Even though the song below came out two years ago, the sound of it actually brings up memories of the year 2002, walking on the beach in the town of Senigallia (on the Adriatic coast in the Marche region of Italy), holding hands with a summer sweetheart I had met at a party with friends in Bologna a week earlier.  We had spent the evening chatting away from the people at the party, and before it was over he gave me his number and a kiss.  I saw him once more in Bologna before continuing with my travels.

I went to Slovenia to experience a new place, but he had invited me down to his family’s beach apartment and we had chemistry that I’d never experienced before, so… after some days exploring, eating and swimming in the charming seaside town of Piran, I took the bus over the Italian border into Trieste, and the train all the way down to Ancona, where he picked me up and drove me to Senigallia.  A bit wild, I know, but when it comes to matters of the heart, sometimes you just have to do it.

We spent several days eating seafood in restaurants, cooking at home, staying up late playing cards and drinking wine or grappa, and early in the evenings I let him lead me through the narrow streets of the town’s historic center, where we indulged in gelato and listened to live music in one of the piazzas.  There were thunderstorms in the night sometimes, and he would hold me and soothe me when I woke up in fright.  I spoke very little Italian at the time, and he spoke only some English, but somehow we managed to have long conversations.  When it was time for me to go back to Switzerland, where I was living, he drove me all the way to Bologna so I could catch my train.

We never saw each other again.  But it was perfect that way.  Life went on.  I have always looked back on that summer fondly – I was 24 and it was my first year living abroad.  It was the year I cut my hair short and rode on the back of a friend’s Vespa through Zurich at 4:00 in the morning.  I was independent and adventurous.  Seven years later, I guess I still am.

This is the song I heard today that brought it all back (even though it was released in ‘07).  Lovely accordion parts, don’t you think?  It has a breezy, beachy sound to it, at least for me.  I heard it today for the first time.

~

Below you’ll find couple of songs that were playing a lot on the radio and Italian MTV that adventurous summer in 2002.

Notice the accordion sounds all of these songs have in common?

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Une Histoire D’Amour – Gabin. <–Click on the title to hear the song. It’s beautiful and worth it.  Really!

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Tu es Foutu – InGrid. (video below) – InGrid is an Italian singer, but this is sung in French.

Both of these songs make me feel like I’m on the Adriatic sea, enjoying my freedom.

Oh my, what a flavorful week it’s been!

My dear sweet love gifted me with rose jam…

…my aunt sent tango friends down with olive oil, green and peppery, purchased in Seattle but harvested and pressed in Tuscany…

…and there was chocolate, from Seattle and Italy…

…I had an overabundance of rucola in my kitchen from the verduleria downstairs…

…so I made rucola pesto.  I omitted the nuts of course, as they are very expensive here, but it was a delight.  A true delight.  (And simple, really.)

Happy Love Thursday everyone!

I’m not always good at showing/telling my friends how important they are to me.  But I love them deeply and unconditionally and I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like if they hadn’t entered into it.   How else would I have gotten through school, divorce (yes, divorce about 7 years ago), major life decisions, happy milestones, love, Italy, Argentina, life.

I only hope that I have given them what they have given me.

If I have not done so, or if I’ve ever screwed up, then I ask each of them for forgiveness right now, and I shall strive to do better.  I promise.

Here’s James Taylor singing a nice little tune about friendship.  I really like his voice.

I realize that I haven’t really written much about my life lately.  The most I’ve written has been about food or voting, and that’s about it.

I suppose it’s because the longer I’m here, the more ordinary my life feels and I don’t have so many interesting things to say.

I don’t write much about Tango really, as I am not a tango tourist anymore and I am only dancing once or twice a week (and no more than that, because, as the title of this entry says, life is happening – I have other things to do and not a whole lot of money to throw away on milonga entries or taxi rides home).

I don’t have anything to say about how amazed I am about cultural differences here because I guess I’m just not that kind of expat, and I don’t find the culture that shocking at all (I’ve lived in Italy and find a lot of similarities).

But I realize that those of you at home who are wondering about me might want to be updated.  Also, I’m sure my life must seem interesting to someone out there – I’m getting enough blog hits to let me know that.  So I’ll write.

Apartment. I am finally fed up with living in Once (a district in the barrio of Balvanera), the transvestite prostitutes on my street, the drunks on the corner keeping the neighborhood awake at night, the ugliness, the sad feeling in the air, etc., and I am moving to another neighborhood in November, at the beginning of the month.  It’s in the barrio of Paternal.  A nice apartment on a quiet street, with only one roommate.  A little farther from the centro, but still convenient in terms of public transportation and it’s a tourist-free neighborhood, as far as I know.  I look forward to it.  I have to say that the more I am in Once the more things I find to like about it, but in the end, I’d like to feel a little more comfortable in general.  And so, I am moving.  I will keep some very valuable memories of this house and the people in it, and I’m sure we’ll still get together.

Dancing. I’ve had some revelations about my dancing lately, and I am happy about it.  My dancing has really evolved since I’ve been here.  I stopped stressing myself out with lessons back in March or April as you know, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been learning and growing.  And working closely with Pedro, my milonguero friend, assisting him and interpreting for lessons, has done wonders for me as a dancer.  That, plus dancing with who I feel are the best dancers when I do go out.  Along with Pedro, there are one or two other very wise dancers who shall remain unnamed, who I allow to give me input once in a great while.  I am so grateful for it.  I feel like my embrace has improved, along with my sense of balance, my walking and most of all my enjoyment of the dance.  The best compliment I received from a friend who I regularly dance with was the other day: he commented that he really likes the way I soak up pauses these days.  He noticed that when he pauses, I don’t just lazily, sleepily wait for him to lead the next step, instead I pause with him – like really pause, soak it up, participate, enjoy it.  That’s a big thing for me to hear from someone I respect in tango.

Love. I’ve got a boyfriend now.  In fact a month ago today we went to our first dinner together, at Plaza Asturias on Av. de Mayo.  We met through Miss Tango, as she and the Pelado used to work with him.  I was hard on him at first but now I’m relaxed and enjoying it.  He has left comments here as Ariel, which is his middle name.  He lives just outside of Capital, so I’m riding the train a bit more these days, and discovering places I would never have thought of before.  He does not dance Tango.  He gave me the necklace you see in this picture.   I’m happy.

Work. Spring is here, and I believe we are turning our clocks forward this weekend, which means I won’t be so behind my Italian clients.  Work was great last month and is a little slow this month.  I really hope it picks up, as I need the money.  My roommate’s boyfriend finally returned from his vacation and I gave him his English students back.  I am teaching English to one person I know from tango, once a week.

And that’s about it.  The change in weather has been hard on me, we had sun and beautiful blue skies (and me sneezing a lot) last week, while this week it’s just gloomy and grey and rainy.  I’ve always hated the transition into spring, as it’s always so bumpy.  Soon, however, it will be steadily warm.  And then summer will come and I will wonder what I was ever complaining about.

**In case you’re wondering what happened to What’s Cooking Wednesday, I had written a whole entry on Pappa al Pomodoro, a delicious Tuscan tomato/bread soup, and then the blog entry disappeared.  I do not want to write it again, so go HERE for the recipe.

There will never be a step, sequence, or trick in tango that will come close to matching the power of the embrace. -Ney Melo

(photo taken by Helen Ahn a couple of months ago while we were dancing in Peru 571. Altered by me on mi computadora)

This is a cafe I stumbled upon a while back while wandering through Palermo Viejo with my friend M on her last day in town. We were immediately taken by not only the details in the beautiful facade of the building and the gorgeous iron over the windows, but also the name of the place – El Ultimo Beso (The Last Kiss, L’Ultimo Bacio) – as well as the cute display in the window. This was a place we had to try. Upon entering, we found the place had a romantic, chic energy and a brightly lit tea room that was separate from the actual restaurant area. We sat ourselves by a window decorated with little hanging cards, each of them containing an adorable quote on the subject of besos, kisses. The presentation of my coffee and her tea was lovely. This was a totally enjoyable experience and I would love to come back here with girlfriends to sample from their impressive list of teas.

It can be found at Nicaragua 4880. Website here.

Following in the steps of people like Michelle over at Bleeding Espresso as well as Tango Baby, I thought I’d start posting a “Love Thursday” entry every week.

Here is the first one.

How could I not choose this picture to represent love? And furthermore, how can one not love this cute baby? (That’s Isabella Azul, by the way, with me, Tìa Tina, cuddling close by…)

Photographed by Isa’s mommy, Miss Tango.

Vuelvo al Sur,
como se vuelve siempre al amor,
vuelvo a vos,
con mi deseo, con mi temor.

Llevo el Sur,
como un destino del corazon,
soy del Sur,
como los aires del bandoneon.

Sueño el Sur,
inmensa luna, cielo al reves,
busco el Sur,
el tiempo abierto, y su despues.

Quiero al Sur,
su buena gente, su dignidad,
siento el Sur,
como tu cuerpo en la intimidad.

Te quiero Sur,
Sur, te quiero.

Vuelvo al Sur,
como se vuelve siempre al amor,
vuelvo a vos,
con mi deseo, con mi temor.

Quiero al Sur,
su buena gente, su dignidad,
siento el Sur,
como tu cuerpo en la intimidad.

Vuelvo al Sur,
llevo el Sur,
te quiero Sur,
te quiero Sur…

Music: Astor Piazzolla
Words: Fernando “Pino” Solanas

Once upon a time, the Princess of Perugia flew all the way to Argentina to be with her love, the handsome Prince of Buenos Aires. They had been apart for a couple of months because they each had their respective kingdoms to tend to. The Princess had convinced her friends to take care of Perugia for her while she went away. It was difficult for her to leave all that she loved behind, but she knew it was for a good cause and she knew it wasn’t forever. She would always be a part of her kingdom, no matter where in the world she was.

In Buenos Aires they were very happy to see each other, and the Prince took her to see various parts of his kingdom. There were royal balls every night, only here they were called milongas. The Princess was fascinated by her experience in South America and they were glad to be together again.

The only thing was, the Princess felt a little strange having to depend on someone to take her everywhere. She was a Princess of independence, accustomed to doing things alone. While she was happy to be with him again, she felt that there was something missing. She found herself sitting around a few times, bored, wanting to do something, waiting for him, though he had matters to tend to in his kingdom.  This caused some stress.

The Princess reached out to her royal friends for any advice or encouragement, and they were happy to help her. She was showered with love and inspiration, and encouraged to get a map and enjoy Buenos Aires for herself. Well, alright. One day, the Prince was particularly distracted because he had to finalize some travel arrangements and such, and the Princess was feeling particularly restless because it was a sunny day and also she needed to buy a textbook (so she could speak the language of his kingdom), so she said, “My dear sweet prince, if you need to focus on this, I really don’t mind going by myself to buy the text book. It’s a nice day and I could use a walk.”

He looked at her, thought for a minute, and said, “Are you sure you’d be okay alone out there?” “Yes of course, mi amor. If you can show me where the libreria (bookstore) is on a map and lend me a cell phone, I think I’ll be fine.” He took out a map and outlined the route she would need to take. He lent her his parents’ cell phone, walked her to the door, and gave her a big hug. “You’ll be okay?” he asked again. “Yes. This is fun!”

The Princess went on her merry little way down the street and enjoyed the sunshine on her shoulders. She felt fresh, and was glad to have an hour or so to herself. Men would pass by in cars and honk at her, just like in Italy. She took in the sights and sounds and smells around her. Spanish words floated past her ears; a woman with wavy, long hair stopped at the corner next to her where they waited for the light to turn green; motorcycles revved up their engines loudly before taking off.

Finally, she found the bookstore, purchased her book, Voces del Sur (intermediate level), and made her way back towards the Prince’s castle. She passed by a Heladeria (Spanish for Gelateria), and looked inside at all the different beautiful flavors.

She contemplated waiting until she got home so she could invite her Prince for gelato, but then changed her mind; “I think I want to do something for myself today. Just for myself,” she thought. She went inside, ordered a nice big cone with lemon and raspberry sorbet, and ate the whole thing up – with a smile – while she walked the rest of the way home. The male inhabitants of Buenos Aires were rather pleasantly surprised to see a tall Princess, dressed in red, with wavy honey-blonde hair walking down the street devouring such a giant gelato. This made the Princess laugh.

When she got home, the Prince came to the door to let her in. Upon seeing the joy and satisfaction on her face, his eyes lit up with love. They walked inside together, hand in hand, and proceeded to make plans for a fun afternoon.

The Beginning.

It’s very, very different for me to be here.

In Italy, I on my own, spoke the language fluently, had my own friends, my own schedule. I was independent.

In Argentina, I don’t have any of that. It can be challenging for both me and Mi Amor. He’s from here, has has his childhood friends, family, cell phone, schedule, and of course he speaks the language. On top of that now, he has me, depending on him since I don’t know the city very well, and my Spanish is limited. I don’t have a schedule or childhood friends, and feel a little timid about just getting out there by myself. Everything I do, I do with him because the dynamic feels like I need him there in order to be able to do stuff. Which is surprising since I’ve always been a lone traveler. I’ve done Israel alone, so you think I could do Buenos Aires on my own. But it’s different, as he is a huge part of why I came here. (Tango being the other huge reason).

It’s just the way it is – he’s already been here a few months and isn’t on a tourist schedule, whereas I am, so it’s a little hard for the two of us to make our desires coincide (he wants to relax with his family and he has to arrange all kinds of things from here for his graduate schooling in Seattle while I want to see everything there is to see and take a million pictures and try on lots of tango shoes). Normally in this case I’d just go do something fun on my own and meet up with him later, but at this point in my life that’s hard. I’ve just spent the past half year adapting to life in Italy, and now all of a sudden I’m in South America. It’s hard for me to get totally motivated to get out there, because I’m trying to take in what I’ve just done.

My goal this week is to go do something by myself… the way Tina would.