BA Photos

A quick note: First batch of BA photos (about 250) have been posted on my Kodak Gallery. Remember, email is ahkwiat@gmail.com and password is Jas0nB0urn3.

I have over 900 photos, so it will take awhile. I will try to have them all up by close of business tomorrow (i.e. when I go to bed). I got a late start today.....

Keep an eye on this space for a movie review of Robert De Niro and Ed Norton's thriller "Stone". Also, Arsenal match on Saturday vs. Blackburn, lets hope for some scintillating football and a favorable result.

Argentina/Uruguay: A Recap

Good afternoon dear readers. I am reporting back from Whitesboro, NY, the last place God made, after a uneventful trip home. Nine days in South America went incredibly fast, but the added travel experience, touring one of the world's great cities (BA is ranked as an "Alpha" city, based on economic, cultural, etc. importance. You can see the rankings here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city), and more pins in my increasingly famous map (we show it to house guests now) made the entire trip very much worth it.

Well, its a recap, so lets get down to business.

Negatives/regrets: Wow, none really. It was a superb time, I enjoyed my time in BA (and the day in Uruguay) very much. Portenos are incredibly friendly folk (well, the one's not trying to steal from you are), the weather (apart from the day I went to Retiro) was near perfect. The sights in BA actually aren't all that plentiful, but it is just a great city to walk around in, interact with the locals and experience their lifestyle. OK, well, I will say that BA seems like a place best enjoyed by two people together. There are myriad places to eat, enjoy are drink, or take a stroll-activities best suited when one has company. As you all know, I tend to travel solo (I should have just called this blog "The Lonely Traveler"), which meant I couldn't enjoy much of what BA had to offer to visitors. If I had more money at my disposal, I wouldn't have minded eating out more either (again, with company), and seeing how many locals dined. Yes, I figure what I would have liked most is a travel companion, for this would have only bettered the experience and helped discover the city even more.

Positives/things to take home: Well, I pretty much already listed what makes BA great, and it was most definitely a good choice.I think the side trip to Uruguay was a good decision as well, it was another stamp on the passport but also offered a reprieve from the loud, bustling, crowded BA. The weather, oh my, the weather, I could go on all day. Top notch, but I think I have made that clear already. OK, so, outside of friendly locals, great weather, a decent number of tourist sights, there is something about this city that really got me......I just enjoyed being there. I am not sure if I would choose it as a place to live, I prefer a little more relaxed atmosphere....but slipping in with the morning rush hour, beating pavement with the Friday night crowds on Florida, or taking a relaxing stroll with the Portenos in Puerto Madero...something just felt right about all these things.

Would I do it again? Argentina, for sure. It is a huge country with a number of regions worth seeing, in particular Tierra del Fuego and the glacier region, outside of BA. Would I do BA again? Yeah, I pretty much exhausted everything  I wanted to see there, but if I could hit it with some close friends or relatives, it would be worth it all over again.

BA has inspired me to create something I would like to call The Four Corners Top Destination List, which will be not only my personal favorites from the places I have visited, but will also serve as a recommedations for my readers. In conjunction with this I figure I should also create something for my next few targeted cities/countries/regions, we will call that one The Four Corners Next Destination List. I will post both once a month, and they will be ever-changing.The Top Destinations I will add to as they come (unfortunately, I will be experiencing a lull in travel in the near future, work beckons, so that one may remain steady for at least a few months) and Next Destinations I will subtract from upon visiting a particular place, and then adding a new destination in its stead.

So here goes:

The Four Corners Top Destinations:
1. Buenos Aires, Argentina
2. Tel Aviv, Israel
3. Barcelona, Spain
4. Tokyo, Japan
5. Jerusalem, Israel
6. Kyoto, Japan


The Four Corners Next Destinations (in no particular order):
 1. Cape Town, South Africa
2. Sydney, Australia (as well as other Australian cities)
3. Bangkok, Thailand
4. Rio de Janiero and Sao Paolo, Brazil
5. Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia
6. New Delhi/Mumbai/Aggra, India

That should do for now. This right now are the places currently at the forefront of my mind.

Coming back full circle now, I appreciate you following me through my first South American adventure, I hope you enjoyed it, I know I did. Again, there may be a while until I can go jet-setting again, but in the mean time keep an eye out for movie reviews and political discussions. And readers, please, particularly for the current events articles, chime in and leave your thoughts in the comments, they are there for a reason. As always, watch this space for anything travel related, you know it is never very far from my thoughts. 

Dispatches from BA

This is it folks. The very final day in BA. My flight isn't until nine o'clock, but in the interest of timeliness I will be leaving for the airport in an hour or so.

After checking out and leaving my luggage with the hotel, I was left with some time to kill. I walked the streets of CT (the weather today is great, yet again) as the city was entering rush hour mode, the street crowded with men in suits talking on cell phones, and all other kinds in a rush to get to their destination. I eventually made my way to the Plaza de Mayo for one last time, from there I caught a radio cab.

I decided to spend the better part of my last day in Caminito. After the quite and relaxing evening I had last night along Puerto Madero, I would end off my stay here with the contrast of the buzzing tourist spectacle Caminito. I was missing a photo that included me from this area, so when there was a break in the crowd I had someone snap my photo under the famous Caminito sign (so I can be like, yeah, I been there). I wandered about, looking for anything that might have missed my eye the first time around. I seemed to cover most of it, but took a few different photos anyway, including one of a lazy stray dog lying by a wall of orange-colored corrugated metal. Interestingly enough, a freight train rolled through La Boca as I was standing near the tracks. I barely noticed the train tracks before, they were so overgrown with weeds, but apparently trains do roll through now and then. I was surprised to see it happen right in the middle of an urban area.

I took Bus #29 once again, bumping along past some of BA's main sites for the second time. After hopping off, I joined the Portenos on their lunch break and ate at a cafe along Corrientes street, a main drag near my hotel. I had the most delicious cheese pizza (two slices and a drink for 16 pesos, a killer deal). After polishing up, I wove my way back through the crowds, and now here I am.

I will be preparing to leave for Ezeiza International in a short while, sad to see my time in BA (and the fantastic weather) go by so fast. Look for a recap from home base upon my arrival.

Adam Kwiat, The Four Corners, Buenos Aires.

BA Day 8-San Telmo and Puerto Madero, a return.

Buenas tardes folks. Today marks my last full day in BA. I have covered a lot of ground, visted all the major barrios, and have taken in almost all of what I wanted to see. I decided that today I would return to San Telmo, if you recall it is the oldest barrio in the city. The guidebook talks up this area quite a bit, and I felt as if I was missing something. The first time I visited I didn't find anything eye-popping or incredibly interesting, so I thought I would give it another try.

I made my way to La Defensa, the long street that essentially serves as an entrance to the barrio. Being a Sunday, the street was now closed to traffic, and craftspeople had their food stalls, tables and blankets full of souvenirs out all along the street, and the tourists were out in force. I arrived in BA a week ago today, and walked La Defensa that day as well, but his time I would take it even further down. I slowly made my way down the the crowded street, noticing many of the sellers were the same. Street musicians banging away on bongos or strumming away on guitars lent to the already noisy atmosphere. I eventually got to a point that I knew I had not crossed last Sunday, and this seem to be the end of the street that had more activitiy. There were still people selling food and all kinds of trinkets, but now street performers had joined their ranks, amongst them a puppeteer. One of the buildings along the street was named the "San Telmo Mercado", and it turned out to be a huge indoor flea market, but also containing some food stalls. After emerging from the mercado, I kept on down La Defensa, eventually coming to Plaza Dorrengo at the end of the street. When I first came to Dorrengo, it was on Monday, and it was quiet with only a handful of people hanging around and the surrounding cafe's only setting up their tables. Today, you couldn't even see the plaza. Stalls filled with flea market items and other junk had set up shop in the plaza, creating a large flea market crammed with tourists and locals all milling about looking at the dusty and rusty stuff that was available.

I made a point of wandering some of the quieter side streets that were void of tourists. I still didn't find San Telmo to be quite as charming as Lonely Planet did, but it does have a much different feel from the rest of the city. San Telmo feels more, well, South American I suppose. The buildings are for the most part low-lying, many are old and pretty poor condition. After a couple of hours of exploring this barrio, I decided to head back for a rest.

Despite pretty much running out of options, after I rested up I bit I thought I would see what Puerto Madero was like on a Sunday evening.

Great idea. I am so glad I did. I got down to Madero near the Puerte de Mujer and the sidewalks were already beginning to fill with couples and families out for a stroll in the cool weather before the beginning of of the work week. I parked myself on a bench to perform a favored past time of The Four Corners: people watching. After several moments of watching Portenos in relaxation mode, I decided to move on. There is a huge ecological reserve running adjacent to Puerto Madero, and I headed in that direction. Again, glad I did. I found a long promenade on the outskirst of the nature reserve, and all along the promenade were stalls selling the best of Argentinian grilled foods. I treated myself to a fantastic steak sandwhich, at the same time promising to diet upon my return to the US. After finishing up I made my way down the promenade, passing by even more food stalls and Portenos out enjoying the nice evening. Some sort of peformance was taking place along the walk involving a Michael Jackson look-a-like which I watched for a few moments, but gave up due to reasons of not understanding what the hell was being said.

I slowly made my way back in the direction from whence I came, passing through a huge, covered flea market (I had had enough of flea markets, I didn't really check this one out) eventually coming to a large green area. Here couples sat on blankets and chatted, dogs ran around, and a group of kids had a football game going. As I stood taking in the whole scene a couple of teenagers came up to me and asked to take their photo with me, for what reason I am still wondering. Yeah, I am pretty big in Buenos Aires.

Dusk had already fallen and I exited Puerto Madero and made for the subte. It was a great way to spend my last evening in BA, walking amongst Portenos as they used up their remaining free time before going into high gear again tomorrow.

I have a late flight tomorrow, we don't touch off until nine at night, but I will be getting to the airport a couple hours ahead of time. If I have the opportunity, I will report anything of interesting should it occur. Otherwise, next contact will be made from the Estados Unidos.

Adam Kwiat, Buenos Aires, The Four Corners.

Colonia del Sacramento: A day in Uruguay

And now for something a little different......

Across the Rio Plata from Buenos Aires lies Uruguay, a middle income nation of about three million people. To put this in perspective, about eleven million reside in BA alone. I very much doubt Uruguay falls the "must see" list of many people, but, we here at The Four Corners don't discriminate (well, North Korea and Somalia, don't bother waiting for me).

The capital, Montevideo, is three hours across the Rio by boat, which makes it too far for a day trip. Luckily, only an hour from BA lies Colonia del Sacramento, or simply Colonia. Colonia has an histroic center that is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is quite popular with Argentine weekenders.

I caught the 08:45 boat from Puerto Madero. A lot of people had the same idea apparently, the large boat (which transports vehicles as well) was pretty well packed. An older Polish couple sat next to me, and despite their extremely limited knowledge of English (super, oddly enough, was their word of choice), we still managed to navigate, using had signals, a pretty muddy conversation. I got that they traveled a lot, and I communicated (I don't know how I did it) that I was of Polish heritage. The guy was a dead ringer for Lech Walesa though, mustache and all. Maybe it was him. Well, good job on the whole Solidarity thing.

We made the transition between the two countries in an hour, and I found myself standing outside of Colonia's boat terminal. The weather today was near perfect, sunny with a nice breeze coming off the water (Colonia is on a peninsula). I would put the temperature at high 70s, maybe low 80s. Gorgeous. First off, Colonia is a very very small city, if you want to call it that. I made may way from the terminal to the historic district, which is a few blocks, but took maybe ten minutes of walking. Getting there, walking through the more modern parts, you walk through a sleepy town with cobbled streets, cafes, boutiques, and small neat little houses. All the streets are lined on both sides with trees, which looks great in the sun and in the breeze.

Colonia's historic district is of course very tiny. I walked across it in about five minutes. Yes, its that small. There is not much to see there, but it is a very pleasant place to walk around, particularly with weather like today. Some of the homes built by Portuguese settlers (the Portuguese settled it first, before the Spanish came in) way back in the 1500s still remain, and the cobbled streets they stand upon are quite charming. There were a number of tourists milling around, indeed, the only Uruguayan natives seemed to be the shop-owners and the stray dogs that roamed the streets. This area of Colonia wasn't really much, but it was interesting to visit and walk about such an old area (if its good enough for UNESCO, its good enough for me) and again, the weather was perfect for such a thing. Colonia's historic center is also right on the water (it was used as a slave trading area at one point) which was was nice as well (being near the water, not the slave bit). I moseyed about, looking for nothing in particular, enjoying the beautiful weather and the time away from the big metropolis BA. As my time winded down, I decided to check out some of the area outside the old town, and soaked in the laid-back feeling of the town, the occasional scooter zipping by, and passed by some sleek-looking homes, some done up in a Caminto-style mix of colors.

By 1730 local time I was back in BA. I have just finished a dinnner of champions of pizza and an empanada (carne this time, fantastic) and joined the locals in watching a big (I assume) football match on the tv in the restaurant.

Uruguay now joins Turkey and Mexico as the only countries I have been to and not visited the capital city. Hats off to you Uruguay, you provided a nice reprieve from the fast-paced BA.

See you tommorow.

BA Day 6: North to Belgrano

Friday, March 25th. Day six in BA. I have covered much of this great city and have gotten to know my way around some parts quite well. I hadn't been to one barrio yet, but I was going to today: Las Cantinas and Belgrano (LCB here-on in).

LCB is the most northern barrio in BA, bordering Palermo and Palermo Viejo. I made my way up there via subte. I haven't mentioned it yet, and now seems like a good time: subte rides can be quite interesting. Invariably there is always someone walking through the cars trying to sell something: gum, books, even pastries a couple of times. The gum and book sellers have a peculiar method: They first walk through placing the item on everyone's lap, apparently to give potential customers a chance to check out the item, then walk back through, usually taking most of the stuff back (not many buyers) and taking money from those that actually want whatever it is. A couple of times people have come onto the cars with drums to play for money. Just a few moments ago two dudes came one, one with a bongo, the other a saxophone, to form some pretty nice beats. At one of the stations I have to transfer at, the last two times the same guy has been on the platform with his guitar, belting out classics like Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler". BA has its fair share of characters.

Right, anyway, LCB. Its a lot like Palermo, it is pretty short on tourist stuff, but is still interesting to stroll around. Las Cantinas is primarily residential, and is even more upscale then Palermo is. There are actually homes here, and some are downright beautiful. There is a mixture, some have an older, colonial design, while others are done in a more modern fashion. The streets were quite quiet here, and walking amongst some of these homes was pretty neat. At one point it came to me that "hey, I am in a residential area" and a thought occurred to me: I am a semi-decent history buff, I wonder if this is where Nazi-war criminal Adolf Eichmann lived before the Mossad nabbed him in a secret operation? I found a McDonald's (Adam's Travel Tip #4: If ever in desperate need of an internet connection, find a Mickey D's, they are all outfitted with wifi). I used my iPod touch (ok, now I am looking for some money from Apple, it will come) and found out that Eichmann did indeed have a home in a residential area, but way at the other end of the map, below La Boca, as it were. Oh well, not today Adam.

Further up, into Belgrano. Belgrano only had one thing I was interested in, and that was BA's Chinatown. I made my way there, and I made it to the ever-present Chinese gate that seems to be at the entrance of every Chinatown around the world. It was pretty disappointing though. Most of the people milling about this area were definitely not Chinese, and not even all of the store owners looked to be Chinese. Very small as well, only a couple of streets. I didn't spend much time here, but some of the restaurants did give off some smells that reminded me very much of my time in Beijing, wandering side streets looking for nothing in particular. I enjoyed that moment quite a bit.

It didn't take me too long to finish up in LCB, so I came back for a rest before setting out again. The day was young, and I decided to go to Florida.

Florida if you remember is the pedestrian only street near the Plaza de Mayo. I thought it would be neat to check out on a Friday as the work day came to an end. It was. By the time I got there it was already packed with all kinds of characters: couples out for a stroll, pretty young ladies (yeah I noticed) doing some shopping, trinket-sellers and crafts-people with blankets laid out selling their wares, hawkers handing out pamphlets for tour-buses, restaurants and strip-clubs, as well as a handful of street muscians.

I got lucky once again. How can you come to Buenos Aires and not experience some tango? Well, as it so happened, a tango-couple were just setting up to do a performance right on the street just as I was wandering by. They had a couple signs standing up, advertising their DVD (they gotta be good then, I mean, a DVD!) and already had the stereo all set up for music. The lady was not too bad looking, but man, the guy looked past it. Smoking had obviously done a job on his face (I am assuming the pack of Marlboros sitting on the stereo were his), his teeth were the color of bark, and the amount of grease he used on his hair made him look like a thug from one of the Godfather films. Given the dude's appearance, I thought maybe this would be a far cry from paying for a performance, but I gave it a shot and stood in with the gathering crowd.

I didn't watch for long, but they were pretty damn good, at least I think (I know as much about dancing as Kenny Mayne does). The guy got winded pretty quick, but still it was entertaining to see two people go about the tango. There, boom, check it off, tango has been viewed (for free!).

I wandered about just a little more, and round my way to the Plaza de Mayo. I had read that peaceful demonstrations were a common occurrence in the Plaza, and there was definitely one today.  A group of women were beating drums and chanting slogans, apparently calling for abortion rights (aborto legal, so I am just guessing here), and they were doing it in the corner facing the Cathedral!! For shame. I stopped to gawk for a moment, and an older guy walked by and said something to me in Spanish, shaking his head and gesticulating at the group. No fan of abortion I guess....or drums.

I let my day end with that, I made my way back to the subte, and now here I am. I still haven't had dinner yet, so that is the next thing on my mind.

Uruguay tomorrow folks, be sure to come back for the recap.

BA Day Five: Palermo ain't just a city in Italy

The gorgeous weather returned today, and The Four Corners was once again beating pavement in BA. Today was Palermo, another barrio north of CT. Palermo is primarily a residential neighborhood for BA's upper-middle class citizenry, and feels even more upscale than Recoleta. Virtually every street is lined with leafy trees on both sides, while the apartments seem to fit the bill of "upper-middle class", making the whole neighborhood aesthetically pleasing. But not pleasing on the nose. Dog-ownership is a big thing amongst wealthier Portenos, but picking up after them doesn't seem to be as big. If the size of a dog's "exhaust", if you will, is any indication of the dog's body size, than I would surmise most Palermo residents own large dogs.

Anyway, Palermo feels like one big public garden. The land not set aside for apartment blocks seems to have all been used for parks. There are about five large parks in this neighborhood alone, along with the city zoo. The largest park is known as the Jardin Botanica de Carlos Thays. There isn't much to see in the park aside from a few statues, but I enjoyed walking around in the shade of the trees, getting a look at how a number of Portenos spend their down time. Many bring their dogs for a stroll, or lay down in the sun with a book. As I ambled through the park, a stray cat (of which there were many in the park) for some odd reason decided to keep me company on my stroll. I would move about the paths and he would bump random things like tree trunks or bench legs the way that cats do. I have decided to name this cat FC and make him the Official Four Corners Mascot. Thanks for the company FC, your photo will be here soon.

I made my way through some of the adjacent parks still getting a look at middle-class Porteno life, then strolled through the residential areas a bit. If Recoleta reminded one of Europe, the feeling in Palermo is two-fold. There was a cafe on virtually every corner, and again the apartment buildings and tree-lined streets would fit in in Western Europe. I ate like a poor Porteno though, grabbing one of the delicious chorizo (sausage) sandwiches from a street vendor. Palermo didn't have much to offer for the tourist, but I didn't mind. It was nice to see a part of BA away from the hustle and bustle of the city center and the more tourist friendly areas.

Satisfied with what I saw in Palermo I moved further north to the adjacent barrio, known as Palermo Viejo. Very, very cool place. There are virtually no sites in this barrio, but it is so cool to walk around. According to my guide book it is supposed to be the premier shopping area of BA, which I couldn't care less about, but it was probably the highlight of the day. Palermo has a very bohemian feel to it, and there are no longer any skyscrapers or tall apartment blocks. All buildings are low lying-colonial style, and many have stylish designs or are colorfully painted. It actually reminded me a bit of Caminito, obviously lacking the history, but still having the colorfulness and sleek designs.The barrios cobbled-side streets also added to the experience. Palermo Viejo is a very colorful part of town filled with character, it is packed with unique boutiques, shops and cafes, definitely worth the time I spent strolling its streets. Today must have been my lucky day as well, for when I got to the center of the barrio, a plaza called the Plaza Serrano, artisans were beginning to set up their stalls. Later on I came across another plaza, this one more resembling a small park (Serrano was really just a ring surrounded by restaurants, boutiques and cafes) where still more booths had been set up selling arts and crafts. This plaza, appropriately the Plaza Palermo Viejo, is where I sat down and took some time to people watch (yes, and female watch, if you must know).

I was out for pretty much the entire day, I arrived back to my room after five. After a brief rest I did venture out again, this time only in search of grub. I settled on a pizza and an empanada (pastries filled with anything from beef, chicken, ham, cheese, etc.), which made for a good meal.

A very solid day away from the tourist activities but still in an attractive, colorful part of BA.

Cheers. 

BA Day Four: When it rains it pours.

Yesterday in the Recoleta Cemetary, I overheard another American tourist say "tomorrow is supposed to be the rainy day". I wasn't happy to hear it, and even less happy when I woke up this morning to see that it was the truth. Unfortunately I hadn't formed much of a contingency for such an event, I am not into musuems to begin with, and BA doesn't have any that attract my interest. A little rain won't kill any one, I thought, I am going to Retiro.

Retiro is another barrio to CT's north, it is probably the smallest barrio in area and doesn't have many tourist attractions. I figured it would be a good bet for a rainy day. Before setting out, it didn't look to be raining that hard, and I really did not look forward to getting on a crowded subte during the morning rush hour that was sure to be as humid as a green house. I have a rain jacket, I will walk it.

Bad idea. About halfway there it began to pour.....big time. The rain jacket provided little defense, and my shirt was wet in no time. By the time I got to Retiro I was pretty well soaked. Not to be dettered, I took in what Retiro had to offer, which included the Plaza de San Martin, an attractive public space on a rolling hill, the Edificio Kavanagh, a 120-story apartment building done in the art deco style, and the Torre de Ingleses, which is BA's Big Ben supposedly (a poor comparison really) that sits at the bottom of the Plaza de San Martin. At the beginning of the 20th century the British government gave it as a gift to the city, but during the Falklands War it was a target for British bombers (sounds a bit like indian giving). The bombers obvioulsy failed in their mission. The city's train station is also located in that part of time, but it wasn't anything special.

I returned back to my hotel to change, get dry and rest up a bit. I stepped out again, the rain had now let up, and first stop was a building called the Palacio Aguas de Corrientes, which used to be a water pumping station for the city. The exterior design is pretty spectacular, making it a worthy stop (just as a reminder, I will be posting all photos to my Kodak account after I return home, so you can actually see what I am describing). Next I decided to take a closer look at the Congressional building. I hadn't noticed before on the front gate there is a large ring that contains the symbols for all of the country's provinces, which was pretty neat. I then walked a little ways down Avenue de Mayo to a building known at the Palacio Barolo, an apartment building apparently designed in a tribute to Dante's "Divine Comedy". It has an impressive exterior, and I was able to walk into the lobby, which is supposed to represent "hell" (all the floors are purgatory). Eternal damnation didn't look at that bad, indeed, it was good for a few photos.

That ended of the day as far as sightseeing......but the adventure wasn't done yet......

Argentinian beef. Perhaps you have heard of it. The cows raised for beef here are fed grass from Las Pampas (Argentina's grasslands) and not shot up with steroids and fed corn. I was determined to try it at least once during my stay here. I decided that, since today was fairly light in terms of sightseeing, today would be the day I would go for it. The mission was a steak.

Yesterday I asked the young muchacho at the hotel front desk if there was a good, decently priced parilla (grill) place nearby. There was. "La Churrasquita" it is called, eight blocks up the road. "We think it is good", apparently meaning all hotel attendents, and it wasn't expensive either. Today, before setting out, I asked if casual clothing would be ok. "Oh yeah, anything, it is not fancy". Good, because I was wearing the plain blue Old Navy shirt one of Hayley's ex-boyfriends left at our place and my blue Arizona jeans that were now dirty at the bottoms. I left.

Eight blocks was a long way, I didn't think I would find it, and I was about to abort the mission for another day (I skipped lunch for some reason, perhaps to prepare for what was to come.....so I was in a bit of a rush) but then I came upon it. Portenos eat pretty late (that was one of the reasons I wanted this place as well, it was one of the only parillas open at six o'clock) and only a couple of other patrons were eating so early. It didn't look all that downscale though, definitely not an Applebee's, thats for sure. I was suddenly conscious of my dress.

Have you ever seen someone eating alone at a restaurant? They look pretty pathetic, like, "What kind of poor sap eats out alone"? Well, that was me today folks....take pity on me. Luckily, again, only a handful of people were there. The waiter answered my query of "hablas ingles?" with a "mas o menos". Not a good sign, didn't matter though, the language of food breaks down all barriers. I got the menu and ordered sausage beef, because it was the cheapest thing on the menu (hey, if you want the best, go and read Rick Steves or Travel and Leisure, I am on a budget here). The waiter grinned and said "excellent choice". It was on.

The wait for the meal felt long. Sitting there by myself it what felt like an upscale restaurant felt increasingly uncomfortable. The other guests were sipping red wine. I had my 2 peso bottle of water with me. Finally, my meal came.

The waiter set down my steak and fries and wished me "bon appetit". Holy shit. Bon appetit, this place is serious. I am used to "Hi, my name is Scott, welcome to Chili's". Here I am dressed like side-show Bob in a place where the waiters say bon apetit. I needed to eat quickly.

I stared down at the plate. There it was. Argentinian beef. No 'roids, no corn, just awesome. It looked good. I cut off a piece......

Not bad. It wasn't life changing or anything, but was pretty good. It was definitely better than anything you would get in like an Outback or something, but it also didn't blow my mind. If anyone was confused by the name "sausage steak" so was I, it was just like a regular steak, which I was content with.

I finished up, and by now the embarrassment of eating alone in a restaurant was reaching levels threating to human life. The waiter passed, I nodded my head, I was bailing out, and the bill was my parachute. Check please.

It was ok priced, a little more than I wanted to pay, but about what one pays in the US for a single meal, but probably higher quality here. That was it, I had done it, check that box off, Argentinian beef had been consumed.

Come back for more action tomorrow folks, weather permitting.

BA: Recoleta-This is South America, right?

BA. Day Three. Recoleta. Recolata is the barrio bordering Congresso and Tribunales (CT from now on, I am getting tired of writing that out) to the north. Recoleta is one of the more ritzier parts of the city (the southern part, which I have explored the past two days, is the older, more historic part, while the north is the more modern, upscale barrios) and it definitely shows. You could be forgiven for foregetting that you were still in South America, as Recoleta looks very much like European cities such as Paris or Vienna (this is BA, 'case y'all forgot!). Despite not being as architecturally interesting as the south and lacking some of the history, there are still some cool things to see/do in this area.

The Cemetario de Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetary you knobs). The guidebook billed this as the not-to-miss thing to do in Recoleta, so I set off for there first (the street I am staying on, Junin, leads right down to it, a bit of a walk though). The guidebook was right (still waiting on that advertisment money), the cemetary is most definitely worth seeing (side note: my brother Luke is always getting on my parents' case for finding the Forest Lawn cemetary in Buffalo, NY a cool place, and it is. Well, here is some more proof that cemetaries can be interesting places to visit. Luke, watch this space). The cemetary in Recoleta is known for being the burial place of some of Argentina's most important historical figures, politicians, musicians, actors, etc, including one Eva Peron, maybe you have heard of her (known for her uncanny likeness to Madonna). None of the graves in the cemetary are your run-of-the-mill, bury-me-in-the ground type graves, but instead all our masoleums (Again, mainly famous persons, no paupers in these grounds). The row-upon-row of masoluems, some of which have spectacular designs and others as big as small churches, give the feeling that one is walking along in a small neighborhood.....except all the residents are dead. Very very neat. I walked around a bit myself, but today must have been my lucky today, because Tuesday is one of the days for free English guided tours. I gathered with the rest of the camera toting-, baseball cap wearing- sweating like pimps in a church (it was scorcher today)-tourists at the front of the cemetary. I kind of half paid attention to the guide, it was hard to hear her with every one around, but got some info I wouldn't have otherwise gotten. I mainly used the tour to get to the Eva Peron tomb, which probably to your surprise is a very simple one tucked in a narrow row, making it hard to find.

After spending a couple of hours in the cemetary I stepped out, grabbed a delicious sausage sandwhich from some dudes outside and set off to stroll around the area. There are also alot of green spaces in Recoleta, bring your dog out for a walk seems like a popular thing to do here. Again, cafes, expensive looking stores and restaurants abound in this barrio. I eventually made my way to a place called El Ateneo Grand Splendid. That sounds like a pretty imposing name, but it is fitting. Lonely Planet calls it possibly one of the greatest bookstores in the world, and I won't be one to argue (what, no love for Barnes and Noble in Whitesboro?!). This bookstore was built in an old opera theater. Very cool. The balconies are lined with bookshelves, the private boxes now serve as reading areas, and a cafe was built on what used to be the stage. Now, if all the books were in English......

I took an hour or so rest, I think the beating sun did a number on me, then set back out to explore the area a little more. I made my way to the Biblioteca National (I will let you guess what that means), which now looks pretty beat but has an interesting design. I didn't go in, I found the design to be interesting enough. This was also the spot where Eva and General Peron used to live, but after they both died anti-Peronists (jeolous of her Madonna-like looks) knocked the home down and used the space to build the library. There is know a statue of her out front now though.

There is a large park next to the library, Plaza Mitre, where people were sitting and letting their dogs run about. I sat down to take a sip of water, and noticed a large group of "urban ninjas" plying their trade by a staircase. They looked a bit younger then me, but some of the back flips and jumps they were performing were pretty damn impressive, I wouldn't attempt any of them for fear of breaking my neck. I gave the "speed photo" option on my camera a try and photographed these hombres somersaulting off of the staircase and doing backflips over paths.

I ambled back towards my hotel through Recoleta, again feeling quite impressed at the modernity and upscale nature of the barrio. As dusk approached, the hordes began to get out of work at the streets became packed. It was neat to feel part of the BA rat-race, or at least the reverse rat race.

Need to grab a little something to eat and then call it a night. There will be more BA manana.

BA: Color me Caminito

In from the second day of the BA journey. It has been suggested to me that I upload photos of the areas I am describing, as it were, I am still forced to use the hotel lobby computer, so that won't be happening, at least not yet.

A packed day. I started off taking the subte (subway, remember?) back to the Plaza de Mayo, first to get a decent map from the tourist office located there, then to take a closer look at the area. Now, the subway in in the summer, early on a weekday, is not a great place to be. It was like a sardine-can in there (I swear I think it was more packed then the subways in Beijing, and those at least had air-conditioning) and I really didn't enjoy having the sweaty fat dude next to be pressing me against the door. That combined with the stiffling heat made for an uncomfortable ride. But hey, its makes for some blog fodder.

One of the buildings I passed by yesterday at the Plaza de Mayo is the Casa Rosada. I thought it was a muesuem of some sort, but closer reading revealed it to be the Argentinian Presidential Palace. Whoops. I did it some justice by taking some more photos, including of the balcony Eva Peron gave speeches from. Afterwards I walked back down La Defensa, which was now void of trinket-selling booths and tourists and was now open to vehicles. Apparently Sunday is the day for the sellers and the road is closed to traffic. Regardless, I kept on down this street, which takes one into San Telmo, supposedly the oldest neighborhood in the city. The guidebook (Lonely Planet's Encounter: Buenos Aires. I mention this as part of my campaign to earn advertisment money, so far to no avail) talks it up a bit, but I wasn't all that taken in by it. Perhaps it was too early in the day, the cafes are probably more lively in the evening. The architecture didn't seem all that spectacular to me either, but the cobbled streets of the area do give it a more charming feel. La Defensa took me down to Parque Lezama, a huge park at the bottom of the neighborhood. Right near the park is a Russian Orthodox church with really neat blue-colored onion-domes.

After my brief exploration of San Telmo I was ready to enter La Boca (literally "the mouth", for those who took French in high school), the barrio bordering San Telmo to the south. La Boca is the working class barrio of BA, and is the location of Caminito (more on that in a minute), one of the most famous streets in the city. However, everywhere I have read says that this barrio is the most dangerous part of the city, and walking around anywhere outside of Caminito even during the day is advised against.

So, with this in mind I hailed a cab. Now, there are two kinds of cabs in BA: regular cabs, and "radio taxis". The drivers of regular cabs are not know for being very scrupulous, having been reported to give counterfeit notes as change and taking the long way to destinations, there have also been reports of kidnappings taking place with these cabs (yeep!). The radio taxis are more official and always use the meter. I hailed a radio taxi.

I understood when the driver asked me where I was from and what I was doing here (business or travel) when he immediately started talking in rapid Spanish, but after that I was lost. He kept on trying to tell me something, probably something interesting about the city. I told him "no entiendo" (I don't understand) but he still insisted on trying to tell me whatever he had on his mind. I just nodded my agreement. He was delighted with the two peso tip I gave him (muchas gracias mi amore. Really, they say that to dudes too). I appreciated what he had to say.

Caminito is a cool place. It is known as BA's lone outdoor, open-air musuem. Caminito is where a large number of Italian immigrants, mainly from Genoa, settled. They built their homes using corrugated tin. In order to make the homes easier on the eye, residents would acquire left-over boat-painting paint from the nearby docks. The homes were never done in one single color, thus creating a wildly-colored neighborhood. Caminito is also in the area that Tango has its origins. Now the place is teeming with tourists, restaurants with waiters hawking pamplets, and stores selling over-priced tourist crap have moved into the buildings. Despite this, it is a really cool place to see just because of the way the buildings are colored. Some craftspeople have also taken up residence there, selling their wares. A number of tango dancers also occupy the streets, appealing to tourists to take some photos for a fee. I have to say, one of the ladies had one of the best sets of legs I have ever seen (does my girlfriend read this blog?). Despite selling its soul to tourism, I found Caminito to be really neat and rife with good photo ops.

From the looks of it, the area surrounding Caminito did look pretty rough. I did want to go the La Bombenera (the chocolate box) home to the local football (soccer) team, Boca Juniors, but had to settle from just seeing part of it from the safety of the tourist area.

The guidebook recommended taking Bus 29 from Caminito, so I did, and the bus does drive past many of the main sites in the San Telmo and Congresso and Tribunales barrios.

After a brief rest I set out once again, this time for Puerto Madero, the port area near the Rio Plata. I first bought my ticket to go to Colonia, Uruguay (a UNESCO World Heritage site!) on Saturday by boat (be sure to come here for the after-action report!). I took some time strolling around the Port, which is becoming a very very nice place. There are a number of construction projects taking place there, all in an effort to turn the area into a Canary Wharf-like place. Some nice restaurants and hotels already line the water. The highlight for we was the Puente de la Mujer (the Woman's Bridge) a futuristic-looking bridge designed by the Chilean architect Santiago Calatrava, whom my fellow architect enthusiasts have probably heard of. The bridge is supposed to depict a tango-dancing couple.

The day was winding to an end, I decided to end it off walking along Florida Street, an oppsolutely jam-packed pedestrian walkway with shops, street music and hawkers. I have just gotten back after taking the subte from there.

I know this makes for a long read, I try to avoid it, but I have been packing a lot in here in BA. The only thing today lacked was ladies throwing random liquids and me and then trying to tell me I have a problem.

Back with more manana. Cheers, from your humble correspondent.

Buenos Aires-Day one in BA

Hello readers, I am happy to report that your humble correspondent has arrived in "The Paris of South America" and has already put in a pretty good first day.

For starters, the internet in my hotel room won't work for some reason, so I am stuck using the hotel lobby computer, which has a confusing keyboard layout. Regardless, I got to my hotel from the airport with relative ease, utilizing the services of the Manuel Tienda Leon shuttle services. It was pretty cheap, the service was quick and reliable. If I find myself back in BA, I will for sure use the same service again.

I took some time to get settled in, including getting some groceries at a nearby market, but I care to let time fall by the wayside and I was out the door to do some exploring at around two in the afternoon.

Being a Sunday, things seemed pretty quiet, not many people or cars were on the street, at least in the general vicinity of my hotel. I am situated in the Congresso and Tribunales district, so decided to dedicate my first day to this area. The National Congress is just a stone's throw from my hotel, so I set off in that direction first. After checking out the impressive Congressional building, I took a quick stroll through the Plaza de Congresso, appropriately named, being located right in front of the Congress. The Plaza contains one of the casts of Rodin's "The Thinker". From there I ambled onto Avenida de 9 Julio, which is probably the largest boulevard I have ever seen in my life. It is seven lanes in lenght. On the boulevard stands the city's huge Obelisk, built to commemorate the founding of the city. Following that I went on to see one BA's most famous landmarks, the Teatro Colon. It is an old opera theater that is supposed to have an impressive design. I wasn't all that impressed though, I invite you to Google it and tell me what you think, but I didn{t find the outside to be all that special (I didn't go in, didn't look like you could).

I was walking in a loop that would encompass the main sights of Congresso and Tribunales, and the numbers of pedestrians and vehicle traffic wer beginning to pick up. I also saw the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral, the main Catholic church in BA and the Plaza de Mayo, a big plaza located in front of the Cathedral. From there I came across a street known as La Defensa. La Defensa serves as a huge outdoor market, with booths lining the whole street with items ranging from fly market stuff to actual souvenirs for tourists. Along La Defensa I bought a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from some dude who makes it right in front of you. Best purchase of the trip so far. Definilty worth 7 pesos (less than two bucks). I had something interesting happen to me near La Defensa though:

I stepped off the street, which was just packed with tourists, to a side street to consult my guidebook. As I was looking down I felt something wet hit my neck, I already knew what was up, but I turned around to see a women behind me acting like bird shit or something hit me from the building. I wasn't having any of it, and immediately walked away. Another women behind me called "senor" a few times, no doubt to tell me I had something on my neck. Well, I had done my research and I knew this to be a scam. Someone sprays something on you, I had read mustard or mayonaisse, but they used sunscreen on me, then a couple people offer to help you clean up the mess, distracting you so someone can surreptiously rob you blind. I just ignored the lady and she gave up pretty quick and I walked on. I turned around after a few feet to see the two ladies looking at eachoter in a frustrated manner. I had to smile at that.  A market owner was kind enough to give me paper towels to wipe the stuff off my neck. It did get on my bookbag though, and now there are white spots all over it. Its okay, gives it a rugged look, like I am a painter or something.  Ironically, it was really hot today, and the sunblock would have been of use. They must be pretty stupid criminals to try and pretend it is bird shit, as I could smell right away it was a lotion of some kind. This is actually the second time someone has tried to scam me but I wasn't fooled because I did my research prior to my arrival. The first time was in Istanbul. I guess that makes it Adam 2, rip-off artists 0. This was a bit of a sweeter victory, I got them to waste some of their damn sunscreen.

That pretty much rounded out the excitment for the day, I have to say I BA looks to be a huge city. I walked around for 4+ hours and only covered a small part of the city. I will probably be utilizing the subway (or subte, as they call it here) more often. There is a very European feel to this city though, both in its architecture and layout. Of what I have seen, some of the architecture is very impressive. Definitely a cosmopolitan place. Interestingly, BA residents, or Portenos (meaning Port People, this is a city by a major waterway, afterall) say Ciao, and Grazie, instead of their Spanish equivalents, no doubt an influence of the early Italian immigrants.

More tomorrow, cheers folks.

Movie Review: The Lincoln Lawyer: Jury is in on this one

For my last night in West Lafayette, Jiayi and I decided to take in a movie. I am a big fan of the author Michael Connelly, and his book "The Lincoln Lawyer" is one of my favorites, so we went with Matthew Mcconaughey's new flick based on that novel.

Tough one to review here. I sort of liked it, but not really all that much. I think the fact that I had read the book beforehand really ruined much of it, it became so predictable for me that there was absolutely no intrigue or guesswork or anything of interest whatsoever. The acting? Well, this one isn't "The King's Speech" I can say that much. Marissa Tomei, Ryan Phillipe, and William H. Macy rounded out the big names in the cast, but I don't think they were given very good lines, and Ryan Phillipe has no business being in a movie. I definitely like Mcconaughey much more in his "concerned lawyer" role than his "pathetic loser boyfriend" role.

What did I like about it? There were a couple of decent lines/moments in the film, and it has been a couple of years since I have read the book, so some of it I didn't remember, though I still knew the bulk of the story. This was also an instance where the trailer made the movie look so much better than the whole thing. I am sure this is a common occurrence, but it especially true in this case. 

Jiayi didn't care for it, she said it was a totally unrealistic story. That may be, but the book is still pretty damn good. She is a tough critic though.

If you have not read the book, well, you should, but you may find this movie a bit more interesting/suspenseful. Knowing almost the entire story line pretty much just ruined it for me. This isn't the first time I have seen a movie after reading the book, but for some reason it really took the spice out of the movie this time.

Verdict: Read the book. Don't bother spending the money on a theater ticket, make "The Lincoln Lawyer" a rent or a download (you didn't hear the "download" part here) Grade: C

If you liked this movie you might also like: For "concerned lawyer" Matthew, look no further than "A Time to Kill"! If you like "loser boyfriend" Matthew, just kill yourself.  

Also: We are waiting for my shuttle back to Indianapolis Airport. From there I begin my journey to Buenos Aires. I will report later from south of the border. Cheers.

Bahrain: Closing Rank

And then there were two: Libya and Bahrain. Tunisia and Egypt kick-started the Middle East revolution frenzy, and with success. Now Libya and Bahrain are at the forefront, but definitely in much more violent fashion. Success for any change is looking increasingly unlikely in both of this countries.

My last post relating to current events (no, not the "The Next Three Days") attempted to discuss the situation in Libya, where Qadaffi's forces are making in-roads against opposition forces (for those of you who maybe live in caves, or listen to Glenn Beck, that is not what we want) and I argued that a NATO-imposed (not just the US) no-fly zone should be put in place to aid the rebels. If we move across the Middle East the the Persian Gulf, we come to the tiny island nation of Bahrain, also experiencing high profile anti-government demonstrations. In Bahrain, the protesters seek reform of the current monarchical government. The King of Bahrain, who we will refer to as Hamad, as his name is just too damn long, showed what he thought of these calls for reform: He called on Saudi Arabia and the UAE to send troops into his country to help put down protests. That's right, he had to have his neighbors, both absolute monarchies as well, come and attack his own countrymen. I could make a corny joke here about good neighbors and State Farm Insurance, but this is bullshit. Dictatorial governments sending troops to help prop up other dictatorial governments is not what we want to be seeing, least not in the Middle East.

My understanding is that the reason Saudi Arabia, despite potentially facing unrest within its own borders (The Saud family will probably just throw money at the problem) was so willing to come to King Hamad's aid is because Bahrain is a Shi'ite majority nation, and apparently Shi'ites make up the bulk of the opposition. Shi'ites in actuality are in the minority in the Muslim world, and Saudi Arabia, the custodian of Islam's holiest places, is predominantly Sunni. Guess who is also majority Shi'ite though? If you guessed Iran, then you would be right. Word is that the Saudi's and the other Gulf states are worried that the protesters in Bahrain are acting as puppets for the long-bearded, creepy old men, and I guess the short-bearded mental patient (Ahmadinejad), in Tehran. This seems rather odd, according to Reuters the protesters are calling for equal rights and a constitutional monarchy. Those don't sound like the things that Iran would be craving. My suspicion is that the governments in the Arabian peninsula would hate to see the domino affect that North Africa saw. Tunisia begot Egypt and Egypt begot Libya. What would a successful revolution in Bahrain beget? I'm sure the Sheiks and Emirates would rather not wait and find out, so were more than happy to help Bahrain's King put down is own people.

I said in the last post what a shame it would be for things to turn back around in Libya, and the same is true for Bahrain, though it hasn't quite reached the scale of violence of Libya. The Middle East, and by default a large portion of the World's oil supply, has been under the control of dictators for far too long. Perhaps the developments in Bahrain are signs that the monarchs and dictators are getting nervous, and are beginning to close rank. We will have to wait and see what happens.

Quickly, I have been to Japan and must say it ranks as one of my favorites places (out of my not-inconsiderable experience-shout out to whoever guesses what movie that line is from), it is a beautiful country with friendly, good-willed, and hard-working people. Here is hoping to a quick recovery for the island nation. We here at the Four Corners are pulling for you, Japan. 

Movie Review-The Next Three Days: Tell the kids mommy's not comin' home tonight!

This one flew under the radar. I don't know what the deal is, but there is quite a bit of star power in "The Next Three Days": Russell Crowe in the lead, Elizabeth Banks (take her or leave her for me, but she is still a name), Brian Dennehy looking pissed off as usual, and even Liam Neeson makes a brief cameo. It was directed by Paul Haggis, he of "Crash" and "In the Valley of Elah" fame, and has been screen-writer for blockbusters such as "Million-Dollar Baby" and "Casino Royale". Impressive resume. So that makes for a pretty solid line-up for this film, but it still must have been a limited release.

I have had a pretty good run so far with limited-release films (usually foreign), "The Class" or "Entre les murs" if you will, comes to mind. Well, "The Next Three Days" didn't disappoint. It is an interesting story and, at least I think, a pretty unique take. Russell Crowe's wife is thrown in prison for murder, and then he turns into something of a man-possessed to get her out. The story made for a captivating film and had a number of "thriller" moments. Watching Crowe go about his mission and the clever methods he uses kept both my and Jiayi's interest.

It wasn't without some weak points though. I found the acting to be nothing special, but maybe there wasn't room for it in this film. It did have a couple of lines of dialogue that made me wince, but thankfully not to many. I have never been a fan of big stars making cameo roles (George Clooney in "The Thin Red Line" was just retarded), and it didn't end here with Neeson. His character was pretty worthless, and the lines he was given were, in my mind, just bad. Some problems with realism in this one too. Crowe plays a community college professor with a bit of a paunch, but he ends of doing some stuff that Jason Bourne would be proud of. I mean, come on, at least make him a former Special Forces assassin or something. Oh, and Elizabeth Banks is not a good actress. There, I said it.

The problems that this movie don't detract from it too much. A less picky person will probably find this really enjoyable. Even with its faults, I still really enjoyed it, it fills the role of thriller quite well.

Verdict: See it for a nice Friday/Saturday night movie. Grade: B

If you liked this movie you might also like: "Next Three Days" is not really a prison film, but you should still see "The Shawshank Redemption" anyway. Lets stick with Russell Crowe here and say "State of Play", another solid thriller. Paul Haggis has been involved with some good films, check him out on IMDB.

Hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort?

I imagine that is what a large number of Libyan rebels/opposition are saying to the international community. Based on the news reports, and Anderson Cooper's furrowed brow, things aren't going so swimmingly for those standing up to Mad-Dog Qadaffi's government forces. True, there are military defectors among their ranks, but the rebel forces are vastly out-gunned and inexperienced. Its becoming increasingly apparent that their small-arms aren't any match for the armor and air-power that Qadaffi's troops have at their disposal. An English reporter from Sky News who made her way into the city of Zawiya, a battleground between the opposing forces, despite a ban on journalists, painted a pretty bleak picture on CNN yesterday. Predominantly unarmed civilians were being fired upon by government forces, and those that had weapons weren't necessarily crack troops. She said one young man was being given directions on how to fire an RPG right on the spot before taking on oncoming armor.

Now, I understand there are reasons for not wanting to get involved in the battle for Libya, particularly for the United States, we are fighting two other wars as it is. But I don't think those on the ground are looking for a full-fledged military intervention by the US or NATO or anyone else. Indeed, I believe they want this to be solely their fight. But how about some air-power, you know, a nice no-fly zone? I am no expert on what a no-fly zone requires or costs, but I think it is the least the international community. The opposition forces fighting on the ground are obviously going to be no match for Qadaffi's air force, and again, from the sound of things, his troops are beginning to make in-roads because of their superiority in weaponry. The implementation of a no fly-zone could nullify this threat, and in doing so but Qadaffi on his back foot. I think it would also send a message that everyone is firmly behind those opposed to Qadaffi. It was just reported that France has already given official recognition to the opposition council, so why not take it a step further and at least add them in their fight and perhaps finally bring the bloodshed to a (fitful) end. More importantly, lives are on the line here, if civilian and yes, rebel lives can be saved by eliminating the Libyan government's air threat, than it is well worth any risk.

Recent months have been huge for the people of the Middle East. The over-turning of rule-till-I-die strongman has been a long time coming. Unfortunately for Libya, it has been the most violent of any of the recent revolutions, and they are up against the most stubborn and in all likelihood mentally unstable of them all. Qadaffi has been running on borrowed time for too long, and what a catastrophe it would be is he somehow manages to stay put. The lives of average Libyans will become even more miserable, as he would certainly become as paranoid as ever. I think we in the countries that are capable, in the US, Europe and NATO nations, should be willing to step in and ensure the Libyans that have already died in their struggle will have done it for successful cause. Establishing a no-fly zone over Libya could well set them on their way.  

Clear you schedules people, its going to be a cracker.

If tomorrow at 2:45 (14:45) you have nothing particular to do, your humble correspondent recommends you tune into the small matter of Arsenal vs. Barcelona. These two teams are known for playing (according to most) the best, most attractive football (soccer) on the European continent. On top of that, Barcelona are considered by many to be the best team on the planet. Their records and numbers really speak for themselves. This is a two-legged affair, however, and the first game being played at Arsenal's Emirate's Stadium (our team is sponsored by Fly Emirates, the national airline of Dubai. I hear they are great to fly with. I will have to try them out. Unfortunately I don't think they are part of my preferred airline alliance, Star Alliance) Wow, was it a heart-stopper. Arsenal went down early 1-0, but roared back in the final stages of the game to win 2-1, the second goal coming after some breath-taking football on our part, and a great finish by our little Russian forward, Andrey Arshavin.

So tomorrow's match will be played at the Nou Camp, Barcelona's home turf. Most are assuming that Barcelona will turn over that 2-1 deficit and move forward in the competition. It has to be said, their form at home is really pretty admirable, they rarely lose or draw there. Also, if you remember from my retelling of my Spain trip, I have visited the Nou Camp, and I can see how it would be intimidating for any visiting side. It is a cavernous stadium, and I think it holds something like 80,000 people. Imagine having somewhere near that number screaming in support of the team you are playing against.

The circumstances look pretty daunting, but I will be pulling, as usual, for the Gunners. Anyway, if tomorrow's match is anything like the first, it will make for some fantastic viewing, well, for the neutral. For anyone supporting either side, I recommend controlled breathing.

In other news, I am getting geared up for my eight-day trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. While there, I may also do a day trip to Montevideo, Uruguay, which is just on the other side of the Rio Plata. Apparently ferries run between the two cities. Anyway, for content related to that adventure, watch this space beginning on the nineteenth.

Before South America I ship off for West Lafayette, Indiana on Friday. What's there, you ask? My girlfriend, otherwise,  I wouldn't bother. I do have to say though, some really good restaurants near the Purdue campus.......

Gbagbo-The New Mugabe?

The Ivory Coast is in a state of crisis. Lately, the story of this former French possession and once the wealthiest and most industrialized nation in West Africa seems to be slipping under the radar. Understandably, this is more than likely due to the current situation in northern Africa, Libya in particular.After all, Qadaffi is much more recognizable name than Gbagbo. Laurent Gbagbo is the man behind the turmoil in the nation once considered the jewel of West Africa, an area of the world that has far too often been characterized by violence and depravity.

Back in October, the Ivory Coast held presidential elections, with Gbagbo the incumbent, running against Alassane Ouattara, a techocrat who, along with serving as Prime Minister back in the 90s, also once worked for the IMF. Ouattara won the election. His victory was internationally recognized by pretty much anyone you could think of, the United Nations, the African Union, ECOWAS, the European Union and the United States. All declared that Ouattara had been the victor in a free and fair election. Well, Mr. Gbagbo didn't seem to think so, and has since refused to step down. 

Now the country appears to come to a stand-off. Gbagbo currently controls the security apparatus of the country, possibly the one thing that is allowing him to remain in place. Indeed, Ouattara remains is essentially under house-arrest in a hotel in Abidjan, the country's largest city and economic center. However, Gbago government faces international sanctions, something that, in the long run, may prevent him from being able to pay his armed forces and security personnel. 

In the meantime, however, the country, and most importantly Abidjan, are suffering. This International Herald Tribune article gives a good look into the effect Gbagbo's actions are having: 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/world/africa/02ivorycoast.html?ref=africa

The heading for this blog post comes from something in the article that caught my eye. The article states that Gbagbo is demonizing the whites that live in his country, causing many to leave. This is far too similar to what has happened in Zimbabwe. There, strongman and I-am-here-until-I-die president Robert Mugabe pulled the same trick, blaming the country's whites for the nation's ills, and launched a campaign to take land owned by white farmers. Consequently, large numbers of whites left the country, and the country's economy went with them. White-owned farms were responsible for much of the country's agricultural output and were a source of employment. Zimbabwe was once known as the bread basket of southern-Africa, now it is just a basket case. It is sad to see the same thing taking place it what was once a bright-spot in a very troubled part of the world. Factories in Abdijan owned by whites are closing down, leading to losses of large numbers of jobs. 

I do not know if whites in Ivory Coast have as much economic power as they did in Zimbabwe, so perhaps the effect won't be as great. Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer of cocoa, something that helped it become an economic powerhouse, that is until civil war struck in 2003. If cocoa production and export is hurt by Gbagbo's antics, then things will be much much worse.


I had a lot of hope for this country leading up to the October elections. It is not often you hear good things coming from West Africa, and I was hoping the country could return to the days prior to the civil war, and Abidjan could once again be the "Paris of Africa". That seems like it will have to wait some time now.