Buenos Aires / Argentina

We were in BA over Xmastime. Argentines go all out on Xmas eve…dinner, followed by fireworks at midnight, then the young ones go clubbing at 3am. The town really shut down, so we hunkered down, made a simple dinner, ventured out to catch the tail end of mass at Catedral Metropolitana, where Pope Francis was stationed before his promotion, and got back in time to see the fireworks kick off at midnight. Fireworks hopped up from every neighborhood in BA!

In the same way that one might enjoy New York, we walked and walked and sampled food and ice cream along the way. We watched La Glorieta, a romantic open air and open the public dance session. Every weekend locals of all ages come together, slip on their dancing shoes and pair up to dance the milonga. Of course the men were responsible for asking the women to dance, so some women were left tapping their foot on the side. On Sunday we ran to the Feria de San Pedro Telmo Market and meandered among the hundreds of outdoor stalls, peddling antique kitchen trinkets, to knit lamas, to leatherbound books, before hopping a ferry to Montevideo.

At a glance…

• Do watch La Glorieta, Plaza Barrancas de Belgrano (7-10pm, Fri-Sun, though they get a late start). Try a beginner tango lesson, there’s tons of schools. Give an hour or two to the Feria de San Pedro Telmo (not to be confused with the smaller San Telmo Market which is indoors and open daily)
• Eat at the corner bistro El Colmado (try the papas bravas).  There is a lot of amazing gelato in BA, we opted for Cadore, which we read was one of the oldest, try the dulce de leche granizado.
• Drink at Floreria Atlantico, a speakeasy filled with hip BAers, enter through the flower shop upstairs. Never have I tasted such a delicious science experiment. Great cortados and a surprisingly delicious lemonade/coconut/ice cream shake at Full City in Palermo.
• Don’t miss walking around Palermo and Recoleta.
• Tips Now there’s an express ferry straight to Montevideo, or a cheaper ferry/bus combo. Stores are often closed midday around lunchtime for a siesta and often stay open late. It’s normal to go out to eat around 10 or 11pm and then go out for drinks around midnight or later.