This is a continuation of our previous post….we decided to give each country its own post- they were all so unique and chock full of information! So here is the next one…
Stop #2
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Where do we start?!?! It was our second stop on our South America journey. We had just come off the “high” of beach life in Rio and were ready for some city life! Buenos Aires did not disappoint!
Buenos Aires in a word- DECADENT…….it’s the NYC of South America! We cannot stress enough how much we LOVED our time in Buenos Aires.
BA is a huge thriving metropolis known for its tango dancing, wine, shopping & leather goods, and amazing food. Although it sits on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, there is no beach, rather there are ports, and its actually quite sophisticated. We learned quickly that although it was “fall” and actually quite nice weather (high 60’s), it is NOT appropriate to wear shorts & flip-flops around town. They will peg you at once as a silly tourist who doesn’t know what he/she is doing. Since we like to blend in with locals and do as they do, we marched ourselves back into our luggage to change into something more appropriate- LOL :).
Like NYC, there are several different neighborhoods within the city. After a ton of researching, we decided to split our time between 2 of them- San Telmo & Balvanera and like Rio, we decided to go the B&B route. All choices we looked into were found once again on TripAdvisor.
Our first stop was in the San Telmo neighborhood, which is actually the oldest “barrio” in BA! We stayed at an adorable little place called the Gurda Hotel. Its almost like a very small boutique hotel/B&B. In addition to breakfast, they also have a cute wine bar and Tango dance floor if you want to try your hand at it! The rooms are nicely furnished and all have their own bidets & flat screen TV’s.
The neighborhood was great for walking around and stopping at cafes & restaurants for some wine & cheese. San Telmo also hosts a street fair every Sunday at Plaza Dorrego (pictured above). There are some awesome hand-crafted items to buy. We got this beautiful leather and silver wine holder for our family back home- they loved it! I also purchased some gorgeous silk scarves and a hand-painted glass wall clock.
A short distance from the San Telmo neighborhood is the Plaza de Mayo. You can walk to it easily with the right shoes. The Plaza de Mayo is the main square in downtown BA and holds a ton of history to check out. The buildings are massive and the streets wide and clean. The city officials have done a great job of posting signs around the area to explain historical info on what you are looking at. Our favorite was the huge PINK building (Casa Rosada) which houses the Executive Branch of the Government.
The food and wine is so inexpensive in Buenos Aires that you can literally eat like Kings & Queens for next to nothing. However, that being said, do yourself a favor and splurge on a meal at La Vineria de Gualterio Bolivar!!! OMG- seriously an unforgettable experience. It is super tiny and holds only about 10 tables. The menus are created fresh every day based on the ingredients available. There are about 7 small plates that are each accompanied by wines to compliment them. To die for- DO THIS!!!
Another great place to eat close to the San Telmo area is in Puerto Madero (the piers/port area). The restaurant is called Estilo Campo. Phenomenal pairings of wine to food. I had the best pork tenderloin & sautéed apple dish while David indulged in their Ribeye….yum!
OK, I know i just said that you have to do all of the above, but without a doubt (seriously), you also have to do this- DADA. (Can you tell we are obsessed with food yet?!?!?!).
Above are 2 of the most delicious and divine steak dishes we have EVER had…..ever. This is a hole-in-the-wall steak house/bar in the middle of the downtown shopping district of BA. The staff is super friendly and the food….wow, beyond words and super cheap! Even their hummus as an appetizer with some red wine before the steaks- oh yea…yummy!!
OK, enough about food for now! Another great cultural experience is to go to the Recoleta Cemetery. Here the tombs of the deceased are housed above ground in both simple and elaborate “houses”. Families are stacked on top of one another and the famous Evita (Eva Peron) is housed here. Her tomb is very elaborately guarded though. The actual tomb with Evita is so far below ground that inside the house there is an elevator that will take you down there (well, not YOU, nobody is allowed there)! We got spooked walking around the Recoleta Cemetary….but enjoyed it very much!
Back to accommodations…..the second place we stayed at was called El Edificio De Los Pavos Reales. It is located in a very old and historic part of Buenos Aires called Balvanera. Although the neighborhood itself is not much to talk about, you can easily get to the shopping and downtown areas via subway or taxi. Let us just say…….it is worth the extra effort to stay here!!! Kevin was the most amazing host!!! The building is so charming and authentically Argentinean. Breakfast was delicious and and the rooms so cozy and quaint. We highly, highly recommend staying here!
Close to our B&B was the National Congress building. Magnificent and massive. You should definitely take a few moments to stop by and get a picture…..it might be best if you had a panoramic one though- its tough to fit it all in one frame.
I LOVE to shop- shop for me, shop for others, shop for house goods, whatever! You name it, I love it! 🙂 Buenos Aires is the perfect place to shop. In every neighborhood of the city, there are either huge indoor shopping malls, outside street fairs, boulevards lined with stores, or wholesale areas to get leather goods. We visited about 3 of thier huge indoor shopping centers. To be honest though, we enjoyed the street shopping more. The malls are great and there are 2 in/near the Recoleta area and 1 at the end of Florida street, – they have every designer store you would want, but it was really pricey for our tastes and we wanted to buy from more authentic shops.
Stop #1: A really fun place, but touristy, area to shop in is on Florida Street- crazy name right? I found a gorgeous black leather purse by Prune (actually it was an early birthday present from David)! Its a trendy but high quality brand and I loved it! They sell handbags, shoes, accessories…..fun store!! All along Florida street there are a wide variety of shops and without a doubt you will se an impromptu tango show going on…..so fun!
Stop #2- Palermo. What a fun barrio!!! If we lived in Buenos Aires, this is the neighborhood we would want to live in. You do not feel like you are in a city at all. Palermo is broken up further into numerous districts and all types of people find their home here. There is upscale, trendy, bohemian, young families, old & traditional…..really it encompasses everything. A lot of up and coming designers also sell their items at little markets on the street. We got some great winter coats and some new shoes too:). There are corner cafes and restaurants everywhere to stop and people watch- too fun.
Leather goods- OK, you cannot go to Argentina without coming back with some leather goods. Its what they are known for and let’s be honest, I went a bit crazy! 🙂 A couple purses, a few paris of shoes, and a fabulous leather coat!! The best and cheapest place to buy leather goods is in the leather district on Murillo Street. Although David found his leather coat & shoes in Palermo, I found mine and a cute brown leather purse here. A must do for bargain leather- plus they will CUSTOM MAKE it to fit you (my sleeves had to be altered). Fun!!
And last but certainly not least….
TANGO!
Tango is everywhere you go in Argentina. Its in the music, the walking, the talking, the food, the drink, of course the dancing…..its embedded in the culture and you can’t help but get up off your butt to try your hand at it.
La Boca is a barrio of BA that exudes the sexual tension that Tango Dancing is all about……walking up and down the main street of La Boca will find you surrounded by cafes all putting on live tango shows. Its so cool!! We loved spending an afternoon watching this:
After watching the above, we decided to check out a big production tango show at the famous Esquina Homero Manzi. It was an amazing experience! You can dine beforehand and their food is incredible- here is a taste of what we saw!
So….after seeing impromptu tango shows in La Boca and a large production at the famous Esquina Homero Manzi, we decided to try it out for ourselves. Our host Kevin at El Edificio De Los Pavos Reales recommended to us a tango class by Alberto y Fernanda. It was a blast! We spent about 2 hours making complete fools of ourselves but what fun it was! We really wish we had more time to go back but alas, the 1 night was all we had. So, after watching and trying tango shows, we went shopping for some proper clothes! I purchased a great pair of tango shoes at Artesanal and a fun slinky black tango pant at Tango-Imagen. 🙂
Buenos Aires is amazing. You have to add this to your bucket list!! It has huge influences from Spain, Italy, Portugal….its truly a unique flavor- european yet very south american! 🙂
Happy Travels!
Kimbra & David
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Your trip looks amazing!!! You guys look great.br /Lindsay