Handicraft Heaven

Day 5

While we had loved the food, the neighborhoods and the sites of Buenos Aires, we had so far sound it lacking in one important travel destination category: shopping. So today, we headed back to Recoleta--this time to the rumoured Recoleta crafts market. I had only found one reference to this weekend market so I'd hope it was still there. Such is my love for handicraft markets, that I was willing to take the chance.

I was disappointed to see that the open area the guidebook indicated for the market was empty. But I saw about 200 tables set up in the park across the street. The first table that caught our eye was filled with small wooden and leather boxes, topped with metal and painted enameld tops in beautiful tribal patterns. We decided the survey the market before buying anything, so we continued on. Taylor spotted silver lightening bolt style earring for me but I didn't reach for my wallet until we hit the table with glass blown earrings. I splurged on three pairs which totaled US$7.50.

I was a bit surprised that vendors here refused to negotiate. I'm not sure if it was because the prices were so low already or if it was because the market seemed to be teeming with Americans, most of whom seem to lack the all-important negotiating gene.

There was a great selection of handicrafts, from pencil holders made of old subway tickets to handknitted scarves. They had some very nice hand-painted coasters made from recycled paper. But paper didn't seem like a durable material for a coaster, so I relunctantly passed on them. Taylor bought a bunch of the thin woven bracelets he likes. They have a short shelf-life so it's good that they are inexpensive and readily available most every exotic place we go, like Peru and Arizona. (Yes, Arizona is very exotic--if you've never been there.)

I had promised Taylor that I would buy him a painting for his 21st birthday, and we eagerly headed over to the section where the meager selection of painting were hung. There we found a collection of really cheesy tango paintings. Would we ever escape the nightmare of the Tango here?

We had better luck with mate cups. These are the traditional cups for drinking mate tea. They are carved out of a gourd and used with a silver straw. These are popular with tourists, and Taylor saw several tables of them. After looking at them all, we went back to the table which Taylor declared had the best quality. From there, Taylor and I narrowed it down to three mate cups in Tay's preferred color and size. We spent the next 15 minutes examining them, turning them in sequences looking for the best gourd symetry on all sides. (This is why I love shopping with Taylor. I'll spend 30 minutes helping him pick out gourds and he'll spend 30 minutes helping me choose earrings.) The vendor was not too thrilled with our slow, careful perusals of three mate gourds, but he perked right up when we eventually picked a winner and Taylor handed him the cash.

We circled back around and I bought the lightening bolt earrings and some tiny ceramic bowls about big enough for one serving of catsup. (After all, you never know when you might need a one-serving size bowl of catstup.) We ended up where we'd started at the market--the wooden box place. We spent about 15 minutes here before I gave up trying to decide what exact size I wanted and just went with the two smaller boxes I thought had were prettiest. Taylor bought a smaller one, as well, for the hammered copper earrings he'd bought earlier for Brittany.

Having exhausted all the possibilities at that market, we stopped at a cafe. Taylor ordered a chicken empanada. (Fun facts: Chicken in Spanish is pollo, which is pronounced poi-yo in Mexico. In Argentina, it's pronounced po-show.) Whatever you called it, it was delicious.

That night we took the Subte across town and walked through the narrow cobblestone streets of San Telmo. San Telmo used to be THE upscale neighborhood before Yellow Fever hit and all the rich folks hightailed it to Recoleta and Bario Norte. We ate at Amiche, an lovely Italian restaurant restaurant off a historic square. Despite the fact it was 10 p.m and the restaurant was nearly empty restaurant, the restaurant staff wanted to know if we had a reservation. We didn't but they managed to squeeze us in to one of the 30 empty tables available anyway.

Based on the food, the place should have been packed. The bread and accompaniments, our arugula salad, and my pumpkin ravioli were all terrific. Tay's pasta was just a bit underdone, but we forgave them in light of an otherwise flawless dining experience.

After dinner, we spotted a taxi that was letting out another passenger. The departing passenger had on an elaborate headdress and outfit and shoes that were so outrageous they might have been designed by Alexander McQueen--that is, if Alexander McQueen had bad taste. The taxi driver informed us that the departing passenger was the star of a local drag show. Having had our brush with a celebrity, we called it a night.