Staying in the Palermo district, a rather residential, yet hip, neighborhood in Buenos Aires. Lots of trees, a mix of modern and old architectures, cool boutiques & cafes, and a myriad of food options. It's awesome!!!
The hostel is pretty nice, being relatively new. Luckily, I got a bed in the one 6-bed all-girls room; otherwise, I would've been stuck in the massive, 16-bed mixed room. Horrible thought...shivers.[Random note - I've used this website called holahostels quite often during my travels thru South America. I highly recommend it - they don't have as extensive a list as some of the other, more famous sites, but they do make up for it in terms of quality. The listings offered tend to be quainter, smaller hostels vs. the drunkard party hostels which I try to stay away from!]
For the past few days, I've pretty much just been hanging out.
Buenos Aires is a great city to do that, especially when I actually had friends around in the city!!! Nicole (my Dutch travel buddy in Bolivia) and Natalie (my German Spanish school-mate in Chile) were both chillin' in BA for several days.
Having gone to Spanish school here, Nicole was pretty much a BA veteran. So, we stuck to the Palermo area, doing a lot of window-shopping and food consumption. I absolutely LOOOOOOVE some of the clothing brands that they have here!!! So cute, stylish, and small...Argentines are surprisingly petite. Browsing for now, but I'm definitely doing some shopping before I leave the city.
On the other hand, since Natalie was still a newbie to the city like myself, we did a lot of exploring on foot with no particular destination in mind. Wander, wander, wander, stopping at whatever cafe or restaurant was nearby when we needed some food and rest.
On the other hand, since Natalie was still a newbie to the city like myself, we did a lot of exploring on foot with no particular destination in mind. Wander, wander, wander, stopping at whatever cafe or restaurant was nearby when we needed some food and rest.
I think we covered downtown (centro), San Telmo (historical district), Congreso (business & government district with the famous pink building from the Peron days), and Puerto Madero (newly developed harbor area). Maybe more.
One day, we stepped into a plaza where there was a special bear exhibition going on. The whole plaza (San Martin) was lined with large bear statues, colorfully decorated in designs that represented various countries. I think it had something to do with the UN and world peace. Very cute:
The Japan representative:
(BTW, a brief search on wikipedia reveals that it's the "Worldtour of the United Buddy Bears"!)
The Japan representative:(BTW, a brief search on wikipedia reveals that it's the "Worldtour of the United Buddy Bears"!)When I didn't have anything planned with friends, I took the opportunity to visit two of BA's major tourist spots:
1. Evita Museum - Life description and memorabilia of Eva Peron's life for 12ARP
2. Recoleta Cemetery - Can't come to BA without seeing this, I suppose. One step into the main gates, and you can tell that the burial spaces are reserved for those with immense wealth. Each "grave" is marked by huge, solid, and some beautifully carved pieces:
And its claim to fame comes from the famous inhabitant - Eva Peron herself. Here she lies:
Even though it's a cemetery, this is a pretty nice place to take a stroll. At least when the sun is shining!
I now realize that both of my touristy forays dealt with Evita, but it's not like I'm a big fan of hers. I'm quite ignorant of Argentina's political history (well, of the whole world's for that matter). Nonetheless, I did enjoy the musical and movie versions : )
Anyways, since I got here, I feel like I've been eating a lot more than I usually do. Mostly because I haven't been on my own too much - Good for the tummy and psyche; Bad for the budget...
My meals ranged from the local lomo sandwich to the international cuisines (Chinese, Italian, and Japanese).
I'm a bit ashamed to admit that my first Argentinean steak experience was at the mall food court...but it was still delicious!!! I got to choose the cut, grill, and sides all for 20ARP. Plus, I have plans for a TRUE steak on my birthday coming up soon : )
One final note on food before I end this entry - yummy coffee can be had at the Havana cafe (great for people watching too) and the gelato in Buenos Aires is amaaaaaaazing!!!
1. Evita Museum - Life description and memorabilia of Eva Peron's life for 12ARP
2. Recoleta Cemetery - Can't come to BA without seeing this, I suppose. One step into the main gates, and you can tell that the burial spaces are reserved for those with immense wealth. Each "grave" is marked by huge, solid, and some beautifully carved pieces:
And its claim to fame comes from the famous inhabitant - Eva Peron herself. Here she lies:Even though it's a cemetery, this is a pretty nice place to take a stroll. At least when the sun is shining!I now realize that both of my touristy forays dealt with Evita, but it's not like I'm a big fan of hers. I'm quite ignorant of Argentina's political history (well, of the whole world's for that matter). Nonetheless, I did enjoy the musical and movie versions : )
Anyways, since I got here, I feel like I've been eating a lot more than I usually do. Mostly because I haven't been on my own too much - Good for the tummy and psyche; Bad for the budget...
My meals ranged from the local lomo sandwich to the international cuisines (Chinese, Italian, and Japanese).
I'm a bit ashamed to admit that my first Argentinean steak experience was at the mall food court...but it was still delicious!!! I got to choose the cut, grill, and sides all for 20ARP. Plus, I have plans for a TRUE steak on my birthday coming up soon : )
One final note on food before I end this entry - yummy coffee can be had at the Havana cafe (great for people watching too) and the gelato in Buenos Aires is amaaaaaaazing!!!
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