Argentina - Buenos Aires

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David here...

The ferry journey from Colonia to Buenos Aires was quick, simple and comfortable. We arrived at the port and breezed through both Uruguay and Argentinian immigration. It wasn't long until we were boarding. This time not a little catamaran, but a full blown ferry capable of taking hundreds of passengers and vehicles. It did feel like every other person was a child intent on crying, whinging or sceaming, to the point that Suzanne put earplugs in. Thankfully the journey was quick, taking just over an hour, smooth and very comfortable. We picked up our bags, changed our remaining Uruguayan money for Argentinian pesos and stepped out into country number 15, and the 11th new country of the trip so far.

The first thing we saw when we stepped out was skyscrapers. We'd not seen buildings like this since Brazil as Uruguay is much smaller and lower in scale compared to it's South American neighbours. It took us about 30 minutes to walk to our accomodation, the Lemon Apartments. We found that hotels in Argentina are expensive, so we had the choice of dorm rooms or an apartment. The Lemon Apartment was modern, spacious, clean and very comfortable. Best of all, it was an absolute bargain at £35 a night. We planned on making use of the kitchenette, so an apartment for us was a no brainer really. Plus, we're really too old to be staying in dorm rooms now.

As it was early afternoon we quickly set off to find a late lunch and to do some sightseeing. Our first stop was a bar called La Puerta Roja, or The Red Door. There is no signage at all. We pushed the door open and went up the stairs to find a dive bar. We'd choosen here as Suzanne had been craving Nachos for a few days, plus they do 2 for 1 drinks up to 22:00. We ordered a plate of Super Nachos and 2 pints... yes, pints... of the Argentinian beer Quilmes. Just as we were paying KISS started playing, then more KISS and more, then AC/DC, then more AC/DC, and more, then System of a Down followed by Motorhead. We think they tailored the music for us for a bit until more customers came in. The nachos were amazing, some of the best we can ever remember having and the beer was good as well.

We left vowing to go back again before we left Buenos Aires. We then walked to Plaza de Mayo, stopping off at Farmacia Estrella, which still has all it's old fixtures, fittings and decorations. It looked like all the old photos of Jesse Boot's first store in Nottingham. We wandered round Plaza de Mayo, enjoying the ambience and the stunning buildings around it, before wandering along Aveinda Mayo for a few blocks. We eventually decided it was time to stock up and head back for the evening.

We went to a supermarket and bought some basics, including beer, wine and 2 massive steaks that cost us only £6. We did pop to another supermarket later on to get a sauce for our meal and ended up with some whisky as well. In the second supermarket we paid on credit card, and they insist you show your passport, which seems like overkill. For our evening meal we had steak, peas and sweetcorn. Very cheap and very tasty indeed. We drank the night away, chatting and reading until we realised it was 01:30 and time for bed.

The next day started with coffee and cereal before we eventually left the room at 11:00. We dropped off a massive pile of washing at the hostel next door (£6 for 2 bags) and set off to the metro station. We wanted to buy our onward bus tickets. The easiest way to get to the bus station was by the Subte system. We read that you buy rechargable cards from kiosks and post offices, so we asked in a post office on the way and the guy told us you now buy them at the metro station. It was 25 pesos for the card (only 1 required) and then you charge it by pressing it against the glass on the left at the ticket window. We put 50 pesos on the card and then both swiped it to get to the train. Easy enough once we had broken through the language barrier. Our Spanish is really not improving, although much better than our Portuguese. It was cheap, a single journey costs around 35p.

We arrived at the Retiro stop and headed to the bus station. We found the right ticket booth (there are about 100 windows) and asked to buy the tickets we wanted. That was when we found out that you need your passports to buy tickets for buses even if they are only national destinations. I had my passport but we didn't have Suzanne's. Bit of a waste of time but at least we knew where to buy the tickets and how to get to the bus station, which is nice to know in advance of having to do it with our packs.

We then headed to a nearby gallery which was shut so we walked to the Museo Nacional Belles Artes. This was an amazing gallery, featuring works of art from the early colonial period right through to modern day stuff. Best of all, it was free. Well worth a visit. We had a quick lunch at the Argentinian fast food burger chain, Mostaza, where the woman behind the counter was very impressed with my Spanish for some strange reason! Maybe she'd had to endure English people speaking loudly at her in the past and she appreciated my efforts? Anyway, it was a pretty tasty burger.

We then walked around the Recoleta Cemetery where Eva Peron is currently buried. This is unlike any cemetery we've been to before as every inch of space is taken up with mausoleums, some displaying coffins inside. Some people say it is the most beautiful cemetery in the world. We found it big, oppressive and cold as the sun doesn't reach inside much. It was interesting to see the place where Evita is burried though. While we were there, we did have on American guy asking us about her and why she was so important. I was glad to have seen the film (despite it starring Madonna) so could give him some history and sound quite knowledgeable.

We then took a look round the Bond Street Gallery shopping centre, a kind of counter-culture place full of tattoo parlours and skate shops. We were hoping to find some new Rock t-shirts, and while they had some, they all looked a little shoddy. KISS with blonde hair? Just no...except for Eric Singer of course! After this we made our way back to the station to get the metro, which was rammed. Fortunately we got on at the first stop so got seats but it soon filled up so people were pretty much rammed in tight.

That evening we fancied something different to eat so headed out to the well reviewed Che Taco Bar y Antojitos Mexicanos for Mexican food. We got there and found the door locked, you have to wait to be buzzed in, which gives it a secretive feel. There were only 2 tables free when we arrived, a busy and popular place. We ordered a Pastor Gringa to share with loads of sides and their hottest sauce. We also had a Margarita each, the rim coated with chili salt as a little twist. The food and drinks were lovely, highly recommended. After checking out a heavy metal bar nearby (shut!) we ended up back at the apartment for another evening of beer, wine and music.

We didn't leave the apartment the next day until nearly 12:00, though this was planned and not just due to the previous evening. We knew we needed to fill our time until 18:30, but more on that shortly. Our first stop was back to the bus station where we successfully bought tickets for our next onward journey and then it was over to the nearby train station. The train station is a hugely impressive building that is British designed and is reminiscent of St. Pancras. Our Subte card was also valid for local trains and we jumped straight onto one going to 3 de Febrero.

We spent the next hour or so wandering around the Parque 3 de Febrero, a beautiful set of gardens and lakes in the heart of BA. It was lovely being there in the sun, though it is not particularly hot here, around 15 deg. We then made our way over to the MALBA gallery and spent another hour wandering through there, again some fine pieces of art to see. We then walked to the Museo Eva Peron, a small museum dedicated to the life of Evita and her achiements. It was all one sided and didn't mention any of the controversies that still surround the Peron's, and didn't really cover her death that much. However it was still interesting to find out about what she undeniably did achieve, leading the way for women to be given the vote for example. A very interesting place.

We still had some time to kill before 18:30 so ended up in a small dive bar called Post Street bar. The walls were covered in pictures, including The Ramones, Ace Frehley and a Kiwi! We had a Jarra of beer to share before making our way. As we got near to our destination we spotted a bar called Taberna Odin and they were playing Pantera. We walked round the block and passed again to find them still playing Pantera. So that was later sorted.

We reached our destination just after 18:30. It was a Parilla called La Cabrera which is renowned for it's steaks. Best of all, between 18:30 until 20:00 there is 40% off the entire bill. We walked in, feeling a little scruffy as it was quite a posh place, and were greeted by a lovely woman who spoke great English. She explaned the deal and that you have to be out by 20:00. The restaurant was busy, but not yet full. We ordered the 800g Bife de Chorizzo with papas fritas. The waiter, who again spoke excellent English, asked if we were sure, which we were as we'd been saving ourselves all day for this, even resisting the Rock & Ribs place we spotted earlier.

We got free bread, pate, olives and some sides with the meat. The meat itself was huge, thick and perfectly cooked, all washed down with beer. We were in heaven. The whole experience from begining to end was a joy. Best of all, the price came in at £40 in total for the both of us including a tip. An absolute bargain, especially as we believed it would be worth it even without the 40% off. They even had little lolly dispensers as you left for a free lollipop on the way out. I thought that as it was a discounted meal, the staff might be a little surly or off with us, or not mention the deal at all. But the deal was very obvious, well explained and the staff could not have been friendlier. We would go back in a shot the next time we get to BA. We left with massive smiles on our faces.

So, it was round the corner back to Taberna Odin where we had 3 jugs of Warsteiner, listening to heavy metal at last before deciding we needed to be heading back to the apartment. Suzanne had already researched how to get back and we jumped onto the right bus, telling the driver where we were going and using our Subte card to pay. 45 minutes later we were back in our apartment after checking out the heavy metal bar near us again (still shut) and stopping of at a supermarket for more beer and wine. Again, it was another evening that lasted into the early hours, partly because the apartment was just so nice.

Our final day in BA started at the Modern Art gallery, yet another good gallery, before we stopped off for an early lunch at La Puerta Roja where we had a pint and polished off another plate of Super Nachos, delicious. We then walked along the quay side up to the Fortabat Art Collection, yep another amazing gallery. By now, we were arted out so we walked up to Plaza San Martin and then walked the 40 minutes back to the apartment, picking up supplies on the way back.

We cooked chicken and couscous for our evening meal on the last night. Cheap and very tasty. After this, we popped round the corner to see if the metal bar near us was open yet. Cuarto Apostle was open this time but it was empty, just us and the owner. We ordered a litre beer and drank that. At least we were hearing metal at last. Although the owner kept skipping songs half way through, or playing the same song twice. It was all a bit random really. We had a second beer and decided to call it a night when someone else turned up, then the owner came over and asked if we had any requests (in Spanish but we guessed that was what he asked). We asked for Saxon and he went away. The other guy then came running over to confirm we wanted Saxon. We got a random Saxon song we didn't really know. The owner came over again. We asked for Rammstein and he went away like he knew what we wanted but no Rammstein came on. Instead we got Manowar... just as good. We felt that as the owner was trying to cater to us that we should stay for one more beer, so we did. Suzanne went to the loo and reported back that they were the worst toilets she has ever seen in her life. I'm not going to go into detail but they sounded grim.

After the 3rd beer we decided to call it a night. We tried to find an open place to buy a final beer but everywhere was shut however we remembered that the hostel next door to our apartment (where we'd taken our laundry) sold beer. We rang the bell and the woman answered and we meekly said 'we're from next door, can we buy some beer please?'. She was very positive in her response and buzzed us in. We bought 2 big bottles of beer from the friendly woman, who enthusiastically said that she remembered us. We spent the rest of the evening listening to music, chatting while polishing off the beer.

The next morning was an early start at 07:30, why did we have the last 2 beers? We never learn. Anyway, we packed up, made cheese baguettes for lunch, had coffee and left the wonderful apartment and made our way to the metro. It was very busy but we forced our way on and were soon at the bus terminal where we had an anxious wait for our 09:30 bus, which didn't show on any screen in the whole bus terminal. It eventually did turn up on time and we hopped aboard, waving a very sad goodbye to the wonderful city of Buenos Aires.

It's fair to say that we absolutely love Buenos Aires. It now rivals Berlin as one of our favorite cites in the world. We loved it from the moment we arrived and it just got better and better. The people have been so polite and helpful, there is so much choice for food and drink and the whole place feels alive and soaked in history. If we didn't have anything booked, we would not be moving on. As it is, we just have to console ourselves that it is very likely that we will be back in the future. For me, Buenos Aires is also the place where Suzanne introduced me to the genius that is the Grumpy Skeletor twitter feed, hilarious!

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