Lets be honest, I couldn’t see what the fuss was about Buenos aires the first time I visited way back in 2010. It was hyped up as some amazing city, yet all I found were pickpockets, a big city and very little to see and do. So I’m not sure why I scheduled 3 days in Buenos Aires at the end of my trip, but it joined a select group of international cities I’ve stayed in twice (Singapore, Hong Kong, Santiago, Dubai and Auckland round out that list).
Things started well with the nice Duque boutique hotel in Palermo as a place to stay. Last time I stayed in the Centro district and also did stay near Palermo but closer to Recoleta and not close to the middle of it. I also think Palermo has changed a lot since then, with trendy bars and restaurants to go along with traditional Argentinian steakhouses. I was also lucky to have a few fellow travellers from my Antarctica trip stay in the same hotel, so while I did a few things on my own I also hung out with Andrew, Marie and Nat, who live in faraway Perth.
So the verdict is I really enjoyed Buenos Aires this time. I didn’t do much except wander around eat, drink and be merry. Sure I visited one of the worlds more beautiful and amazing bookshops. El Ateneo Grand Splendid is a bookshop to behold in an old theatre. Seems like a really good use for an old theatre. The theatre gets preserved and there thends to be a big overlap between book readers and theatre goers.
El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookshop
On the other hand I also visited the museum of the football team River Plate. One of the first things i did last time in Buenos Aires was get roped into going to see River Plate play Newell’s Old Boys at El Monumental stadium. It was great fun but the home team went down 1-0. The museum was arranged by decades with things from pop culture and society on display with a list of everything they won that decade. I’m not sure the Zip drive though was a great choice for the 1990’s!
So will I come back for a third time? Probably because I keep delaying the ferry trip to Uruguay everytime i’ve had the chance.
I guess you didn’t need to buy a leather jacket after Morocco?!