Antarctica: The Last Continent (2018) - Day 5

Day 5 – Monday, November 5th – Buenos Aires

(Steve writing) Today was our first non-travel day since we started the trip. That meant we could actually sleep in and enjoy the day at our leisure. We headed downstairs for breakfast at around 10:30, and sit outside in the beautiful courtyard of the hotel. The skies were clear, the air temperate, and the birds were serenading us with morning song. What a glorious day!

Our cute and friendly waiter told us that breakfast was in two parts: the first was a standard issue of yogurt mixed with granola, nuts, apples, and cornflakes, three kinds of bread, two kinds of juices (orange and watermelon), and a hot beverage of our choosing (coffee for Allan, café con leche for me). The second part of breakfast was your choice of a hot dish. I had a cheese omelet, and Allan enjoyed scrambled eggs with cheese. We almost had the courtyard to ourselves, and it was a most enjoyable and relaxed breakfast.

After breakfast, we decided to head out and explore some more. We headed out to the metro (called Subtehere), with the Ministro Carranza station only a few blocks away. The hotel was nice enough to lend us a Subte rechargeable card, and we put a few hundred pesos on it. Fare is AR$12.50 per ride, or about 70 US cents. There was a little confusion in that the railway station is at street level and the subway hidden below, but eventually we got to the right platform and headed toward the center of the city.

The Subte is an excellent system, with five main lines (A through E), long trains, and frequencies about every five minutes. Some cars are air conditioned and have automated station announcements and signage. Some are not as fancy, but all get you there pretty quickly. 

We debarked at the Callao (pronounced here as cah-zhaoh) station. The Avenida Callao is a main shopping thoroughfare, and runs north-south. As we walked toward our first destination, I recalled that Buenos Aires reminds me of Manhattan, in many good ways. Many varieties of tall buildings in various styles: some deco delights, some mansard-roofed Belle Epoque style, and others just filling in the space with little to add visually. 

Our first stop was what has been called “the most beautiful bookstore in the world”: El Ateneo. This was once a legitimate theater, and has been turned into an exquisite multi-story bookstore, with the stage becoming a café. 

While most of the books were in Spanish, naturally, there were several good-sized English language sections. Apparently Porteños (residents of Buenos Aires) are avid book readers, and the city is filled with many bookstores. On our first visit in 2010, we had visited the oldest bookstore in the city and will probably return for a visit when we come back at the end of this trip.

Allan purchased some maps: Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Antarctica, and we headed back to the busy sidewalks, making our way to the chic Recoleta neighborhood (think NYC’s Upper East Side). This being our third visit to Buenos Aires, everything felt familiar and easy. The city is spread from east to west along the Rio de la Plata, a river wide enough at this point to resemble one of the Great Lakes. Across the river is Uruguay. Parts of the city are built out to the river (mostly newer developments), but the port and a large park separate most of the city from the water. Since it’s fairly flat, it’s easy walking.

Our first stop in Recoleta was Arandú, a high-end leather goods and clothing store catering to the polo set. It’s been there for decades, and has a warm, lived-in feeling. The staff are solicitous and friendly, but not overly so. We visited here last year, but this time we actually made some purchases of fine leather belts. The upper floors featured riding gear (saddles, polo hats, crops, etc.) and you got a brief glimpse of a very different standard of living in this region.

The next stop was our favorite chocolatier in Buenos Aires, Vasalissa (Av. Callao 1940. This small shop features exquisitely made chocolates all served up in a chic atmosphere. Allan was delighted to discover that they now sold sugar-free chocolates, without losing any of the fine quality. We purchased a few items, but will undoubtedly return at the end of the trip to stock up for the return home. 

Done with the finery of Recoleta, we headed back down Callao, enjoying the many men’s clothing stores. There is a lot of Italian influence in B.A., right down to the clothing. While the manufacturing is local, the materials are Italian. And the styles are Italian. As it’s currently mid-Spring, stores are featuring linens and lighter-weight materials, anticipating another hot summer. Alas, at this point in the trip, we don’t want to add anything to the luggage. We still have our southern travels ahead of us.

Eventually we were feeling thirsty and hungry, and stopped at a Havanna restaurant for lunch (this is the same company that makes alfajores, the popular sweet filled cookie-like snack). We dined al fresco, enjoying the shade and the warm air. Our waitress, Alex, was a sweetie and enjoyed practicing her English on us (she dealt with my lousy Spanish graciously). Alex was from Venezuela, and had just arrived in March. She said that B.A. was very hot, which surprised us, since we thought Venezuela would be hotter. And she had yet to experience a full Argentine summer!

Cold drinks and grilled sandwiches restored our energy level, but we felt it was time to return to the hotel. Once again to the Subte “D” line, and once again some confusion at our station (I feel certain we’ve got this down cold now). We got back to our room, opened the sliding glass door to let the breezes in, and napped for many hours. Well, Allan napped for three, but due to the construction noise next door (drilling into concrete), I only managed an hour. I spent the rest of the time writing and catching up with this blog.

By around 8:30, it was time to get dinner. A nearby recommendation from the hotel took us to Il Gran Caruso (El Salvador 5805). It was a very “white tablecloth” Italian restaurant, with tables on two floors, and a high proportion of serving staff, many of whom were hanging around when we walked in. Our waiter provided an English menu for Allan, and at my request, a Spanish one for me. We were in the mood for Italian, and the meal did not disappoint.

Allan enjoyed a chicken and rice dish that was more Chinese in feel than Italian (sort of orange sweet and sour). I went with classic linguine al pesto, and it was quite a large portion. At a nearby table there was a large family gathering, with many cute kids and several cute daddies. They were very festive, and gave the otherwise quiet room some much-needed energy. For dessert I had profiteroles and Allan had an affogato (espresso and ice cream). We left there stuffed!

The streets were fairly quiet (after all, it was a Monday night) as we enjoyed a leisurely stroll back to the hotel.  Once back, we spent some time quibbling about uploading our entries to the blog. Blogspot/Blogger is an old tool, and since our photos are all over the place, sometimes just finding them to include here is a chore. We did our best, uploaded the first four days of the trip, packed for tomorrow’s early departure, and slept soundly.