My first trip to Argentina: September 2004

We traveled to Buenos Aires to visit Steve's maternal grandmother. Abuelita's first words (as we walked in to her room at the nursing home) were "I never thought you would come." All three of us had an extraordinary trip, thanks to the incredible hospitality of the friends of my in-laws: Marcelo & Marilú and Rolando & Beatriz. Marcelo hosted us generously, (including running into his neighborhood ice cream shop when he saw me trying to order with my hands). And Steve was more than happy to guide me through the city of his parent's youth. I fell in love with La Recoleta, El Rosedal, bife de lomo, empanadas, galletitas de membrillo, café cortado, but most of all, the Porteños themselves, each of whom had a smile and a welcome for our Francisco. And he, too, must remember the journey, because he still gets a joyous grin every time we say "Fran-see-ko" as the Porteños do.