The simple joys

The only items on our to-do list today were to visit an English bookstore around the corner from our apartment, pick up some strawberries and avocados from the markets and spend some quiet time reading.

Spending the morning inside, sleeping in and making tea, we fell asleep on the bed with the sunshine streaming in the double breasted doors. We awoke to banging on the door, and jumped up, bleary eyed and putting clothes on. A number of people entered the room with the intention of cleaning it so we swiftly got dressed and headed outside to the sun wearing thongs and tshirts. Our hair was still a bit askew as we wandered into the bookstore on Estados Unidos, one street up from ours.

The Walrus books store was amazing. Hundreds of literary offerings stacked strategically in the windows such as F Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Charles Bukowski. M and I browsed for about an hour, the only ones in the store apart from the introspective owner who was reading intensely at the back. I bought two books; one book of short stories by expat writers based in BsAs and another of interviews of 'uncommon' writers in Paris.

We then trundled down the cobbstoned streets to a cafe we'd been lusting after for days called Territorio. The music and mood was sombre, with David Bowie and St Etienne on the stereo and the waiter was wearing all black. It was 3.15pm by this stage, ideal lunch eating time, but strangely there weren't many in the restaurant.
We ordered brusqueta caliente for the first plate; toasted bread with brie, eggplant, roasted tomatoes and rocket. I gobbled it up, it was simply divine.

The second course was a huge salad for me with avocado, mushrooms, eggplant and roasted tomatoes and M had a giant meat hamburguesa with cheese dripping out the side and roasted potatoes and mayonnaise.

After coffees and warm thanks and a tip to the waiter, we wandered around to the markets to buy a little bag of groceries and stroll through the antique markets before walking home. We climbed the narrow stairs and opened the door to a shiny clean apartment. The rest of the afternoon was spent lazing on the blue and white striped lounge on the terrace in the sun reading my new tomes.

One week in to the BsAs stay and things are blissful.