viaje al sur

Welcome to Buenos Aires.

We made it to Buenos Aires!  Well, actually, we’ve been here for almost two weeks now. We moved into an apartment on April 19th, and will be here for the next month.  So far my parent’s have come down for a visit, and Caroline’s will be heading down soon.  Also, my Aunt Louise and Uncle Bill have joined us too.  So it’s been lots of fun with my parents and family touring the city.  But before we got to the big smoke, we made a quick stop for two nights in country before the long city break.

From Mendoza we took a quick bus ride to the town of San Luis.  There’s not much to see in old San Luis, but it was a convenient place to visit an Estancia (Ranch) from.  After a day of figuring out the transportation logistics, we made it out to a beautiful place in the hilly countryside nearby.  We were the only guests staying at the place, at times a bit creapy, but really relaxing and there was plenty of good food.  We had ample time to walk the property, breathe in the clean air and enjoy the peaceful landscape.  In other words, it was a little boring with no other guests!  I think we both were too excited to get to BA and finally move into a place of our own for a while.

Walking around the Estancia grounds.

Followed by random horses again!

Getting close to sunset on the Estancia near San Luis.

From San Luis we had to take a long overnight bus to Buenos Aires, our last for quite a while we hope!  It wasn’t so bad though and the following day we met our landlord/agency rep and she said “Welcome Home!”

It’s really been so nice to just relax in a place of our own for a while.  The “road” had been wearing us down a bit and we were both looking forward to suspending our perpetual motion for a while.   The city is wonderful, very modern, excellent restaurants, shopping, shows, theaters – it has tons to offer.  Sometimes I’ll stop and think: Is this still South America?  Just then a bus will scream by spewing dark smoke, there will be a couple full-on making out on the street corner and I’ll just barely step over another heaping pile of dog poop.  Yep, definitely South America.  One of my favorite parts of the day is afternoon siesta back at the tranquil apartment.  We usually head out for dinner around 9pm, still early by BA standards, and don’t make it to bed until after midnight.  It’s a slow & easy lifestyle down here.

We had a few days before my folks arrived so we did our best to get acquainted with the neighborhood.  On day 1 we signed up for one month gym memberships down the street, found the grocery store and stocked up on everything.  We also gave both our backpacks a well deserved cleaning in the bathtub too.

Our home for the next month. Across from Plaza Libertad.

Temptation Shelf.

We went out to the airport to meet my folks when they arrived, it was a fantastic reunion after so much time apart! Since August 5th 2009!  Caro and I hadn’t really done any of the touristy stuff in Buenos Aires yet, so we set out each day to see a different neighborhood.  San Telmo, Palermo, Puerto Madero, Recoleta and the City Center were all beautiful and unique places around the city.  Once my Aunt and Uncle arrived, we all took the high speed ferry for a day in Colonia, Uruguay.

Around the famous Recoleta Cemetary.

Kathy and Jim loved the city.

We took to the metro quickly. 10 trips for $2.50!

Down on the waterfront looking across to Puerto Madero.

It's a rare Caroline AND Patrick photo.

Colonia is a short hour ferry ride from BA, definitely worth the trip.  It’s a very well kept old colonial port filled with charming restaurants along cobblestone streets.  The weather was perfect and we all enjoyed a huge lunch with a few too many bottles of wine.

The days flew by and before I knew it, it was time for Jim and Kathy to fly home.  I was sad to see them go, but I know they had a great time.  Thank you for everything!  See you again soon.

Louise and Bill moved into the apartment after my folks left, and we’ve continued the tour & siesta tradition with them.  Tomorrow we’re leaving the city for a little while to fly up to Iguazu Falls.  So don’t worry, the adventures continue!

Walking the cobblestone streets of Colonia, Uruguay.

Kathy and Caro at the top of the windy light house in Colonia.

A fine day in Colonia, Uruguay.

All of us on the waterfront in Colonia. Yeah self timer.

We took this futuristic high speed ferry back and forth.

Sunset from Colonia.

Dad, Mom, Me, Caroline, and Uncle Bill at the waterfront.

Here’s a couple shots of the apartment from the rental agency’s website.  It’s quite popular for travelers to rent apartments in BA and they are actually a bargin if you’re staying for more than a week.  We were able to get a higher end, two bedroom place since all the parents were helping out, thanks guys!  Definitely worth it.

Home sweet home.

It's great to have a real kitchen again.

We could get used to this!