Things We Love About Buenos Aires

• Its winter!-While that was technically true in Rio as well, it was not the same. Rio’s winter meant shorts and t-shirts and swimming. That’s not real winter! Buenos Aires has a much colder winter- there are still palm trees but at least I get to wear my coat and occasionally my hat! Actually, its better then winter, it feels like late fall here- the air is crisp and cool but the afternoon sun is warm and plentiful and the butternut squash soup we had for dinner the other night was just perfect! We both keep looking around for Halloween decorations, or even Christmas decorations… and then we remember its July. Its such an odd feeling! Our trip has worked out so that we spend a few weeks in summer, then a few in winter which is basically ideal for me. The only time I really care for summer is for the first few days, then its gets hot and I get whiny. I need the cold, wintery season to help me appreciate summer. Going back and forth between the two sounds pretty amazing to me! Of course, that means we have to get on a series of three planes to get back to summer in Europe. I am not so sure I am going to be getting on a plane ever again- the risk of going down in a storm, getting blown up or simply disappearing seems to be at an all time high.

• Alfajores- These are the most amazing cookies ever and I love them and plan on eating them regularly (daily?) while we are here and learning to bake them (gasp!) when we get back. So good!

• Agua con gas- The bubbly water is the same price as regular water and its a delicious, fun way to stay hydrated!

• The Weekend Markets- Not just for special occasions, these craft markets are an every weekend kind of thing. Not only are there numerous markets, but they are huge, and this is winter, I can only imagine how big they get in the summer! We went to one in the neighborhood of Recoleta last Saturday after hearing about the wonderful market there.

It was also near the very famous Recoleta Cemetery (yep, saw Eva Peron’s grave!) so we decided to make a day of it- visit the cemetery and the market. The market was awesome, it was in a giant park and all the sidewalks were lined with vendors selling the most beautiful handcrafted jewelry, clothes, paintings and other crafts. There were also musicians strolling through the park or sitting on benches. It was a beautiful day- high 60’s and sunny. After perusing the art, purchasing a watch, and wandering through the cemetery we sat on a bench and just took in the sights for a long time- listening to music, watching dogs frolic in the park, basking in the sun and enjoying it immensely!

The next day we went to explore a park nearer to us. We live in a small studio on the edge of the neighborhoods of Palermo and Villa Crespo. Recoleta is a quick subte ride away, but we wanted to know more about the area we were in. So, we set off to explore a park near us and by happy accident we found our second market! This one was more flea market than craft market, but it was very fun to wander through anyway and a great place to pick up just about anything you could possibly need. We got some lunch from a cart in the flea market- a hamburger and a chorizo, aka “the delicious way to train our immune systems”- and sat in the park, watching kids play and people wander through the flea market. We wandered a little further into the park and found it was packed! We had recently learned that it was “Dia del Amigos”, a holiday dedicated to reconnecting with friends. Dia del Amigos is part of a worldwide initiative from the 1950’s to promote friendship, while it doesn’t seem to have caught on in the US, its very popular here. Storefronts advertised sales, restaurants apparently book up weeks in advance and we were even wished “Feliz Dia del Amigos” while buying kumquats! So we were unsure if the park was crowded with amigos, because it was such a nice day or if it was just a Sunday thing, possibly a combination of all three?

• It reminds me of Paris- The architecture and the city feeling, plus the restaurants here don’t really get going until after 8pm, many are not even open before then (this is a huge adjustment from Monteverde where the sun went down at 5 and the tiny city shut down only a few hours later). There is so much to do and see and it is so walk-able. Love it!

• Its a completely different city at night- We have wandered through it in the afternoon and its lovely, but at night it becomes a completely different place. Storefronts that look permanently closed turn out to be restaurants or bars and they are packed with people! You would never even know some of these places are there during the day, but after about 8 pm, the city almost comes alive.

• Our neighborhood has a stretch of three blocks dedicated to yarn stores- Yep, for three blocks its all yarn stores, all the time, on both sides of the streets. We find ourselves wishing we had a need for yarn…