More Star Sightings

The weekend has been full of celebrity sightings. I feel like I could write a guest spot for People or Us Weekly.

Saturday was jam-packed with activity. My grandmother and I went to the Alto Palermo, the local mall, for a few hours. As we were walking over to the food court to have lunch, my grandmother pointed out to me that one of her favorite soap opera stars was standing a few feet away. Apparently she's extremely famous here, and in all the fashion magazines. I bought a pair of shoes I love there, and silently gave thanks for the strong dollar showing here in Argentina. (Currently it's $1=$2.94 pesos) I think I'm going to buy up a storm. No wonder the rest of the world hates Americans.... On the way back to Base Camp, we stopped at a confiteria a few blocks away to get some coffee and cookies. The people sitting and chatting about their day, the t.v. showing the local soccer game in the background, the vast array of baked goods to choose from, I think I'm going to miss these little cafes most of all.

Once we got back to my grandma's, she started cooking for the dinner party she was throwing later that night. My two great uncles and their wives came over, along with Raquel (another grandma in the family), and my grandma's boyfriend Ubaldo. (That one's for you Sharon). I got a chance to catch up with them, and filmed some of that encounter. I've decided to film as much as possible between now and the end of my trip. It's such an amazing souvenir to have after the travels are over. I had to leave the party a little early because my cousin Lucas came to pick me up. We went to the jazz festival in the Centro Cultural de la Recoletta that we had bought tickets for the day before. It was amazing. The second we walked into the outdoor venue one of the employees there pointed us toward a table where wine was being served to everyone. (Let us not forget that my cousin is--and looks--16 years old. Just like in the States...Where was all of this when I was waiting to turn 21?) I took a glass, but my cousin abstained. Maybe he thought I'd tell his parents. There were plenty of people there, and the mood was just awesome all around.

Eventually we ended up at another confiteria close by. La Biela is one of the more famous ones, located on a very posh corner. It's almost always full of wealthy people and Americans. This time was no exception. As I'm walking towards the back to use the restroom, I notice that Robert Duvall and his gorgeous Argentine wife are sipping cappucinos at the table beside me. His Spanish is pretty good! We sat outside for a couple of hours and talked about pretty much everything. Turns out I had to catch up on a lot! Eventurally we called a remise to pick us up. These are taxis that you have to call by phone to get picked up. It's not really safe to take any taxi off the street that late at night here.

Sunday was also full of activity. My aunt Ruth was having a barbecue at her house for her husband Daniel's birthday. So another taxi ride over and I was at their house all set for the famous Argentine asados I miss so much when I'm home. That's what the bbqs are known as here. Although they are no mere barbecues. They are expert meat roasters here (I think it's in the genes or something, although I have yet to try my luck at it). My other cousins Carola and Victoria were there, along with Lucas and their dog Cindy. They had some friends over as well, and at one point a man named Esteban came up to me to introduce himself. He told me that he had known my dad. That one kinda took me by surprise. I had to try a little harder than I would have liked to keep it together. He told me that he had known him from work, and that he had been to the nautical store my dad had opened here. He had never met my mom, but he had cared very much for my dad. These are the moments that make me wish I didn't live so far away from the people that knew my dad. There are very few people I know in L.A. anymore that met him and can tell me stories about him.

After the asado, we all got in the car to head out. Turns out they had bought tickets to a Norah Jones concert! I'm a big fan, so this could not have worked out better for me.We were running a little early, so we stopped by San Telmo, an extremely picturesque little neighborhood with little arts and crafts stands, musicians, and plenty of cafes. We walked around for a while, and I bought a tango painting before we left. Norah Jones was amazing. We had pretty good seats, so I could see her and the whole band. And here you can take cameras inside the venues, so I even sneaked in a few pictures I'll show everyone when I get back.

Muchos besos.