Security Message for U.S. Citizens – Scheduled Protest

Posted on April 17, 2013 by dawngill

Message from the US Embassy in Buenos Aires:

U.S. Embassy Buenos Aires, Argentina

April 16, 2013

Dear U.S. Citizen:

A “Cacerolazo” protest focused on a range of domestic issues and generally directed against the Argentine government is expected to occur the evening of April 18, 2013. The main gathering points will be the intersection of Avenues Santa Fe and Callao, Plaza de Mayo, Corrientes y Pueyrredon and possibly also the area around the Obelisk; however, other protesters may gather in Belgrano, Palermo, Flores, Liniers, Nunez, Olivos, Caballito, Retiro, and Recoleta. While the protests likely will be focused in Buenos Aires, similar demonstrations also may take place countrywide. While there currently is no information to suggest a counter-rally, pro-government groups potentially could stage counterdemonstrations.

Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations. Review your personal security plans; remain aware of your surroundings, including local events; and monitor local news stations for updates. Maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security.

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Argentina enroll in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don’t have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Regularly monitor the State Department’s website, where you can find current Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and the Worldwide Caution. Read the Country Specific Information for Argentina. For additional information, refer to “A Safe Trip Abroad” on the State Department’s website.

Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate for up-to-date information on travel restrictions. You can also call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada or 1-202-501-4444 from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). Follow us on Twitter and Facebook, and download our freeSmart Traveler App, available through iTunes and Google play,to have travel information at your fingertips.

The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires is located at Avenida Colombia 4300 in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires (near the Plaza Italia stop on the “D” line subway) and is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except U.S. and Argentine holidays. The main Embassy switchboard telephone is (54) (11) 5777-4533. Recorded consular information, including instructions on whom to contact in case of a U.S. citizen emergency, is available at tel. (54) (11) 4514-1830. The main Embassy fax is (54) (11) 5777-4240. The Consular Section fax is (54) (11) 5777-4293. The Consular Section is open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on U.S. and Argentine holidays. Additional information on Embassy services is available by e-mail at BuenosAires-ACS@state.gov.

Public Transportation SUBE Card

Posted on April 16, 2013 by dawngill

Do you use public transportation in Capital? If so, you want to be sure to have a SUBE card!

This little card will save you over 50% on your bus, subte and train fares and now you can have it delivered to your house!

Visit gestiones.sube.gob.ar to complete the registration form, search for charging locations, look at bus routes, train and subte maps.

You need a DNI number and there is a AR$15 charge for the card, extra AR$10 if you have order it online and have it delivered. Once you have a SUBE, there are a zillion (literally, 4,500) places to recharge the card with cash.

Get yours today, and never worry about monedas again!

Golf Tournament at the Olivos Golf Club

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May Book Club

Posted on April 14, 2013 by dawngill

Thanks to everyone who joined us this past week for our book club meeting — it was a great discussion of a very interesting book! We wanted to provide everyone with the information for our May meeting and hope that you can join us for the discussion.

Here is the information for our May Book Club meeting:

When: Thursday, May 23rd at 10am

Where: *Palermo

Please RSVP to smecham25@yahoo.com for exact address

As a reminder, our selection for this month is Abide With Me, by Elizabeth Strout. Here is the link to the summary on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Abide-Me-Novel-Elizabeth-Strout/dp/0812971825

For those interested in learning more about the book we will be discussing, here is a brief editorial review from The New Yorker and a link to the book description and reader reviews on Amazon.

The handsome minister Tyler Caskey, of West Annett, Maine, is beloved by his parishioners because he really does think they’re all God’s children. But in the bleak autumn of 1959, more than a year after the death of his wife, Tyler is still awash in grief. The man who once held them rapt from the pulpit now appears ridiculous up there—”like a big tractor being driven by a teenage kid, slipping in and out of gear”—and his daughter has started screaming and spitting in kindergarten. How can he lead them if he himself is lost? Just as she did in her first novel, “Amy and Isabelle,” Strout has created an absorbing world peopled by characters who argue the merits of canned cranberry sauce and using one’s turn signal; meanwhile, dark fears about Freud and Khrushchev run beneath the surface of their lives like water under ice. With superlative skill, Strout challenges us to examine what makes a good story—and what makes a good life. – The New Yorker

Regards,
The Book Club Organizers

*This event is limited to current BAIN members only. If you are interested in becoming a member of BAIN, contact bain.downtown@gmail.com*

Buenos Aires Food Week & Spanish Gastronomy Week

Posted on April 13, 2013 by BAIN Downtown

Two simultaneous gastronomic events will be taking place in Buenos Aires on the week of April 15 – April 21, 2013.

Buenos Aires Food Week, a new annual event in which 25 of the best restaurants in the city will offer lunch and dinner menus at promotional prices, will be held for the first time in Buenos Aires from April 15 to April 21, 2013.

With similar editions in New York, San Pablo, Milan and other major cities worldwide, the goal of this Food Week is democratizing access to haute-cuisine, offering the general public the opportunity to learn about premium restaurants and taste unique dishes at attractive prices.

Each restaurant will offer a fixed three step menu (starter, main course and dessert) with a fixed price of $ 99 pesos for lunch and $ 169 pesos for dinner, not including drinks, service and tip.

The restaurants participating in the first edition are:

Agraz – Caesar Park Hotel
Astrid y Gastón
Azema
Bice
Blanch
Brasserie Petanque
Cardon
Casa Cruz
Club 31 restaurant-Grand Hotel
Drift
Doppio Zero
Dos Mares
Honor y Causa
La Brasserie – Marriot Plaza Hotel
La Rosa Náutica
Le Grill
Mooi
Mullu
Piegari Vitello e Dolce
Plaza Grill – Marriott Plaza Hotel
Pony Line Bar – Four Seasons Hotel
Root – Intercontinental Nordelta
Sivela 465 – Mio Hotel
Social Paraíso

For a complete list of restaurants, menus (“Carta”) and online reservations, visit: www.bafoodweek.com.

If places are left available, people may also attend directly the restaurant of their choice.

Payments can be made in cash, debit card, or credit card at the end of the meal.

The additional 15% discount with Mastercard Black or Platinum cards only applies to cards issued in Argentina.

At the same time, The Spanish Tourist Office of the Embassy of Spain in Buenos Aires organizes the 1st Spanish Gastronomy Week in Buenos Aires, which will also be held from April 15 to April 21, 2013.

The Spanish Gastronomy Week offers quality Spanish menus at a reasonable prices for both lunch and dinner throughout the week, at the best Spanish restaurants in the city of Buenos Aires and Mendoza. Prices range from $ 99 Pesos to $ 199 Pesos.

The Regions of Asturias, Galicia and Madrid will participate actively through top-level chefs that will display their skills in some of the participating restaurants.

For a complete list of restaurants and online reservations, visit:www.semanagastronomicaba.com

Thank you to My Buenos Aires Travel Guide for the information above. To keep up with this an other events in Buenos Aires, we have added a feature called “Blogs We Read” to the lower right-hand corner of the BAIN Downtown site. Or, subscribe to My Buenos Aires Travel Guide and receive all of her posts though email!

Cultural Events at the Jardin Japones

Posted on April 12, 2013 by BAIN Downtown

This Sunday, April 14 come and join our BAIN member, Solange Mecham at the Japanese Gardens onAv. Figueroa Alcorta and Av. Casares. There will be a demonstration of Aikido and Bonsai while you enjoy the beautiful Japanese Gardens. Solange will be wearing a name tag with the word “BAIN”.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art that blends the motion of the attacker and redirects the force of the attacker rather than opposing it head-on. It’s a form of self-defense that requires very little physical strength.

There will be also a talk about Bonsai and those individuals in the audience that would like to bring their own Bonsais will have the opportunity to talk to an expert. Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing miniature trees and shrubs in containers.

Aikido – 15:00 – 17:00 (Demonstration and for those interested, audience participation)

Bonsai – 17:00

Entrance Fee: Adults AR$24, children 11 years old and younger free, Adults 65+ free with ID.

How to get there:

Address – Av. Figueroal Alcorta and Av. Casares. Map .

Public Transportation:

Bus: 10, 15, 37, 59, 60, 67, 93, 95, 102, 108, 118, 128, 130, 141, 160 y 188.
Subte: Línea D, Stop: Scalabrini Ortiz. (8 blocks aprox.)

For more information, visit: http://www.jardinjapones.org.ar/.

The Book Exchange Returns in May!

Posted on April 12, 2013 by BAIN Downtown

The BAIN Book Exchange is Back!

We skipped a meeting of this bi-monthly group, so it’s been awhile since we’ve gotten together. Looking forward to seeing everyone interested in sharing books and literary discussion at our upcoming event.

Please join us by bring 1 or 2 really interesting books to lend or give away in exchange for someone else’s great book. You don’t necessarily have to part with your book, you can loan it to another BAIN member who will be held accountable to return it. Our book exchange offers participants an opportunity to access high quality reading material in English, which can be hard to find and expensive to buy in BA, so please bring the book you would like your best friend to read.

Date: Thursday, May 2nd

Time: 11 am

Place: Contact Danielle Gold at dgold@counselingba.com for directions

Please RSVP in advance – exact address provided upon RSVP

Refreshments & good conversation will be served

April Ladies Night Happy Hour

Posted on April 11, 2013 by BAIN Downtown

Join us for fun with friends on the private terrace of the Hotel Melia in Recoleta!

Wednesday, April 17

6:00 – 9:00pm

Posadas 1557

RSVP: annsager@me.com

International Polo Series 2013

Posted on April 8, 2013 by BAIN Downtown

Thank you to My Buenos Aires Travel Guide for the information below. To keep up with this an other events in Buenos Aires, we have added a feature called “Blogs We Read” to the lower right-hand corner of the BAIN Downtown site. Or, subscribe to My Buenos Aires Travel Guide and receive all of her posts though email!

The International Polo Series 2013 (Serie Internacional de Polo), organized by the Argentine Polo Association, will take place on April 9, 11, and 13, 2013 at the Campo Argentino de Polo in Palermo (Av. del Libertador & Dorrego).

This unique tournament, with the participation of three high handicap international teams (Argentina, England, and South Africa), is an important addition to the national and international polo calendar.

Teams:

Argentina: Diego Cavanagh 7, Pedro Falabella Jr 6, Manuel Plaza de Ayala 6, Martín Joaquín 3. Total: 22.

South Africa: Dirk van Reenen 3, Christopher MacKenzie 5, Jean du Plessis 6, Ignatuis du Plessis 8. Total: 22.

England: Matthew Perry 3, Oliver Cudmore 5, Mark Tomlinson 7, Luke Tomlinson 7. Total: 22.

Calendar of matches:

April 9 – 2 PM: South Africa vs England (Match 1)

April 11 –2 PM: Argentina vs Loser Match 1

April 13 – 2 PM: Argentina vs Winner Match 1

All matches are open to the public with Free entrance.

The schedule is subject to change depending on weather conditions, so keep checking for updates.

April Morning Coffee

Posted on April 7, 2013 by BAIN Downtown

The next BAIN Morning Coffee is coming up! Mark your calendars!

Date: Tuesday, April 16th
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00
Where: Palermo Chico *Exact address provided upon RSVP
Come spend a morning making new friends and catching up with old ones.

This is a casual, fun way to mingle and meet new people and it’s open
to all BAIN Downtown members.

Never been to a coffee event before? New to BAIN or Buenos Aires? We’d love to have you join us. Let us know in your RSVP if you have any questions!

Please RSVP to Ramona Michetti at rgmichetti@hotmail.com
We hope you can make it!

Are you interested in hosting a Morning Coffee?? You pick the day, and BAIN will chip in AR$150 to help cover hosting fees. Hosting is a great way to continue the event, and get involved with BAIN! Contact Katarina Nyssens at katarina.nyssens@gmail.com for more information!

*This event is limited to current BAIN members only. If you are interested in becoming a member of BAIN, contact bain.downtown@gmail.com*