The Last Song

So, watching Manchester United Vs PSG in Champions game in extra time, PSG is wining in aggregate and Dad says,(accent) "Ok, Lets go."  "But Dad, there is only extra time left and our plane is not leaving until 10:50 PM"   Thank God we stayed and saw the Man U goal in extra time and PSG knocked out of the Champions League.  Gave our great porter a nice tip and loaded the crap out of our cab and got to the airport just in time-3 1/2 hours before our flight.   Checked bags and even convinced Mom and Dad to check theirs so we didn't have to cart them around for 3 hours and it was free.  My bag was overweight, but luckily, I saved my 'in country' carry on duffle and pulled it out, loaded my dirty laundry into it and checked it.  I am glad I did not return it to the store in BA.   Through security and at our gate in the nick of time.  I said, "ok, lets get a bite to eat and some wine" and Dad, says, "Ok, I'll have some wine" and Nancy says, "we just ate and why do we need more wine?"  To this I respond, "You guys can do whatever you want but I am eating something since we have not eaten in 6 hours and boarding a plane for 11 hours which is a no brainer on the wine."   We all ordered, except for mom, who was not hungry (see note later) and ordered a bottle of wine.  Watching the way my Dad was drinking and pouring, I immediately saw a potential issue, so I ordered another bottle of wine and I wish I took a picture of my Mom's face.   Finished up most of the wine and took the rest with me to the gate where we easily boarded and had agreed on a seat change that was mutually acceptable to all parties.  Jen was an aisle, I would take a middle (next to Jen so I could guarantee the arm rest and somewhere to sleep against), Dad was behind us in aisle and Mom on the window, next to me.  Once the doors shut, we had a bonus and Jen moved to a free aisle seat the next row over, and I moved out of the middle seat to Jen's old seat.  Mom found my M&M treat and went at them like a squirrel getting into a bird feeder (not hungry, huh?).  After take off, I ordered my wine, Jen ordered her wine (for me) and my Dad tapped me on my shoulder and said, "well played."  The American Way.  Watched A Star is Born and then slept until 7 AM, blanket on, hands in pants, no issues.   Woke up to breakfast and asked the stewardess for a wine, which did not go over well at all (it was just a joke, lol).  Landed, no clapping.  It was killing my Mom and Dad that I was still in shorts and they could not wait for me to change, which I eventually did before we went outside. 

I finally convinced my parents to give me their passports and load them into the mobile passport app on my phone (thank you Abby & Spez!)  We walked out of the plane, passed 1000 people in regular passport lines, to the very front for mobile passports and right to an agent who took us in 10 seconds and said, "Welcome back to the United States of America."  I don't know what was a better feeling:  1.  Circumventing the entire passport line and beating even the handicapped passengers out of terminal or 2.  Coming back to the United States of America from another country.  I asked Mom if she had ever had such an easy experience and she said, "well, in Ireland, we ......."  I call BS.  Home in the car packed like sardines and deciding if we should follow Waze or Momz but not a lot of traffic, so it was breezy.  Dropped off  my parents and Picked up Denali, which Mike and Kelli were borrowing and left it so clean and full fuel (thanx guys).  Home to CT and back to the grind!

Argentina Trip Summary

• Soccer game on every TV at anytime of day
• No wine allowed for take away after 9 or 11 (weekends)
• No auto bathroom flushers (if they did have, and one broke, it could run the city out of water)
• No need for plungers in Argentina because of powerful flush
• Carry napkins with you, you may need them ladies
• Empanadas are all good and you can get anywhere, anytime (like Pizza in NY)
• Eggs and Bacon are the only things undercooked
• Mate is a social, delicious drink that EVERYONE drinks
• Argentines are super friendly and super helpful
• Buenos Aires is not any more dangerous than any other City
• There are no common sense driving rules
• Argentina has #MeToo, although Men call their wives, their women (mi mujer)
• Inflation is crazy, and in an afternoon the Peso can swing so much it hurts
• Not super handicapped friendly
• Very lax security at airports and you can carry drinks through security (they have to allow because everyone drinks Mate)
• They killed their Indians also, but they speak very positively and give props about their indigenous people
• They have cowboys but they look more like French Chefs in berets, not gunfighters
• General Upkeep of facilities is pretty far off par
• Ski towns are not built near mountains
• Rental insurance does not cover hail, rollovers or stealing cars and they have a VERY thorough orientation process
• They pass on double yellow lines as if they were not there
• The traffic lights turn from Red to Yellow and then to Green, like a drag race start and everyone jumps the gun and goes when the light is still red(which is the opposite to here, where we run the yellow lights)
• Wifi everywhere and easy to hook up
• Everyone uses Whatsap to text
• They take Amex pretty much everywhere
• There does not seem to be any emissions laws
• There are certainly no blight laws
• Tremendous electrical issues everywhere
• There are protests daily
• No iced coffee
• No take away coffee but they use warm milk
• Major Banco issues, and they charge a huge vig to take money out of ATMs(like $30!)and the lines at the banks are crazy until they run out of money which is usually around 11 am
• Milenese on the menu usually means veal
• They love and listen to American / English music
• Their IPA is IPE
• Olives are on everything
• Dogs are on the loose (Sueltos)
• No one has a bigger phone then the iphone 5
• They have corrupt politicians, just like us
• No Black folks (except our awesome porter)
• Argentines are normal looking-Fat, skinny, tall, short, blonde, dark haired, dressed nice, dressed down (like Americans)
• Check in and Check out procedures are not smooth.  They lack efficiency
• No preppy dress (no vineyard vines)
• Their biggest car is our smallest car
• Their cars use a secondary natural gas cylinder 
• Their belts are Really Thick and I do not think our belt loops could handle them
• They like Diego Maradona better then Messi(soccer)
• They do not watch or care about Soccer teams outside of the county
• You can get a churro with dulce del leche while at a stop light
• They do not "break" their horses, they erotically massage them

A shout out to all my followers, I appreciate your support and comments.  Also a big thank you to Paula Benchimol for planning, Kathy and Pat Ford for watching my babies (none of this is possible without you), the crew at the marina for handling business and keeping me in the loop, Liz and Mike for holding the black briefcase while dad was gone, Jen for putting up with me, and Mom and Dad for taking this adventure with us.