08Apr14
Still behind on blogging. Today’s #TravelTipTuesday is what my wise friend, Justin Adams, once told me: when you’re traveling, you just go with the flow and be flexible. So we’re actually quite zen about not blogging, because we’ve been busy with other things.
We’ve been hitting up all the must-sees with Chris’s mom. The highlights?
1. Antiques in San Telmo
On Sundays around Plaza Dorrego, there’s an all-day fair with streets shut down and thousands of people milling around to see old knick knacks (and sometimes old tango dancers). It was a great way to burn some calories and mingle with locals and tourists from all over. Just hop in a cab to the corner of Defensa and San Juan.
2. Choripan in San Telmo
After hours of walking around, we found a nameless stall outside the central market with delicious choripan, or sausage and bread. We grabbed a seat at the counter and an older man dressed in nice slacks and a button-down shirt was working the grill. For US$1.60 each, we got a lot of food and tasty salsas. Other customers ordered cuts of steak and wine. The owner was pleased to hear that his homemade sausages were our first in Buenos Aires. I should have taken a photo, but we were all too focused on eating to think of it.
3. Walking tour of Recoleta Cemetery
It’s not cheap to have a family tomb built in the famous Recoleta Cemetery, with tombs holding an average of 35 coffins. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, there are free tours in English at 11am (tipping is encouraged, but optional) that take you to a few select sites. You also learn some of the local stories, like the coffin found ajar with scratch marks inside or the statue of a woman and her dog where it’s considered good luck to pat the dog’s nose (pictured at the top of the post).
There’s a reason this place is a must-see — it’s really beautiful, and is also Eva Perón’s final resting place in the Duarte family tomb.
And, of course, there were cats. Someone feeds them every day.
