Casa-less!

On Friday, September 18^th we received a call from a man we only know as Zohar, he is apparently totally unrelated to that Adam Sandler movie where he has the remote control that allows him to become part of a television show. Zohar is the man we have been communicating with about the house we rented in Buenos Aires for the duration of our stay. We rented a 3 BR house that has a large rooftop terrace and parilla—essential for any Buenos Aires stay. Zohar tells us that someone broke into the house we were supposed to rent and it is no longer available. Click. Send us our refund on paypal. We booked this house 6 months in advance when EVERY PLACE in the city was available! Pesadilla! Nightmare! The next 4 days we looked at hundreds of homes, from 1.5 bedroom joints to 4 bedroom masterful mansions. One that Ileana had her eye on came with its’ own cook! Fortunately we have located several different places and Jeremy is busy unnecessarily haggling down the prices.

We have decided to stay with Jose and Ana- Ileana’s parents for the first 5 days we are there and commit ourselves to some serious asado action. Ileana’s dad is one of the best asadors (steak grillers) in the region so we are in good shape, and his chimichurri which he makes by hand is pristine. He also makes a “salsa criolla” for meat that is more of a finely diced medley of vegetables- celery, garlic, carrots, red onion, red pepper, oregano and LOTS of olive oil.

The chimichurri on the other hand is mostly herb based along with garlic. Both are divine and cannot be authentically duplicated. At least not by us.

We have our appointments set up this week as follows:

Thursday September 24th- 12pm- See a house. 130pm- change a large amount of cash (we know a guy!) 230pm- sit-down with our wedding planners. 6pm- Ileana has a dress fitting.

Friday September 25^th- 11am- Meeting at the wedding location Mirador del Carme

n. 12pm- Meet the DJ. 1pm- Meet the decorator.

Other notes: Jeremy left his credit card at a Getty gas station on Route 29 and University Boulevard in Maryland.

We minimized excess baggage fees by holding one of the bags upright and not releasing its’ full weight onto the scale (cheap). And Jeremy is very much enjoying the gay guide to Buenos Aires that he bought at a Borders—to be reviewed in a later blog posting!