Kathleen
April 11, 2014
Argentina’s Big Apple…what a perfectly lovely, completely livable, vast metropolis! It took us about 30 minutes to feel at home in Buenos Aires. Although it is vast, we stayed fairly close to the center and with both an underground system and a team of taxis probably largert than you find in NYC, it is quite easy to get around even when you don’t want to walk. We do like to walk as much as possible, but there is always a limit. Every taxi ride we took cost us between 20 and 40 Argentinian pesos, which is pretty cheap at the exchange rate of 8 pesos to the US$.
We rented an apartment in an area called Recoleta, named after the its famous cemetary which houses the tombs of any number of famous Argentinian figures and probably most famous of these, that of Evita Peron. The Argentinians are still in love with Evita as she fought for ideals and workers and the Argentinian governments right up to present day have been frought with greed and corruption. Evita was only 33 years old when she died of cancer. It is fascinating to understand what an impact she had on the hearts of this nation in her very short life.
Anyway, we had a lovely apartment in Recoleta for a very reasonable price and we could explore the city at our leisure. We were lucky that when we asked about special dinners in BA, the manager of our apartment took an interest in us and invited us to a food and wine event at a local hotel. He was a US native and his wife was from a town outside of Buenos Aires. They graciously invited us to their flat for a glass of wine and then got us tickets to a sold-out food and wine event at which we were able to taste many delicious Argentine foods (the lamb sandwhich with chimichuri was to die for) and wines. They introduced us to their friends and spent the evening with us and we felt like we belonged to the “in” crown in BA….what a treat! The next night they invited us to dinner at a local Parilla (Argentinian BBQ) spot and helped us to navigate the menu to a delicious typical Agentian meal. We were very greatful to Mike and Andrea for treating us like family while we were in BA and it definately enhanced our experience.
What else to say about such a vast city? It is beautiful in many places, with parks and plazas in abundance. We had lunch in a Japanese tea garden and coffee in any number of fashionable or convenient cafes. We were lucky to be in town on Sunday and enjoy several local crafts and antique markets as well as a fantastic pizza at a neighborhood shop in one of the more bohemian areas of town. A short taxi ride took us to La Boca, one of the most colorful neighborhoods we have seen anywhere, which is supposed to be a “dangerous” area, but really has become a tourist destination where there is lots of souvenir shopping and restaurants with live tango shows going on out in front. These were just some of the many delights we experienced in Buenos Aires. It is a place we would be happy to return to any time. Hopefully you can get a feel for it by perusing the pics…..
