Tea for 2?

According to Miranda France (Bad Times in Buenos Aires), Cafe Biela, opposite Recoleta Cemetery and the Church, is where rich divorcees drink coffee and take afternoon tea while "looking at themselves in other people's sunglasses". Not being in the market for a divorce and having only very small sunglasses, we decided to by-pass this venue and yesterday afternoon headed instead to the Orangerie in the swanky Alvear Palace Hotel, BA's swishest hotel-look it up on Google for nice photographs! Thanks to Naomi, Esther and co's generous birthday gift we indulged in tiny sandwiches, scones, cakes, pink champagne and blue earl grey, which is earl grey but with the addition of lavender from the south of France! It was served by waiters wearing red coats and white gloves. In the corner a lady in black played the harp. Delicious and a great way to start an evening which ended just after midnight back in the Thelonius Jazz Club in Palermo listening to Pablo Kranz.

France also describes how her local news stand (there don't seem to be news agents here, just street stalls) refused to sell her foreign fashion magazines on the basis that they were too expensive, even though they stocked them, and we have also had this experience. I tried to buy the Spanish version of Hola to keep up with the doings of the Duchess of Alba (as you so) and was told it was far too expensive and I didn't really need it-so I didn't buy it! Yesterday we had a similar experience. We had hardly sat down at the Alvear Palace than the elegantly dressed Maitre De glided over to us and "advised" us that we didn't need to buy two teas as one was quite enough for two people. And so it turned out to be. You just have to love these people!