Buenos Aires, Argentina Week 1

We have officially kicked off the third leg of this crazy adventure!! We landed in Buenos Aires after an excruciating ten and a half hour flight from Toronto. Even though we ended up with an extra seat for Vander, the redeye did not treat us well. I tried to keep reminding myself that it was like a night shift, but in reality I've been out of the game far too long and this was painful! We survived in the end, grabbed a remis (hired car) and were able to check into our apartment immediately.

After getting settled, we ventured out in search of food and to check out our new neighbourhood, Montserrat. We ended up stumbling onto the absolute best coffee (Habito), in what I am now convinced is all of Argentina (not really known for coffee here). First impressions of Buenos Aires weren't spectacular, but eventually we strolled further out of our little corner and found a beautiful plaza, tasty food and beers and friendly people.

Plaza Lavalle

The next day we ventured to one of the oldest neighbourhoods, San Telmo. If you visit Buenos Aires, we highly recommend considering this barrio (neighbourhood) as your base. It's old, charming and full of cafes, bars and restaurants.

San Telmo has a very run down European feel to it, with it's cobblestone streets and architecture. Isa and I took a walking tour of BA later on in the week and learned that half of San Telmo was demolished by the dictatorship. Their mandate was to get rid of the old and move into the future and they wanted to demolish the entire barrio but were limited by social pressure. So, you will find sections of buildings that abruptly end and start "newer" concrete blocked apartment buildings. 

Our goal today was to visit the San Temlo market, a covered market spread over several blocks filled with food stalls, produce, meat and antiques. I know, heaven...

After perusing every inch of the market we settled on a clear winner for lunch. A small counter near the exit serving picadas (Argentina's tapas) and artisanal beers on tap.

Saturday, Luke decided to check out a polo match in the ritzy north end of the city. Isa, the boys and I ventured north also to Recoleta to window shop and seek out one of Isa's bucket list items, a former theater converted into a book store.

El Ateneo Grand Splendid

It was finally apparent to us why Argentina is referred to as the "Paris of South America" in certain travel blogs. The architecture of this neighbourhood is very Parisian and with good reason. In our walking tour, we learned that Argentina's gaze has always rested on Europe, and France in particular. Only just recently have they began to shift their focus to the USA, predominantly for it's recent outward views of discrimination and racism (ie. the wall). 

Sunday was ferria (market) day in San Telmo, so this was our focus. We had read that it was large and chaotic, but I'm not sure we believed it. The ferria covers several kms and closes the entire main street that runs through the barrio. There are cafes that spill out onto the sidewalks, food vendors, tables of antiques and new goods, where you can find anything imaginable. The entire process took us several hours with a quick stop for a café side beer and impromptu tango performance.

Monday just happened to be a holiday here, which means everything or most things are closed. We decided to pack up some picnic snacks and make our way over to the Parque Mujeres Argentinas. Little did we know that this is the favorite spot of most Argentinian families on the weekend and holidays. The walkway along the lagoon was filled with food stands, beer and juice vendors and performers. We relaxed and let the kids terrorize patrons of the park for an hour or two, devoured ice cream and hit up the food stands for some chorripan (sausage on a bun) and cold beverages.

We made a mission to return to Recoleta to visit the cemetery of the same name. It's the most popular cemetery because Evita is buried there. Before arriving, we made a slight detour to eat some empanadas from a little hole in the wall joint Isa had read about. Up until this point, the empanadas are a little lack luster. We just expected more flavor. This place was a whole other ball game. It's called La Cocina and if you ever find yourself there, you need to try the Pikachu. It's a cheese and spiced onion jam empanada and it is life changing!

The cemetery was interesting. We found Eva Perrone's gravesite by accident as they really don't make it the focus of the site. We made our way home and had some dinner at a nearby parilla (grill restaurant). I made the mistake of ordering seafood. While tasty, it was heavy and some of the fish were out of my realm of flavor. 

We took a couple days off of sightseeing. Mainly napped, caught up on some reading and post cards. The weather was a little gloomy/ rainy as well. We managed to buy the boys a ball and took them to the park down the street to play with some kids from the neighbourhood. Luke and I have started a half marathon module in hopes of keeping the empanadas, beers and  steaks at bay. 

We closed our first week out at Manolo's, an old school Parilla, where we filled our bellies with steaks and sausages (chorizo and morcilla or blood sausage).

Bife de chorizo Irlandesa

Blurred picture taken by waiter

 Overall first week impression...there is so much to see and do in this city. Luke and I also went to a theater music experience where they played the entire Joy Division Unknown Pleasures album, in complete darkness using technology to breakdown each instrument. It was amazing...or at least I thought so. We have felt completely safe here and people are very friendly and love kids. Most restaurants and places are very laid back and very helpful with kids...ie plastic dinnerware.

Cheers to a successful first week!!