Travel is not always predictable. The “Valentine's” visit to Fin de Mundo – the End of the Earth – happened on the 13th... and a fabulous adventure planned for the 14th had to be rescheduled for the 15th. So... Valentine's Day got extended over 3 days.
The fourteenth was rainy and cold. Idiot She decided staying in and reading and writing and playing pinochle seemed like the right way to celebrate VD. That was all very well – except by mid-afternoon they got hungry... and most restaurants close about 3PM and don't reopen until 7:30-800 PM. There was no way the Idiots were going to go out in the rain for a two-hour dinner starting at 8 PM.
So Idiot He went on a quest. He was a stranger in a strange land. He doesn't speak Spanish. He had maps to three bakeries with good reviews – and couldn't find any of them. But failure was not an option, so after almost two hours of wandering in a strange city... in the rain... with very aggressive drivers... and a nightmare parking scenario...he found himself in the aisles of La Anonina. It's the kind of store where you can buy a pair of shoes, garden implements, a reasonable assortment of food – and ridiculously cheap wine.
He left with empanadas and rotisserie chicken for reheating... and a strange pizza with white sauce and olives with pits... and cookies... and bananas... and a bottle of champagne. Unfortunately – a crucial element was missing. Idiot She would be fine with the catch-as-catch-can dinner – but dessert is sacred!
Tante Sara to the rescue - a coffee shop/bakery that has been facilitating obesity in Ushuaia for decades.
And all was well with the world!
(If this all seems a little pedestrian – wait until you see what they did on the third Valentine's Day!)
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The weather was not encouraging – but there is still joy in a gray day...
First Idiot He had to find flowers... but since he couldn't identify any florists he landed on pictures of wildflowers instead. The pink-red lupine just shouted “Valentine's Day”... and what could be more appropriate than Forget-Me-Nots growing wild along the roadside
All the main food groups... champagne, cheesecake, shortbread cookie, toasted almonds, whipped cream, and the delightful Patagonian fruit, calafate.
