trips to the US Embassy and suburbia

I had gathered up documents, filled out forms, and had a new photo taken in preparation for my passport renewal appointment at the embassy....i waited in line in the pouring rain, finally got inside and up to the window to find there was now a NEW form... so i filled that out and got back to the window, only to be told that my photo was the wrong size... now they wanted a BIGGER photo. I was working up to a nice ugly American tizzy fit mood...then was told to go to the guard at the front entrance who would direct me to a photographer. Back out in the pouring rain, the guard pointed up the street and said i would see a black car with black windows, and to ask there for the photographer ("what is this??? is there a CIA guy looking for terrorists that will take time out and take my picture??"). Sure enough, I found the black car and knocked on the window. A smiling old Argentine man was eating a sandwich, listening to tango music. He hoped out of the car and got a bag out of the trunk and gestured for me to follow him into the park...He walked up to a big tree and hung a pull down screen from a handy nail in the tree, reached behind the tree and pulled out a stool, wiped it off with the towel he had in the bag, handed me an umbrella and told me to sit (all the while laughing and joking). Five minutes later, he handed me my photos, and I gave him the 20 pesos he requested plus a 2 peso tip. As I walked back to the Embassy, I contemplated my abrupt mood change, and vowed to remember the very patient old Porteno waiting in his black car when i felt frustration looming.... and then I heard a shout, and turned to see the old man running through the puddles after me, waving my 2 peso note, saying I had given him too much!

Dave wrangled two tickets to a fancy ball at the British Embassy! What to wear, what to wear? So we went down to the Retiro train station ...

and got two tickets for suburbia...past the fenced luxurious President's house in Olivos, to Acassuso...

... to the home of one of the few good second hand clothing stores I have found....its run by some great British ladies, and full of fancy clothes...

Instead of a food pic to end this week, you get a movie of a singing taxi driver ( who also tried to fondle my ankle, ...but that's another story).