Twilight Zone

The WIDE sidewalks of Palermo

Ever had that feeling that something just isn't right? That everything's a little off but you don't know exactly why? Let me tell you about yesterday.

I set my alarm for 10am since I was determined to wake up and have a full day and I didn't get to bed the night before until 4am. So imagine how pissed off I was when I woke up at 7:30...wtf! I showered, etc, etc and decided I'd just catch a cab over to Palermo (far, far away) and have dinner. The weird thing was that it was still daylight when I left around 9. It was so strange, in fact, that I checked the clock on my computer to make sure I hadn't somehow changed the time on my watch (and alarm clock and wall clock...hey, you never know). Nope, it was definitely 9.

When I got dropped off at the restaurant it was closed. I cursed the guide book where I'd seen the listing. Maybe they closed down or maybe they were just closed for summer. I decided to walk around a bit and ended up by the zoo. Also closed, of course. But when I made it around to the entrance I noticed lines and lines of little chattering kids waiting. Huh? This late in the evening? By then it was almost 11 and still daylight. Then it dawned on me. It was AM, not PM! Talk about confused. The more I looked around the more obvious it became. Only old people on the street? Check. Stores just opening? Check. All the restaurants closed? Again, check. I am such an idiot.

So what's a girl to do in a strange neighborhood that early in the morning, especially an Americano? No sooner was I thinking this than I spotted the holy grail of commercialism...a mall! So in I went to 'explore' Alto Palermo.

By this point my feet (in cowboy boots) were killing me so first on the agenda was finding a pair of Havianas. No prob. Also did a little shopping for some people.


I know. I know. My feet need Photoshop...

When I eventually got bored (as I always do in malls) I walked over to the botanical gardens. There are tons and tons of parks and gardens in BA, most of them in Palermo. I think I've visited about 10 of them so far and though I'm the first to admit that parks aren't usually my thing, these are beautiful and the shade is usually very welcome when hiking around in the sweltering heat all day.



After sitting for awhile and looking at my map I decided to head over to the Museo Evita since I was in the neighborhood. I don't know much about her and I figured I might as well learn since everyone else in the world does. There was a lot of interesting stuff about the actress/singer most well know for her politics during her time as wife of Perron (the president). And she had lots of nice clothes (better than the ones I saw at the museum the day before...posting on that after this). I couldn't help but think that Eva (Evita to those that watched the Madonna movie of the same name which sucked by the way) and Perron were a lot like what it would've been like if JFK had married Marilyn. Thank God he didn't...I'm a Jackie fan 100%.

Then on to the Planetarium which only does shows at night but looked cool nonetheless so I took a picture. Who knows, maybe I'll make it back for one of the shows...



After all of that (It's a lot of walking...I probably crossed at least a mile of parks) I was on my way to find an ATM then taxi when I stumbled upon the Jardin Japones. I figured what the hell and paid my $3 pesos to go in.



Other than some huge koi fish that are obviously fed regularly by the tourists streaming in, I wasn't that impressed.



I think I like the huge towering trees and marble statues of the other gardens and parks better. I'm just not into Japanese, minimalism or any of that Zen shit. I'm too extravagant.

Finally, I made it back to the apartment. Determined to not take a nap and destroy this new sleeping pattern I was working on, I took my book to a nearby cafe (the one with the submerged bar that I can't think of the name of now...it's really old and famous) to have dinner and drinks.

The End.
(except the part where I still stayed up until 2am...I'll never get this sleeping thing right!)