Mercado de San Telmo, crepes con dulce de leche

As today was our last Sunday in Buenos Aires, Lindsay and I headed back to the outdoor market in San Telmo. It was quite cold today, in the 40s, and the weather report said it might even snow at some point. So, we bundled up and braved the walk to Plaza de Mayo. The market was much less crowded than it was the first time we came, thanks no doubt to the cold. Given the amount of non-Spanish languages we were hearing, it was mostly tourists and the vendors that made it out today. We searched through piles of mates, admired the many patterned scarves, and discussed priced for leather purses. There was tons of jewelry, many with turquoise stones and intricate metalwork. We stopped for awhile at an artisan potter who included classic Argentine symbols on his pottery like tango, indigenous animals, and ACDC. 

This is probably a good time to comment on the popularity of American classic and hard rock (I've heard Creedence Clearwater Revival in more than one taxi, and most souvenir shops sell shot glasses with rock bands as well as couples doing tango). 90s music is also still very popular down here...as one of the stand up comedians said at the "Gringo Comedy" show we went to said: "the 90s isn't just a decade, it's a state of mind." While I'm talking about that comedian (a young woman originally from the US who had been living in Argentina for about five years), I should mention another one of her jokes which I have found both hilarious and incredibly true. In the US, she says, guys have pick up lines. In Argentina, guys have pick up dissertations, and they will defend them as long as you will stand there (or as long as they can pull off following you). 

But back to the market. It was pretty cold and starting to rain, so Lindsay and I decided to head back to the warmth and safety of our apartment. Luckily, on the way out of the market we passed a crepe stand. I had a plain crepe with dulce de leche (classic Argentina, putting dulce de leche on everything), and Lindsay had one with dulce de leche and Nutella. Both were fantastic and totally worth having sticky hands  for the rest of the walk home. 

After a shower and packing back at the apartment, Lindsay and I were off to the bus station once again. This time, though, it was an 18 hour bus ride to Iguazu to see the world-famous Iguazu Falls. The bus was pretty nice: big seats that laid back like last time, but unlike last time, we were given blankets, pillows and dinner (which was similar to airplane food) on the bus.