Goodbye Charlie (Ken)

Our good friend Charlie has come and gone. His visit was like a letter from home. He is the first familiar face—the first familiar tangible thing—we have had since we got here. We enjoyed every minute of his time here. Not only that--he brought us supplies and care packages.

His first day, I walked him all around town until his feet were literally blistered. We went to the Cemetery and all aver Recoleta ending up at Shoeless Joe’s for some Quilmes (Which I am sure is now his FAVORITE beer). That night was dinner at one of our neighborhood restaurants.

The next day we headed out for more adventure around town. Helen took him to the Artesian fair at Recoleta and that night we went to Dana and Gabriel’s home for an Argentine asado. We had a lovely evening visiting with a family that lives and works in Buenos Aires. It could not have been more perfect—not just for Charlie, but for Helen and me too.

Sunday, I took him to San Telmo for the street fair and made him walk back to Recoleta on his blistered feet—it was then he asked for band-aids and I found out his feet were really blistered.

Monday, we went to the horse races at Hipodromo de Palermo and another dinner out.

Tuesday, I took him guitar shopping at Talcahuano y Saramento. Then around town for a thrilling colectivo ride home. That night, we ate some regional food at La Querencia—Helen and I like to call it “Argentine comfort food.” It is the kind of stuff that you’d want to eat if you were feeling overworked and under appreciated. It would remind you of your mom and your grandmother, and everything would seem OK again.

Wednesday, he went back to the guitar store and bought his Argentine guitar. We made it back just in time for his remise and we had to say goodbye to our emissary from home.

I called him tonight to see if the trip went well. It did. He was in the grocery store bagging his American food and said, “I can’t tell you how great it feels to have people speaking English to me.”

Anyway, we were happy to have him; his visit was too short. It did, however, let us know how far we have come. And, it gave us a chance to show off—if just a little.


What did I miss Charlie? Fill us in.