Tango Anyone?

I should have known better.

You simply can't believe everything you read on the internet.

For sure, the bad experience we had in Salvador, Brazil six years ago played on my fears, but just because a few people write about the amount of crime there is in Buenos Aires, doesn't mean it's unsafe to visit.

Because of my reluctance to come to Argentina's capital, until this week we had stayed in the smaller, "safer" cities of Mendoza and Córdoba. However, even Córdoba has it's bad areas where tourists are warned to avoid, but overall, we have felt nothing but safe and secure during our travel here. We have quite fallen for the Argentine people and culture (except for their highly carnivorous side) and are already talking about our next trip here.

And so when Brenda offered to fly us to Buenos Aires for New Year's and my birthday, I was all in!

Brenda booked us a nice little studio apartment in the upscale (and very safe) Palermo district, which is far enough from downtown to be away from the rat-race and frantic pace of a big city, yet close enough that we can easily get there on foot or on public transit.

And what a spectacular city this is! The buildings in the center of town are stunningly beautiful with architecture highly influenced by the great cities of Europe. In fact, if you didn't know better, you'd often think you were in Paris, Rome or Barcelona.

It was a treat to see the iconic Obelisca that was the celebration site for four million people after the National team won the World Cup. The Teatro Colón, BA's world class opera house, is awe-inspiring, both inside and out. We were astounded by the magnitude and opulence of El Ateneo, a converted opera house that National Geographic named "the most beautiful bookstore in the world".

I'll write other posts that will focus on the latter two attractions.

We've been here for two full days and have barely scratched the surface of all the things to see and do. We spent this morning exploring the "Hollywood" section of our Palermo neighborhood, discovering three vegan restaurants and eating the very best plant-based burger I've had in my life.

In the end, our only regret is that we didn't come here sooner.Weiterlesen