shop

Being heavily influenced by the Western European culture and protected by their pesos that once pegged to the US dollars, Argentina at one point was the top nation in the South America continent that was proud of their highly civilized living style and posh standard.

Now with their "cheap pesos", a lot of us-- the tourists dancers, had lots of opportunities to find bargains in their sophisticated shops and humble street fairs. Even I, being known as a tight ward when it comes to spending, found myself shopping for a few items, as long as I could pack the new acquisition into my one and only one carry-on suitcase.

The Abasto Shopping Centre, beautifully designed outside and was lit elegantly at night. The interior layout was a bit disappointing.

The Alto Palermo Shopping Centre that opened till 11pm at night. Shops were much upscale, such as the foreign well-known design shops.

Where else but the China Town? It was made of one street, with mostly restaurants and 3, 4 supermarkets. The selections at the supermarkets were limited, and now, with the devalued pesos, the imported merchandise has become expensive. Here I went shopping with Dr. Ricardo, who told me that a lot of Chinese were vegetarian, which explained their limited meat and seafood selection.

There were many very fashionably designed shops and particularly boutiques. This one sold hand embroidered clothing from cotton and hemp. The entryway was a simple tempered glass door with two holes; a band of woven belt served as the handle.

This music store featured machines that could read the bar code of the CDs. By scanning the bar code, we got to hear the first 40 seconds (??) of each song. It was particularly great if amateurs like me who have heard the song but forgot the name or the artists. Regretfully, not all the music CD was sold here.

My favourite shop to which I returned repeatedly, namely Delie Shoe Store at San Telmo. Here I was with the owners, who, despite of me not being able to speak Spanish, were extremely patient in working with me on my custom designed shoes. Every spot of the shoes was measured and reconfirmed cm to cm. And the shoes were delivered within 4 days punctually.

And one does not need to leave their home. This shoe maker came to our home.

This lady came to my dinner table to show her jewelry merchandise.