It's always exciting for me to visit a place for the first time, and
flying to Buenos Aires from London for me was a first to South America
and Argentina. Our travels have taught us to stay a few days in a place
to get a feel for it rather than roaring around trying to fit everything
in in 3 weeks. I have also learned not to trust Tripadvisor too much;
it's a self perpetuating tourist trap most of the time. We don't always
get it right but I would rather have authentic than bland anyday. And so
it was we found ourselves in the hipster barrio ( neighbourhood ) of
Palermo Soho for the first 4 days of our trip.
The Subte, Buenos Aires underground is cheap and easy to use. Catching Linea 4 from our hotel to downtown Plaza de Mayo was most convienient.
Buenos Aires was once known as the Paris of South America and you can see why with it's wide boulevards and neoclassical architecture. It's a little faded and down at heel, like an aging tango dancer dreaming of the good old days. Just like Argentina itself whose status in the region and booming economy are things of the past. For us it was a stark reminder of how one bad leader can destroy an entire country in a relatively short time. Beware Zuma; you are well on your way to doing just that to our beloved South Africa!
We visited the historic buildings like Casa Rosada, where Evita stood on the balcony to address her people and Theatre Colon. We traipsed the streets of Barrio Centero, Barrio Retiro and Barrio Recoleta; where we visited the Cemetiro Recoleta. It's named one of the best cemeteries in the world and whilst you may not think cemetries are touristy places, it is nevertheless very impressive.
We caught a taxi to La Boca, the famed Italian slum settlement, known for it's brightly coloured corregated iron buidlings and a high crime rate! It's so touristy now and the police only allow the tourists to walk the few blocks filled with tacky Boca Juniors ( the famous football team ) souvenirs and fake bars serving overpriced warm beer.
The neighbourhood with the real old BA feel is San Telmo, which we loved. All over BA and especially in St. Telmo we really enjoyed whiling away time in the many Bares Notables. These are historic cafes, bars or tango halls that are listed buidlings; the great thing being that they have to preserve the original interior and decor as well as the structure. From the grand Art Nouveau tea rooms to the grungy bars where Hemingway hung out, we drank a lot of coffee and local wine. Argentines have a very sweet tooth we discovered and they love sugary pastries and cakes with their coffee or Mate ( local herbal tea ) especially for breakfast. If you remember eating caramelized condensed milk out of the can as a kid, you will love Dulce de Leche ( sweet milk ) served with most desserts and spread on toast for breakfast. Other foods worth mentioning are the Empanadas, savoury pies with fillings ranging from chicken and beef to cheese, vegetables and corn; street food Argentine style.
It took
some walking between various Kioscos ( corner stores ) and Personal (
cell phone company ) shops to sort out a SIM card with data; due mainly
to our very poor command of Spanish. English speakers get lazy expecting
that wherever we go, people will speak our language. Well that's not
the case in Argentina. Without Google translate we would still be
simless, I fear.
We set the bar extremely high by
having our first lunch at Parilla Don Julio, a few blocks from our
hotel. A Parilla is an Argentine steakhouse and can vary from an outdoor
braai on the side of the road to a stand and eat hole in the wall joint
to a traditional local restaurant to a trendy modern place. One thing
they all have in common- meat is cooked on real coals. Don Julio falls
into the traditional yet upmarket category and we soon learned that
whilst Argentinian steak is really excellent; it doesn't come cheap. And
don't expect any sides thrown in, it's all extra. You have to wash it
all down with a bottle of Malbec of course. Here again a good bottle
will set you back at least US$50; usually quite a lot more. Cheap
Argentine wine should probably be avoided but more on that when we get
to Mendoza. At local parillas the cheaper cut to eat is Asado de Tira ( short rib ) served with bread and chimichurri ( a garlic and chilli sauce. )
Parilla Don Julio
Palermo Soho
Asado de TiraThe Subte, Buenos Aires underground is cheap and easy to use. Catching Linea 4 from our hotel to downtown Plaza de Mayo was most convienient.
Buenos Aires was once known as the Paris of South America and you can see why with it's wide boulevards and neoclassical architecture. It's a little faded and down at heel, like an aging tango dancer dreaming of the good old days. Just like Argentina itself whose status in the region and booming economy are things of the past. For us it was a stark reminder of how one bad leader can destroy an entire country in a relatively short time. Beware Zuma; you are well on your way to doing just that to our beloved South Africa!
Art in the Subte stationWe visited the historic buildings like Casa Rosada, where Evita stood on the balcony to address her people and Theatre Colon. We traipsed the streets of Barrio Centero, Barrio Retiro and Barrio Recoleta; where we visited the Cemetiro Recoleta. It's named one of the best cemeteries in the world and whilst you may not think cemetries are touristy places, it is nevertheless very impressive.
Casa RosadoWe caught a taxi to La Boca, the famed Italian slum settlement, known for it's brightly coloured corregated iron buidlings and a high crime rate! It's so touristy now and the police only allow the tourists to walk the few blocks filled with tacky Boca Juniors ( the famous football team ) souvenirs and fake bars serving overpriced warm beer.
Cemetiro Recoleta
La Boca
St Telmo
Cafe La Poesia
Cafe La Biela
Empanadas
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