Beattys Overseas

We decided one day to find one of the City's main polo fields, which is connected to Buenos Aires' version of Central Park - a huge municipal park with gardens, museums, lakes, sporting complexes, and a road that runs through it which closes on weekends.  We found the polo field, with its beautiful ivy-covered grandstands and impeccable mowed lawn, but the place was locked up and empty -- public polo season is November through December. 

Hipódromo de Palermo, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaInstead, we ventured across the street, to the Hipodromo Racetrack.  It happened to be a racing day, and we walked into what seemed to be a very civilized and clean racetrack experience.   The Hipodromo entrance is an imposing structure, looking more like a regal manse than a horseracing center.  We walked through the gates, where we were surprised to realize that there was no entrance fee, and found ourselves an umbrella table on the lawn near the finish line.  The crowd was mainly male (the average woman doesn't go "play the ponies" in any culture, it seems), but well-behaved and very tidy (the absence of ripped up tickets for lost bets scattered on the paths was immediately noticeable).  We got a kick out of the betting system - there were ticket windows, where one stands in cue to place a bet for a race, but there were also the betting girls, who walk around taking bets on hand-held computers that print out your ticket. 
The paddock at the trackThey wear fanny packs full of cash, which made me nervous, but I'm the newcomer here, so who am I to judge?  Not sure if this is commonplace at other racetracks around the world, but we've never seen betting girls on foot anywhere in The States.

We ventured into the Grandstand, where we found a huge casino under the ground level.  No tables, but slot machines as far as the eye could see!  We played a Roulette machine for a while and left the track to wander around the trendy neighborhood of Las Cañitas.  We've been exploring the many neighborhoods of Buenos Aires slowly...  We wander around, looking for one restaurant or shop that we had read about online or in our Lonely Planet book, then find that we admire the vibe of the entire neighborhood, often resulting in a revisit for dinner or drinks later that evening. 

The rain pelting the street in front of our apartmentThe weather in Bs As was really soggy for a few days with tons of rain that clogged the city's drainage system, resulting in a massive traffic accident and flooding on a main highway.  We had plans to meet up for lunch with our friends Augusto and Sara, but they were stuck in standstill traffic for 45 minutes with their infant son before calling us to cancel lunch.  As Augusto later put it, there are some situations in which Argentina reveals itself as a 3rd world country; just a few hours of rain, and we are swimming in the streets of beautiful Buenos Aires.

We're still struggling with the language barrier.  Whitney is the stronger Spanish speaker, but much of her scholastic skills have dwindled since college.  John has a lot of work-based Spainsh, but "Policia! No Se Mueva!" only goes so far  :)  We find that some people in Buenos Aires speak English, but aren't very happy to do it.  However, we have found - thanks to yoga teacher Thuy - a healthy sandwich & smoothie joint run by Americans around the courner from our apartment.  We go there almost everyday of the week for lunch and are recognized for our exact same orders each day.  It may not be much, but the folks at Pura Vida definitely make us feel more like locals, despite the fact that we order in Spanglish.