Life in a year full of Saturdays

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Buenos Aires (Argentina) - The Proposal - part (III)

Buenos Aires (Argentina)

The Proposal - part (III) - 'The day'

24 November 2016

So, how did I propose to my wife you ask?

Let me tell you

The location:

For me there was simply no substitute for the Hotel Panamericano on Carlos Pellegrini. Inga and I have stayed here once before and I knew for a fact that the rooms here are exquisitely appointed, large and that the view from the corner suites with their aspect looing down Avenida 9 de Julio to the Obelisco and the image of Evita further on is breathtaking, iconic, and the epitome of what it was to be in Buenos Aires, or rather, the epitome of what it was to be asking ‘someone to marry you whilst in Buenos Aires’.

Avenida 9 de Julio - from the Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

The set-up:

Of this I was particularly proud. For that evening I’d arranged for us all to be picked up at 8:30pm and be driven to the Faena Universe Hotel in order to experience the seductive, sultry, ethereal performance of tango in its various guises as interpreted by the Tango Rojo production.

It's a an emotive, fascinating show that conquers all the senses, combining sounds, aromas, colours, movement and flavour, the setting and the mood was going to be perfect for post question celebrations and would be the driver for what I needed to happen prior to asking the question.

The nature of the performance, the location and the atmosphere of the event dictated that we all needed to be extremely smartly dressed, meaning, we all needed to be in good form prior to heading out for the night. It also meant that we needed to be on time for our pick-up. What I known about Inga is that she is always on time. If I set a time for departure then she'll would be ready to go at the exact minute. What this also meant was that I knew the exact time that I would be proposing that evening. Seeing as though I'd set a pick-up time of 8:30pm, but asked everyone to be ready by 8pm (meaning Inga to be ready by 8pm), that meant that at 8:01pm on November 24th, 2016, we'd be out on the balcony of room 1503, overlooking central Buenos Aires and I'd be asking this wonderful person to be my wife.

Buenos Aires - Argentina

The calm before the excitement

Roof top pool at the Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Back track a few hours to a little earlier in the day. Davis had come up to our room whilst Inga up on the top floor terrace, taking in the southern rays whilst occupying a lounger at the pool. I decided to utilise this opportunity to fill him in on what I planned for that evening. From memory I believe the conversation went something like this;

Henry: ‘Ok, so tonight we’re getting picked up at 8:30pm, can you be here at around 8:10pm ?’

Davis: ‘Okaaay….’...

Obviously wondering why I'd become so anal about time.

Henry: Pulling a box out of his suitcase

'The reason that I’d like you to be here is because I’m going to be doing this’  - showing him the box and then opening it to display the ring.

Davis: Recognising what was happening, with a smile appearing on his face.

‘Oh, nice….and it's about time!’

We both kind of laughed, and then Davis said something that completely threw me of my game.

Davis: ‘Well, I hope she says ‘yes’

ALERT….ALERT….WHAT THE HELL!?!…
It was in that precise moment that my mind felt like it had gone on its own little magical mystery tour. Up until that point in time I'd never even contemplated that ‘No’ might be a viable response, and of course it could have been, in this scenario ‘I’ was a 50% chance of happening. Why the hell hadn’t I considered that? What would happen that was the final result? On what had I really based my assumptions? Why had I not conducted a valid risk assessment of the situation prior to this moment? Could this potentially be the biggest disaster of my life?

Thank you Davis, the pressure gauge on my internal dial just went offline due to unbelievable readings.

Cometh the hour:

Throughout the day I had planned what I was going to do. How I intended on leading Inga out onto the balcony, what I would say and how the ‘presentation’ of the ring would take place.

I had a large ring box and also smaller ring box that contained the ring. My idea was to reveal the large box first, and then, when she realised what was happening but before I started the actual question, to enter into an epic fumble of the empty box over the balcony and into the abyss – I figured I'd go for that as my lead option. Why not? Create some drama, step onto that roller coaster of oscillating emotions, throw in some comic relief and imbue the situation with some tensions and anticipation. Pretty much I thought this would be an amusing move, if not somewhat alarming in the exact moment.

Go time – asking the question!

As the afternoon hours ticked down to the single hours and then to minutes, the moment of truth fast approached. When Inga went into the shower and started to get ready I knew right then that I had 20-30 mins to put everything in place for preparation of that moment.

In actual fact it too me just 5 mins to get set.

For the remaining 25 mins that I'd given back to myself I rehearsed in my own mine what I wanted to say. I think I constructed akin to being in the city I love, with the woman I love and wanting for them to be in my life forever. Those words, the way they melded in my mind, however eloquent and genuine, didn’t quite make it onto the stage of reality in the critical moment.

When Inga came out and I knew she was ready to go, I invited her onto the balcony. I started with my rehearsed lines, but I fumbled almost immediately. I could feel the sounds of my voice quivering and the words starting to drain down the good ‘ole tunnel of oblivion.

Waiting for the answer - Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

The balcony – the moment – the rehearsed fumble

I had placed two boxes in separate locations, hidden on the balcony, not obvious to a person that wasn’t looking or expecting them to be there. I think at that point in time I managed to say, ‘Well, I’ve brought you out here for a reason….’, I turned around picked up the larger box and started on my faux presentation. As I started to open the box I deliberately instigated a clumsy looking fumble that inserted two desperate grabs that looked like I was attempting to save the situation from disaster. In fact what I did was quite deliberately set the box sailing out over the edge of the balcony, through the early Buenos Aires evening, perhaps out onto unsuspecting crowds below. A dream, a hope, all vanishing in one moment of idiocy.

Her face was priceless…it was amazement, horror and desperation all rolled into one look.

I stood in front of her, frozen, extending the moment for the reality to dawn. I wanted to make it look like that all the epic fails of humanity at somehow be distilled and existed solely within me, like I was the personification of human failure.

Inga looking at me, asking incredulously and with a certain degree of anxiety

“You’re kidding?’

Holding that moment for a little longer than I needed to, looking desperately out over the balcony, I responded by saying ‘

Yes, of course I’m kidding’.

In that moment I swung around, picked up the smaller box with the ring, dropped to one knee and asked her the question that I had been waiting to ask for such a long time.

Inga: ‘YES’

It's a thumbs up!!!! - Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

OH YEAH – BUENOS AIRES, YOU DELIVERED!!!!!

In that moment it felt like everything that I’d wanted to happen, all the elements of where I wanted to be, with the person that I wanted to be with came together, and hey, didn’t we have the right city and the right backdrop to set off the party.

A night out with my fiancée and future brother in-law:

That night in BA was just the best. Heading down to Tango Rojo at the Faena Universe just completed the day and the situation so beautifully. Music, elegance, fun, happiness, it couldn’t have been better.

Making our way back to the Panamericano later that evening we slipped into the hotel Cigar Bar and set about on a few Montecristo’s as we spoke of what had transpired that day, and in fact, everything that had led up to that moment in the prior months.

Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Cigar bar - Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Hotel Panamericano - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Avenida 9 de Julio - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Tres medias lunas y una cortado - Plaza Dorrego mid morning breakfast - San Telmo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Early evening in San Telmo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Buen Viaje - 'absolutely' - thank you Buenos Aires!

Leaving now for a short time, we'll be back - Aeropuerto Ezeiza - Buenos Aires - Argentina

-Sometimes you’re lucky enough that the things that you want and desire all meet at that point in time that becomes reality. This was one of those moments and boy, didn’t I feel like a lucky man.

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Buenos Aires (Argentina) - The Proposal - part (II)

Buenos Aires (Argentina)

The ‘Proposal’ – Part II

17NOVEMBER – 25 NOVEMBER 2016

This second part of the three part blog refers, in the main, to our attempt to buy an apartment in Buenos Aires.

In the months prior to heading to BA I was looking at real estate opportunities all over the globe. Serbia, USA, Dominican Republic, etc. In my research on the buying process in Argentina I wrote the a whole range of things, including the details below, in a 40 page document wrote for just my own benefit, more to sanity check my investment strategy.

I include this except here as it really was the catalyst for coming down to Buenos Aires.

The buying process (ARGENTINA)

Every real estate purchase must go through a special attorney called an ”escribano publico” (Notary Public). This is a crucial part of the transaction as the attorney has the obligation to do the following;

- Check that the seller is the registered owner

- All taxes and duties have been paid

- There is no lien on the property (a lien is the right to keep possession of the property belonging to another person until a debt owned by the property owner to the person in possession is paid)

STEP 1 – RESERVA

An offer on a property (to buy) at a certain price is called the RESERVA. Sometimes this is 5% of the asking price of the property but it can be just $1000USD.

STEP 2 – BOLETO

The Boleto is the pre-binding contract. This is an intermediary step where the seller will receive 30% of the agreed purchase price of the property. It is most commonly used when signing of the title deed transfer is scheduled 45-50 days down the line.

STEP 3 – ESCRITURA

This is the actual closing date when all parties get together to sign the official deed of transfer. This is the point where the buyer takes control of the property. All taxes on the property must be fully paid at the time of the transfer.

The buyer does not need to be physically present to sign the deed if a third party is authorised by a Power of Attorney to sign in their place.

Costs

Common costs with a real estate transaction;

- Realtor Commissions: 3%-4% of the closing value + 21% VAT = (3.63% - 4.84%)

- Money transfer fee: (0.7% - 3%)

- Escribano fees: (1% - 2%) plus 21% VAT = (1.21% - 2.42%)

- Stamp fee: 4.32% - if the price of the property is over 360,000 ARS then the stamp fee will only be paid on the difference between the price (minus) the 360,000 ARS value. This will also be split between the buyer and seller 50:50.

Our apartment searches took us through Palermo and Palermo Soho initially, what's considered to be the trendier barrios of Buenos Aires, mostly due to its bars, cafe, restaurants and high end outlets.. The buildings and apartment blocks that I viewed in the area included new-ish to very new builds. The opportunities we were shown there were good, but not outstanding and they just didn't have the feel that I needed. With that said, after the fact, I have warmed a great deal to Palermo and would very much consider buying into the area now if I had the opportunity.

At that time I believe that buying property was very much like falling in love, when you knew, you knew. That of course goes against the main tenet of real estate, being, that buying is purely a business transaction and emotional reactions need to be completely excluded in favour of the pure numbers. Perhaps that’s true but this buy was was going to be a special one and there was only one thing that I needed to be guided by,my head wasn't required to attend that meeting.

Inga, Davis and I also viewed a few places in San Telmo, all of which had some credible elements but didn’t quite hit the mark…but when that right moment happened, it was love at first sight and it came from an unexpected place.

La Editorial - Bolivar 1610 - San Telmo - Buenos Aires

Calle Caseros - San Telmo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

San Telmo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

I’d been sent photos of the La Editorial building, located on the boundary of San Telmo/Boca, previously. I’d kind of steered clear of it as it wasn’t exactly in my desired location but my mindset changed when I actually viewed the property and also noticed that its standing on the Buenos Aires map, the corner of Bolivar & Caseros, just a short hop up the street from Parque Lezama, was actually fairly decent. A very attractive part of the world in a hidden section of Buenos Aires, it felt like it was a small pocket of Buenos Aires designed just for me. It was brilliant, and of course, perhaps more importantly, the apartment was also. It didn’t take long for us to make the decision and start the transfer process into the Elisher name. I believe the moment we were a few steps away from the building we both were of the understanding that our search had ended. The architecture on Caseros in particular had that familiar old world style charm, coupled with some nice bars and restaurants, it just felt like the right place to be and one that in the future we'd inevitably enjoy.

Viewing properties, whilst the primary focus of our stay, was not all that we came here to do.. Of course I’d also organised some cool activities for the gang in our free time which allowed us to take in the Buenos Aires experience from a different perspective. The first was the Photo Ruta Photography Excursion – this provided us the opportunity to walk around a part of BA, in this instance Palermo with a photography specialist, who would act as guide, not just in terms of location but also in terms of providing instruction regarding elements of photography such as light, shape, viewpoint, pattern, movement etc. Her objective was to allow us to take in the sights from ‘behind the lens’. The lens in this instance being the omnipresent camera we all have in our back pocket, an iPhone camera. Coupling our iPhone with the additional utilisation of a photo editor, Snapseed, we discovered made for quite a powerful image making tool.

Without question I'd have to say that the Photo Ruta Photography Excursion was one of the best experiences we've had when considering value for money, sightseeing and the information provided. All three of us enjoy taking photos but even after only 20 mins we recognised the direction we’d been given was altering the nature of our photos and allowing us to capture, in quite a unique manner, a very photogenic part of the city. With that said, Buenos Aires is extremely photogenic in its entirety. Some cities just lend themselves to being captured in photos. BA has that charisma and spunk in spades.

Foto Ruta Photographic excursion - Palermo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

A lot of the photos we took during those hours in Palermo were very good but there were some, that in my personal opinion, were great and really gave an interesting aspect to a part of the city that we'd not taken the time to become involved with. My personal preference has always been the southern part of BA, specifically San Telmo, but after this little escapade I can very well see myself spending more time in Palermo during future visits.

Foto Ruta Photographic excursion - Palermo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Another great event that we signed ourselves for was the Argentine Experience. Basically this is a dinner concept experience where participants get taught the fundamentals of Argentine cooking and what it is to be Argentinian, whilst enjoying dinner, and of course, consuming copious amounts of Malbec. The whole event was just fantastic. Quite often the experience you have in situations like these are dependent upon the entire interaction of your group. Considering there was three of us we represented a relatively large chunk of that group which meant we could move in and out of exterior interactions with ease and not be unduly forced to interact.

Argentine Experience - Fitz Roy 2110 - Palermo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

The night itself was a lot of fun. From making our own empanadas, to ordering our style of steak in the exact manner that we wanted, to the dulce de leche, to once again….the Malbec. When wine and conversation flows and the experience is interactive then you usually find that fun and enjoyment is there to be had. It was a blast and I can understand why Tripadvisor has it ranked so highly on its 'to do' list.

Four Seasons Hotel - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Frank's Bar - Palermo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

Our final stop in Palermo was at Frank’s Bar. Now anyone that knows me will also know that I have a thing for hidden speakeasies. Frank’s Bar certainly met all my requirements of needing to be cool, faux clandestine and somewhat difficult to get into. To get in basically you need to be able to decipher a series of clues that appear on the bar’s Facebook page each week. On arrival the requirement is to give that password, verbally, to the doorman, who in turn will provide you with a numerical code. That code is what you utilise once you step inside the entry phone booth and locate the numerical panel, which acts as the unlocking device to the world beyond. Opening up to the world ‘beyond what you know’, Frank’s delivers a relatively understated but sophisticated style of bar. Admittedly if the bar was located anywhere else and you could simply walk in, well, the novelty would of course undo the entire attraction. It would in fact be a reasonable bar with overpriced drinks. Still, I’d always wanted to go there and somehow knowing about a cool place in a city on the other side of the world made me feel kind of cool myself.

This ends Part II of ‘The Proposal’ – click here for Part III, which takes you to a blow by blow account of the actual day.

Life in a year full of Saturdays

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Thursday, November 24, 2016

Buenos Aires (Argentina) - The Proposal - part (III)

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Buenos Aires (Argentina) - The Proposal - part (II)

The buying process (ARGENTINA)

STEP 1 – RESERVA

STEP 2 – BOLETO

STEP 3 – ESCRITURA

Costs

Fan favourites

A year full of Saturdays