Buenos Aires

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April 28, 2013

Sometimes the amor hits you at first sight. Other times, it is a longer courtship. After five weeks in Wellington, a city one can traverse on foot in half an hour in any direction and where we could be atop Mt. Victoria in 20 minutes on foot from our apartment, Buenos Aires was overwhelming at first. It is sprawling, flat and noisy. To be honest, I felt a bit claustrophobic for the first fews days as we tried to get our bearings. But, with the benefit of two full weeks here, we’ve been able to adopt a more relaxed pace and that has allowed us to discover a Buenos Aires that we love. We’ve spent hours in cafes soaking up the street life and wandering the streets of Palermo and Recoleto. We rarely have escaped our apartment before noon, having adjusted easily to the 10 pm dinners. (School is going to be a harsh re-entry for Zara next year.) We work, we read, we drink cortados and eat medialunas. It all feels so civilized.

Palermo. We rented a wonderful 2-bedroom apartment right in the heart of Palermo Viejo. We love this place. From our cozy first floor balcony, we can look out on cobblestoned, leaf-lined streets, cafes dotting every corner filled with fashionable Portenos drinking cortados and rows of chic clothing and shoe stores. Signs of Argentina’s current economic crisis abound, however. Every store is staffed with guards. Waiters warn us to watch our bags as we sit at the outdoor cafes. Yesterday, we witnessed a bold daylight robbery, where the thief ran 100 yards down the street with a bag nabbed from a tourist in an outdoor cafe. In the evening, young children approach pedding trinkets and after a few nights, their faces are all familiar.

Recoleta Cemetery. On any top ten list of places to visit in BA, it is best known as the final resting place of Eva Peron, but it is a worthwhile visit irrespective of its inhabitants. The cemetery is a warren of above-ground vaults hosting the remains of Argentina’s rich and powerful, and we spent a couple of hours walking up and down the aisles noting the different styles, which ranged from elaborate marble mausoleums to more austerely styled three-foot wide vaults. The ongoing attention paid to the vaults also varied widely. Some had fresh flowers adorning them, whereas others were adorned primarily with cobwebs, dust, rubbish and pieces of broken glass. I later read that 94 of them are protected by the Argentine state, as national historical sites. I hope those are the ones that are well-cared for, although given the current government’s economic policies, who knows.

La Feria de San Pedro Telmo. This is held every Sunday on the Plaza Dorrego in the oldest BA neighborhood of San Telmo and was jam-packed on a hot afternoon. Compared to our neighborhood, it was teeming with tourists, but we had a wonderful time exploring the handicrafts and antiques. Zara picked up a new instrument (the ocarina) and Jonathan lucked upon a pair of handmade leather shoes for half-price. There are street performers, tango dancers and multiple cafes where people tuck into bowls of peanuts and drink refreshing lagers.

El Ateneo. We love bookstores. And although we have all fully embraced the digital reading age, there is still nothing like exploring a grand bookstore, which are becoming increasingly rare in America. El Ateneo is a must-see, although if you don’t speak Spanish, prepare yourself that there is only one shelf of English language books. The bookstore was converted from a grand theater about 5 years ago and is a must-see. A lovely cafe sits where the stage used to be and provides a perfect venue to lose yourself in a good book while sipping a cortado.

Tango. No, we didn’t Tango, although there are a ton of opportunities for those more nimble-footed. We did see a fabulously entertaining show at La Ventana, which was a highlight of our two weeks here. The impressive footwork from the passionate tango dances elicited multiple “oohs” from Zara, and once again made me fear for our future when she said “I want to do that with [unnamed classmate]!”‘ The show was not limited to the tango, but showcased an entertaining variety of traditional Argentinian song and dance, with the most impressive performer performing an incredibly skilled and rapid-fire routine with bolas (traditional hunting weapons consisting of a wooden or leather balls at the end of braided ropes) that had the audience captivated by the near misses with his cranium.

Museo de los Ninos. We joked with Zara that this is a museum where she’d been put on display and people would come and look at her while she was supposed to entertain them. I think she was a bit concerned until we arrived at this kid-nirvana in a mall. Basically, it is kiddie city, where children can pretend to work at McDonald’s (no joke), be a dentist, perform ultrasounds, grocery shop, be on tv, host a radio show…you get the idea. May be parent hell but it is kid heaven and you have to figure out on your own if it merits a visit.

Museo Evita. We visited here our last day on a walk through Palermo before the first rain of our visit struck. The museum is located in an old mansion in an upscale neighborhood, and the mansion had served as a home for single mothers during the Peron years. The museum does a great job of highlighting the numerous social works projects spearheaded by Evita, although it would be more meaningful for an international audience if more of the displays were in English. Still, as divisive as figure as she was, I couldn’t help but me awed by her impact and influence before her premature death at 33.

Ornithophobia sufferers, beware. Buenos Aires is pigeon paradise. For our animal-loving daughter, this has meant nearly daily visits to a neighborhood park in Palermo to feed the pigeons. On most days, an elderly, toothless gentleman sits on a park bench selling corn kernels at 5 pesos a bag. He calls her Zarita and tells me that his sister is from Calfornia. When he’s absent, Jonathan takes Zara to a nearby mercado where she buys a bag twice as big. These larger ones she can make that one bag last for half an hour. Fortunately, Jonathan is on pigeon duties most days. He was more tolerable of Zara’s hobby until one pooped on his head one day. (Post-script: A parrot at the same park pooped on me today.)

General Thoughts/Advice.

Bring dollars! Due to severe currency controls, you’ll get significantly more bang for your buck if you aren’t held hostage to the official exchange rate.
Wine is extremely good value. Don’t waste your time on beer here.
The meat really is that good.
Don’t miss the helado (Argentinian ice cream that rivals the best Italian gelato)
Dress your best. Portenos are extremely styish.
Adjust your internal clock. Fridays and Saturdays groups of people walked home past our apartment at 6am. And they like to sing and shout. Jonathan even has acknowledged that Americans are quiet in comparison.
The jarritos of limonata are a must on a hot day. Best lemonades I’ve ever had.
Wifi in cafes is ubiquitous but we had less success with prepaid SIMs.