Buenos Aires Review

For a long weekend myself and three other PFLers jet set to Buenos Aires for the best that this city has to offer. This is my report:

Many people refer to Buenos Aires as the most European city in South America. I think the cobblestone streets, corner cafés, and fashion coifs make it easy to see why people might think this, but I like to believe that each place is unique and beautiful in its own way.

The main attractions of Buenos Aires are shopping, tango, fútbol, and restaurants (pasta, meat, alfajores and wine not to be missed). My enthusiastic travel companions and myself partook in all of these delights to some extent.

Day 1

On our first day we took up Marcos’s offer of a free city tour. Our transfer came promptly upon our arrival to the apartment that we had rented (BA Home Rental). He took us to the Marriott Hotel where we unfortunately had to wait 40 minutes for our tour bus to arrive. I am not a big fan of bus tours---I prefer to be on the street and walk around, which I appreciated at La Boca and Caminito. La Boca was our tribute to Argentine soccer, where we saw La Bombonera home of Boca Juniors Athletic Club. Perhaps I will return to this stadium one day to watch a game with my boo. At Caminito even the old people were fashionable and the tango dancers were all the attraction despite the holes in their fishnets. (That might be an oxymoron)

We wrapped up Day 1 with a well earned fancy dinner at Cabernet, in Palermo Viejo. Fried brie cheese, risotto with mushrooms, and Los Alamos Malbec for me.

On our way out of Palermo we spotted a bar with Guinness. Guinnesssssssss. Not very Argentine, but we had some pints. (Sullivan’s Bar).

Day 2

On our second day we got down to business. There are a lot of boutique stores in Bs As and we were determined to see as many as possible. It is likely that we stepped into 55% of all boutiques in Buenos Aires. On this day we went to Avenida Santa Fe, starting at Av. 9 de Julio and heading west. Reaching Burger King, we hailed a taxi to Alto Palermo. Today’s conquests: Zara, Albanese, Scombro, Cuesta Blanca, Zool, Freddo (ice cream), Caro Cuore, and more.

Dinner at La Huella, across from our apartment on the corner of Pueyrredon and Gutierrez. That waiter was adorable. I could have put a bow on him and given him away as a present. My lomo con champignons was delish.

In the evening we visited former PFLers Mark and Shelby. We went out with Mark and his Texan roommate to Milion Bar. Their conversation was … interesting.

We then took on the Bonairense night life at the coolest (according to some people) boliche, Crobar. I was impressed by the size of the club, and I did see a transvestite outside as promised. The club was rather infested with intoxicated young Argentines who had spent more time working on their hair than on their game. We stepped outside at daylight and went back to our little nest in Recoleta.

Day 3

More shopping. Galerias Pacifico and La Florida. Today’s special shopping mention goes to Susana’s beautiful red flats from Perugia and Anyela’s very practical and finely designed laptop bag (also from Perugia).
For dinner we met with former PFLer Rory and his small crew of metropolitan diners. We tried Bangalore in Palermo for Indian food and flavorful beers.

Day 4

San Telmo! We got there rather late in the day, though I really enjoyed it. Pedestrian streets, feria artesenal, street performers galore, more quaint boutique shops and good empanadas at El Desnivel (though notably not good service to go with them). It was here I found the obscure liqueur Hesperidina, which I had been sent to Argentina to find. I have yet to try it. I will let you know if it is worth it.

We left San Telmo tired but too soon if you ask me. We regrouped at the apartment in preparation for the Tango Show, which we were not sure if we were going to do or not. Confirming our reservation with the theater itself, we got dolled up. We looked hot that night. See picture. I really liked Esquina Carlos Gardel—admittedly touristy but the performers were excellent and there was a seemingly limitless supply of wine. Some us would be interested in the long haired Tango dancer’s number if anyone gets their hands on it.

Day 5

It’s now or never for shopping (and art). We split up to make our shopping strategy’s more effective to be sure that we got every last shoe or article of clothing necessary before coming back to Peru. I also visited MALBA for my cultural fix. I wasn’t blown away by the featured exhibits, but I did like the octopus on synthetic blanket and the large pulp print displayed on the wall of the first floor. O Imposivel, a sculpture by a Brazilian artist was also really cool.
We all managed to find space in our luggage for our new treasures and headed for the airport in a very full taxi. Our GOL flight was slightly delayed as could be predicted so we kept ourselves more or less entertained at Ezeisa until finally saying goodbye to Argentina.