Buenos Aires 4th & Last Day

My 4th day in Buenos Aires was Thursday which was our last day of training as well. I didn't get in a workout that morning as I was feeling super tired and thus decided to save up my energy for the last day of "class". The training was really great because it was surprisingly more technical that I had anticipated. Definitely a plus for my position and any challenges I will be facing in the next few months while my boss is out on maternity leave.

After training ended at 6pm, I headed out with some coworkers to go shopping. In all honestly, I didn't want to go with anyone because I really wanted to just feel "free" while I was shopping. You know how it is when you go out with people you don't know too well, you spend more time window shopping than making the other person wait for you while you try on clothes, shoes and look for things to buy. So although I walked to the La Florida street with the group, I made plans to meet at the corner of La Florida with Cordoba at 8:15pm so that I could go off on my own. I walked up and down most of La Florida street. My goal was to get some shoes since I had already found a dress the other day. I finally ended up buying some shoes in the Galerias Pacificas mall in the Perugia store. They were definitely more expensive than what I was hoping to spend, but once I saw them I was set on them and knew I'd regret not buying them. So here's to my new super cute flats:

That night we had a going away dinner for the whole group in a typical Argentine parrilla (bbq place). This meant lots of red meat and luckily I had thought ahead to ask the person coordinating everything if they could get me chicken at the very least. I haven't been eating much red meat in general the past few months and I definitely didn't have any cravings for it in Argentina. Some people might consider that a crime, but I just listen to what my body wants. I did eat 2 empanadas on my trip which did have ground beef, but no steaks were on my plate for sure. The parrilla where we went was so different and upscale in comparison with the parrillas where I have gone in Chile. Granted, we were in Puerto Madero, but still I found the restaurant to be really nice. It was called El Mirasol del Puerto.

They ended up offering me grilled chicken, salmon or ravoli. I chose the ravioli where were delicious. I didn't end up taking any pictures of my food as I had started feeling yucky earlier in the afternoon and then 2 hours of running around shopping made me feel worse. My throat was hurting and I was freezing cold (despite having a jacket on). I even asked for a tea, which normally makes me feel better, and nothing. I knew I was already sick and was totally bummed out. Especially since I had taken some vitamins with me on the trip, was drinking 1.5-2 liters of water per day and eating mostly vegetables. But I guess my body was worn down. So instead of living up my last night in Buenos Aires, I headed back to the hotel as soon as the dinner ended to pack and go to bed. I had to wake up at 5am since we had to leave at 5:30am to go to the airport. My flight was at 7:20am. Luckily we were leaving from the Newbery airport or we would have had to leave even earlier like the Brazilians who left at 4:30am.

I felt like total crap Friday morning when I woke up. My head was throbbing and I could barely swallow. I was exhausted and cold. We made it to the airport fine, did some damage at the Duty Free store and boarded the flight back home. I was supposed to go to work when I got back, but I was feeling so yucky that I went to the doctor instead. She gave me 1 day of medical license to rest up and had me get a test to make sure I didn't have the flu. There is a new outbreak of the flu going around and let me tell you, the test was not fun. They stuck a small plastic tube up my nose and into my throat which caused me to cough like crazy. Once they had their sample they took the tube out. Now I don't think this would be very comfortable on any occasion, but it definitely wasn't since my throat and nose were already hurting.

I spent the day sleeping and same for today. I am just trying to rest as much as I can so my body can recuperate. I got the test results back and no flu thankfully. It has been nice to hang out with my husband and with Dulcinea. She has been so snuggly this weekend, I love it!

I had a great time in Buenos Aires and hope to plan a trip there with Christian so that we can enjoy the city together! But for now, I am happy to be back home in my bed, getting better and receiving lots of cariño (affection) from my husband and fur-child.

Buenos Aires 3rd Day & Sucre Restaurant

The only pictures I have from yesterday are from our dinner, but trust me, you will want to see pictures of the restaurant and more so my dessert....and you will want to eat there if you ever visit Buenos Aires too!

After going to bed late on Tuesday night (and Tues. being a loooong day), I decided not to wake up and work out early but get some extra sleep. I thought I'd be even more awake during the classes but just the opposite happened--I had such a hard time staying awake in the morning. That was of course also thanks to the topic we had at 8:30am: Consolidation under FASB ASC Topic 810, which is not easy to digest at any time of day, but definitely not first thing in the morning. After some coffee (or 3 cups throughout the day which is a record for me), I finally started waking up. Our technical accounting group had a breakout session for more derivative talk in the office in Puerto Madero. Once we finished up there, I took a cab down to Calle La Florida to hit up the Galerías Pacíficas mall and go shopping. I didn't end up buying anything in that mall (it is super expensive, but lovely and worth a visit), but I did find a cute dress in a store on La Florida. I am hoping to find more shoes today if I can steal away in the afternoon again before dinner.

Last night our technical accounting group went out to eat together. Someone recommended a restaurant called Sucre. If you are ever in Buenos Aires, GO THERE! It was amazing!!!! (Map here) One of the best meals I have ever had.

I started off with a Sucre Bellini (peach flavor):

I didn't ask for an appetizer, but if I had asked for one, I would have got the seared red tuna with the jalapeño sauce. We had already eaten some bread with olive oil and so for the main dish, I asked for the grilled vegetable lasagna with pecorino cheese and a ruccula pesto. O.M.G.!.!.! So delicious. In fact, I was so hungry and it looked so amazing that I forgot to take a picture until I had eaten the majority of it! So, needeless to say I did not take a picture. But it was the perfect vegetarian dish. I haven't been eating meat much (in fact I am worried about dinner tonight because we are going to a typical Argentine parrilla--or bbq) and this dish definitely hit the spot.

For dessert I ordered the chocolate volcano with vanilla ice cream on the side. Here is what arrived:

Here is the volcano after it erupted:

And the plate was almost licked clean when I was done with it. It was amazing. I was so full from my lasagna, but I somehow managed to polish off the dessert because it was just too damn good. I would go back and just ask for that if I could! Hahahaha....

We finished dinner early (around 11pm) and while part of me wanted to go out, the responsible part of me decided to go back to the hotel and relax a bit so that I wouldn't have another sleepy morning in the training.

I am so glad I got to come on this trip. It has been so nice to finally meet a lot of people who I only knew via email in addition to meeting new people all around. We have some really cool people working in my company and I don't think I would have ever known that if I hadn't come for this training. The derivative training on Tuesday was really great too and learning about the disclosures yesterday afternoon was new and helpful. I feel a lot more confident in my technical skills and work now.

Well, today is the last day of training. I have to get in some shopping (fingers crossed) before dinner and maybe then go out. I am sad my time is coming to a close so quickly.....before I know it, it will be noon on Friday and I'll be back in Chile. I don't want to leave Buenos Aires....!

Buenos Aires 2nd Day

I started my day off yesterday at 6am with power yoga in my hotel room. I asked about the hotel gym, however it doesn't open until 7:30am and that does not give me enough time to eat breakfast and be ready for our training which starts at 8:30am. So luckily I have my new netbook and can do yoga from there.

Breakfast was your typical continental with "eggs", breads, fruits, etc. Training started out with derivatives from 8:30am to 5pm! The good news is that after having seen presentations on derivatives for the past 2 years as well as dealing with identifying them in my day-to-day, it is finally starting to click. I answered a question today and got a t-shirt from our auditors who brought prizes for those who participated. The session after lunch was a bit difficult to digest (pardon the pun), but once we had the afternoon coffee break, everything went much better.

After training ended, I ventured out to about the city with 2 Brazilians who I had just met (they are at the same training too). I didn't buy anything because we just browsed, but I hope to go shopping tonight since it is our free night. We passed by the Obelisco and Teatro Colon and then walked on La Florida street.

Last night we all went to a Tango dance show at Tango Porteño, which is right by the Obelisco on Ava. 9 de Julio. It was awesome!!!!! They gave us a ton of food (most of which I couldn't finish) and put on one helluva show. I had never seen a tango show like that before and it has made me think twice about tango. Now I need to convince my husband to take lessons with me. It is so sensual....I think it would be fun!

Empanadas Argentinas

Salmon with black risotto

Chocolate mousse with passion fruit ice cream

And now for the dancing....

Buenos Aires is such an awesome city. It has such a different air than Santiago. It reminds me of New York, only latino-ized. I love that it has tons of arts, shows, shopping (and way better fashion), and beautiful architecture. I love the styles of the buildings. It has me wondering what it'd be like to live here for a while....hmmmm......

Buenos Aires 1st Day

Yesterday I traveled to Buenos Aires for a work training that will last through Thursday and then I'll be on an early Friday morning flight back to Santiago (man I wish I had planned to stay for the weekend....plop). Here are some pictures from our first evening here:

Carletto is an Italian restaurant in Puerto Madero where we had dinner.

I had the Ravioli Giuseppe Verdi which was spinach ravioli filled with ricotta cheese in a fresh tomato sauce with garlic & basil. Sooooo good! I had natural orange juice on the side and chamomile tea after dinner instead of dessert.

Today is the first day of our technical accounting training for the Latin America & Africa region. I'm headed out to breakfast and then a full day of derivatives! Tonight we have plans to go to a Tango Show. I'll try to post more pics soon!