Buenos Aires- we made it!

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Arhentina- Arhentina-Arhentina 😊 (no, I didn't misspell it...Shel knows what I'm talking about)

After months of planning, we're finally in Argentina! Though I had been looking for apartments/hotels for many weeks, we didn´t actually book one until just a few days before we left Austin...many of our first choices were already booked by that time, but we were lucky to find one on Craig´s List that fit in our budget.

Our trip from the states was not too shabby...10 hours on a plane is tiring, not to mention boring, but other than that, no real problems at all. Since it was a night flight, we tried to sleep most of the way. We arrived at the Buenos Aires airport around 9am on 8/18 (Monday), which happened to be a holiday here. The EZE airport is interesting...on your way to baggage claim, you have to walk thru a store...kinda wierd. The baggage claim area was caotic and people were not really following any kind of rules. On the way out, we stood in a line for customs, but as soon as we got to the front, they closed it and told us to go to a different line...at first that was annoying, but then realized that in this new line, they were letting people go thru without checking in at customs...so worked out better. Past this area, we had to start thinking about getting a taxi or a remise to our apartment. We went to the Manuel Tienda Leon booth, since we've read they're pretty reliable. We hired a remise for a reasonale price (I think something like $60 us) and were able use our credit card, which was helpful. Our driver, Carlo, was nice and when he saw that Shel was in line to exchange dollars for pesos, he led us to a different place that had better rates. While I waited for Shel to exchange money, I practiced my Spanish with Carlo... yea, I need to keep practicing.

The drive into BA was nothing spectacular...since it was Monday, and happened to be a holiday, it was pretty quick (25 minutes) to get to the apartment. We're staying in Palermo near the botanical garden. First impressions of the city is not really what we expected. It was a little more like Brooklyn, NY than we thought it would be. But, we´re just happy to be here.

Once we to to the apartment, we got our keys from Sebastian, and checked out the apartment. It´s a small studio, but new and clean. We unpacked and freshened up and then went out to get some lunch and walk around. We had the whole day to explore since by that time, it was like 11am. We ended up on the touristy shopping street of Santa Fe Ave. It didn't really impress me... thought it would be more like an upscale shopping area, but seemed more like Downtown LA in some places. We found a Delicity, which is chain of bakeries and stopped in for a snack... our first taste of empanadas and medialunas. Yummy 😊 After walking around some more, we ended up at La Nina de Oro for lunch...I had a pizza (yea, I know) and Shel had a matambre (beef) sandwich. Pretty good overall. Also our first taste of Quilmes beer which was pretty good stuff...

We walked about after lunch...found our way to Libertador, which is a fairly large street here, and walked past some parks and the zoo. Libertador seemed like the upscale street, with many trendy shops and bars. In general, things seem overpriced here...don´t get me wrong, it's still a good deal compared to the US or Europe, but not as great as I've read in other blogs.

We went back to the apartment after stopping for a few items at the local supermercado. A nice hot shower and little rest is what we needed. We boiled some water to use for brushing our teeth...kinda wierd, but thought this would be a good idea since we got advice from our travel nurse in the Austin not to drink any local water... Anyway, so we boil water everyday to use for brushing...probably going overboard, but better safe than sorry.

Around 9pm we went back out for dinner (yep, dinner here is late...even at 9pm, it seemed like things were just cranking up) and found a quaint restaurant called Romario's for dinner. It's tiny, but has great atmosphere and yummy food. We had pizza again...yea, strange, but pizza seems to be all over the place here...more than the traditional parillas. I'm sure we're not looking in the right places, but so far, we've noticed there's pizza everywhere here.

The weather is good...it´s chilly but not too cold, though, if you look around the streets, the locals seem to be bundled up in big coats. We think they just need an excuse to use their coats 😊

We walked back home and crashed. First day in BA...going well so far. Will update with more stuff tomorrow.

(backdated)

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Photos

our studio apartment
just arrived at our studio in Palermo

studio #2
small kitchenette in the studio

lunch on Santa Fe
Shel about to have our first lunch...at La Nina del Oro

yummy
yea, I opted for pizza (was pretty good) and Shel had a Matambre sandwich

On Aveneida Santa Fe
in Palermo...walking around

Avenida Sarmiento
By the Jardin Zoologico on Sarmiento

Comments

[Water]

Dont worry
Here water is safe to drink, brush your teeth, etc. I think that they even add fluor to ti!!!! Wont get malaria or fiebre tifoidea for drinking tap water, drink it, it´s fine.