All ashore that’s going ashore

Anton and I are setting sail (on a ferry boat) from Buenos Aires across the river to Uruguay!  First stop- Colonia del Sacramento, a colonial riverside town across the river plate.  After a few days there we head for the remote beaches of eastern Uruguay, Punta del Diablo, Cabo Polonia and La Pedrera before seeing Montevideo.  

a few of the 3,000+ seats in the theater

seven levels of sound

a building in San Thelmo district

Buenos Aires was more beautiful than we ever imagined.  On a tour of the Teatro Colón, the opera house with the best acoustics in the world, we learned that Buenos Aires experienced a Belle Epoque at the turn of the 20th century when a lot of French architecture and culture was imported and mimicked.  I knew that Buenos Aires had a lot of European influence and a big Italian immigrant population but I didn’t know it is considered the Paris of South America.  It fully deserves this title since walking down its wide avenues filled with an abundance of stylish shops and cafes while looking at the beautiful buildings was very reminiscent of Paris.  Before arriving, I was really nervous to be overwhelmed by the abundance of activity and options for diversion.  Luckily, their January is like our July, many people are out of the city and things are calm. Not-so-luckily, many activities are in the off season like the opera house and some markets.  Also, since since it was like July, it was hot hot hot, and humid.  We spent a full week there but probably could’ve crammed all our activities into a few days although with the heat were limited with just how much we could do each day.  A good chunk of time  had to be spent in front of the fan while making plans for upcoming travel.  Plus, it was nice to unpack and feel settled in one place, especially in the great, affordable apartment we rented through AirBnB in the amazing Palermo neighborhood.  And, being there for a full week gave us a good amount of time to explore the endless and delicious dining options available.  Thanks to the leads from a friend who was lucky to live in BsAs for years a few years back and from a food blog she tipped us off to, we found some GREAT places to eat and drink. 

you can buy fresh squeezed OJ! with campari!  on the street!

believe it or not the best choripan is here at Lo de Freddy

We sampled many of the city’s regional offerings.  One almost every block or manzana as the porteños say, there is a fiambre and queso shop selling fine meats and cheeses.  

Of course we had that and of course we tried a parilla for great steak and chorizo.  We also had insanely good choripan at a literal hole in the wall, Lo de Freddy.  BsAs is not short on international cuisine either and we had another great dining experience at Sarkis, a neighborhood Armenian place.  

waiting for pizza at El Cuartito

We were so enchanted with the city.  We visited a number of old timey places that are long living city institutions.  One such highlight was El Cuartito, a pizzeria that has been in business for over 80 years.  The interior is lined with faded, aging sports posters and career waiters serve tasty pizza and fernet with cocacola from the tap.  We also checked out some new places that were nearly as awesome like the bar Floreria Atlantico.  To get to the bar, we entered a beautiful flower shop at street level.  We asked for the bar and were led through a walk-in refrigerator door downstairs to a long narrow room with a 40 foot long bar.  The cocktail menu is extensive and includes many unique drinks, some that feature locally crafted yerba mate gin.  

syphons at an antique sale and still in use at bars everywhere 

an old theater converted to a book store

BsAs may have the friendliest folk we’ve come across in South America, or at least the most charming mannerisms.  Almost everyone is gregariously friendly and eager to engage and please.  The mannerisms are very charming.  “Thank you” is never answered with you're welcome but always “no, please!”.  Departing greetings are usually “suerte” (good luck), or “buen dia/noche”. 

They really love him around here 

A lot of time was spent flanuering, people watching, and window shopping around Palermo.  We checked out two different art museums (fine art for Anton and modern art for me) and the large, opulent cemetery.  In the historical center we saw the Plaza de Mayo, infamous for the madres and abuelas looking for their desaparecido family members and the Bicentennial museum.  We crossed the widest avenue in the world, 9 de Julio, with more than 10 lanes.  We couldn’t make it in just one light!  We rode the cities buses around to other neighborhoods like La Boca to see Caminito.  We saw a humongous steel flower and real ones in a Botanical Garden.  We had a great time. 

old tenement housing in Caminito

some of the opulence at Recoleta cemetery  

steel flower