Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires early on June 20 after an overnight flight from Houston.  Of course we didn't sleep much so we were dead tired when we arrived.  Once we got to the hostel though, we had no desire to nap.  The room was awful...stains on the walls and sheets, the window did not shut, and when we went out, the door had to be locked with a padlock.  The shared bathrooms were not any better...toilet seats were broken off and doors didn't shut properly.  Needless to say, one of our tasks for the day was to find somewhere else to stay the next night.

Hostel staff trying (unsuccessfully) to shut the window

Putting thoughts of the filthy room aside, we headed out to explore the city.  We walked toward Plaza de Mayo and visited the Casa Rosada.  From Casa Rosada we walked along Avenue de Mayo to the Plaza de Congreso.  Along the way, we crossed Avenue 9 de Julio, which at 140 meters and up to seven lanes of traffic in each direction, is one of the widest avenues in the world.  

Avenue 9 de Julio

Casa Rosada

We found it odd as we walked around the city that so many shops were closed and the streets seemed quiet.  Of course, Starbucks was open.  So, we went inside for a break and a pick me up.  I attempted to place my order in Spanish and the girl taking my order smirked a little.  When I started to struggle, she revealed that she speaks perfect English.  We asked about the closed shops, etc. and learned that we had arrived on a holiday - Dia de la Bandera Nacional.

On our second day in Buenos Aires, we checked out of the hole of a hostel we were in and moved in to a much cleaner place down the road.  After settling in, we headed out for another day of sight seeing.  This time, we started out by walking through Puerto Madero and the old docks.  We continued on to Plaza de San Martin and the Falklands War Memorial.  From there, we walked to the Recoleta neighborhood and visited the cemetary and nearby Iglesia del Pilar.  The Cementerio de la Recoleta cemetary is huge and full of massive, ornate tombs.  Eva Peron is buried there, making it a popular place for visitors.  After Recoleta, we started to head back in the direction of San Telmo, the neighborhood we were staying in, but we took the long route, passing the beautiful Teatro Colon and the Obelisco in the Plaza de Republica along the way. 

Puerto Madera

Recoleta Cemetary

After five and a half hours of solid walking, we decided that it was as good a night as any to treat ourselves to a meal out.  On recommendation from my cousin, former BsAs resident, we went to Siga La Vaca for a steak dinner.  For only about $24, we were given all the meat we could eat (beef, chicken, lamb, pork), all you can eat salad bar, bread, dessert and either a full pitcher of beer or a bottle of wine (each).  We both had several servings of steak, along with various other delicious bits.  We were so full that the next day we didn't eat a thing until late afternoon.

We got a late start on our third day, but spent the afternoon visiting the La Boca neighborhood.  As we headed out, we walked past Plaza Dorrego and stopped to watch the tango dancers putting on a show for the cafe patrons.  We continued on our long walk along busy streets and through parks into La Boca.  La Boca is a lively (and very touristy) neighborhood full of brightly colored buildings. Restaurants and gift shops line the pedestrianized roads.  On the way, we also passed by the Boca Juniors football stadium, which obviously was more interesting to Simon than to me.  I had never even heard of the Boca Juniors, but I got to know some of their fans better than I would have liked to later on (more to come in the Rio post).   

The next day we boarded our 18 hour bus to Iguazu Falls.  We returned to Buenos Aires about a week later after also visiting Uruguay.  We decided to stay in a different neighborhood so that we would see more of the city.  Unfortunately, during the week we were away, the blue skies had gone gray and rain was never far off.  I also had a pretty bad cold - probably from our freezing room in Montevideo.  Fortunately, we were staying in a pretty nice place and were quite happy to just have a couple days of doing hardly anything but using the internet and watching movies.  

On our last day, our flight was not until the evening so we stashed our bags with reception and finally wandered around the neighborhood and nearby gardens.  On our way back, we had lunch in Havanna, also recommended by my cousin, and for dessert, sampled some alfajores, a favorite treat in Argentina.  Delicious.  We ended up buying a whole box of them and that box did not last long.