Buenos Aires Trip Report

[wiselindag]

This is a very detailed, lengthy trip report of our pre-cruise visit to Buenos Aires. The "We" in the report refers to two semi-retired older travelers and their almost 21 year old son. Feel free to ask questions.

 

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 En Route to Buenos Aires

 

This was supposed to have been our first day in Buenos Aires, but thanks to a 12 hour delay due to mechanical difficulties in Houston (we started at Newark and flew on Continental, which is usually reliable, but was horrible on this occasion), we lost our first day (and slept on the floor at the airport instead of on the plane). Instead of arriving in the morning and having a great first dinner, we didn’t get in until late in the evening. Our remis driver, Nico, was waiting – thanks to our B and B owner and Nico, who checked the airline information all day and knew when to expect us. After an uneventful ride into the city, we were hugged by Nico (who quickly became our friend) and were warmly greeted by Rachel, a wonderful New Zealander with unique accommodations in Buenos Aires. We called the Casa Rosa home for the next few days and lived in this lovely apartment on the top floor of a building with two very well behaved cats. We shared two bedrooms, a bathroom, and living room, kitchen, and charming plant-filled terrace with Los Gatos.

 

Thursday, December 31 – We had a leisurely morning, getting used to being in the Casa Rosa and eating our first breakfast chez Rachel. On the table were various Yogurts, Pastries, Cereals, and Honeydew Melon along with Milk and Tea. After breakfast I went out to the ATM and a supermarket to pick up some provisions. It was funny to be at the Deli counter, trying to order slices of ham and cheese in Spanish. I knew what the words for “ham” and “cheese” were, but had no idea how to say slice or which kind of cheese would be closest to Swiss… my first adventure!

 

Then we all ventured out on a walk to Recoleta, where we wandered through the cemetery taking photographs and stopped for the obligatory view of the Duarte tomb where Evita was finally laid to rest. At lunchtime, we went in search of the street called Posadas and the El Sanjuanino restaurant where, according to various foodie reports, people seem to love the empanadas. There was a small line outside, so we joined it and were quickly seated at a table in the main room (there is an additional seating area in the basement). Our waiter turned out to a quite entertaining (yes, a singing waiter!) and our lunch was delicious. We sampled three beef and three chicken empanadas and shared a beef tamale and a mixed salad. With four sodas, mineral water and two beers, the tab was AR$110 (at approximately four Argentinian Pesos to one US Dollar). Then we wandered over to the outskirts of Palermo, where we discovered that the Botanical Garden was closed for the New Years holiday. We decided to walk back to our casa. Note: The city was quite dirty because there is no garbage pick-up over the holiday and the businesses in B.A. toss paper confetti out of their windows on December 30, their last business day of the year. In addition, the sidewalks were treacherous – filled with broken pavement, which can easily trip you up. En route to lunch, I banged my knee while trying to walk and read a map at the same time (not recommended!)

 

One reason I stopped at the supermarcado and stocked up on ham, cheese, bread, and Diet Coke was in case we couldn’t find a place to eat for New Years Eve. I didn’t want to pay for an exorbitant meal to celebrate the New Years and hoped that, as in NY, there would be some cheap places open for a meal earlier in the evening. Forget it! Everything really was closed as Rachel predicted, so we had our sandwiches for dinner and then enjoyed a fabulous fireworks display from our terrace – major displays from several directions and local fireworks going on for several hours. It seems that in B.A. private fireworks are quite common and many people seemed to have laid in a supply for the holiday.

 

Friday, Jan. 1, 2010 – Most businesses were closed in BA. today. We decided to walk down to Rivadavia and toward town. Along the way we saw Congresso, Obelisco, Catedral, and Casa Rosada. Then we walked over to Defensa and explored San Telmo down as far as Plaza Dorrego, where we sat down at an outdoor café called La Pergola del San Telmo complete with tango dancers, horrible service and worse food. Then we walked home. Later we went to the Palacio de Papa Frita for Brochette of Chicken and Steak served with a huge mound of their special fries – puffed with air and quite tasty. DS had the cutlet Milanesa and plus salad and drinks the meal came to AR$155. PPF is a chain and in the course of our meanderings, we saw the three other branches of this restaurant. I chose to eat here because it was close to our evening entertainment and some travelers have raved about it, but I wouldn’t second their opinion. It’s an okay restaurant that is reasonable with good service. For great food, I would advise going elsewhere.

 

After dinner we went to Tango Porteno. I had reserved on their website and spent AR$240 for the three of us to sit upstairs without drink or dinner. (US$20 pp) I enjoyed the show which featured a talented troupe of dancers, two singers and twelve musicians (including four playing bandoneón or the Argentinian version of the accordian) and various film snippets of Argentina in the 30’s and 40’s in a lovely art deco theater located right next to the Teatro Colon. I would recommend Tango Porteno and I don't think youo can beat the price we paid for a good tango show in B.A.

 

Saturday, Jan. 2 - Buenos Aires

 

We originally planned to eat our first dinner in B.A. at La Cabrera, but because of the twelve hour plane delay, we missed that meal, and we ended up going for lunch on Saturday. It was fabulous! Our son, ever the curious one, decided a taste test was in order when he discovered Kobe beef on the Specials Board. He ordered the Kobe and we ordered the Argentinian Lomo with pepper on the side so we could compare them (not an opportunity to be missed in his opinion). We all agreed that the Lomo was fantastic and the Kobe Steak tasted even better although it was not as tender as the lomo (for double the price, but still very cheap.) Both steaks came with more little sides than I could count (little artichoke hearts, endive, sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, apple sauce, olives in several guises, creamed potato, mashed yellow squash, and more – all delicious). With several kinds of bread and bread sticks and olive tapenade and artichoke dip (I think it was artichoke), we had plenty to eat. Also whoever recommended the Degustacion de Postres should be thanked. It wasn’t on the menu, but proved to be an excellent idea and a perfect way to end our meal. I asked our terrific waiter, Marcelo, the price, and in so doing learned that there was a choice of half a selection or a whole platter. We chose half, which was plenty for the three of us and included Chocolate and Strawberry Ice Cream, Flan, Tiramisu, and Dulce de Leche. With a bottle of mineral water and three sodas the total bill came to AR$286.82 (pretty terrific for what we ate including 500 grams of Kobe beef and 400 grams of Lomo!) The rave reviews for La Cabrera are, in my opinion, well deserved and we all thoroughly enjoyed our lunch there. When we exited, there were crowds on the sidewalk, waiting to get in to both the main restaurant and the annex down the street. Be sure to book your table in advance.

 

We wandered around Palermo Soho and Palermo Viejo, stopping in shops and at stalls. My two guys worked on wooden puzzles they found at a stall selling games and we stopped in several men’s shops (where the prices were very high) before we headed for the shady Botanical gardens. En route we stopped off at the Botanical Café (across the street from the Gardens) for a cold drink and a perfect restroom stop. Then we took a cab back to the apartment for a rest.

 

Still full from lunch we decided to have a smaller dinner and our son chose to try the pizza place recommended by our cab driver from the previous night (who mentioned as we passed it that Pizzeria Guerrin on Corrientes near the Obelisco, had the best pizza in the world). We are New Yorkers, accustomed to excellent pizza, who ate terrific pizza in Rome in November, so we doubted it was that good, but with a recommendation like that it was worth a try. Sure enough, at 9 o’clock on Saturday night the restaurant was crowded and obviously very popular. We ordered the Pizza a la Casa Grande, which came with Mozzerella, Ham, Tomatoes, Olives and Red Peppers. While it couldn’t measure up to great pizza, it was quite tasty and we all enjoyed it. With a beer, two sodas and a mineral water, the bill came to AR$78.

 

An easy stroll on this hot and muggy evening brought us back to our casa and after repacking and putting the cruise tags on the bags, we called it a night. The next day we would board the NCL Sun for a two-week cruise around the Horn…a trip which promised to be a real adventure. I wish we had been able to sample more of Buenos Aires and try other restaurants, but since the late arrival and the holiday contributed to the limitations of our visit, I’ll just have to make a return trip.

 

Sunday Jan 3 – Buenos Aires

 

This morning we got up, had breakfast, and took a taxi to the pier for 18 pesos. I wasn’t quite sure where the pier was located since our NCL ticket merely had the name of the pier and no address, but after some Googling I hoped I had enough information. As it turned out, the driver said he knew where it was, and after a short cab ride around the Plaza San Martin and past several hotels including the Marriott and the Sheraton, he pulled into the terminal area. The porters immediately took our bags and we went into the terminal, where we found people on line at 10:55. After about 20 minutes, the line began to move and we stopped at an NCL desk and then an immigration desk before taking the shuttle onto the ship. We were on the ship by 11:30. Because of limited space in the Terminal, NCL does the card distribution in the Four Seasons Dining Room on board, where they also collect your passport for the duration of the cruise.

[dr__dawggy]

Thanks for taking the time to post a detailed report both here and on TA

[Memphis Belle]

Thank you Wiselindag!