BA-ing with Family

All of our travels have been incredible, but we constantly wish we could share the adventure with the people we love from home! So when my brother and his girlfriend asked to visit, we were thrilled! The combination of beautiful Argentina + getting to hang with Rebecca and Ben = THE BEST WEEK EVER! And this means a long blog post…

Thursday

Our special visitors flew Wednesday night and got in on Thursday morning. Sadly, Meadows had to work Thursday and Friday, so it was just the three of us! Ben delivered lots of goodies from home, so I unpacked before we headed to lunch at our favorite empanadas restaurant.

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From lunch, we did a lot of walking. We started at Plaza San Martin, which was directly in front of our hotel.

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We then walked down Avenida del Libertador past the law school and the metal flower.

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We spent most of our day exploring the gardens of Buenos Aires: the Japanese Garden, the Rose Walk and the Botanical Garden. We had perfect weather and stunning views!

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thumb_img_0381_1024And Dad, we even hung out with a knucklehead goose!

Our dogs were barking, but we had a fun night ahead of us. We reunited with Meadows in time for dinner. I chose to take the crew to the ceviche and sushi restaurant I had gone to with the girls. Even Meadows liked it!! And, of course, they loved the secret bar. We traveled back in time to a New York speakeasy; we laughed and caught up over yummy drinks in the dark, hidden bar.

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Friday

thumb_img_7178_1024Friday was our insanely action-packed day. Again, Meadows had to go to work, but Ben, Becky and I did a full-day biking tour with Biking Buenos Aires. Everything about the tour was amazing and extremely informative! A big thanks to our guide, Marcelo, for showing us such a good time.

We started our tour in San Telmo, an area of town that used to be very wealthy. After the Paraguayan War ended in 1870, disease came down the river, so the affluent people left their beautiful homes in San Telmo. As European immigrants made their way to Buenos Aires, they moved into this area.

From San Telmo, we made our way into La Boca. First stop: Bombonera stadium, home of the Boca Juniors.

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We continued to explore La Boca, which is a colorful neighborhood and the birthplace of tango. We got off our bikes to walk through this visually and culturally vibrant area.

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And we even ran into some dogs dressed as humans!!

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From La Boca, we biked through the very modern neighborhood, Puerto Madero. Here, we biked through the Ecological Reserve. It is the largest green space is Buenos Aires.

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At this point, we were pretty hungry. The group stopped for lunch at the famous food truck, Parilla Mi Sueño. We each took Marcelo’s recommendation and ordered the super bondiola; this huge and very naughty sandwich consists of braised pork shoulder, a slice of ham, a slice of cheese and a fried egg. I loaded mine up with onions and chimichurri sauce – it was SO GOOD!

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Completely stuffed, we hopped back on our bikes and rode to the Women’s Bridge. Marcelo finally dove into Argentina’s crazy history here… I’ll try to keep it short!

From 1989 to 1999, President Menem implemented economic policies that resulted in great wealth for Argentina, but he was accumulating debt for the country in the background. One of his many policies was a fixed exchange rate of 1 peso = 1 USD. The people were wealthy and, obviously, thrilled. But this prosperity was unsustainable, and a crash was inevitable. President de la Rúa was the unfortunate guy to win the election in 1999. In 2001, the crisis was in full swing; unemployment was at an all-time high, and people were protesting. De la Rúa declared a weeklong bank holiday with limited withdrawals. In this time, all USD in the banks (which could previously be converted freely) was converted back to pesos just as the peso underwent a massive devaluation. As the riots continue, de la Rúa resigns and takes a helicopter to Miami (supposedly to Shakira’s house… she was dating his son at the time). Argentina set a world record in 2001: five presidents in ten days!

In the midst of this craziness, the $6M Women’s Bridge was inaugurated in December 2001. The architect described the design as a woman dancing tango, but I don’t see it!

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thumb_p1060189_1024We departed Puerto Madero and biked to Retiro. We stopped at Plaza San Martin (in front of our hotel!) and learned about Torre Monumental, the beautiful clock tower. A gift from the Brits, the tower was originally called Torre de los Ingleses (Tower of the English); the name changed in 1982 as a result of the Falklands War.

Back on our bikes, we took the same path we had taken the previous day – north towards the law school and the metal flower. We learned that the sculpture (real name: Floralis Genérica) was a gift to the city in 2002 and the petals are intended to open in the mornings and close in the evenings. And, despite what Wikipedia and Lonely Planet may say, the flower has not been consistently functional since 2004!

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A tour of Buenos Aires would not be complete without a stop at Recoleta Cemetery. I’ve blogged about it before (and I will again!), so I’ll just show you a pic of R&B at Eva Peron’s mausoleum.

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Marcelo had us try mate, a highly caffeinated tea-like drink. Not my cup of tea (haha), but when in Argentina!

As the tour drew to a close, we biked to Plaza de Mayo to see Casa Rosada. We also had a stunning view of the Metropolitan Cathedral. It doesn’t look like a typical cathedral, but it’s gorgeous nonetheless.

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thumb_20160812_164609_1024Last, but not least, we biked down the widest street in the world: 9 de Julio Avenue. It was terrifying and incredible! The street has six lanes in each direction and spans an entire city block.

We got back to the bike shop and rushed back to our hotels for the quickest turnaround ever! We showered, picked up Meadows and departed for dinner in about 15 minutes – unheard of for this girl.

After a long day of biking, we cabbed to Palermo for the beginning of a BIG night! First stop: the Argentine Experience, an interactive dinner experience. We signed up to do the cocktail lesson so we could learn how to make drinks with local wines. It did not disappoint!

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When our cocktail hour …I mean “class” concluded, we moved upstairs for the dinner portion. The night began wish us being taught how to order steak in Spanish. We practiced our new skills by ordering to the waiter. Next, we moved on to making empanadas.

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There were two different designs (Ben was the only one to try the odd design!), and I think our empanadas looked darn good!

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They were even prettier after being cooked – and delicious! We then enjoyed our steak, endless wine and homemade alfajores.

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thumb_img_7180_1024We left very full and satisfied (highly recommend the whole experience!), but we had more in store! The four of us got in a cab and zoomed off to the Recoleta Cultural Center for Fuerza Bruta’s late night performance. If you’ve never heard of Fuerza Bruta, it’s an international show that began in Buenos Aires that’s sort of like Cirque du Soleil.

I can’t even begin to explain how totally out of this world the show was. At one point, there was a clear “stage” above us, and the performers were jumping and dancing in water. The clear platform then lowered just above our heads – close enough we could touch it!

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Wind, tarps and people flying through the air surrounded us during a different part of the show. Bottom line: if you have the chance to see it, GO!

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Saturday

We got up at the crack of dawn to fly to Iguazu. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to go to Iguazu Falls, the largest waterfall in the world!

thumb_img_0408_1024Upon arrival, we met our awesome driver, Leo, and he took us to our hotel overlooking the falls from the Argentina side: Sheraton Iguazu Resort. From here, Leo drove us to the Brazil side of the falls!

Feeling adventurous, we booked a boat trip that goes under the falls without even seeing them up close beforehand! We made our way through the jungle to the pier.

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We loaded up on a small inflatable motorboat of about 15 people and made our way to the falls. The words to describe this experience would be: terrifying, cold, wet, exhilarating. I’ll let the video give you the full picture. And yes, that is me saying “No more! No more!”

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We tried to dry off (unsuccessfully) and moved on to the hiking portion of the day. The Brazil side of the falls has some stunning views of the never-ending waterfalls.

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We wound up down and around the trails until we made our way to the Devil’s Throat. This walkway stretches out into the heart of the falls. And it is WET! I didn’t make it out all the way (I was so cold!!), but the other three did.

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Just before leaving Brazil’s Iguazu National Park, we clicked some final photos near the deluge of water. Words cannot describe the sight and sound as gallons and gallons of water dump next to you!

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thumb_img_7194_1024Leo led us through the insane traffic back to Argentina for another quick turnaround at the hotel. Before we knew it, we were at a fabulous authentic Argentine dinner: red wine, red meat and big smiles.

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And what better what to finish a banner day than with champagne? Cheers to our super fun travel buddies!

Sunday

After breakfast on Sunday, we made the short walk to the paths of Argentina’s Iguazu National Park. The first few paths were stunning, but crowded. And the views were primarily on top of the falls.

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thumb_p1060361_1024We then took the train to Argentina’s version of the Devil’s Throat. Before we could walk to the end of the walkway, I was overtaken with beautifully serene scenery. It’s a stark contrast to the rushing water!

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The Devil’s Throat was not nearly as wet as Brazil’s, but it was equally impressive. Waterfalls surrounded us.

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In the later part of the day, we made our way to the lower trail. We continued down countless stairs to get the best vantage point of the falls.

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With each step, the photo opportunities got better and better!

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Finally, we found ourselves directly next to an area of the falls flanked by beautifully mossy rocks.

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Meadows and I couldn’t get enough of it all! (Insert super cheesy photo.)

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The four of us wrapped up the day on the patio of our suite, video chatting with the rest of the Cowgills. With Ben and Rebecca in Argentina with us and my parents in New York with Bo and Nan, our entire immediate family could easily video chat between two locations!

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R&B flew back to Buenos Aires Sunday night. Meadows and I stayed one more night.

Monday

While Ben and Rebecca went on a historic building tour, Meadows and I flew back to Buenos Aires. We met up in time for some shopping!

We started at the market outside of Recoleta Cemetery. We got to show R&B our coin cutting friend, and Ben bought an awesome cutting board!

Then, we walked most of Palermo searching for the perfect rugs. And we found them! Check out the ones Meadows and I bought:

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That night, we went back to Palermo for dinner at the famous steakhouse, La Cabrera. We ordered way too much food, but everything was fantastic, particularly the juicy, flavorful steaks.

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Tuesday

thumb_img_0414_1024We spent Ben and Rebecca’s last day in Buenos Aires wrapping up all of our tourist activities. While Meadows went to work, we went wine shopping. We picked out some of our favorite bottles for Ben to bring home.

Next up, we grabbed some lunch and walked to the BA Tango sign. You can see Evita’s portrait on the building in the back right!

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We even passed the famous Teatro Colon (Columbus Theater), which is one of the best opera houses in the world.

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Since we had to rush to see Eva’s grave during the bike tour, we made our way back to Recoleta Cemetery for R&B to explore all there is to see. With my expertise from many visits to the cemetery, I gave them the million-dollar tour!

We finally found the statue of the woman and her dog. Legend has it that she died on her honeymoon, and her dog died of heartbreak back at home. So the statue memorializes their love and their bond.

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Ben obviously posed with the statue holding up the giant tree outside the cemetery.

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Before I knew it, the best week ever was over. Ben and Becky left for the airport Tuesday night, and I was feeling unbelievably sad.

Wednesday & Thursday

thumb_img_0417_1024As if it weren’t bad enough that our visitors went back home, we also had to pack up all of our stuff and say goodbye to Buenos Aires and our fabulous team there. Obviously, we hit up our favorite restaurant for empanadas and wine on last time. Then… off to Manila that Thursday night!

9 Comments

  1. Great fun to see all those beautiful settings and happy smiles. And very glad the four of you could experience all this with each other. I tip my hat to all of you. Dad

  2. As usual love your posts—please contact Trip Advisor about a job—your posts would be a BIG hit with lots of their readers.
    Hugs to you both!
    Becky

  3. You could go in the guide business, Ann! You throw these Brazilian words around like a native ! Even I ,now feel like I have visited you. My favorites,-the falls and the cemetery. Grandmother

  4. Oh you got wet? You wanted ‘No more!’ Gurl, I tried to tell you:
    Don’t go chasing waterfalls
    Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to
    I know that you’re gonna have it your way or nothing at all
    But I think you’re moving too fast

    YOU DON’T LISTEN!

  5. Um, so Becky/Rebecca? Who is this girl? What’s her last name? I can’t believe he’s doing this to me!!!!!!

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