DAY 1
One crazy subway ride: When we first arrived in BA, we took a shuttle to a subway to another subway to a bus then walked a few blocks to our hostel. Although the transit itself was somewhat navigable, mom's rolling backpack was not. The subway system here is very similar to that of D.C., which I find to be confusing enough in English. Try it in Spanish. And with luggage.
Arrival at the hostel: ChillHouse Hostel is absolutely amazing! Owners Antonio (The Frenchman) and Kato (The Argentine) are by far the nicest, most helpful people that have ever existed. Tony, a flamoyant and highly personable host, took quite a liking to mom immediately after she walked in the door. He'd give her his left arm if she asked for it.
Recoleta Cemetary: This is by far the most beautiful cemetary I've ever seen. Families of notoriety compete to have the grandest gravesites, so there are quite a few huge and elaborate tombstones that house generations of families.
DAY 2
Plaza Congresso: Downtown BA is like Washington D.C. but with beautiful European architecture. We walked from Congress to the equivalent to the White House (but Pink instead) to the Washington Monument-esque statue.
La Boca: Mom describes this neighborhood full of color, charicatures, and tango as the "Disneyland of Argentina". The saying in this neighborhood is “recuerdo los colores”—“remember the colors”. They certainly live up to that motto. There are colors everywhere, tango music and dance outside every café, and cartoon-like characters hanging out of every window.
DAY 3
Japanese Gardens: Eh, they were ok. It’s strange to see the contrast between a serene garden in the midst of a bustling city street. Mom got to have green tea and red bean cake, so that made the trip worthwhile.
Tango Show: This was by far one of the highlights for both of us on our trip so far. We went to Café Tortoni, an elegant restaurant on the street level with a small tango venue underneath. This famous tango venue has been visited by many legends including Carlos Gardel (the Frank Sinatra of Argentina), Evita Peron (the Hillary Clinton of Argentina), and Hillary Clinton (the actual one). The live music, show, and vino were incredible!
DAY 4
Tigre: This river delta town is an hour train ride north of BA. It is as a porteno weekend destination for good reason. We walked all along the river looking at crafts, snacking on yummy empenadas, and sipping fruity drinks. We also took an hour boat ride around the rivers that surround the town. There were Huck Fin style boat docks, beautiful vacation homes, a casino, and an amusement park lining the river. We walked all around the town, got a little sunburnt, got back to the hostel, and made ourselves dinner from groceries we got at the local mercado.
Unbeknownst to mom, I was serenaded by the green-eyed Argentinian guitarist who works at the hostel at night as I wrote this blog. Even the simplest English words sung in Spanish sound so much better!
Day 5
Boring day of logistics… Well, it would be boring if we were in America. Figuring out the next step of our trip, confirming details, buying tickets, exchanging money, and doing laundry is a much more challenging to-do list in another country.
An update on our Spanish—Yesterday morning, instead of saying “Buenos Dias!” to the cleaning lady at the hostel, mom said “Buenos Aires!” …Obviously, we’re still working on it
Off to Iguazu tomorrow!
Ciao Ciao!
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