LA VISITA DE LOS PAPIS!

Tea shop, Chinatown, and view from the Evita balcony.

     Well, I walked them until their legs gave out and then I put them on the subway, and when the subway closed I put them on a bus. :]

     Mom and Dad visited for eight days and I welcomed them with a big hug, and a full packed Argentine agenda. I spent the week as the tour guide, activity planner, and translator—and what fun we had! Steak restaurants, museums, a graffiti tour, a tango show, fairs, lots of shopping, lots of tea, lots of dulce de leche--and I even threw in another country! We took a day trip across the river to Colonia, Uruguay. 

Found the jewelry street--all closed.
Because why would they be open at noon on a Saturday?

     The first day I gave Dad a map of the city and Mom a 6-liter jug of water, so they both adjusted just fine. It was so funny for me to see Buenos Aires through my parents eyes, now that I've spent nearly four months here and am completely used to everything... Mom was nervous all the time and hated all the graffiti; Dad couldn’t stop laughing at the reckless driving practices and the abounding lack of logic apparent in so many things here. I had to teach them that the answer to any question starting with "why don't they just..." is usually answered with "because that would make sense."

Sitting on the glass in the lighthouse atop Palacio Barolo--probably not up to US safety codes.  

Dulce de leche yummys at Feria de Mataderos. 

     In retrospect I should have pushed them into the language deep end and forced them to learn more while they were here; they were spoiled by me talking to everyone for them! Dad conquered "un agua sin gas" (uncarbonated water), and was happy to be able to apply in real life one of the few Spanish phrases he knows: "uno más cerveza por favor" (one more beer please).  I made the mistake of telling Mom how latinos call each other "gordo" (fat) as a term of endearment, and now she only greets me with "Hola gordita!" :[

El Ateneo bookstore. 

     I made sure to teach them all the words they might encounter on bathroom doors, "señores/señoras, caballeros/damas, hombres/mujers"(misters/misses, gentlemen/ladies, men/women), only to have the next bathroom they went to read "reyes/reinas" (kings/queens). Of course!

Clad in our snazzy new leather jackets from a shop in Recoleta!

    My parents' 27th anniversary happened while they were here, so we went out to a nice dinner in Puerto Madero. The restaurant brought them champagne and tiramisu, and we returned to the hotel to find more champagne from the hotel staff!

Ferry ride to Uruguay

     They got to share in the frustrations of city/foreign living with me, like the necessity of cash, subpar service everywhere, always needing a bathroom, lack of dataplans, and public transportation (we only got nearly-stranded in a shady area outside the city once....)

     Mom said when she gets home she's going to drive around in her car aimlessly and buy random things with her credit card, just because she can. And then go to Cracker Barrel. I was not amused.

Tour of La Casa Rosada (the Argentine equivalent of the white house.)

Mom was happy to leave the graffiti and noise of Buenos Aires for a day in quiet Colonia across the river. It was nice to be able to see the sky! :] 

Self-timer means multiple pictures. I warned them about poses but... no. Look what I have to work with!

     I was incandescently happy to be able to spend a week with my parents and show them my strange little world here. I am one lucky girl to have such great parents who will fly so far to come see me. They spoil me too much!

     I've got a good two months til school starts up at A&M, which seems like a long time until you realize that is:
  --3 weeks left in Buenos Aires (what how??)
  --2.5 weeks traveling through South America (WHOOP)
  --9 days at home, then move into my house in College Station!
Time is going to FLY! I've got a list of things to do before I leave here (like recording a music video perhaps? stay tuned) so these next few weeks will keep me busy.

Thanks for stopping by!
Love always. <3