Following Chile we made our way to our last stop in South America, Buenos Aires in Argentina. We fell in love with this city pretty much the moment we stepped foot in our neighborhood Saturday night. We stayed in the Palermo district, which is a very happening place with countless bars and restaurants. Afterwards, we compared Santiago and Buenos Aires and came to the conclusion that if we had to live somewhere it would be Buenos Aires. But if we had to vacation somewhere, it would be Santiago. The reason being, Santiago definitely has more “sights” but Buenos Aires felt like a massive neighborhood where you could envision going out with friends and family.
In regards to sights, we highly recommend El Zanjon. It originally was a rundown building bought by a man who wanted to turn it into a restaurant. However, when they started doing construction on this house dating back to the 1500’s, they uncovered tunnels underneath built to handle drainage and prevent flooding. Since this discovery in the 80’s, the owner has personally financed a project to restore these tunnels that go underneath numerous occupied homes in the neighborhood. The tunnels are incredible with glass cases showing artifacts found and the original sewer system in tact. Maybe even more impressive, is how much money this guy had to have pumped into this project. The tunnels are spotless. He paid for neighbors to have their houses reinforced so they could dig underneath, lighting is throughout the whole thing and there is an event space. When I asked how much it had to have cost the founder (still alive and 80 years old) our tour guide said the answer he gives is, “It cost a lot of time and love.”
Another highlight was the Eco Park which was formerly a zoo and it appears that it may be again, because it’s under construction. Of course we went to another cemetery and it was just as impressive, if not more than the others. The main “attraction” was Eva Peron’s grave. Other than that, we didn’t see a lot of sights. There were a lot of parks we attempted to go to but they were closed because it’s their winter. It is also important to note that while Saturday night was crazy, Sunday and Monday were absolutely dead. We took a long walk down to their plaza (to see the pink presidential palace) on Sunday and for the most part, every shop was closed. Monday was not much better when we tried going to some parks.
Closed park
Eva Peron’s grave
The highlight for us was the food and drink. We especially enjoyed the empanadas and chorripan (Chorri in Palermo disctrict) when it came to food. The highlight of our drinking was a speakeasy we went to called Victoria Brown Bar. It didn’t open until 8:00 and closes at 4:00 AM because the dining and drinking times are CRAZY later here. We went at 9:00 through an alley door. Inside was an awesome, dark, vintage spot with incredibly complex drinks. Overall, if you are looking to fill up days with sightseeing and museums then this might not be your place. But if you are looking for endless bars and restaurants at great prices, then Buenos Aires is a must.
