We're back! And what an amazing trip it was. As much as I love the holidays, right down to what *some people* (cough, cough...sapun...cough cough) call "overdone" music and decor, it was pretty amazing to step away from the advertisements and enjoy a peaceful break. Oh yeah, and warm weather.
We spent two weeks in Buenos Aires and Bariloche, Argentina, the first trip either of us had taken to South America and the first stamps on our brand new passports. All those empty pages, so many stamps to get...
We left with great memories and a hope to return again (and a new leather jacket:). We also celebrated New Year's Eve on the plane, which much to my dismay, did not include either champagne or a countdown even though we crossed three time zones and thus had multiple opportunities to celebrate! Bummer. However, we did make it to Houston for a 10-hour layover, where my wonderful parents fed us, drove us around, and dropped us back at the airport, refreshed and ready to tackle all that awaited us back in DC. Which, lucky for us, did not include snow or ice.
So..here's the recap. We started out with a few days in BsAs, where we stayed at this great little boutique hotel in Congreso.
Day 1: Calle Florida, photos at the Obelisko, cafe con leche at Cafe Tortoni, and a delicious steak dinner (pasta for the vegetariano) at Parilla A B in San Telmo.
Day 2: Took the subte to Ave Santa Fe and walked up to Recoleta Cemetary. But first, we stopped by Ateneo bookstore - a theatre turned into the most beautiful bookstore, where you could sit in the balcony seats and read! Then, an ice cream pit stop at Volta and on to see the cemetary for the rich families (and home to many well-fed cats). After the cemetery, we grabbed pizza at El Cuartito before spending several hours at Feria San Telmo. Dinner was uneventful and light, at La Moncloa near the hotel, but we definitely made sure to get more ice cream afterwards.
Day 3: We spent today in Palermo, wandering the parques on foot and rented bike. Then it was time for a bit of window shopping in Palermo Soho, and finally to an old diner for more meat and potatoes (yum!)
Day 2: Took the subte to Ave Santa Fe and walked up to Recoleta Cemetary. But first, we stopped by Ateneo bookstore - a theatre turned into the most beautiful bookstore, where you could sit in the balcony seats and read! Then, an ice cream pit stop at Volta and on to see the cemetary for the rich families (and home to many well-fed cats). After the cemetery, we grabbed pizza at El Cuartito before spending several hours at Feria San Telmo. Dinner was uneventful and light, at La Moncloa near the hotel, but we definitely made sure to get more ice cream afterwards.
Day 3: We spent today in Palermo, wandering the parques on foot and rented bike. Then it was time for a bit of window shopping in Palermo Soho, and finally to an old diner for more meat and potatoes (yum!)
Then, we flew south to the northernmost tip of Patagonia, a ski resort town called San Carlos de Bariloche where we spent the first several nights in town, here: http://www.hoteltirol.com.ar/. Beautiful, but I definitely coveted the lakeview rooms! The last night we splurged here: http://www.nidodelcondor.com.ar/ and it was well worth it.Day 4: We wandered the town and debated whether or not to rent a car. We decided not to, and instead booked several tours for the rest of our stay - in which someone else would do all the driving and we could sit back and enjoy the lovely views.
Day 5: Today we woke up and had a lovely breakfast at the Hotel, complete with homemade, warm bread, rose hip jam, and cafe con leche (with refills, of course). Then, we were off to the Villa la Angostura / 7 Lakes Tour, where our guide spoke mostly Spanish but threw in a bit of English for me (whew!). Beautiful tour, beautiful towns, but definitely a rainy day so it was a good thing someone else was driving. We stopped at each of the lakes but it wasn't warm enough to wander very far. Still, we enjoyed looking around and taking photos... and then came home to a delicious and meatless dinner at Vegetariano
Day 6: On this day, Christmas eve, we saw a huge crowd gathered in the town square. About thirty minutes later, a Red Cross helicopter showed up and I was a little concerned about what may have happened. Then Santa Claus descended from the helicoptor, was escorted by a city official, and made his way to a fire truck so he could start throwing presents out to the kids while touring the town. Amazing! We took the bus down Avenida Bustillo and it dropped us to partway along the Circuito Chico, where we embarked on a short but steep hike (or ski lift) to Cerro Campanario. Up there, we could see the world - it was a perfectly sunny and clear day, and the view was phenomenal. We came back down, walked a bit along the road, and then caught the bus #20 home (but not before one more Santa sighting). We got some ice cream at Jauja after picking up our laundry, and had a casual dinner at Friends.
Day 7: Christmas! Our hotel hosts had left us cookies in our room, and at midnight on Christmas Eve we heard fireworks , church bells, and teenagers heading out to party all night. Christmas morning was quiet, and we headed out on a tour of the Tronador glacier - where we saw waterfalls, heard avalanches (scary!), drank delicious hot chocolate with alfajores suiza, ate choripan and empanadas, and enjoyed visiting campsites and mountains. Dinner was the best meal yet, at the Italian restaurant Familia Bianchi.
Day 8: We moved hotels to the luxurious Nido del Condor, where we had a lovely view of the lake and lounged around most of the day. Dinner was at a steakhouse next door (El Patacon) - which looked incredibly swank and the menu didn't have prices. Uh oh. Turns out, our whole meal was still somehow under $25 for two - including drinks. I love this place! We spent day 9 exploring the city on the bus #20, and stopped by the Porto and Hotel Llao Llao before getting another hot chocolate (submarino = chocolate bar submerged in warm milk = the best idea. Ever.). Then it was back to the airport to return to Buenos Aires.
Day 8: We moved hotels to the luxurious Nido del Condor, where we had a lovely view of the lake and lounged around most of the day. Dinner was at a steakhouse next door (El Patacon) - which looked incredibly swank and the menu didn't have prices. Uh oh. Turns out, our whole meal was still somehow under $25 for two - including drinks. I love this place! We spent day 9 exploring the city on the bus #20, and stopped by the Porto and Hotel Llao Llao before getting another hot chocolate (submarino = chocolate bar submerged in warm milk = the best idea. Ever.). Then it was back to the airport to return to Buenos Aires.
And finally, a return to the city with a night in Colonia, Uruguay.
Day 10: We took the fast ferry to Colonia after an adventurous night accidentally at a hostel (the website said hotel!) where they'd given away our room, put us in a dorm, and finally moved us to another hostel around 1 am where we got a private room. In the morning, our taxi driver got "lost" (we're not sure if it was intentional) and took us to the wrong port, but luckily we had enough time before our ferry left. The boat ride was uneventful, luckily, and we arrived in Colonia in about an hour.
Day 10: We took the fast ferry to Colonia after an adventurous night accidentally at a hostel (the website said hotel!) where they'd given away our room, put us in a dorm, and finally moved us to another hostel around 1 am where we got a private room. In the morning, our taxi driver got "lost" (we're not sure if it was intentional) and took us to the wrong port, but luckily we had enough time before our ferry left. The boat ride was uneventful, luckily, and we arrived in Colonia in about an hour.
Our home in Colonia was not recommended (the Leoncia, if you must know), but I guess the roaches made for interesting conversation later. The sleepy town offered great food, cheaper on the main road than in the Old Town, and just as good. I had a lot of licuados here (frambuesa y durazno o naranja, por favor!) and we rented a scooter to scoot to the beach! We definitely got lost on the way, and drove though the decidedly non-touristy, and somewhat poverty-stricken parts of Colonia. Fortunately, residents there knew how to get to the beach and directed us accordingly. Whew! The beach, for the record, was lovely - peaceful and small. Although the boat ride back to Bs As was not so kind to my stomach, we made it to solid ground safely. Oh and it turns out Colonia is an hour ahead of Buenos Aires. No one told us and (oops) we missed our boat ride and had about five extra hours at the boathouse to kill until the next one. Good times. I spent it learning spanish on my mp3 player, which seemed useful.
Back in Bs As, we splurged more (this time, with points) and stayed here: http://www.savoy-hotel.com.ar/. We loved this hotel. Fantastic staff, delicious breakfast, great location ... it was the perfect last place. We also had a memorable last dinner: a private balcony overlooking Plaza Dorrego, and delicious homemade Italian food, at Amici Miei. Earlier that day, while I was watching tv and recovering from a seasick-food poisoning combo of pain, Sapun took a 3-hour bus tour through Buenos Aires Vision, around the city. He found it not quite worthwhile though... we had already covered most of the city, and really only missed La Boca. Still, he enjoyed exploring from the comfort of an air-conditioned bus, rather than on foot, so it was nice for that.
Our favorite part? By far, the food. Eating, walking around, and eating... if there is a way to do that for a living, I would love to know how.
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