It is amazing how quickly the holidays came and went by again. The transition into the new year also seemed to have sneaked past us, and now I have to write 2013 whenever the date comes up in an email. On the one hand this feels strange but then again strangely familiar after only 5 days into the new year.
But I am feeling weird in general at the moment. Unlike the last two years we spent both Christmas and News Year’s here in Buenos Aires. Perhaps that put me a bit out of sync.
My in-laws were here, we had the decorations up and the German Christmas sweets on the table, the presents were under the tree as usually, the husband read the Christmas story as it is the tradition on his side of the family, we prepared typical food like lamb with homemade Spätzle ... but it just wasn’t the same.
The whole family had a bit of a problem adjusting to the holidays in the southern hemisphere. And like any good host Buenos Aires pulled out all the stops to give us tourists a good show for our money. On the 24th, the temperatures went up to 35 degrees with humidity of 90% and a Sensación Térmica of 52 (!) degrees. And believe me, this number wasn’t just something crunched by the scientist. No, we really felt it.
Thank God the weather gave in after that, with temperatures going down and rain bringing a refreshing break. And luckily the weather on the 31st of December only brought a cool wind but clear skies so that the celebrations did not drown in the predicted thunderstorms.
We had opted for dinner at the Osaka in Puerto Madero since we already knew the Palermo outfit and wanted to combine great Sushi with the view of the fireworks over the skyscrapers in downtown Buenos Aires. The combination was a success. The food was great as always, and after starting off with some Pisco Sours and Osaka Mojitos – the signature drink of the restaurant – we enjoyed ceviche, sushi rolls, octopus carpaccio and more seafood creations. When midnight approached the waiters handed out blinking accessories like bunny ears and glasses and asked all guests to gather downstairs for a glass of bubbly and the countdown orchestrated by Natalia Cociuffo, a local musical star.
The atmosphere in the restaurant was great and we probably could have danced the night away there. But we were eager to see some fireworks so we went to the waterfront of Puerto Madero where we had a fantastic view at the colourful rockets lighting up the skyline. After a while the wind got a bit too chilly, though, and we decided that we had enough entertainment for the night and to drive back home.
Today, it was time to say goodbye to my in-laws who flew back home, and this got us thinking and talking about how we want to spend the next holidays. As much as we enjoyed the Christmas-in-the-height-of-summer-experience we are pretty much decided that this should rather be a once-in-lifetime-experience, thank you very much, and that we will be spending next Christmas in Germany. It just wasn’t the same in this infernal heat. As to New Year’s, we are not sure yet. The last two celebrations here in Buenos Aires were a lot of fun, so we might actually go for taking advantage of the best of two worlds again, celebrating Christmas with the family in the cold and coming back in time to welcome the new year in Buenos Aires.
Hm, with this outlook I feel I am slowly getting back in sync again. Yep, I can definitely live with that idea.
With that thought I wish you all a happy new year and all the best for 2013.
My in-laws were here, we had the decorations up and the German Christmas sweets on the table, the presents were under the tree as usually, the husband read the Christmas story as it is the tradition on his side of the family, we prepared typical food like lamb with homemade Spätzle ... but it just wasn’t the same.
The whole family had a bit of a problem adjusting to the holidays in the southern hemisphere. And like any good host Buenos Aires pulled out all the stops to give us tourists a good show for our money. On the 24th, the temperatures went up to 35 degrees with humidity of 90% and a Sensación Térmica of 52 (!) degrees. And believe me, this number wasn’t just something crunched by the scientist. No, we really felt it.
Thank God the weather gave in after that, with temperatures going down and rain bringing a refreshing break. And luckily the weather on the 31st of December only brought a cool wind but clear skies so that the celebrations did not drown in the predicted thunderstorms.
We had opted for dinner at the Osaka in Puerto Madero since we already knew the Palermo outfit and wanted to combine great Sushi with the view of the fireworks over the skyscrapers in downtown Buenos Aires. The combination was a success. The food was great as always, and after starting off with some Pisco Sours and Osaka Mojitos – the signature drink of the restaurant – we enjoyed ceviche, sushi rolls, octopus carpaccio and more seafood creations. When midnight approached the waiters handed out blinking accessories like bunny ears and glasses and asked all guests to gather downstairs for a glass of bubbly and the countdown orchestrated by Natalia Cociuffo, a local musical star.The atmosphere in the restaurant was great and we probably could have danced the night away there. But we were eager to see some fireworks so we went to the waterfront of Puerto Madero where we had a fantastic view at the colourful rockets lighting up the skyline. After a while the wind got a bit too chilly, though, and we decided that we had enough entertainment for the night and to drive back home.
Today, it was time to say goodbye to my in-laws who flew back home, and this got us thinking and talking about how we want to spend the next holidays. As much as we enjoyed the Christmas-in-the-height-of-summer-experience we are pretty much decided that this should rather be a once-in-lifetime-experience, thank you very much, and that we will be spending next Christmas in Germany. It just wasn’t the same in this infernal heat. As to New Year’s, we are not sure yet. The last two celebrations here in Buenos Aires were a lot of fun, so we might actually go for taking advantage of the best of two worlds again, celebrating Christmas with the family in the cold and coming back in time to welcome the new year in Buenos Aires.
Hm, with this outlook I feel I am slowly getting back in sync again. Yep, I can definitely live with that idea.
With that thought I wish you all a happy new year and all the best for 2013.
No comments:
Post a Comment