Friday Morning

This morning I'm feeling a bit under the weather, have been for the past 2 days.  It's growing colder in New York and getting warmer here, we're all experiencing transitional weather. That mixture of overwhelming warmth in the sun that makes you want to strip down to only the essentials and those shaded areas where the cold breeze makes your skin contract.

Despite my puffy eyes and dripping nose, I'm happy to be feeling this way.  It's made me slow down.  The past 2 weeks have been intense.  In a good way, but I haven't stopped for a second.  A friend visiting from Brooklyn, new people to meet here, more sites to see and personal nooks to discover.  It's been fun, but I am exhausted.

Those who know me well know that I need a healthy mix of external stimulation and time to myself.  In that way I can process what I've seen and experienced, put it in its place in my heart and mind, and eventually rejuice my batteries to get out there again.  In a city like Buenos Aires, where everything is new, I am learning to make that cycle more succinct.  I want to be out there a lot, absorbing, meeting, connecting.  And so I'm working on finessing that balance of my world vs. the world.

Spending the morning at a cafe writing and sipping a tall cappuccino is a good way to get a dose of the former.  Right now I'm at my corner cafe, the best cafe in the city as far as I'm concerned;)  It's called Cafe Nostalgia - likely name, I know, but an appropriate one.  I already know that this place will induce that exact feeling when I'm gone.  That it will be the backdrop for both quiet mornings of introspective musing and late nights of laughter, good food and even better company.

The menu is extensive and everything is done super well.  With medialunas con jamon y queso, ojo de bife with puree de papas, pastas ricas, ensaladas that are extremely fresh and inventive (hard to find in a country of meat + potatoes) and a barista with a strong hand for both espresso and spirits, I wouldn't have to cook a single meal in Buenos Aires if I didn't want to.  And the customers here are diverse. Right now there's a man of about 70 across the way.  He's quietly contemplating his coffee and medialuna (I love that people here know how to do that).  I know he has seen very few people like me, and that he's wondering where I am from and what I am doing here.  One day I'll strike up a conversation with him, I'm also curious about his life.  At the bar there's an example of that particular specimen of man that makes this city feel like Barcelona or Rome.  Tall, extremely well-dressed, slightly longer, coiffed hair, mysteriously care-free and idol for a weekday morning.  He's one of many.  At night this place comes alive with stylish couples, groups of teenagers with mullets (the slightly cooler kind), and groups of Argentine women and men looking to mingle.  Cafe Nostalgia, yes.

I've finished my cappuccino and sufficiently mused in silence;)  I am off to explore the city a bit.  If it's cold where you are, I send you warmth and love from Buenos Aires.