My third time back in Buenos Aires has proven to be much better than the first 2 trips. My first day was spent at the US Embassy, but I still managed to get in a run, be reunited with my corn puff sugar cereal (Uruguay didnt have it and I was going through major withdrawal), go to the botanical garden, find the frozen yogurt place (it's no 16 handles, but it's healthier than the gelato I've been getting from Freddo and Voltra every day!). I walked around Palermo, which is one of the prettiest neighborhoods I've ever seen. There are beautiful restaurants and cafes on every weeping willow tree-lined block, each one completely packed by 10 pm. I could spend months trying to fit them all in. There was a street called Cordoba that I remember a French girl telling me had the most amazing shopping so I ventured over there. To my utmost dismay, I couldn't even find a store worth going into. I don't know if it's because I don't have any room in my backpack to put anything, or because I'm trying not to spend my nonexistent money, or because I'm from New York and simply have better taste than these stores have to offer, but I walked home completely empty handed. I met a guy from Sweden who is headed to a yoga retreat 2 hours away. It's a 5 day retreat, I wish I had the time to do it, but I'm on a strict schedule now to make sure I get to Bolivia in time to meet Melissa. Day 2, my friends Marlene and Alex, who I met on birthright 3 summers ago (wow, I can't believe how long it's been now!) got to BA after coming from Machu Picchu. We spent the day exploring the city and it was so nice to spend time with familiar faces, especially since I hadn't seen them in so long. We realized that including the airport at Newark when we boarded for Israel, this is now the 3rd continent we've hung out on!! Even though there were some more shady creatures that were definitely eyeing our bags, I felt more comfortable with them and we had a great day, unharmed. I even got back on the metro, and I think to reward me for overcoming my fears, I found money twice while we were walking around!!!
It started raining and got ice cold during the day, the one day I chose to wear shorts, but luckily we ended up in a mall that had cheap sweatpants which I'm much in need of anyway.
For dinner we had a reservation at La Cabrera, the steakhouse I've been hearing people talk about for the last 6 weeks now. I was SO excited, which usually leads to my expectations being high and then ending in disappointment. Well, this was not one of those times. I can't even begin to explain how amazing this place was. I have never seen so much amazing food in front of me in my life. I ordered a half portion of the tenderloin, which came as 3 giant pieces of the best steak I've ever bitten into.
It came with a million sides - spinach, mashed potatoes, pumpkin purée, onions, carrots, bread, a salad - and just as i thought there was no room left on our table a man came around with garnishes to add to it. Artichokes, mozzarella and sundries tomatoes - it was insane. And besides this being the best food ever? The meal was $20 for the steak!! In total, with the cover charge (the fancier restaurants charge a cover charge for the table, bread, etc. I actually thought it included tip also but I was wrong this because our bill clearly specified that the tip wasn't included), the $4 soda (yea, the soda cost 1/5 the price of the steak. Go figure!) my total dinner was like $35. And I had leftovers for the next night!! Alex liked it so much he made a reservation to go back again before they head back to the states, before he even finished eating!). When we left around 10:45, there was a million people waiting outside to get in, filling up on the complimentary champagne.
The only bad thing about this experience is my body isn't so used to eating this much red meat, so I had to skip out on the bike ride to Tigre I wanted to do the next day. It's okay though because i slept past 9 for the first time in weeks, and decided to have a relaxing day while combating the cow growing in my belly. I found the rose garden while I wandered the Palermo parks, went to 2 museums (MALBA and the National Bella Artes museum), played at the Recoleta and Palermo markets, got a haircut and a massage, and found more froyo. All with stopping every half an hour or so because I´m starting to get sick and my body isn´t handling all of the walking and no rest. Tonight I´m going to go to bed early with some Tylenol PM and wake up with crossed fingers that I´m better for my 18-20 hour bus ride tomorrow!
I actually saw so many nice things at yesterday´s markets - artwork, clothes, sculptures, leather, etc. So many things I wanted to bring back for souveniers, but most was breakable and won´t last in my backpack, even if there was room. I´m still saving my souvenier shopping for Bolivia, the halfway point in my trip, so that I can send things home in one swoop. After Bolivia it´s Ecuador, Colombia and possibly Panama, all warmer countries, so I can get rid of some of the warm clothes too. And the alpaca ponchos I know I´m going to stock up on in Peru.
Ok, off to the market to get enough comida to last my long bus ride. Pray for me that I don´t get sicker and die on this bus. I want to get to Iguazu and see the falls, not the inside of my dorm room!!
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