go; if he should wait or come back in an hour, etc. But I can’t quite tell the time still.

Need to work on that accent though. If I intend to return to explore the south of Argentina or do a road trip, I’d better pick up Spanish fast. It’s not possible to go through the region without knowing any Spanish and rely solely on English. It’s possible to do that in Buenos Aires, but not ideal. Out in the provinces, it’ll be even more difficult getting your specifications down pat if they’re more complicated than conveying through lousy hand gestures and body language can express.

Since I’ve been given strict instructions to go to El Sanjuanino for the best empanadas in town, I did. It’s located in a good area smack in town, but it was filled with locals! That was how I knew it would be good. And it is. I didn’t even need to ‘practise’ my language skills. It’s not difficult to order food at all, so I merrily ordered all the empanadas I want. Hehehe. There’re all sorts of filling- minced meat, ham, vegetarian, onions, cheese, etc. They come in a single piece on a plate. If you’re not very hungry, one piece is quite satisfactory between 2 huge meals in a day.

I love empanadas. Eating one is the perfect light meal. I was delighted to see that tub of chilli thingy on the table. It was kinda spicy, but not quite possessing enough kick. Better than nothing though!

Italian Food In The City

There're plenty of Italian restaurants sprinkled all over Argentina. There's virtually nothing resembling Spanish food in the country. No tapas, no authentic paella. I suppose it has alot to do with the flood of Italian immigrants coming in during the 1800s. Over the past century, Argentine food features heavily on pastas and pizzas. The pastas are hearty and full of Southern Italian flavors. They do easy-to-eat tomato based sauces really well.

There're some really shite restaurants in the touristy stretch. I don't understand why reviews rave about them. It's crap food placed in a restaurant. Pick your way through the forums and you'll find some good ones. Oviedo and Sottovoce are quite popular in Buenos Aires. Sottovoce is casual, laid back style, churning out pastas by the dozens and while decent, they aren't great. It feels very mass market. I very much prefer Oviedo which prides itself on the cooking and its food. It's cosier and prettier. They offer a better selection of wines too.

I'm definitely not going to be eating Italian food in Singapore for the next month or so. Enough of pastas and pastas and everything. NO MORE. I want sambal and sambal and more sambal.

Through The Supermarket Aisles

At some point, we all needed the supermarket for various purposes of topping up supplies- toothpaste, toothbrush, moisturizers, whatever. We went to the local chain of Disco to run errands. At the same time, we also checked out the wares on offer.

I’ve no idea at what sort of age would someone take interest in a supermarket, especially when she has zero inclination in turning those raw ingredients into cooked food. But for the past few years, I’ve always been fairly happy about stepping into a supermarket in a foreign land. Not just because it tells me consumer habits and social trends, but also because the items seem to emit a cheerful vibe somehow. It's kinda fun seeing the different types of vegetables, corn, grapes and all on the shelves. I was quite tempted to buy cans of olive oil home. But too bad I'm stopping in Sydney. So no food products.

There's a section for Malbecs too. Very cheap- a good decent table quality bottle is between ARS$60 - ARS$160. There're the ARS$22 bottles which really look suspect. But I guess it's like cardboard wine or at best, taste like mulled wine. By the way, while the Disco supermarket in Buenos Aires and the provinces peddle all sorts of Argentine wine at reasonable prices, they don’t sell cigarettes or lighters. The tiny little provision shops along the streets do.

Astrid & Gastón

Aside from empanadas, I'm really not big on the grill and grilled meats in Argentina. I love their risotto, but anywhere can do a fairly good one if there's a sizeable population with Italian heritage. That's not much subtlety to the flavors of cooking the food here.

You know, oddly, Argentina has made me enamored with Peruvian food. I want to go to Peru. The country has destinations with cool names that I like to roll off the tongue and they seem fascinating.

Specifically, Astrid & Gastón has bowled me over with its offerings of Peruvian cusine! Perhaps it's the raw fish thingy, but ceviche is awesome. So is tiradito, which is similar but using a different cut of fish and the dish doesn't contain onions. (Don't bother comparing it with Nobu. Nobu has nothing on this restaurant when it comes to authenticity and the right-there Peruvian ingredients.)

From what I understand of Peru, they've exciting potatoes with thousands of species originating from the region. Then, there's the amazing multi-colored corn of Peru that doesn't taste like corn. I must try! There's so much emphasis on food in Peru. The liberal use of spices and adventurous experiments with food resulted in a cuisine that's more than interesting. It's a fusion of sorts, yes, but a good blend.

I'm glad to be back in Buenos Aires. At least there're less surprises here on the work front. Whew. The evening at Astrid & Gastón was quite an experience. I loved it. My simple spaghetti of vegetables was so flavorful and almost a tad complex! The owners have lovingly kept its restaurant small in order to churn out the quality food that they want. The decor is quite charming. It's one of the reputed names in the Americas. The menu excites my tastebuds, and that's quite a rarity nowadays.

Day Out :: Trotting

Out in Miramar, one can't help but be awed by the expanse of the land and the beauty of Mother Nature. There's so much richness and resources in this country. It's quite breathtaking.

The one thing I secretly wanted to do in Argentina is to ride a horse through the lands. I didn't think there's an opportunity to do so. When my hosts offered their horses for the morning to have a look-around, I couldn't resist saying yes with a wagonload of obvious enthusiasm. To their credit, my hosts didn't raise any eyebrows in wonder of my abilities to ride a horse. There would be a saddle anyway. And the stablehands sorted that out for me. Nice.

I've not met Argentine horses- the Criollo. They are serious workhorses, not known for speed, but famous for their endurance. I was quite excited to get up close and personal. I miss the smell of clean and groomed horses. The Criollo generally possess a good temperament and I didn't have to spend much time getting to know them. They were really friendly that morning. Apples work really well across all breeds.

There hasn't been much chance for any sort of outdoor workouts aside from stretches in the room. I'm quite iffy about getting into the swimming pools at the hotels. Now, out at the farmstead, all my bones were twitching to run and jump. This invitation to ride was more than timely. I wanted to ride without the saddle, but I wasn't about to tempt fate. There're only two horses in the world whom I'll rid the saddle and they're far far away in England. So I dutifully saddled up and went trotting around the vast perimeter of the estate. It's a huge property and it's a brilliant splendid day. As we rode along, the rest of the horses came alongside for a canter.

Day Out :: A Stroll

On a weekend stay at my hosts' estate near Mar del Plata, I slept a solid 9 hours. The rest was much needed. When I woke, the sunshine and weather were gorgeous for a picnic. There was some work to be done, but not too much. I could get some solitude and quiet out there.

After a huge lunch, there was no way the stomach could do tea. I had to reject the housekeeper's kind offer of sandwiches to accompany my afternoon stroll. I took a walk around the estate, sat in the shade with a cardigan, a bottle of water and a magazine. There were NO MOZZIES. Hurrah! The air was crisp and cool. I read till the shadows lengthened and the light faded. Those were a couple of hours when I could relax a little.

Mar del Plata

There was a bit of break in the monotony of closeted discussions that were held in borderline claustrophobia-inducing conference rooms when it was decided we should get out for some sun. Hallelujah. I'm really quite an outdoorsy girl. If not for these time-outs, I would have died from pure cabin fever. We stopped by Mar del Plata, the hip and happening city by the beach facing the azure waters of the Atlantic. Most of the residences in the city were shuttered, and they would come alive in summer.

I'm not sure how the city sustains employment when most of the economic development is dependent on the conferences, conventions and sporting events that the city hosts. I saw the huge casino complex built in 1938 that used to be the largest in the world till Vegas overshone it. The complex still stands. The casino is in operation, but not exactly with splendor and pomp. It's now rundown and looks a little neglected and sad.

I was very happy to stroll around the rather quiet town with its current population of nearly 700,000. It has so much space to let the summer crowd swell to 2 million and still feels spacious. This is certainly a beautiful city with plenty to offer in terms of partying, restaurants, hotels and whatnots. Quite a cool vacation spot. Many locals have bought second homes here. That panorama across the ocean is stunning. I stood for minutes just taking in all that endless horizon and sparkling waters. The surf was up. While the temperature was quite cool, in the sun, it was still blistering. It was a little mind-boggling to see so many people jogging and skating along the pavement at 3.30pm under the blazing sun.

Art & Mozzies

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Rosario (MACRo) is quite underwhelming. Better curating is necessary. It's got all that amazing space of like 10 storeys high and attached building to utilize.

On the day I popped in, I didn't manage to go around to the other building that housed most of the artworks. But I did manage to sneak glances at several stuff. And let me say it again, I bloody hate the clouds mozzies that plague this area. I'm almost inclined to create a piece on canvas comprising of dead mozzies laid out in pattern, and sprayed with varnish to complete the work for all eternity.

Someone gave us the whole spiel on eco-systems and how mozzies reflect a healthy, vibrant eco-balance around the river, and thriving agricultural land. "It's the way of life", they said. Well.....then, if the residents of Rosario merrily adopt mosquitoes as their house pets, by all means stay put in this city. This city is pretty and scenic enough, but for the irritating buzz, it doesn't entice or enchant visitors. I couldn't wait to hightail outta there at the earliest opportunity.

How can one even mildly tolerate mozzies? I intensely dislike them. It's damn gross when their black and white markings can be seen so clearly. They promise all sorts of bad news like dengue and yellow fever. I haven't exactly spotted the malaria-carrying types yet. But I was busy flicking and swatting, so might have missed seeing them. WAH LAU Eh. Luckily I left the city without a single mozzie bite. Otherwise, you'll be able to hear me curse and swear all the way across the Atlantic.

The Cathedrals

Going through the provinces also gave us time to walk through the churches. Often, our counterparts will take us at least one significant church in the province. As fine and striking as these churches are, I honestly got a bit tired of seeing them; same rationale as seeing temples, mosques and synagogues. But I rather see something than not going out at all for a breath of fresh air.

After seeing so many churches consistently and consecutively, I began to pin the history of the area to a specific church and could almost tell the difference in the usage of building materials and decoration of the interiors. I could go on about each church in details, but that's not the point. I keep these memories for myself and in the photos. To me, no matter how mundane, a quiet moment in the pews is rejuvenating on this long tiring trip.

There's so much history oozing out of its architecture and ancient stones. For some reason, we keep stepping into Catholic churches, not intentionally so, but more of them coinciding with the rich history, fires, wars and emotions of the lands. The interiors are imposing, full of intricate and lovingly crafted sculptures, paintings and stained glass artworks that boast of talent and passion.

Day Out, Lunch

We drove out of Córdoba to the slopes of Sierras Chicas and headed to Villa Carlos Paz in Punilla. I was so tired and fell asleep for most of the journey, but once the ranges of Sierras Chicas came into sight, I was wide awake. There're the beautiful villas lining San Roque lake, which is really a man-made reservoir and is one of the largest artificial lakes in the world. Plenty of wind-surfers out there harnessing the wind.

Villa Carlos Paz is a very scenic city that positively oozes tranquility. As I stepped out to breathe in the crisp fresh air, I thought of how awesome it would be to check out the riding trails and take long walks around the region. Such beauty abound! A pity this is a lunch stop and nothing more. Still, it is awesome to get out and not be cooped in yet another conference room. :)