Chronic Negress

All right. After a hamburger with cheese and a fried egg (those Argentinians never met a protein they don’t like), some Malbec, and Torrontes, I collapsed last night and nearly missed my 11 a.m. manicure/pedicure. My feet and hands are now brilliant with red toes and pearly fingers. I left the spa long enough to linger over a discounted brunch with Mumm champagne (you could do much worse) and creme brulee, flan, shrimp, scallops, cheeses, beef medallions, pork loin, and green things known as vegetables. I had a little of everything and then struck up a conversation with the neighboring table, gave out the blog URL (feel free to do the same if you are reading this) and then went back to the spa for intense relaxation involving whirlpools, steam rooms, an eight-jet shower and my MP3 player playing first Rufus Wainwright then  Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. I returned to my room/suite/apartment and decided that I should walk around the neighborhood. So back to the Giant Trees I went. Here’s a pic:

Big tree in Buenos Aires

I went back to the hotel and decided that leaving Argentina without leather was crazy, especially at 3.5 pesos to the dollar. So I went here:

The motto is "Nuestras Cosas" "Our Things"

One roomy black purse and two pairs of shoes later I left. Here’s a tip when shopping abroad: Make sure you get your VAT refund form from the seller. At the airport when you leave the country, you can get the form (or forms if you shop more than one place) stamped by customs and get the local tax — sometimes as high as 15 percent — refunded to you. This is not a bad thing

Later I am headed to the Palermo neighborhood for steak and wine. I’ve been told to arrive around 9 p.m. by my hosts, and not Argentina 9 p..m., which means about 9:30 at  the earliest.