Decided not to do the day trip to Bransen and instead stayed in the beautiful white loft to work. First, we ate brunch at an organic, vegetarian cafe that's six blocks from our apartment. We had protein-packed homemade wheat bread (with every kind of nut there is crammed into each bite), along with scrambled eggs, homemade, fresh yogurt with homemade granola (again, every nut imaginable), a huge dish a fresh fruit, fresh-squeezed orange juice and apple juice, and of course our cafes. The apple juice was like nothing I had ever seen. It was real apple juice with its starchy pulp still in it and it was light green in color, not the golden apple juice we find in the States. Drinking it was just like taking a bite of a green apple. I loved it. The whole brunch was fantastic! It reminded me how easy it really is to go veggie. I had more energy from that breakfast than I've had in a while.
We strolled around our new neighborhood for a while, taking the long way home, mapping out various conveniences so we know where they are when needed. Jason found his new crossfit gym and pretty much secured his semi-permanent neighborhood choice once I leave on Monday.
It's another beautiful day of perfect weather and a light breeze, so we decided to work for a bit with the sliding glass door open to let the breeze in, then head up to the roof to enjoy the pool and a little sun. Is it time for a beer? Once on the roof, we met a group of Colombians that were staying with a friend that lives in the building. 3 of the 4 could speak English, so within an hour or so, we were all fast friends. They shared their homemade caipiriñas with us, which were delish, and we all swapped stories and told each other about our countries. I was in heaven. This is what I like most about traveling - socializing. Since we were next to a pool, what better activity than pool games usually reserved for eight year-olds? The pool was a consistent 5 ft depth the entire length, so we all lined up with space in between each person, sort of like bocce ball or croquet, then took turns swimming underwater the entire length through our new friends' legs. I was first. I made it through, despite one of the guys being a wiseguy and squeezing my waist when I was half-way through, causing all of the air in my lungs to escape! It was hilarious and we all had a good laugh. Being in the spirit of an eight year-old, I did nine underwater somersaults, of course challenging anyone to beat the record, and also dove for a pen (no one had a coin). I wonder if my Mom remembers the time she gave up her diamond ring to me as a kid because no one had coins? (What confidence she had in me!) The wiseguy later showed me how to do a flip turn underwater, something I've always wanted to learn. After what seemed like 20 tries, I had it down, though still crooked. Guess I'll have to practice..
Later, we met Vale for dinner in San Telmo at a cute and popular family-style restaurant around 11pm, right on schedule. I had the best empanadas I've ever tasted! Vale has a taste for organs, which is not customary to my pallet, so when I tried kidneys, I wasn't thrilled with the texture. The flavor was good, but once I knew what it was, my gag reflexes took over. JG ordered ribs, which were delicious, but very fatty, so I figured I was full enough and stuck to drinking water and some wine. All the traveling caught up to me, so I took a cab back to the apartment while JG and Vale went across the street for a cocktail. El Presidente is in town, so many of the roads were closed off anticipating her arrival. I somehow made it back, even though my cabbie didn't speak much Spanish (he may have been Brazilian) and I couldn't remember the cross-street (Arévalo) with Paraguay. I knew it was near a main thoroughfare, Santa Fe, but that only confused him more. So I dug deep and remembered the address of the apartment. After six attempts of communicating cinco-seis-dos-cinco, then with my hands, he finally got it and we turned to go the right direction. Three minutes later, I proclaimed, "Qui, Je t'aime, tres bien! Tres bien!". Wrong language, not sure where that came from, but he felt my excitement and knew we hit the jackpot. I didn't have enough pesos, so I instead gave him a $50 USD, which I hope made his night, and I was home sweet home.
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