Beautiful Buenos Aires

Back to Argentina after a crazy September - including a blizzard of professional development and special events at work.  Then the closing on the sale of John's house and all the work of moving everything he owns into either my garage, my basement or a storage locker.  Everything is moved out of his house, although it still needs to be sorted, organized and tidied a bit.

We spent the weekend recovering and relaxing in my brother's condo in Port Clinton, and then it was time to head back to Argentina.
John and I were in Buenos Aires for a few days before flying to Cordoba; he at work in their Pacheco plant and I starting my online courses (I'm teaching two this term), and trying to relearn the Spanish I've forgotten.  
If you don't speak Spanish, Buenos Aires is a great place to start in South America.  Many of the signs, menus, etc are in English as well as Spanish. While we were only in Buenos Aires for a few days, it was wonderful.  I can hardly wait to come back later in October with my girls! 

Some of the highlights:
Our hotel.  We stayed at the Dazzler Tower on Heras, which is in the Recoleta neighbourhood, close to great restaurants and beautiful parks.  The staff were super helpful, especially when my flight to Cordoba was cancelled and I needed to make changes by phone. Not sure I would have been successful without Ana at the front desk. 

The food.  So much good food.... I especially loved the empanadas and tamales at El Sanjuanino, the tapas at El Burladero, and the fish and grilled vegetables at La Lorenzo.







The grilled vegetables at La Lorenzo were served on a little stand that contained hot coals, so the vegetables kept cooking at your table as you ate dinner.  Delish!

We arrived at the tapas restaurant on a Tuesday night and couldn't get a table - no room!  So we sat at the bar for dinner, which was very entertaining and the food was fantastic.

El Sanjuanino, a true little hole in the wall with the best tamales and empanadas

My 'office.'  There was free wifi at the cafe next door to the hotel, so I sat there for two afternoons drinking tea and working away on my online course.  No one tried to hurry me along, or accused me of loitering.  They almost seem disappointed when you ask for the bill.  For 15 pesos, about $3, I sat there all afternoon, drinking tea, working on my laptop, and watching the world go by.  Felt a little bit like JK Rowling.

The view from my office

Riding the A Subte line.  I had read on another BA blog (Buenos Aires or Bust) that the A line on the BA subway (subte) had antique wooden cars with vintage lights so I decided to go and check it out for myself.  The first A train that came along was a regular modern train, but sure enough, I waited for another and along it came. Beautiful wooden interior with windows that open all the way and doors that you have to pull open manually.  When the train takes off from the station, it takes quite awhile for the doors to eventually close.  I can't imagine the TTC ever allowing anything like that in Toronto.  Thanks for the tip Amber!

Interior

Doors open, windows open, as we speed away down the track.

Dogwalkers.  They were everywhere when I went for a walk on Wednesday morning.  And every single one of the dogs was adorable. Need I say more?  How can you not love a city that loves its dogs?