Hola Buenos Aires~

For Christmas, my amazing boyfriend gave me the best gift ever – the ability to travel the world!  For cheap!!  I am now listed as Bo’s buddy and can travel anywhere that Continental Airlines flies.  So where do you go first??  Bo and I decided to go big for my first trip – off to Buenos Aires, Argentina!

Bo, being a flying snob, was a little disappointed that we didn’t get first class, but it really wasn’t a big deal to me.  Yeah, a middle seat in coach is not the most comfortable place to sleep for 10 hours, but I got to cuddle on Bo’s shoulder.  And I can sleep almost anywhere.  We red-eyed Thursday night and arrived in Buenos Aires early Friday morning.  I was a little surprised at how fluent Bo was in Spanish and how he was able to navigate us so easily to the heart of Buenos Aires.  

El Torre Monumental - Torre Monumental is a clock tower located in the barrio of Retiro.  It was a gift from the local British community to the city in commemoration of the centennial of the May Revolution of 1810.

We checked in to our hotel, the Hotel Unique Artes, and began our adventure in BA.  We walked around the Recoleta, which is similar to the Galleria in Houston, and started the day with mohitos on the patio.

We continued walking down the street to the Cemetario de Recoleta, one of the world’s most famous cemeteries.  I’ll have to admit that I was a little skeptical when Bo told me that we were going to a cemetery, but I was absolutely blown away by the antiquity and expanse of the place.  Blocks and blocks of monuments, memorials, and family tombs contained the remains of the wealthy and influential Argentineans.  We eventually found the gravesite of Eva Peron, or Evita, a spiritual and political leader of Argentina. 

Next, we decided to grab some lunch at a patio café, El Punto Recoleta.  We shared a bottle of wine (which is super cheap in Argentina) and a pizza.  It was so relaxing to sit in the summer sun and watch the people of the city go about their day.  A clown entertainer playing an accordion snuck up on us, and made me come take a picture with him – a “photo tango”. 

Below are a few pictures from our stops our first day in the city.  We stopped at El Gato Negro, a delightful coffee shop with fresh ground coffee and kettled tea.   We also ventured to the Obelisco at La Plaza de la Republica.  The Obelisco de Buenos Aires is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires, built to commemorate the fourth centenary of the first foundation of the city (gotta love Wikipedia).  Also dropped by Kilkenny’s and a few other bars along the way. 

Meals in Buenos Aires were delicious – I wish we could have stayed longer just so we could have eaten more!!  Every meal included table bread – whether you wanted it or not.  And you always have to pay for it. 

Our trip was so short that I didn’t want to waste time washing my hair and getting ready.  So I dropped in to a local salon to get my hair washed and styled before the evening.  Bo decided that he wanted to get an old-fashioned shave!  On Saturday we googled it and made our way to La Peluqueria y Barberia La Epoca – a barber shop!  The shop was attached to a quaint coffee shop, so we sipped espresso while we waited for Bo’s turn for a haircut and shave.

The rest of our Saturday afternoon was spent in La Palermo.  It was a vibrant neighborhood, bustling with open-air markets and Argentinean tango dancers.  Bo and I really enjoyed the beautiful weather and social atmosphere.

We only had 36 fabulous hours in Buenos Aires and 20 hours on the plane, but it was a fabulous trip.  We probably walked 20 miles and drank several bottles of wine.  I added a stamp to my passport and made my very first trip overseas.  I can’t wait to go back and see what else the beautiful country has to offer.