In the land of beef and malbec...: 3-day weekend: Día del Libertador José de San Martín

so, increased mileage = recommended chocolate milk recovery drink = great excuse to drink chocolate - yum!
we had 18 miles on Saturday. I thought it was a great idea to put a few podcasts on my iPod. Jake opted against it, so for about 1h30m of our 2h45m run, I was plugged in, and Jake ran along side like a champ...so impressed
another run complete, but definitely not without aches and pains...we were really shuffling along like ol' grannies those last few miles, but we finished
another ice pack was purchased, because sharing the one was just wasn't cutting it
we kindof sortof didn't get out the door for our run until 1pm, getting us home around 4pm, which meant eating "breakfast" around 5pm..haha, we are so lazy on weekends, it's incredibly wonderful
another great reason to run 18 miles, other than the chocolate milk, is the rest of the recovery meal:

spinach, egg, and bleu cheese omelets wrapped in Trader Joe's whole wheat tortillas (last ones! :( , cubed hash browns, mixed berries, Caribou coffee...and the ultimate puffed wheat pancake, delectably topped with dulce de leche, dark chocolate chips, and powdered sugar...oh man, a great dessert to end the meal

we managed to get ourselves off the couch Saturday evening to see a documentary at the Green Film Fest taking place at our neighborhood cinema
the film was called "Comprar, Tirar, Comprar" (Buy, Throw Out, Buy)
there was a mix of Spanish, along with Catalan, English, German and French ( all with subtitles in Spanish), so it got a bit confusing: listen to the Spanish without subtitles, listen to English without reading the Spanish subtitles, then listen to the other languages, but needing to attempt to translate the Spanish subtitles...whew...
Anyway, you can either check out the trailer by clicking on the Green Film Fest link above, or watch most of it here, below...it is quite an interesting view of something I didn't previously know much about, planned obsolescence

a bit shocking to know that so much of this is going on in the engineering and business world, and that we are crowding our earth with so many things due to the need to replace items more frequently...
part of the film took place in Ghana, which gave insight to the overfilling junkyards of old computers and parts sent over from more developed countries...sad to see
on Sunday we were able to get in some terrace time with the arrival of a little spring-like weather...
Jake ran to get facturas (breakfast pastries) and a newspaper...
most weekends, I think he'd like to purchase the local newspaper, but usually he has plenty of other things to read/do, so we don't always get around to it
this particular Sunday was a newspaper day...so Jake went to the local kiosco, and found it closed so he proceeded to check out approximately 5 other locations, including a small grocery store, who informed him that the canillitas (ask Jake to explain where this name came from...something about newsies wearing short pants) were on strike...we should have guessed
while enjoying the sun on our terrace, we noticed these little orange things growing on our "lime" tree

our landlord's assistant had once mentioned that she thought they were cumquats...so we googled it...decided they looked close enough, then tasted one and it was delicious! (we still have not gotten sick...we'll see)
later in the afternoon, we decided to check out the historic Línea A of the metro

a little Mafalda action underground...pondering about our earth

the A-Line was the very first underground railway service in the southern hemisphere...pretty impressive...

the Buenos Aires subway was inaugurated in 1913, it only had one line, the A-Line, and believe it or not, some of the original cars are still in use with their very charming slatted wood seats, ceiling lamps, hanging leather handle straps, and manunally-operated doors still in tact

we first hopped out at the Congreso stop - we've driven by this area, but had yet to walk around
when emerging from the subway station, the architecture alone is quite impressive

can you spot the windmill?

I'm guessing this is where all the "great" political decisions for the country are made

santa hat

so we've been seeing a lot of (what we think are creepy) carousels scattered throughout the city...Jake did some research and discovered that in the late 19th century, due to French/Italian influence, every plaza in every barrio had a carousel...then they sort of disappeared for a bit, and now some are back in action (50+ currently working in the city)
...someday I dream of a whole blog post of carousel pictures...I hope I don't get nightmares

we experienced a different form of transportation, the tram (Línea de Tranvías Históricos in Caballito
operated since 1980, we took our little *free* 2k loop around the tram track and learned a bit about its history...our tram, pictured below, was a gift from Belgium

LOVED the lady in the back with the red hair...like a cartoon character!

our trusty conductors

I think the grey tram in front of the yellow one is from Argentina

we later attempted a visit to the famous Las Violetas at the Castro Barros stop, but due to the long line for a table, and the fact that we were more so craving real food instead of pastries and desserts, we decided we'd come back someday...
and instead headed to the Mongolian BBQ, Gengi's House in Recoleta

yum, yum, yummo...a big plate of your choice of noodles or rice, meats, and veggies, with a good ol' Quilmes beer for $50 pesos/person (~US$11)
and as if we didn't get enough Asian cuisine, we hit up Sudestada on our feriado Monday to celebrate José de San Martín (we get lots of holidays to celebrate here)
now, I first must say that I was VERY disappointed that they wouldn't allow us to take advantage of their FABULOUS M-F lunch deal (since it was a holiday) but USUALLY you get a drink (beer, wine, juice, etc.), soup or salad, and a main dish for only $50 pesos!!! it's nuts
otherwise their menu is way over my budget...but we stuck around anyway and split this appetizer (funked up Philippino lumpias) with lychee juice

love all the fresh greens they use

In the land of beef and malbec...