Buenos Aires - Part II

Day 7: Second Free walking tour and Japanese Restaurant   

That Tuesday was again a very hot day. They were announcing temperature of 38°C in the middle of the afternoon. We stayed in for a bit but then went out to San Telmo where Roxana had seen some things on Sunday that she would like to buy. We went in those antique stores and sure enough she found the hand bags that had caught her attention. We left the store with three of those leather bags, each of a different size.

Then we sat down in a very old bar to quench our thirst and have a bite. The bar was left untouched since several decades and had a “belle époque” style to it.

Itadakimasu! 

We joined our second free walking tour that afternoon and went through some of the most exclusive areas of Buenos Aires. The city was one of the wealthiest in the world in the early 20^th century and a few very rich families started building private residences, some of which 10.000m² they called palaces. They wanted the city to look like Paris. They even built streets and squares to that purpose and imported building material directly from Europe. It was both entertaining and eye opening.

That evening we fancied something a bit different and we went to a Japanese restaurant. We had some great Sashimis, Niguiri Sushis and Makis. After that great dinner we lazily strolled back home.

Day 8 : La Boca!

That day was going to be a relaxed one. We took a bus to the (in)famous neighbourhood of La Boca. This was the first port of Buenos Aires (BA has three ports nowadays) and it has a bit of a bad reputation. But there are a couple of very touristy streets where all the houses and stores are painted in bright colours and where there are tango dancers all day long.

Obviously we could not be at La Boca without going to the Boca Juniors football club. This is one of the clubs in the world that has won the most titles, at national, continental (Copa Libertadores) and world level (Intercontinental Cup). 

"God" is never too far

La Bombonera - Boca Jr stadium

Legends like Maradona, Batistuta and nowadays Riquelme have worn the famous Blue and Yellow shirt. The story of this jersey is actually interesting: when they had to choose its colours, they said that they would adopt the colours of the flag of the first boat that would come through the port. The first boat that came in the port that day was a Swedish boat! The colours of Boca have been Blue and Yellow ever since ... 

Day 9 : Puerto Madero and BBQ

Cheers to a great evening

We went to the newly refurbished Puerto Madero to see how one of the oldest part of town has been transformed into an ultra modern jet set kind of “place-to-be”. Unfortunately we had to rush back home when I realised that I had been pick-pocketed. So after making all the phone calls to cancel the credit cards we were in no mood to do some more sight seeing.

Fortunately that evening we were invited to Will and Archanna’s place for a BBQ and that was just what we needed to get our minds off that bad experience. The BBQ, which was prepared by Tiago, was excellent. We were on the roof of the building and Will insisted that we should finish a bottle of vodka and obviously some of us ended up in the pool.    

Day 10 : Shopping and Milonga

They glide effortlessly across the dance floor

I decided not to do much that day and Roxana went out to do some shopping. She got quite a few of the things she was looking for. She came back home with quite a few shopping items and a big smile on her face.

That evening we went to a Milonga place that had been recommended by the Danish friends we met on Easter Islands. It was a big dance ballroom filled with locals. People came to have a good time and dance all night long. We enjoyed that a lot.  

Day 11: The Pink House, Japanese garden and MALBA museum

One of the Salons of the Pink House

On our penultimate day in Buenos Aires we went to visit the Presidential Palace which is this pink building on Plaza de Mayo. The visit was really interesting and we could visit the rooms where the presidents have their meetings and make their speeches. We saw the balcony from which Eva Peron addressed the crowd and the other balcony where Maradonna and his world champion team saluted the joy drunken crowds in 1986.

A stark contrast with the surroundings

Then that we went to the Japanese Garden close by. It was a neat beautiful garden with little ponds, fish and bonsais and everything. It was very refreshing to get away for a short time from this very busy metropolis.  

After that we went to the MALBA (Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires) museum. It was a great modern art museum showing the evolution of Latin American Art since early 20^th century. We really enjoyed the vivid colours and patterns in the temporary exhibition.

The MALBA Museum was a pleasant surprise

That evening Roxana found a great restaurant for our last dinner in town. It was very cosy and the food was wonderful. We had what might be our last steaks in Argentina and we thoroughly enjoyed them!

A very well hidden venue with live music

After that we went to a live music concert close to our place. This bar was really in a residential area and would be impossible to simply stumble upon. The place was quite small but looked very nice. We were the only foreigners in there and really enjoyed the concert.  

Day 12: Last Day

We woke up on our last day a little bit depressed. We really loved Buenos Aires. This is the longest we had stayed in the same place and we had done so much. We enjoyed everything: the culture, the music, the sightseeing, the food, the friends, everything really.

So on that last day we simply went into town a little bit to a couple of places we wanted to see one last time and then headed back home. We packed our bags and headed to the bus station in Retiro. 

Pictures of Buenos Aires