Mario & Laura

Went to Mario & Laura’s tango class today. It was hardwork!

We did two hours of walking, sequences, embellishments, ochos; practice, practice and practice more!

Mario and Laura were amazing partners and dancers. Laura spoke perfect English and she was extraordinary in many ways. She was so patient (and lightning fast) when translating Spanish to English for me. GREAT job.

Someone brought dessert and mate for the class. Yum!

I would highly recommend this class. Fun. High energy. Excellent teaching.

Class Schedule:
Tuesday & Saturday
7pm – 9pm

Location:
2696 B. Matienzo Ave.
Buenos Aires

30 pesos for 2 hours. It was well worth it.

The after class hanging out at the ice cream place was icing on the cake. I had my first Dulce de Leche ice cream and it was out of this world. No wonder Argentineans consider Dulce de Leche as their national dessert. And please, don’t describe Dulce de Leche as caramel because that will offend Argentineans. 🙂

Here are some photos after class (using self-timer, five consecutive shots). We are a crazy bunch. 🙂

The Comme il Faut Experience

“No woman needs more than one pair of shoes.
But when it comes to shoes and women, the word need doesn’t make any sense.”
~ Alicia Muñiz

Alicia Muñiz: Shoe collector, designer and founder of Comme il Faut the house that changed the design concept of women’s shoes for tango and Buenos Aires nightlife.

Yes, it’s time talk about Comme il Faut and it deserves a post on its own.

Comme il Faut means “the right way”, “as must be”.

What’s Comme il Faut in the tango world? It’s basically the Jimmy Choo in tango shoes.

Would Comme il Faut make you a better dancer? OF COURSE! :p

When you dance tango, people are looking at your legs and feet. A pair of beautiful tango shoes enhances the visual aspect of a tango dance.

Tango shoes should be comfortable, has strong heels for good balance and slippery sole (usually made in leather or suede).

I looked hi and low for Comme il Faut shoes while I was in U.S., and couldn’t find a retailer that carries it. Some online stores carry a few pairs, but it’s only one size per style.

Comme il Faut (http://www.commeilfaut.com.ar) shoes are very exclusive. They never publish the photos of their shoes.

I know sometimes it might seem a bit shallow to talk about shoes and clothes, but a pair of well-made shoes is indeed a work of art.

Enough talking. Let’s go.

Oooooo… look at this. A court-yard leading to Comme il Faut store. My heart started to beat faster.

After climbing a fleet of stairs, I reached at the front door of Comme il Faut.

Comme il Faut door

I know, this looks like a regular door. But trust me, there’s a world of shoes inside.


The whole room is a fitting room. There were no shoes been displayed.

I told the assistants my shoe size, the color and the heel height that I like, and they brought a few boxes of shoes from behind the curtain.

Waiting for the assistants to bring me my shoes.

The store was closing in 10 minutes. My friend Lujan and Birgit were focused on helping me finding my dream shoes. So, no photos on me trying the shoes. And of course, they were both busy checking out the shoes …

The assistants were really helpful and they gave me good advice.

Due to time constraints (thank God), I managed to pick up ONLY two pairs.

What was the price? It’s quite reasonable (not Jimmy Choo price). In U.S., it usually costs around $200 for one pair. I got it for $150 and you’ll get 30 pesos discount if you pay by cash.

While the assistant wrapping up my shoes, my brain was hit by high dose of endorphin that I couldn’t help being a little goofy. No, tango hasn’t made me into a woman yet.

Got the shoes! We were supposed to show a bitchy aristocratic look, but Lujan totally failed the challenge.

Note: If you need company to go buy tango shoes, you can contact Lujan at info@badesigntour.com.ar. XOXOXO for all the help.

Ok. Back to the shoes.

Irresistible black and white. The color combination is quite unusual. Leather insole.

Side view. Pencil thin heels. The heels are not so high. Believe me, I am not high heel material.


The back is the showstopper. Made in leather.


After one night of happy tango abuse. I pivoted much better in these shoes and felt like a million bucks. I wore these shoes whole night and my feet felt fine.


Classic black and red. Made in suede. The design is very elegant.
Some dancers don’t like open toe design because sometimes your toes get stepped on by other dancers.



I especially like the red at the bottom of the heel.


Leather sole

Each pair of shoes comes with a shoe bag that has two open ends and the middle part is sewn shut (to avoid shoes touching each other).


Put Comme il Faut shoes in the sling bag, and I’m ready for a night of tango.

Contact Info:
Arenales 1239 door 3 apt. M
Rues des Artisans
C.P. C1061AAK
Buenos Aires

Be careful, Comme il Faut is an addiction. 🙂

Bus, subte or taxi in Buenos Aires

1) BUS
Study the map before you go. It’s fun to explore the city by bus. 🙂

Have some coins ready. Get on the bus, tell the bus driver where you want to go. Feed the coin machine and get the ticket. There’s no need to feed in exact coins. The machine will give you change. To get off, stand up and go to the door one block before your destination. You usually wouldn’t have to ring the bell (near the door), the driver would know you want to get down at the next stop.

Buenos Aires Bus - Coins / Card

Buenos Aires Bus - Coins / Card

Buenos Aires Bus - Coins

Buenos Aires Bus - Coins

A new card system has been introduced lately. You have to buy the card in advance.

Buenos Aires Bus - Card

Buenos Aires Bus - Card

When to use?
– When you wallet is getting very thin after spoiled by using taxi to go everywhere.
– When you are in no rush.

Pros:
– Cheap. 1.25 pesos can get you to most places in the city since the bus system is highly subsidized by the government.
– It’s like an alternative “city tour”
– I love their multi-level seatings
– Available 24 x 7

Cons:
– Obviously, you’ll have to walk to the bus station (every other block).
– During rush hours and peak season, bus can be PACKED.
– Pickpocket
– Traffic / take long time (so plan ahead)

Video 1: In Buenos Aires Bus

2) Subte

Buenos Aires Subte

Buenos Aires Subte

Buenos Aires Subte

Buenos Aires Subte

Pros:
– Cheap. 1.25 pesos can get you to most places in the city since the subte (pronounced as “soup-teh”) system is highly subsidized by the government.
– Faster than bus

Cons:
– Have to travel to subte station (available one every few blocks)
– Pickpocket
– No service after 11:30pm

Video 2: Buenos Aires Subte

3) Taxi
When to use?
– When your wallet is fat.
– When you have friends to share the fare.
– When it’s late at night, and you don’t feel safe to use bus or subte.
– You are in a rush.
– You just want comfort and you can afford it.

How to stop a taxi in Buenos Aires?
– Check if the the “libre” (means free) sign on the top left corner is lit in red. If it is, just put your arm up to stop the taxi.

Do taxi drives speak English?
– Based on my experience, most of them don’t speak English. Not even a little English.

Pros:
– Comfortable
– Private
– Safer than bus and subte

Cons:
– Expensive (For example, from Palermo to San Telmo, it could cost you 45 pesos, while it’s only 1.25 pesos by bus.)

Other Tips?
– I always have a pen and a notepad with me in order to communicate with the taxi drivers.
– To avoid cheating, always check the map and know where you are going before jumping in the taxi.
– Be confident.
– The friendliest taxi driver can be the one who charges you more. I got charged 20 pesos more because the taxi driver used the smaller roads instead of the main road.
– If you want to be super safe, call Radio Taxi.
– You could also rent a bike. The city center is not very bike-able. But it should be no problem in smaller, quieter neighborhoods.
– Bike lanes were introduced in Buenos Aires last year and are not available on all roads. Argentineans are still not used to the bike lanes and might walk on it. So, watch out.

Enjoy. Explore. Smile.

Buenos Aires Architecture Tour

Met up with Holly and Ana today for a free Buenos Aires Architecture Tour organized by BA Free Tour (http://www.bafreetour.com/english-buenos-aires-walking-tour-recoleta). It’s a free tour, but of course, at the end of the tour, if we are happy with the experience, we should reward the guide with some tips.

January 6th, 4pm, the sun was scorching hot! We all gathered at San Martin Square where the tour started.

Gaston (the tour guide), a porteno (Buenos Aires local) whom has lived in United States for a few years can speak perfect English. He is a proud Argentinean who is not afraid to reveal a few “insider secrets” of Argentinean snobbish side. This two-hour tour was easy, relaxing and very informational. Gaston talked about history of Retiro and Recoleta neighborhoods. He also shared his knowledge on various iconic buildings in those neighborhoods.

Strolling on Buenos Aires streets, I didn’t see many over-weighted people. Gaston mentioned that Argentineans like to look good and I was surprised that Argentina has the highest ratio of breast enlargements worldwide, even higher than Brazil and United States. Does it mean that Argentinean women exhibit high rates of preoccupation with bodily dissatisfaction?

Here are some images from the tour. Enjoy.

Silver vs Alpaca

At a San Telmo antique mall, I asked a stall owner (Sylvia) if she had any silver mate cups.

She showed me one, but it was over my budget. She then referred me to her next door neighbor, Celestino, but he only had an alpaca version. Alpaca the animal? I know, I thought the same.

I thanked them and was getting ready to leave.

Celestino and Sylvia kindly warned me about the tricks in the market. Vendors might try to sell me alpaca items and tell me they are silver.

Do I look like I can get cheated easily? I get these unexpected helpful tips all the time when I travel.

I mean, these people were helplessly helpful.

Both Sylvia and Celestino were determined to help me understand the difference between silver and alpaca.

First, Sylvia brought a huge polishing cloth from her stall and started to polish the mate cup that she had.

Mate Cup - Sylvia showing me the shiny silver cup after polishing.

At the same time, Celestino gathered a few pieces that were made from either silver or alpaca to show me the difference.

Silver vs alpaca

The pan on the left is made from silver and the mate cup on the right is made from alpaca.

Alpaca is also called nickel silver although there’s no silver in it. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. It’s less shiny than silver and it’s much cheaper.

Celestino, he is a really funny, sweet and friendly character. Would you agree with me after watching this video?

🙂

I thanked them for the eraser and the advice.

As I was starving, I asked for recommendation on restaurants. Sylvia recommended Desnivel parilla, which was just a stone throw away. Perfect!

Desnivel turned out to be a great find.

Chorizo with chimichurri sauce

Chorizos, steaks, grilled provolone sandwich, jarmon, and much more, all are very reasonably priced.

I loved how my day unfolded. One event led to another. I enjoyed the flow.

This is exactly how I like my day to be, every day. 🙂