Jan 13th - Back in Buenos Aires
It is wonderful to return to Buenos Aires, because we are familiar with the city and it is like our home away from home. We also enjoy coming back to Casa Amarilla to visit with Raul, Andrea, and Raul´s mother, who have become like a surrogate family to us. We think of ourselves as Porteños Nuevos, since we have spent so much time in Buenos Aires, so we want to use this entry in the blog to jot down some things we have learned about this city and it´s neighbor Uruguay...a practical guide and an opportunity to record memories of our experiences so far.Some notes about the comida y bebidas--
-Dulce de leche is a carmel spread that people put on toast, like jam. It´s like candy. It means sweet of milk. It´s similar to the European Nutella, but it´s carmel flavored instead.
-Picadas are small bites (the word literally means small insect bite). These are great snacks that you can get between 5pm and 10pm. Picadas usually consist of a platter of cheeses, proscuitto, olives, marinated veggies, and other finger foods. The dinner hour is at around 10pm, but until you get acclimated to the late dinner schedule, you´ll find yourself hungry at around 6pm or 7pm and picadas are just the thing to tide you over.
-Empanadas are the hot pocket of South America. They are a pastry that is filled with meat and cheese or veggies. Good for an on-the-go meal (para llevar).
-Pomelo soda is delicious. It is a grapefruit flavored soda...much better than 7up or Sprite (Jen´s old favorites).
-A cortado is a must in the afternoon. It is a short cup of expresso and milk, and it is a great pick-me-up. With everyone drinking cortados in cafes, it´s no wonder the people of this city are up all night.
-In Uruguay (and maybe in Argentina too) a chivito is like a hamburger. A chivito completo is a hamburger topped with ham, cheese, and a hard boiled egg and a few fries on the side. Jen loves them.
-Medialunas (half moons) are the breakfast of champions. They are croissants at home. If you go to a bakery in the morning they will give you warm, freshly baked medialunas topped with some kind of sweet syrup. They even deliver these by the dozen. They remind me of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, but better.
-There is a ton of pizza and pasta eaten here, because of the Italian influence.
-Clerico is a white wine sangria that is not to be missed.
-In Uruguay they have a drink called medio y medio that is half white wine and half champagne...another beverage that is worthy of mentioning.
-The beef here is amazing. You can go to a Parrilla (steak house), where they cook meat on a grill and order a lomo (fillet) or lomo de chorizo (another cut of meat that is not as lean as the fillet, but really good). You can get just about any kind of sausage or cut of meat cooked on an open fire at one of these parillas.
Shopping in Buenos Aires--
-On Sundays there is a feria (open air market) in the main plaza in San Telmo. The vendors sell many antiques and handcrafted wares.
-The best boutiques are in Palermo Viejo. The shopping here is phenomenal. I wish I had room in my backpack for all the beautiful couture and shoes that I´ve seen in the shop windows. This particular part of Palermo Viejo (Palermo SOHO) is similar to Hayes Valley in San Francisco, but everything is 1/3 the cost of things at home. A lot of the shop owners are designers that studied textile or fashion design and then opened their own stores here in the most chic part of Buenos Aires.
Getting around town in Buenos Aires--
You can ride the bus anywhere in the city center for 80 centavos per person (about a quarter at home). The underground railway (Subte) is another alternative for traveling within the city center and it costs 70 centavos per viaje (ticket). There is a small commuter train that carries passengers to the suburban areas outside of the city center. You can catch a train to the suburbs from the Belgrano station. The main train station is called the Retiro and here you can catch a bus or a train to other parts of Argentina.
Sights in Buenos Aires--
-Recoleta is worth seeing. When you go there, you will understand why they call it Recoleta...it is the richest part of the city. Here you can sit in a cafe and watch the dog walkers with 15 dogs strapped to their legs...it`s quite a sight to see.
-They say that the Teatro Colon (the Opera House) conducts tours, and we have attempted to go there three times to see it. The first time we tried to find the elusive Opera House, we went to the most beautiful building in Buenos Aires (we were sure this place was the Opera House), but it turned out to be Aguas Argentinas instead. We think Aguas Argentinas is the city´s water treatment facility, but we are not sure. The second time we got into a taxi and asked the driver to take us to the Opera House and we ended up at the wrong place. He took us to a lesser version of the Teatro Colon...like the Curran Theater in San Francisco. The third time we set out to find the Teatro Colon, we made it there just before a huge downpour of rain. We were so proud of ourselves for getting to the right building, but when we went inside they told us that there would be no tours of the facility until after Jan 17th...foiled again. We have yet to see the Teatro Colon. Perhaps we will make it there one day.
About the Porteños--
They don´t speak any English, but if you stumble through conversations and try to talk to them in Spanish, they appreciate it. Today we went to a hardware store to buy a converter and as we forged our way through the description of what we needed, we apologized for our broken Spanish. We admitted that we didn´t know very much Castellano, and the storekeeper responded with, "Claro!", meaning clearly, but he said that he appreciated us trying. At lunch we met a guy who has family in both LA and Buenos Aires. When I asked him where the bathroom was in the restaurant, he said he didn´t have any brothers, and that he was an only child. The people here are extremely warm and welcoming and we have appreciated their patience with us as we learn by trial and error.
Accomodations (Alojamientos)--
We have enjoyed our stay at Casa Amarilla and would highly recommend it. The cost is $35 per day (fairly steep), but you get an air conditioned room (very crucial in the summer), your own private, attached bathroom, free internet access, and a tremendously friendly (English-speaking) staff.
http://www.laamarillita.com.ar/
Another nice guest house is Che Lulu (recommended to us by Danny and Erica). http://www.luluguesthouse.com/ingles/bienvenido.html
The rooms there are a bit less expensive and it seems that they offer the same thing without air conditioning.
In Colonia we stayed at Posada del Rio. Simple rooms. Nice staff. Quaint dining room overlooking the bay.
http://www.colonianet.com/delrio/
In Villa Gesell we stayed at Posada del Sol. They have a plethora of animals (goat, bunnies) and birds (flamingos, parrots, ducks, a toucan, roosters) on the property. It is in the central part of the town.
In Punta Del Este we stayed in a crappy hotel that was really expensive. Punta is gorgeous, but I wouldn´t recommend going to Punta in high season.
posted by The Blaus @ 7:30 PM
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