Punta del Este, Uruguay

There is simply so much to say about our wonderful, amazing week in Punta del Este visiting Paul's fabulous friend Sara and her lovely family... I wasn't really sure what to expect, as I had never even met Sara and I knew almost nothing about her, other than the fact that she had moved with her husband Thomas and their three kids to Uruguay from London about 9 months ago... Paul kept joking that she would be probably be living in some castle by the sea and guess what??? Sara lives in a massive castle by the sea, overlooking a pristine beach on the southern most shores of the Rio de la Plata, where the river empties into the Atlantic ocean... our room overlooked an almost deserted white sand beach; we fell asleep each night listening to the sound of waves softly breaking right outside the windows... The rest and relaxation was exactly what we both needed, an quick and easy escape from the endless noise and pollution of Buenos Aires... Punta has a mellow, relaxed, beach-town feel, far from the hectic, pushiness of the city... it kept reminding me of La Jolla for some reason... The town itself is best known as a posh vacation resort for rich Argentines, practically doubling in size during the summer high-season months of January and February... Visiting in November was ideal: perfect weather, empty beaches, quiet restaurants, and lots and lots of breathing room. The "castle" is located just outside of the center of town, on a long stretch of beach that is just now seeing mass development... Gorgeous new houses are going up at a furious rate; the empty plot of land next to Sara's place is sure to be home to a few hundred time-share units or condos within a few years time. (although the family won't be there for long, as they have just signed on a new house closer to the center of town... They'll be moving in a month or so...) We spent our days lounging around on the beach, playing with the kids and the cute dog Maxie, and hanging around with the constant rotation of visitors from around the world: during our short visit, I ate and drank around the kitchen table with new friends from Uruguay, Canada, Ecuador, France, and Brooklyn, NY... such a fantastic mix of creative and interesting people. Sara's kids are getting such great exposure to a wide variety of characters, lifestyles, and cultures; the older two boys effortlessly switch between French, English, and Spanish without hesitation. Amazing. Both Sara and her husband were fantastic hosts, the right mix of helpful without hovering, but I can imagine that they are becoming a bit weary of the endless stream of house guests wanting to take full advantage of the huge house and idealic location... I would certainly be. We spent some time at the Pilates studio where Sara is working part time, and I even had the chance to teach one of her clients! It was really nice to teach again after such a long break from working in the studio... Paul gave me and Sara a great class on the Cadillac wall-unit and I learned some new stuff... always good. Returning to BA on the ferry last Wednesday, I was a bit sad to leave such a bucolic beachside setting... Here's hoping we can return one day! xxx Jason

La Recoleta: Posh Digs for the Dead and Famous

Yesterday afternoon, we spent a few hours strolling around La Recoleta, the notorious cemetery for which our neighborhood was named... First opened as a public burial ground for former slaves and victims of the notorious yellow fever plague, it slowly evolved over the past 150 years into the final resting place of Argentina’s most famous figures in entertainment, politics, and high society. It is said that per square foot, La Recoleta is BY FAR the most expensive real estate in all of Argentina. Space for the massive ornate mausoleums are no longer sold, but the plots are passed down through families over generations. When a space is rarely vacated, it is said that competition is so fierce that families pay huge bribes are paid to public officials in order to secure it. (not that there is any hint of corruption in Buenos Aires... ahem...) Not even Juan Peron himself was good enough to be buried in La Recoleta; he was dismissed to another cemetery somewhere outside of town in favor of his more charismatic wife. Today, it has the feel of an independent city, the mausoleums laid out on a grid system complete with little avenues, intersections, fountains, and small plazas. The crumbling architecture is morbidly stunning, ranging in style from high Gothic and frilly Baroque, to strange 60´s modern cubes that resemble miniature Bauhaus style bank vaults. Many of the doors have open windows that allow visitors to easily view the elaborate caskets and dusty memorials to people who’s children have long since died themselves. One casket, we noticed, was leaking some sort of dark fluid that had pooled up like a black oil slick on the marble floor of the tomb... Barf! The tourists swam like flies around the Duarte family’s vault in order to line up for a photo with Evita’s grave... We waited around behind a group of Japanese tourists in order to get our own obligatory shot... What trip to Buenos Aires would be complete without it? Sorry I can't post it, but Blogger's inability to upload all my photos is preventing you from enjoying that specific image... you'll just have to wait for our return! More soon. Xxx Jason

Sunday in San Telmo

Since we arrived, we’ve been meaning to visit the outdoor markets of San Telmo on a Sunday afternoon, as this has consistently been recommended to us as one of the coolest things to in Buenos Aires... Something has always prevented us from going, mainly crappy weather... but last Sunday, the sun was shining bright and we gathered up our sense of adventure and headed to BA’s oldest neighborhood... it certainly didn’t disappoint! We called our friend Claudio from yoga class and asked him to meet us for lunch and a walk around the markets... Claudio is a producer for one of the local radio stations (called “The Millennium,” which plays new age acoustical and power ballads), but also a working actor, doing some film and TV work in the past (he played a reporter on a famous “TeleNovela,” making him the second soap opera actor we’ve met in BA.). San Telmo was the birthplace of what is now the city of Buenos Aires; this area contains the city’s oldest buildings and original cobblestone streets... San Telmo has recently had a renaissance of sorts, being reborn as a shopping and nightlife district after a long period of neglect during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Tourists and locals alike absolutely pack the streets every Sunday, sifting though an immeasurable amount of various treasures offered up at the indoor and outdoor markets... The 50-or-so gorgeous antique shop fronts make up the largest antiques district in all of South America, now filled with the chandeliers and valuable heirlooms regretfully sold by prestigious families during the recent financial crash. How heartbreaking it is to see these fantastic relics of a stately past being dismissively pawed by the fat fingers of camera wielding tourists from Germany. We pondered this tragedy over a fabulous lunch in converted house dating to the 18th century, now a family-style restaurant with amazing handmade pastas and gigantic desserts... We managed to put away a full three courses and a bottle of Malbec before returning to browse the market stalls, the vendors sharing the narrow lanes with street performers doing the tango, stand up comedy, puppet shows, and mime. The crowds can become a bit claustrophobic and we soon retired to a cute coffee shop for further libation and the rare pleasure of flipping through English and American fashion magazines! (a year old, but who’s counting...) The highlight of the day came just as sunset was approaching, when we became caught up in the center of a massive drumming parade, marching down the main boulevard... A huge crowd of dancers and drummers seemingly in a trance-like state, pounding out distinctly Brazilian samba and African beats from a variety of percussion instruments... Loud, frenetic, and very exciting! We returned home, weary from the sun, having bought nothing but homemade toy of cardboard and string resembling a little hen, that when coaxed properly, does a startlingly realistic impression of a chicken squawking... We intended to give it to Paul’s nephew Luke, but on second thought, decided to keep it for ourselves! More soon. Xxx Jason

the Tamara Di Tella Experience

This entire entry is dedicated to our new friend, Tamara Di Tella, Latin America´s undisputed Queen of Pilates. When Paul showed up at one of her studios with a resume last week, neither of us could have possibly imagined just how quickly things would progress... That very evening, Tamara herself called Paul at our flat, speaking perfect English and rambling on about how glad she is that we have decided to come to Argentina and how much she is looking forward to collaborating with us on some kind of project while we are here... As it turns out, she studied at both Oxford and Stanford Universities, and when she started her first studio just 6 years ago, she owned just one Reformer and a tiny space in Recoleta... Today, Tamara owns over 50 studios spread across Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia, Guatamala, Peru, Chile, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Mexico, absolutely cornering the market for Pilates in South and Central America... this is the largest chain of Pilates studios in the world! (for much, much more about Tamara, see www.tamaraditella.com) Her latest concept is something called Tangolates, (check out www.tangolates.com)
which combines the principles of Pilates with classical Tango, set to music... Two days later, we find ourselves invited to her home in the posh neighborhood of Palermo, a palacial flat decorated with silk rugs, huge oil paintings, and endless shelves of books stretching to ceiling... The elevator from the marble lobby opens directly on to her living room, where we were greeted by the butler (yes, the butler) who led to a sitting room... Tamara appeared with no makeup, dressed in sweatpants, carrying a big plate of empanadas and a bottle of red wine... We stayed until well after midnight, swapping our life stories, having a sit down dinner with her son and husband (who we later found out is the Minister of Culture of Argentina), and later watching clips from her numerous promotional videos. As it turns out, Tamara wanted us to present a short demonstration for her entire teaching staff of some classical Pilates exercises for the trapeze table, and to also choreograph a short dance piece in the style of Tangolates. We were happy to oblige! The presentation was last night (Saturday), and was attended by about 30 Pilates teachers, some of her staff coming from as far as San Salvador to attend! Tamara brought her videographer to record the entire event, and has promised to present us with an edited DVD, complete with titles and music, next week. The event was, in all seriousness, a huge success! We absolutely WOWED them with some difficult, complex sequences on the trap table, followed by a funny, fast-paced Tangolates routine... Paul's amazing abilities with choreography pulled it all together... Afterwards, Tamara asked us to come back and present AGAIN in December (on Saturday the 9th to be exact), this time doing choreographed sequences for the Reformer... It has been a crazy, exciting week working towards last night's performance, and I'm still shocked that I actually danced in front of a crowd! I feel like we have suddenly developed a very solid working relationship with one of the world's biggest names in Pilates, and also made a fabulous new friend! I have the feeling that we'll be working together again in the future; Tamara is talking about doing a TOUR of all her studios in Latin America??? Of course, nothing can happen until we've finished our trip in 2007, but having goals for the future hasn't seemed to hurt us yet! More soon, xxx Jason