what martinikitty liked and disliked about buenos aires

One of thousands of angel statues at Recoleta Cemetery.

(Buenos Aires, Argentina).  We traveled to Buenos Aires (BA) after a week in Rio and I have to admit I felt a little bit of relief to get to a place with, in my opinion, better food, wine and art.  The BA airport was very contemporary and large, and was what I had imagined that the airport in a major city would be like (very unlike the airport in Rio which had two little kiosks selling bad coffee and stale sandwiches).  It also helped that we stayed in the Palermo Soho area which was a cozy and hip neighborhood - similar to Greenwich Village.and our boutique hotel - Mira Vida Soho Hotel - was basically like our own wine bar and daily sanctuary.  (Note: I would definitely recommend this hotel, but if you are a light sleeper, try to get the rooms facing the courtyard.  We had the room facing the street which had a great balcony, but I could definitely hear street noise late at night and early in the morning.  The wine bar at the hotel has repeatedly been named the best wine bar in Buenos Aires, but I think you have to book wine tastings to enter the premises if you are not a hotel guest.  We did partake in the wine tasting offered at the hotel and it was lovely.  Let's just say the owner loves to drink wine - probably more than we do!)

Wine Tasting at Mira Vida Soho.

During our 5-day stay we were able to enjoy many of the key attractions that BA had to offer, such as: the Plaza de Mayo (Casa Rosada), Recoleta Cemetery, Teatro Colon, San Telmo Market, etc.).  The following were among my favorites, most of which revolved around food and drink....

• wines - Perhaps it was the prior week of wine-deprivation in Rio, but it was lovely to be able to enjoy wine again!  At our hotel you could buy wine by the glass or bottle and they would "add it to your tab".  This is slightly dangerous since my husband and I both like to drink wine, so suffice it to say our tab was rather high when we checked out, but the wines were definitely more

  

  Enjoying a bottle of Colome.

  affordable here versus Los Angeles (average $20-$30 a bottle for very good wines).  We particularly liked the Colome Torrontes (torrontes is a signature white wine in Argentina) and the malbecs, of course.

• steak - I've heard for years how amazing the steaks were in BA and I was not disappointed.  Although there was still the oddity of no black pepper, the meat was well marbled and aged properly so it did not lack for flavor.  After much research we decided to have steak at La Cabrera Norte.  It was a fabulous meal with tons of food!  The steak itself comes

  

  Steak at La Cabrera Norte.

  with so many sides so there's no need to order extra.  Of course we didn't know this and ordered way too much food.  (Other recommended places: Cabana Las Lilas, La Brigada)

• cooking class - We took a wonderful empanada cooking class with Teresita - link here.  This entreprenurial woman basically takes you to a local farmer's market, then to her lovely home for a cooking lesson, and then serves you a multi-course meal in her quaint backyard - all the while plying you with lots of delicious wines.  It isn't cheap (about $130 cash in US dollars per person - hey I said she was

  

  We made these empanadas!

  entrepreneurial) but it was one of the best experiences we shared as a group while in BA.  As an added bonus, she has an adorable dog that entertains you in the yard while you wait for the meal to begin.  Her recipe for empanadas (with beef and raisins) is delicious - when we returned home, we threw an Empanada Party for our friends and it was quite a hit!

• alfajores - These are soft, delicate cookies with a dulce de leche filling and covered in powdered sugar or chocolate or coconut, etc.  Super delicious and sort of hard to make (I tried).  The fresh ones at fancy bakeries were the best, but you can also buy prepackaged ones to bring home as souvenirs (these are covered in chocolate).  The most popular brand seemed to be Havana, and they sold them everywhere - even at the airport
  
  duty-free, so if you want to wait until the last minute to buy gifts, then just wait until you get to the airport.  (Random note - My American Express card kept rejecting the purchase due to the name "Havana" so I would recommend paying with cash or another type of card. I guess Amex thought I was trying to buy cuban cigars...)

• ice cream - Although my heart belongs to italian gelato on the topic of frozen treats, the ice cream in BA was also marvelous.  The amount of flavors and choices was a bit intimidating, but just try them all.  They seemed to prefer more caramel-type flavors.  I particularly enjoyed the dulce de leche variations (with nuts, no nuts, with chocolate chips, etc.) and the sabayon (sort of like a rich creamy custard).  They were great wherever we

  

  Having a scoop of Dulce de Leche.

  went, but I particularly remember the ice cream shop at San Telmo Market right in the center of things.

• graffiti tour - This was a fun experience learning about the street art and graffiti in Buenos Aires and how they correlated to the social and political history of the city.  They end the tour at a small bar/gallery and some people were annoyed that they tried to get you to buy art at the end.  My husband and I really enjoy purchasing art when we travel so it was perfect for us.  (Random note - the tour
  
  takes you to some abandoned or less than savory areas in the city and we got a few bug bites, so I would recommend using insect repellant.)(Cost - approximately $25 pp for the graffiti group tour.)

Line to see Evita Peron's grave.

• recoleta cemetery - A really beautiful cemetery.  It's best known for being the final resting place of Evita Peron.  I'm not a history buff so what really interested me were the beautiful sculptures and grounds.

•  san telmo fair - I have always enjoyed street fairs and markets, and this is no exception.  There were a lot of interesting souvenirs, arts and crafts, and vintage items to browse through.  And we were able to see a free tango show while slurping on our ice cream cones.

  

  At San Telmo Fair.

• honorable mention - futbol match - As an American, I can't say I understand the zealous love that the rest of the world seems to have for futbol (i.e., soccer).  However, I wanted to see it for myself while in BA, so my friends and I booked a tour.  The tour was quite expensive (I think we paid $130 per person, and they magically raised the price on the day of the tour) and essentially, the tour group picked us up at the hotel, took us to a rundown bar for cheap beer and bad pizza, and then escorted us to the nosebleed seats at the stadium in La Boca - away from the mass of humanity below.  The stadium is pretty old and dilapidated and the facilities were pretty lacking.  In my opinion, we were paying for our safety since the tickets looked to be season passes that technically shouldn't be transferable, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of our fee was going to the mob.  Essentially based on my

  

  See the barbed wire?

  ticket, I was "Guillermo Sanchez" for the day.  At some point in time I was regretting our choice in coming, especially since I could see the barbed wire fence that separated the "home" section from the "visitors" section.  But as the game started and we got carried away by the dedication, enthusiasm and energy of the fans, and the thumping beats and drums - my anxiety and regret melted away.  Even though the home team (Boca) ended up losing, the loyal fans stayed and cheered until the very end.  It ended up being a very memorable experience - despite them keeping us locked in the stadium for an additional 40 minutes while they let the "visitor" side leave first.  Apparently this was a way to minimize fights - a common occurrence at these games.  I'm not sure I can recommend this to everyone.  While memorable (and while I am glad to have experienced it), I don't think I would do it again.

Generally I did enjoy the visit to Buenos Aires, but there were some "lowlights" as sazy rock would say, such as:

• financial instability - For several years, BA has been dealing with lots of financial and political instability.  This was extremely evident when we arrived at the airport and was informed that we could only exchange money at banks since the government had outlawed moneychangers.  While changing money at a bank, the teller told me to only change what I would use, because no bank would change the Argentine Peso back to US dollars.  Obviously this created a little bit of unease for us because financial instability will typically lead to other socio-economic issues, like increase in crime.  We could not help but notice the constant lines of people at every bank we passed.
• deterioration  - It's obvious that BA was once a glorious city with gorgeous public spaces, city planning and buildings, but it was also obvious that it is slowly deteriorating from lack of proper care. 
• dog poop everywhere - A friend had told my husband that there was a lot of dog poop everywhere in the city since there seemed to be lots of stray dogs; but my husband could not walk 3 steps without reminding me to be careful.  Perhaps I was being more vigilant because of his constant warnings, but there did seem to be lots of dog poop.
• safety concern in boca- I generally felt safer in BA than I did in Rio, however there were still areas in the city that I definitely wouldn't want to visit at night and/or by myself.  Boca was one of these places.
• bug bites- I'm not sure what it is about me, but if there's a bug in the room, it will want to bite me.  It's especially bad when I travel to Asia.  But I also got some bad bug bites in BA.  So bring insect repellant!
• Teatro Colon - I'm not saying that the opera house isn't beautiful, but it's so expensive just to go in to look.  We were too cheap to pay the entrance fee.  I'm sure it would have been different if we decided to partake in an opera here, but I didn't want to pay just to look in the building.

Cool "steel flower" statue in BA - it opens and closes throughout the day like a real flower!

I would definitely come back to Buenos Aires - but next time I'm adding Salta to the itinerary.  I hear the wines and the artistic light of the area is simply inspiring.  Can't wait!