More on restaurants
Saturday, March 24, 2007
We have had some really nice dining experiences here, some of them more formal than others.
- Chiquilin on Montevideo and Sarmiento near where we were staying -- formal parilla restaurant... bit pricey compared with other experiences, but I think the bill was still only about $40pesos each for mains, sides and drinks.
- Pippo's on Montevideo and Sarmiento. Next door to Chiquillin... Cannot compare this parilla with Chiquillin... it wouldn't be fair, but it was still a nice experience. The food here was okay and the prices I think were definitely reasonable. I think we got away from this meal of pasta and Bife de Lomo for about AU$25.
- Campo dei Fiori on San Jose and Venezuela -- another more formal Argentine parilla place, with really really good pasta. Prices were similar to Chiquillin.
- Marini Gourmet -- buffet style with all Argentine and international food represented... very good and the parilla is awesome. BBQ Lamb leg was great. Total bill was about $29pesos for food, another $10 for drinks and $5 for the band.... yes we had to pay for the band that we didn´t know would be there. It was a fun night regardless.
Cafes have been okay too, but some are definitely not at the same level as the restaurants.
- Cervantes II -- the best and cheapest cafe. It was reliable and very close to where we were originally staying for CITA. Milanesa con Fritas (schnitzel with chips) for $6pesos is not one to miss.
- Scuzi... absolutely no resemblance to its Aussie namesake. It was okay but I reckon overpriced for what you are getting.
- La Opera... one we went to a few times but similar to Scuzi. Their service was good though.
Posted byAndrew at 9:11 am 0 comments
Shoes glorious shoes
Ok ... first thing first. This place is the place to be if you are a dance shoe nut! There are stores everywhere. Some are definitely better, where others may suit some dancers and not others. We have had a lot of luck over here, and have really needed to hold ourselves back a bit so that we can still fit things in our suit cases. The other option is that we buy another suitcase.... only problem is that we will be on a couple of local flights within Argentina and Brazil which may not look kindly on us with 4 suitcases.... hehe. Then again... it might be fine. Kellie has bought 5 pairs already: one from Neo Tango, one from Flabella, two from Tango Brujo and one from Comme Il Faut. I´ve been more restrained but still have a pair from Tango Leike, a pair of casual shoes from Fabio Shoes and another casual practice pair from Tango Brujo (this store is definitely one I'd go back to). There have also been a few hit and miss moments, but I need not mention those. I want to go back to Neo Tango again and see what they have in a leather soled formal shoe too.
Posted byAndrew at 9:04 am 0 comments
CITA classes - brief roundup
Monday, March 19, 2007
Wow. I'm posting this from the tail-end of our CITA workshop schedule and have had some great experiences. Quite easily the stand out teachers from our schedule have been Sebastian Arce & Mariana Montes & Chicho Frumboli and Lucia Mazer in relation to technique and ability to explain their idea of the passion behind particular movements. Adrian and Alejandra are just beautiful and I´m really sorry we didn´t do more workshops with them. Esteban and Claudia have explained things beautifully and also managed to personally attend to everyone while they were trying out the new steps and movements. Julio and Corina were very funny. I found that they didn't explain things as well as the other teachers but their classes were still fun... maybe too fun as noone really seemed to be concentrating. The noise levels for one of our Vals classes was so loud I couldnt hear the music enough to dance to it properly.
Sebastian and Mariana's as well as Chicho and Lucia's have been very well attended and have been quite hard to get space to do the steps (especially in one venue which was tiny, hot and had to accommodate more than 30 couples -- given that it was about soltadas and piernazos space was definitely at a premium). I have become more attuned to the space around me and making space if needed (in a non-violent way... although I have been kicked enough by other dancers to make me want to try a violent approach =) hehe).
The skill levels in the classes have varied greatly and has been frustrating at times where in one class a lot of the people we not getting the step so that Julio pulled the plug on the rest of the program. Even those of us who had understood the step had to concentrate on just the two or three that they´d showed us originally. Sebastian has been good but has been visibly frustrated at particular people's lack of knowledge of how to lead simple things like giros and backwards & forwards ochos. Esteban and Claudia have been very patient with people and their technique is great. Chicho's style of teaching is interesting in the sense that he is so quiet it makes you concentrate even more. In one of our musicality workshops with him and Lucia, he absolutely blew everyone away demonstrating the different ways you can dance to a rhythm with some simple steps. It was just amazing. Adrian and Alejandras class was great, but I think a few people were surprised at the level ... it was listed as Intermediate but more than likely that is what a real ¨Intermediate¨ level is like. It was challenging but the steps are beautiful.
All of the ones that we participated in has definitely given us some food for thought for dancing back in Adelaide.
We have just two CITA workshops to go now. It starts in just over an hour, so I´d better wind up and get some lunch. See you soon.
Posted byAndrew at 4:02 am 3 comments
Kellie's most used Spanish phrases
Sunday, March 18, 2007
… and everyone´s favourite
Posted byAndrew at 9:38 am 0 comments
Labels: humour, spanish, travel