April 2, 2025 Miami to Buenos Aires

April 2, 2025 Miami to Buenos Aires 

We got up and dressed and when we arrived at the lobby of the Sonesta at 6:05 the shuttle bus was parked in front of the hotel waiting for passengers, so we jumped on and arrived at the Miami Airport at 6:30.

Our plane to Buenos Aires departed at 9:05, so we stopped at a lovely pastry shop in the airport named Gilbert’s Bakery and I ordered an almond croissant and Suzette ordered a latte.

The almond croissant was big and stuffed with lots of baked almond paste so a very good almond croissant.

A good start for a long day.

We boarded the large Aerolineas Argentina Airbus 330 at 8:30 and it took off on time at 9:05.

The food in economy was not great. We were given a packet of three chocolate chip cookies with our first drink service at about 10:30.

It was a 10 hour flight.

At around 2:30 or about 1/2 way through the trip, we were served lunch. The hot entree was bow tie pasta with pesto and cheese.  There was also a cold spinach quiche with cherry tomatoes that was quite nice and the dessert was really good, a dense flan like Chungas garnished with a thick caramel topping. I loved it. I took a white wine and water and the wine was undrinkable. Suzette gagged down her red wine like a trooper.

We landed in Buenos Aires on time at 6:50. When we cleared Passport control and Customs we went to the taxi kiosk and took a taxi to our hotel, Vain Boutique, another old apartment house in an older part of town remodeled into a boutique hotel, except our room in this hotel was quite roomy and very quiet because located at the back of the property.

After the attendant helped us to our room and we deposited our luggage, we asked him for suggestions of where to eat and get a drink. He said, “There is one of the best bars in Argentina just down the street, called the three monkeys.”  

We exchanged $100 at the exchange rate of 1100 pesos to the dollar at the hotel, which was a little bit above the posted rate of 1073.8 today and a lot better than the taxi that charged based on 1048 pesos to the dollar.

We are feeling our way into use of the Argentinian peso.

So we walked the three blocks to the Three Monkeys. We were given a complimentary cocktail that was really delightful. Then we each ordered a vermouth, Suzette ordered a red and I ordered a white.  We actually liked my white better because the vermouths each had a pretty strong cinnamon flavor and that seemed to go better with the apple flavor of the white. 

Tres Monos

Buenos Aires, Argentina

• No.7 The World's 50 Best Bars 2024
• No.11 The World's 50 Best Bars 2023

Tres Monos is the definition of a good-time bar, but the drinks are very special indeed. The name translates as Three Monkeys, and there's a real sense of playfulness running through the whole joint, from the festooned lights and chilled-out service to the the cocktails, which are a perfectly-balanced hybrid of classic and innovative. Owners Charly Aguinsky, Sebastián Atienza, and Gus Vocke aren’t just shaking up spirits; they’re redefining them. From crafting their own sake and bourbon-style whiskey with local grains to producing vibrant wines like sauvignon blanc and pét-nat sparklers, they do it all. And in true Argentinian spirit, every ingredient they use is strictly homegrown.

We looked at the menu and decided to order Fish and Chips for 18000 pesos.

When the bowl of fish and chips arrived we were surprised that Instead of big slabs of Cod, the fish were small longish deep fried sardines and hand cut fried potatoes with Aioli sauce.  We were more than pleasantly surprised by the fried sardines which may have been slightly smoked.

So we shared an interesting light dinner with our vermouths and when the 38,000 bill came we noticed that Three Monkeys offered a 10% discount for payment in cash. I put down 40000 pesos and got change of 6000.

We went back to the hotel around 9:30.

We got ready for bed and I blogged this entry.

Another evening in an interesting neighborhood with good food. 

Bon Appetit

April 1, 2025 On the Road Again: ABQ to Miami

April 1, 2025 On the Road Again: ABQ to Miami

I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and deposited the two rent checks for 524 Romero then lay down and slept a little until the alarm sounded at 4:00. 

We got dressed and gathered up our grips and the bagels with Racalette and Lebanon Bologna on cream cheese and took a Cab to the airport at 5:15.

Our 2 hour flight to Houston left at 7:05. We ate 1/2 of our bagel sandwich on the flight. Then in Houston we changed planes to a Miami bound flight.  On both flights we were able to share the three seats on our side of the aisle.

We slept most of the way on the first flight and mostly read on the second leg. After I woke up from a short preliminary nap on the Houston to Miami flight Suzette told me she ordered a Dr. Pepper. When it was served I ate the other half of my sandwich at around 12:00.

We flew over Key West and the Everglades on our descent into Miami, which was exciting.

We arrived at 2:00 Miami time and as soon as we picked up our bags and walked to the curb the Sonesta hotel shuttle picked us up and we were delivered to the Sonesta Legacy Miami by 3:00.

After we checked in and dropped our bags in the room we called for an UBER and were driven to the Nader Museum, in a converted warehouse in the Wynwood area of Downtown Miami. The Nader is an art gallery on the first floor and  a private collection on the second floor.

We spent an hour viewing the extensive art gallery that included many important works by Botero, Mata, Wilfredo Lam, and Diego Rivera on the first floor and so chose not to pay $20 each to see the private collection on the 2nd floor.

                                                          Botero

                                                               Botero

                                                           Picasso

              

At 4:30 we walked about 1/2 Mile to a Cuban restaurant named Smugglers Cocina Cubano that was pretty highly rated between 4.1 and 4.3 and moderately priced that Suzette found on an internet search.

This walk with the three airports we walked through combined to aggregate over 6200 steps for the day. My stamina was adequate to support the four walks but when we arrived at the Smugglers Restaurant and the waiter asked, “What can I get you?”, I immediately replied, “Do you have a regular Coke.”

Suzette asked a few questions and ordered a sangria that was rather sweet, so probably out of a box.

Suzette ordered BBQ spare ribs with a sweet guava BBQ sauce and I ordered Lechon, which was a bowl filled with a pile of pulled pork sautéed in onions from a roasted sucking pig served with three fried battered plantains and five sugar coated and sautéed Plantains with a sour cream based dipping sauce. The lechon had a decidedly vinegary flavor that was enhanced by the fresh lime juice I squeezed over it from a large wedge of lime.

         On the walk to the restaurant we saw sreet art and murals everywhere

                                                        Suzette and her sangria

                                                       The BBQ Ribs

                      The Lechon with fried battered and sautéed sweetened plantains

                                                        Suzette with her ribs

We both loved our dishes and shared them with each other. When Suzette finished her sangria she ordered a Stella Artois to drink with her ribs.

The skin of the ribs was crispy and the inside was tender and juicy, just the way we like them. The lechon was a mound of tender vinegary pulled pork.

The plantains were starchy, so this was a day without a green vegetable.

Dinner was $49.00 before the tip, a remarkably inexpensive meal, given the quality. It was exactly what I had hoped we would find, an authentic moderately priced neighborhood Cuban restaurant. The ribs were $14.50 and my Lechon was $16.50

This trip we have made a commitment to eschew fancy restaurants and try to find more authentic food at moderate prices.

We called an UBER that took us back to the Sonesta at 7:30 and at 8:00 my wish came true and I was able to watch Finding Your Roots on the I Pad on the South Florida PBS channel.

Suzette went to bed at 9:00 and I stayed up to blog and shower before going to bed.

The strategy for ticketing this trip as we will use for the November trip to Japan is to fly halfway on Southwest using our companion pass to break the trip in half that avoids a long, costly flight and makes it cheaper, easier, and more fun for us. On this trip I think our flight to BA from Miami will be around 5 to 5 1/2 hours, so not too bad.

In November we hope to fly to LA or San Francisco and stay a night, Then fly to Hawaii and stay a night both flights on Southwest and then fly to Tokyo.

Bon Appetit

March 31, 2025 Lunch - Tabouli Salad with tzatziki stuffed pitas. Dinner - Egg Noodles with Chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, and shallots in a sour cream And chicken broth sauce

March 31, 2025 Lunch - Tabouli Salad with tzatziki stuffed pitas. Dinner - Egg Noodles with Chicken, mushrooms, zucchini, and shallots in a sour cream And chicken broth sauce 

I worked at my desk most of the day to get all the work done.

I ate a chocolate croissant with tea for breakfast at 8:00.

Then at 11:00 I made a tabouli salad with the last of the tabouli dressed with a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing and heated 1 1/2 pitas and stuffed one of them with the last of the tzatziki and some tabouli.

When I finished work at 5:00 I watched TCU play Texas in the final 8 Women’s NCAA tournament, the farthest TCU women have ever advanced.  Of course, Texas won but not without a fight from TCU.

Then we made dinner. I chopped three shallots, three zucchini, four portobello mushrooms, five cloves of garlic, and a small handful of fresh oregano from our garden, while Suzette diced about 1 1/2 lb. of roasted chicken and boiled German egg noodles.

She sautéed the vegetables and added the chicken and then the pasta plus a little pasta water, plus about 1 cup of sour cream and some chicken broth to make a loose sauce.

I drank the last glass of Kirkland New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Suzette drank the last glass of Columna Albariño from Rias Biaxas, Spain.

This was our last supper before we leave for our trip to Argentina. Fir five weeks.

Please follow our adventures on this blog.

Bon Appetit and Bon Voyage

March 30, 2025 Snack - Chocolate Croissant and tea. Brunch - Sautéed Salmon filets with on Sautéed Roasted Vegetables with Tartare Sauce. Dinner - Costco Roasted Chicken with salad

March 30, 2025 Snack - Chocolate Croissant and tea. Brunch - Sautéed Salmon filets with on Sautéed Roasted Vegetables with Tartare Sauce. Dinner - Costco Roasted Chicken with salad

It was a lovely day of food.

I ate a chocolate croissant and drank a cup of tea at 8:00as I watched the Sunday news shows.

An early snack boosts my energy that makes the day go much more smoothly.

Then at 11:00 we made brunch. Suzette sautéed the roasted vegetables in one skillet and two salmon filets in another one. I made tartare sauce. We drank glasses of the open Albariño that we bought at Kokoman that was obviously fermented on the lies. I added three slices of toasted baguette to get a few carbs. It was a perfect lunch, even more so because we ate under the gazebo by the pond. 

For sone inexplicable reason I took no photos of the two excellent meals today.

At 12:30 we each went to our respective desks and worked for several hours.

At 2:45 I took a 1 hour nap and then went to Costco for my 4:45 appointment at the hearing aid department where I learned how to change the small orifice that transmits the sound into the ear.

After my appointment I bought two bottles of Cotes Du Rhone, two bottles of Rioja Reserva and one bottle of Pinot Grigio and a roasted chicken.

When I arrived home we decided to eat dinner.  Suzette made a salad with lettuce, carrot and radish slices and I added about a dozen cherry tomatoes cut in half and shaved a few thin slices of red onion. We threw out the resident dressing that was moldy on the cap and Suzette made a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing.

I opened a bottle of Oyster Bay New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and tore the hind quarters off the chicken. I was amazed how juicy and tender the chicken was and its skin had been rubbed with a flavorful spice rub.

We enjoyed our simple dinner.

After dinner Suzette drank another glass of Sauvignon Blanc and I drank a sip of Calvados and a cup of tea, as we watched a Netflix movie about an Australian sheep station and winery titled A Perfect Pairing and then on Amazon Prime a Diane Keeton and Jeremy Irons Movie titled Love, Weddings, and other Disasters.

Suzette went to bed at 9:45 and I stayed up to watch Paris Murders until 11:00 with another cup of tea and a blueberry fig Newton.  At 11:00h I blogged and then went to bed.

I am amazed how we are able to make interesting elegant meals with our dwindling supply of ingredients. Tomorrow I will make a tabouli salad for lunch and we will make a pasta dish with chicken, zucchini, and mushrooms for dinner. Amazing.

Then off to Argentina Tuesday morning.

Bon Appetit