Many people call Buenos Aires the "Paris" of South America. Since it's the first city I've visited in South America I can't attest to that fact, but I can tell you that Buenos Aires certainly has a European flair and charm.
We began our tour at the Pink House, the governmental palace located in Plaza de Mayo. This building has a lot of history. It's from the one of front balconies of the Pink House that the crowds heard Eva and Juan Person speak to their countrymen. By the way, the building is only pink in the front. At the time that the stain was applied, the government project ran out of money to complete all four sides.
From the Pink House we continued our tour through the San Telmo district, past Centro, which is the home of the famous Oblesik, into Monserrat. The Centro is a very wide street (might be the widest street in the world) with about six lanes going in both directions with a large promenade going down the middle.
While in Moserrat, we walked to the National Congress building.
The weather was again around 90% and sunny. So, after a couple hours of touring we went to lunch at Filo, a fun, high-energy pizzeria where Madonna would eat while filming Evita.
After our needed break, we took a taxi to the district known as, La Boca, formerly the city's primary waterfront area. When the docks were moved to Puerto Madeo, this part of town became severely disadvantaged. Within La Boca, there is a neighborhood known as Caminito, which is known for its brightly colored building, cafes and street galleries. We walked around for a while before heading back to our hotels for an afternoon siesta.
Our evening was exceptional. We attended a cocktail party hosted by Atlantis Events at the Hilton. About 400 people attended. From there we taxied over to Faena Hotel. The Faena was designed by Philippe Starck and he is quoted as saying "the Faena is best creation I have ever done". The design was truly stunning. We sat outdoors by the pool. Through the use of design and lighting, from all angles, it seemed that pool appears from nowhere and continues everywhere. I was hesitant to leave, but, we had reservations elsewhere, so off we went.
As soon as we pulled up to the front door, I could tell we were in for an experience. They were made out of antique brass and were probably 18 ft tall and 8 ft wide. We arrived at Casa Cruz, which I now understand to be the best restaurant in Buenos Aires. As you enter through the door you see a long rectangular space with the bar up front as an island and the restaurant in the back. Through lighting and décor, the shelves of the bar seem to hang from the sky. I began with an Espresso Martini and soon graduated to a Lolita, a creamy, sweet martini of some kind.
The restaurant was a combination of burgundy with fine woods providing an elegant, stylish ambience. Once again, their use of lighting made the space magical. Yet, the true delight was the food. We each had dinner entrees such as duck, lamb, beef that were all excellent. The food, service and experience were clearly in my top 5 internationally. We arrived at 10:30 PM and left the restaurant at 1:30AM ( and it was still busy). Truly a very special evening.
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Comments: 2
When you Board Atlantis with-out Bri-an in your range.
All you will see is dancing boys you once knew,
Although they're stripped down to the nines,
At deck Six-es & Sev-ens with you.
I had to let it happen, I had to run dbar,
Couldn't stay all my life up here,
Looking out of the window stay-ing out of Car-ni-val.
Don't cry for my Tom, Frank & Carl-ina,
The Truth is, I Nev-er left you,
I'll see you in just 9 days,
After you've had time to drink & dance with the gays.
I'll keep my Promise,
We'll meet in RIO!
Brian - who knew you were so good lyrics? I thought you were just a great greeter.