Asado at Eugenio´s

A couple days ago, Miguel, Eugenio´s cousin, returned from a month in Australia. To celebrate his return, and to also wish him off as he heads back to Mar del Plata, his city, we decided to have a get together. Instead of having it at our place, Eugenio´s parents are in Paris for awhile, so we decided to have it at his place.

About 12 people were there in total, Anabel and myself, along with friends of Pablo and Eugenio. The night was filled with amazing meat, as usual, lots of wine and fernet, and plenty of laughing. We started out with a great salad of greens, tomatoes and onions, followed by choripan, which is Argentine sausage, eaten on a little baguette. After that, the meat started flowing, lots and lots of it. The last food was something I´ve never had before, but was absolutely amazing. Red peppers, sliced in half and grilled. However, when you´re grilling them, you crack an egg and put it into the pepper half. They look like overeasy eggs inside the pepper and are amazing. Definitely going to make these when I get back.

As the night continued, we snacked on the leftovers and hung out around the dinner table for hour upon hour. This is the common asado. No one was itching to go out, or looking to get drunk. We all just happily sipped on our drinks and talked the whole night. On top of it all, Eugenio has a gorgeous 4th floor terrace at his place, which is nicely hidden away in the Almagro neighborhood. A clear sky and 70 degree temperatures accompanied us the entire evening.

Back in November, when I was apartment searching, I was really hoping to find a group of Porteños to live with, so I could spend my last three months perfecting my slang, drinking fernet and coke, and having tour guides of the city at my disposal. It appears I found exactly that.

Eugenio Monitoring the Meat

The Parrilla


Eugenio Cooking
The Group

Anabel and I



Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Estancia

We went on our first big field-trip this past Thursday. After we took the placement test we had an end of orientation party at an Estancia, the Rodizio Campo, which is basically a HUGE country house with horses, llamas, etc. This place was AMAZING. We pulled in with our tour buses and were carried in horse-drawn carriages to the main building. There we had fresh empanadas and a slew of other tasty appetizers. Figuring that we weren't going to have our big meal until later, I owned those empanadas. It was quite the shock when we were immediately led inside the gorgeous restaurant for a true Parilla. Being the glutton that I am, I sucked it up and went on to consume a disgustingly large amount of food. They definitely do food right here.

After the dinner we were free to explore the place. They had horses to ride, bikes to cruise around on, and two big swimming pools to kick it by. We rode bikes all around this place, which is literally a HUGE ranch, and then I did something I thought I would never do again...ride a horse.

Few people know, but I'm terribly afraid of horses. Why you might ask. The answer, my friend, is because of an incident that happened when I was around 6 years old. Holly was absolutely obsessed with horses and convinced Mom and Dad to take us on a horse riding trip. Everyone got to ride their own horse, but I rode with Dad because I was too little. So, we're having a nice little walk through the countryside and then, out of nowhere, our horse spooks. Turns out, a dog from the barn got loose, ran up to our horse and startled it. All I remember is Dad wrapping his arm around me, grabbing the horse saddle thing, and holding on for both of our lives as the horse took off in a full-speed sprint. I believe I've mentally blocked out the rest of my memory from that day, but all I know is that, since then, horses have always scared me.

Anyways, I successfully rode a horse. I was too scared to make it move so I just sat there as it made about a 50 yard circle and then came back to the barn. Everyone else went to the other side of the pasture and back. I was content with my small circle. I was pretty terrified the entire time but I overcame the fear.

After horseback riding, if I can even call it that, we sat by the pool and soaked up the beautiful sun. I believe it's safe to say that it was by far, for everyone, the best experience yet.

Enjoy my personal snaps and the pictures on the Rodizio website.



ps- Holly, Lindsay, Mom or Dad, do you remember that horse incident?





















































Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina