What a grand day!

We chucked that Hop On Hop Off Bus and walked! And boy did we walk! What I failed to say yesterday is that we have graduated from the Hop On Hop Off. Yes, indeed, these bus tours provide a quick drive-by of all the major sights in a city but it's difficult to learn very much. They provide headsets by which you listen to recorded narratives with information about important places on the route. My problem is I never know if the sight is coming up or if we just passed it. Grrrr! My head is constantly snapping back and forth between the streetscape and the map that shows and what's in front of us or behind. Done! Then, once I've figured out what we've just seen, I often have questions and want to learn more. But no, we are well down the street heading toward the next sight and no reference material is provided. I repeat, Check! I'm done!
When we feel the need to become introduced to a city quickly via a tour once again, I promise, we will hire our own guide or opt for a small city tour with a professional English-speaking guide. It's worth it. Amen.

Yes, we walked! Again, the day was incredible! Brilliant blue skies were above us. There were no clouds to be seen! The temperature was just right and humidity very low—just my kind of weather! It felt so good to be free and out walking together on our way to wonderful places. I felt like how I picture happy dogs might be on their daily walk, leash on, a snap in the step and a grin on the face. Doesn't matter where we are going just as long as we are going! Hallelujah! Stan said he thought he saw my tail wagging!

Our route followed a path very similar to our bus route yesterday but today we actually got to explore things along the way. We walked the Avenue del Libertador and passed through the Floralis Generica park. Featured in the park is a huge mechanical flower sculpture that represents hope reborn every day. This 2002 sculpture has become a major Buenos Aires icon, and it was the first of its kind in Latin America. At the first ray of sunshine each day, the huge metal petals open wide; hope is reborn, and then the petals close tight again at sunset.

We kept walking. We walked through an area popular for homes of major foreign consulates. Then we found and strolled through the elaborate Japanese Gardens, built and donated to Buenos Aires by the local Japanese community. Wow! It was completed in 1967 and is gorgeous. We had a God's moment there. While standing at a koi pool we watched a young local girl, maybe 12, toss grains of food for the fish. As sated, bored fish ignored the bits, pigeons were still hungry. They teetered on edges of rock, reaching far out over the water to grab a bite of the food the fish didn't want. I could not help myself from narrating and cheering the event. I'd say, "Pigeon, ok. It looks like you can get it. Be careful! You are going to fall in. Wait, be patient!" Then, "yaay, you got it." The girl tossed in more food. Then she looked at us and said in English, "You can buy food.” Then she stumbled with the words. She said, "I speak Spanish. My English is not good." We laughed and said "you speak English far better than we speak Spanish!" In the end, we communicated. She practiced her English and we figured out that she was saying we could buy fish food in the green house. We all were elated and left smiling. Moral of the story: all people in our heart of hearts want to break down barriers and simply communicate and commune as fellow human beings. Encounters like this simply make our day!

We walked a total of about 6 miles, visiting the Eco Parque and passing the Botanical Gardens - we had visited the gardens before and the day was growing late. We needed to eat. After a few zigs and zags, we arrived in the Palermo SoHo district - the area that as we passed by on the bus yesterday we thought might be a good place to find something wonderful to eat. But here we were, standing in Palermo and finding nothing in the way of inviting food anywhere. ----- Another God moment occurred. As we arrived at a corner we had hoped might be promising, a young woman offered to help. What a happy encounter this turned out to be! We said, "we are not lost, we are just looking for a good place to eat." Well . . . we ahhhh'd and okkkkk'd a few times with each other and referred to our map but ultimately she gave us good directions to perhaps one of the finest restaurants we've ever visited. Ever! We decided this would be our splurge meal. At Don Julio Parrilla, we had to wait outside on benches for 30 minutes or so but they served us complimentary champagne and we sampled hot empanadas. At what we learned is a very famous restaurant, we had unbelievable steak, grilled serrano peppers and an amazing heirloom tomato and onion salad. Simply and utterly delicious!

You know that Hop On Hop Off Bus I have sworn against? Well some things just work out. We caught one just before its last ride for the day that gave us a short ride back to our home. We are boarding a ship tomorrow that will over 14 days take us into the cold southern tip of South America and up north again to Santiago! I will write as I can.