Buenos Aires safari

Last night I just had to go with some fellow philosophers to a wine bar named after Heidegger's Being and Time.



This cartoon on their menu suggests that oenophilia is a way out of technological captivity.



Good thing that "we are not what we eat, we are what we love." Otherwise I would be a pile of loaded fries and the greater part of a milanesa (imagine a pizza where the dough has been replaced by breaded veal).



This typewriter on display in the milanesa restaurant is a puzzle. Have you ever seen a manual IBM? Or an IBM that is, at the same time, a Remington 33 L?



If you look up images of this Brazilian-made model online you'll see that the brand logos are missing on many examples. Some have an R where the IBM logo is on this one; others have nothing. I'm sure IBM never authorized this!

The next morning I headed for the Mercado de las Pulgas (Flea Market).



The Buenos Aires subway costs 5 pesos per ride (about 35¢). The trains, which are perfectly comfortable, look like they date from the 1940s. The system began operation in 1913.



The interior of a "Subte" car reminds me of a classic American diner.



This shop near the flea market specializes in old radios.



The market is a big but not overwhelming collection of stalls that sell everything from antique furniture to ... what do you think?



This is the kind of antique shop I like.



Tony's stall shows plenty of individuality. When I stopped by, he was wearing the same hat he has on in the portrait.



There were plenty of old office machines to be seen, although in most cases I wouldn't want them or couldn't carry them back on the plane.



I found one real antique, but it was pricey — 2900 pesos (about $200).



I passed up the Standard Folding. But there was one machine I couldn't resist:





And they have great ice cream here, too. No matter whether you are what you eat or you are what you love, I am now officially a raspberry-mango shake.