Dulce de Leche in my Hair

Another title could be, ?por favor, puedo tocar tu perrito? if this has
sexual overtones, please don't tell me, or do, i don't know.

Hola de Buenos Aires, home of the largest urban doggy population i have
ever seen. and i don't think i am tainted by my current obsession with a
certain 15 week old brit breed terrier. so what if we watched Best in
Show together the saturday before i left. there are dogs everywhere and
always on lead. i see doggy walkers at lunch time 10 dogs deep. it's
fascinating. i tried to find out how much this service costs here, but
no luck. you know, i guess in case i move. just kidding mom.

I arrived May 1 which is a holiday here as it is in most of the world?
not much was open but there was a craft market. i have been to craft
markets on 4 or 5 continents and they seem to sell the same stuff.
there are a few differences. for example, here there are many people
selling mate, the cups for sipping yerba (sounds like jerba) mate from
those straws. i don't like mate myself, but in Australia i should have
bought more shoe bags. it can be tough to find a useful souvenir, but
shoe bags are great for the traveler. here i bought a scarf. it's autumn
here, and boston is a 3 season scarf town, i don't care what the locals
say.

i am in a fancy pants hotel. i use Louis Vuitton as a landmark to get
home at night. Among my favorite things are the pillow menu (that's
right) and the outrageously fantastic breakfast buffet. i thought i
liked the Hampton Inn with its mini yogurts and raisin bran. this place
has Chandon on ice, mini pastries, yogurts with a selection of mix-ins,
pancakes, waffles, the good bacon, breads, cheeses, salmon...

this is my 5th continent and i am hoping to visit my 6th (Asia) this
summer. somehow i will have to get to antarctica, but i'm not sure how
just yet.

Things i am taking home that i did not arrive with:

un paraguay
un botella (pronounced boe-tay-ja here) de malbec vino
5 more pounds (mas o menos) and not in equipaje (is that right?) but
probably in empanadas an even greater appreciation for people who can
effortlessly switch languages a few argentinian pesos a toiletry gift as
part of the "Woman Travelling Alone" package at this boutique hotel. i
also get 20% off massages.

Things I have learned not to pass up when i travel to other countries:

The bacon
ice cream/all dairy products
checking the price of luxury goods. no luck yet.
opporunities to try and speak other languages, even those i did not
study in school: rendevous anyone?
if the country grows coffee, skip it. if there is no way the country
grows beans, drink up silly, it's probably good look at the mcdonald's
menu. go ahead, go inside. even if you don't eat there. that's where the
bathroom is. in BA there is volcano cake on the menu, in Frankfurt deep
fried cheesy bacon stars. i think i need to start eating these things so
i can blog about them.

when i leave for business trips i am sad to report that i often do not
know what the local currency will be, let alone the exchange rate.
when you are not paying for much, the exchange rate often makes no
difference. this hotel is over 200 a night (which is way more than i
usually spend on hotels when i travel) but i did not choose it and i am
not paying for it. i have to say though if i come here on vacation i'd
hate to stay anywhere else. i'll finally get to have my champagne with
breakfast if i stay here. maybe it would be under 2 hundy if there were
no breakfast. desayunos. desayunos. although i would rather be with my
little Thatcher. i haven't told people her name. before i left i read an
article in the Economist about what Ms. Thatcher did in the Falklands,
i'll pretend i named her Spike.

necesito hablar espanol mucho del tiempo. it is extra work, but i think
i have already improved. my colleagues are great about it. maybe because
Martin decided i speak better spanish than he does english.
we'll see?

besos, laura

p.s. i did/do have dulce de leche in my hair. it's what i get for
finishing a giant glass of wine with dinner then promptly getting ice
cream. oh, and there are little pots of dulce de leche with breakfast,
like jam. does it get any better?