Buenos Aires, Argentina - Day 7

Friday, March 10, 2023

Today is our last adventure day in Buenos Aires, and there are a few places left on Andi and I’s list to see. First up — Recoleta Cemetery. This cemetery is one of the most famous places to visit in the city. It was established after the 1800’s yellow fever epidemic drove thousands of porteños to leave their San Telmo and La Boca neighborhoods, retreating to Recoleta to escape the outbreak. Still, many died, and Recoleta Cemetery was built to bury the wealthiest people in the city. Military generals, past presidents, and Eva Peron (Evita) are laid to rest here.

Most people hire a guide to tour them around Recoleta Cemetery so they can hear stories about the people buried there. We decided to tour the cemetery on our own, mostly because we weren't sure what day we’d finally make a visit. It would likely have been more meaningful to hear the history, but the cemetery was still a gorgeous place to wander around and see all the different mausoleums.

Recoleta is a working cemetery, with newer mausoleums as well as some that date back to the 1800’s. Each one is different in its own way. Eva Peron’s grave was the only one we saw with flowers on the outside. There were several tour groups of people lined up in the narrow pathway waiting to steal a glance at her grave.

I ended up being glad we didn’t pay for a tour guide. For one reason, Aden was majorly creeped out by the cemetery. He doesn’t like scary things, and couldn’t understand why in the world we’d want to walk around this place. Not that the cemetery was particularly scary, but he thought it was. Tory, on the other hand, loves all things haunted and spooky. She would have loved the ghost stories I’m sure.

It was also already incredibly hot outside by 10:00am, and there wasn’t much shade or breeze moving through the cemetery. That’s another reason it was nice to be in control of our own schedule, and leave when we’d had enough.

Recoleta Cemetery is located in an upscale neighborhood with lots of mature trees and manicured lawns. Cafes and restaurants dot every street corner, and there’s lots of activity happening from both tourists and locals alike. After the cemetery, we walked 15 minutes through the Recoleta neighborhood to the El Ateneo Grand Splendid Bookstore. The bookstore is built in an old tango theatre, and very “grand” as the name implies.

Half of our family nearly collapsed from the heat on the walk there. (Not really, but they carried on as such.) Know the phrase, “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity?” Yeah, that’s Buenos Aires. It’s 90+ degrees in the city, plus the humidity is insanely sticky. One local told me it’s this humid all year round, though the air temperature does dip into the 50’s & 60’s during the winter season. The heat & humidity would be no problem on the beach or in the pool, but inside a big city center with loud jackhammers, people walking everywhere, and car horns honking… it’s a lot. And poor Aden’s hair is so thick. He was drenched in sweat and the hairs on his head were fluffed out like a scared cat by the time we made it to the bookstore.

We finally reached El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore, and the place was busy. The four of us made our way up to the 4th floor balcony to check out the bookstore from above. Aden and Tory spotted the “Juniors” section, and wanted to go down the escalator to see if there was a play area down there. Not more than two seconds later, we turned around from the balcony railing and Aden was gone. Andi, Tory, and I called for him on the 4th floor, but no answer.

This is not the first time he’s wandered off in a big city. In fact, last year he did the same thing in Quito, Ecuador. Frustrated, and a little worried since this was a busy public place, Andi and I split up search parties. He stayed close to where we were standing on the 4th floor while Tory and I headed downstairs to the Juniors section of the bookstore to see if Aden ventured down there on his own.

Sure enough, four floors down I spotted Aden riding the escalator. The look on his face told me he knew he’d messed up. When I reunited with him, Aden said he told us that he was going to check out the Juniors section, but we never heard him. Instead of waiting for us, he left on his own to check it out. I gave him an earful right there in the bookstore aisle, and then sent Tory to retrieve Andi still waiting on the 4th floor. After that episode, we made our way out of El Ateneo Grand Splendid bookstore and back to the streets of the Recoleta neighborhood.

A few doors down, Andi spotted a sporting goods store, so we went inside to buy Aden a pair of goggles. He left his by the pool in our airbnb apartment, and now they’re missing. Surprisingly, the store had googles so we purchased some for Aden.

Now we were at a crossroads — Andi and I wanted to visit the San Telmo neighborhood once more before we left Buenos Aires, but Tory and Aden wanted to go back to our air-conditioned apartment. Yes, we were all super hot and sweaty, but it was our last chance to visit San Telmo. Much to the despair of Tory and Aden, we hopped in a taxi and took a 20-minute ride to the San Telmo Mercado. Last day, no regrets.

It’s so interesting how the neighborhoods of Buenos Aires change within just a few streets. We went from the upscale, Manhattan-like feel of the Recoleta neighborhood to a much older, cultured San Telmo. The mercado we visited was established in 1897, and continues to sell food, household goods, and trinkets to the San Telmo community. The original columns, beams, arches, and central dome are original to the building. In 2000, San Telmo Mercado was designated a National Historic Monument.

History is evident under the roof of this market — the place is electric with activity. Vendor stalls sells meat, fresh-made pasta, fruits & vegetables, and more lined in the narrow pathways. Customers sat perched on stools at small counters enjoying beers, smoothies, and lunch.

Andi and Tory walked together a few paces in front of Aden and I in the crowded aisles of the market. As we walked, Aden filled my ear with complaints about how hot he was. It was really stuffy inside the market with no air-conditioning. We finally caught up to Andi and Tory & when Tory turned around to face us she was a puddle of tears. “What can I do to help you, Tory? Use your words,” Andi said to her. She signaled through sobs that she wanted to leave the market.

We had planned to grab lunch at the San Telmo Mercado, but it was clear to Andi and I now that we needed a new idea. I’d read a restaurant recommendation for a traditional Argentinian parilla in the San Telmo neighborhood, so we decided to walk there for lunch instead. The kids were doing all they could to hold it together for the 10-minute walk to Desnivel Restaurant. This place was perfect; full of local charm with air-conditioning — exactly what we were searching for.

The lomo steak with mustard cream sauce was recommended, so Andi and I decided to order that meal with a salad to share. Tory ordered mozzarella sticks and house-made gnocchi. Aden had chicken milanesa and fries. Our meals at Desnivel were excellent.

After we ate lunch, we took a 30-minute cab ride (12 km / 7 miles) back to our Palermo Soho neighborhood. Traffic is no joke; I don’t miss that aspect of living in a city.

Andi had a few work calls this afternoon, so he did those in the living room of our apartment while Tory, Aden, and I vegged out in the bedrooms. The kids called their friends on FaceTime while I caught up on blogging.

Later, Andi finally convinced Aden to get a haircut at the local barber down the street from our airbnb. Aden is very attached to the barber in our hometown, but his hair is getting out of control. I’m not sure how he’d make it another month without a haircut!

Andi showed the barber a picture of what Aden looked like just after a haircut. The barber gave Andi a thumbs up and said, “No problemo.” Thirty minutes and $4 later … Aden looked much better.

That evening, Andi made reservations for us at a nicer parilla restaurant called Madre Rojas in the Villa Crespo neighborhood. A high-end steak dinner was on our Buenos Aires bucket list, and we were excited for this one. Unfortunately, our waitress did not speak English, and wasn’t particularly patient in trying to understand our broken Spanish. After a few attempts at communicating with us, another server came over and took our order in a very short, but socially polite manner. No small talk to be had with that lady. We ordered a cut of wagyu beef, Caesar salad, and grilled vegetables. The food was tasty, but it didn’t knock our socks off the way I expected it to.

The one thing we didn’t like were the deep-fried chinchulines in the Caesar salad. When our waitress collected our plates and saw a pile of them left in the salad bowl, she asked, “No gustas chinchulines?” No, we didn’t love the fried bits of small intestine in our salad. Andi said we should pretend they were croutons, but I just couldn’t do it.

Andi and I had the hardest time catching a cab back to our airbnb apartment from the restaurant. We walked for several blocks until we finally flagged one down. Back in the Palermo Soho neighborhood, we stopped by Daniel helado one last time for ice cream. The employee just smiled when he saw us walk in. Why, yes, we have visited the ice cream shop every night since we arrived in Buenos Aires. Tonight, Andi ordered dulce de leche, vanilla chocolate chip, and menta granizada. What will we do when we don’t have access to the delicious ice creams of Argentina any longer?

One more sleep in Buenos Aires. Tomorrow is the day Aden has been counting down to for weeks — we’re boarding a cruise ship to sail to Uruguay and then around the southernmost tip of Argentina. This will be the kids’ first time on a cruise ship and they are beyond excited. Andi and I aren’t so sure about it all; we’re not big fans of traveling with a lot of people, but this will be a great way to see some of the sights on our travel bucket list — namely, Montevideo, Uruguay, Puerto Madryn, Argentina, and Ushuaia, Argentina. Tomorrow, we cruise!