A week in Buenos Aires

We arrived in Buenos Aires early after an overnight bus then made our way to Palermo, a chic/trendy neighbourhood known for its lush green parks and good choice of bars and restaurants. We had booked an apartment for the week with AirBnB so after getting our bearings we headed there to meet the owner, a nice lady called Brigitte. She showed us round the apartment and took us up the lift to see the amazing rooftop pool and gym. She had laid out a heap of medilunas (small glazed croissants) which were probably the best I’d ever tasted!! The apartment was exactly what we wanted: modern, clean and spacious. The bed was so comfortable and shower was really powerful and hot. Things you take for granted back at home… After stocking up on some essentials from the nearby supermarket, we went and chilled by our pool for the rest of the day.
That evening we walked down to central Palermo and went to a highly recommended parrilla restaurant called Don Julio. We gave the doorman our name and were given a glass of champers each whilst we waited. Once seated, Claire and I shared our first bottle of Malbec, then tucked into our Bife de chorizos and rather pricey side dishes. The steak was big but it was fatty and wasn’t as tasty as expected, so both of us came away a little disappointed.

The next day we woke to a lovely blue sky so we spent most of the day by the pool and ate some amazing pizza/focaccia bread from the gorgeous bakery, conveniently located below our apartment. That afternoon we took the ‘Subte’ (BA’s answer to a metro) to the central district. First we headed to Av. de Florida to change our remaining US dollars, then we walked down to Plaza de Mayo stopping off at a few shops along the way. The buildings surrounding the plaza are grand and impressive and we arrived as the sun was setting, which cast a golden light over the Presidents office. The balconies of this building were used by Evita Perón as she preached to her thousands of Porteños (people from Buenos Aires). We had a G&T down by the water at Puerto Madero as the sun was setting and watched all kinds of runners and roller-skaters fly by…some more convincing than others.
That evening we decided to put our kitchen to good use and made dinner in. We had a bottle of wine and watched some TV on the iPad. It was almost like being at home…

There are two zoos in and around BA. One of these however is slightly out of town but allows its visitors to get up close to lions and tigers. Sounds good right? After doing some research online however, we found out that this zoo drugs its animals to allow visitors to get so close. Needless to say, we both are opposed to this sort of practice and chose instead to go the city Zoo which turned out to be superb and had a huge variety of species. Highlights included seeing an elephant, some odd camels, lions, Siberian tigers, grizzly bears, hippos and rhinos.
We took a taxi that evening and drove further into Palermo to find a Thai restaurant, as we were craving some Asian cuisine. The food was good and my dish was very spicy, which I hoped would rid me of my cold. We walked home through Palermo’s leafy streets and past its many lovely smelling restaurants; probably too many to try in one week.

The next morning I got up and put my running gear on for the first time in 2 months. There was a picturesque park nearby with a huge lake. The road surrounding the lake is closed to vehicles on weekends so is taken over by hundreds of runners, dog walkers, roller-skaters and people practicing yoga. It was great to feel amongst the locals and see so many people exercising in one place.
The rest of the day was spent lazing around the apartment but we did venture out before sunset for some food. We first sat down at a nice sidewalk bar for fizz and nibbles, before heading to La Cabrera for one of the best steaks ever. This restaurant offers an excellent daily happy hour between 7-8pm, where lucky diners can enjoy 40% off their bill including food and drinks. Avoiding the fattier cut of Bife de chorizo, I chose the Ojo de Bife (Rib-eye) and Claire picked the Lomo (fillet). They were both excellent steaks and each came with 5 little side dishes which was nice touch. We enjoyed another bottle of Malbec, and promised ourselves we would return here before we left BA. As we left the restaurant, we walked into the heaviest rainstorm we’d seen on our trip which somewhat scuppered our plans for a night out.

Ouch..was the immediate feeling in my legs after getting out of bed. Today, we were headed for San Telmo, a bohemian quarter filled with antique shops, tango dancers and art gallery’s. The weather was still poor and we walked (I hobbled) to the metro and came out near San Telmo’s main plaza. On Sunday’s, market stalls line the streets, selling everything from kaleidoscopes to Beatles records. The weather hadn’t dampened the spirits of the locals and tourists, as the streets were still busy. San Telmo is said to be the ‘home’ of the tango, and dancers often perform for free around its cobbled plaza. Today however the rain had made the streets too slippy, so we grabbed a drink in a small cafe/tango club where a show was about to begin. It was a feast for the eyes, as the classically dressed man and woman pranced about a very small wooden stage, kicking and swirling to some pretty authentic tango tunes. After giving a much-deserved applause to the dancers, we headed down Calle Defensia, a mile long street back to Plaza de Mayo, where the market stalls continued and Claire did a spot of shopping. We planned to get a pizza delivered to our apartment that night so after the concierge had called for us, we waited for the door. Eventually the pizzas came, or should I say dough with cheese, as these came with no tomato sauce. Claire was furious at this discovery and rightly so but me being me, I managed to put some away.

The next day, we walked through the park and around the beautifully maintained Japanese gardens; complete with hundreds of koi carp, bonsai trees and a friendly cat who Claire took a liking to.
After last nights pizza fiasco, we were both keen for a satisfying meal. We hailed a taxi and headed to the Gran Dabbang an Indian/Asian fusion cafe in Palermo. The cafe was pretty busy so we gave our name and got a beer at a hip bar/fast food place nearby which was actually quite cool but would never work in England.
Back at the cafe, we ordered three small appetisers followed by a lentil curry. We enjoyed the mix of flavours, but it was not a patch on a Bradford curry house! After the meal, we ended up in a groovy bar where we caught the final half hour of a live band performing. We had cocktails then found Plaza Serrano, a triangular junction cluttered with lively bars and cafes.

Our last day, the weather had improved so we took the opportunity to sit by the pool before a late afternoon walk through Palermo, and back to La Cabrera, where I ordered a whopping 800g Bife de Chorizo and Claire got the Lomo again. The happy hour was again enjoyable, this time aided with a bottle of champers, however we both agreed the first visit was our favourite. We headed back via a local heladeria (ice cream palour) and I got a delicious chocolate/vanilla cone!

Our time in BA was done and we had to say goodbye to our apartment and Brigitte. We got up early in time to catch the boat across to Uruguay!