Following what has to have been the most manic week of our lives my new husband(!) and I set off on our rather controversial Luna De Miel to South America.
I say controversial, as every time I've mentioned we're off backpacking around South America, I've had responses ranging from "that's not really a honeymoon destination" to surprised "wow, very cool".
We flew out from T5 on Sunday evening, following all the traditional formalities and promptly started on the wine in the lounge (perks of having a travelling partner who has an obscene amount of points - hello companion vouchers!) - then off on a direct flight to Buenos Aires we went.
Needless to say we spent much of the 14 hour flight asleep. We did however meet a rather interesting traveller. A lady flying to Buenos Aires to do 10 days solid of tango classes, having left her 2 children at home with her ex. The most fascinating part wasn't the 3am tango sessions she had planned but more so the bizarre living arrangements with a random friend she had met online... Regardless Natalia was a great help to us upon landing. With our severe lack of Spanish (note to self: definitely learn more Spanish before the next trip) she managed to sort us out with a sweet taxi deal to our first hotel. The Hilton in Puerto Madero.
6 - 10 April: Buenos Aires
Puerto Madero is considered the business side of Buenos Aires, and therefore the hotel was pure luxury. The staff were polite and we were even greeted with a complimentary bottle of champagne.
Our first full day coincided with Neil's birthday, so we went all in for a fun packed day. The morning started with a walking tour around Buenos Aires. The guide was well practised in English and showed us the main highlights.
There are many walking tours available, and some of the best are those that are free, as the guides put in the extra effort to ensure good tips. They're also a really useful way of getting to know the city at the beginning of a trip and narrowing down to the places worth revisiting.
That evening we signed ourselves up to a tango class and show. We rocked up at this beautiful venue and were taught some of the basic tango steps (we're still practising them once a day, who knows when they'll come in handy!) and then indulged in a 3 course meal, before a tango show which we couldn't quite believe was real. Tango itself is a difficult dance to master, but those in the show made it look near enough impossible. Loads of quick kicks and turns, left us in awe, but following a bottle of wine we soon thought we looked just as good with our 5 basic steps.
The next morning, with memories of our developed tango skills, we moved to another part of Buenos Aires. The party area: Palmero Soho at a lovely boutique called Duque Boutique and Spa.
Following our action packed first day, we spent much of the rest of our time in Buenos Aires, finding cute little cafes and bars, eating and drinking, soaking up the sun.
BA Top Three
Don Juillo - an amazingly authentic place to eat Argentinian steak and drink Malbec. They show you the cuts of meat before you pick and you can select accordingly. They also had a range of vegetarian options.
Ninima - a very cute little cafe in the heart of Palermo Soho. Delicious smoothies, cold craft beers and moreish cakes.
Nola - the best fried chicken place in BA. A tiny little restaurant that isn't immediately noticeable but thanks to a recommendation from Chocolate Puma, we found it, and loved it!
General BA info
There is a black market where you are able to exchange dollars into pesos. Calle Florida in the city centre is the hub of all the activity, and as you walk down you'll hear various calls of "cambio cambio blue dollar" - then you'll be led to a little shop and exchange dollars to peso over the counter, often with police or security overlooking the whole thing. It is actively encouraged in BA, and the openness takes away the illegality of it all. Rumour has it that the president's son had initiated the whole scheme and is now in a position to run for president himself. But then again, this is a rumour. It should be noted that there have been known instances of some of these places giving out counterfeit pesos, although most smart travellers would be able to deduce these.
Buenos Aires is a very European city, and despite the mass population (40% of the Argentinean population live in BA) it was a very relaxed place to be during the day. The nightlife on the other hand was said to be far more hectic, starting at 1am and going on until 6am. Although I can't personally vouch for this as we were in bed by 11pm most nights. Be that age, marriage or jet lag, who knows, but it does mean a second visit for the nightlife experience will be needed!
