Buenos Aires

I had four days, which was just enough to see the highlights, like the ‘obelisco’ commemorating the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding.

And the botanical gardens, with its many stray cats.

The cats are well cared for by locals who visit the gardens, and there even is a charitable organization devoted to their welfare.  I ordered way too much food at lunch, so I happened to have almost an entire omelette in my backpack.  I decided to share it and quickly made some new friends.

Another popular attraction is the ‘cementario’.

Truth be told, the real reason I went there (to Argentina, not the cemetery!) was to check out the food.  Argentina is known for its ‘asado’ (barbecue) cooked on an open fire grill called a ‘parrilla’.  Loyal reader Tatiana had already scoped out the parrilla places on a previous trip, and sent me to Don Julio’s in the quaint Palermo neighborhood.  It. Was. Goooood.  (Tats has never let me down on a restaurant suggestion)

There was a big influx of Italian immigrants in the 20’s, so there are some very good, and old, pizza places, the most famous being “El Cuartito”.

I had a ‘Neaopolitan’–tomato sauce and mozzarella topped with garlic, fresh oregano, and tomato slices.  Yum.

I have been meeting people constantly on this trip, which makes things extremely interesting, but tiring.  I was trying to get a few days to myself, to recharge my batteries, so I avoided people at the hostel.  The shortcoming in this plan was that the hostel is not the only place you meet people.  There I was, in my own happy world, savoring my slice of Neopolitan, and before I knew it, I was invited to sit with a Brazilian mother and daughter, neither of whom spoke English.

I spoke in Spanish with the daughter.  Mom only spoke Portuguese, so sometimes the daughter had to play translator.

It was actually the second night in a row that I ate with non-English speakers.  I had gone to “El C” the night before, but it was closed on Mondays.  Two guys (living in BA, but originally from Chile and Spain) showed up at the same time I did, and asked me if I knew of another good pizza place, which I didn’t.  We chatted for a few minutes and they said there was a place nearby that also had good pizza, and invited me to join them.  My Spanish is not fluent, but apparently it is good enough to get me invited to dinner.  Two nights in a row.  So much for recharging my batteries.