The Girls....................and Blake!

Blake put up with 3 girls for a week...he was wonderful!! He became our personal photographer.

Estancia Don Silvano

The Estancia Don Silvano was very interesting. They had old fashioned farm equipment and carriages as well as buildings from when it was a working farm and homestead in the early part of the 1900's. We rode horses, ate an asado, watched a show (dancing and singing from different regions of the country), learned argentine tango, and saw horse/gaucho games outdoors.

Kelly and Heather's Visit

Kelly, a long-term and very great friend of mine from PSU Dance Team, came down to visit with her friend from Tampa, Heather. Kelly's MBA program was traveling to Brazil, so she decided to come a week early to see us in Argentina before heading with Heather to Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. We have done many things around Buenos Aires, many of them for the last time....because Blake and I are leaving for Chicago in 10 days. The weather has been a lot colder here, since it is now almost winter in the southern hemisphere, but we have still managed to do some great things around the city. We visited the Recoleta Cemetary, Alvear Street (the richest and fanciest street in BA, where the Four Seasons Hotel, ranked in the top 5 in the world is located), Palermo shopping (boutique clothing stores), Florida Street (leather shopping), Belgrano (for our very own private showing of leather coats by a friend of Kelly's who works in the leather business here), San Antonio del Areco (a small city outside of the capital, where we went to the Estancia Don Silvano for a dia del campo--gaucho day), and San Telmo (for the market and a tango show). We have eaten and drank everything Argentine: medialunas, submarinos (hot milk + chocolate), cafe con leche, asado (beef on the grill), homemade pasta, empanadas, picada (meat, cheese, and appetizer tray), mate (herbal tea), vino tinto (red wine), and of course helado (ice cream/gelato). We have enjoyed doing our last trip through the city as tour guides for Kelly and Heather. Here is a photo of us at the Tango Show.

Our Photography and Artwork Website

We have now compiled all of our best photographs and our completed artwork from this year into a website. The address is: www.novotnyartists.com
We hope you enjoy viewing it.

New Artwork Blake

Blake is working a lot on handmade paper with pen or acrylic paint. He also made a drawing of a church as a wedding gift for one of his English students who is getting married in August.

New Artwork Lindy

We are trying to finish up some smaller artworks or "easily-packable" items. Here are a few examples of art that I have finished at the end of May and now in June. We are also trying to make several gifts for some of our friends here. The 3-part abstract panels are a gift for our friends who really helped us get comfortable here in Argentina.

Blake's Birthday in Palermo Parks

Blake turned 31 on May 25, which happens to be a huge holiday here in Argentina. We spent the entire "autumn" day wandering through the Palermo Parks. These parks consist of several lakes, gated-in gardens, bike paths, event locations, etc. We had not really spent much time in this area before because it was always a long distance from our other apartments. We were able to walk from the apartment we live in now. We made a picnic and found a neat spot to eat underneath a vine-covered pergola.

Santa Teresa, Rio

Santa Teresa is a neighborhood located on a high hill in Rio. The streets are entirely made of cobblestone and have tracks for a still-running trolley system. We stayed in this area for one night and explored the area and its shops, restaurants, and unique buildings. We went to an old castle that had been converted into a park for tourists that was located at a great vantage point over the city. We rode the trolley and enjoyed watching the local kids jump on and off of it as it went up and down the steep, stone steps.

Salvador Beaches

The Salvador beach is known for its sunsets. We were able to catch 3 sunsets along the beach out across the ocean. Amanda and Blake enjoyed feeding sand crabs pieces of coconut. We walked along the waterfront and watched surfers as well as took photos of the interesting and colorful fishing and recreational boats.

Salvador de Bahia, Brazil

We flew to Salvador after Buzios to see another area of Brazil. This area is called Bahia, the largest bay in Brazil. We spent time at the beach that was located right across the street from our hotel. One night they had an Aquathon--where athletes would run several miles in a loop on the sand and then swim about a mile in the water and then get out and run again. It was really enjoyable to watch. We spent a day wandering around the old area of the city, called Pelourinho. There were a lot of artisans, restaurants, shops, and chapels. This area of Brazil was very diverse and is known for its large "Carnaval" festival--the 2nd largest in Brazil after Rio. On the last morning we were there, they had a parade of people on stilts and in costume with loud music blaring down the street. It was entertaining to see all the people.

Buzios, Brazil

Buzios is a resort and beach town with 23 carved out beaches on an interestingly shaped peninsula. It became notorious for European travelers because the actress Bridget Bardot went there often. They even have a street in the small town named after her. We spent my 30th birthday in this town and ate a Thai restaurant along the waterfront. We spent 2 days sunbathing at the beach and enjoying the plethera of items being sold--sandwiches, fresh oysters, dresses, table linens, small toy boats, luggage, dish towels, fruit salad, etc. The pausada (cabin) we were in was on a hill that overlooked the ocean. The central part of town had cobblestone streets with many clothing shops and restaurants and was entirely pedestrian.

Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro

Ipanema Beach is one of the most popular beaches in Brazil. It has white sand, great surfing and windsurfing waves, mountains in the distance and at one end, an island in the water, and palm trees lining it. The area and most of the cities we went to are infamous for their patterned sidewalks as well--using a mosaic-style stone in black and white. On the beach there were people selling everything imaginable---food, sunglasses, towels, jewelry, and even bathing suits (as seen in the photo above hanging from an umbrella). We drank coconut milk and carved out the soft areas to eat. Blake joined into a "futevolei" game, which is a combination of soccer and volleyball where you hit the ball with everything except your hands over the volleyball net. Blake was really good at it, because he hit the ball with his head.