I get an e-mail from my Mum in the morning to tell me the fraud protection service at my bank left a message on her answerphone - one of the numbers I have listed in my contacts with the bank. Last Monday, I tried my card at an ATM in Palermo and had it denied. I even tried it at my own bank and it still didn't work. There are hardly any ATMs in the whole of Palermo and when I asked in the shops, they told me to go to the Microcentro, which is a whole half an hour away. How can a major shopping district for rich people do without cash machines? Especially when the supermarkets don't even take cards...
Anyway, I try calling the bank's 0845 number from the office but it doesn't work from outside the UK and there's some problem with the phones at work. My Mum tries calling and is told they can only speak to me personally. Eventually, after several attempts, my boss tells me it's ok to use my work mobile and I call from there. My card has been blocked because I didn't tell them I was moving to Argentina. Grrr! Anyway, no major harm done, and after a few security questions, my card eventually gets reactivated.
At lunch, I find a cool place called Picnic, a vegan café/restaurant on Florida, right by Catedral subte station. They do great salads and interesting sandwiches, and the first floor eating area is perfect for people-watching. Argentina, unlike the UK, doesn't have many sandwich shops like Pret a Manger and Marks & Spencers, as there's no real lunchtime sandwich culture, so it's nice to find somewhere that reminds me of home a little.
Today's people-watching from the first floor of Picnic included this rather odd grey rectangular giant chasing an innocent pedestrian down Florida...
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