Buenos Aires, May 26th, 2015
Today, we landed in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, at 9:05 AM. It took a while to get the entire group through customs and baggage claim, but once we finished and exited the terminal, we were greeted by Leticia, our tour guide for the duration of the trip. She guided us outside, where we waited about 20 minutes for our bus to come. The ride into the heart of the city took about 40 minutes, and in that time, Leticia told us about Argentina, the seasons, the different provinces, and fed us alfajores- all in Spanish. We quickly learned that nothing here would be in English and therefore we needed to adapt to understanding and responding to Spanish as quickly as we could. Once we reached the hotel, we quickly shoved our bags to the the corner and tried to connect to the wifi! After a quick stop at the hotel Conde, we walked to the Cafe Tortoni, which featured world-famous hot chocolate. After relaxing in the cafe for about an hour, we toured the city further on foot, then arrived at our lunch destination: Il Gatto. The food took a whole lot longer than we expected to arrive, but we amused ourselves by playing hangman in Spanish and drawing on each other’s hands. Once the food arrived, we quickly devoured it and looked forward to a nice nap at the hotel- only to find that we still had a while longer before we checked into our rooms. Now, we were headed towards El Caminito, a colorful little crook that had little local shops we bought presents at, as well as many sculptures and graffiti. By this time, it had begun to rain, so we took the bus to the Cathedral, and then stepped out to explore the inside of the church. It was gorgeous! Many pictures were taken, both of the architecture inside the church, and the sculptures and frescos inside as well. After the church, we returned to the hotel, where we were given about two hours to relax, take naps, and get ready for dinner. As Señor Quesada noted, we were to be downstairs in the lobby at promptly 7:25– which we were- and at about 7:50, the bus arrived to take us to our dinner destination: La Bistecca. Unanimously voted, this buffet-style restaurant was one of the best we had ever visited. There were dulce de leche fountains, chocolate fountains, and all types of meats and cheeses available to come back to again and again. After a delicious dinner, we walked along the promenade and took artistic pictures of the Rio Plata at night and the surrounding lit buildings and bridges. After spending a good ten minutes on the bridge, which involved stray dogs that tried to follow us everywhere, we finally returned to the bus and back to the hotel, where we were set free to finally get some much-needed sleep. ~Khushi
As it turns 9 o’ clock in the morning, our Delta plane touches down in Buenos Aires, greeted by chilly, but comfortable 60 degree temperatures. As I struggle to keep my eyes open, I look around and see a similar sense of sleepiness in the air. My friends and I have been through 10 hour plane ride of straight movies and no sleep, which puts us at about 26 hours of operation. Once off the plane, we are greeted by heavy Coca Cola advertising and Argentina customs, or “La Aduana,” as my Spanish teacher Sra. Ade explained to us 2 weeks before the trip. Thankfully it is early morning, and not many flights have made it through the international terminal, and unlike the tedious customs of Japan, we smoothly make it through enter the country with our fellow Atlanta passengers in under an hour. At first glance, the city seems a lot like a city I am familiar with – Taipei, Taiwan. It has the same air of urgency, and the same air of pollution. The cars are also of similar build. Of compact body type; perfect for hugging the tight corners of big city streets. As we struggle against our sleepiness, we settle our bags temporarily in the lobby of Hotel Conte, and set off to Cafe Tortonni, our first destination on our tour.
Cafe Tortonni has an attitude of tested and tried style. The walls are adorned with framed photos and plaques of stars and artists of an age past, as well as photos of the founders scattered on the walls. The Cafe Tortonni hot chocolate differentiates itself from any American offering I have ever encountered. Unlike the blatant sweetness of milk chocolate in the US, Tortonni hot chocolate rings through my mouth with a sweetness enchanced by a deep resounding cocoa in the background. The intake of sugar provides us a temporary boost from the sleepiness of the plane, and we leave the cafe feeling mildly awakened as our hours of operation clocks in at around 30.
As we continue on with our excursions, we snake along the roads of the busy city, our tour guide Leticia pointing notable attractions in the city such as the pink presidential house, and the streets filled with musicians. As I listen more closely, I begin to hear that she pronounces the “Aires” in Buenos Aires, stressing the “Ai” until it makes a “AIE” sound, almost like Buenos AIEres. She also pronounces the two l’s (ll) in a word with a “j” sound, possibly something signature of the local dialect. Leticia says that there are different neighborhoods (barrios) with people of different cultures much like New York. She also shows us the stadium of the Boca Juniors – a professional soccer (futbol) team with blue and yellow team colors similar to those of our school. Our tour concludes with a show of the cominito, a street that was turned into a dump, but then made beautiful by the murals of artists. At a local shop in the cominito, I purchase a plate – a LEATHER plate, to take home and show my parents.
Our tour temporarily ends here as we head back to Conte Hotel and hang out for a few hours before heading out to dinner. My roommates Pranay Tankala and Damon Blair set up camp, and hit up the shower to wash off when…SURPRISE the water is freaking orange. An opaque, rusty orange. And in fact, as we ring up the front desk, we discover that there is indeed RUST in our tap water. The rust is unavoidable, pervasive through both the hot and cold water of the shower as well as the sink (duh, its the same source), rendering us unable to wash for a while. Oh well. Pranay and I settle for wetting our hair with bottled water as Damon steps our of the shower with soap still in his hair.
Three hours later, we board the bus again to go to dinner. It is at a place called bisteka, and the food is superb. I never cease to be amazed by the glass soda bottles. Our first day in Argentina came to a close, clocking 40 hours of operation, and leaving me excited for the rest of the trip.
–Justin
