For Rodrigo's Birthday, his parents and brother came. We had a great time eating way too much food! During the weekend, I wanted to surprise Rodrigo with his favorite cake, Torta de Hojaldre.
He has told me the name a million times, but I can never remember it. So the week before his birthday, I asked his mom to write me the name over our Skype conversation. When we were through chatting, I went to 5 bakeries before I found one that would make it for me. You have to order it in advance, because it's quite difficult to make. Finally this bakery said they could do it, and I said I wanted it by Saturday.
When Saturday rolled around, I came up with an excuse to buy milk for Rodrigo's dad in order to pick up the cake. When I went there, the lady said, "Oh, I'm so sorry, we didn't make it because we didn't have any of your contact information... and we weren't sure you'd show up to pick it up." HA! I had no idea what to do... I was frantic because this cake doesn't exist in the States, and maybe we won't be in Argentina for his birthday the next year... who knows?
The lady pointed me in the direction of another place. I went there, and they said... "No, but maybe across the street." I crossed the street with a prayer! When I made it in there, the ladies could tell I'd been through you know where and back about this issue... they said, "We'll make it for you for tonight!"
I was so relieved! Rodrigo was going to get his cake, and he did. It was so good. This cake is basically 6 layers o
f flaky, flaky pie crust and dulce de leche in between (dulce de leche is kind of like caramel, but has a different texture), covered with chocolate, whip cream, and cherries... yummm! What a nightmere, but I'm so glad it worked out!
Here's a picture of the half eaten cake, it didn't last long at all.
Santiago from Cerro San Cristóbal
There is a large touristic hill in Santiago called Cerro San Cristóbal, and one afternoon, Rodrigo and I decided to hike it. You can either walk up it (6 KM), or ride a type of rail cart. Halfway up the hill is a zoo (we didn't go because it was too expensive), and when you reach the top of the hill there is a beautiful church as well as an outside worship area.
There are gorgeous views of the city, and nice places for hiking if you wish. There also used to be a gondola, but it no longer functions. We decided to ride the rail cart up, and walk back down to town. There were tons of cute little gardens, and even a fancy car with what appeared to be a famous French Lady touring around. On our walk back down, we ran into a friendly street dog that accompanied us the entire way! It was fun to have a dog, even if only for 4 hours...
Plaza Italia
A view of what we climbed in the Rail Cart... yes, Rodrigo was scared.
Open air church at the top, with the virgin Mary statue in the background. The statue can be seen from every part of Santiago.
The virgin statue
The little church at the top
Some of the flowers on the various gardens on our way down
Cool pool we saw on our way down
The dog that followed us... don't worry, we didn't pet it!
Rodrigo received an early birthday present from my parents. For men, this tool may perhaps be the most useful thing ever created, and for women... well, it comes in handy sometimes.
Since the second his new gift was unwrapped, until now, it has been on Rodrigo's belt (except for when he tearfully had to check it to get through airport security).
Now, Rodrigo has an outrageous urge to fix things. The other day, he whipped out the file tool and asked me if he could use it to file his nails. I shrugged and said, I guess so, and the next thing I knew I looked over at him filing away. A couple hours later, I was standing there with an unopened milk pouch (milk is sold differently here)... when Rodrigo quickly drew his fancy new tool and said "Don't worry, I have a Leatherman!"
I must admit, it has come in handy sometimes. This morning, for example, we saved 30 Argentinian Pesos because Rodrigo was able to fix the light fixture with his handy dandy tool. He gave me his proud owner smile and said, "Look it's paying for itself!"
Sometimes, however, the Leatherman hasn't been just too amazing. Moments ago, I caught Rodrigo standing in the shower trying to fix the water leak on the faucet... I think he would have done it, but he needed a Cresent Wrench to get the large bolts loose. Darn. He gave me a little smile, batted his eyes and said, "Maybe it could be a birthday present from you Love??"
Boys... well, I gotta say... Thanks mom and dad!
For Rodrigo's Birthday, his parents and brother came. We had a great time eating way too much food! During the weekend, I wanted to surprise Rodrigo with his favorite cake, Torta de Hojaldre.
f flaky, flaky pie crust and dulce de leche in between (dulce de leche is kind of like caramel, but has a different texture), covered with chocolate, whip cream, and cherries... yummm! What a nightmere, but I'm so glad it worked out!
