Three months we spent here. Three months of sweltering in 35+ heat, crazy currency, and trying to get along in Spanish. Three months of tango, music, medialunas, street-art, football, wild-west bus rides, street-markets, drinking mate, eye-popping architecture – both new and old, atmospheric cafes, dog-walkers and fabulous ice-cream. We made friends with tango dancers, discovered we didn’t turn into pumpkins if we stayed up past … Continue reading Goodbye Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires never fails to surprise. It’s so diverse. ‘On’ from early morning to late at night, our days were intense and jam-packed. This is the story of one day in BA. One day we went for lunch in a palace. A smiling young woman greeted us at wrought iron gates. ‘Would you like to go to the second floor, or the garden?’, she asked. … Continue reading One Day in Buenos Aires.
The most famous Notable of all is Cafe Tortoni. (It’s the fourth most visited site in Buenos Aires). My inclination nowadays is to ignore those ‘must see’ places. We’d read about the queue to get in and thought ‘why bother?’. But something niggled. Fear of missing out, I guess. So, not expecting much, but feeling we should, one morning we went and stood in line. … Continue reading The Grand Notables of Buenos Aries.
At first sight this plaza didn’t float my boat. No character, I thought. Just a big space with a lot of grandiose buildings. The Casa Rosada presidential palace, the Catedral Metropolitana and the Cabildo to name but a few. Lonely Planet touts it as the city’s historic heart. I couldn’t feel it. But we went back. And then we went again. With each visit we … Continue reading Plaza de Mayo.
I got quite excited when I heard about the Buenos Aries ‘cafe notables’. There are over seventy of them. Historic places recognised for their tradition, architectural value, local relevance and cultural significance. I love a theme, I love a challenge, and while I knew I probably wouldn’t make it to all seventy, it never hurts to have a dream. San Telmo has five classic corner … Continue reading The Notables.
San Telmo is great. But we didn’t come to Buenos Aries only to sit on Plaza Dorrego. Our thoughts turned to getting around the city. The buses – collectivos or bondis in the local parlance – seemed to be the way to go. They are loud, rough around the edges, but reasonably reliable, dirt cheap, and ferry six-and-a-half million passengers a day. We bought Sube … Continue reading The Collectivos.
On Sundays San Telmo goes for broke. For one day a week it’s the place everyone wants to be. The feria began in 1970 with just a handful of stalls, an attempt to save the area from re-development. Now the antique market takes over Plaza Dorrego and artisan stalls the surrounding cobble-stone streets, for several blocks. Bandoneon players, tarot-card readers, simit sellers, orange-juice and sugared-peanut … Continue reading San Telmo: The Sunday Feria.
Wondering Woman 