Guest Blogger: Lisa in BA!!

Jan 4-5: Amy welcomed me with open arms on the sunny streets of BA!  She introduced me to some neighborhood sights and Caitlin joined us for dinner at my first parilla (steakhouse)! The steak was muy bueno, especially with a pinguino of Malbec:)  The next day was spent wandering the city and on a great walking tour of the neighborhood Recoleta.  I learned all about Argentine history as well as the beautiful plazas, palaces, embassies, and apartment buildings lining the streets of BA.

Wine is always better in a pinguino!

Vatican embassy on Avenida Alvear

Jan 6-8: Amy and I headed to Punta del Este! It was probably the shortest flight (30 min) we've ever been on...as well as the bumpiest and scariest.  Luckily Amy is a better flier than I am, so I was able to squeeze her arm for the whole 30 minutes…even though she was still at the end of her what we think was the flu… My friend Florentine picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to the beach. The sun did not set until 9pm. I then truly understood why Argentines and Uruguayans don't eat dinner until 11pm!! We spent our 2 nights in Uruguay in a share-house with  Flor and Nico's (her husband) friends who rent the same house there every year. It was not the best of accommodations…since they slightly overbooked…but it was a beautiful house with great beaches, perfect weather and new friends!  

At the beach in Punta del Este - it was around 8 p.m.!

Lisa & Flor with the beautiful 9 p.m. sunset

A photo of the cool house

On our way to lunch - we're shielding ourselves with our towels because we neglected to put on sunscreen!

Jan 9: We made our way to Plaza de Mayo to see Casa Rosada (the presidential building) and then to the San Telmo market, which was filled with leather goods, vintage items and Amy's favorite Argentine cartoon, Mafalda:) We had a leisurely lunch, walked along the water in Puerto Madero, and dinner was at Casa Felix - a closed-door restaurant.  A lovely couple (yes we had a girl crush on the wife) opens their home to approx 20 people Thurs-Sat night and prepares a 5-course meal with unique flavors and local ingredients, including fresh herbs from their wonderful garden. We ate in the courtyard, enjoyed savory food and wine, and even ate pulpo (octopus)…well some of it at least! It was definitely one of my favorite evenings in BA:)

Din at Casa Felix with our friend Lindsey

Jan 10-14: We spent the next and last few days sight-seeing, shopping, museum-ing at the amazing National Museum of Decorative arts, Evita museum and Malba.  Amy and I also proved our true athletic abilities as we braved the streets of BA via bicicletas!  The bike tour through the parks and rose gardens were lovely, but we almost didn’t make it back on the streets of Palermo.  Let’s just say BA drivers are not the most biker friendly... We also attended a great cooking class, saw incredible graffiti, ate meringue, drank mate, didn’t get anything stolen and enjoyed excellent wine for very few pesos. My last two dinners were at Amy’s favorites - Don Julio and La Cabrera - both delicious and memorable.

One of the stops on our bike tour - the very pretty rose garden in Palermo

Walking around Recoleta

Muchas gracias Amy and Caitlin for opening your adorable home on Paraguay street to me, giving me a preview into your lives over the past eight months, and sharing your most favorite new sights, activities and culinary favorites.  It was a perfect trip.  Can’t wait to have you back in NYC now!!

Muchos besos!

Lisa