Country #4: Argentina

We are a bit behind in posts but figured we would go back and recap our time in Argentina – which was great!  There has been a lot already written about our adventures in Northern Argentina, Western Argentina, and in Buenos Aires.  However a couple of things fell through the cracks and never made it into any previous posts, so here they are:

The President of Argentina made a special appearance during one of our visits to Buenos Aires.  In fact, we even got to see her helicopter land, which is nothing like Marine One, and watch her motorcade home, which consists of five Ford Focus’ and an ambulance.  It was all very interesting to see, especially given our background.  Casa Rosada is the presidential palace where President Kirchner lives and is also home to the famous balcony where most people remember seeing Evita.  We also made our way down the street to the  national congress building and got to fully appreciate the Argentina capital and have a taste of politics.  I won’t get into what I think of Mrs. Kirchner…

Most important in Argentina were the food and drink that Leti introduced to us.  We ate three times (yes, three times) at a place called Las Cabras in the Palermo Hollywood neighborhood.  When you see our favorite foods below, they were all from this place.  Also, there was one delicious thing we ordered from there called clerico.  Clerico is a drink that can be found throughout Argentina and combines fruit, that has been sitting in sugar for a few hours, with white wine.  It is delicious and we had pitchers of it.  Another savory item was dulce de leche helado (ice cream) that Jen absolutely loved and craved all the time – and still does.  It is essentially just caramel ice cream, and the best type also had chocolate chunks that were filled with even more caramel.

Our favorite foods:  We feasted on lomo completo, which is a huge sandwich that contains everything from ham and egg to lettuce, Argentine beef, tomato, and cheese.  It was delicious and enough to feed both of us in just one portion.  Also, there were empanadas that were both cheap and delicious.  There were a variety to choose from such as ham and cheese, lomo (beef), chicken, corn, and more.  Instead of being fried, they were baked and we ate a lot.

Jen’s favorite experience:  The bike ride/wine tour in Mendoza and particularly the first/last vineyard we visited, Tempus Alba.  I will spare you the details since you can check out the previous post.

Steven’s favorite experience:  I really, really enjoyed Iguazu Falls and the boat ride that took us up and down the river and into the falls.  I know there was that terrible accident just a short time after we left but it was still, what I consider, the best thing we did.  It fed my love for the outdoors and provided a good thrill at the same time.

Runner up for best experience for the both of us was the futbol game in Buenos Aires.  Once again, I will spare you the details and welcome you to read the previous post.

Places we stayed:  The Chill House in BA was great and provided a good time to just rest and relax.  All In Mendoza Monkey Hostel was perfect for what we needed, a room to ourselves with a great location, decent breakfast, and fairly cheap.  The Borges Design Hostel in BA saved us upon our return to BA the second time.  We had checked at least 4 other places that were all booked and finally happened on this hostel that was very nice with a great shower and even better outdoor patio for getting work done.  Hostel Inn Iguazu was definitely a party place that had an amazing pool that we got to rest and hang out next to.  Lastly was the Gecko Hostel in Buenos Aires.  We had bunk beds and the bathrooms were terrible, but it had good internet and they let us hang around long after we checked out, which was nice.  Looking back on it, we stayed a lot of different place in Argentina!  Not to mention we spent four nights on buses and one night on a ferry!!

Argentina truly is a great country and I fully expect to go back sometime soon – probably within the next decade.  We decided it would be a great family vacation too.  Everyone could go to Buenos Aires to start off, then the guys go to Patagonia for a few days to explore while the girls go shopping.  After that everyone meets up in Mendoza for a few relaxing days in wine country.  Just a thought…

Steven