Week 21: Project 365, the 2016 Edition (a.k.a. our last week in Argentina)

Sunday, May 29

During Sunday School this morning we sat in a circle and Victor taught while folks passed around the máte. It was cold enough that the hot tea was welcomed!

In the afternoon we took a final walk to the river (although we didn't realize at the time that it was our last walk down there). Enjoyed the sun shining on our faces, warming the day so we only needed sweatshirts. The smell of eucalyptus was strong in the air and I snapped this picture looking straight up one of the tall eucalyptus trees that line the road.

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to smell eucalyptus without thinking of that road to the river. 

Monday, May 30

Tying up all those loose ends TODAY! That included Miguel and Mari coming over so we could talk over house stuff with them. So, so grateful for this dear couple who take such good care of the property in Sta. Rosa for us!

Tuesday, May 31

This day did not go how we'd planned, to say the least. First of all, it had gotten so cold overnight that there was a thick layer of frost on the windshield! And we did not own a scraper (why we didn't think to park it in the garage I do not know). We had to let it heat up a while so the frost would melt before Ivan could go anywhere.

Then he ended up spending a good portion of the morning in town trying to get my computer back up after we'd removed all the personal information before selling it (which is a whole other story I'll share in a different post). In the end he had to leave it with a tech guy, because it was going to be a time-consuming process. Meanwhile I finished packing the final things, cleaned the house, washed bed linens and towels, and was ready to load the car by the time he got back.

Lunch was a final visit to our favorite restaurant in nearby Belgrano, where the cook also has celiac and they have a variety of GF food options on the menu.

My hands-down favorite is their meat-and-spinach-stuffed cannelloni! I guess I'm going to have to learn to make it myself now.

After lunch we headed to Venado Tuerto where we spent the night with dear friends.

Wednesday, June 1

On our way to Buenos Aires we were having a hard time finding a place to stop for lunch. There was literally nothing along the main road, so eventually we pulled off and drove into one of the small towns. We stopped to ask someone about places that might have GF foods, and they recommended a place right on the town square. The trees around the square look absolutely sculptural, don't you think?

The restaurant had a single gluten free item: pizza. It was a frozen personal size pizza they heated up (I think in a microwave considering the sogginess of the crust) and absolutely the worst pizza I've ever had in my life. Even though I was starving I couldn't even eat half of it.

Thankfully during our time in Buenos Aires I was able to find some really excellent gluten free food and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of my meals in Argentina.

Thursday, June 2

It was a drizzly, overcast day and the man we sold the car to had already handled all the paperwork on his end so Ivan did not have to spend the day dealing with that. Instead we were able to relax and walk to a nearby mall (so we could get some exercise but not have to be out in the rain all the time). With three levels, including an art exhibit on the top floor, we got plenty of walking in and had a great lunch in the food court. I found a spicy butternut squash soup that was soooo good, and hit the spot on that cool, rainy day. I also took a salad back to the hotel for dinner that evening since Ivan was going out with two buddies. I'd caught a cold the weekend before and had no desire to be out late at night, so staying in was a good choice for me.

Back at the hotel we noticed someone with a bag from El Ateneo and Ivan immediately got really excited -- visiting the grand bookstore was on both our bucket lists. He thought it might be within walking distance; it wasn't, but it was a hop, skip and a jump using the subway system. So off we went again! We only had our phone cameras, and the inside is cavernous and rather dark so we couldn't get very good pictures.

This is the best we were able to manage. But seriously, you should totally check out the photos of this incredible building on flickr.

Friday, June 3

Our final day in Argentina -- definitely mixed emotions! Sad to be leaving a place we thought we'd be calling home until we retired, died or both. Excited to be seeing family and friends in the U.S. again. Nervous about what's next...although we did have a good idea about some things, there are still a lot of unknowns.

After checking out of the hotel, we wheeled our carry-ons through the streets one last time to the subway where we took the line a few stops over and were picked up by friends. (The same ones Ivan had had dinner with the night before, and they'd loaded the big suitcases in their car then too.) We went out to lunch before heading to the airport, and I snapped this photo at the restaurant.

On the left is Marcelo, who Ivan got to know a few years ago through José Luis, the one in the center. Ivan and José Luis went to junior high together back in the day, and they reconnected after we moved back in 2008 because of their shared love of all things aviation.

The sun was shining for our last day, and I remember looking up at the cloudless sky as we came out of the restaurant, and breathing a prayer of thankfulness for the years God gave us in this country we called home for eight years.