Buenos Aires: Passing Through

Returning to South America after enjoying some fantastic time with family and friends across the globe landed us in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both of us were very excited to explore this capital city, but we also knew our time here would be slightly overshadowed by the upcoming road trip to Patagonia. After much going back and forth we decided to rent a car for the next 3 months to drive through Argentina and Chile and so our time in BA was spent sightseeing but also planning for our road trip.

We had been told by numerous people how beautiful BA is and how it feels like Paris. In a lot of ways we felt that way too but we would say a Latin American Paris. With some beautiful weather we strolled through the City on foot, subway, bus, and Uber. The charm is definitely there and we look forward to giving BA its proper due when we return the car.

Buenos Aires or Paris?

Old theater transformed into a vibrant book shop

Old shul near the Teatro Colón

Sumptuous interior of one of BA's oldest cafes, Las Violetas

Old meets new, new takes over old

Once clear parallel to Paris is BA's theater, Teatro Colón. Visiting places like these is a clear theme of our urban adventures, but instead of going on a tour we opted for a Sunday morning performance in the main hall, which ended up being a free. This was an incredible way to hear some great music, and see the incredible renovated theater!

Other BA highlights included spending a rainy afternoon inside the Museum of Latin American Art (MALBA). The modern building is super cool and the main exhibit featured the works of Cindy Sherman + Richard Prince. A big adventure was tasting the pizza (fun fact-that-we-overheard-so-might-not-be-fully-true: 60% of Argentines hold Italian nationality) and the pizza they are known for is more similar to Chicago deep dish in that the crust is thicker but it is not as saucy. That said, it really is a style of its own. The thick crust, little sauce, and globs of cheese make for a tasty, and heavy, treat. There is so much cheese that when the cut a slice out of the pan they put a wood triangle block in its place to keep the remaining cheese from overflowing off. Our favorite was Pizzeria Guerrin, opened in 1932. BA even has a pizzeria tour marathon every year that sounds amazing.

Beautiful bench in the MALBA

 Reminded me of a lava lamp, art at the MALBA

Ceiling of the Teatro Colón

Definitely taste better to order and grab a standing table with everyone else

Fugazzeta - explosion of mozzarella and onions 

Unfortunately, with the delicious Italian influence, some other traditions seemed to have been forgotten. Across the street of Guerrin was a highly recommended pastry shop for cannolis. We were immediately impressed because all cannolis were made to order...but it did not help. The shell tasted stale, the cream not sweet and flecked with candied orange peel. Now some people may like the candied orange, we did not, but at the very least we should have been warned about this even if there was no other option.

Sad and disappointing cannoli 

And of course, we wouldn't have enjoyed BA as much as we did without the introduction from our friends to their friends there. It continues to amaze us how welcoming everyone is (including our AirBnB host). We look forward to heading back when we return the rental car and see everyone again, while giving BA our full and undivided attention.

We will be back!