GETTING TO KNOW BUENOS AIRES

Yesterday we visited two Southern Buenos Aires neighborhoods. We first stopped in La Boca which was once a primarily lower-class immigrant neighborhood, known best for the brightly painted neighborhood buildings. We then went to San Telmo where we walked around the market which happens each sunday. A bohemian neighborhood, San Telmo is perhaps best known as the birthplace of the Tango.

After visiting Southern Buenos Aires we headed over to Puerto Madero--BA's super-chic modern neighborhood. We stopped at the relatively new Faena Hotel to take a peek. It's pretty spectacular. Check out the pictures below:

The majority of the hotel has red accents. One of the most emblematic of which is the white dining room pictured to the right--note the unicorns on the walls. Pretty over-the-top, huh?

After watching the World Cup in the afternoon (thank goodness Spain won) we went out to dinner at a charming restaurant names Lola located just 8 blocks from our hotel. The only problem was that it took us 45 minutes to get there--the cab driver took us to Calle Ortiz instead of Calle Presidente Ortiz.

Today we woke up early for a trip to the Tigre Delta located about 30-45 minutes outside of the city. The delta, made up of a number of different small canals and islands is a popular getaway for the portenos (residents of Buenos Aires--that's where my blog's name comes from). We took an hour boat ride around the canals to a lovely lunch spot before returning to Tigre. One the way back into the city we stopped in the upscale suburb of San Isidro and walked around the main part of town and inside the cathedral. It was so charming (and I really liked getting to see a different part of the province. Our tour guide Clauido has done a great job showing us all of the different parts of Buenos Aires--the upper class neighborhoods of Recoleta and Puerto Madera, the lower class neighborhood La Boca and also the suburbs. I'm slowly beginning to get my bearings here in BA!