Buenos Aires

Saturday

The last leg of my trip was a bit more disorganized than the rest of my trip, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. So, apologies for the lower quality photos from the last part of the trip.

I arrived to the neighborhood of Palermo and La Casa Naranja, where I’m staying. It is the cutest home! I forgot to take a picture, so this photo comes to you right from google pictures (but it is accurate and up to date). It is owned by Carolina, an incredibly warm, witty, and quirky lady! She made me feel right at home.

Sunday

Sunday morning I intended to do a walking tour of the city. However, when I arrived at the meeting point, I couldn’t find the group. Oh, well! I ended up exploring the surrounding neighborhood of San Telmo. There is an enormous market, half a mile long, filling a street. It was a beautiful place to linger at stalls, talk to local artists and buy more gifts than I could afford to carry with the leftover space in my backpack.

Some dancers were performing tango by the market, striking dramatic poses:

After a break from the market, I walked back towards Palermo and the enormous park in that neighborhood, called El Rosedal. I had wine and cheese, listening to live music and people watching.

For dinner I ate a traditional meal - bife de chorizo.

Monday

On Monday I explored book stores and cafes in Palermo. In the late afternoon I took a cooking class. Two sweet porteñas (women from Buenos Aires) led the class for myself and two Brazilians. We made meat empanadas and alfajores (shortbread cookie sandwiches with dulce de leche). I had a great time meeting more locals and the food came out so well!

Later on in the evening I met up with two friends for drinks and gelato. You’d be surprised by the crowd at the gelato shop given the cold weather.

Tuesday

On the last day of my trip I had a few errands to complete. First I went to a salon for a haircut. Then I went shopping to buy luggage; I had a few bottles of wine to bring back with me of course!

For lunch I tried a Buenos Aires staple - choripan: a sandwich of chorizo/sausage with small shoestring potatoes, lettuce, and aioli.

Later in the afternoon I was off again for another class. Today’s class was learning about mate and painting a mate cup. Mate is a plant and a tea. Most Argentinians drink mate daily; it involves pouring hot water over loose leaves, sipping from a straw with a strainer at the end, and passing the mug around to share with others. While sipping mate and eating pastries, I painted my own mate cup with flowers and butterflies.

It’s hard to believe that this trip has come to an end. It has been incredible, filled with making new friends, trying delicious food and drinks, and many different kinds of challenges. It was bittersweet to arrive home, but I’m excited to see all of you, share my travel stories with you, and finally eat some vegetables.

I’ll be back next summer with more blog posts. Talk soon!!

¡Hasta el siguente viaje!

Ellie