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Published: December 6th 2006
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We rented a flat in Buenos Aires from www.bytargentina.com.ar. The flat was further out of an area called San Telmo than we would have liked but the flat itself was really nice. It was just a small studio flat with a bed, TV, kitchen all contained within a small space but it gave us the opportunity to unpack and create a home away from home for a little while.
Buenos Aires is probably our favourite South American city (to date!). It actually looks and feels very European, very much like Paris we think. There's plenty to do and our time here was action packed!
Our first major outing was to an area called Palermo which is probably the richest part of Buenos Aires, full of lots of excellent bars and cafes. The Argentines, like most of South America, go out very late and party hard to early the next morning so we didn't get out until 930pm. We got the metro to Plaza Italia and then walked to an area called Plaza Cortázar which is packed full of restaurants and bars. We ate in Bar Abierto - a fat steak surprisingly - and then did a small bar crawl
around the square. We stayed out until 4am at which time the bars were still completely packed and many people were still ordering food (None of this 11pm closing, chef goes home at 9pm rubbish we get at home!).
We had a long lie in the next morning to recover. Vicki's sister Lizzie arrived from her trip to the Iguacu Falls at around lunch time and we headed out to pick up some food and then mooched around Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo. Much later that evening we returned to Palermo, but this time to an area called Palermo Hollywood where we had a pint in an English pub called 'Bangalore'. Quite authentic actually despite the name. We then returned to Plaza Cortázar.
The next day was a busy one. In the morning was visited the San Telmo market where we stocked up on a few christmas presents. At lunch time Paul was getting steak withdrawal symptoms, it had been 48hrs, so we visited a restaurant called El Desnivels which comes highly recommended. We weren't disappointed.
In the afternoon we had managed to purchase tickets for a football match - Boca Juniors (team based in Buenos Aires....Maradona
played here 1981-82 and 1995-97) versus Colon Santa Fe. We booked these through a company called See Football which where charging well over the asking price for tickets but they organised transport to and from the stadium, showed you to your sits and generally looked after you. We figured it wasn't wise going to a South American football game on your own. It sounded like a fine plan, but they arrived 45 minutes late for the pickup and then our guide really didn't seem to have a clue where she was going when we got there. The museum trip afterwards was blatantly just a time filler to compensate for the extortionate ticket prices as well. The game itself was excellent however....the atmosphere was electric. Calling upon his vast knowledge of South American football Paul had a bet on with Vicki and Lizzie that Boca Juniors would win 3-1 and with 92 minutes gone and the score at just that, he thought it was in the bag. A last minute goal by Boca Juniors however dashed hopes of breakfast in bed the next morning.
The following day we decided to explore the city's parks. Unfortunately nobody seems to do parks
San Telmo market
An excellent way to spend Sunday morning! like London, and the parks amounted to little more than a scrap of grass in the middle of a roundabout. We tried to visit the Evita museum. The only day of the week it was closed was Monday, and guess what it was Monday. Typical. We walked on past the Hippodrome (the race course) and polo pitches, the Argentines love their horses and these all looked very posh and well beyond our miserable budget. Continuing our walk we reached an area called Belgrano where we enjoyed a well deserved ice cream before catching the tube back to the centre of the city.
Its difficult to really experience a city like Buenos Aires - the fine bars, cafes, Tango halls etc - when all you’ve got to wear is a pair of muddy walking boots and a sweaty t-shirt that you’ve slept in on the overnight bus so we decided to treat ourselves to a budget busting shopping trip to smarten ourselves up. Feeling very guilty but it’s the same whenever we visit a city, and we’ve plenty more of them to come.
La Boca is a rather dodgy area of Buenos Aires. There’s a small tourist area near
Boca Juniors free kick
Also see the attached video at the op of the blog to get a sense of the atmosphere at the stadium the port that’s worth a visit but the Lonely Planet says ‘stick to these areas like glue’. A moment of insanity lead us to believe that it would be OK to walk there from our flat. The road started out OK but slowly we descended into the ghetto. Paul was desperately trying to remove the memory card from his camera in his pocket just as a cyclist flew past at considerable speed and swiped the sun glasses from the top of Vicki’s head. It had got to the point where it was as far back as forward so we pressed on and thankfully made it to the otherside minus only a pair of sunglasses that Vicki once found on the floor! A kick up the arse though.
La Boca’s first settlers built their homes out of leftover sheets of corrugated metal and other waste from the port. Because of the high price of paint, they had to use leftovers from ships to cover their houses. Often there wouldn’t be enough to cover an entire building in one colour so many of the houses are multi coloured. It’s a very nice area as long as you don’t venture far!
On our last full day in Buenos Aires we walked down to an area called Puerto Madero which is the old docks. The area has been recently regenerated however. It actually reminded us of Manchester. The old red brick warehouses having been converted into nice restaurants, bars and flats. We continued our walk through to the eco-reserve for a view back over the city.
No visit to Buenos Aires is complete without some Tango so we’d booked tickets to go and see some at Café Tortoni in the evening. There was too much cheesey singing for our liking but when the dancers did actually Tango it was very good. They looked a little moody though. Need to cheer up a bit. As this was our last night in city we dropped Lizzie back off at her hostel and said our goodbyes.
Our week in Buenos Aires went so quickly. Maybe it was because we managed to get some routine into our lives for once, being in one place for a whole week and having our own flat to live in. Anyway it all ended too soon and before we knew it we were on our plane to Chile.
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john
non-member comment
tango
of course the tango guys need to cheer up a bit! that's the whole point. Trouble is you soul-less english people get it so bloody good you cant remember what deep moods the more deprived, and depraved, areas of the world experience, enjoy, and put into song or verse. And if you're visiting a tango hall to relive some of your lost youth, then the mood can get very deep, very erotic, and rather challenging. Get back in there :)