let’s make this short but sweet. Buenos Aires was awesome. We had heard mixed reviews and scoffed at the idea of the city being compared to Paris. How could any place be compared to Paris? Looking back at our time there I now realise why people draw similarities. It is full of lovers. The architecture is gorgeous, it is leafy and old and trendy and hip. But the main thing for me is that it left a place in my heart the same way Paris did. I feel a fondness for it that is hard to describe. But it has a Latin flavour and edginess (read dodginess) to it that endears itself to us in so many ways. The trains are sweaty, dog-poo is everywhere, street tiles are loose and squirt manky water, the people get so passionate (violent) about their football that now only the home team fans are allowed to the games, people riot about everything and anything and yet it’s that passion that makes the place unique to itself and truly wonderful. The food and wine are intensely rich, and yes we were stoked to find numerous cafes offering amazing coffee. We also went to a football match between River Plate and Quilmes which was probably the best sporting match either of us had ever witnessed. In the end a 2:2 draw but a nail biter until the end. We did the touristy thing and visited the Recoleta Cemetery (kind of obligatory) but spent the rest of the time just wandering the streets, trying out amazing restaurants/cafes/bars and being spectacularly surprised every time.

       

inside recoleta, a city of souls

lines of riot police, barbed wire, fingerprinting and pat downs did nothing to extinguish the passion and atmosphere created by the drunk/stoned argentine futbol fans. the most amazing sporting experience we’ve ever had. this IS their life.

san telmo was a really cool suburb with lots of antiques and handmade goodies. we also went to a pork restaurant which served only pork in all its glorious forms. yummo!

some pretty cool street art around town

       

Mendoza… another great place, however not the picturesque wine country that we were expecting. We stayed on the outskirts amongst the wineries as the town of Mendoza is not so much a town but a city. The wine itself, as expected, was amazing and riding some pushbikes amongst the vineyards taste testing was a nice way to cap off our journey through Argentina. A country that is so vast and so different from one region to the next, a place that we will never forget. We ended this chapter with the drive back across Los Andes and it was spectacular. Then it was back in good old Santiago for a couple of nights before our return Pichilemu.

      

next post: big waves, pets and a town that feels like home

b + m