My New Barrio

In the morning, I phoned Roberto straight away to confirm that I would take the room. He told me I could arrive at 5:00. So, in the meantime, I put my luggage in the hostel's storage area and went for one last walk in San Telmo (I sure I will still go there, but not as often, now that I live on the other side of town).

 

 

 

I passed by the centre, because I needed some money, and poked my nose in a few antique and second-hand bookshops. After standing in line at five different banks, I finally was able to withdraw money. I returned to the hostel at four, and took a taxi with all my stuff to my new home on Santa Fe. 

 Farmacia de la Estrella was founded in 1834

Books!

I find the apartment pretty feo (ugly-especially my room), but it is spacious and comfortable. However distasteful it might be, I know that I will be able to feel much more at home here than in any hostel. Plus, I could not have asked for a better location, right on the intersection between the Palermo of shopping, cafés and nightlife, and the Palermo of parks. What is more, the entrance to the subte is just one step away (literally-you come out the door and are almost falling down the subte stairs). After showing me around, Roberto prepared a coffee for himself and a tea for me. Then, we went out to grab a few things that I would need to start my life in Buenos Aires, which also served as a short introduction to the barrio. I love how every moment with him is part of a lesson. He asks me what things are called as we run across them, corrects and mistakes and taught me new expressions. So far, he seems to be a great teacher.

On the way back, he showed me what he claims is one of the best pescaderías (fish shops) in the city. It is only two blocks away from the house, so I think I will be there often, stocking up on seafood for my kitchen experiments.

At 9:00 in the evening, I am sitting outside one of my favourite cafés in Palermo Viejo, Mama Racha, much more busy now that the night has fallen and dinner time is approaching. The world around me is abuzz with conversation. It is getting chilly, but I feel much more relaxed, now that I am settled in, that I don't have to deal with hostel life, and with looking for a place to stay.

I walk back to my new apartment quite content. It is midnight by the time I am finally eating dinner.

New on Top of my Book Pile

The french translation of Anna Karenina that I ordered arrived the other day! I decided to temporarily set aside the Tale of Genji, in order to dive right in. I don't mind treating the Japanese novel in the same manner as Genji himself seems to treat the women in his life: as disposable entertainment. I will therefore pick up the threads of his amorous entanglements another time. Reading L'élégance du hérisson (The Elegance of the Hedgehog) last year had peaked my curiosity for the Russian classic (the characters allude to the famous quotation that precipitates the novel: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Or in French: "Toutes les familles heureuses se ressemblent. Chaque famille malheureuse, au contraire, l'est à sa façon." Their cats are also named after Tolstoy's characters). Seeing the movie adaptation of Muriel Barbery's novel recently inspired me to finally order a copy of Anna Karenina for myself.

By the way, I loved the movie (called Hérisson in French) just as much as I loved the book. They are different, as to be expected, but both good, and I thought the characters were well portrayed in the movie. They all, Renée especially, fit the image that I had of them in my mind.