We had a pain of an overnight flight to Buenos Aires (BA) with two touchdowns – something we hadn’t really considered when we booked the flights in March last year. On the other hand what we have been really impressed with is the flexibility of the One World (round-the-world) flights – we’ve made so many date changes for free and it’s been no issue at all to do.
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Our flight passed over the Andes in the early morning and we had a great view with the cloud and sun casting early morning shadows
and while there wasn’t much snow around it was still an impressive sight.
What amazed me was the landscape from Mendoza to BA; I had no idea Argentina was this flat! It looked incredibly dry, dusty, pretty barren and pancake flat. I’d not been well on the flight (it's the first time in the 10 months we've been away that I’ve been unwell so can’t complain) but the good thing about being on a plane (and the two hour local bus ride into the city) was that it forced me to rest. I would have happily continued resting when we arrived at our hostel but Euan gently encouraged me to head out and while I felt like shite, I’m glad he did as it was Sunday and there were all sorts of characters about.
Thanks to a recommendation from Matt (who we met and stayed with in Valdivia, Chile), we stayed in the wonderful San Telmo district that is loaded with artists, dancers, great restaurants, cafes and antique shops. About five minutes walk from where we were staying was an antiques market set up in this small square (we took this photo later in the week. I wasn’t paying any attention, intent on eating ice cream while standing in the road),
selling anything from horse gear
to these (I don’t know what they’re called but this popped out at us as we’d seen a collection of these in a friends house back in NZ)
to old gramophones.
There were loads of street artists, some mediocre, like this guy who splattered paint all over black canvas with his hands in time to music
but this trio were fantastic.
There was tango danced in the street
but this guy took the cake. He had a ‘lady’ (dummy) whose feet were attached to his feet, one of her arms attached to his right shoulder and he held her round her back and onto her right arm. He drew a crowd by pretending to smoke and make-out with her in a doorway and once a few people gathered, he was really performing.
He danced with her, kissed her, laughed with her, made her come alive after other men walking past (he could even make her bum jiggle!), persuaded other woman walking past to give him a kiss and he had all the facial expressions; wiggling eyebrows, pursed lips, suggestive looks and great sexy body language. What made us laugh were the little boys passing by who were absolutely enthralled. This little guy was particularly interested and wouldn’t leave. His mother was in hysterics when the little guy went over to get a kiss from the ‘lady’
but he was a bit shy and froze once in front of her (she wasn’t really that attractive!), so ‘she’ helped him out. It was priceless to watch; we think he had found his first love.
We did an awful lot of walking around BA as there is just so much to see. The architecture, plazas, monuments, statues, cafes…. they’re everywhere. There is so much evidence of the fact that BA was, for the first half of the 20th Century, one of the wealthiest cities in the world.
Something that is big in BA is professional dog walking or paseaperros in Spanish. We thought this lady was overdoing it with six dogs but another lady we saw had nine and apparently they can take up to 15! Imagine if the dogs went nuts? The walkers would be dragged along at quite a pace.
There were dogs being walked in every park we visited and in the centre of the city we came across an area that had between 60-70 dogs.
There were about 30-40 running loose inside an enclosure and the rest were tied up to the railings.
Most of the dogs were having a ball but some weren’t enjoying it much. One poor Dalmatian
was hiding in a hollow at the base of a big tree, completely intimidated.
While we walked most places, the public transport system is so cheap that sometimes it’s just easier to use and experience it. The metro system is a combination of old and new technology but still incredibly cheap with a single journey costing the equivalent of £0.25. The metro cars on the oldest line (1913) are wonderful; all polished wood interiors, polished wood slatted seats and windows that slide down into the body of the car and can be lifted back up by leather straps. Even the lampshades were old fashioned, still made of opaque white porcelain, glowing globes that hung down from the ceiling.
We visited Café Tortoni, the oldest café in BA. It was very touristy but worth a look nonetheless and had a secretive ‘old club’ atmosphere and lovely painted glass skylights in the ceiling.
There is a rather special cemetery in BA, Cemetery of the Recoleta and while cemeteries are not normally something that we’d be interested in, this really is like a city for the dead, with tombs like houses on a street.
Some tombs were huge, very fancy
complete with mosaic ceilings.
Taking loads of photos sounds a bit macabre but it’s a fascinating place and we actually spent quite a while here, wandering, looking at the tomb details and I was peering through holes such as the one below (although I stopped looking through holes after this as it revealed a rather spooky scene of tumbled coffins).
Most people come to see this tomb, where Eva (or Evita) Peron is buried.
Nearby the cemetery is the Museo de Bellas Artes that houses a combination of modern and traditional art that is worth a visit and had one of the most detailed and life-like marble statues we’d ever seen (we weren’t allowed to take photos).
This is the 68m high obelisk in the Plaza de le Republica. It’s an icon of modern BA and is apparently is dressed in a pink condom each year on Aids Awareness Day. It was here that we were cussed and sworn at in Spanish by some chap who was asking for money and it wasn’t until after he’d gone that Euan (who did look a bit alarmed while all this was going on) translated and told me that he’d called us ‘rats’ (among other things) and said that he was going to come back and kill us. Charming! Needless to say we kept a wary eye out for him while we were in the area.
There are some great museums and art galleries and we visited as many as we could stomach. The Malba is one of the most famous but it didn’t do it for us (give us Monet, Renoir or Rembrandt any day) and the Museo de Arte Hispano Americano, while housed in a lovely old palace, had loads of religious art and a huge doll collection. Needless to say that didn’t really do it for us either!
We did pop into the Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo, only because it happened to be right by the bus stop we’d walked to. It is a lovely old French-designed palace with a 10m high stud in the main room, gilded decorated walls, lovely artifacts and massive tapestries. If modern art or doll collections aren’t for you, then head for this place. It is stunning.
We were both so impressed with the Palacio del Congreso that we went back at a better time another day to take photographs. It’s a fantastic Greco-Roman style building that took nine years to build from 1897. We reckoned that it would give some of the buildings in London a run for their money in the grandeur stakes.
The sculpture on the central pediment was designed in Venice, took over four years to make, weighs 20 tonnes and was cast in Germany.
It was a very impressive building from all angles and a trip around the back showed a lovely circular structure
and a contrast between old and new
The building was at one end of a huge square and had a massive fountain, Don Congresos, in front of it that obstructed the view and detracted from the building itself in a way
The fountain itself was pretty spectacular and was grand enough to warrant its own space. We wondered why the two had been built so close and almost in direct competition with one another.
The Casa Rosada is the House of Parliament but visiting hours are restricted to weekends and we were out of luck.
It is here in the Plaza de Mayo that the mothers of those who disappeared in the ‘dirty war’ of the late 70’s and early 80’s march in protest every Thursday. It’s actually really sad to see and many of the mothers have placards with photos of their lost child hung around their neck. The mothers were only granted permission to march as long as they didn’t speak to anyone so they wear scarves on their head or photos around their necks with their children’s name on them in the hope that someone will identify them and know something. Amazingly, some of those responsible for the kidnaps and killings remain in power today but the latest president has removed immunity for politicians so justice may still be done.
There are monuments all over BA and this was my favourite in the Plaza San Martin.
Along the two sides were 3D battle scenes leaping out at you.
In addition to seeing sights we also celebrated my birthday in BA but it didn’t stop there and we overdosed on steak and red wine on more than one occasion. It's worth talking about the food for a moment as it's pretty top notch. The steaks are cheap and the most tasty and tender we think we’ve ever eaten. Whoever said that you should only at eat as much meat that can fit in the palm of your hand didn’t pass on the message to the guys here in BA. The steaks I’ve been served are closer to the size of my foot! I didn’t realise they were so big and was served a massive piece of bife de chorizo (porterhouse to us) that was easily 2 ½ inches high and about 1 ½ times the size of a cheque book. I don’t think the waiters (or Euan) thought I’d finish it but I proved them all wrong. They didn’t seem to notice that I’d not touched the potatoes… or the salad…. and was lagging on the red wine. I’m too embarrassed to put a photo in here.
Something that is everywhere, on sweet pizzas, in ice cream, in croissants, in biscuits… is dulce de leche (similar in taste to milk caramel). It absolutely rocks and while you can buy it in the UK, it’s not quite the same. There is a shop called ‘Havanna’ that I’d been passing by because (stupidly) I thought it sold cigars. Later in the week we met a couple that let on ‘Havanna’ is literally all things dulce de leche so we were there the next day.
They sell these things that are two soft biscuits with a thick layer of dulce de leche in the middle then covered with a thin layer of meringue. I’ve resisted buying a box thus far and have stuck to buying singles.
Enough on the food! This is the beautiful building that houses the French Embassy. Just off to the left is Avenida 9 de Julio, the huge 20-lane road that runs through BA. Apparently the authorities wanted to knock the building down to make way for the widening of the road but the French refused. Good on them! Now, the building is bang smack at one end of this huge avenue and the avenue bends around it.
There are some massive roads in BA, such as this. At least the 20-lane one is broken with a few green bits in between the lanes but this had nothing and was one road where we walked when told to walk and stopped when told to stop! It was a bit like a race track, with the lack of traffic encouraging speed.
Oh (I forgot to say something else about the food), something else edible that is really up there with the steaks is the ice cream. We’ve decided that it’s better than Hagen Daaz.. Yes, it really is that good. Its not as creamy but it's thick, almost tacky and the taste is out of this world. Favourites are the bitter chocolate and… the super dulce de leche (dulce de leche flavour but then they stir extra dulce de leche through it to give it swirls). Needless to say it is supremely rich. Thanks to my Dad I have inherited a taste (along with a cast-iron stomach) for things ultra rich, sweet and sickly. Euan didn't do so well and it had him beat. Apparently the ability to make excellent ice cream came here with the Italians and we’re glad it did! This was our favourite shop where they made their own ice cream on the premises…
We’ve just come back from the supermarket with a bottle of wine, a litre of beer, crisps and bananas, all for little over £4. Accommodation is costing us £10/night, tube rides cost £0.25….. we could be here for weeks and in fact our most expensive item is ice cream!
I think the area in which you stay really influences your views on a city and, having spent over a week here in the San Telmo area as well as giving BA a fairly good going over, we think it is the best city we’ve visited thus far. For me, it’s up there with my old favourites, Rome and Paris. We’re very sorry to be leaving.
View Larger Map
Our flight passed over the Andes in the early morning and we had a great view with the cloud and sun casting early morning shadows
and while there wasn’t much snow around it was still an impressive sight.
What amazed me was the landscape from Mendoza to BA; I had no idea Argentina was this flat! It looked incredibly dry, dusty, pretty barren and pancake flat. I’d not been well on the flight (it's the first time in the 10 months we've been away that I’ve been unwell so can’t complain) but the good thing about being on a plane (and the two hour local bus ride into the city) was that it forced me to rest. I would have happily continued resting when we arrived at our hostel but Euan gently encouraged me to head out and while I felt like shite, I’m glad he did as it was Sunday and there were all sorts of characters about.
Thanks to a recommendation from Matt (who we met and stayed with in Valdivia, Chile), we stayed in the wonderful San Telmo district that is loaded with artists, dancers, great restaurants, cafes and antique shops. About five minutes walk from where we were staying was an antiques market set up in this small square (we took this photo later in the week. I wasn’t paying any attention, intent on eating ice cream while standing in the road),
selling anything from horse gear
to these (I don’t know what they’re called but this popped out at us as we’d seen a collection of these in a friends house back in NZ)
to old gramophones.
There were loads of street artists, some mediocre, like this guy who splattered paint all over black canvas with his hands in time to music
but this trio were fantastic.
There was tango danced in the street
but this guy took the cake. He had a ‘lady’ (dummy) whose feet were attached to his feet, one of her arms attached to his right shoulder and he held her round her back and onto her right arm. He drew a crowd by pretending to smoke and make-out with her in a doorway and once a few people gathered, he was really performing.
He danced with her, kissed her, laughed with her, made her come alive after other men walking past (he could even make her bum jiggle!), persuaded other woman walking past to give him a kiss and he had all the facial expressions; wiggling eyebrows, pursed lips, suggestive looks and great sexy body language. What made us laugh were the little boys passing by who were absolutely enthralled. This little guy was particularly interested and wouldn’t leave. His mother was in hysterics when the little guy went over to get a kiss from the ‘lady’
but he was a bit shy and froze once in front of her (she wasn’t really that attractive!), so ‘she’ helped him out. It was priceless to watch; we think he had found his first love.
We did an awful lot of walking around BA as there is just so much to see. The architecture, plazas, monuments, statues, cafes…. they’re everywhere. There is so much evidence of the fact that BA was, for the first half of the 20th Century, one of the wealthiest cities in the world.
Something that is big in BA is professional dog walking or paseaperros in Spanish. We thought this lady was overdoing it with six dogs but another lady we saw had nine and apparently they can take up to 15! Imagine if the dogs went nuts? The walkers would be dragged along at quite a pace.
There were dogs being walked in every park we visited and in the centre of the city we came across an area that had between 60-70 dogs.
There were about 30-40 running loose inside an enclosure and the rest were tied up to the railings.
Most of the dogs were having a ball but some weren’t enjoying it much. One poor Dalmatian
was hiding in a hollow at the base of a big tree, completely intimidated.
While we walked most places, the public transport system is so cheap that sometimes it’s just easier to use and experience it. The metro system is a combination of old and new technology but still incredibly cheap with a single journey costing the equivalent of £0.25. The metro cars on the oldest line (1913) are wonderful; all polished wood interiors, polished wood slatted seats and windows that slide down into the body of the car and can be lifted back up by leather straps. Even the lampshades were old fashioned, still made of opaque white porcelain, glowing globes that hung down from the ceiling.
We visited Café Tortoni, the oldest café in BA. It was very touristy but worth a look nonetheless and had a secretive ‘old club’ atmosphere and lovely painted glass skylights in the ceiling.
There is a rather special cemetery in BA, Cemetery of the Recoleta and while cemeteries are not normally something that we’d be interested in, this really is like a city for the dead, with tombs like houses on a street.
Some tombs were huge, very fancy
complete with mosaic ceilings.
Taking loads of photos sounds a bit macabre but it’s a fascinating place and we actually spent quite a while here, wandering, looking at the tomb details and I was peering through holes such as the one below (although I stopped looking through holes after this as it revealed a rather spooky scene of tumbled coffins).
Most people come to see this tomb, where Eva (or Evita) Peron is buried.
Nearby the cemetery is the Museo de Bellas Artes that houses a combination of modern and traditional art that is worth a visit and had one of the most detailed and life-like marble statues we’d ever seen (we weren’t allowed to take photos).
This is the 68m high obelisk in the Plaza de le Republica. It’s an icon of modern BA and is apparently is dressed in a pink condom each year on Aids Awareness Day. It was here that we were cussed and sworn at in Spanish by some chap who was asking for money and it wasn’t until after he’d gone that Euan (who did look a bit alarmed while all this was going on) translated and told me that he’d called us ‘rats’ (among other things) and said that he was going to come back and kill us. Charming! Needless to say we kept a wary eye out for him while we were in the area.
There are some great museums and art galleries and we visited as many as we could stomach. The Malba is one of the most famous but it didn’t do it for us (give us Monet, Renoir or Rembrandt any day) and the Museo de Arte Hispano Americano, while housed in a lovely old palace, had loads of religious art and a huge doll collection. Needless to say that didn’t really do it for us either!
We did pop into the Museo Nacional de Arte Decorativo, only because it happened to be right by the bus stop we’d walked to. It is a lovely old French-designed palace with a 10m high stud in the main room, gilded decorated walls, lovely artifacts and massive tapestries. If modern art or doll collections aren’t for you, then head for this place. It is stunning.
We were both so impressed with the Palacio del Congreso that we went back at a better time another day to take photographs. It’s a fantastic Greco-Roman style building that took nine years to build from 1897. We reckoned that it would give some of the buildings in London a run for their money in the grandeur stakes.
The sculpture on the central pediment was designed in Venice, took over four years to make, weighs 20 tonnes and was cast in Germany.
It was a very impressive building from all angles and a trip around the back showed a lovely circular structure
and a contrast between old and new
The building was at one end of a huge square and had a massive fountain, Don Congresos, in front of it that obstructed the view and detracted from the building itself in a way
The fountain itself was pretty spectacular and was grand enough to warrant its own space. We wondered why the two had been built so close and almost in direct competition with one another.
The Casa Rosada is the House of Parliament but visiting hours are restricted to weekends and we were out of luck.
It is here in the Plaza de Mayo that the mothers of those who disappeared in the ‘dirty war’ of the late 70’s and early 80’s march in protest every Thursday. It’s actually really sad to see and many of the mothers have placards with photos of their lost child hung around their neck. The mothers were only granted permission to march as long as they didn’t speak to anyone so they wear scarves on their head or photos around their necks with their children’s name on them in the hope that someone will identify them and know something. Amazingly, some of those responsible for the kidnaps and killings remain in power today but the latest president has removed immunity for politicians so justice may still be done.
There are monuments all over BA and this was my favourite in the Plaza San Martin.
Along the two sides were 3D battle scenes leaping out at you.
In addition to seeing sights we also celebrated my birthday in BA but it didn’t stop there and we overdosed on steak and red wine on more than one occasion. It's worth talking about the food for a moment as it's pretty top notch. The steaks are cheap and the most tasty and tender we think we’ve ever eaten. Whoever said that you should only at eat as much meat that can fit in the palm of your hand didn’t pass on the message to the guys here in BA. The steaks I’ve been served are closer to the size of my foot! I didn’t realise they were so big and was served a massive piece of bife de chorizo (porterhouse to us) that was easily 2 ½ inches high and about 1 ½ times the size of a cheque book. I don’t think the waiters (or Euan) thought I’d finish it but I proved them all wrong. They didn’t seem to notice that I’d not touched the potatoes… or the salad…. and was lagging on the red wine. I’m too embarrassed to put a photo in here.
Something that is everywhere, on sweet pizzas, in ice cream, in croissants, in biscuits… is dulce de leche (similar in taste to milk caramel). It absolutely rocks and while you can buy it in the UK, it’s not quite the same. There is a shop called ‘Havanna’ that I’d been passing by because (stupidly) I thought it sold cigars. Later in the week we met a couple that let on ‘Havanna’ is literally all things dulce de leche so we were there the next day.
They sell these things that are two soft biscuits with a thick layer of dulce de leche in the middle then covered with a thin layer of meringue. I’ve resisted buying a box thus far and have stuck to buying singles.
Enough on the food! This is the beautiful building that houses the French Embassy. Just off to the left is Avenida 9 de Julio, the huge 20-lane road that runs through BA. Apparently the authorities wanted to knock the building down to make way for the widening of the road but the French refused. Good on them! Now, the building is bang smack at one end of this huge avenue and the avenue bends around it.
There are some massive roads in BA, such as this. At least the 20-lane one is broken with a few green bits in between the lanes but this had nothing and was one road where we walked when told to walk and stopped when told to stop! It was a bit like a race track, with the lack of traffic encouraging speed.
Oh (I forgot to say something else about the food), something else edible that is really up there with the steaks is the ice cream. We’ve decided that it’s better than Hagen Daaz.. Yes, it really is that good. Its not as creamy but it's thick, almost tacky and the taste is out of this world. Favourites are the bitter chocolate and… the super dulce de leche (dulce de leche flavour but then they stir extra dulce de leche through it to give it swirls). Needless to say it is supremely rich. Thanks to my Dad I have inherited a taste (along with a cast-iron stomach) for things ultra rich, sweet and sickly. Euan didn't do so well and it had him beat. Apparently the ability to make excellent ice cream came here with the Italians and we’re glad it did! This was our favourite shop where they made their own ice cream on the premises…
We’ve just come back from the supermarket with a bottle of wine, a litre of beer, crisps and bananas, all for little over £4. Accommodation is costing us £10/night, tube rides cost £0.25….. we could be here for weeks and in fact our most expensive item is ice cream!
I think the area in which you stay really influences your views on a city and, having spent over a week here in the San Telmo area as well as giving BA a fairly good going over, we think it is the best city we’ve visited thus far. For me, it’s up there with my old favourites, Rome and Paris. We’re very sorry to be leaving.
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