We spent 6 wonderful weeks in Buenos Aires during February and March. We particularly enjoy travel experiences that expose us to new perspectives and new learning opportunities about this world of ours. On these accounts, every aspect of our stay was satisfying--- from the people to the food to the culture to the language to the day to day challenges of adapting to a new environment.
Here is how it unfolded.
We left our home in eastern Canada on a cold February evening, passed through Toronto and Santiago, and were on the ground in warm, sunny Buenos Aires less than 24 hours later.
The flight from Toronto is long and claustrophobic, but as we neared Santiago we were thrilled to see the gorgeous, snow-capped Andes peaks off to the east.
At EZE, we cleared customs, paid our entry fee, bought some pesos at Banco de la Nacion, and hopped into our pre-booked VIP car. It was a Saturday afternoon, so traffic was light and our driver was quick. We were in town in no time! Our apartment was at Cabello and LaFinur in Palermo Botanico, and we were quite pleased with the location.
We booked through By T Argentina, and their agent was on-site when we arrived and helpful in getting us settled in. We unpacked and then took a walk through the barrio, acquainting ourselves with the shops and restaurants and services. We had dinner at the highly recommended Bella Italia Cafe & Bar. We were at first confused, since there are 3 different "Bella Italias" in the neighborhood, all under the same management. One is a restaurante, one a parrilla, and finally the cafe/bar where we dined. The meal was lovely, the ambience subdued and romantic, and the service first rate. The raviolis stuffed with squash were the highlight of the meal. We headed back to the apartment tired, but happy to be settled in Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires te Queremos: a Trip report
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Thanks. I'm looking forward to more!
R U there????????????????????????
More please!
Great first chapter!
Many more in the pipeline, I imagine!
Looking forward to reading more. We loved the Bella Italias--ate @ all 3.
When can we expect chapter two? Keep on postin.....when I am not in BA I love reading about the adventures of others.
I need to backtrack a bit here and acknowledge, above all, my deep gratitude to all the forum members whose generous contributions were so valuable in helping us formulate our Bs As trip plan in the first place.
I was helped immensely by the outstanding “destination experts” on the tripadvisor forum, as well as all the other experienced contributors on that board for their help -----through personal messages and otherwise. It was a thrill to meet some of you in person. Many of us are active on tripadvisor and Fodor’s both.
Sockhopper is a tripadvisor only kind of woman, but I need to acknowledge her help in sorting through the options for dental care in BsAs, for her patience with my questions and for her thorough description of Dr. Pelcman's dental practice.
I am especially indebted to avrooster, who boycotts tripadvisor but as you know is active and helpful on this Forum. A true Buenos Aires ambassador. His suggestions helped us refine our plans. He was kind, generous, and persistent, and we now better understand Argentina and Argentinians because he was willing to challenge our assumptions about the country and its people. For example, we were shocked to learn that Andrew Lloyd Webber had "romanticized" the Perons, and not all Argentinians love Evita and her story, as so many in the English speaking world do.
During our first 4 or 5 days in Bs As, I tried to keep a running commentary in "real" time and post it here, but it was impossible to do. I gave up. Some psychologists I know say that to truly live life, one must be centered. Be grounded. Be in the moment. I found I was missing just being in "the moment." I was not fully experiencing the wonders of the city. You’re not a human "doing" or a human "writing," but just a human "being." So I decided to let go and just “be” in Bs As.
My earlier reflections "on the fly" of those first few days can be found here at the following two links:
http://tiny.cc/hwncn
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g312741-i979-k4233…
I was asked to comment on our lodging and for a link. Here is a link to the description of our apartment:.
http://tiny.cc/ooiyv
As I mentioned in that earlier post, we loved the location even though the apartment itself was barely above the college dorm room (with apologies to college students). The first hint that this might not be the lap of luxury is when you look at the images and see a futon in the living room. We've learned that this is not a good sign. The kitchen utensils were useless, but there was always hot water under good pressures. The elevator was fast and always available. The maid came in each week and did a great job.
I also mentioned earlier that we had rented this place last minute and on the rebound, after being gobsmacked by Reynolds Propiedades. Here is the link to our original booking with them, booked 7 months in advance:
www.reynoldspropiedades.com/properties/…
Following our initial disappointment, we learned to enjoy the place for what it was. The two air conditioners were great, the bed was very comfortable, and the other people in the apartment building were friendly and kind. The pool was tiny compared to the 25 meter pool at the Uriarte property, but it was still relaxing and refreshing.
Our Spanish language skills are basic (but improving!), and so it was challenging dealing with the maintenance man, Andres, who spoke not one word of English. The apartment phone was out of order for our entire stay, despite repeated pleas, and fruitless assurances from Andres, ByT staff and the off-site apartment owner. We were eventually supplied with a cell phone that was almost impossible to use.
The night watchman Luis, like Andres, could speak no English---no "hello" or "goodnight" or even "how's she goin' ?" But he was a heck of a nice guy and we always exchanged pleasantries and wished we could have gotten to know him a bit more. All the more reason to work on improving our español.
We were really disappointed on our final night to miss Luis because we had a nice tip for him and we wanted to say goodbye. It was not his usual night off, but we wished we had said our goodbyes earlier.
Morewierd has called me a busy boy. I'm busy because I'm obsessive/compulsive and can't say no.
The 24 question marks in her “RU there?” entry above are shouting out that she is eager for me to tell all, and to do it quickly. Or does she have a sticky keyboard? In any case, I don't want to disappoint her. So, after delaying this trip report for too long I'm going to try to make one entry per day until I'm finished.
More tomorrow.
Great second chapter, Kevin (Hikerboy)!
However, I have a rather serious (LOL!) objection:
In your post of Feb 8, 11 at 11:14pm in your http://www.fodors.com/community/south-america/first-72-hours-in-bsas.cfm thread you said: "I promise to post my next report here first!", in reply to my "However, I must admit to being somewhat disappointed that you chose to post your great report several hours earlier on TA."
I have observed you have not kept that promise. Shame on you!
Just kidding, but the Rooster won't forget! LOL!!!
Ah, the Rooster never misses a trick!
It's a tough job, but someone has to keep us all accountable.
Some comments:
1) I'm most grateful for your above paragraph about yours truly, but I must point out that your "avrooster, who boycotts tripadvisor" is incorrect. I was banned from TA. My version is that the motive was my "telling it like it is" style. Obviously, there are other versions.
Recently, several friends started a "Bring the Rooster back to TA" movement. I told them I would not go back, unless my intentionally impossible conditions were met. When TA told them I had to apply to be readmitted, I said "I most certainly won´t!". And that was the end of it.
2) Your tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g312741-i979-k4233… link leads to content which "has been removed" by the TA censors, as is often the case.
3) About the lack of a functioning phone in the apartment, I recollect suggesting you demand some money back, as any apartment without a phone is worth less money. Did you try? If you did, what happened?
Just one more thing: your post above does NOT count as your "one entry per day". LOL!!!!
"BUSYBOY" We are not pressuring you. We just adore your tales.
And as for being compulsive and not being able to say NO. Just do it! The first time is always the hardest. You will still be loved.!!!!!!!
I agree with Ronnie (moreweird).
We adore your tales and have been missing them for 31 hours and 12 miniutes! LOL!!
Obviously, I meant "minutes", not "miniutes", as spelled above.
It was the RRP: the Reinstate the Rooster Plan.
Just to clarify.
~M
Thank you Marnie!
It's nice to have some fun in this thread while Kevin (hikerboy) writes his next chapter.
It is now only 82 hours and 12 minutes since he posted the latest chapter. LOL!!!!
But worth the wait, no ?
~M
Of course! Or at least so we hope. LOL!!!
85 hours, 15 minutes and counting.....More LOL!!!
In a few days, I´ll have some pictures for you, Marnie.
I'm considering whether or not I'll send Kevin his photos. Further LOL!!!
I stopped counting. LOL!!!