2 People, 2 Continents: Christmas in Buenos Aires

Happy Holidays from Buenos Aires, Argentina! Fred and I were lucky to have his father and Holly visit us in Buenos Aires over Christmas. They arrived early in the morning on the 24th. We spent the day settling into our apartment and exploring our neighborhood. We decided to head out for lunch. We found a great place with outside seating, next to the famed Recoletta Cemetery. (Evita is buried there.) After some drinks and pizza we walked around the cemetery. We wandered around for a while before asking where to find Evita's tomb. As we had read, her tomb is very non-discript, in an area for her family with black granite and her family name Peron. After a few pictures and a few minutes eavesdropping on an English tour, we headed back to the apartment. We spent a few hours chatting and relaxing before we went to our Christmas Eve dinner. We had a wonderful dinner at a closed door restaurant called Casa Saltshaker. Our meal was themed around '7 Fishes.' Each of the five courses was paired with wine and each were delicious. After a memorable meal and conversation with the other guests we walked back to our apartment and watched fireworks over the city. It was a great night and a fantastic way to spend the holiday even though we were away from home.

Evita's tomb

We woke up on Christmas Day and made a great breakfast. After our feast and some mimosas we opened presents. We spent the afternoon walking around the city. We all enjoyed seeing the sites without the usual masses of people. The streets were all deserted and we were able to walk all around the city. We saw all of the main tourist sites and enjoyed the warm weather. We spent the early evening with wine and cheese before making a great dinner. We had steaks, mashed potatoes, salad and dessert. After a few Skype calls to Minnesota we all headed to bed. It was interesting to experience Christmas in BA. We all had a hard time adjusting to the warm weather. It was a change for people from Minnesota and Maine. We don't have 90 degree weather in December! We also expected the streets to be decorated however we saw very few festive themed displays. Although it was different than what we are used to, our Christmas in Buenos Aires was very memorable!

Christmas morning breakfast

Walking around Buenos Aires

A typical flower stall

On Monday we woke up and had breakfast at a cafe. We then walked to another neighborhood in BA, Palermo. This neighborhood was very different from the others. It was trendy and full of young people. There was tons of shopping and sidewalk restaurants. We spent a few hours walking around before we headed to a wine tasting. We went to a wine tasting in a local hotel. We were able to taste five different wines and each was paired with a small food item. Each of the wines was local and delicious. After ordering a few bottles we headed back to our apartment. That evening we went to a great restaurant, Oviendo. Fred, Kevin and Holly all had steaks and I had salmon. Each of our plates were clean at the end of the night. The meal and decor were great.

The pink palace: where Eva Peron gave numerous speeches

Tuesday was our last day in Buenos Aires. We decided to take Kevin and Holly to San Telmo, the neighborhood that Fred and I stayed in before they arrived. San Telmo is famous for cobble stone streets and a lively tango scene. After walking around and browsing a few shops, we sat at on outdoor cafe for coffee and water. We were able to enjoy a small street side tango show. It was nice to see a little of this dance without having to pay for an expensive show. For our last dinner in BA we sat outside near our apartment and enjoyed pasta and steak. The evening was gorgeous and it was a wonderful way to cap off our time in Buenos Aires.