When there's nowhere else to turn...

Ok I have something to admit. I'm not totally proud of it. But it needs to be said. My new favorite place in Buenos Aires is... uuuh I can barely bring myself to say it.

It's Starbucks.

So it's not a terrible thing. Starbucks did a great thing in making quality coffee a norm, though I'll never forgive them for their bastardization of the meaning of "machhiato". I just usually pride myself on seeking out the smaller, local places like Boutique del Libro or Lentas Maravillas. But it's only one particular Starbucks in the city. I mean, I've only been to one other, the one in the Alto Palermo mall so I really can't expound on all the Starbucks in the city, but the one I'm at, in Belgrano on Federico Lacroze, is really the only place I want to be right now. Since I got to Buenos Aires I've been looking for that one cozy place, walking distance from my apartment*, my Haymarket away from Haymarket, you know? Boutique del Libro came close, but it's a haul to get there and they lack comfy chairs. But this Starbucks is really great. It's an old converted house so it has a sweet upstairs with 3 rooms packed with comfy chairs and work tables and some beautiful stained glass windows that open like french doors. And they even play decent music. So I'm here to stay. I'm sure I'll make up for it when I'm back in Northampton in 61 days.

*"walking distance" for me, I learned while my family was here, does not equal walking distance for most other people. I now also know why Becky used to get mad at me for walking too slow whenever I visited her in NYC. Believe it or not, I myself have developed my own "city walk". However, I plan to happily abandon it as soon as I'm back to wandering in the woods.