So, we're in Cafayate. The trip here was absolutely amazing. We rented a car in Salta and took off around noon. We filled up the tank and headed out in a light drizzle. Not too far out of Salta, we began coming to some very flooded areas, with several inches of water across the roads and all the ditches and yards full of water. This being the rainy season and all, we didn't think too much of it. Later on however, we discovered that we were somewhat lucky to have made it to Cafayate, the only road from Salta sometimes gets closed this time of year if there are heavy rains, and we saw signs of some significant, very recent, flooding at some of the reinforced parts of the road designed to let small creeks flow over the road without destroying it.
The drive is beautiful, starting out in lush farmland, passing through small villages, and the scenery slowly changing to more arid farmland, although still very productive and green. You start seeing Cacti when you begin climbing, a very gradual climb, about half way through the drive. The green starts fading to a lighter shade of green, with more bare ground and shrubs and cacti taking over. The mountains are beautiful. When you enter the mountains, and all along the drive, until about 20 km away from Cafayate, the mountain scenery just gets better and better. It's difficult to imagine it could get better so we took lots of pictures along the way because we didn't want to miss photographing the beautiful and dramatic scenes around every bend in the road. The geology of the pass is what contributes to the intense beauty. Unlike the desert southwest in the United States (or at least the places I've been), the colors of the mountains change incredibly quickly. The rocks go from white and gray, to orange and yellow, to deep red, to orange and gray, and finally ends in brilliant white as you approach the dunes at the edge of the Calchaqui Valley. The Calchaqui valley is also stunningly beautiful. Wide expanse of green valley, with mountains around 340 degrees or so of the horizon. The mountains on the east and west are large, with an amazing diversity of colors and the valley continues north and south as far as the eye can see. As you approach Cafayate, you smell the blossoming desert plants and, once you pass the dunes, the cacti give way to vineyards...as beautiful as anything I've seen in Sonoma valley and without the traffic (and high prices). You drive over a small bridge once you turn onto Route 40 and you're in Cafayate. It is a small town (I think the population is around 15,000, but it looks as though it's climbing quickly - new construction, expansion, and renovations are taking place everywhere!), with a lively scene in the streets (mostly locals, although lots of backpackers), small shops everywhere, and a superb little plaza in the center of town. It is beautiful, clean (the people here really seem to take pride in their town and yards...more so than even Salta and LOTS more than in Buenos Aires), and safe. The people are friendly, children are safe walking the streets alone, and you really get a feeling of relaxed happiness among everyone you see (at least I did).
Continuing through the central plaza along Route 40, you come to the edge of town quite quickly, past the 2 large camp grounds...which, while not a speck of grass in sight, appear clean and very alive with activity, and you cross another bridge. You are immediately surrounded by beautiful vineyards on both sides off the road and very soon come to the rather impressive entrance to La Estancia de Cafayate. We kept driving because we were an hour and 10 minutes ahead of schedule and Terri wasn't going to be available to meet us until, at the earliest 5:00 pm. We continued driving south on Route 40, past vineyard after vineyard and stretching as far as we could see. It is really amazing. We turned around, headed back to La Estancia de Cafayate, and drove up to the entrance house. We waited 5 minutes for Terri to arrive and followed her in through the property. The entrance is beautiful, fields of lavender on both sides of the road, planted with olive trees gives way to vineyards and fields of alfalfa. The road then enters a wooded area, meandering through for much longer than I had expected. The property really is huge, more than 1200 acres total. In the middle of the wooded area, there was a clearing and a road going to the right with a big sign announcing the future location of the Grace Cafayate hotel and villas, and spa...and all surrounded by acres of grape vines. Exiting the wooded area, you come to the first of the neighborhoods that are under construction - the last of the utilities being laid under ground and a few places where house construction has begun. We were shown to the house we were renting - a beautiful little 2 bedroom house, with tile roof, outdoor seating areas and parrilla (stone wood-fired grill), small pool, and 1 room guest house. The house is beautifully built and furnished. We'll post some pictures soon. In fact, I'll have to continue the description of La Estancia de Cafayate later, as the battery on the netbook is about to die (I'm writing this from the front porch of the reception house overlooking the first of 2 large ponds!) and we are about to take a walk.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Salta to Cafayate - Photos
Pictures from the end of Salta and our drive to Cafayate. We'll update with explanations of the photos and name them later...off to have fun.
http://picasaweb.google.com/111394179126051529043/SaltaToCafayateFavs?authkey=Gv1sRgCPuGraCp4sOC6gE&feat=directlink
http://picasaweb.google.com/111394179126051529043/SaltaToCafayateFavs?authkey=Gv1sRgCPuGraCp4sOC6gE&feat=directlink
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
End of Salta
It has been a wonderful few days, which is why we haven't written. We're gonna try to catch up.
Monday was our last day in Salta la Linda and deserves some attention. Dave told me that I should write that night because it would get away from us but I was more in the mood to read...I'll try to do it justice now. Monday morning we took a gondola up the east side of the city to the top of San Bernardo. We thought it was going to be pretty low key with a cafe and a look out spot, but it turned out to be quite the park including some serious water features. Although none of the benches were in the perfect spots, the views were spectacular and the waterfalls astounding. It was a great view of the city and a cooler, breezier climate. Afterwards we successfully took the bus to the mercado artesanal on the west side of town. As soon as the bus began moving, I got the feeling that I was on the night bus from Harry Potter...jerking around slamming breaks, nearly hitting other vehicles jostling us in our seats, but we made it safe and sound. The market was definitely the best shopping we had seen. A wide varitey of knitting, ceramics and baskets to name some of the things. Down a block from the artisanal market we found a spot to get empanadas. It was kind of a restaurant, probably the converted garage of a couple's home. The man took orders and (I think) the woman was in the "back" cooking some of the best empanadas we've had. They had no water so we shared some Quilmes which is practically the same, and enjoyed the beginning of some spy movie with Angelina Jolie and spanish subtitles. After returning home by cab ($2.50USD) we enjoyed the tradition of siesta. For dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by Florencia (THANKS!) It is called Paladar Negro and specializes in pasta. It was among the best pasta I ever had, even in Italy. The service was friendly despite a language barrier and I would go back any time! Seriously, if you are ever in Salta, eat at Paladar Negro.
Monday was our last day in Salta la Linda and deserves some attention. Dave told me that I should write that night because it would get away from us but I was more in the mood to read...I'll try to do it justice now. Monday morning we took a gondola up the east side of the city to the top of San Bernardo. We thought it was going to be pretty low key with a cafe and a look out spot, but it turned out to be quite the park including some serious water features. Although none of the benches were in the perfect spots, the views were spectacular and the waterfalls astounding. It was a great view of the city and a cooler, breezier climate. Afterwards we successfully took the bus to the mercado artesanal on the west side of town. As soon as the bus began moving, I got the feeling that I was on the night bus from Harry Potter...jerking around slamming breaks, nearly hitting other vehicles jostling us in our seats, but we made it safe and sound. The market was definitely the best shopping we had seen. A wide varitey of knitting, ceramics and baskets to name some of the things. Down a block from the artisanal market we found a spot to get empanadas. It was kind of a restaurant, probably the converted garage of a couple's home. The man took orders and (I think) the woman was in the "back" cooking some of the best empanadas we've had. They had no water so we shared some Quilmes which is practically the same, and enjoyed the beginning of some spy movie with Angelina Jolie and spanish subtitles. After returning home by cab ($2.50USD) we enjoyed the tradition of siesta. For dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by Florencia (THANKS!) It is called Paladar Negro and specializes in pasta. It was among the best pasta I ever had, even in Italy. The service was friendly despite a language barrier and I would go back any time! Seriously, if you are ever in Salta, eat at Paladar Negro.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Merry Christmas!
So, the artillery barrage started about 4 hours ago now, and is still going strong.
There is no escape, no sleep, no rest tonight. The sky is lit up as far as you can see, and now the haze of smoke has engulfed the entire city of Salta. The barrage balloons started at midnight and continue to light up the sky...being launched from every block in the city in random order, lit by small flames inside paper or fabric balloons, flying off into the night. Except for a few, hit by shrapnel, which burn up in the sky as they descend toward the ground, failed attempts to escape the onslaught. And even now, at 12:45 am, explosions continue to rock the building from all sides.
Christmas in Salta is AWESOME!
Sarah
Sarah and our two nights out with her were fantastic but have been neglected so far. This is mostly because both times we got back to late for blogging because we had such a great time. We went to dinner with Sarah, a former Masshole who now lives in BsAs (and studied here with Pep), on our second night here. This is when we wandered around, took pictures of the big metal flower and learned of blood sausage. It was awesome to hear so much about Argentina from a resident, and interesting to talk about the US; what she hears here and what Argentines think of us.
We met again on our last night in town. Sarah happens to work a few short blocks from where we were staying in Palermo so she walked over after work. We shared some wine there (La Linda Malbec, and Pescado Torrontes - a surprisingly delicious $2.50 wine!) and discussed a number of other things including Dulce de Leche, Mate, and "Argentina according to Amy Pepin." When it reached a respectable hour for dinner (around 9) we made our way down the street to Club Eros for dinner. This was a Fodor's find that was a total gem (make sure you google Club Eros, BsAs...Sarah thought we were into rather unorthodox ideas of a good time when she googled Club Eros without the Buenos Aires in the search string). My theory is that this restaurant came to exist because they fed parents during their kids soccer practice. This is because the restaurant is literally on the side of a gym and indoor soccer club. Dave and I were too intimidated to go with only a little functional Spanish and it seems this was probably typical of tourists because everyone else there seemed to be local. Luckily, Sarah is fluent so we dragged her along with us. We ordered three steaks, a plate of fries (really yummy fries!), a basic salad and a bottle of wine. The steaks were awesome, at about 6USD a piece, they were deliciously tender and flavorful despite being cooked medium well. For dessert we had this strange but delicious queso y dulce de batata which is cheese and a sweet potato jelly. I know this sounds strange but trust me, it was great!
We were sad to say goodbye to Sarah, but trust that our paths will cross again someday. If you're reading this Sarah, thanks again!
We met again on our last night in town. Sarah happens to work a few short blocks from where we were staying in Palermo so she walked over after work. We shared some wine there (La Linda Malbec, and Pescado Torrontes - a surprisingly delicious $2.50 wine!) and discussed a number of other things including Dulce de Leche, Mate, and "Argentina according to Amy Pepin." When it reached a respectable hour for dinner (around 9) we made our way down the street to Club Eros for dinner. This was a Fodor's find that was a total gem (make sure you google Club Eros, BsAs...Sarah thought we were into rather unorthodox ideas of a good time when she googled Club Eros without the Buenos Aires in the search string). My theory is that this restaurant came to exist because they fed parents during their kids soccer practice. This is because the restaurant is literally on the side of a gym and indoor soccer club. Dave and I were too intimidated to go with only a little functional Spanish and it seems this was probably typical of tourists because everyone else there seemed to be local. Luckily, Sarah is fluent so we dragged her along with us. We ordered three steaks, a plate of fries (really yummy fries!), a basic salad and a bottle of wine. The steaks were awesome, at about 6USD a piece, they were deliciously tender and flavorful despite being cooked medium well. For dessert we had this strange but delicious queso y dulce de batata which is cheese and a sweet potato jelly. I know this sounds strange but trust me, it was great!
We were sad to say goodbye to Sarah, but trust that our paths will cross again someday. If you're reading this Sarah, thanks again!
Window Shopping
One thing I love about shopping in Argentina is the importance of window shopping...serious true window shopping. As you walk down the crowded pedestrian only shopping streets here, most stores have people standing in front of them seriously evaluating the selection. If a store doesnt have a good display no one will ever shop there and most people who actually make it in to the store want to buy something. This is great as a tourist because you can easily evaluate the city and the different shops, including prices, without having to fumble through spanish or worry about pushy sales people. It is also makes it easier to control spending and keep dreaming.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Dinner in Salta
So, we made it to Salta today. After checking out of our apartment in Palermo in Buenos Aires at 10 am, we got a taxi and headed to Aeroparque Jorge Newbery. We arrived at 10:50 (for a 12:25 flight) and then waited in an EPIC 3 hour line! Yes, some of you smarter folks are wondering how we got to Salta if we waited in a 3 hour line, starting at 10:50, for a 12:25 flight. So, after waiting in the line until about 12:15, finally, the staff at LAN decided to call out for anyone still in line for Salta, and seemed genuinely shocked that there were probably 40 people in the check-in line for a flight that was supposed to leave in 10 minutes. I will say, in Argentina, they don't treat you like a terrorist just because you want to fly, and they do everything they can to make sure you get where you want to go. Anyway, after realizing that half the plane was still not checked in, they organized an "express-lane" for people flying to Salta...and actually started doing their jobs (they had been rather nonchalant prior to that). It also appears as though the printed "flight time" is actually the boarding time. So, we ended up leaving an hour late, but that's okay, because we still made it, our bags were on the plane to the right place, and we were allowed to bring our 2 liter bottle of water through security without any problems...and no, the plane DIDN'T blow up...amazing! After a short 2 hour flight, we were on approach to Salta, and let me tell you, it is beautiful, mountains on all sides, everything green, and farmland in all directions. We landed safely, got our bags (which took 30 minutes or so...people here aren't really in a big rush most of the time), and met up with Florencia from La Estancia de Cafayate, who had been waiting for us with a taxi for an hour or so... (one of the perks of buying land at La Estancia de Cafayate!...it apparently saved us at least 30 minutes waiting for a taxi). Thank goodness for Florencia too, because the address I had written down for the apartment turned out to be wrong...there wasn't a 2222 Alsina...the road ended at about 2150! Florencia got on her phone to the LEC concierge desk and had them look up a phone number and soon enough we were on our way to the correct address right next to downtown Salta (turns out the apartment rental company had the wrong address on their website...). We checked in to our beautiful apartment, complete with complimentary loaves of bread, and a swimming pool and went out to explore. Salta really is a fantastic city. It's much smaller than Buenos Aires, is cleaner, more quiet, and has far less shady characters walking around. It's still a city, and today, 2 days before Christmas, it was a mob-scene of Argentine's doing last-minute shopping. And it has everything anyone could want. The parks, the old colonial buildings, and surroundings (mountains on all sides) are beautiful.
We went to the supermarket (which was absolutely mobbed with women getting supplies for Christmas dinner parties with family, which apparently involved swimming in various kinds of soda...every single person there had at least a dozen 3-liter soda bottles!), and stocked our fridge for a home-cooked Christmas dinner of steak, blood sausage, vegetables, and pasta - plus 2 bottles of good wine, juice, etc...all for less than $50! After that we headed to dinner less than 1 block away on THE place to be at night in Salta, Balcarce St... We ate at La Lenita, a parilla, and were quite happy. An appetizer of roasted goat provolone with oregano and smoked ham, sweetbreads, a delicious short rib steak, cheesy baked potato and a bottle of Norton Clasico red wine...all for less than $35!
We could definitely see ourselves here...this could be the kind of place where I raise my goats in the mountains around Cafayate, while Rose works in the hospitals in Cafayate and Salta. Just saying/dreaming...but seriously, why doesn't everyone live here?
We went to the supermarket (which was absolutely mobbed with women getting supplies for Christmas dinner parties with family, which apparently involved swimming in various kinds of soda...every single person there had at least a dozen 3-liter soda bottles!), and stocked our fridge for a home-cooked Christmas dinner of steak, blood sausage, vegetables, and pasta - plus 2 bottles of good wine, juice, etc...all for less than $50! After that we headed to dinner less than 1 block away on THE place to be at night in Salta, Balcarce St... We ate at La Lenita, a parilla, and were quite happy. An appetizer of roasted goat provolone with oregano and smoked ham, sweetbreads, a delicious short rib steak, cheesy baked potato and a bottle of Norton Clasico red wine...all for less than $35!
We could definitely see ourselves here...this could be the kind of place where I raise my goats in the mountains around Cafayate, while Rose works in the hospitals in Cafayate and Salta. Just saying/dreaming...but seriously, why doesn't everyone live here?
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Jardins
On Monday, we decided to have a more low-key day. We brought our books (Robert Heinlein's "Glory Road" for me, and The Autobiography of Mark Twain on the Kindle for Rose) and headed out around 11 am. We walked to the Jardin Japones first and spent about 3 hours there. It really is a nice garden, with a very large pond and huge koi. It costs a few pesos, 8 I think it was, so it keeps the crowds down (at least on a weekday). It has benches and provides relative peace and quiet in the busy city that is Buenos Aires. It also has a Japonese restaurant/tea house and we had green tea, a salmon sushi roll, and a delicious noodle and vegetable dish as a small lunch. (Note, if you ever make it here and get green tea, make sure you fish the tea leaves out of the teapot quickly or your last half cup will be all kinds of bitter!) After taking up one of the benches at the garden for another hour or so, we moved on...walking back to the botanical garden. I was rather impressed with the quality of the botanical gardens - it is well laid out and well kept....and free! Other than right around the main building and greenhouse though, it is really more of an arboretum - having an impressive collection of trees and shrubs, but little in the way of small plants - perennials and such. I don't consider this a problem though and it was great to see an arboretum/botanical garden that was somewhere other than in a temperate climate.
We headed home after I took numerous pictures of the collection at the botanical gardens (how amazing is it that they have orchids growing from trees, out in the open BsAs air!). We stopped at a tiny hole in the wall in our neighborhood that sells pizza and empanadas. We got 4 empanadas; 2 carne, 1 spinach, and 1 humita (corn) and all for just $4! We went home, ate our empanadas with an ice cold beer (Stella, as I'm not a big fan of the Argentine beers I've had so far) and I looked for a beginners tango class to go to. We found one for 20 pesos each in Centro, from 8:30 to 10:30, perfectly timed to make it home on the last subway trip of the night. I'll get to the details of that when I get back to writing, but for now, I'll just mention that trying to learn a new dance in a crowded room, in a foreign language, is not exactly an ideal learning environment.
We headed home after I took numerous pictures of the collection at the botanical gardens (how amazing is it that they have orchids growing from trees, out in the open BsAs air!). We stopped at a tiny hole in the wall in our neighborhood that sells pizza and empanadas. We got 4 empanadas; 2 carne, 1 spinach, and 1 humita (corn) and all for just $4! We went home, ate our empanadas with an ice cold beer (Stella, as I'm not a big fan of the Argentine beers I've had so far) and I looked for a beginners tango class to go to. We found one for 20 pesos each in Centro, from 8:30 to 10:30, perfectly timed to make it home on the last subway trip of the night. I'll get to the details of that when I get back to writing, but for now, I'll just mention that trying to learn a new dance in a crowded room, in a foreign language, is not exactly an ideal learning environment.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tango Show
Okay, where was I.
Sunday night, we decided to see a Tango Show. We settled on Tango Porteno after reading a bit about the options and after having it recommended by a few people we met. I called them up to get the details and find out if they would pick us up (apparently most of the tango shows offer free rides, but they will only go so far to get you). After waiting on hold for 5 minutes for them to track down someone who spoke English, I made our arrangements, reserved a spot, and found out that we were indeed, too far for the free ride (we were not surprised...the show is in Centro and we're in Palermo Soho). We headed out at about 8:30, to give us plenty of time to get there (it was an easy subway ride and a 3 block walk) and get seated before the show started at 10:15. We got there way early...at 9:05 instead of the 9:30 like they told us, but we decided to go in anyway and see what they would say. We got seated right away at a table of 4 with a great view of the stage, with 2 other people who were finishing their dinner. Turns out they were a couple from Adelaide, Australia who had just gone on a 10-day cruise to Antarctica and were visiting Buenos Aires for 48 hours before heading back home. Getting to the theatre early had another benefit...we had paid for the better seats that also included free snacks and alcohol...and we were promptly asked what we wanted to drink. We both decided on white wine, and from that point on, our glasses were never empty. And we immediately were offered empanadas...delicious carne empanadas! Impressive service in a country where service can be hard to come by.
The Australians were a lot of fun. Probably around 65 or 70 years old, retired, race horse owners and formerly an upper atmosphere physicist and a physical therapist. We actually had a lot of fun with them. We did get a fascinating, cautionary tale from them though. When they were walking down Avenido de Mayo, they stopped at a nativity scene to take pictures, and they were showered in bird poop. Out of nowhere, an Argentine couple appeared that explained that it was bird poop and offered to help clean them off. They led them to a side street, where they produced a couple bottles of water and towels, and proceeded to clean the bird poop off. Very friendly...until 5 minutes after they had left, when they were told by someone else that that was a typical ploy of pickpockets...and discovered that his wallet was gone. Impressive work when viewed dispassionately...and really makes me wonder about the bird poop that landed on me that very morning in San Telmo market - it definitely fit the description, and I'm wondering what I did so differently that the ploy wasn't even attempted.
The Tango show was a lot of fun, and the dancing really was impressive...but these things are definitely more of a show than a tango... Sure, there is tango dancing, but it's all choreographed. Well done though. And the footwork and skill of the dancers (and singers for that matter) was really top notch. An hour and a half later, it was over, we begrudgingly slurred goodbye to our Australian friends, Robert and Diana, and stumbled to a taxi just up the street.
Overall, a great ending to the day. And while this was probably one of the most expensive things we'll do on our trip, at $150, it included good seats at a good show, about 1.5 bottles of white wine, 2 bottles of mineral water, and 4 empanadas. Well worth the experience.
Sunday night, we decided to see a Tango Show. We settled on Tango Porteno after reading a bit about the options and after having it recommended by a few people we met. I called them up to get the details and find out if they would pick us up (apparently most of the tango shows offer free rides, but they will only go so far to get you). After waiting on hold for 5 minutes for them to track down someone who spoke English, I made our arrangements, reserved a spot, and found out that we were indeed, too far for the free ride (we were not surprised...the show is in Centro and we're in Palermo Soho). We headed out at about 8:30, to give us plenty of time to get there (it was an easy subway ride and a 3 block walk) and get seated before the show started at 10:15. We got there way early...at 9:05 instead of the 9:30 like they told us, but we decided to go in anyway and see what they would say. We got seated right away at a table of 4 with a great view of the stage, with 2 other people who were finishing their dinner. Turns out they were a couple from Adelaide, Australia who had just gone on a 10-day cruise to Antarctica and were visiting Buenos Aires for 48 hours before heading back home. Getting to the theatre early had another benefit...we had paid for the better seats that also included free snacks and alcohol...and we were promptly asked what we wanted to drink. We both decided on white wine, and from that point on, our glasses were never empty. And we immediately were offered empanadas...delicious carne empanadas! Impressive service in a country where service can be hard to come by.
The Australians were a lot of fun. Probably around 65 or 70 years old, retired, race horse owners and formerly an upper atmosphere physicist and a physical therapist. We actually had a lot of fun with them. We did get a fascinating, cautionary tale from them though. When they were walking down Avenido de Mayo, they stopped at a nativity scene to take pictures, and they were showered in bird poop. Out of nowhere, an Argentine couple appeared that explained that it was bird poop and offered to help clean them off. They led them to a side street, where they produced a couple bottles of water and towels, and proceeded to clean the bird poop off. Very friendly...until 5 minutes after they had left, when they were told by someone else that that was a typical ploy of pickpockets...and discovered that his wallet was gone. Impressive work when viewed dispassionately...and really makes me wonder about the bird poop that landed on me that very morning in San Telmo market - it definitely fit the description, and I'm wondering what I did so differently that the ploy wasn't even attempted.
The Tango show was a lot of fun, and the dancing really was impressive...but these things are definitely more of a show than a tango... Sure, there is tango dancing, but it's all choreographed. Well done though. And the footwork and skill of the dancers (and singers for that matter) was really top notch. An hour and a half later, it was over, we begrudgingly slurred goodbye to our Australian friends, Robert and Diana, and stumbled to a taxi just up the street.
Overall, a great ending to the day. And while this was probably one of the most expensive things we'll do on our trip, at $150, it included good seats at a good show, about 1.5 bottles of white wine, 2 bottles of mineral water, and 4 empanadas. Well worth the experience.
Monday, December 20, 2010
No time to finish yesterday's details now...
We're off to take a Tango class...but I'll try to finish yesterday's stories and get to today's when we get back.
Busy Day Yesterday
We had a busy day yesterday...and a tiring one. So much so that I couldn't bring myself to writing about it.
We started out taking the subte to San Telmo to check out the famous outdoor antique market there. The scene is really something, I'll post some pictures from there shortly. It has an impressive number of booths crammed into the small plaza, each over-flowing with random crafts and antiques (anything from brass ship bells, to knives, to .50 caliber rifle brass, to silver pesos from the mid 1800s), and the whole area lined with cafes. Prices are about what you find for similar stuff in the United States, which kept my wallet firmly in place. Speaking of wallets, the place is known for lots of pickpockets...so we had to be extra vigilant. I have been wearing a holster strapped around me inside my pants whenever I want to carry more than about 400 pesos ($100). It is quite comfortable actually, and makes me feel secure even when carrying large amounts of money. Someone would have to strip search me (or read my blog) to know I had a wad of cash down there.
From the San Telmo market, and after eating a couple jamon y queso tostados (simple white bread toasted with ham and cheese inside), we decided to brave the bus system to head to the "Feria de Mataderos" on the far outskirts of Buenos Aires. We bought a Guia T (bus guide) at the newsstand and determined that the 126 would take us right to the fair. We made sure we had a few pesos in coins (which are worth their weight in gold because you don't often get them and they are required if you are going to use the bus) and hopped on the next bus. 1.25 pesos each was enough to get us to the other side of Buenos Aires (that's about $0.30) - 1 hour on the bus!
We made it to the fair, which was really just a bunch of vendors with booths set up on the streets, like any other BsAs market, but with the added draw of a stage in the middle of everything with traditional Argentinian songs and dancing. It was very neat to see. It was also nice because we were among the few tourists there. It was genuinely a place where Argentines go...especially families with their children, but also couples out to see the music and dance numbers and shop at the booths. You could buy nearly anything there, stuffed animals, mate, wine, cheese, knives, llama blankets, clothing, animal hides, cured meats, hand-woven baskets, jewelry, even a llama. (No joke, there was a llama at one end of the fair, tied to a cart filled with hay and wood furniture, with a "for sale" sign on him!) Rose wouldn't let me buy the llama, although in hindsight, it may have been a faster and easier method of getting home than the one we took (I'm getting to that next).
We ate some amazing empanadas..fried (I'm totally on the side of the Argentine argument that regards fried empanadas as the best...although the baked ones are also delicious) carne (beef) and cebolla y queso (onion and cheese) empanadas and bought ourselves a mate cup and straw to bring home. We had had quite enough of the sun at that point and decided to head home. The 126 bus line doesn't go anywhere near our apartment in Palermo, but we knew the 55 would take us to 2 blocks from our place, so we set out to find the stop for the 55. We found the stop, but it was the stop for the bus on the way OUT of Buenos Aires, so we asked a couple where the 55 stop into the city was...they were very eager to help us, and while it was clear they had an idea where it was, it wasn't clear that they knew exactly where, and it was very much clear that Rose and I didn't understand everything they said. But they pointed a lot, and we caught important words like alli (there) and derecha (right) and took off thinking we knew where we were going. Well, we didn't see any sign of a bus stop where we thought we would, but never fear, it must be up that hill on that major road up there. So off we went, up the hill about 8 blocks...no bus stop, or at least no 55. So, to the right...10 blocks...no 55. So we asked in a store, only to be told to go back the way we came...lots of blocks. We didn't catch how many, not sure she knew, but did get the idea of lots. Turns out it was like 20 blocks. We did eventually find the bus stop for the 55, but then, only after getting on the bus, did I find that I was 25 centavos short of 2 bus tickets. Luckily the friendly woman in front of us on the bus had extra change that she was willing to change for a 2 peso bill and we were off. Another hour on the bus...standing room only this time...and we managed to get off the bus at the right place and got home. Like I said, I'm pretty sure the llama would have been easier!
We decided that we wanted to see a tango show when we got home. To be continued...(I have to go pick up our laundry down the street)
We started out taking the subte to San Telmo to check out the famous outdoor antique market there. The scene is really something, I'll post some pictures from there shortly. It has an impressive number of booths crammed into the small plaza, each over-flowing with random crafts and antiques (anything from brass ship bells, to knives, to .50 caliber rifle brass, to silver pesos from the mid 1800s), and the whole area lined with cafes. Prices are about what you find for similar stuff in the United States, which kept my wallet firmly in place. Speaking of wallets, the place is known for lots of pickpockets...so we had to be extra vigilant. I have been wearing a holster strapped around me inside my pants whenever I want to carry more than about 400 pesos ($100). It is quite comfortable actually, and makes me feel secure even when carrying large amounts of money. Someone would have to strip search me (or read my blog) to know I had a wad of cash down there.
From the San Telmo market, and after eating a couple jamon y queso tostados (simple white bread toasted with ham and cheese inside), we decided to brave the bus system to head to the "Feria de Mataderos" on the far outskirts of Buenos Aires. We bought a Guia T (bus guide) at the newsstand and determined that the 126 would take us right to the fair. We made sure we had a few pesos in coins (which are worth their weight in gold because you don't often get them and they are required if you are going to use the bus) and hopped on the next bus. 1.25 pesos each was enough to get us to the other side of Buenos Aires (that's about $0.30) - 1 hour on the bus!
We made it to the fair, which was really just a bunch of vendors with booths set up on the streets, like any other BsAs market, but with the added draw of a stage in the middle of everything with traditional Argentinian songs and dancing. It was very neat to see. It was also nice because we were among the few tourists there. It was genuinely a place where Argentines go...especially families with their children, but also couples out to see the music and dance numbers and shop at the booths. You could buy nearly anything there, stuffed animals, mate, wine, cheese, knives, llama blankets, clothing, animal hides, cured meats, hand-woven baskets, jewelry, even a llama. (No joke, there was a llama at one end of the fair, tied to a cart filled with hay and wood furniture, with a "for sale" sign on him!) Rose wouldn't let me buy the llama, although in hindsight, it may have been a faster and easier method of getting home than the one we took (I'm getting to that next).
We ate some amazing empanadas..fried (I'm totally on the side of the Argentine argument that regards fried empanadas as the best...although the baked ones are also delicious) carne (beef) and cebolla y queso (onion and cheese) empanadas and bought ourselves a mate cup and straw to bring home. We had had quite enough of the sun at that point and decided to head home. The 126 bus line doesn't go anywhere near our apartment in Palermo, but we knew the 55 would take us to 2 blocks from our place, so we set out to find the stop for the 55. We found the stop, but it was the stop for the bus on the way OUT of Buenos Aires, so we asked a couple where the 55 stop into the city was...they were very eager to help us, and while it was clear they had an idea where it was, it wasn't clear that they knew exactly where, and it was very much clear that Rose and I didn't understand everything they said. But they pointed a lot, and we caught important words like alli (there) and derecha (right) and took off thinking we knew where we were going. Well, we didn't see any sign of a bus stop where we thought we would, but never fear, it must be up that hill on that major road up there. So off we went, up the hill about 8 blocks...no bus stop, or at least no 55. So, to the right...10 blocks...no 55. So we asked in a store, only to be told to go back the way we came...lots of blocks. We didn't catch how many, not sure she knew, but did get the idea of lots. Turns out it was like 20 blocks. We did eventually find the bus stop for the 55, but then, only after getting on the bus, did I find that I was 25 centavos short of 2 bus tickets. Luckily the friendly woman in front of us on the bus had extra change that she was willing to change for a 2 peso bill and we were off. Another hour on the bus...standing room only this time...and we managed to get off the bus at the right place and got home. Like I said, I'm pretty sure the llama would have been easier!
We decided that we wanted to see a tango show when we got home. To be continued...(I have to go pick up our laundry down the street)
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Dinner at Don Julio
Don Julio sure knows how to feed us well! 2 awesome steaks, a superb salad, a fantastic bottle of Malbec (Andeluna Reserve 2006), cafe con leche (almost as good as the Uccello's) and nut-filled, toasted figs (fig flambe) served with ice cream!
A Great Day in the City Center
We had another great day today exploring Buenos Aires - helped by very mild temperatures and overcast skies most of the time. We figured out the subway system (it is painfully easy) and rode in to Plaza Lavalle in the city center. Checked out the plaza and took some pictures of the beautiful buildings, including the Jewish Temple.
From there, we walked along a zigzag route toward Congreso...stopping at a bunch of Tango shoe shops that Rose had mapped out. After looking over the Plaza de los Dos Congresos, we headed down Avenido de Mayo and turned left on Avenido 9 de Julio to look at the Obelisk. We couldn't get too close because they were setting up what we think might be the route for the Dakar race, which begins in Buenos Aires on January 1 and will be following Rose and I to Cafayate around January 3! From there, we continued on a block to find a pizza place called Las Cuartetas that Rose had read about. The pizza was FANTASTIC! We had sausage, onion, tomato, and mozzarella and washed it down with a beer.
After finishing our pizza we again zigzagged through some streets to check out another batch of tango shoe shops Rose had on her list. There, at one particularly nice shop - Flabella, with particularly helpful (although totally mono-linguistic) employees, Rose found her shoes. Beautiful red tango shoes...I can actually appreciate them for their beauty too - which is saying something (It helps that they were about 40% less than I figured we would end up spending).
From there we continued on to Plaza de Mayo, complete with protesters angry that the government has "forgotten about" veterans of the "dirty war" from the late 1970s into the early 1980 (they are apparently there every weekend). We saw the Pink House (the office of the President) and other rather large stone government buildings (Minister of Economics, Central Bank of Argentina, Minister of Silly Walks). This might be a good time to mention that the buildings in Buenos Aires really speak to a time when Argentina had serious money (it was one of the wealthiest nations in the world in and around 1902)...these buildings are truly world-class. Beautiful and built to last - everything of stone...BIG limestone stones.
After passing by the pink house, we walked down to the old docks at Puerto Madero. What used to be the shipping hub of Buenos Aires has now been turned into the most expensive real estate in the city, with new buildings popping up like mushrooms, trendy restaurants and cafes, and a new pedestrian bridge to the island. There is also an old 1897 sailing Frigate that the Argentine navy used as a training vessel for decades and sailed it around the world 40 times.
At this point though, we had had quite a day, including a lot of walking. We grabbed a coffee at a very old cafe at the edge of San Telmo, cooled off for a bit, and made our way back to the subway station.
Dinner tonight will probably be at Don Julio...supposedly a great place for steak, and just around the corner from our apartment.
From there, we walked along a zigzag route toward Congreso...stopping at a bunch of Tango shoe shops that Rose had mapped out. After looking over the Plaza de los Dos Congresos, we headed down Avenido de Mayo and turned left on Avenido 9 de Julio to look at the Obelisk. We couldn't get too close because they were setting up what we think might be the route for the Dakar race, which begins in Buenos Aires on January 1 and will be following Rose and I to Cafayate around January 3! From there, we continued on a block to find a pizza place called Las Cuartetas that Rose had read about. The pizza was FANTASTIC! We had sausage, onion, tomato, and mozzarella and washed it down with a beer.
After finishing our pizza we again zigzagged through some streets to check out another batch of tango shoe shops Rose had on her list. There, at one particularly nice shop - Flabella, with particularly helpful (although totally mono-linguistic) employees, Rose found her shoes. Beautiful red tango shoes...I can actually appreciate them for their beauty too - which is saying something (It helps that they were about 40% less than I figured we would end up spending).
From there we continued on to Plaza de Mayo, complete with protesters angry that the government has "forgotten about" veterans of the "dirty war" from the late 1970s into the early 1980 (they are apparently there every weekend). We saw the Pink House (the office of the President) and other rather large stone government buildings (Minister of Economics, Central Bank of Argentina, Minister of Silly Walks). This might be a good time to mention that the buildings in Buenos Aires really speak to a time when Argentina had serious money (it was one of the wealthiest nations in the world in and around 1902)...these buildings are truly world-class. Beautiful and built to last - everything of stone...BIG limestone stones.
After passing by the pink house, we walked down to the old docks at Puerto Madero. What used to be the shipping hub of Buenos Aires has now been turned into the most expensive real estate in the city, with new buildings popping up like mushrooms, trendy restaurants and cafes, and a new pedestrian bridge to the island. There is also an old 1897 sailing Frigate that the Argentine navy used as a training vessel for decades and sailed it around the world 40 times.
At this point though, we had had quite a day, including a lot of walking. We grabbed a coffee at a very old cafe at the edge of San Telmo, cooled off for a bit, and made our way back to the subway station.
Dinner tonight will probably be at Don Julio...supposedly a great place for steak, and just around the corner from our apartment.
Friday, December 17, 2010
40 mph winds, a balcony, and a bottle of wine
This is just awesome. Bottle of perfect wine (Don David, Torrontes)...for $8.50. A drop of 20 degrees F in 60 minutes, a beautiful end to the day 7 stories up on our balcony and 40 mph wind gusts. Spectacular.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Supermarket Trip
Just stocked our fridge from the supermarket 5 blocks away. Meats, cheese, bread, cereal, milk, OJ, and a bunch of other random food, plus 3 bottles of wine for $50! The meat and cheese alone would have been close to that in Mystic! Argentina is amazing! Drinking a $3.25 bottle of wine right now and it would be a steal in the U.S. for $12...the best wines are all less than $25!
Photos Posted!
Check out our pictures! Click on the picture in the menu area to the right to take you to our Picasa album.
First Dinner!
Unbelievable first dinner last night! We were starting to drag and trying to hold off eating until 9 for dinner (which is still the early side for a lot of places). Cumana was the perfect choice. Around the corner from the hotel and no one speaking English were both bonuses. After looking over the spanish menu for a bit we were offered an English one which wasn't much better, simply because we aren't familiar with the cuisine. We ordered an appetizer platter and an unknown...Mondongo Argentino. The unknown stew was delicious reminding me of ribolita and my dad's soups with tomatoes, chickpeas and parsley, but with the addition of some unknown tasty meat...which turned out to be tripe. The platter was awesome with tortas, empanadas, queso, hamon, olives, cured ham and sausage! Our vino tinto came in a penguin :) pitcher and put us right to sleep.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
We´re Here!
We made it! We´re in our hotel in Buenos Aires.
Long flight and a 2+ hour delay in Miami, but we´re here. Took a long time to get to the hotel on the shuttle bus...traffic was bad and there are lots of closed roads due to construction (although there was little evidence of work being done)...but it gave us a great overview of the central part of the city.
Buenos Aires is huge. And the expansive farmland visible on the descent into the airport is beautiful.
Oh yeah...and I see what people mean when they say that the people in Argentina are beautiful! Barely an ugly person in sight...maybe they´re all hanging around at the Walmart.
Long flight and a 2+ hour delay in Miami, but we´re here. Took a long time to get to the hotel on the shuttle bus...traffic was bad and there are lots of closed roads due to construction (although there was little evidence of work being done)...but it gave us a great overview of the central part of the city.
Buenos Aires is huge. And the expansive farmland visible on the descent into the airport is beautiful.
Oh yeah...and I see what people mean when they say that the people in Argentina are beautiful! Barely an ugly person in sight...maybe they´re all hanging around at the Walmart.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Almost Ready!
Getting the last of the logistics in order and packing our bags for our epic Argentine adventure!
We are getting very excited to go to Argentina for 4 weeks. We leave tomorrow at 2:40 pm from Hartford, CT and return on January 12, 2011.
Our first stop is Buenos Aires, where we have a hotel room booked in Recoleta for the first night, and then we have an apartment that we've rented for a week in Palermo Soho! On our second night in country, we have arranged to meet an American friend of Pepin's (yay Pep!) to show us around Buenos Aires a bit and have dinner with us.
Rose is looking forward to going Tango shoe shopping and then trying them out at a Tango class!
And we're both really excited about BEEF! I plan to eat my weight in cow while in Argentina...
Then we're off to Salta on December 23, where we have rented an apartment in the center of the city... then on December 28, we'll be renting a car and driving to Cafayate.
Anywho, that's the brief run-down. We'll be posting more once we're in Argentina and hopefully uploading photos along the way so all of you can live vicariously through us.
We are getting very excited to go to Argentina for 4 weeks. We leave tomorrow at 2:40 pm from Hartford, CT and return on January 12, 2011.
Our first stop is Buenos Aires, where we have a hotel room booked in Recoleta for the first night, and then we have an apartment that we've rented for a week in Palermo Soho! On our second night in country, we have arranged to meet an American friend of Pepin's (yay Pep!) to show us around Buenos Aires a bit and have dinner with us.
Rose is looking forward to going Tango shoe shopping and then trying them out at a Tango class!
And we're both really excited about BEEF! I plan to eat my weight in cow while in Argentina...
Then we're off to Salta on December 23, where we have rented an apartment in the center of the city... then on December 28, we'll be renting a car and driving to Cafayate.
Anywho, that's the brief run-down. We'll be posting more once we're in Argentina and hopefully uploading photos along the way so all of you can live vicariously through us.
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