Where We Be
Palermo District -- Buenos Aires, Argentina
We spent our first few days in the trendy Palermo
District of Buenos Aires and fell in love with it
straight off. This place is chock-full of boutique
hotels, gourmet restaurants, and chic shops. It is
eminently livable with its tree-lined avenues and
cobbled side streets.

During our first evening in Palermo, we decided it
was time for our first late dinner. It was 8 pm so we
figured restaurants would be in full swing by then.
We went to a small place just across the street called
Malouva, ordered a liter of Quilmes beer, then put in
an order for some empanadas. The waiter’s reaction
was almost comical. He said in Spanish, “Oh, no, we
are not serving dinner yet.” How long would it be?
“At least another hour before we heat up the grill.”
Ooo-kay. So it was 8:30 pm and still way too early for
dinner in B.A. These people really do eat late!

We took our Quilmes beer to go, stowed it in the
fridge at our hostel, and found a simple "parilla"
(think grilled meat) around the corner open for
dinner at such an ungodly hour. We tried our first
choripan sausage sandwiches and they were
delicious, served on crusty French bread with a
lightly spicy
chimichurri sauce on the side.
View of the Rio de la Plata River in Argentina as we approached B.A. for landing
Avenida Guatemala just a few blocks away from our hostel -- a lovely street in Palermo District
Our first "parilla" experience in B.A. was a success -- we loved the choripan (sausage) sandwiches
Menu prices in Argentinian pesos (divide by 3 to estimate USD)
We only lasted one night at our first hostel -- cute but no AC at 95 degrees!
We loved our second hostel, Palermo House, just to the left of the red bookstore
Hard at work on webpages in our new digs -- with AC, thank goodness
We enjoyed simple dining on empanadas at the bookstore next door
This fancier restaurant, a block from our hostel, offered a great patio
Our first fancy dinner out, with a bottle of Malbec wine and, of course, steak. This is Argentina, after all, which is famous for its pampas-fed beef.
We visited the botanical gardens in the northern part of Palermo for a peaceful stroll
One of many statues adorning the botanical gardens
One of many feral cats at the gardens getting a free meal
Robin looks happy to be seeing new sights again in another foreign country
We both really liked the Palermo District of B.A.
Extensive gardens and park areas make the Palermo District eminently livable
We visited the Evita Museum in the Palermo District
A huge Argentinian flag flies proudly over the Palermo District