When Hub and I went to Buenos Aires for a few days to visit La Casita Shelter for Street Child World Cup we managed to squeeze in a bit of fun and lots of Malbec. Here are some photos and highlights from our mini trip.
Hub found this quirky 19th century apartment in San Telmo, the cool and young neighborhood of BA with lots of bars and restaurants. I loved our flat which was in lively green courtyard and was decorated with antique features. There was also a home movie theater beneath our kitchen floor, which was converted from an old wine cellar!
The food and service was amazing and a breath of fresh air compared to Rio, which struggles with the concept of customer service. San Telmo had great cafes for breakfast and most offer combo specials like medialunas with coffee, OJ and eggs for like $5. Amazing, but my favorite thing was the fresh baked wholegrain breads served with cream and jam like at Origen Cafe.
Everyone recommends Argentine steak, but Buenos Aires also does amazing fresh
pasta especially for vegetarians. Our friend Daniela recommended we check out this row of
restaurants on Avenida Caseros that offer set lunch specials and that's
where we discovered La Popular.
Great place with the best pasta dish ever - macarrón
with fresh mushrooms and cream. Oh my god it was good!
We also hit this place next door for dinner, which was equally amazing and very romantic. Unfortunately I can't remember the name, but I remember the pasta dish.
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| squid ink tagliatelle with fresh basil and langoustines |
Buenos Aires was hot and humid on our trip so one day we decided to check out the Malba Museum in Palermo, a ritzy part of town. I loved their collection of modern Latin American art and was super pleased to see my very first Frida Kahlo painting.
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| She's my favorite artist...can't you tell? |
Hub and I walked south from the museum to La Recoleta, which was a nice 30-minute stroll through intense humidity. Hub kept poking fun at my sweat 'stache, which made its debut. We found relief at El San Juanino and indulged in Torrontés wine and empanadas. So good and good together I might add.
We arrived just in time to see Evita at La Recoleta Cemetery. The tombs varied in extravagance and some were absolutely beautiful. I've never been to a catacomb cemetery before and I found it really unsettling. I could feel the presence of dead souls lingering about and the cobweb covered caskets were rather frightening. It gave me the creeps and I wondered what it's like their at night?
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| Evita |
We spent our last night with one of the directors of La Casita, Oscar, who invited us to his lovely home and provided an amazing Argentine feast. His wife, Vivian, is a beautiful singer and serenaded us that evening. It was the perfect end to a wonderful trip and really sums of Buenos Aires for me, passionate and full of life.
