Into the mountains we go!!!

We made it to Bariloche in one piece.  Bariloche is a ski-bum town in the winter, and has now become a summer outdoor destination as well. The flight out of BA was wonderful compared to others we’ve had in the past. Flying on LAN is a pleasure compared to the local Aerolineas Argentinas, and the downtown airport (with more domestic departures) in BA is excellent.  We both slept on the plane within minutes of takeoff, missing the snack and drink service, and it made for a wonderfully short flight experience. Upon landing we were met by our car rental employee who had the car waiting for us. Rather than have a commercial space in the airport, some companies here simply deliver the cars and do the paperwork at an available counter in the airport. It was much less painful to be honest than waiting in line at the Hertz desk as we saw many other passengers doing. This was arranged with the help of Ashley, the property manager who had arranged our stay at a house in the town of Bariloche. We could only get 4 nights out of our 6 night stay in the house so we began our stay at a stunning lakeside hotel. It is new and has beautifully appointed rooms, a pool, a restaurant and access to the beach. We walked into town and enjoyed a lunch, and the remainder of our day in the wonderful sunshine, visiting the shops along with crowds of Argentine and Chilean tourists. In the scorching heat were several Saint Bernard dogs with puppies – you are charged for photos of them and these photos make much more sense in the winter ski season. Upon our return to the hotel we couldn’t help but treat ourselves – massages for both of us and a dip in the pool!!!! 

We got a little Chevy rental car. Just like last time! I have to say, I do enjoy driving a little car stick shift – they’re so easy to bomb around in.


Our little automobile




We have one of the nicest rooms we’ve stayed in in Argentina.




Look at the view from our room!




Brooke was adamant that she would not go in to see the ‘TERROR’.




The beaches and mountains go so well together.

Bariloche has quite a history as a town that was where the wealthy vacationed from Buenos Aires. Though it would be an 18 hour drive to get there it must have been a multiple day train ride.



I thought the combination of Wood and stone was beautiful.




The shutters are so nice!




A typical street corner in Bariloche




Everyone else’s trucks were new but this one wasn’t! We saw tons of new Toyota trucks. I guess this IS where the rich come.




The St Bernard is the mascot of the town. Funny thing is that mascota is the word for ‘pet’ in spanish.




The hippies knit scarves for their trees here.They’re such nerds.

This is the chocolate store the size of a safeway.

An Old Friend

We didn’t get up to too much today. It seemed what was in our hearts wasn’t to find or do anything new but to revisit the old. We made our way down to breakfast just in time to not miss it. Getting up at 9:30am is like getting up at 5:30am at home, on top of barely sleeping the night previous.

We started our day with a good wander along Florida Street as Brooke was on a mission to get herself some new runners. In her mind they had to be grey, kind of hiking like, but also light and nice looking. I was about to give up on her vision when, of course, we found exactly the pair, and they fit!!  Florida st isn’t fun but it is energetic, bustling and alive. The street is full of just about everything – shoppers, business people, people trying to exchange money (because of the currency issues here), buskers of all types, and of course people trying to get you to eat at their restaurant or buy some leather jacket.  It’s just a busy version of a shopping street, like what you would find in Europe or North America. That said, I have never seen a shopping area so busy.  In over 7 years of having seen this place it is the same every time – brimming with people.

Crossing one of the biggest roads in an urban center – 14 lanes wide

It wasn’t as busy as we’ve seen it in the past.

Outside of the shopping core – one of the military compounds in the center of Buenos Aires.

After getting shoes and visiting a few shops we were fond of in the past, we made our way back to our hotel, dropped off our stuff and headed out along Avenida Santa Fe where we intended to find a special store that our friend Dean had begged us to visit after seeing it on a top 5 list or something.  We stopped and had an ice cream first.

Brooke had Casis and Frutilla

The bookstore is called El Ateneo and deserves the credit it is given. It is located inside of an historic theater and is truly splendid. Blessed with this stunning architecture, the bookshelves are dispersed throughout the theater. Only the pictures do it justice. Frescoed ceilings and a café on the stage as well as a wonderful assemblage of books, music and films make it a worthwhile visit. I actually bought a book there, a children’s book so that I can practice my Spanish on something appropriate to my skills. I still have so far to go but I can only improve if I spend time doing activities in Spanish.

 

The famous Bookstore – El Ateneo

After we left the bookstore, we headed onwards to our intended final destination of the day. Any trip to Argentina is going to have wine in the story but I decided to spend some time switching things up with making sure we had some artisanal beer options added here and there. We walked along the very nice Avenida Santa Fe and enjoyed our window shopping and the pleasure of getting out of the bustling micro centro (downtown) and made our way slowly over through the affluent Recoleta neighbourhood to the area where the famous cemetery is which houses Evita’s remains. We hadn’t been to the cemetery since our visit in 2005 and we wanted to take a look again, but alas, the cemetery was closed. We wandered through the nice little mall they have next to it that is cute and set into the hillside. The mall has a lot of home stuff – cabinet designers, furniture stores, kitchen gadget stores and a few restaurants. It is always fun to see all the cool appliances they have in foreign countries. They are, almost always, more interesting and prettier than ours. I’m not sure why ours always look so business like and everyone else in Europe and here in South America have appliances in fun colours with cool looking designs.

Brooke outside the cemetery we couldn’t get into




The churchbells rang while we were there. Oh, and there’s a bird! I didn’t notice that!

This is the church beside the cemetary.

 

The real destination of this outing though was the restaurant/brewery I had read about. Brooke and I found it just as the sun was setting and we sat in the warmth and enjoyed a nice pint while realizing it was the exact place we had sat with Dean and Denise 5 years earlier enjoying a pint with them very close to the hotel they stayed at. Somehow, I think the gods intended it.

A beauty of a black pint.




It’s like art.

Funny, I think we saw these two guys last time we were here…..

Teatro Colón

Two times we’ve been to Argentina and have been unable to visit one of it’s greatest architectural treasures, Teatro Colón. In the past two visits to Argentina, Teatro Colón has been undergoing extensive restoration. It was completed in 1908 taking roughly 20 years to complete. It saw the vision of three architects (two of which died during the process) and was spared no expense in its construction. This was at a time when Argentina was among the richest countries in the world and it needed to show off to Europe and America. Its new world position was always being blended with old world tradition. It was the goal of the wealthy Argentines to build a city that rivaled the best in Europe - the “Paris of South America” was the stated goal. To build Teatro Colón, marbles were imported from Italy, the tradesmen and architects were from Europe and it was built in a blend of European styles (primarily due to the three different architects, all from different backgrounds).  They say it is among the top 5 in the world acoustically, corroborated by such artists as Pavarotti.  It is beautiful but recently took 5 years to restore, and as such, we hadn’t been able to see it in either of our last two visits. The restoration was complete in 2010. Unfortunately, it is summer here (though this is why we came here!) and the performance season hasn’t yet started and we won’t be able to see a production – unfortunate – it would have been cool!

Teatro Colón, what a great looking place huh?




Outside on the SW corner.




In side in the reception area.




Even the stairs were gorgeous.




This room was designed in a frech style.




Each of the private entrances to the balcony boxes.












We continued our day by walking towards the San Telmo district, an area we were quite familiar with and had, in fact, purchased our dining room chandelier 5 years prior – though it did take us 3 years before finishing the renovations to the main floor and installing it (hmm… akin to the multi-year restoration of Teatro Colón?).  San Telmo is an interesting area where there has been a slow, steady change to the upscale. It is full of classic buildings of a European looking architecture but became old and run down until it was revived in the last 20 years as the hub for antique shopping. It has some phenomenal antique stores carrying items we wish we could afford and bring home easily - and there is quite a hip, young hangout area near to the shops – this is an area revival. We didn’t really buy anything in San Telmo but we will return at the end of our trip and see if anything catches our eye.



The central monument at Plaza de Mayo. This in front of the president’s palace.







The president’s palace in the background.




We got an orange juice from this lady. For some reason, the oranges just aren’t as good this time. Perhaps Chile isn’t making good oranges anymore!


Sitting and enjoying an orange juice.




I was allowed to take some photos inside the coolest antique store I know.

 

Hot days require beer. The only other real option is pop……I don’t think so.




Chilled beer. I had about 5 of these today!!!




Some lady. I just liked the contrast.



I’m amazed in this area they haven’t paved over the stones like in so many other places.


We finished the day in Puerto Madero, the true center of revival in Buenos Aires. It has gone from abandoned shipping yards to extraordinary waterside development in just 10 years. The new condo buildings and beautiful renovated warehouses, now stores and restaurants, make it an area to spend a day strolling and just enjoying wonderful weather and people. The wide sidewalks along the large boat locks are used by pedestrians, runners, and roller-bladers. It’s a bit busy for roller blading but I guess that’s the only place they can really go. It was a beautiful end to the day, we saw the restaurant we had enjoyed an incredible meal at 5 years prior with our wonderful friends Noel, Sonia, Denise and Dean. 

The Canals of Puerto Madero near Sunset.




The horizon is changing with new apartment buildings.




I don’t think this bride was here last time.

On the Road Again….

We weren’t sorry to leave Calgary but just a little disappointed that we didn’t really get to enjoy the beautiful sunny day we left behind. It was over 5C when we left and we haven’t had that kind of warmth in a while. We live for those days in Calgary and, thankfully, are regularly given them.  Leaving is a difficult thing, not because of your heart but because there is an endless and tireless supply of tasks that need completing before leaving. Luckily, the excitement of getting away is a fantastic fuel.

This trip is our “leisure trip”; I keep referring to it as the “adult trip”.  We’ve done the adventure things, we’ve done the 6am departures (3:30am leave the house), we’ve gone to exotic places, but on this trip, we’re doing the casual, adult stuff.

We casually left our home at 10:45am on a Saturday, with no traffic and a lift from mom. We had time to enjoy a coffee and finish a few last minute things at the house. We started the trip with a casual and slow attitude and we are determined that we will carry out the remainder in the same manner.

Our flights took us through Houston and directly on to Buenos Aires.  We flew through Houston the last time we went to Buenos Aires and it looked exactly the same. Even the “Fox Sport Lounge” was still there with obnoxious neon blue lighting and American sized meals. The entire menu had normal items, however, everything had extra cheese or another sauce or something added.  One meal was two chicken breasts baked in bbq sauce, covered with 4 kinds of cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. They love their food rich in the states.

Brooke was sure to bring her ‘travel jacket’ - a light weight semi-useless jacket that she refuses to get rid of because ‘it is so light and travels well’!

Well there she is in that coat….2013

In 2007

Upon landing in Buenos Aires, we took a very nice taxi to our hotel. We had a good chat and I had my first chance to practice my Spanish with someone. I would speak in Spanish and he would reply in English. That’s how it goes everywhere. I keep trying.

Arriving at the Dazzler hotel was a familiar, déjà vu experience. We had stayed only a block away on our first trip to Argentina - on our second trip we had stayed quite far from downtown (or micro-centro as they call it).  Knowing the area didn’t completely quell Brooke’s apprehension but it did go a long way. We felt relatively safe and we know how to get around in Buenos Aires. I didn’t need a map of the downtown after the many times we had visited it. Walking like you know where you are going goes a long way to staying out of trouble.

The Dazzler (wow!!) isn’t the most dazzling hotel but it suffices. The rooms work but show signs of not being that well put together.

We dumped our stuff in the room and immediately fell asleep. We were so tired from our journey overnight that we needed to catch up.  After napping, which is a good holiday luxury one must take, we ventured out to the mall area on Florida Street (Calle Florida). It is a place we’ve visited many times before and allowed us to get our bearings.  We did however see a Starbucks that wasn’t there 5 years previous and decided to fill our tummies with a bit of home. We had terrible sandwiches but the coffee was good.  We wouldn’t have normally eaten at Starbucks but we had a very short time before we were to leave. We had lucked out and Brooke had found a soccer match we could go see that was that afternoon/night. Normally the season doesn’t start till a week later but two teams had a makeup match from the previous season. With that, came our chance to see a game, something we hadn’t been able to do in the previous two visits to Argentina. Normally, we have been here at Christmas time, which is their summer break, and there are no games until February.  We booked the game through a tour company which had excellent seats, transferred us from the hotel to the game, and were our guides. We ended up sitting near a fellow from Vancouver and a couple from England. The Vancouver guy had lots to chat about and was interesting but the couple from England had about two words to say; maybe they were really into the match. The match was a tie and as such, there was no hysteria from one team to the other. I don’t understand soccer fans but they are crazy and violent about their teams. You could even see it here. Because we were associated with the tour group for tickets, we also received special wrist bands for exiting the stadium early. They got us up and out right away. The procedure for a match is to have the visiting team’s fans, who are seated in a separated fenced off and police patrolled section, to leave the stadium first. Once they are cleared out, the home team’s fans can leave. There is a special exception for certain “fans” (we were pre-warned to absolutely not cheer in any way for the away team), which included ourselves. No alocohol is allowed in the stands (presumably to make sure tempers don’t flare) but we had a pre-drink Quilmes, the Corona beer of Argentina.

We got out of the match in time to head out from the hotel for a dinner out. We didn’t go to far, it was Sunday and most things were closed, but we did find a bright and clean looking pizzeria on the street just down from our hotel. We had our first bottle of wine and a nice pizza to share. They brought us a ton of bread to start and ended up throwing it all in the doggy bag we took to leave. It was a delightful day that we really made the most of.

 

On our Way to the match.

Here we are enjoying a beer in the area beside the stadium where beer is permitted.

 

The fans approaching the stadium. Luckily we were in the nice park area beside the road.

The Fans in the stands unfurl a massive flag

 

You blow these things up, most of them have holes….just silly but a little bit fun too.

 

When the sun set, it was actually kind of cold. I was glad I wore jeans and a sweater.


We got out of the match in time to head out from the hotel for a dinner out. We didn’t go to far, it was Sunday and most things were closed, but we did find a bright and clean looking pizzeria on the street just down from our hotel. We had our first bottle of wine and a nice pizza to share. They brought us a ton of bread to start and ended up throwing it all in the doggy bag we took to leave. It was a delightful day that we really made the most of.