Week 9: Buenos Aires

Before planning my trip to Buenos Aires, multiple people told me I’d absolutely love the city.  However, I must admit that after our taxi ride from the airport and arrival at our hostel, I couldn’t imagine what everyone saw in this run-down, decrepit city – graffiti was painted on every wall I could see, dog poop and trash on every sidewalk, and buildings all around us were falling apart – it seemed as though either all of those people must be sorely mistaken or I was in the wrong city…

It only took one night in the city for my opinion to do a complete 180.  We spent the first night of our trip at ‘La Bomba del Tiempo’, a Monday night tradition that we heard is an absolute must if you find yourself in BA on a Monday.  I think we all expected some hippie-ish drum circle where guys in dreads danced around in an outdoor park while everyone watched/danced along with them – we were quite wrong.  In reality, we waited in a long line, paid $10, and entered a huge warehouse type building with a giant stage, filled with a band pumping out beats on their drums, while stomping their feet to brightly flashing lights.  Beautiful people surrounded us and everyone was having the time of their lives -- sucking down humungous plastic cups of cheap beer, stuffing their faces with empanadas, and dancing until they were covered in sweat.  It was a blast.

We woke up Tuesday craving a big gringo breakfast.  We consulted our list of compiled recommendations and only found one “breakfast/brunch” listed (people in BA sleep realllly late since the clubs are open to all hours of the morning) – so opted to go there.  I was left in charge of directions… big mistake.  After two hours and 45 minutes (yes, we really trudged around BA for that long without eating – think 3 different metro trips and a LOT of walking), we finally realized that we were STILL 21 blocks from our final destination and hopped in a cab.  Lesson learned (for about the millionth time) – NEVER trust Meghan with directions.  Thankfully, the lunch (we were obviously too late for brunch, arriving at 3pm) was delicious and (in my opinion, although probably not the boys’), totally worth the wait.

 [The boys at Olsen - after our long trek]

We spent Tuesday afternoon wandering through Palermo Soho which is my absolute favorite part of BA – think cobblestone, tree-lined streets, swanky restaurants with outdoor and rooftop patios, adorable, brightly painted boutiques, and really really pretty people – amazing.

 [Ice cream at Chungo - absolutely fantastic]

Unfortunately, we woke up to rain on Wednesday and after a quick, very wet, run opted for shopping on Florida Ave – a pedestrian street filled with shops, street vendors, and great malls.  Although we made very few purchases, we DID get to take our picture with Santa (and his helper).

Wednesday night we splurged… sort of.  We went to this super swanky, incredibly delicious steak restaurant in Palermo – however, during happy hour (between 7-8:30pm) everything is 50% off (wine, steaks, appetizers, you name it) which was absolutely fantastic (and saved us over $200).  We all agreed it was the best steak we had ever eaten – complete with multiple dipping sauces (garlic & onions, sweet potato puree, apple sauce, mashed potato puree, sun dried tomatoes, pesto, etc.) – man, so so good.

We spent Thursday morning in Boca – a great little, very colorful neighborhood on the west side of BA – wandering streets, shopping, and Matt and Addiel even jumped in a soccer game (unfortunately, I was wearing a dress plus I’m pretty sure the kids were at the ‘girls have cooties’ stage of life so I opted to watch from the sidelines).

Unfortunately, the rain picked up in the afternoon but we did manage to squeeze in a trip to the Recoleta Cemetary, which is where Evita is buried (!) before being total Americans and spending the rest of the afternoon at the movies – between a big bucket of popcorn, a fountain soda (which are QUITE rare in SA), and ‘New Year’s Eve’ (which was shown in English with Spanish subtitles), I felt like we were back in the U.S.

In hindsight, although my first impression of BA wasn’t exactly favorable, I think the run down parts of the city are all part of it’s appeal – what a crazy juxtaposition from the swanky pockets of Palermo and Recoleta – I suppose the bad really does make you appreciate the good, right?

I’m off to Machu Picchu for my last week in SA before heading home for the holidays…