the park hyatt / palacio duhau, buenos aires, argentina. or, as i like to call it, "tim, this is how we should be living".

i know, right?

it's like moldavia, manderley, and tara
all rolled into one edifice.

this is where we stay when we're in buenos aires,
and i have to say it's in the top three of my favorite hotels.

a former palacio, purchased by the hyatt group and completely redone,
half the grounds are the original building, half are a modern hotel.
the courtyard that connects them, complete with waterfalls and terraces,
is one of my favorite places to sit and unwind:

the new building,
a limestone graceland,
is filled with modern sculpture, a pool, gray birdseye maple,
and the requisite sleek bathrooms en suite:

the original palacio duhau,
which contains two restaurants, the gym, a bar,
and a staff so discreet they barely exist to the eye,
is stunning:

having spent evenings in both sides of the hotel,
of course my heart went a little insane on the duhau side.
i don't know if it was the garret-like slope to the roof,
the enormous chandelier,
the mix of modern art and plated hardware:

or the curtains!

but regardless of the side,
it's the littlest things that make a hotel stay a respite for you
rather than a reminder of your distance from home.

take breakfast.

michael and i would meet on the terrace,
and talk about the day to begin:

somewhere between the sun and the baby cacti on the table,
this would arrive:

that's right.

those are semi-sweet chocolate eggs, my friends.
resting on ground cane sugar.

you drop them in the frothy heated milk.
and make your own hot chocolate.

and are spoiled for the rest of your life
to all other forms
of breakfast.

where ARE my manners? its time to introduce the crew! so let's go to dinner, and let's tango, argentine style . . .

i need to tell you about this motley rag-tag group. 
after all, we spent two weeks wandering the streets of a foreign land together,
putting together film and friendships.

this was a dinner out at sotto voce, a wonderful italian place near the hotel.
and as you can see, we were getting to know each other,
quickly.

 

here's ms. amanda tibbits, producer
and general "landis attitude wrangler".

girl knew how to keep me in line, i tell ya.

Renee Loso, Lindsey Shirey, and Don Kvam
who, regardless of renee's expression, were the epitome of charm. 
(also, check out the ahead of trend one-shoulder action on linds.)

and, of course, the manacop,
italo gregorio, our hair maestro,
and cari kidd,
the three that consistenly kept me laughing and on my toes all shoot.

after dinner,
it was off to the cafe ideal, where they shot scenes for evita,
and we got to see how the locals
"get down"

yes, darlings,
it was a night worthy of the poses.

yo soy un flor -

which probably means something like

"i am the floor"

but i was having a frida kahlo moment during fittings for this project:

i don't know.

it's not technically "me",
but don't you think someone should get alber elbaz on the phone and let him know there's a new menswear trend about to kick off that he can get "in on the ground FLOR" on?

get it?

thank you.  here all week.

wakin up in the park hyatt, gathering the troops, casting the argentine models, discovering a new side of yourself -

you wake up early,
because of the birds in the trees here.

you worship at the shrine
of product.

and slowly,
slowly,
get going.

but it's good to know there are happy faces
and good allies
waiting for you . . .

and then, the flow of beautiful faces . . .

lines of girls,
lines on paper,
all intersecting in your head as you try to imagine the pieces
falling
into place.

it's a group effort . . .

so you try not to,
you know,
get "selfish".

(oink.)

the glamour of international production, sao paulo airport style -

oh yes.
it is a glamorous life, my friends.

standing for hours at the teriyaki stand in the sao paulo airport,
watching the plastic surgery go by.

eating "STAX", not pringles,
coke zero,
and tiny ice cream,
because there is no way on earth i was eating sushi from an aiport kiosk.

yep.

envy us.