Back from 8 days in BsAs.
 

Hello All:

I want to first thank all of you who responded to my original posts. Your input, shared experiences and at times wisdom really helped my wife and I enjoy the trip.

Before I left I said i would give a full accounting of our 8 day trip(11/6 - 11/14).I intended on keeping a daily journal or take notes but......I was on vacation give me a break. But I will give a fairly brief message with the highlights.

First, to anyone considering visiting Buenos Aires...DO SO!! It is fantastic. We were very fortunate not to encounter any bad experiences. All the people we met were very nice and helpful. Very patient with my lack of any real Spanish skills etc.

Arrived from Dallas on the overnite flight ( nearly on time). I followed the good DR Dawggy advice and directions concerning using the bank right after customs as well as the Tasi Ezerea service to the hotel. They take your bags to the taxi and you are on your way. Only $80 pesos ($26 USD). Our driver talked a little english and pointed out the sights as we went through downtown areas.

I would also highly reccommend staying at the Holiday Inn Express which is in the Puerto Madero / Centro area. Nice, clean and rooms are decent sized. Staff was very nice and bilingual. They also had a 24 hour security guard at the door. Since I used Priority Club points I am not sure what the rooms go for per night. They also had a large business center with 7-8 computer stations at no charge 24 hours a day.

Some highlights were the city tour we took. The very modern bus picks you up at your hotel. The guide describes in both Spanish and English.

We also did some walking tours on our own. We did all the things tourists are supposed to do. The cementary, La Boca, San Telmo on Sunday for the open air market. Walked all over Puerto Madereo.

Went to the very nice Pacifico Mall. Nice Christmas tree and decor.

Yes Florida and LaVelle streets are everything people say. We did are share of shopping.

I also reccommend a tour trip to Fiesta Gaucho - a gaucho ranch about an hour out of town. For $155 pesos you get a 7 hour day. That includes all the empanadas and wine you can take. Take horse or wagon rides, watch gauchos do horsemanship, see a small museum and eat the best asado (bbq) you can imagine. Huge portions of sausage, chicken and rib steak with salads, breads and desserts. Then you are entaertained by a small tango show and then listen to a two man folk band that were amazing. By the way $155 pesos = about $52 USD.

I am still amazed how far the dollar goes there.

The best part of the trip were the restaurants. Huge servings, unbelievable desserts at low prices.

Sorry, but I do not remember all the places we ate but some we will always remember.
1. La Brigada - San Telmo - great meat.

2. El Marisol - Puerto Madero water front- good food and service.

3. Boccolino - Italian - excellent neighborhood place. Centro

4. La Parolaccia - Italian - Puerto Madero water front - very good.

5. Just Corrientes - Porteno -Puerto Madero waterfront - good meat as well.

6. La Caballeriza - Puerto Madero - terrible food -should have listened to reviews.

I must mention one more place. I do not find it on the Oleo guide but it is really there. It appears to have been there awhile. All middle aged men waiters. Very common in BA.

It is called Cafe La Barra located on the corner of San Martin and Cordoba right by the Pacifico mall. We ate and had afternonn coffee there numerous times. After our first visit we loved it. Everytime we went back our waiter would see us coming and make sure he got to seat us and take care of us. Though he spoke no English he was very polite and helpful. They do have a menu in English which helped. The food and cafe were always fantastic.
Highly recommend you check it out.

The weather was unusally cool so we were told. It did rain off and on. But not enough to ruin anything.

I was also amazed with the amount of American television shows in English.

My final observation. The peopleof Argentina.

They are very friendly, appear to be happy with life, hard working, proud and PASSIONATE. Passionate with life, football and politics.

Like many other countries of major size you will see at least one protest or demonstartion daily yes some violent as well. But life goes on ........

We will be back. That is a promise. Will add other areas of the country next time.

Thank you Buenos aires.

Thank you for your report, OwassoRon. Come back soon.

Great report. Thanks for sharing! I am glad you enjoyed Buenos Aires, my home away from home.

The "good DR Dawggy" was mentioned in the above report and I wasn't. I'm awfully jealous!!! LOL!!!!

My apologies to Avrooster as well as Gabrellza (sp?). You both supplied excellent information and perspective. Thank you.

Ron

Thank you for posting ! I love reading Buenos Aires trip reports :D

I agree, dr dawggy gives great advice, he was and still is a great help when I need advice...Graziella...a lovely lady :)

thanks OwassoRon for your report, We are almost ready to start counting down the days to our arrival in Bs As on 30 December and you have whetted our appetites even more

cheers
AndrewDavid

Thank you. May your visit be as great as ours.

Cio,

Thank you for reporting back to us!

Ron: Thanks for your trip report. Have to say, I hadn't considered horse rides on our upcoming Argentine trip, but you are starting to convince me!!

Also, what are some nice gifts to bring back home from BA and Argentina, in general? People always speak well of the leather goods (bags, shoes). Anything else you can think of that might be special?

Cheers!

Thanks so much for the great recommendations. We are anticipating our trip to BA the end of March.

One question I have regarding the San Telmo market: is it both Saturday and Sunday or just Sunday? We want to get there since it seems to be a must, but it would work better for us (especially since the Sunday we will be there is Easter) to go on Saturday.

Only on Sundays http://www.feriadesantelmo.com/menu.htm

However, jcasale, I believe that going for a while in the afternoon to this fair should not interfere with your celebration of Easter Sunday.

San Telmo itself is a wonderful , atmospheric part of town that is great for strolling, shopping and eating any day of the week.
We have been on a week day and been entertained by Tango Dancers in the square during lunch break..we actually like going there during the week when it is not quite so much a crowded tourist attraction.
Be sure to stop in as many antique stores as you can :)
And this is also a great place to buy unique gifts for those back home or for yourself.

And then there are the Gauchos..... but that is somewhere else :D

It wasn't so much our celebration of the day - we wondered if because it was Easter Sunday there wouldn't be as much going on at the market and that maybe we should use that day to take a trip to Uraguay. But if the market is only Sunday, then we can change our plans accordingly. This is why I like to haunt this website - I get so many good insider tips.

No, jcasale, I don't think it will be any different because it is Easter Sunday.

Protect your valuables properly in San Telmo. Remember this is where our pickpockets took Miss Bush's purse while the US Secret Service watched. LOL!!!

It's great fun, anyway. Be sure to go watch "El Indio" Benavente dance the tango in the square. You can Google him.

Thanks - El Indio looks fabulous on you tube. Can't wait to see him in person :-)! Guess we'll be in San Telmo on Easter Sunday. And since I am a great believer in not having much in the line of value on me, I should be fine, but I will be cautious nonetheless.

That is smart, BA is one of those cities where it is not neccesary to wear all of ones "flashy" stuff :)
Most of the jewelry I see here is Silver and lots of costume beads, long ropes of them. It looks especially good since it is so warm..a nice summery look. You will probably end up buying something to wear here :)

San Telmo or Recoleta..wherever you are in Buenos Aires..the jewelry/camera/purse caution is important..friends have been robbed in Recoleta on a busy sidewalk during the afternoon with plenty of people around..friends live in San Telmo and have never had a problem ( yet)...so just be aware wherever you go ..

In front of the Church Pilar in Recoleta ( at the Cemetery) you will see all sorts of people dancing, singing Tango songs and mimes...it is fun to see :)