Did you know I didn’t eat red meat before we came to South America? But it’s all about beef here. Our guidebook says the average Argentinian eats 60 kilograms (~132 pounds) of beef per year. Chris really wanted to get one more steak at a classic parrilla before we left, so last night we went to Don Julio. Several people recommended it to us and it...
Look what we saw today! We were over at the movie theater (we saw Divergent, if you care to know) and came across this Kosher McDonald’s. I did some Googling and apparently it’s the only one outside of Israel. There’s a regular McDonald’s on the other side of the food court. We didn’t eat in either of them. We also got Holly’s official health...
Today is all about Holly! By the way, have we shown you these Holly cards? We met a couple who were giving these away and we thought they were genius, so we ordered some and Chris’s mom brought them when she came to Buenos Aires. When we meet new folks, we give them one. Two other reasons today is a Holly day: She’s famous!...
We had a major meltdown. While eating more bland-yet-also-somehow-sweet food, we both looked at each other and felt a lot of emotions that can only be described by these gifs. First, we were like: And then, Chris was like: And I was totally about to: But somehow we managed to keep our cool. We said, “Remember? Remember when we...
We’re not really sure what day it is. Thursday and Friday were holidays here in Argentina so our last day of school was Wednesday, but we kept thinking it was the weekend. Anyhow, we’ve mostly been bumming around (like Holly above), enjoying the sunshine after last week’s couple of rainy days. Chris has been working on and off, enjoying the flexibility of working...
Today was our last day of school since the next couple of days are holidays. It was sad to say goodbye, even though we’ve only known our classmates and teachers for a short time. While you meet lots of people while traveling, you end up saying a lot of goodbyes. During a break between classes, Chris and I went over to El Ateneo, a...
Todays #TravelTipTuesday is about choice — and how it’s not always a good thing. This is not a new concept. President Barack Obama only wears two types of suits in order to pare down menial decisions so he can focus on important ones. It prevents decision fatigue. I’d argue it also increases satisfaction. My friend Jen and I were having a very philosophical email...
Every Monday at the Konex Cultural Center, La Bomba de Tiempo performs. My friend Eric recommended it, so Chris and I grabbed two of our classmates — Guillermo (left) from the U.S. and Lucas (right) from Brazil — to check it out. The doors open at 7pm, but people don’t show up until the show starts at 8pm. Although, if you want...
We’ll land in San Jose, Costa Rica on Monday, May 12! After doing quite a bit of research, we settled on Playa Sámara on the Nicoya Peninsula. It looks like it has everything we want: tropical weather, beaches, a variety of services, a language school, a mix of locals and expats, and roads that won’t get too washed out during the rain. Fingers crossed!...
Hot sauce! We found a place with hot sauce! We had dinner at this delicious (and deliciously trendy) ramen restaurant this evening. It was started by a couple with roots in both Argentina and the U.S., and they make a tasty dumpling. Did you know that Argentinian food is not spicy? Same with Chilean food. Sometimes you’ll find a Tabasco-like chili sauce, but it’s more...
Holly’s feeling much better! Except she’s still on bland food — chicken and rice — and is not happy about it. She’s constantly hounding us because she lives for food and treats, even though she left a little rice right on her nose! Oh, Holls. Chris and I are enjoying our Spanish classes. He’s doing four hours a day, and I’m doing two. Did...
If you are coming across this post because you were Googling for emergency vets in Buenos Aires, click here to skip ahead to the listings. Holly always seems to get sick at the worst times. Did we tell you that less than a week before we set out on our leap year, she ate one of those cable tacks? Yeah, the kind with a NAIL...
Today is Viernes Santo, or Good Friday, which is a holiday here in Argentina. Chris and I, being the nonreligious folk we are, were walking around the empty streets wondering, where is everyone? until we figured it out. Argentina is a primarily Catholic country, although the country also has the largest Jewish population in Latin America. Many places were closed today, although we did find lots of people over...
Chris’s mom is back in Santa Barbara, so it’s back to just me, Chris and Holly again since yesterday. So yesterday was a tough day for us, filled with some homesickness. But I feel like homesick is the wrong term, because it’s not our actual home or even San Francisco that we miss — it’s that we’re so far away from family and friends. It’s...
On the other side of that water is Uruguay. You’re looking at El Río de la Plata, one of the widest rivers in the world. It forms a border between Argentina and Uruguay. We tried to cross it today to visit the town of Colonia del Sacramento, but to no avail. Many of the less expensive fares on the ferry sell out in advance...
OK, so today we did two of our favorite things. First, we started the day with a walking tour with Cultour — a walking tour group with a heavy emphasis on history and culture. Very highly recommended. One of our stops was the CGT building, where Chris and I posed at the front of the auditorium where union leaders (as well as Eva Perón,...