I should be doing my homework but I'd rather do this instead

2 days in and i must say, BsAs. is. awesome. Well, awesome and confusing at the same time. A few observations off the bat:

1. the mineral water here tastes really "thick." kind of like Evian water. no me gusta.
2. young dudes have taken to wearing boardshorts around the city, with apparently no immediate plans on swimming. boardshorts in the market, boardshorts shopping the boutiques with their madres. hmm.
3. there is ridiculously beautiful graffiti, i guess something BsAs is well known for, and i have only just come to learn about and appreciate. uploading some pics for now, but plan to take the official graffiti walking tour.
4. there is a serious lack of stop signs in 4 way intersections ("they just go" Amy says) as well as an annoying lack of street signs. not very helpful when trying to find one's way around a foreign city in a foreign language.
5. old men linger outside their apartment buildings and shuffle up and down the street, much like they did in Salamanca. interesting, maybe a Latin thing.
6. haven't verified this, but it appears that you can't buy real Toms down here. very ironic, considering the story behind Tom's.
7. "closed restaurants" (the Argentine variation of the supper club) are all the rage. i was very fortunate to be added to Amy and Lisa's Casa Felix reservation at the last minute last night due to a cancellation. chefs open their house for a prix fixe, intimate dining extravaganza not open to the public. must email in advance, pay cash only, and arrive RIGHT ON TIME. dishes were sourced locally, focused on seasonal ingredients, and was mostly vegetarian (the adorable Chef Diego Felix grew up in a vegetarian household! very, very rare for Argentina). they do serve seafood. if you know me, you know this is my jam. i won't do the meal justice, but i'll try. an Argentine mint from the garden made its way into our caipirinhas, served under the moonlight in the garden by Sanra, Diego's American ex-pat wife. after a few rounds of sipping out of teacup sized glasses and enjoying an hor d'oeuvre of a local farmer's goat cheese served with artisinal honey and wrapped in chard (interestingly enough, kale doesn't exist here), we made our way to be seated in the courtyard, under colorful mexican-like paper decorations and christmas lights, a nice breeze, and a direct view of the action in the kitchen. Casa Felix was filled to the max, as they are almost every night, at about 20 people. first came the beet "ravioli" which was more like a sandwhich of thinly sliced beets stuffed with an almond and goat cheese mixture, topped with a fig and olive tapenade, alongside mixed greens. an amazing potato causa (a potato mash of sorts from Chile) followed, which was served with (i think) oyster mushrooms on top and a dangerously bright green spicy lemongrass sauce, also from the garden. octopus a la plancha served with grilled eggplant in a tomato sauce, made us venture outside our comfort zone and enjoy something we normally wouldn't have ordered. lavender and coconut creme panna cotta, with the lavender also right from the garden, way exceeded expectations, and was served with a sweet dessert wine. they topped everything off with the Paraguay version of mate, which from what i understand was burned in a pan and caramelized with sugar, which omitted the most amazing scent. i wish i could bottle it. after 4 hours at the Casa, we left with a perfectly satiated stomach, slight buzz, and total girl crush on Sanra, who is expecting her first baby in a month and is still knock-out gorgeous. they are for sure an Argentine power couple to watch - even the NY Times agrees.