thanksgiving with the boys :: season 4 :: buenos aires

man oh man alive - it's been a couple of unexpected days - well not so unexpected in the daytime but my god - the nights - well they have been spectacular. well - not every night - spectacular yes - but last night - let me tell you - i can sum it up in two words - foam party. that's right you heard me.

we all went to a spectacular steak dinner. i've never had a steak so tender and so good - and i never eat red meat - it melted in my mouth. we had two fantastic bottles of wine to boot. after - we went to search. walked in - typical night - drag show - ho-hum hum-drum. i honestly didn't think we'd last through the show it was that bad. when the show ended - it turned into a typical night of dancing. and we did.

the gogo boys mounted their boxes and all seemed right with the world and then someone handed them aerosol cans filled with some kind of foam. they sprayed themselves - they sprayed passers-by. innocent fun right? well - not so much. these cans began to appear in the hands of the patrons. suddenly - foam fights - people spraying people left and right. out of the blue and with no warning - the dance floor exploded in foam. evidently the event of the night was indeed a foam party.

normally a foam party would irritate the hell out of me - this however - was more fun than i could imagine. we drank - danced - and loved the night away covered in foam. it was great. what was a hum-drum night turned out to be a fantastic surprise had by all.

tonight was just a simple dinner and a few drinks. early morning tomorrow - going to colonia (uruguay) for the day then back to ba for thanksgiving dinner.

happy thanksgiving everyone!

ps - still no hot water - ugh!

thanksgiving with the boys :: season 4 :: buenos aires

what is it with this place and the hot water? it's a moody as a cat in heat - haha - i said heat - which is exactly what our water needs. it either comes out in trickles or in buckets - but never consistent. that's the only complaint i have for this trip. otherwise - it's been great.

last night we danced the night away at club amerika - a new place for us - i'm not sure it was even here last year. multiple floors of dancing and balconies on which to socialize and people watch - it was a great spot and the music and scene was much better than at palacio.

we also went to san telmo during the day to do some antique shopping. michael went crazy for the antique seltzer bottles. i think he's taking home three. i just took a picture of them. due to time issues - we skipped the tango class - oh well.

today was a shopping day - tons and tons of great shops in our neighborhood. i treated myself to some housewares and a few pieces of clothing. lord only knows how i'll get the leather rugs home. yes indeed - more hides for the house - they are beautiful here so i opted to get a few for the living/dining rooms.

tonight we have plans to dine on the river and visit the local casino for some light gambling. after we'll hit the bars i'm sure. tonight is joshua, ben, and billy's last night in ba. they head back home tomorrow.

this is definitely a city i could visit time and time again. next time we may try to find a different company from which to rent the apartment - grrr on the hot water.

thanksgiving with the boys :: season 4 :: buenos aires

yesterday turned out to be way much more fun than we thought. after everyone was showered and ready - we headed over to the plaza de mayo for the pride celebration. it was just like a typical small-town pride (only in spanish - we imagined the festival was like any border town pride in the u.s.). bandstand in the middle of the plaza with performers and people making announcements - booths with information and things that you could buy to support various local charities - food and beer carts - and the parade trucks parked over to one side that would eventually be in the parade later that evening. evidently it's tradition for everyone to meet and party in the plaza and then at 6pm the real party starts. this is when the parade takes off down the avenue and suddenly you are in a sea of thousands of people walking with and in the parade. it was fantastic. of course we walked next to the woman selling canned beers to keep us sufficiently hydrated for our long long walk down the parade route.

we met a 16-year old girl who's parents live in wisconsin. she's always lived in ba and refuses to move to the u.s. as a sign of rebellion to her parents. she's a fashion designer and wants to live in japan and become a harajuku girl. we also met a group of 4 older men who were from san francisco but had retired down in palm springs. they are here in ba to study spanish for a month. oh to be retired - lol. we saw trannies - hotties - freaks - and everything in between. typical pride really when you boil it down to the basics.

after we had walked the length of the parade route - we pulled off to the side for some port-a-potty action and put together a game plan for the rest of the evening. since we didn't think we were going to take as much time walking the route as we did - we had little time to get a dinner plan together. we chose to go back to mott because the food is good and we were certain they could house a party of 8. everyone went home to freshen-up and assemble back in an hour for dinner. i was able to sneak in a power-nap so i was good to go.

turned out that shawn stayed home to rest and catch up on sleep as did joshua. so our party of 8 is now only 6. anthony, michael, ben, billy, aaron (newest addition from d.c. who arrived yesterday), and myself. dinner was great - as always. anthony and i took aaron to sitges to get him acclimated to ba nightlife. we had a few drinks there then went dancing at glam. at 5am we decided to call it an early night and left - aaron decided to stay - hopefully he made it home in one piece.

i think today we are going to head to san telmo for some flea market shopping and a tango class. yes - this year i may actually dance instead of observing from the side-line. ooh - and the sinus infection seems to be on it's very last legs - fantastic. too fun!

thanksgiving with the boys :: season 4 :: buenos aires

well here we are on day 4 of our trip and the sinus are going hay-wire from all the smoke in the clubs. i'm hopped up on everything to keep it under control and so far so good. hope to keep it contained to less than 3 days. never fails!

the water issues from the previous days fortunately were remedied after 7 grueling hours with plumbers and contractors at the house yesterday. in the middle of the turmoil - i thought it was a good idea to buzz my head. so - i grabbed my trusty clippers - plugged them into the converter and went at my head. all was fine and good except when i was only a third of the way into it - there was a pop and a burn and boom - the clippers met an untimely death. see pic of 'cancer-boy' - not pretty. finally found a place that sold clippers and was able to finish the job.

for dinner it was back to bar 6 for a light meal where we met two people from nyc and they joined us at our table. we left bar 6 and headed to bulnes class for some cocktails. it was friday night so it's the start of the 3 day club nights at palacio - so we headed there for dancing. it was just as i remembered it - huge dance floor - very loud music - affordable cover charge - it's the roxy of buenos aires.

today is gay pride. we'll be heading to the plaza later and then at 6pm is the parade down the avenue. should be fun. tomorrow we'll start the hard-core touristy stuff. can't wait to hit the cemetery and say hello to evita!

say something photo :: fat nap (buenos aires)

while dining at hooters at puerto madero, buenos aires (yes i understand i said hooters - yes i understand that's an american chain - yes - bad bad decision - but i digress) - i managed to find a fantastic fat nap. you know me - always looking for an opportunity to capture things on film - this was an excellent surprise to my vacation. aww - and she has a balloon!

thanksgiving with the boys :: season 4 :: buenos aires

well what can i say - when you find a good thing - keep it. last year we had such a fantastic time in buenos aires we decided to return this year for an encore performance. anthony is back for a 4th season of 'thanksgiving with the boys' - returning are shawn (amsterdam - season 1 and canary islands - season 2) and michael (canary islands - season 2). surprise guest stars are 2 friends from d.c. (joshua and ben) and their friend from nyc (billy). they just happened to be on the plane sitting next to shawn. joshua is an old friend from the d.c. days. they are staying across town but have been excellent additions to the cast.

we booked an 'amazing' place for our stay - beautiful - new - jacuzzi - and - no hot water - water pressure - heat control - oh - and the jacuzzi isn't working. we've been here for 48 hours and we are waiting for the plumber to work his magic so we can take an actual shower for a change. hopefully we can have the 'jacuzzi laundry party' after this is all done. the jacuzzi knocked out the power to the house for a good half day until they came to fix it. more concerning is the hot water situation - you know me - i do enjoy a hot shower!

we have returned to some of our favorite haunts already. dining at bar 6, olsen, and mott so far - and an unfortunate decision to have lunch at hooters at puerto madero. if you ever get the idea to eat hooters in argentina - don't - bad bad decision - not for the aftermath that usually happens with hooters - no no - this was just inedible freezer-burned chicken (pollo - pronounced here in buenos aires - pol'jzso) with no flavor, texture, or pop.

we've also entertained ourselves at some familiar nighttime haunts - sitges, glam, and titanic (now called something else but the name escapes me). as always - sitges had horrible drag shows and friendly people - glam was - well - glam - and titanic hardly fit it's new name since the murals from the movie are still painted on the walls.

so far we are off to a great start - well - assuming we get the plumbing issues taken care of. wish us luck!

the agenda revisited :: argentina recap

i know i know - i totally blanked out on updates after i left for iguazu falls. i'm sorry about that - so now that i'm back at work - let me take a few moments of my lunch break to give you the rundown.

first off let me tell you that if you ever get the opportunity to visit the falls - it's truly breathtaking! we were there for 3 days of our trip - while there of course we had the falls - 115 degree subtropical weather - a pool - a casino - and pretty good food. we explored the jungles of the area and saw brazil and paraguay. at the falls we had butterflies galore flying around - beautiful plants - beautiful birds - and we even saw a couple of monkeys. we all got a little sunburned but it was well worth it because this was one of the highlights of the trip.

we got back to buenos aires on thursday evening and headed to dinner to celebrate thanksgiving. i had duck. it made me sick. but i got over it. we did the usual drinks and nightlife after dinner (i mean why not - it was afterall our first night back).

anyway - long story short - it was indeed a great trip. there were some issues here and there but for the most part we all had a great time and all want to go back sometime soon. i even became better friends with camilo - the waiter at sitges. oh wow - that's all i'll say about that - boy - do i ever want to learn spanish now!

more pictures to come. if you have the opportunity - go to buenos aires - it was truly spectacular!

the agenda revisited :: argentina day 5

quick recap:

yesterday was a spa day - we all went to markus for massage and pampering - well worth the money in my opinion but others may have a different view.

dinner - casa cruz - most expensive yet but we had 2 extra people with us (todd's uncle and cousin from california) - bill came out to $1100 peso - i successfully ordered a steak - yumm - with foie gras for starters - double yumm. we understand that sammy sosa was there - whoever that is.

today we fly to iguazu falls - about to leave in a second - so this will be short. i'll be out of touch until thursday when we fly back - so don't worry - i'll update then.

till then - xoxo and happy thanksgiving.

the agenda revisited :: argentina day 4

after the usual showers and other morning routines - we headed out in search of the '5th avenue' of buenos aires. darris had other plans and went off on his own. being that it was a sunday there were outdoor markets and fairs all over the city. so we went to take in a few of those on the way. many interesting arts and crafts as well as traditional yerba matte mugs and straws (i bought 3).

we made it down to the 'posh' shopping area - only to find out that the shops were closed - but they were having a photo shoot where it looked like a super model had ran into the back of a chicken truck with feathers all over herself and the car - lord only knows what they were trying to 'sell'.

since the shops were closed - we opted to have a nice lunch outside on the strip outside of the cemetery. it was lovely! such a beautiful day - very warm - very nice.

after lunch - we headed to another part of the city for more markets - puppet theatre - tango dancing - and mimes. at 5:30 our tango lesson was scheduled - so we headed to the hotel to secure our spots. it was outside on a patio at this bed and breakfast. todd and i watched as the others started their lesson. the class had the 5 of us - and 4 from nyc - and a couple of spanish speaking people.

afterwards all of the new yorkers headed to a cafe to meet and greet - found out that one of them actually works at iag with nick - small world gets smaller everyday. we made plans to meet with them later at 'palacio' - parted ways - and headed home for a power nap and dinner.

fast food empanadas for dinner - omg - so good and like a penny a piece - lol. we headed over to 'palacio' and met up with our new friends from nyc. 'palacio' i have to admit - is my personal hell. i had about 10 minutes of 'fun' before i was ready to head out the door - i guess i am just super-clubbed out. about 3 hours later - i think we headed out - well - nick, todd, and i did - we left darris and anthony there to 'hunt' some more.

i don't know what time the other boys got home - but it was noisy and there were 'guests' this morning when i woke up - lol - god love them (someone here is 4 for 4 - my god).

today we head back to '5th avenue' and perhaps a spa. we decided not to go to uraguay as we'll be heading to iguazu falls tomorrow and we have so much more in buenos aires we want to take in.

more later - off to shower.

the agenda revisited :: argentina day 3

a day of shopping. we spent most of the day walking around the various shopping districts of buenos aires - each of us found some great deals and i'm sure that there will be more shopping to come before we leave to head back home. why not? everything here by comparison is dirt cheap.

we treated ourselves to another 'fancy' meal - this time with a danish kick. the venue this time around was 'olsen' - a danish restaurant with great architecture and a selection of 'exotic' vodkas - most of us were just glad they had ketel one on the menu. i had a fantastic frozen mint drink with a goat cheese appetizer and seared and blackened tuna for dinner. in all the food was pretty good - i though the goat cheese lacked a 'zing' to it but i was happy with all the selections.

after dinner we opted to walk off our food and hike down to sitges yet again for drinks before 'going out'. the cute waiter was there - we said hello - had a couple of rounds - one of us left with a 'friend' (that's 3 for 3 for him if i were taking score but i'm not - lol) - the rest of the lot went back to 'glam' for one more - and then left for home early (compared to the other evenings) and went to bed. fortunately the 'friend' had been and gone by the time we arrived home.

day 4 is about to begin - we're talking about more shopping and perhaps a museum and some tango lessons - fun - we'll see!

the agenda revisited :: argentina day 2

evita!

once out and about - we took in a lunch at a cafe not far from the house. we then headed to 'cemeterio de la recoleta' to visit our friend evita - well - the tomb of eva peron. wow - some great photos were taken - i will share soon!

from there we headed to la plaza de mayo to visit 'the balcony'. it was as if madonna as evita was there with us - lol - not really - but one can dream.

headed home to have a quick nap and freshen up for dinner.

dinner - a steakhouse called miranda. eating here is a challenge for me - one - i don't speak or read spanish so i'm not 100% sure what exactly i'm eating - two - everything seems to be meat - fried potatoes - and more meat. dinner was a challenge for all of us - even the ones who speak spanish. our appetizers were a medley of various innards of the cow - tripe - kidneys - the works - and yumm - blood sausage - what the hell? needless to say we didn't clean our plates of that one. our main courses were very good - though - i ordered what i thought was the fillet - turned out to be a pork chop. none of us successfully ordered a steak - except for nick - but his came covered with mozzarella cheese and sun dried tomatoes. we each ordered dessert which was fantastic - paired with coffees and 2 bottles of moderately priced wine - our total bill was just over $400 peso - which roughly makes $135 us dollars with tip - not bad for what was considered a really nice meal by argentinian standards.

we headed out to 'sitges' for all you can drink happy hour. that place is festive and i'm sure we'll be heading there again tonight. the waiter took a liking to me and i took a liking to him. of course he spoke no english - but i got his email address - lol. we met a few locals who suggested a place for afterwards - so at about 3am we moved down the road to a place called 'palacio' - which was a dance club that reminded me of velvetnation in dc. totally not my scene but it was fun nonetheless.

we left at about 6am with the sun out as if it was noon. it becomes light right around 5-530am each morning - granted we are staying out much later than we are used to in the states - but what the hell - we are on vacation.

about to shower and head out to day 3 - who knows what will happen today - maybe cute waiter will email me back - hehe.

the agenda revisited :: argentina day 1

ok so i didn't actually post an agenda but here's a recap.

we arrived safely around 11am buenos aires time and quickly made it though customs where our driver was waiting with a mercedes van to take us to our apartment. about an hour later we arrive to a gorgeous 2 bedroom apartment - completely modern - with great views from each window. we got the run-down from claudia - our housing agent - and we were then free to explore buenos aires on our own.

we set out to find two things - an atm and a place to eat. within blocks we found both. talk about funny money - for less than $700 - i was able to get $1500 ar peso. everything here is so cheap. we ate simple sandwiches at this place around the corner - all beef - but yumm.

showered and changed - we relaxed and waited for the 'witching hour' to arrive.

we started our search around 4:00 - the goal - to find the gay rag 'la ronda'. this was to be the source of all things 'gay' for the week. we went from one corner of the city to the next - no luck. like a needle in a haystack. we could not find a gay bar that was open - a bar that served alcohol - and it was pouring rain. we thought our night was going to be a bust.

we snuck into a random cafe after we had a suggestion from the gay hotel (and also a map) to collect ourselves. our muse - madonna - began to play - we felt this was a sign. we decided to go to a club called 'titanic' - we felt that would lift our spirits. but no - it was closed for a private party. deflated - we headed back to the apartment for internet and research.

around midnight we found it - the perfect place - 'sitges'. finally we found the other gays in the village - we weren't alone - in fact - this place was damn near perfect - for one - it had alcohol - and drag - and cute people! we said a toast and enjoyed the evening.

we ended the evening at the bar 'glam' - and it was. we met about 8 new yorkers and dominated the outside patio. one of the guys actually goes to my tattoo guy on 23rd street - small world. we watched the sun come up and headed home.

about to start day 2 - great so far - will update again soon!

don't cry for me

this evening i board a plane bound for buenos aires, argentina! every year - my friend anthony and i take a trip to somewhere 'exotic' and every year we bring along a cast of characters. this year - we'll be joined by nick, todd, and darris. i'm looking forward to the adventure and hope to be able to update the blog while i'm there to keep the stories rolling. if not - i'll share the stories and the pictures when i return.

happy thanksgiving!