Return to BA

After a tour of Argentina and Chile, we have returned to where we began the South American part of our journey. Traveling is a lot of fun, but moving every few days and living out of our backpacks started to wear on us a little bit. So we decided to rent an apartment in Buenos Aires for an entire month and see what this city has to offer.

After doing hours of research online looking for apartments with just the right amenities, price, and location, we settled on a few possibilities that were a short subway ride to most attractions. Except, every time we made the decision to inquire about them, they had been rented out by someone else. We were a day late on three different places. However, it worked to our benefit, as a few days before we arrived, Laura spotted a listing on craigslist that was cheaper, had an amazing location, and had everything we were looking for. Well, almost everything. I was really hoping for a sauna.

The location of the apartment may just be the best part. It is on the biggest avenue I have ever seen. Somewhere around 18 lanes of traffic. We are so centrally located, that in the first 2 weeks of being here, we didn't use any form of transportation other than our feet. Which, I think, is pretty incredible, given the amount of ground we've covered.

Anyway, let me give you the tour of the apartment.

It's a studio, but definitely big enough to feel like you have different "rooms". In this shot, you can see our bedroom, with an excellent king size bed, and beyond is our living room. Also, there is a balcony, but because of the time of day I chose to take this photo, you don't see it.

Here is a shot of our comfy couch, along with our coffee table full of goodies to enjoy with friends.

Maybe I should mention at this point that Nick and Rachel, the friends we were going on wine tours with, were also back in BA for a couple of nights before they headed home to the UK!

So we were excited about showing our place off to our friends and enjoying yet more wine with them, as well as some other goodies. Laura was proud to offer them their first taste of deviled eggs in their whole lives!

This next shot is looking back into the apartment. There's a huge storage compartment for us to put all of our belongings in. The backpacks were completely unpacked and stowed away within an hour of moving in. The drawers for our clothes are a massive upgrade from the plastic bags we are used to at this point.

Here's our dining table/desk.
And of course the kitchen in the closet. All we have is a hot plate, so we have embraced one pot meals. A lot of noodles and soups. But it sure beats having to eat out all the time and is much more cost effective. The best part of this set up is that when we don't feel like cleaning the kitchen after a meal, we just close the doors! Problem solved!

It was really nice to be able to see Rachel and Nick in BA, and we took every opportunity to spend time with them. The night after hosting them at our apartment, we took them to our favorite restaurant in BA.

This is the same restaurant that has the penguins full of wine.

Here you can see that the penguins are literally begging you to play with them. It's not just me.

Anyone who drinks out of them will at some point imagine things could just be a lot quicker if you went straight to the mouth.
After dinner, we went out on the town. Not that you would be able to tell, but below we are in an area called Palermo, where there are a number of outdoor patios to enjoy the nightlife. It was a warm evening and it was fun to be out among the beautiful people of Buenos Aires.

After Nick and Rachel left town, we were back to entertaining ourselves. One of the really cool things in the city is a large nature reserve along the coast. This is a really nice pagoda that was built next to the reserve. Lots of runners and birdwatchers come to this area.

It is amazing how you feel like you have been removed from the big city while walking its paths. Fresh air. Chirping birds. The sound of the water on the shoreline. Though the reality is never far away with skyscrapers in the background.

As in any big city, pigeons are everywhere here. But there are some other wild birds that are pretty neat to see flying around. Parrots! For the most part, they nest in the palm trees, but you can catch a few walking around sometimes.

Just outside the reserve is a pretty popular walkway with many grills and vendors always trying to sell something. The freshly squeezed orange juice that this man served us was a delicious treat.
This is an example of one of the grills that are littered along the walkway. Every time I walk by one, I have an intense craving for chorizo sausages!
Nothing like some grilled meat with all sorts of sauces to slap on there!

They are soooo good. I am seriously going to miss the choripan.

Another activity that we have partaken in more than once is the Sunday San Telmo market. This is a street market where you can find all sorts things on offer- from artisanal goods to just plain cheap crap. There is also a connecting plaza that has a hundred or so tents of just antiques. Antiques are apparently a big thing in this part of town.

Of course, any good street market has its share of street performers. Here in San Telmo, we found singers, tango dancers, statue people, and our favorite, the puppet master. This guy put on a pretty good show with his drunk old puppet, set to a song by the famous tango singer, Carlos Gardel.

Below, I am buying the best treat on the street. This guy is selling churros. But not just any churros. The churros he sells are filled with dulce de leche. And if that weren't enough, he then bathes them in chocolate to create an amazing flavor explosion in my mouth.
Here's a closer look. If you don't know what dulce de leche is, well, you should. It has become like an extra food group for Laura and I during our stay in BA. Hardly a day goes by without our indulging in crackers and dulce de leche. Anyway, its like a creamy version of a caramel chew candy.

It's pretty wonderful. We're going to have a hard time weaning ourselves off of it before we leave BA.
After strolling through the market for a few hours, we were on our way home and stumbled upon this scene. Literally, its a scene. That info booth in the picture is a total sham. They have no pamphlets. No maps. It is just a prop in this movie shoot we came upon. Don't know exactly what they were filming for, but it was fun to watch a little anyway. This was not the only time we saw such a set within the city.
Other than that, we've really enjoyed the ability to have a normal routine for a while. We get to sleep in the same bed, eat our own foods, we don't have to share a bathroom with anyone else, and we have a doorman! Doormen are great for when you lock yourself out of your apartment, as we managed to do the other day.

Maybe things aren't exciting in a "what is going to be challenging about this place?" kind of way, but I'm glad things can feel "normal" for a little while.