Buenos Aires is one of the places that I have felt I had to visit (visitar) while I was in South America. I has a rich history, has strong ties to the rich culture of Spain, Italy, France and other Mediterranean countries as well. It has a great reputation as a tourist destination (una destinación turística) and rightfully so, as it truly is a unique and special place to see, a must visit for any traveler (alguno viajero) to South America. To miss it would be like going to the East Coast, making it to Boston, but never venturing to New York. If Santiago is San Francisco and West Coast, Buenos Aires is New York City and East Coast. So, with our friends (nuestros amigos), Juan and Taty, we set out for a 4-day, 3-night visit to the City of Lights in South America.
Once we arrived (llegamos) in Buenos Aires, you could feel the change in the climate right away. Located on the east side of the Andes, Buenos Aires was founded primarily as a port city, which had its roots (sus raíces) in shipping and trading. The climate was more humid than Santiago, and there was a gentle breeze (un viento sencillo) blowing in the day. As we climbed aboard the shuttle to head into the city, I was not sure what to expect, and gazed out the window (la ventana) as the sights of the city edged ever closer. Once I could see the Obelisk, the large monument resembling the Washington Monument in the US, I knew we were right downtown. In fact, the Obelisk (el obelisco) is used as a reference point throughout the city as a way to orienting yourself and as a marker for giving directions.
In the downtown (el centro), there is a lot to do, and there is plenty of shopping on the streets of Lavalle and La Florida, where it is more of a pedestrian mall, like you find on Calle Huérfanos in Santiago or such as the 16th street mall in Denver. With plenty of stores (muchas tiendas) to choose from, we headed towards things that are difficult to find or expensive to buy in Santiago, especially music, books and leather goods. Argentina is know widely for its leather goods (cosas de cuero), and the stores in the downtown do not disappoint, with lots of jackets (las chaquetas), purses (las carteras), shoes (los zapatos), briefcases, portfolios and much more from which to choose.
We also were quick to hit up a lunch spot, and the one we found specialized in beef and potatoes (carne y papas). While this might not sound too appealing, for people who like steak, the bife chorizo cut of Argentinean beef was perhaps the best (el major) steak I have ever had in my life. A thick cut, it is named for the cut of beef between the shoulders of the cow, an area called the “chorizo” historically by the gauchos. It has not sausage in it, it is 100% pure steak, and man, was it delicious. It was so good; I made it a sub theme of my entire journey (mi viaje completo), having it 3 times in my 3 nights stay.
Ultimately, heading to Argentina to experience the culture (la cultura) means having to see a Tango show. The tango is unique to this area, with its origins in and around the streets of Buenos Aires, and the events we attended were a combination of dance, music, and songs (los bailes, la música y las canciones). We attended one show that was more of a modern tango, with highly athletic dancers and incredibly difficult choreography that was stunning to watch. The second show was a more traditional (mas tradicional) mix of tango dances and songs, along with music and dance inspired by the gaucho culture as well. The events were held in classic theaters and each show came complete with a dinner (bife chorizo for me of course) as well.
Buenos Aires is know for its night life (la vida nocturna) and café culture, so we made sure to also experience as much of the day and night as we could, pausing in our hotel only to get refreshed or catch a few hours (pocas horas) of sleep. Once the trip was over, we made our way back to the airport (al aeropuerto) and headed back to Santiago. As we made our ways back towards our little apartment in Ñuñoa, I could not help but feel refreshed, as if I had experienced something that once was a dream (un sueno), only to be awakened in the glow of the memories of Buenos Aires.
1 comment:
The best place to be in Buenos Aires at night are: in downtown in the Broadway Porteño area, in Las Cañitas where you have all the restaurants and bars with lights and Puerto Madero where you could see the lights reflecting in the water, it's beautiful.
When we were there, we were staying in some apartments in Buenos Aires near downtown area. My kids were moving the head left to right everywhere to see the lights and the Time Square Porteño near the Obelisk.
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