Sergio, Joaquín, and I decided to visit one of the areas considered the favorite natural playground for “Porteños” wanting to get away from the glass-and-concrete surroundings of Buenos Aires during the weekends. “El Tigre” (or The Tiger, in English) is the destination and had been highly recommended by our various book guides and also by at least one of the many taxi drivers that had volunteered information to us. Our point of departure was Retiro Station, just a quick walk across Plaza San Martin (three city blocks from the Marriott). The place was very busy with travelers and commuters coming and going. Some of them were carrying heavy luggage in tow; some others just whatever was needed for the day. We quickly located a ticket window and paid for our fare. The attendant pointed us to ... read more

After some great fun over the weekend, Sergio, Joaquin, and I needed to take care of some vacation “business”. We had decided prior to leaving Atlanta that we were going to have enough time during our vacation to visit at least two major sites in Argentina; one of them Buenos Aires, and we were leaning for Iguazú Falls as the second site. Since we did not have any reservations for air travel to get to Iguazú or for lodging once there, finding a travel agency and making reservations was high priority in the agenda for Monday. Joaquin had made up his mind about the leather jacket he wanted to buy at Dalla Fontana and Sergio had as well, so after breakfast we headed for the shop on Reconquista St. to have their measurements taken and to ... read more

Before departing for Argentina on Thursday afternoon, right when the limo arrived at our home to take us to the Atlanta airport, I realized that I had misplaced my small Moleskine notebook and did not remember where it was until we had left the house. So my first priority in Buenos Aires on Saturday was to find a replacement notebook for my travel notes. Sergio and Joaquin were not too thrilled about having to follow their father on a search for a stationary store, but they were lucky, since I actually found one selling agendas and pocket calendars relatively quickly. A 3 ½” x 6” agenda was the closest thing to my Moleskine and would have to do. Next, we headed for another leather store recommended by Lonely Planet. We crossed 9 de Julio Avenue’s all ... read more