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Published: February 22nd 2011
It’s hard to know where to start with Buenos Aires; really, really hard! Sarah and I spent two action packed weeks in the Argentinean capital and I basically had to drag Sarah away to begin our Patagonian adventure. We rented a cozy apartment in the Recoleta area and based ourselves here as we set about finding out more about Buenos Aires. To enjoy the blog, you may like to refer to the reference section below.
Tinto: (n) Red wine. Delicious. Abundance of in Buenos Aires and varieties to suit all budgets. Delicioso!
Bife de Chorizo: (n) Just as sure as grandmothers know how to make the best bread, the Argentineans know how to do meat. Amongst the best cuts is the Bife de Chorizo – a delicious tenderloin / rump steak. Always accompanied by Tinto (see above).
Porteno: (n) Lively, friendly, helpful, proud. These are the local men, women and children from Buenos Aires.
Boliche: (n) Social gathering places where one may enjoy drinks and get down to the sounds of local and / or international DJs. Many to be found in Buenos Aires. Usually frequented after 2am until breakfast-time. More info on the Boliches coming up in the ‘@Nite’
series.
Barrio: (n) Neighborhoods. Each of which has its own unique charm and identity. Including San Telmo, Palermo, Recoleta, La Boca and more.
Futbol: (n) The national pastime. River Plate and Boca Juniors make up the majority of local fan-bases. Caution when wearing team colors and be sure of your surroundings!
Calle: (n) Busy, charming and sometimes very colorful thoroughfares that make up Buenos Aires. Included in this city is the widest Boulevard in the world – 9 de Julio.
Subte: (n) Subway or Metro. Underground train linking Barrios and Calles in Buenos Aires.
‘The Dictatorship’: (n) Chilling era in which free speech or even thoughts could result in death, or worse. ‘The Dictatorship’ generally refers to the period 1976 – 1983 when the government launched a state sponsored ‘Dirty War'.
Our warm welcome to Buenos Aires began on the weekend. Sarah and I got settled into our apartment on Saturday night and immediately popped outside to the streets of our temporary home barrio; Recoleta. At this particular time the streets were surprisingly quiet. The mysterious semi-silence was quickly explained however when we sat down to a couple of cervezas at ‘Locos x el Futbol’ to watch Boca Juniors
Bref's Argentinean Football Debut!
I got to play 5-a-side on both Fridays and chipped in with some goals.Vs River Plate. The ‘Classico’ was being played in Mendoza so the Portenos who didn’t make the trip were glued to the screens around the city. The game finished 2-1 to Boca with the help of a goal from Martin Palermo. For those of you who know futbol / football / soccer, you may remember Palermo missing a hattrick of penalties for Argentina in a 1999 Copa America match. This seems to be forgiven and forgotten, especially in La Boca where Palermo, as all time top-scorer and still scoring, is a god. More about futbol a bit later.
Sundays are in San Telmo. The street market and carnival atmosphere bring people here in droves and make for fun times. We jumped on a Subte from Recoleta and slipped into the crowds wandering the cobblestone streets amongst the handicraft sellers and street parades. Plaza Dorrego is centrally located in the heart of San Telmo and this is where you can enjoy the live Tango shows. Observe and / or participate; this is a fun way to appreciate the beauty of Tango. After a bit of encouragement, Sarah even tried a few steps with the Tango dancers and acquitted herself very
Salud!
Our friend, Mark, and Sarah si a couple of cold brews at The Gibraltar. well! I didn’t, because….well because someone had to take the photos!
So, after strolling the warm streets and getting your fill of Tango, it would be about time to grab some food. Don’t worry though because there are plenty of options. Sarah and I found a really cool, family-run bistro to stop at. By bistro I mean a tiny neighborhood eatery which consists of four small outdoor tables of which you are seated at one by the owner herself. ‘Lo de Marga’ was perfect and how couldn’t it be: Take 1 Bife de Chorizo with papas fritas (fries / chips), 1 large mixed salad, 1 bottle of Tinto, 1 table facing the street parade of drums and dancers and all for the asking price of $72 ARG Pesos or US$18. Yes please! There’s also a cool Mural of Che Guevara outside.
Just around the corner from ‘Lo de Marga’ we found our way to Puerta Roja. With no signs or signals, this funky bar is distinguished with a bright red door that faces the street. We had a howl here until after midnight and met a fun bunch of Portenos that fast became friends.
Spanish Lessons with
Delicioso!
The wine and meat were also tasty ;) Gabriela
Sarah and I wanted to continue learning Spanish as we travelled, but we weren’t too keen on the idea of going back to class again so we found a tutor who took both of us together as a group. Gabriela Ferrante is a really great Spanish tutor from Buenos Aires. We liked her from the moment we met her. After meeting in English Gabriela spoke and taught us practical Spanish each day for two hours as we explored the city with her. This was a fun and immersive way to learn. We were surprised after even day one when we had dinner with Gabriela and didn’t speak any English for two hours! Gabriela’s sense of humor and patience was key in unlocking our apprehension in speaking Spanish in so many public spaces and situations.
Cultour
A fun and interactive way to get to know the city is by doing a walking tour. Sarah and I went with Cultour for a 3-4 hour tour which took in a lot of the city and gave us a great introduction to the fascinating, if disturbing, history of Buenos Aires and Argentina. We met our guide, Ignacio, in San Telmo on Monday
Pool Shark
Puerta Roja has a nice pool-room morning at 10am. After watching a 10 minute introductory video about the dictatorship era we started to walk. Our tour took us from San Telmo through the city. During the four hours we visited Plaza de Mayo (huge square which is surrounded by the Presidential Palace, Congress, Central Bank, Cathedral), excavation site of one of the concentration camps in La Boca, Palacio del Congreso (Greco-Roman building which houses seat of legislature), Plaza de Republica which features the huge Obelisk, Teatro Colon, Plaza San Martin (features eternal flame dedicated to those who fell in the Falklands / Maldives war in 1982), Evita’s union headquarter building, the ‘Home of Tango’ and more. We even got to see a streaker who ran around the Plaza de Mayo in his birthday suit before the Policia comically chased him and covered him up!
Did you know? (We didn’t before Cultour) • An estimated 30,000 civilians ‘disappeared’ during The Dictatorship. Disappearing acts included mass graves following torture and being thrown from helicopters or airplanes and weighted to the bed of the river or sea.
• The Casa de Gobierna is also known as the Casa Rosada because it has a pink exterior which was made
City Lights
BsAs @ night from cow’s blood.
• Before finally resting in Recoleta, ‘Evita’ Peron’s body was kidnapped and mysteriously hid by The Dictatorship army, then buried in Spain under a false name. She was only 33 when she passed away due to cancer.
• In 1992, the financial / economic meltdown led to the population trying to withdraw their savings from the banks. However the state imposed a $250 per week withdrawal limit. Imagine telling a desperate country that they can’t have their money back!
• July 1955, the Argentinean army bombed their own country as part of an attempted Coup d’état to detract followers of then president Juan Peron. From Plaza de Mayo you can still see shrapnel scars.
Evita Peron
An unequivocal voice of the working class in Argentina, Eva ‘Evita’ Peron was the charismatic and idolized first lady to President Juan Peron. On Tuesday, Sarah and I walked around the corner from our Apartemento to Cemetaria Recoleta which houses Evita’s mausoleum. We also later visited the Evita museum in Palermo to find out more. In the evening we met Gabriela at El Ateano, a historic Teatro converted to a library, before heading to the Microcenter for a night out.
We started at The Kilkenny before meeting up with some friends to go to Bahrein (see @Nite).
Wednesday involved a sleep in before tucking into some Tinto and sandwiches for lunch, after which we strolled to the U.N Park. That evening we had Spanish tutoring at Gato Negro, a historic café. On Thursday we went back to Plaza de Mayo: once a week on this day the Madres de Plaza de Mayo continue to demonstrate for justice to be brought in respect to their Children who disappeared during The Dictatorship. It was powerful to see them peacefully march around the Plaza and hear them speak, yet sad to realize that their time is limited as they continue to get older. After all that, Thursday nights are Niceto Club to let off some steam!
Futbol
One of the fiercest sporting rivalries exists in Buenos Aires: Boca v River. At games the fans are segregated by barbed wire which they climb, despite the risk, to taunt their enemies, throw flares, coins and expel bodily fluids! I would have loved to have gone to a game, but I contented myself by visiting Boca’s stadium nicknamed the Bombonera (Chocolate Box) due to
Time to eat
Sarah and I grabbed some Pizza at Guerrin - a popular local spot. its shape. The team and stadium is made of legends, including one famous ex-player – Diego Armando Maradona. I also got to test my own skills and have a few games in Buenos Aires. If there is one thing I miss while travelling (apart from all my people) it’s playing regular football / soccer. Each Friday in Palermo there is an organized 5-a-side series, also put together by Cultour. My team, ‘Crème de Europa’ consisted of myself and Jim from Ireland, Scottish Stu, two Norwegians, a Swede, and ‘Roman the Destroyer’ from Russia. In typical Bref-inho style I managed to jam a few goals and ruffle a few Latino’s on our path to the finals where we had to be happy with a draw due to time constraints. It was fantastic to play footie with lads from all over the globe. Sarah also enjoyed chatting with the other WAGs on the sideline! After that it was Friday night: Amazing dinner at ‘La Cabrera’ followed by clubbing at Crobar. The futbol theme continued on Saturday. I was happy to watch Manchester United play Southampton from our Recoleta apartamento until Sarah blew a fuse while cooking! No worries though as we skipped
Guerrin
Nice Pizza! down the road to ‘Locos x el Futbol’ again to watch the game in which Chicharito scored a winner for United! Saturday night took us to Guerrin, a funky local pizza place in the city, before tying one on at top Boliche: The one and only ‘Cocoliche’.
Sunday involved another sleep-in before we had some delicious empanadas for lunch and then headed towards La Boca. La Boca is a working class Barrio, where many immigrants settled close to the port for work. One of the coolest sections of La Boca is the ‘Caminito’ area; a small colorful section in which you feel the fusion of identities expressed by the immigrant community in the small, colorful buildings as you stroll around. Around the corner you have The Bombonera.
Food & Drink
Again, it’s hard to know where to start here. We enjoyed so many great meals and wines in BsAs. Because it’s so hard, I am just going leave this to Sarah. I think this nudge will get her started on her writing 😉 Check out her upcoming Food & Drink blog.
Getting Ready to Leave Buenos Aires
It’s never easy to say goodbye. Luckily, most of the
Guerrin Greetings
The chefs were enjoying themselves too. time it’s only a “see you later” or “hasta luego” which I am sure of in this case for us and Buenos Aires. In two weeks we had just enough time to settle in and get to know the city and fun times that are BsAs…..
But we had more travelling to do. Next up was Patagonia: A raw, naturally beautiful plateau covering southern Argentina and the south of Chile. It would mean swapping our dancing shoes for hiking boots; leaving an apartment for temporary time in a tent; leaving our Porteno friends for penguins; farewell to the sunny streets of Buenos Aires – Hello to the unpredictable mountain peaks of Patagonia and the Andes. You can follow our progress in the upcoming Patagonia blog series.
We hope you enjoy.
Saludos,
Bref y Sarah!
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Noah
non-member comment
With a 'stache like that, how could you not?