Sunburns: 1- spf 30 is not strong enough.. will try 70 tomorrow
Sleep: 6 hours
After a 10 hour red-eye flight from Houston, we arrived surprisingly well rested in Buenos Aires this morning. (Thank you Jesse for the business class upgrades with the cushy reclining seats!) After getting through immigration and customs, we found Jesse and Maria waiting for us at the terminal exit - as their flight arrived early and an hour before us. At 10:30 am we hailed a cab from the airport into the city - which is approximately an hour-long cab ride on most days - however today was a special day. It was special because there were homeless people protesting in the middle of the only highway directly connecting the airport and the city, so our resourceful cab driver took us on a lovely tour or detour of some suburban barrios (neighborhoods) until we could navigate onto the highway again. Our cab driver, a lovely lady, commented that this was a common social problem for the Portenos (loosely translated = the people of the port), which is what the people of the city of Buenos Aires call themselves. I haven't been able to stop thinking about the protest by the homeless people all day. Its kind of exciting that here, people that are homeless have the power to shut down a major road like that in protest, without getting arrested - while that sort of thing would never be tolerated at home. On the way to our hotel we drove past the Casa Rosada (Pink House) which is the equivalent to the White House in the United States. It made me realize how little I know about the politics here. We arrived at our hotel about an hour and a half later - roasted from the steamy weather outside (think New Orleans in June) and the steamier climate inside the cab - and notably smellier for the wear. We are staying at the Park Tower Hotel in downtown Buenos Aires - just steps away from the Puerto Madero neighborhood.
After checking in, Nathan was tired - but Jesse, Maria and I were ready to take our first stroll around the neighborhood. So - Nathan hit the sack and we headed for the Puerto Madero neighborhood. The Puerto Madero is the original old port of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires quickly outgrew the small centrally located Puerto Madero, however - and a Puerto Nuevo was built nearby - which is where most of the actual shipping takes place today. I believe that our cruise will leave from the Puerto Nuevo. After being abandoned for several decades, the Puerto Madero was transformed in the last decade into a trendy spot for fashionable stores and restaurants on the waterfront. Here, we walked around the dikes for a few hours, enjoying the hot sun, some lunch at a local market, and all of the beautiful and fashionable Portenos on their Wednesday siesta.
For lunch, we chose a chic little neighborhood market cafe along the water. We arrived at the peak lunch time - 1:30 pm and it was at this time that Jesse learned about the differences between South American dining culture and North American dining culture. Today we were introduced to the idea of a long, leisurely lunch. Here, that concept means that even the servers believe they should relax a little bit, and that no matter how impatient or in a hurry you (the patron) may be, a South American server will not rush to take your order - but he will in fact seat you at a table in the back of the restaurant if you approach them with English instead of Spanish introductions. However, the Ceviche (salmon with mango and avocado) I had at lunch was AMAZING. And the frozen limonada was heaven in the heat. Next time, we will clumsily speak spanish to the hostess and our server, even if we have to play charades to make our point.
After lunch we strolled further down the Puerto Madero (The dikes that form the Puerto Madero enable you to walk in a loop around them) and ended up at Santiago Calatrava's famous pedestrian bridge. It was beautiful in the bright sun - as were the brightly painted old cranes that remain unused - guarding the banks of the Puerto Madero. Following that, we turned back for the hotel, stopping to make a dinner reservation at Cabana Las Lilas in Puerto Madero - a well known Argentine Parrilla (Steakhouse).
We arrived back at the hotel at about 3pm - our threesome intact despite pulling Maria out of traffic a few times - and found Nathan awake and feeling better. We rested for a couple of hours at the hotel and decided that tomorrow we are going to take a tour of several neighborhoods in the morning, choose a neighborhood or two to spend our time in during the afternoon - and then go to a tango performance and dinner later in the evening. The hotel concierge is fantastic - and was able to arrange the transportation and reservations for us.
Before dinner, Nathan and I headed out for a walk and encountered Tango Dancers in a park at sunset - just before dinner. Soon, it was time to meet at the restaurant and have dinner with Jesse and Maria at 8pm. When we arrived at 8, the restaurant was about half full of patrons. Las Lilas was recommended to Maria from a friend and it didn't let us down. We ate outside, watching the locals and other tourists stroll by and the sun disappear. We drank delicious Argentine wine and ate Argentine steaks. The steaks were impressive in size. We all ordered the smallest size fillet on the menu (which was 500g) and it filled our plates. I have never been served a steak so big in the states. It was good, but if I am being honest - I've had better at Morton's and at Ruth's Chris in Seattle. I mean hey - at Ruths Chris, they cut the fat of the petite fillet for you - not in Argentina. And the steak didn't melt like butter on your tongue - which is what I like best about the good steaks I've had at home. I guess I have not yet been seduced by Argentina's primary export - but I would recommend the restaurant for the atmosphere, the huge wine list, and the complimentary home made limoncello at the end of the meal. By the time we left our dinner - around 10:30pm, the Las Lilas was in full swing. Even on a wednesday night, fashionable Portenos don't flock to dinner till around 10pm. We will have to aim for later dinner times for the rest of the trip I guess. After dinner we ate delicious dulce de leche ice-cream on the way back to the hotel and called it an early night because everyone was tired from traveling.
First impressions of the city:
1. The sidewalks an streets could use a little TLC (there are tripping hazards everywhere - and we all know i don't need any extra help being clumsy!)
2. The weather is beautiful - hot - but great. Sunblock is a must. (for me at least) I got a sunburn in an hour and I was wearing SPF 30… I will bust out the SPF 70 tomorrow.
3. The people are pretty nice, not overly friendly, but nice. They seem to be nicer if you at least try to speak spanish - its ok if you butcher it - its the effort that counts I think.
4. The architecture definitely has a French vibe. Cafe culture is big too. Many of the streets and stores are covered with graffiti. Some of it is beautiful - some graffiti has interesting messages. There are lots of bright colors.
5. Buenos Aires a very fashion conscious city. The women are all beautiful and are always in high heels.
6. There are really amazing trees here - I need to find out what they are called. Portenos love their parks!
7. I am definitely excited to see more tomorrow. (I really hope we make it to the following neighborhoods:
La Recoleta - One of the oldest and affluent neighborhoods in Buenos Aires - There is a saying here that goes something like, "It is important to live in La Recoleta while you are alive, but even more important to be burried in La Recoleta when you've passed.)
La Boca - Seems to be the most famous artist / bohemian neighborhood in Buenos Aires with many galleries and shops
Palermo - The best shopping, I'm told is found in Palermo Viejo - I'm on the hunt for Argentine leather goods.
PS - Sorry for not having any pictures today. I will have some posted by tomorrow! Promise. I took several today that I planned on posting, but it turns out that I didn't bring the right cord to connect the camera to the computer - so I will get one tomorrow and you will have 2 days photos on Thursday!
Buenos Noches!
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