Fanciness, gardens, and you're a guey

 Day 4 was "supposed" to take place mainly outside. The forecast called for rain most of the day and, well, it looked like we would be running ourselves ragged to make the self-imposed time hacks. So, we made a little adjustment. We still decided to go to a couple different gardens. However, we needed breakfast first (let's be honest, it was second breakfast for this hobbit).

We went to Confiteria La Ideal for a fantastic breakfast. I had thought it was a smaller place to grab a coffee and snack and then be on our way. However, we walked in and realized it's not that type of spot.

The cafe originally opened in 1912 and was long considered the best example of porteno (coming from Buenos Aires) gastronomy for the best part of the 20th century. They closed their doors in 2016 but reopened in 2022 after a massive restoration project. 

We also saw that we were way underdressed. Luckily, we could play the ignorant tourist card and, if need be, I could always speak horrendously bad Spanish to augment that.

The painstakingly rebuilt stained glass

I wanted something "light," so I ordered churros and hot chocolate. Unfortunately they were out of churros so they brought me out something that reminded me of a better, fancier, Whitey's doughnut. (serious reader points if you know what that is). Mila also decided to stay "local" and ordered an empanada.

the thick hot chocolate comes in the brass chocolatera and isn't so much for drinking as it is for dipping. Just yesterday Mila was telling me that she wanted some

We thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast stop and it was one of the nicest cafes I've ever been to. Funnily enough, Google is flagging their website as a potential phishing scheme so I just linked their Instagram there.

We had a long day of urban naturing to do, so we headed off.

well, after attempting to tango

Poetry in motion

As I've said several times, Buenos Aires is full of green spaces. Our next stop was one of the largest, the Paseo de Rosedal in Parque 3 de Febrero. 

On the way, we passed by the impressive "Monument to the Carta Magna and the Four Regions of Argentina." That name is a bit of a mouthful, so it's most commonly known as the Spanish Monument. It was gifted to the Argentinians by the Spanish to celebrate their first century of independence. Makes me think of that they were kind of patting them on the head "aww good for you! You're welcome!"

There were dozens of people out for their morning workout, whether it be running, walking, biking, or roller blading. The park was a perfect spot for it. We had a bit of a hike to get from the entrance to the Rose Garden, so we stopped and checked on some geese.

not Canada gooses

We went the long way around and were impressed by just how large the Rosedal section was. With over 5,000 types of roses (why are there so many?) there are roughly 15,000 plants and, if I had to guess, 15,000,000 mosquitoes. I got tore up. Bad. I think Zika and dengue cancelled each other out though, so I'm all good.

roses and sunshine? this is her happy place

that's a nice bridge

not posed, actually sniffing

even with the swarms of mosquitoes, she could have wandered around all day

Mila absconded with my phone and took pictures of maybe a third of the rose bushes.

You can tell in some of those shots that I'm still working to improve my photo editing skills. 

checking on the patos

La Rosalia!

I would say that this park was at least on a par with the rose garden in Portland. The fact that it was just a "small" portion of a much larger parks system would make Leslie Knope so so happy. We had a second garden to get to and a hard stop time for lunch, so we walked among several more parks on our way to the Japanese Garden. We would have to do a bit of a "speed run" through the garden, but I say we managed to take advantage of it and it was worth the 8ish dollars. 

The garden was built in 1967 to mark the visit of Emperor Akihito and his wife. I wonder if he got there and thought "cool, I could've stayed home and seen this." Anyway, it's the largest such garden outside of Japan. It's a true garden, with the pond, koi, and bridges, but the main focus on the flowers. There is only one building, an exhibition hall in the back, so it is unlike the Japanese gardens in Portland and San Francisco.

approved

she's STILL taking pictures? (also not posed)

also approved.  and she's still there

much better

view from that bridge

the warmest day of the trip to that point, if you can't tell

We spent probably 45 minutes walking around, Mila sniffing and petting flowers and asking me "Gordo, como se llaman?" Me googling and dutifully taking pictures and/or posing.

We accidentally walked through the little expo of Japanese dolls, thinking it was the exit. We stepped outside, ready to tackle our next stop. Just a little problemita - how do we get there? On their Instagram, Las chicas (de las chicas de la 3) post a detailed video of how to get to their stall. Their spot was on my must do short list, up there with seeing La Bombonera. We figured that an average Uber driver wouldn't accept the ride since there really wasn't much of an address to put. Luckily for us, waiting outside the garden as if the Fates had willed it, was a character destined to become a large player in our trip - Daniel the taxi driver. It took a second for Daniel to understand why we would want to go to the market. It was the city's central point of produce importation. Sprawling over acres, it's not exactly a hotspot for tourists. Or, for that matter, anyone that doesn't need to by produce by the case. After explaining this all to Daniel he practically rolled his eyes and took us. On the way, he warned us about thieves in the city and, belatedly, that we shouldn't take the time to go see the giant flower sculpture that we'd gone to see the day before. We realized that Daniel was going to give us his version of the city. Originally an immigrant from Italy, Daniel had lived in Buenos Aires for over 60 years. He wanted to the city to show it's best to tourists, but did not want them to get tricked,  robbed, or fall into tourists traps. The market is located a ways outside the city center and is a warren of stands, stowage, and semis moving in and out. There are no signs, you should just know where you're going. As the "la 3" part of the name implies, the stand is located in pavilion 3. Apparently, the pavilions don't comply to standard 1-2-3 numerical order and you just, again, should know where you're going. Additionally, most were closed off by high fences. Taxi drivers don't have much cause to enter the area, so Daniel did not know where he was going. He stopped and asked a few people along the road where to go. A drunk sent us the wrong way. A very confused man didn't know what was going on. I was about to give up when Daniel spied an open gate. He went in the out, dodging a few produce trucks along the way, and we made it to the inner portion of the market. We eventually found pavilion 3 and saw just 1 car parked by the long building. Not promising. Daniel, skittish as ever, told us to sit in the car while he ran in and looked around. He hustled back out and told us to head inside but keep an eye out for pickpockets. 

We walked in and saw the long line. It was 20 after 12 and they closed at 1. However, the market had closed a while ago and the only other people in the building were a handful and workers cleaning up tomatoes. One of them was yelling louder than should be humanly possible just for giggles. Like he would yell ear-splittingly loud and then he and his co-workers would giggle. We had worried that we would be stranded or would at least have to grab the food to go, but Daniel offered to hang out with us free of charge. He waited in line with us, then scouted out and cleaned a table off.

and took a couple pictures

On the episode of Street Food, they were the central thread that ran through the episode. I say "they," but really the focus was the founder, Pato. How she grew up as a tomboy, discovered her own sexuality, went through the trials of sharing that with her family, developing her passion for cooking and grilling (considered to be a man's work at the time), and finding her footing as a restauranteur. She eventually met her partner Romi and, after a bit of a rocky transition from sole proprietor to partnership, they run one of the most sought after food stops in the country. The Pato we met was the same as you see on the TV. She described herself to us as very "confianzuda." In this she meant welcoming and informal. Everyone that gets in line is treated as a lifelong friend. Everyone, even tourists, are regulars that are just stopping by again. She'll pat your hand, give you a nickname and pose with Romi for pictures. If there wasn't a wall in the way, I'm sure she'd be hugging everyone too.

Romi handing out an order

We watched the food being made in the back, easing my worry that there wouldn't be any left. It was nearly closing time, after all. 

The customers all looked very happy. Prices were incredibly cheap, and Pato stopped and talked with us for a little bit. She was glad that I can speak Spanish because her English is apparently no bueno. 

cue angelic choirs

The star dish is the tortilla. This take on the Spanish omelet is stuffed with ham, cheese, and taters. (boil em, mash em, put em in a tortilla) As you can see, it's not like the tortillas or omelets that you're likely used to. The main side dish is an empanada. Mila and I split a spinach and cheese.

We turned the dishes back in, got a picture with las chicas - 

And Daniel took us to the next stop on the tour. Well, that was the plan. Daniel had another idea, though. He wanted to show us a bit of the green spaces and local flavor. You know, "his" Buenos Aires. We saw the church where he got married and the neighborhood he grew up in. All the while, of course, his meter was running. Since the price had gone over our stockpile of pesos, we asked him to take us to a bank to try and get some more. Struck out. Daniel is the trusting type, so we decided that he would transport us early in the morning and we'd pay then. no spoilers

He dropped us off at El Ateneo Grand Splendid, a theater turned cinema turned bookstore. With over 100 years in existence, the location has hosted the giant of tango Carlos Gardel and was the first cinema in Argentina to show movies with sound.

Its current incarnation as a four-level bookstore started in 2000 after it had been scheduled for demolition.

you can see the original (probably restored since they're over 100 years old) frescoes and boxes which have been turned into reading rooms

We took our time going through the sections, focusing on books written by Argentines and/or about Argentina. In the end, we bought three, a novel by Silvina Ocampo, a book about Evita, and a cookbook with Argentine recipes.

Next on the docket was the Cabildo. We stopped by on the first night, but it had been closed. We got there early enough to walk around a bit. A cabildo was the seat of local government during the Spanish imperial period. A specialty of this cabildo in particular was that it was also the local jail. They had some of the implements on display as well as descriptions of life in the jail from former inmates. The conditions were as awful as you'd imagine for a 17th century jail. 

While the Spanish held the colonial and provincial power, cabildos where were the locally-elected politicians served. Like these jolly looking fellows - 

they were probably a joy to be around, even the Ebeneezer Scrooge/Robin Williams mash up on the bottom right there

A painting remembering the British invasion of 1806. The locals lost and then retook the city from the British without help from Spain. (They were busy being invaded by that Napoleon guy) The ability to recover and repel a major power gave inspired them to call for independence shortly after.

Really it was a simple thing, "hey guys we don't want to do this colony thing anymore." Napoleon had conquered Spain in the name of friendship and placed his brother on the throne. While that experiment didn't last long, the colonists of Rio de Plata decided they had not signed up for Napoleon. Local notables gathered in the cabildo and decided that they would assist the Viceroy in governing. The fact that Viceroy Cisneros was allowed to stick around and, more importantly, was still the ruling member of the local government aggravated the public and he stepped aside. Without doing too deep a dive on the multi-faceted process that led to Argentina's independence, let's just leave it at that Spain recognized Argentina's independence 14 years later, in 1824. 

in 1810 this view would have been a little different. A lot muddier, that's for sure. But it would have have been still looking down on the most important plaza of the viceroyalty

some more of the original buildings

The cabildo closed at 6, as did the small artisan market going on in the courtyard. Plus, we had still more touristing to do. (It was a super packed day).

Our Venezuelan Uber driver told us how much he hates driving in Buenos Aires, pointing out that most vehicles were messed up due to bad drivers. He even had to knock on a car next to us to stop the driver from merging into us. Lucky that his window was already down. We got back to Puerto Madero in one piece to go look at the "Puente de la Mujer." Luckily, they allowed dudes to walk on the bridge too.

Y'all should know my feelings about bridges and this one's particularly good. So, prepare yourself for an onslaught of pictures.

belleza

that's a pretty nice boat too

power pose

one of the many pairs of dancers we saw dancing on the streets for tips. As far as street dancers go, these two were pretty good

We walked a bit through Puerto Madero but it was fairly quiet.

I was pretty tired and we didn't have any specific plans so we decided to head for our last scheduled spot of the night - Plaza Dorrego in San Telmo. Plaza Dorrego is the second oldest plaza in the city and is known for attracting musicians, artisans, and vendors. Plus, it's surrounded by restaurants.

see? there's the name right there

Yet again, we were out of cash so we couldn't buy anything from the vendors. It was starting to sprinkle but we decided to wander around the plaza before we settled on eating on a restaurant.

Live entertainment while we ate.

these guys played American rock from the 70s and 80s. Also were flirting pretty hardcore with the 20-something blondes sitting behind them

Why yes, you can hire me to be the videographer for all of your major life events.

They brought up volunteers from the audience to cap their set. I was good and tired by this point. Full too. We had an early morning ahead of us, so we headed back to the hotel.

I noticed while we were already in country that Uruguay was just "over there." Granted, we couldn't see it, but we knew it was there. After the successful ferry trips across the Bosporus and Aegean, we decided to take one across El Rio de Plata to Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay. Maybe we'd even get a new passport stamp while we were at it. 

Daniel called as he was showing up, as he was a little confused about which hotel we were staying at. When we headed down, there was a taxi right outside. It wasn't Daniel. There was no one else on the block and it was only about 5 am. We poked our head in and asked if Daniel had sent him. He said yes. We sat down and Daniel called again, saying he'd gone to the wrong hotel a block away but would be there in a few seconds. Sneaky sneaky taxista.

Anyway, Daniel got us to the port with only one wrong turn. We had followed directions, being two hours early, but we were the only passengers there. We could see a few employees working in the back, and luckily the coffee and pastry shop opened up. After a while, we were able to board. We had the joy of sitting by the sulkiest, angstiest teenager that probably classifies My Chemical Romance as classic rock. Just oozing hate at his mom for having the gall to live. How dare she try and get him to enjoy the ride. He snapped at her when she suggested taking some pictures outside. "FOTOS PA QUE?!??!?!" (What do we need pictures for?) Don't worry, I now randomly yell that in Mila's direction when she wants pictures.

We weren't against going out and shooting our shots. The view leaving the ferry terminal.

Leaving Argentina behind

Looking ahead to Uruguay

The Rio de la Plata is classified a few different ways, depending on who's doing the classifying. It could be considered the widest river in the world, 140 miles at its widest. It can also be classified as an estuary of gulf. In any event, it takes well over an hour to cross on a large ferry. I had considered going to the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo, but that was a three-hour diagonal trip, whereas the old town of Colonia de Sacramento was a much shorter ride. Maybe next time.

By the way, the word for "to set sail" or "embark" in Spanish is one of my favorites, zarpar.

arriving in port

me too

We breezed through customs, got our stamp (but no Argentina stamp, so did we really go?), and googled what to do in town. Maps made everything look close, no need for renting a vehicle. We followed the crowd on foot towards town? We actually stopped at an artist collective, picked up the mandatory magnet and coffee, and THEN walked towards what looked on the map to be the historic section of town.

It was a peaceful, quiet walk with hardly anyone else on the streets.

The old town area is noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site

We decided to take a closer look at the marina and fishing pier. It was crazy to think that we were on the banks of the river. Other than the Great Lakes, I had never been to a fresh water body of water where I couldn't see the other side on the horizon.

the wind was threatening to blow my hat off

It was still pretty quiet, but there were a few people fishing opposite the marina. We continued following the road around the shoreline towards the old light house.

oh hey, good to see you again

these little address signs maintain the 18th-century Portuguese style within the old town

The city has an interesting history, changing hands between the Portuguese and Spanish multiple times over the centuries before becoming part of Brazil and eventually its current state of Uruguay. It's location across the river from Buenos Aires made it important and it ended up being one of the most heavily fortified cities on the continent.

ye olde lighthouse among the ruins of a 17th-century convent

there was a bit of a line of people wanting to take pictures and aren't I a good poser?

an original home from 300ish years ago and a sign proclaiming that it sits on the "plaza mayor" of the old town

a view of the plaza

This street is known as the "Calle de los Suspiros" or "street of sighs." There are a couple of conflicting myths behind how it got its name, either from the number of prostitutes that the sailors would visit, or the sighs of sadness from the condemned being marched to the river to be drowned. Big difference there.

A city that was battled over so many times would need some cannons lying around

Mila bought a bracelet from one of these vendors. She made it on the spot while I wandered and took pics

Next to the Plaza Mayor are the ruins of the old city wall and drawbridge. Yep a real life centuries-old drawbridge. That's pretty neat.

sure is a good one

there were a bunch of people milling around and taking pictures, so we didn't get any good unobstructed views

We continued walking around the old town area, stopping in at little shops and buying mosquito spray for Daniel. (there wasn't much for sale in Buenos Aires)

At this point, I was a little hungry. We had seen that there was a bull ring towards the modern town, advertised as being surrounded by restaurants and shops. It was over a mile away, so we decided to try and rent a golf cart.

the whip

The only one they had left was the handicapped golf cart. So, the center had a spot for a wheelchair. I had wanted to get one basically dressed up as a classic "Model T" type of car but the person in front of us took it. We watched him immediately crash it. The top speed of that golf cart is about 20 mph, which is fine for cruising the cobbled streets of a 18th century town. However, we had to get on a highway to go out to the bull ring. We were told they were road legal. Funnily enough, an old guy in a 40-year-old Mercedes  was going even way slower than us. With no one behind me, I got into the left lane to pass them. Of course a giant pick up truck came flying up behind us before we could get around and angrily sped by.  

After we parked, "helped" by a local, we walked up to the bull ring, checked out the art exhibit going on outside, and noticed that they were setting up for a concert. You could buy tickets to go in but, from what we could see, it looked like any modern arena but with a classic veneer. We decided to look for lunch. The pasta place up the hill had good reviews. The food was great, but they played same two songs on repeat the entire time we ate. If I remember right, Maroon 5 and Ed Sheeran. There was only one employee, so we got to listen to the songs for even more time.

After paying, we saw that time was running a bit short, and we decided to head back to the historic portion of the city.

We walked around the cobblestone streets, stopping in a really good coffee shop.

that's just too far

We turned the cart back in and boarded the ferry for an uneventful ride back.

Bye Uruguay

Daniel was waiting for us at the port. This time, Mila asked him to take us to best spot for "choripan," probably Argentina's 2nd favorite street food behind empanadas. Daniel, wasn't too impressed with our tourist choices, but of course knew "the spot." 

Daniel, ensuring we were taken care of. He wouldn't take us up on an offer of food though

we were not disappointed. I want one right now to be honest

not a bad beer either

Afterward, we made our way back to the hotel to pack as we had an early start (again) the next morning.