Buenos aires is the city of many faces: It has a face of an old taxi driver dressed up in a crispy white shirt listening to the Tango music on the radio; it has a face of young bartender in a funky bar, who just moved from a small town to start his newfull of hopes life in the capital; it has a face of a pretty brunette who dances Tango for money in el Caminito. The smell of Buenos Aires is very masculine - any time of the day it smells like Parilla (Spanish word for grill) mixed with dust, cars, coffee.
BsAs is huge, it is rich and poor, beautiful and ugly, modern and old fashion, somewhere confusing, but full of life. Each district of Buenos Aires is so different from each other that you feel you are in another city.
Before going to Argentina I read lots of articles and blogs about "must do's", to visit places. I swear it felt like I could give the tours myself before even getting to the city. But not all tourist attractions impressed me - other things did. Here are the things I liked the most in Buenos Aires:
Taking a taxi
I love traveling for many reasons: One of them is to get to know people who live in other side of the world - their problems, passions, stories. One of the ways to do it? Taking a taxi. Prices are relatively affordable, traffic is heavy and distances are huge, so there is always enough time for conversation. In each of our numerous trips we got to learn something new about Argentina: how much are the rents now, what people think about new government, what Argentinians eat for dinner if they stay at home, who are their football Gods. In return taxi drivers wanted to know about our countries, our life. All Argentinians we met along the way were extremely friendly, helpful, proud of their country and eager to show it to foreigners.
Parks
When I think about Buenos Aires I think green. There are lots of beautiful parks and recreational areas with old trees and famous purple jacarandas everywhere. People walking, running, biking. All these green splendor makes you want to drop everything, move to BA and be part of this healthy community.
Puerto Madero District
Stylish and modern high end district of BsAs. It is West side was rebuild in 90s, when port warehouses were turned into fancy lofts, houses, offices and hotels. All the street in this district are named after women. Everything there breathes luxury. Great place to walk, to grab a coffee or lunch.
Frank's Bar
There was no love from the first sight between me and BsAs. Our relationship took time to develop. But I remember the day, or to be more precise - night, when I said I love this city. And I remember the exact places - Frank's Bar. I read about this bar while planning the trip and it was in my To Do list, but we only managed to get there in our last night in BsAs before our trip to Patagonia. Timing was not perfect - we had early flight next day, but hangover next day was totally worth it.
Frank's bar theme is "Underground" bar during the "Dry Law" period in the USA. Which means from outside it looks like any other building. No bright neon advertisement, no people outside. You call the door and they ask you for a password: only if you know it - you will get in. The door opens and you are in dark garage with phone booth. You enter the booth, press the secret code and door opens: now you are in a totally different world...
The bar is nicely decorated, with some kind of retro high class vibe. You can see that people who work there enjoy what they do - they experiment, create and have fun. Our bartender for the night took his job seriously, he was "telling" us a story of cocktail making illustrating it with skillfully made cocktails, he was telling us about his life, his hopes, Argentinian way of life. The night was not about getting drunk, it was about getting to know other side of BA. Night life in Argentina is great. This bar, was just amazing it had a latin air to it, something you can understand only if you have been in Latin America at night, everything about this place, lets you know you are and you will have an amazing night.
Cemeteries
There is no better place to witness past Buenos Aires majesty than in one of the Buenos Aires old cemeteries. Famous Recoleta or less known Cemetery of Chacarita will take your breath away. Real cities of the dead, with wide streets and mausoleums (that probably cost more than a house for a living person) decorated with beautiful sculptures making it great place for an afternoon walk. They are much more than just cemeteries - they are symbol of past power, traditions, importance, family and status. I wish we could take a tour to learn more about the people who are resting there, but unfortunately it was not available at time of our visit.
Food & Wine...and Coffee
This subject deserves separate post.
TBC...