Saturday May 5, 2012
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Warm, Fall Weather
After a good fight from Salta, we settled in the Sheraton on Avenida de Cordoba which is in the “heart” of downtown. After we dropped our bags, checked in the hotel, we were off to San Telmo area for a late lunch (we were STARVING) and some shopping.
We had lunch at Gran Parilla del Plata, a famous parilla (steakhouse). I treated Sandra to lunch as she used her points to get us in the Sheraton. We both ordered steak (me – ribeye, Sandra – sirloin) with arugula/parmesan cheese salad and the best French fries ever. What we did not expect are the big portions, and I mean huge!! We both must have had one pound of beef each. We enjoyed our lunch with a bottle of Malbec recommended by our waiter. The beef was magnificent and cooked perfectly. We enjoyed it with the house made chimichurris. We notices the restaurant had tourists but also a lot of working business men. And boy, do they eat a lot. I wish I could have saved the left over beef to take home for Yuki-chan, although not sure she would have eaten it as she prefers chicken. But I do know that Skipper if he were still alive , would have loved the leftovers and we had a lot. The service was impeccable and very friendly. We both loved the atmosphere and vibe of the restaurant. At the end of our meal, our waiter treated us to a glass of champagne. So nice!
As we were STUFFED, we decided to walk around San Telmo and then walk home. We both were surprised how much San Telmo has changed since 5 years ago (our last visit to Buenos Aires). The area is filled with antique shops, and many very expensive where one has to be buzzed into. Although, we found many beautiful objet d’arts, we didn’t find anything that met our price point.
After some window shopping, we decided to walk home which was a good thing as we were still stuffed from lunch. It only took us about an hour to walk to the hotel with stops for window shopping. We did buy a bottle of wine though as we needed to reward ourselves after the “long walk”.
Scenes from San Telmo
Once we got back to the hotel, we showered and the plan was to rest before we leave around 930pm for our first tango show. Original plan was to rest prior to the tango show but due to the “necklace” incident, that did not happen. I will blog about the “necklace incident” as it is the most amazing story.
Plaza de Mayo
We then caught the hotel shuttle to El Viejo Almacen which is well known for tango dancing. Yes it is touristy but both Sandra and I LOVED the show. The dancers and singing were amazing. The ticket (about 80 USD) were VIP tickets so we were in front row and included unlimited drinks. The dancers were so light on their foot and fast, I was amazed they did not fall off the small stage! We especially liked the band and the piano player. We were so impressed we bought the CD.
She was the Diva
Once back at the Sheraton, we had a night cap and called it a night. It was a night I needed a sleeping pill as the “case of the missing necklace” still was not resolved. The ironic thing is that I used the unlucky number 13 as part of code for the safe. As we were walking back to our room on the 15th, floor, there was a room number 1314. So now we think there is a ghost living in the Sheraton. Anyhow, after a sleeping pill, I was sound asleep and did not wake up until around 8am on Saturday, our last day