Trip Report: BA? Sisisi!
 

We just returned from two weeks in BA with a side trip to Uruguay for four days. We were there from Feb 19th -- March 3rd. Thanks to all of you who contribute to these boards, it definitely makes our trips much more enjoyable. I love the trip reports that I've read, I'm not a great writer so these are more my thoughts and experiences as the trip progressed. We had just bought a small Acer asprire one notebook for travel and it worked out fabulous, small and light weight and the battery lasted for a good 5 hours.

I have also lent out my BA Time out book so I can't look up the addresses and phone numbers but if you are interested you can google it or ask me and I will re post when I get the book back.

We have arrived on the hottest day of the year ,42c, coming from SF where the mean temperature in 55, it is quite a shock to the system. No one bothered to mention the humidity, which must be 110%, the only thing good about this is my face loves the moisture, the rest of the body not so much. Once again the weather report on google was WRONG.

We have rented an apartment in Recoleta, on Arenales, great location, we have a pool on the roof, 24 hour doorman, $120us a night. We pay with cash and get a 20% discount!

As reported before, Isabel at Buenos Aires Tours <[email protected]
is amazing. She is on top of everything, changes itineraries with the weather for us. We can't bike ride with this heat and humidity, which we were going to do to get acquainted with the city, we've been told to stay inside. Thank goodness we have a pool,which we use every couple of hours to cool off. She is so on top of it all that we are now looking around the apartment for the "nanny cam", she must be watching us!!! I ablsolutely recommend her!


Dinner at Juana M. the first night. It is a lovely place, down a flight of stairs, modern and simple, friendly young staff, very reasonably priced and delicious. It is a great place for a GTG, they have lots of large tables and space........bife de chirizo,ribs in bbq sauce, comes with a wonderfull huge salad bar, best cold marinated eggplant I've ever eaten,
one desert of ice cream, 1 1/2 glass wine, yes, the actually gave me 1/2 a glass! $110ar pesos ( $31us)

I always just get a glass of wine since my DH doesn't drink. I have to say the the pours in BA are huge and inexpensive, I think in the 10-12oz range, I really couldn't have two glasses without a hangover!

It finally got cold last night, well we needed a tshirt to sit outside on the balcony at 4 in the morning to listen to the street party. They say we are staying in a quiet area, I can only imagine how noisy other areas are. Fortunately this is not an every night occurance.

Who cares about stepping in dog poop when you can break your neck on the bazillion huge holes in the sidewalk? Does anyone ever fix these holes.

Cash is King. We have gotten a discount on almost everything if we pay cash.

White leather is Queen. Our apartment, every restaurant, every store is selling white leather couches, chairs, ottomans, you name it. There is so much white leather I think there must only be white cows here.

I bought my mate gourd,red, to use for tea or coffee. It works great except that my hands are now stained bright pink, maybe I needed to cure it?

Day trip to Tigre with a private guide who I am not recommending because of his TALL tales. We are driven around the area with commentary, stopping for some pictures,listening to Opera on the stereo, very nice. We take a boat ride which is interesting, the Delta is lovely. Lunch at Villa Ocampo, a, UNESCO world site, lovely house and grounds. His driver Emilio didn't scare us once! Although we did this as a private tour, I think that it would be fine and just as enjoyable to do on your own, and a lot less pesos.

The rains have come now to cool us off, lots of rain. It is very odd to be hot and wet. I bought the ugliest umbrella for $3 that works great, it does clash with most of my tops! The rains have also kept the street parties at night away. We are not having the best weather the first three days, but it gets better when we return.

Dinner at La Cabrera,, again offers a discount if paying by cash, only place so far without white leather chairs. We have Cesar salad and a filet mignon, one each to share. Does this give you a clue as to how BIG it was? The cute young couple next to us is from SF, we have overheard the couple behind us mention Sonoma...we are definitely in a touristy restaurant, but it is delicious. For desert, a whole pie and ice cream...Jim has died and went to heaven. $150ar pesos ($43us)

I haven't mentioned the alfrajores, the local cookie. Let me count the ways I love them...my favorites are two cookies stuck together with dulce de leche which is a VERY SWEET carmel sauce the consistency of peanut butter, pressed into powdered sugar, second favorite, same as above but completely dipped in chocolate,third, half dipped, next double dulce in the middle, you can't imagine how many ways they can put this together and it's all good dog! It is too sweet for DH, one of the few things I love and he doesn't. If it wasn't for these wonderful little morsels I would think I was on the Atkins diet with just meat and veggies, but my waistiine tells me these are really fattening!

The money thing freaks me out. I am still converting everything into euros, meaning one and a half times what something costs, ouch!..then I remember to divide by 3...wow, what a difference! I've read that inflation is rampent here but I don't feel it, it's a bargain for us.

We are having fun, it's a good city. Last night I found my favorite area,Palermo, great restaurants and shops, can't wait to come back next week and do some damage there. We leave tomorrow for the beaches in Uruguay,hope the rain stops!

Susanna: Keep it coming. This is a great report, because I can almost hear you talking. It sounds like you had a great time despite way high heat, and you are not a bad writer at all!

Uruguay, definately a thumbs up! But it certainly didn't start out that way.

We bought a round trip ticket from BA, taking the buquebus, pronounced bu ku bu, to Colonia and returning from Montevideo.

We walk around Colonia for a little while and see the sights, which in my opinion weren't many. With limited time I wouldn't do a day trip here. We have the worst meal of our trip at the yatch club,which has a pretty seeting. It is partly our fault because of language and mostly their fault because of bad food. I end up with a chicken sandwich that is soggy and tastless, DH has ordered the breakfast completo, or so he thinks. He has toasted bread with ham and cheese AND 4 slices of extra toast,donde esta the eggs?

We drive from Colonia to Punta del Este. We rented a car from Hertz.
We have reserved it for 5 days @ $274. When we pick it up we must take the insurance for about $20 a day, add an extra $61 to drop it off in Montevideo, and tax. They ask if want the insurance " in case Heaven forbid we run over a pedestrian and kill them." We have banged up a few rental cars in Sicily and France but havn't come close to running down and killing a pedestrian... yet. We decline that insurance. We didn't run down anyone this time either, but, who knew that people would be walking, crossing, jogging and just about anything else you can think of on the highways. Yes, driving is very easy, the road is straight all the way to Punta,about 300K, but you better pay attention! We are surprised at the cost of the car. We are more surprised at the way people make four lanes out of two, slow down to sightsee on the highway,pretty much stop for a picture if it strikes their fancy. We only see one accident, amazing.

The ride to Punta isn't too exciting, we seem to have a hard time geting through or around Montevideo and Punta, but eventually we make it to La Barra and the Hotel La Bluette. What a find.

The owners, Hugo and Alicia, couldn't be nicer. They have given Isabel an upgraded room for us, it's a suite, and its spectacular. Of course, Issy has called twice and is worried that we aren't there yet, has something happened? They think we will be there by 5pm, we arrive at 6 and send her an email immediatlely to ask her how is her ulcer??

We have a beautiful bedroom, with sitting area, big balcony, huge bathroom, all decorated to the nines, we can't believe our good fortune, or Isabel's. We have read one bad review on TA, we think they must have been crazy, we love it here. The common areas are comfortable, they will get you wine or tea or coffee or fruit drinks, what ever you desire. They don't officially have a bar for this but it isn't a problem. It is a beautiful villa across from the beach, with a pool, they give us beach towels and a card to get chairs and umbrellas.

We spend the first day at the beach acoss the street. It is an ok beach, the surf is so rough and the undertoe is so strong I don't go in past my ankels, DH goes in a little farther and it knocks him off his feet. We rent big loungers and an umbrella for $38us. There isn't too much action so we look for a different beach for tomorrow.

We go to the locals beach the next two days, in La Barra near Hotel Le Club. We love watching all the parents with the children, the huge family get togethers. The water is much genteler here. We rent two chairs and an umbrella both days, about $14us, We buy wonderful fruit blended drinks, corn on the cob, ice cream bars. We eat sandwiches which Hotel Bluette packed for us,a to go lunch each day! The only bathroom on the beach is an outhouse, which I rarely use. This has to be the cleanest bathroom I've ever been in. They have a woman who cleans it after every use. I think this must be the worst job and give her a big tip!

What can I say about the gorgous women here. Everyone wears a thong,some better than others. We have been to topless beaches in Europe, but no one here goes topless, but almost everyone is almost bottomless. They are beutifully tanned and toned. There are lots of Brazillians,Argentinians and Uraguaians, everyone is so friendly, we love it here. I am one of the few women in a tankini, everyone knows we are tourists , which seems to make them friendlier to us.

Hugo has great taste in food and after we dine on the most expensive sushi ever(about $20us a roll!) we ask for recs from him.

La Palenque in Punto. We eat here the first night and return later for another great dinner. It is a huge place and it doesn't fill up untilafter midnight, we are leaving and people are still arriving. The chef is from Spain, they have wonderful fish, pastas, lamb as well as meat. A very professional waite staff, a bit stiff. Our meals are $60 and $80us.

Piu, a small trattoria in Punto. Probably the best eggplant pizza I have every had, , gnocchi with a meat sauce to die for and great wine by the glass, our dinner is about $28us.

We go one evening over to Cabopueblo for the sunset, along with about 1000 other people. It is truly a beautiful spot. I pay $4us to go inside and see his art while my DH and two other new friends stay outside to photgraph the sunset. This place is gorgous, I would love to stay here. The views are to die for, the architecture is odd and amazing. It has a lovely pool overlooking the ocean that I could be quite happy relaxing by.

It is the end of Feb and we have perfect weather here, about 80 each day, no rain, a little wind in the afternoon. It is probably the end of the season, which is perfect. It is neither to hot or too crowded, a great time to be here.

Chivito's, the local sandwich, is odd and good,it has everything but the kitchen sink in it, meat, cheese, fried eggs, bacon, lettuce and tomatoe and maybe something else, not really sure, you must try this at least once. You will need lots of napkins.

There are things that look like a coke machine...with hot water for the mate! You drive up, jump out and fill your thermos!

The atm's give you either peso's or dollars? Odd

The atm's don't always work, but you can always find another. Don't know what the limit is, but you can just keep asking for another transaction and get what you want.

The old market in Montevideo, well, if you love meat you better run, not walk. All the stalls are different bbq, one looks and smells better than another. We buy some to go on the barquebus and sneek eat bits of sausage and ribs on the trip back to BA.

If we were to make this trip again we would fly over to Punta, the ride was a bit boring and the car rental was expensive, the boat ride uneventful.

We arrive back in BA at the boat terminal and need a taxi to our apartment. I ask a driver if he is free and he is, it is a metered taxi, BUT, he wants 100 pesos for the trip. Now, we have just been in Uruguay where the peso exchange rate was 24 to 1, so I am thinking $4us....but then I remember where I am and that I haven't paid more than 15 pesos for any ride yet. I ask him " Do I look that stupid, or just American?" We walk two blocks away and get a taxi for the proper amount!

Just out of curiosity, how did you get the cash discount at La Cabrera? Did you have to ask?
We dined there twice and in fact paid cash for every meal out for the month we were there and never were offered a cash discount. Did I miss something.

Thank you for a great report Susanna!

I'm waiting anxiously for the next chapters!

Isn't Isabel just GREAT? I loved that ISSY nickname! LOL!!!

IRecommend: if you want a discount for paying in cash, you need to say so when you ask for the check. Something like: "Hay descuento por pago en efectivo?"

Since I'm leaving for Argentina this Thursday (March 12) I'm all ears to hear about discounta for cash.

Av,

It's almost 1:00 your time. Are you ever off of the forums, my favorite porteno ITA?

Thanks tac for the kind words.

Ire: when we were given the check, DH opened his wallet and took out the CC and they said 10% off for cash, we said "OK" and paid with cash. Really, we never asked for a discount, but on more than a few occasions we were told this so we started to take out more cash from the atm.

By the way, we had a 300peso limit on our atms. I had read here that you could do multiple transactions. When we paid for our apartment we didn't have to pay the tax and something else which came out to about 20% if we paid cash so we had to do 7 transactions of 300. Why can you only take out so little? I have no idea.

Hey Mr. Rooster: My only regret is there wasn't enough time to do eveything, including meetin you.
Yes, I love Issy, aka, Isa, aka Isabella!!!!

We arrive back in BA, it is still hot, but not as hot. We crank the air conditioner down to 16c, it feels like SF in our apartment. I get 4 bags of groceries at the store for $75ar peso ($21us), what a deal.

I have discovered Freddo's, oh my poor waistline. This is a very good ice cream store, if you can't get out to buy it yourself, they deliver! Who knew that they put the dulce de leche in the ice cream too, a new love for me. Dulce de leche Grandizano, I miss you so much. It has chunks of chocolate.

We do a bike tour with www.biketours.com.ar on Sat morning at 930 or Recoleta and Palermo. It was a good tour, we had Barbara who was a very knowledgeable and a fun guide. It was suppose to be 3-4 hours. About 230 we begged her to finish the tour, it was about 35c, we were starving and hot, we certainly got our moneys worth. I'd definitely recommend this company and also this way of getting to know the city. I really loved Palermo with all the parks.

Our friends have joined us for a few days, it's good to have new blood.

We all do a "mild tango" with BA walking tours, $85us a person, includes a group lesson, a better than expected dinner and a show. When DH and I tango it looks NOTHING like the people in the show! It's an OK evening, I would have preferred to go see the locals dance but I wasn't comfortable signing up for the "wild tango" since I had never tangoed! If a low key evening is your thing this is it!

We went to the San Telmo Fair last Sunday in the rain and this Sunday in the sun, what a difference! There are a million more people, fabulous street music, we buy two great cd's.We lunch both times at Disnevel, what a great local place, plastic tablecloths, huge grill, busy all day, lots of locals, extremely cheep, $85ar pesos for the 4 of us ($24us) Dh has one of his best steaks, I have a HUGE omelet, fresh baked empanadas, nothing fancy or to write home about, just good fresh food. Loved the atmosphere.

I did not find the Fairs to be great shopping experiences, and I live for these kind of things. Most things were a little too home made for me. BUT, I did love the BA Design Center. It has mostly modern living decorations but I found it refreshing. I bought a beautiful leather table runner....what color???....ok everyone, on 3...1, 2 ....WHITE! In general I didn't really buy much, a cute pair of sandals and a couple of polo shirts and belts for DH. I just couldn't do any damage. The summer stuff was picked over and it was just to hot to look at boots and coats, and we don't really have a very cold winter in SF.

We went to La Bocca. I expected this to be my favorite area, it wasn't. I really just saw a lot of touristy junk and colorful buildings. It was about a half hour tour.

I loved the old bookstore that was a theater, El TXXXXX, on Santa Fe St, someone help me with the name. I loved having coffee on the stage which they turned into a cafe.

The highlight of the trip for me was an empanada cooking class with Terrisita www.try2cook.com. ( $45us) All 4 of us were driven out to her home, a lovely home with a fabulous garden. There were 6 of us in the cooking class, 2 were napping in the yard or playing with the dog! We learned how to make the dough and the filling for meat and corn empanadas. It was a fun group and included lots of wine, laughter and camaraderie. Some empanadas (mine) were the most mis-shappen, but still tasted great. After it was all done we ate the 4 1/2 dozen that we made, along with more wine. They also have a bbq class given by our driver, Jorge which I would definitely take next time . Our friends did a private tour with Jorge and raved about him. You can find all the info on the web site.

Cumara, has the BEST empanadas in BA. OMG, the Roquefort cheese ones are to die for.

I never once saw any of the things I was warned about. I found it very safe to be out by myself. Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful, what a great country!

susanna,

"When we paid for our apartment we didn't have to pay the tax". It might be (probably is) an apartment rental company's way of getting around paying the required tax for goods such as hotel stays. A porteno acquaitance of mine, who shall remain nameless, is certain that this is occurring.

I must say that I agree with him. It is to the advantage of the tourist and the apartment owner, as it makes their rental costs seem lower. However, I'm pretty sure that this is dishonest unless the tax was actually imputed into the total cost (which I highly doubt).

Susanna: you say lunch at Desnivel in San Telmo cost "$85ar pesos for the 4 of us ($24us)".

I know Desnivel is known to be cheap, but is that right? For the FOUR of you, or was it your share of the check? Was it a proper full lunch, or mostly "empanadas"?

I guess the bookstore you mention must be "El Ateneo".

Rasta:

About your:

"Av, It's almost 1:00 your time. Are you ever off of the forums, my favorite porteno ITA?", I hope "ITA" stands for "Incomparable Travel Advisor" or words to that effect?

Furthermore, perhaps you are also qualified to tell me at what time I should go to sleep?

LOL!!!!!

I must agree on the tax issue. When ever and where ever one is getting a discount for cash, something fishy might be going on. It's a very fishy city!

Disnivel: Yes, it was that price, but we didn't have a proper lunch that day. The first lunch with DH we had tbone steak (why do they not include the bone???), fried calamari, french fries, salad and a little pitcher of wine. I can't remember the price that day, but it was about the same as for the 4 of us. We had a huge omlett, 2 orders of french fries, 2 huge fresh bbq chicken sandwiches ( a tad dry) and empanadas, one beer, two diet cokes and I think two bottles of water.

Ok, back to the meat issue, no bone in a tbone? Also, they cut their ribs the opposite way, giving you little chuncks of bone in every bite, I prefer to gnaw on the bones lengthwise.

As far as I can tell, Portenos NEVER sleep!!!!

Susanna, I disagree with your: "When ever and where ever one is getting a discount for cash, something fishy might be going on."

If you are a small business owner in Argentina and inflation is high, it makes absolute sense to give 10% off for cash versus credit card payment.

The reason for this is that the credit card discount could be rather high (for a small business) and the worst part is that you could get paid several weeks or even months later.

There could also be a tax evasion motive, if the shop or whatever does not give the buyer a proper invoice, but the main reason is the one I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Our town is not at all "fishy". You just have to understand what is going on.

avrooster and Susanna.

"I loved the old bookstore that was a theater, El TXXXXX, on Santa Fe St, someone help me with the name"

It surely is El Ateneo on Av. Santa Fe near Callao - and may I add that their Pancake de Dulce de Leche is the best we had anywhere? Even when the piano isn't playing.

Continue to enjoy your trip. ~MarnieWDC

There is nothing "fishy" about getting a benefit from paying cash. They do it in the USA also.
Not everywhere but business people do it.

Marnie.. going to El Ateneo tomorrow.. will have a Pancake and wish you were here .. ((F))

I did not find it to be a fishy city at all. And I am trying to formulate my thoughts about
Buenos Aires before I write a little report. Our experience was different as we really didnt participate in any formal tours and booked everything on our own. When our 22 year old daughter arrived for the final 10 days we did things we wouldnt have done on our own like going to a milonga we were directed to by a man on the street called Bohemia Tango on Maipu. Thoroughly enjoyed, didnt get home till 3!

OMG, they put dulce de leche in pancakes????? Scarlet have one for me too, I can almost imagine it!

I also have had a business and totally understand about the high cost of accepting cc. Personally,I don't have a problem with cash, nor do I care if it is for my benifit or theirs, it works for me. I only ment "fishy" in a good way.

This was actually the first time while traveling that we did organized tours, I also usually do these things myself on the net. Being in a unfamiliar country and not speaking the language, listening to all the chatter about being safe, we chose to do it this way the first time. I would probably do it different next time too, although, had I not met Isable, it would have been a big loss, I now have a new friend for life.

Thank you, Susanna, for meaning "fishy" in a good way.

All of the above responses and initial report were indeed interesting to read. I've been to Buenos Aires on three occasions since 2005, and each time I read someone else's experiences, I can immediately identify as well as take away other points that interests me in which I'll partake in during my next visit, which I hope happens in October of this year.

During the times that I've visited which is during "their spring," I've always felt safe when walking alone, and in doing so I just kept in mind that I was in a large city and to conduct myself accordingly as to where to go and when!

Yes, Buenos Aires has become one of my favorite cities during this decade and century, and now that I know that individuals have written at this blog/site about their experiences as well as giving their recommendations and advice, I'll definitely return here and write, write, write for future as well as former travelers!

Regarding the taxi that tried to robb you charging 100 pesos for a ride that I imagined was 15, everybody should be warned not to TAKE any taxi standing at Buquebus terminal in Bs As.
I simply wait inside and when A radio taxi comes with paxs I jump inside. Those are ok.
Talking of Buquebus I have always said that is not worth it to travel first class but I wish to change my position, if the boat is very crowded it is better to buy First Class or First Class Special. Specially if it is a hot humid day.

Hi - I am looking at traveling to BA in April for about 5 days. Do you have any recommendations? I live on the East Coast now, but originally from SF! I want to have a day in the sun (is the beach nearby?), but definitely get an idea of the culture and life. I would love some input on places to visit, perhaps recommendation to stay. I would be traveling by myself...