Nai-publish: 28.05.2017
Well, what can I say. It's probably not the most beautiful city in South America - there was a lot of construction and the traffic was terrible. On the first day, we went in search of a hairdresser for Tom, after a few blocks, we finally found one that he liked. After 20 minutes, he looked brand new and we could start exploring the city. The main street was under construction and everything was torn up, there was honking and if you wanted to cross the street, you had to be quick even when the light was green, there were turning cars that also had the green light and didn't pay much attention to individual pedestrians. So it's best to cross the street in a large group, here the law of the jungle applies. The motto "who brakes loses" was also applied. Whether there was a stop sign or not.
Well, we made our way to the Casa Rosada, but we weren't convinced by this sight, so we went to Recoleta. Luckily, the subway system is easy to navigate, so we found our destination quickly, which isn't always the case on foot...
In Recoleta, we walked around the cemetery before actually entering and visiting it. Here too, there are countless mausoleums, just like in Punta Arenas, each one bigger, more expensive, and more ornate than the other.
Finding a tourist information afterwards was more difficult than expected. We went to three different places that were marked as tourist information on Google Maps, but they no longer existed or were something else entirely. Eventually, we finally got lucky, got some information and a map, and made our way back.
The following day, we went back to Recoleta to visit the market that takes place on the weekend. Because it was the low season, not all stalls were occupied, but there was still a lot going on and a new pair of earrings was acquired :D
After that, we wanted to visit the Japanese and Botanical Gardens, but it started raining so we couldn't go. So, after standing in front of the Japanese Garden and having to pay €10 entrance fee, we decided to go back to our Airbnb villa and cuddle up in bed where it was dry and warm.
Speaking of Airbnb: the house was gigantic! An old town villa with a huge spiral staircase and entrance hall that was two stories high. It hadn't been completely renovated yet, but part of it was finished. The ceilings were painted and decorated with stucco, and the bathroom was very modern. The kitchen, on the other hand, was quite old with a huge heat radiator on the wall that took up half of the kitchen.
On the first evening, we explored a bit, we went up one more floor, but there were also other stairways in the house and the floors didn't all seem to be connected. In any case, I think we only saw a small part of the house.
The villa was maintained by a Russian couple in their early 30s. Funny story, the woman studied in Dresden for 4 months and wrote her dissertation there. What a coincidence :D
After that, we went to Montevideo, Uruguay for 3 nights. Luckily, we were able to leave our large luggage in Buenos Aires, so we could travel comfortably with just carry-on baggage.
Back in Buenos Aires, we moved to our next accommodation in Palermo. Finally, a washing machine! In the other house, I had to wash underwear by hand because we were running out :P
Palermo is the most beautiful neighborhood in Buenos Aires, at least from what we saw. There are many restaurants, bars, and cafés, so you can always sit down and have a coke or a cappuccino.
But first, we tried to visit La Boca, but it started raining and Tom lost his umbrella in McDonald's 5 minutes before, so we both quickly lost interest and turned back.
So, in terms of weather, Buenos Aires was a total disappointment for us. We never had any sunshine, and when it was dry, we were almost satisfied :(
For dinner, we went to a restaurant - once again Italian - which was clearly in soccer fever.
There were jerseys hanging from the ceiling and autographs on the walls. The original plan was to finally eat a good steak, but the selected restaurant across from the Italian one was a bit too expensive, so we opted for the cheaper alternative.
The next day, our bus to Iguazu left in the evening (17h bus ride: yippee!), so during the day, we explored Palermo. I think we walked along all the central streets. There are many small shops here, similar to Dresden's Neustadt, generally a bit more alternative but nicely done and definitely not cheap. So, we didn't find a new sweater for Tom. Since it wasn't raining, we also went to the Botanical Garden to check something off the list.
The last three hours before the trip, we relaxed in the apartment, left one hour before departure (theoretically a 20-minute walk) and ended up arriving at the bus five minutes before it departed. We were rushed and very relieved that we made it. Our Uber driver was so slow! He was really calm.
Well, we spent the 17 hours on the bus, each €110 poorer but 1,500 km further north and it's 10°C warmer. That's at least something :)
Next stop: Foz do Iguazu, Brazil