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Centro de Buenos Aires
The widest street in the worldAfter getting home from work eating quickly and packing my bag, Jennie accompanied me to the bus station near the house to get on a TurBus to Santiago to meet up with Emi. It was a shorter day at work due to the protest that was taking place, therefore I was able to get ready and head out for the weekend adventure with Emi a little earlier than planned. I arrived at Pajaritos and took the metro to Baquedano (sp) and thought I was on the right track getting to Dave and Brian's apartment until I couldn't remember what exit to take out of the subway station. Emi had first offered to meet me at either the bus stop at Pajaritos or at the stop by Dave's apartment, but I was convinced I could do it and would only call if I didn't remember where to go. Well....let's just say I ended up calling because I really didn't want any unplanned stops while carrying my entire luggage. Thursday night was tranquil and we just went out to a local pub since Emi and I had to get up early and catch that plane to BA.
Friday I was
dreaming "with the angels" so well when my lively despertador, that being the chippery Emi, came into the room to wake at about 6:45 am. It struck her funny that I managed to jump up as if there were a fire taking place and I needed to escape. We got our stuff together had us an early morning jolt of coffee and hit the road or shall I say subway for our adventure to Argentina~ where the people are amazingly beautiful and the steak is incredible (best steak known to man). Upon arriving at the airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina we were greeted by a Falabella staff employee who took us to our hotel. We got a little excited about getting to our hotel and tried to get off the bus a little earlier than planned. We arrived at Hotel Salles and were walked up to our room by a lovely and quite handsome gentleman. Upon showing us our room he told us not to worry that the window was not broken it just opened in three different ways. It was a funny moment that you had to be there to understand the humor. After settling in we headed out
for our first experience in an Argentinean subway (Subte) that Emi referred to as "Hell itself". It was definitely a lot different than the subway in Santiago. I would like to compare it to a nice mansion versus a beat up shack. To give a more visual image of this comparison, the subway in BA was small, dirty, ugly, crowded, noisy, stinky, HOT, and frankly my dear...just unpleasant. Our first outing was at Alto Palermo Mall where we decided we needed a picker upper for some "once" at a coffee shop that served real coffee and the best croissants ever~ called medialunas. After feeling revived we decided to just continue with our outing instead of heading back to the hotel . While walking down Avenida Santa Fe we thought we would hop into an alley and converse with Frommers about where to go next. By stepping away from the well crowded streets into this alley we thought we were being more discreet by trying not to look so much like tourists, however, a group of about 3 guards or police officers (not sure) were probably cracking some jokes for all we know since they were all staring with smiles on
their faces. After trying to figure out how to walk to our next destination we decided that the easiest way to figure that one out was to just get in a taxi and let the driver take us to the address. Our unpleasant taxi driver indeed found the place we were looking for but we had about an hour to kill before the restaurant opened. After a long day of being in an unfamiliar place and not knowing where to go, we were pleased to find such a pleasant place to relax before dinner. We enjoyed us a bottle of wine and a descanso at a small tranquil bar across the street from the restaurant where we then met what Emi named as our "Palermo Pololo"! He presented some great wine and even gave us maps so we could know more places to go and do, but I think he was worried us American girls were going to get lost in big ol' BA. After our well deserved break we headed across the street to the restaurant called De Olivas i Lustres to enjoy a delicious Argentinean meal. We were first greeted at the door with some hot wine that
Me in front of the pink house
Lost the sole to my shoe...mucho caminando! was scrumdiliumptious. After being led to our beautiful candlelit table Emi and I mutually decided on the Tapeos for dinner. This consisted of several different portions of food that were presented and described individually. The first thing given to us was different types of bread, small pieces of fried seasoned potatoes, and some brown sweet sauce of which I was a huge fan of ("Girl I'm a huge fan of this business we've got going on over here"). The meal continued with different types of samples and everything was delicious until we received something that looked a little "fishy" to us and smelled a little fishy too. It was the only presentation that we didn't fully understand, but bravely tried it anyway. Both of us speared it with our fork and took a rather large bite. The expressions on our faces were that of confusion. We gave up on trying to figure it out so we asked the waitress to tell us again what it was. She explained that it was the tongue of something and I said...ohhh I know....SHARK! I mean really? Where did that come from? Do people even eat sharks tongue? Probably not, but I was convinced
that's what she said (even though that is a vocabulary word in Spanish that I don't even know). Maybe that was the wine speaking who knows. But after consulting with a spanish-english dictionary the waitress comes back and tells us it is Lamb tongue. Emi and I looked at each other with a disgusted look on our face and said "I can not believe we just at the tongue of a lamb". That is freakin' LAMBTASTIC! After our very tasty dinner, with the exception of the lamb tongue, we ordered an ice-cream sampler before heading back to the hotel.
Saturday We woke up early to start our day off with the free breakfast available at the hotel for some freshly squeezed orange juice, medialunas, and some coffee before starting our outing. Our first adventure was to the colorful and beautiful area of La Boca, where Tango dancing originated in Argentina. We enjoyed watching Tango dancing in the streets, walking through souvenir shops, and running from all the people in the streets begging us to eat at their restaurant. Once deciding on a place to have lunch we sat down and then pulled a La Serena move as we jetted
out without saying a word to change our choice of restaurant. Our second outing for Saturday consisted of a walk down Avenida Florida. Upon arriving to our destination it was my turn to pay for the cab but I was "hypnotized" by the leather coats and got out without even thinking walking away from the cab until I heard "Amanda, get back here you have to pay the cab driver". Our experience of this street consisted of seeing Tango dancers, Street Entertainers, walking in and out of leather shops, admiring the beauty of the street, and me purchasing an Argentinean leather coat. (Hot Salesman: "No llores") After our Avenida Florida adventure we headed back to the hotel to rest it up before our one night out on the town. Once again we consulted with Frommers (by the way, it's a travel book) for a good restaurant to eat some Argentinean steak and he strongly suggested Cabaña las Lilas. I give that recommendation two thumbs up for more reasons than one. Dinner for the night consisted of delicious bread rolls, steak, potatoes, and wine. Before getting as full as I did I had decided on some dessert, but knew that after
a meal like that he would be too much to handle. I have to admit, he was scrumptious looking....some really good eye candy! After dinner we hopped into a taxi that was right in front of the restaurant that ended up being a ride for our money. He first started the meter out more than he was supposed to, then he took us out of the way to show us a club that we didn't ask him to show us, and then "unknowingly" approached the street that happened to be closed before finally reaching the Casino~ our destination. We had free passes, but had no intentions of gambling in a foreign country so mainly it was for the experience to see it, know it, and leave. After leaving the Casino we hopped into a cab that had a driver old enough to be our grandfather. We bravely asked him to just take us to a club that is popular and doesn't have techno music and just crossed our fingers with his judgment. Let's just say that I LOVE THAT TAXI DRIVER!! The name of the club was Afrikas and after about an hour of being there a very impressive and
Turismo
I don't understand these signs enjoyable show was being performed. After seeing the man dancing in the middle I knew that we had developed a pololo kind of love for our taxi driver. Once the show was over we got a little bored with the atmosphere of the club and left for a different club that was recommended to Emi by the bartender. Once we got there we both thought the area was a little sketchy. For starters, while some cops were writing tickets and a few men were standing up against the wall in the regular routine of an arrest I decided to ask a cop exactly where the club was we were looking for. He answered me, so apparently that was ok to do in South America. We were in line for quite some time at this club awaiting our entrance and our first stop upon getting in the club was the restroom. I was waiting for Emi to get out when I decided to reach into my zipped up pocket to get my wallet when I realized it had been stolen. All I have to say is that thieves in South America are good at what they do even when you think
you are being more cautious than usual, PROFESIONALES. Upon leaving the club I managed to give a guy a sturdy NO on the way out, give quite a street performance, and yell at a street beggar along with what Emi called "the look of death". Luckily after arriving to the hotel room Emi called the front desk about where we could place an international call at 4 in the morning and they informed us that we could do that right in the hotel. So out of convenience I made a call to the Texas at about 2 in the morning Texas time to have Benji and Brooke cancel my card. I may have started Benji when I began the conversation with "Hey it's me, and I have an emergency". The credit card was successfully canceled within the first hour of it being stolen, and I only lost my STA travel ID card along with about 60 Argentinean Pesos (approximately 20 USD). I think I'm making it a habit of mine to get something stolen from me in every country I have been to: Camera bag in Costa Rica, Pick pocketed in the states (Atlanta Georgia), Cell Phone in Chile, and
another pickpocket in Argentina.
Sunday Waking up Sunday morning with the sun shining through our hotel room made our day a whole lot brighter. We had been experiencing rainy, wet, smoggy, ugly days in BA so Sunday with the sun shining made it so much more pleasant. In addition it boosted our spirits and made the day a great start. We first went to the San Telmo Antique Fair where we walked around for a couple hours looking at antiques, art work, and street performers (of which I loved). After everything beginning to look the same and developing hunger pains we went to have lunch at a place located right in the area. After lunch we headed back to La Boca to enjoy more Tango dancing and purchase some more items at the feria and souvenir shops. We enjoyed a coffee outside at a restaurant while watching, as well as attempting, to dance some Tango. That capped off our night at La Boca and then we headed back to Hotel Salles. For the last night in Argentina we had dinner at Palermo Viejo at a pizza parlor where we decided it was crucial to order a dessert and have
our last bottle of wine in Argentina. Before crashing out in the hotel we pillow talked about our experience in Buenos Aires Argentina.
Monday Monday morning we woke up, got ready, checked out, and had some more free yet amazing breakfast. We had a few hours to kill before being picked up at the hotel to go to the airport so we decided to be touristy and go down to Plaza de Mayo. Before reaching the plaza area I managed to loose the sole to my shoe of which Emi spotted on the walk back to the Hotel. At the Plaza we saw the Casa Rosada "it's like the white house of Argentina" and beautiful historical buildings. After being a little touristy we decided to walk back to the Hotel while recapping the trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Once getting to the airport I was frisked before getting on the plane. Maybe I looked suspicious because I was carrying back an entire cow or lamb with me, who knows. But I’m now home at last in Chile and have my trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina to remember for the rest of my life. In general, I love Argentina and
would visit that country again any day. I enjoyed experiencing Buenos Aires in the company of Emi, and I loved the little bit of BA that I was able to experience.
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anonymous
non-member comment
Any time Girl!
I am so glad you had such a good time. I am just sorry you got your wallet taken, but you can count on us anytime Mandy, NO MATTER what time in the morning it may be. Yes, we may answer a little startled just because noone calls at that time of day and anyone who does, IT MUST BE AN EMERGENCY! You should have seen us flying around the house trying to find the phone because it was not on the charger. It was perty funny, and you know your brother, he got pissed off! HA-HA! The pictures were great and you really looked like you had a great time. I can't wait to see your new coat. Shoot, I can't wait to see YOU! Well girl, keep it up. I love hearing from you! Love ya! XOXO, Brooke - Brooke