When we arrived in Buenos Aires we were tired and a bit exhausted (traveling with children can be pretty tough at times – for us as well as for the children). So we “sacrificed” the urge to see it all for a chance to slow down and recharge the batteries a bit. This helped for our overall family-travel-mood but also resulted in me feeling like I never really got to grasp this city and its personality. Or maybe Buenos Aires was just not meant to steal my hear like Rio did before. We often felt like people were rude only to find out that the rude thing they yelled at us was friendly advise or letting us know that the pockets were open or so… Was it maybe the language that was harder and faster than the Portuguese in Brazil? Also, traffic was horrible. We never drove ourselves, only taking Ubers from A to B but we were regularly scared in the back of tiny cars, clasping the handles and hoping for the best. In Buenos Aires, People crossing the street are no reason to slow down and there was a lots of sneaking in front and honking horns going on. So to sum things up, I’m a bit torn about Buenos Aires, a reason to go back once and give it another shot, Maybe? Perhaps, but for now, here‘s how we spent our days this time around:
We rented a place in Palermo Soho, a very lively neighborhood with lots going on, mainly once the sun starts to set. A colorful place with Bars, Restaurants and little shops, Streetart and a young and trendy crowd gathering on outside terraces.
Stay
Since we decided to taking it slow, we chose for an apartment rather than a hotel this time. We rented a two bedroom place in Palermo Soho, a neighborhood recommended to us by friends. We booked it through a company called Oasis. The handoff went very smoothly. When we arrived from the airport (we preordered a Taxi with Taxi Ezeiza and could pay the fare at the airport desk with credit card) the lady showed us the apartment and gave us a sheet of information and recommendations on Buenos Aires. The apartment was perfect for us, we could do our laundry and once in a while have breakfast or dinner at home when it got too busy during the day. It really helped us slowing down and taking this traveling life a little easier. Also, there was a fantastic playground very close to our home at Plaza Inmigrantes de Armenia, where we would hang out a lot, let the kids play while we would mingle with locals or just sit and enjoy.
eat & drink
- One morning we went to Full City Coffee House for breakfast. The place has a garden and a little terrace, where we enjoyed a very tasty full breakfast with Croissants, Granola Parfait and excellent coffee.
- After having tried in vain to find a place on one of the patios to grab some real Argentinian dishes (reservations are recommended and most places only open at 8pm, which is very late if you are traveling with kids) we ended up at Crêpas, a crêpes fast-food take-away around the corner from where we lived. You get to choose from a big variety of crepes which are handed to you in a handy take-away cardboard to eat it hand to mouth, no need for a plate. It was not the most fantastic dinner, but it was easy, fast, uncomplicated and the kids loved it! (They were hungry!)
- Another easy breakfast close to our temporary home was UBU next to Valletierra Yoga Studio. Coffee was not good, unfortunately, but the avocado toast as well as the granola get two thumbs up from me.
- We decided to go to Farinelli for coffee and some afternoon goodies (zvieri in Swiss-German) after our visit to the Japanese gardens. The place is rather small but they have cozy booths to sit in and some toys for the kids to play with while the parents enjoy coffee and carrot-ginger juice. The drinks as well as the cake we had (don‘t know which one it was anymore) were excellent!
- For dinner we picked something up at Nom Nom just next to Farinelli. This organic shop/deli offers a variety of Salads and dishes to eat in or take home. We filled our bags with quinoa salad, pasta and pesto salads as well as fresh sandwiches, all organic, freshly made and super yummy. We hopped in an Uber and ate it all cozily at our home.
- On morning we stumbled over Hacienda Coffee co. There we had a cozy breakfast on the sidewalk terrace and afterwards played with the hammock seats inside. This cafe is more of a remote working space and thus not necessarily the best place to go with kids but we liked it and sitting outside helped not to annoy people too much and it was fun to observe the passers-by.
- Our last dinner was at this uber-cool super low-key but fun resto and take-away called Burger Joint. They make fantastic burgers (also Veggie Burgers), the atmosphere is VERY laid-back and the walls are scribbled full with notes and plastered with stickers, so the kids (and we) were busy ready and looking at it all. The music was a bit too loud (but good sound, so I didn’t mind) and as a plus, the kids could behave as bad as they wanted without anyone being bothered by them – also refreshing for once.
Burger Joint 
Hacienda Coffee co. 
Crêpas 
UBU 
Nom Nom 
Farinelli 
Full City Coffee House
Where to go, what to do
- Walk around Palermo Soho. This is easier when you travel without kids. There are countless little boutiques and shops, cafes and restos to see and go to. It’s lively in the evening and very colorful with street art during the day. Especially in the early morning before the shops open, you can see all the graffitis on the closed shutters. We especially loved the Playground at Plaza des Inmigrantes de Armenia. It’s fenced and offers many different (and to us new) toys for the kids to play with. Also, every time we were there, we met someone new and got to talking with locals or other tourists. We liked it a lot and hanging around there made us feel a bit like part of the local community.
- We really wanted to see the city’s botanical gardens but the UBER driver dropped us far away from the entrance, and after some wondering around in one and the other direction, we gave up on our plan. Therefore we decided to go to the Eco Parc and it’s zoo instead (it’s right across the street from the botanical gardens). Unfortunately it was closed due to renovations. We had a sneak peak through the fence and I believe it will turn out very nicely and worth going once it is ready. So we continued and took a short picnic-break at Plaza Intendente Seeber before continuing to Paseo El Rosedal (rose garden) which turned out to be closed as well – it was Monday. Tough luck, I guess. So we took a last chance on Jardín Japonés (Japanese Gardens) and finally were lucky there. It was open and they accepted credit cards (yay!) to pay entrance fare. We had a look around in the nicely composed gardens, there was a funny little exhibition about Japanese brands as well as a small snack-bar outside where we stopped for ice cream. A word of the wise: Beware of the very mean mosquitos there and bring a repellent.
- Another must for any tourist in Buenos Aires is El Caminito in La Boca neighborhood. The colorful houses, painted by Argentine artist Benito Quinquela Martín in the 1950s are fun to see but accordingly also attract a huge number of tourists. Sadly, in our opinion, it was a bit of a tourist trap, with the actual attraction (the streets and old houses) and the beauty and vibe of the neighborhood hidden behind all the junk they try to sell. Therefore we decided to head for afternoon coffee outside the tourist hotspot and over to the near-by Design Museum which advertised outside for its rooftop with a view. Since we were already there, we also took a look at the exhibition before savoring coffee and cake overlooking the harbor. It is very quiet, away from the tourists and worth a stop if you, like us, don’t care so much for all the tourist rumble.
- Cemetery Recoleta was another box to tick on our must-do list of Buenos Aires. It is a very calming place this old cemetery with its beautifully built family graves. We strolled through the different paths looking, of course, mostly for Evita Perron’s grave. This visit and her grave made me remember another Evita who played a major part in my life – she also is no longer with us. I miss her dearly and she is with me in my thoughts every day and just as present in my life as Evita Peron is in Argentinian history.
- Overall we were pretty lucky with the weather and temperature during our stay, given that it was the beginning of fall season in Argentina. There was only one rainy day and we spent it at Galerias Pacifico, which (according to our city guide) was worth a visit. We spent some time window shopping and admiring the painted hall, drinking coffee and enjoying some sweet treats. We loved to see stores and brands we did not know yet, that were unique to Argentina, maybe even Buenos Aires. The world has become so small and you see all the same stuff everywhere, which is increasingly boring, so this was refreshing for once. Once the rain had stopped we walked down Florida street, the main shopping street towards Plaza de Mayo and Casa Rosada, which is a famous sight as well. However, in the end we decided to leave it at that and instead grabbed an Uber to go home again.
For the entire duration of our stay, we did not manage to get money at an ATM. It is rather difficult with identification etc. and also pricy in terms of comissions.
Since they do not take credit cards in many places, I would advise to change some money before entering Argentina or at the Airport. To get around, we chose UBER as our means of transportation and it went very well (also since it doesn‘t require any cash). We had been warned about safety in Buenos Aires, pick pockets in particular, and we stuck to our behavior which had served us well in Rio de Janeiro. Frankly we never felt unsafe, unless maybe when sitting in a car – they drive like maniacs these Argentinians!
So long, Buenos Aires!
