I arrived in Buenos Aires around noon, and was whisked away from the airport by Agustin and Bruno. Despite my flight woes (note: United is the devil), I was so happy to see my buddies! They took me to La Cabrera in Palermo for my first delicious meal of asado, and then we wandered around the neighborhood. Agustin and I shared an asado, and side dishes included marinated onions, corn, mashed potatoes, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, and a salad with egg on top.
After lunch we took a stroll through the Botanical Gardens, which are absolutely beautiful and full of gorgeous statues.
Soon after I had my first ice cream in Argentina. I had heard raves about how delicious it was, especially the dulce de leche flavors, so I was super stoked. My ice cream from Freddo did not disappoint - I had a mix of dulce de leche and strawberry.
Soon I was reunited with Dara, who graciously hosted me the whole 10 days I was in BA. That night we feasted on empanadas and went out to experience the nightlife with Dara's friends. So fun!
The next day Dara treated me to a walking tour of her neighborhood, Recoleta. First we grabbed delicious salads and of course, more ice cream. This time I had dulce de leche flavor with real dulce de leche in it, plus maracuya (passion fruit). SO GOOD! On our walk we saw Recoleta's famous church and Floralis Generica, which is open during the day and closes at sunset.
We finished our walk with coffee and cheesecake, and watched the beautiful sunset.
That night for dinner we had - any guesses? - yep, meat! at Las Cholas. This time we had entrana and bife de chorizo, which is supposed to be the best possible cut of meat you can get. The entrana is more lean, but both were equally flavorful and delicious. Also, fried egg on top of french fries is a genius invention.
The next day we went to the La Boca neighborhood of BA, which is famous for its colorful houses (and is also super touristy). La Boca is also known for being the port that immigrants came through, primarily Italians. The story is that the houses nearby were painted with paint left over from painting boats.
I also got to hang with Bruno and Agustin in their homes! It was so nice to see where they live and meet their families. Plus we had a delicious Italian lunch. I had eggplant parmesan and pasta with tomato sauce, olives, and capers, all followed by a profiterole (ok, plus some of Bruno's prosciutto and Agustin's ravioli).
That night Dara took me to yet another meat dinner - this time bife de lomo. Dara told me that she would have to take a long break from meat once I left! I also became borderline obsessed with mashed pumpkin, which is a typical side dish in Argentina.
The next day was mostly lost to paper-writing, but Dara and I still made time for a yummy Mexican meal.
Since Dara had work during the day, I went on a guided tour of the Recoleta Cemetery. There are a lot of notable people interred there, including presidents of the country, Nobel Peace Prize winners, and Evita. It's also extremely beautiful. One creepy story says that a young girl was mistakenly buried alive there!
That night I made my grandmother's famous meatballs for Dara, Agustin, and Bruno. I loved hanging out all together again outside of Italy :) I also tried alfajores for the first time, which are basically cookies made out of two cakes with dulce de leche sandwiched between and coated in chocolate or powdered sugar. Plus, Agustin bought me a little container of dulce de leche to try.. I ate about 3/4 of the container on my own. Oops!
Dara and I spent a full day and night in Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. It's a tiny town and so beautiful! Dara told me that Colonia was one of the first colonial settlements in South America. When we arrived I had a milanesa, which is a typical meat dish, plus tomato salad. Then we wandered around the town and looked at the water.
Of course, there was ice cream - pineapple this time!
That evening we took another walk (after a short siesta..) and watched an AMAZING sunset over the water. Then we enjoyed a romantic candlelit dinner. I had salmon with brown butters and caper, plus some amazing mashed potatoes. Dara had rice with seafood which was tasty too!
On my last day in BA, Dara's dad took us to an amazing lunch and let me feast on meat. I also tried this little sausage.. looks pretty harmless, right? I tried it since I was working on my adventurous side, and told Dara not to tell me what was in it until afterward.. Well. It was full of blood. Yep, blood! And that's it. Actually, it was kinda good...
We topped it off with my last Argentinian ice cream... maracuya and lemon. Tasty!
Big thanks to Agustin, Bruno, and especially Dara for hanging out and hosting me! I love and miss you guys!
xo and asado,
R
